Hangtown Fries April 28, 2017
Posted by Bravado Cooking for Men in Classic American Dishes, Classic Breakfasts, Diary of a Wandering Foodie, Fun Stuff.add a comment
Hangtown Fries served with Homemade Corned Beef Hash
A friend of mine, who also happens to be a Federal Judge, invited me to breakfast last week and served Hangtown Fries. This exceptional dish is basically bacon, eggs and fried oysters, and it has a very interesting history. (more…)
Marcella Hazan – Death of a Star September 30, 2013
Posted by Bravado Cooking for Men in Diary of a Wandering Foodie, Fun Stuff.add a comment
We’ve spoken about the great Marcella Hazan in the past. She is the author of “The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking”, one of the three best cookbooks ever written – in our humble opinion and in the opinion of many others – see our post The Three Best Cookbooks. As you read her wonderful book, you quickly feel her passion for her native cuisine.
Marcella died last Sunday at age 89 in her later day home in Florida. Most of her life was spent in New York City. Below is the link to the New York Times article about this great and colorful lady. I encourage you to read it.
Bravado Hotline November 22, 2012
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It’s the big day and you have a Bravado crisis. Forgot how to make gravy? Need a substitute for some ingredient? Is you partner hiding under the bed because he/she doesn’t like crowds? We’ here for you. Call the Bravado hotline – 772-245-6583. Nothing is too bizarre – we’ll help you get things straightened out.
Making It At Home: Chicken Broth Cubes October 25, 2012
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Chicken Broth Cubes
A true Bravado chef makes a lot of things at home. We like to avoid things in bottles, cans and boxes with a lot of printing on them. While we won’t forget our classic dishes, in the coming weeks we will show you how to make three important ingredients at home – mayonnaise, wine vinegar and meat broth. (more…)
Easy Printing and iPhone App October 18, 2012
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Printing
Some have been bugging me about finding a way to easily print the now famous Bravado recipes. Well, we found a way – check out the new “Print and PDF” button at the end of each post. You can print the complete version, eliminate the images or even delete some of the sassy banter – although I realize that will not happen very often. Go to this old favorite and try it now: Bravado Mac and Cheese
iPhone App
This is easier than you think. Go to Bravadocooking.com on your iPhone and check out our new app. I used it in the store yesterday to buy the things I needed for Veal Piccata. When you open the app, you land on the Home page. Scroll to the bottom and you will see the categories of recipes, like “American Classics”. Click on that and up come the recipes in easy to read font.
The Three Best Cookbooks February 16, 2012
Posted by Bravado Cooking for Men in Diary of a Wandering Foodie, Fun Stuff.Tags: cookbooks
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Here is an interesting story. As you know, the Bravado Cooking Society is an amateur organization and, as such, we get to make our own rules. The moniker “Bravado Chef”, for example, is given out at our discretion and usually at cocktail hour. One afternoon, a group of us, Bravado chefs each and every one, with a Napa valley cabernet in hand, chose three basic cookbooks, which we felt everyone should have. In true Bravado fashion, we deemed these books the “Best in the World”. (more…)
Cooking and Wooing – Risotto with Black Truffles January 12, 2012
Posted by Bravado Cooking for Men in Classic Italian Dishes, Classic Recipes by Type, Classic Rice Dishes, Cooking and Wooing, Fun Stuff.Tags: Risotto, Romantic Dinners
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Risotto with Black Truffles, Carrots and Asparagus
This is my favorite romantic recipe in the whole world, and it is relatively simple. If this dish doesn’t do the trick, either that special person has lost all taste buds and olfactory senses, or you have made a colossal mistake in thinking that this person likes you in any way. (more…)
Use Extreme Caution with One-Handed Pie Crust October 5, 2011
Posted by Bravado Cooking for Men in Classic American Dishes, Fun Stuff, Fun Stuff.Tags: dessert, movies about food
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My friend, Howard, just called. He was working on the One-Handed Pie Crust (see earlier post www.bravadocooking.com/2011/09/23/315/), and his girlfriend was in the kitchen with him. At first he used his free hand to hold a glass of wine as instructed in our post, but then he decided on the other option of putting the free arm around his significant other while continuing to work the dough. We have spoken before about Bravado cooking skills making women swoon and I am not sure if this is what happened or if he was unclear on the concept of what he was kneading. In any case, there was apparently flour and butter everywhere, but the dough never got made. I was unable to get any more information if anything was “made”, but I would say that the writing is probably on the wall. In any case, let this be a warning to all – the kitchen is meant for cooking and you should use that free hand only for wine.
All of this reminds me of that famous kitchen scene in the 1981 version of “The Postman Always Rings Twice” with Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange. Luckily, YouTube has it – go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgMmLrxbLc8 and watch at your own risk.
As You Enjoy Bravado Cooking, Think About Supporting World Vision September 16, 2011
Posted by Bravado Cooking for Men in Diary of a Wandering Foodie, Fun Stuff.Tags: Rwanda, World Vision
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Violette
Four years ago my sister-in-law, Ellen, returned from Rwanda where she had gone with an organization called World Vision on a “village transformation project”. She told me that we needed to help a child named Violette in the village of Nyamagabe and it was going to cost $35 a month. I was watching a football game and eating popcorn at the time – this was not the moment for any deep discussion of African problems. I responded, “whatever”.
That was the beginning of an interesting experience and my introduction to a wonderful charitable organization. Having spent most of my life working in developing countries on educational projects, I certainly knew the problems and I also knew how hard it was to make any forward progress. That’s why I like World Vision. They are making progress with a very simple model. Here’s how they do it.
They link American churches with villages or communities overseas and they organize visits to these places. Thus, Ellen’s trip to Rwanda. They then get individual families from the church and their friends to support a specific child in the village or community – a process that leads to letter communiques and photos every six months. The program is administered by volunteer leaders in the village or community.
We enjoy the communications from Violette. Certainly she has been prompted to stay in contact by the local program leaders, but they are still fun. She was having trouble in school and my wife wrote her back to give her encouragement. We might go see her someday.
Water
The money raised is used partially to support the child, and also to help the village or community become self-sustaining. They will typically dig a well or otherwise improve the water supply, build or renovate the school and provide seed, fertilizer and agricultural tools to improve food production.
World Vision is now one of the largest Non-Government Organizations (NGO’s) providing assistance overseas. As you try some of the wonderful, marvelous Bravado Cooking recipes, remember that some are not eating so well. World Vision is helping make room at the table for everyone. Go to their website – www.worldvision.com – and get involved.
Cooking and Wooing May 27, 2011
Posted by Bravado Cooking for Men in Diary of a Wandering Foodie, Fun Stuff.Tags: Beef Wellington, Romantic Dinners
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Beef Wellington "A Deux"
That Special Person
While writing the chapter called “Cooking and Wooing”, I decided to practice one of the recipes with Barbara, the special person in my life. I’m sort of Bravado proud of the result. This is an individual beef wellington. Note the heart on the top. That was surprisingly easy to do with a piece of left over dough. I served the meal “al fresco” – note the flowers freshly cut from the garden and a nice bottle of wine. Try this recipe and let me know what you think. You vegetarian fans can think of something special to put inside.
