Tips & Techniques

This time of the year you’ll find fresh Ghooreh, unripe grapes, at Persian stores. Many, who are not familiar with how Ghooreh is used in Persian cuisine, are baffled by …
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For the past couple of years I have been able to successfully keep my Jasmine plant alive all year round. I impatiently have waited for the past couple of years for its flowers to bloom so that I can experiment with the fragrant blooms. Read More

The one thing about many of the Iranian soups that is overwhelming, not to mention the Norouz meal itself, is the cleaning and chopping of the herbs. Many people bypass this process by using dried herbs. In recent years Persian markets have been carrying packages of frozen herbs. While these are very convenient and shorten the amount of labor, Read More

The Persian Pumpkin Soup that I posted a couple of weeks ago was a hit and frankly I can’t wait to make it again! The soup itself was fabulous, but what made its presentation over the top was the Pumpkin Bowl that it was served in. Read More

Although I absolutely love fish, I absolutely loath the smell that it leave behind when cooked inside the house. Because of this I seldom cook fish indoors; I generally much prefer Read More

Last year I featured a turkey brine with pomegranate juice, this year we are going a different direction!  A months ago I started thinking about the posts that I wanted to feature this year for Thanksgiving. I thought about a few different combination of flavors and the one that stuck with me was inspired by one of my favorite Persian rice dishes Read More

Until a  few years back I used to wash my mushrooms with water because that’s what I was taught to do all my life.  Frankly, I hated what water did to my mushroom; they always got soggy when I cooked them.  I certainly didn’t want the dirt on the mushroom in my dishes, Read More

This past Sunday I attended a family gathering, as I had mentioned in my Monday post. I have to say that it was a very special gathering because the purpose was to celebrate a 97th birthday! Yes, you read correctly Read More

So it is the day after Thanksgiving and you have stripped the turkey of all of its meat and are left with a carcass.  In my last post I mentioned that I like to use every part of my turkey and today’s post is an example of it! Turkey stock is super easy to make with your leftover bones.  I absolutely love love love a homemade stock because Read More

One of the many awesome cooking techniques that I learned during my Pro Cooking Course was the concept of brining.  The most simplistic brine is made with water and salt. However, adding herbs and/or spices is also common as they add a whole different level of flavor to your poultry. Brining will assure that your poultry is first and foremost moist but also flavorful.  Since this week those of us who live in United States will be celebrating Thanksgiving Read More