Here's my Reluctant Gourmet 2012 Holiday Wish List It's that time of the year when I like to browse through the hundreds of catelogs sent to our house searching for those special holiday gifts fit for foodies like myself. It may be a new kitchen gadget I haven't seen yet or some gourmet item that would be fun to cook with.  My wife doesn't think there's any more...

A Recipe For Getting Into the Spirit of the Holidays Every year we start the holiday season by watching as a family the 1938 version of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens starring Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart and Kathleen Lockhart, the parents of June Lockart who played one of the daughters in the movie. Later on she starred in two of my favorite shows growing up: ...

Happy New Year I am just back from a vacation trip in Park City, Utah where enjoyed some great food with old friends and neighbors. At altitudes from 6,000 feet in town to 10,000 feet at the top of the mountain, I found myself a little out of breath and realized I needed to get in better shape in 2012. Part of getting in better shape means to lose a few pounds, not ...

Who knew there were so many great food facts and trivia surrounding Christmas. I started posting different facts I'm finding on my Reluctant Gourmet Facebook page and thought I would consolidate them all here and add to this list as I find them. Of course if you have one you would like to share, please do so in the comments area below. And most of all - Happy Holiday...

A great gift idea for home cooks any time of the year is salt and pepper shakers. I've been collecting them for years but the majority of my collection were purchased from my mom many years ago. I was visiting my parents in Florida for Christmas and we got talking about my mom's antique business and how she was ready to stop collecting antique salt and pepper shakers ...

Happy Holidays! This is one of my favorite times of year with the lights, classic Christmas music and lots of get togethers with family and friends. I wanted to share with you a few photos from my Christmas past along with some photos of my girls celebrating the holidays over the past few years. I'm not sure if there were many photos taken in between the earlier and ...

DID YOU KNOW.... Here are a few fun facts related to Thanksgiving and some of the main ingredients that may be on your table this year. If you have your own "fun facts" please add them in the comments section below. Happy Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving Facts: The original cornucopia was made from a curved goat's horn Thanksgiving was not declared a National Holiday b...

First, I would like to thank all the men and women who have served and are currently serving in the military. Without you, this great country of ours would not be what it is today. I would especially like to salute my dad who served in the Korean War and my Uncle Nick who is no long with us but served three tours in Viet Nam. Pre Memorial Day Festivities These photo...

Above is a photo of my mom and me eating ice cream on the beach in Miami, Florida over 40 years ago. I don't have a lot of photos of my mother and I eating or cooking back in the day because in those days my dad didn't take a lot of pictures. It was film and it had to be developed and it was expensive but I'm happy for the photos that were taken and survived. Today t...

Today I learned from my 13-year-old daughter that it is Pi (Ï€) Day celebrated every March 14 - 3/14 - 3.14 - commemorating the mathematical constant pi = 3.14159265+. Pi represents the relationship between a circle's diameter (its width) and its circumference (the distance around the circle). I was not aware that there was such a special day but I hear it is very...

For those of you who have not started their Thanksgiving prep, I put together this last minute checklist for just a few of the details involved with getting a great meal on the table this holiday. There are so many things to think about so please feel free to add them in the comments section. I'm sure everyone will appreciate all the help they can get. Enjoy and Happy...

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I thought you might enjoy talking turkey including some tips on choosing a bird and how to cook it. You would think cooking a turkey is not that big a deal but looking at all the articles in the current November issues of cooking magazines, you are suddenly faced with a whole bunch of choices. Be sure to check out my Thanksg...

How To Roast A Perfectly Moist Turkey A whole turkey, perfectly cooked, juicy in thigh and breast and richly caramelized all over is a thing of beauty, but it is, indeed a rare bird. Turkeys are large, they have a big hole inside them. They are thick in some places and thinner in others. They have appendages that dangle about and can burn. The Rockwell picture of th...

Christmas In Italy I asked my friend "Lola" Baldwin how she celebrates Christmas with her family in Italy where she lives with her son.  She was kind enough to share her family tradition with us in great detail and I thank her for doing so. She also shares with us a secret family recipe for Pasta al Tonno or Pasta with Tuna.  I hope you enjoy this post as m...

I was raised on the standards, both musically and at the dinner table.  Often, the two coincided as we would listen to Deano or Frank or Sammy as we ate.  This Thanksgiving, I thought it would be fun to combine the two again, by giving you some ideas for putting new spins on standard Thanksgiving fare. And if you are looking for a great source to some of the...

Romantic Music For Your Valentines Day Special Dinner An Interview with Brad "Martini" Chambers from Martini In The Morning A lot of us will be dining at home this Valentines Day preparing a meal for that someone special in our lives. The food is obviously an important part of any romantic dinner but so is the atmosphere and that incudes the music. We all have our o...

Thanksgiving is probably the busiest time of the year for the Reluctant Gourmet. I have been providing Thanksgiving culinary tips, recipes and techniques since 1997, and this year is no different. With Thanksgiving only a week away, there's lots of work to be done. Since my Thanksgiving pages have been well received in the past, this year I decided to combine all of ...

Thanksgiving Pre Game Tips I say pre-game because Thanksgiving can be complicated cooking match especially if you are cooking for a crowd. The good news is there is plenty of great advice in your favorite cooking magazines (you probably received them in September) and a never-ending supply of ideas on the Internet with the click of your mouse. I thought I'd share so...

I asked a few of my favorite chefs for their advice on preparing the biggest meal of the year for most of us and put together this Top ? list to help make your holiday a little easier. You can also check out my article called Let's Talk Turkey or my blog post, Turkey Basics or head over to my new RG Cooking Community and check out some of the posts on Thanksgiving Da...

Everything You Need To Watch For Preparing Your Thanksgiving Dinner On their main page you can find a link to their Thanksgiving Dinner page. On their Thanksgiving Dinner page they feature a few sections: step-by-step videos, planning checklists and individual recipes all organized with tabs. Also included on the Thanksgiving Dinner page are Rouxbe's Top Turkey Tips...

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate this special holiday when families get together to give thanks. It is also one of those holidays where we get to test our skills in the kitchen by preparing a lot of dishes for a lot of people. I often tell readers it is the one day of the year when you get a taste of what it would be like to be a professional cook. You...

Cooking a turkey is not that difficult. In my opinion, it's all the side dishes and desserts that become intimidating. But for those of you who are just a little intimidated or "reluctant" about cooking the Thanksgiving bird, here are some basic cooking tips that might help. I'll also supply you with some phone numbers to hot lines if you get into trouble. Defrosting...

Yesterday I was sitting here listening to Harold McGee on NPR's "Radio Times" with Marty Moss-Coane promoting his new cookbook. Harold is a food scientist and author, with a regular column titled "The Curious Cook" in the New York Times. On the radio show this morning, Harold gave great tips for preparing your Thanksgiving turkey. Well known for his kitchen classic...

Hey everyone, it's Valentine's Day on Monday. Where will you be dining on this romantic holiday? Going out to a favorite restaurant or will you be preparing a special meal for the love of your life? Me, I'm going to be coaching my 13 year old daughter's basketball team because both regular coaches will be out of town. I expect I will then come home and make some of m...

What a great Father's Day I enjoyed yesterday. Started with an hour walk with my wife Meg, then a swim later in the day with my youngest daughter Maddie and then a visit to Harriton Farms near where we live to sample some delicious ice cream from Yoder's Country Market in New Holland, PA made by slow-churning milk from Golden Guernsey cows. My favorite was black cherr...