Apparently there are rules for chili. I grew up in California, where we take great liberties with chili–I’ve had it seitan or turkey or duck, and until recently I was blissfully ignorant of the rules. I think it is safe to say in retrospect that most of the chili I have made in my lifetime [...]
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When I was a line cook, my boss, the venerable Michael Wild, had a pet peeve about raw onions. He hated them and could taste them in anything. If he detected a hint of raw onion in a dish, I could count on a tutorial about the indelicate and disagreeable nature of raw onions. I [...]
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My great grandfather, Emil, owned a steakhouse named “The Red Chimney” in Los Angeles in the 1950s and 60s. It is easy to imagine what it looked like–red leather banquettes, a long, dark wood bar and rooms filled with smoke. The men would be dressed in suit and ties, the women would have boldly printed [...]
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