Giancarla Bodoni of Escopazzo: How to Master Risotto

If making perfect risotto were a race, it would be a marathon, not a sprint. The cooking process is all about maintaining a watchful hand and a careful dedication to teasing the starch out of each rice grain. In fact, if a restaurant serves a risotto less than 15 minutes…

Local Wok Star Holds Online Cooking Class

If you haven’t been to one of Eleanor Hoh’s local Wok Star cooking classes, here’s your opportunity to get some valuable tips on wok cooking in your own home — for free.Hoh, who doesn’t refer to herself as a chef, has a simple philosophy when it comes to cooking: A…

Miami Chefs Give Free Cooking Demonstrations During Miami Spice

For Miami Spice, some of Miami’s top chefs are putting on cooking demonstrations around town durning the two-month program. Even better, the demos are free and open to the public. Chefs from at least a dozen of Miami’s best restaurants — including Michael Aguilar of Wynwood Kitchen & Bar, Jordan…

Cecconi’s Launches Cooking Class With Chef Sergio Sigala

Cecconi’s is launching a monthly series when executive chef Sergio Sigala will be instructing guests on the true nature of summertime cooking in Italy. For this first installment, Sigala is focusing on his favorite summer dishes, demo-ing a four course meal featuring simple ingredients with easy to follow directions. You’ll…

The Secret to Marinating Meat

The food universe is infinite, which makes learning about it a never-ending pursuit. For decades I’ve been marinating various meats, but it wasn’t until I caught a rerun of America’s Test Kitchen on the local PBS station that I gleaned the secret to getting a marinade to truly penetrate and add…

Farm Tropical Offers South Florida Fruits Nationwide

A selection of local mangoesFarm Tropical just launched its website last week, but forager Nick Bernal has been working with local South Florida farms for more than three years. He’s already supplied Whole Foods, community-supported agriculture programs, and great chefs like Kris Wessel of Red Light Little River and Timon…

Local Fruit: The Secret Ingredient For a Perfect Batido

I’ve had my share of batidos. Growing up in the Dominican Republic, my mother would always whip up thick shakes with produce from her favorite street-side fruit carts. She’d add the fruit, milk and ice to a blender and serve a simple, yet delicious, batido. The chilled drink would cool…

Ten Ways to Make the Most of Mango Season

Mango season is upon us, which means these sweet, succulent fruits will be falling from trees, rolling under cars and rotting on sidewalks throughout Miami. Every year, an abundance of this fleshy tropical fruit strikes our city, and locals with mango trees are overwhelmed.In an attempt to save Mother Nature’s…

Saturday: Nobu’s Thomas Baduel Teaches French Pastry Making

Tomorrow the Alliance Francaise Miami is organizing a ten-person cooking class with Nobu’s acclaimed pastry chef, Thomas Baduel and the in-house pastry chef at Alliance, Angela Garcia.The intimate course will walk you through the ins and outs of making macarons, fruit tarts, and chocolate tarts.The class ends with a tasting…

Best Fats for Baking Pies: Butter, Shortening & Coconut Oil Battle It Out

After inquiring about trans fats at supermarket and restaurant bakeries and receiving unsatisfactory response, I devised a blind fat taste test. I baked identical pies, with the same filling (fresh strawberries), but with different fats.I tested the following 100 percent artificial trans fat-free fats: cultured unsalted butter, palm oil shortening,…