Umami, sweet, salty, and smokey. All tastes in one bite. In preparation for the TGRWT #9 I tried a simple appetizer where figs rolled in bacon are baked to melt the parmesan cheese and chocolate inside. The TGRWT is a blogging event where one has to develop a recipe using ingredients that theory predicts should go well together, but for which there may be few or no recipes. Round number nine is being hosted by Robert from La Mia Cucina (the photos on the his site are pure eye candy).…

Among all the excitement of having Andreas Viestad writing the new Gastronomer column for the Washington Post, I missed the other wonder tucked away in this week’s Food section of the newspaper. Martin has a great post on the new column, which for me will fill the void on the whys and hows of cooking created when Robert Wolke retired from his Food 101 column in the summer of 2007. Viestad’s has promised science-informed cooking and he started out with Hervé This’ chocolate chantilly.…

Black, gray, and three primary colors. No pinks, purples, or greens. No subtle hues applied to the canvas. Mondrian set himself the challenge of creating art with a limited pallet and without recourse to the forms of nature. The juxtaposed elements of his paintings — the geometrical forms, the primary colors — provide scant material for stirring memories. A much different task than that faced by Monet, who broke with history and the studio, going outdoors to imprint nature on canvas.…

A tomato is mainly water, but a sharp knife is needed to cut through it. A knife works by concentrating the force you apply downwards into the very narrow region of the blade tip. A knife blade is between 1 and 3 millimeters thick, but its sharp edge is much thinner, one thousand times thinner (1 to 3 microns) on a well sharpened knife. When we first press a knife against food, the knife does not cut it, but instead squishes the food.…

I want to improve my photography as much as my cooking. Nika, from Nikas Culinaria and Curt from Bucky’s Barbecue and Bread have teamed up to develop an on-line course on food photography. The first lesson is up and it starts from the basics. Something apparently simple, as adding light to a scene with a flash can be tricky. A pile of almonds may be well lit, but the crannies and the background may be dark.…