Chef Todd

Avoid Destroying the Color Texture and Nutrients in Vegetables!

Nutrients in vegetables usually wind up in the green colored water you’ve just cooked them in. Have you ever noticed that if you cook carrots in water, you’ve got orange colored liquid and carrots that taste like water? Where do you think the nutrients ... Read >

Why Grass Fed Beef Makes The Best Steaks For Grilling

The best steaks for grilling are the ones that will return the best flavor and nutrition while retaining moisture and tenderness. To accomplish the best results, I always start with the best ingredients I can find. Because grilling is direct, conducti... Read >

3 No Recipe Uses For The Season’s Best Strawberries

No recipe will tell me what to do when it’s strawberry season. It’s one of the great seasonal joys in fresh food, and I take full advantage of the short time. The best strawberries come from your local farm, local farmer, local rain and soil. I cel... Read >

Don’t Leave Shirred Eggs Off Your Menu For Brunch

If you’re writing a menu for brunch, don’t forget Shirred Eggs. They’re extremely simple, can be made well in advance, and make a great table presentation. People love foods in individual serving dishes. In my many years of Catering, I’ve seen the tr... Read >

Crepes Are an Easy and Elegant Brunch Menu Idea

Cray-pe or Creh-pe, no matter how you say it, the simple French pancake makes an easy and elegant brunch menu idea. They’re incredibly simple to make, and flexible enough that they can be breakfast, lunch, dinner, or late night snack. However, their del... Read >

Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution IS The War On Drugs

I’m not sure why Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution has returned to television. Does the former Naked Chef want to cure obesity? Does he want to reduce diabetes? Does he want to remove additives from our food? Is it fat? Is it sugar? Is it children? Is... Read >

Do it Yourself -4 Steps to Copycat Restaurant Recipes.

I have a friend that plays guitar. He can hear a song and figure out how to play it. This has always impressed me. I watch him intently listening to the song, nodding his head, humming a bit, and then his fingers go to work. The left hand forms chords... Read >

Poaching is the Path to More Quick Dishes

I’m so happy to share more quick dishes for everyday cooking with you. Earlier this week, I caught a Taco Fish and helped you discover the simplicity of a basic breading procedure you can use on any ingredient in your pantry. In the time it takes most... Read >

Catch a Taco Fish, One of the Quick Dishes for Everyday Cooking

If you could cook like me and create quick dishes every night of the week, you’d never need a recipe book. Without a recipe book, you’d never need to stress about dinner. It’s the written recipe that causes so much anxiety about preparing family dinners. ... Read >

Easy Family Dinners Are Closer Than Thailand

Easy family dinners can come from your own kitchen but have the flavors of far away. I mean that you don’t need to cook like the greatest Italian Chef to make an Italian inspired meal. You don’t need to study in Thailand to use the characteristic flavor... Read >

Fast Dinner Ideas From Your Kitchen Cabinet

Fast dinner ideas come from the combination of quick cooking methods and the ingredients you have on hand. Planning and cooking meals for your family can be frustrating when you depend on written recipes that command specific ingredients. Sometimes you ... Read >

Ethnic Profiling Is The Key to Cooking With Spices

Cooking with spices is an aspect of cooking that frustrates many people. The questions I receive all highlight a confusion over which spices to buy, how to use them, and how much of them to use. All of those questions can be answered with a simple chan... Read >

What Are Some Tips for Healthy Living? Chef Todd Asks the Experts.

I really need some tips for healthy living. The New Year is in full swing, and like I said earlier this week during my 7 Tips for Healthy Cooking, I feel like crap. Perhaps it’s not JUST the food I eat. Maybe there are items in my environment that coul... Read >

Tea Types Scandal Uncovered!

I had never heard of “Tea-M-Z", but they believe they’ve uncovered a tea types scandal. Their cameras followed me around all week and finally confronted me with their accusation. “Did you say you liked black better than white"? they probed. These cele... Read >

Poaching Salmon Two Ways with Green Day

Even an American Idiot can learn there’s more than one method to poaching salmon. I’ve come to the realization that neither MTV nor Food TV are doing their jobs these days. MTV doesn’t play much music, and Food TV doesn’t teach anyone to cook. I’ll acc... Read >