Chef Kiel

Tart? Quiche? Just don’t call it late for Supper.

In the course of human existence, some questions have never fully been answered. What is the meaning of life? Is there life after death? What is the difference between a tart and a quiche?

The Non-New-England Corned Beef you’ve been dreaming of

Ok, let’s make this quick: Corned beef has nothing to do with corn, corned beef and cabbage isn’t a traditional Irish dish, and New England corned beef just looks awful.

There’s no shame in second place. Especially when you get to eat the competition.

Normally I’d start with some interesting historical facts, how the Mongolians or Turks or South Africans used cherries to cure disease or traded ginger instead of currency. Instead, I’m going to share a story about a second-place finish in a pie competition.

The world’s oldest example of “Set it and Forget it” accidentally made magic happen.

Pot stickers are either the serendipitous result of a Chinese chef’s negligence and his son’s blatant disregard for truthfulness, or the product of an ancient Chinese Emperor’s terrible disguises and even worse punctuality.

Ancient Man cooked pancakes on hot rocks. It’s easier now.

Ancient traditions dictate that the first three pancakes in a batch are sacred, and they were often marked with a cross and sprinkled with salt to ward off evil. To me, that’s short-sighted; I believe EVERY pancake in the batch to be sacred.

Ribs taste awesome. That’s all the information you need.

You like pork that tastes like salt and pepper and sugar and spice and smoke. I like that too.

Rabbits don’t really like carrots, but you should. Even if you’re a lefty.

While developing this recipe I learned 3 things: the average goat is 9 carrots tall, you can’t eat with your left hand in Morocco, and Bugs Bunny is responsible for uncountable rabbit deaths.

A classic Greek dish that’s not classic or Greek.

Well, ok, it’s kinda classic and it’s kinda Greek, but not in the way most people think of it.

To scratch-make tacos, you need patience. And meat.

I grew up eating tacos that were created this way:

The Cinco de Mayo Fairy demands that you make pork tacos.

Cinco de Mayo is fast approaching, and you need to celebrate with tacos. It’s that simple.

This is one PHO-nomenal vegan soup.

A couple of years ago, my wife and I decided to try the Meatless Monday thing. Kids had gotten us away from doing a bunch of the culinary challenges we used to attempt, and this seemed like a good way to eat (at least a tiny bit) healthier and challenge ourselves to try some dishes we’d never considered before. We mostly gravitated towards Asian noodle and/or rice dishes – from spicy garlic noodles to ramen to the delightfully-beautiful sushi bowls.

If you’re not already on the Split Pea Soup bandwagon, climb on up.

Growing up, there were certain predicable culinary events. If I saw a paper bag full of seasoned flour, I knew it was Salisbury Steak night. Fish Sticks or corndogs showed up once a week. Thanksgiving was Turkey, and St. Patrick’s Day brought corned beef and cabbage.