RochelleBilow.com

Oozing Butter

The following will appear in this week’s issue of the Syracuse City Eagle.

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The kitchen was insufferably hot, so I had been zoning out a little (okay, a lot) during a demonstration at culinary school when I heard my chef-instructor say, with plain indifference, “We are oozing butter with the Gratin Dauphinois.”

Oozing butter?  It seemed like [read more ...]

Getting Whisked Away

The following will appear in this week’s Syracuse City Eagle for my “Miss Syracuse” column.

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“Whisk, whisk!” Chef  barked, standing over my shoulder as I incorporated air into egg yolks and a reduction of white wine vinegar.  He was watching intently, waiting for me to make a mistake.  The béarnaise sauce still looked a little thin, [read more ...]

Chef and Me

The following piece will appear in this week’s Syracuse City Eagle.

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“Never with salt season a stock,” I read aloud from the marker board upon entering class last Tuesday.  I’ve been a student at the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan for a little over two weeks, so I’m not yet entirely used to my instructor’s way [read more ...]

I Found My Strudel

As soon as I bit into the cabbage strudel, I knew I was going to have a problem.  My friend had, after all, taken me to Andre’s for the sole purpose of pumping me with strudel and sending me on my way to write about it.  

“Nora Ephron and Ruth Reichl have both written [read more ...]

To Pre-Cooked Beans: You’re Canned!

The following will appear in this week’s Syracuse City Eagle:

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A few months ago, I wrote about a bean soup that I made and ate in my Syracuse kitchen.  I used canned garbanzo and cannellini beans, whirling them around in a blender to achieve a smooth, creamy consistency.  It’s a great soup, and while I’ve made [read more ...]

I’m Somebody’s Baby Bird

Let’s take another brief reprieve from food for this week’s City Eagle column.  Just as I paid tribute to my mama last month, I’ve given my father the print he so deserves.  

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I was sitting on the floor last weekend, stretching when my flatmate shuddered.  

“Your shins!  They’re so .. bony ..” she said, making a [read more ...]

A Cut Above the Rest

And I’m off to the city again for the weekend! It’s my last trip before officially moving on the 20th! I’m going to the ballet tonight! Here’s this week’s column for the City Eagle! Exclamation points!

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I was peeling potatoes in my kitchen last Tuesday night when I cut off the very [read more ...]

A Monday Hello

Know what I love even more than I love risotto?  Well, saffron risotto.  But even more than saffron risotto, I love sneak previews.  Here’s a bit of my column for this week’s Eagle. Wanna read the rest?  You’ll have to do one of three things:

1. Pick up a hardcopy of the Syracuse City Eagle (it’s [read more ...]

This Week’s Eagle, and an Update

Apparently there is crying in cooking.
Last night, while making roast chicken in attempt to get a little something back, I cut off the very tip of my left smallest finger. It’ll be okay; the folks at the ER assured me that it will, er, stub over and eventually grow back. Gross, but [read more ...]

I Get Fresh

Here’s this week’s column for the Syracuse City Eagle:
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I was a vegetarian for quite some time in my youth. Although I’ve been eating meat for about a year now, I refused to touch the stuff from ages 14 to 21.

The official story of my vegetarianism began at the Christmas holidays when [read more ...]