Cooking Videos

This video will teach you how to make fresh Italian sausage that can be used for breakfast patties, pasta sauces, a pizza topping, or in our Chicago Style Dip Dish Pizza.

In this video, a simple bechamel based white garlic pizza sauce. This is the sauce I use to top my Sicilian style pizza with chicken, bacon, tomatoes and wilted spinach.

In this video I describe my Neapolitan Pizza workflow, including how to set your mise en place, stretching and cooking multiple pizzas at once, and overall workflow. I also feature three of my favorite "non-traditional" Neapolitan Pizza toppings.

Animal fats are all the craze, and rightfully so. They're a great way to add flavor to a dish, whether you're using them in high heat cooking applications such as searing and sauteing, or cutting them into your pastry doughs when making tarts or pie crusts for a pot pie.

A good place to harvest animal fat is from stock. During the stock making process, fat is skimmed off the top, and even more is removed the following day after the stock has a had a chance to cool in the fridge.

When breaking down case after case of chicken for the restaurant, I love nothing more than saving the necks for a quick little scooby snack.

Simply toss the necks with oil, salt, and a generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper, and roast at 425°F/218°C for 20 minutes or until a dark golden brown.

Simple as that. You really don't even need to watch this video, but I thought I'd share it anyways.

These are also great if you dust in a little cornstarch and deep fry!

In this video I demonstrate how to simply dress a salad using oil and vinegar. As simple as this process is, I'm always surprised how many people don't fully grasp (and frequently use) this approach.

The truth is, once you master this technique, you can quickly create any number of delicious salads, especially if you stock your pantry with a few good oils and vinegars.

Look up a classic recipe for glazed vegetables and it will resemble those demonstrated in my turmeric-glazed carrots video. In this classic approach, root vegetables are covered with water and wine, a knob of butter and a pinch of sugar are added to the pan, and the whole mixture is brought to a simmer. As the liquid simmers and reduces, the starches and sugars contained in the vegetables help to thicken the sauce and emulsify the butter.

In this video, I demonstrate how to de-bone and tie a beef short rib for braising. This is commonly seen in higher end restaurants and is done for presentation purposes only.

When serving a large short rib, it is sometimes difficult to have a tight, clean presentation, especially when a round plate is used. The short rib can often look awkward and unbalanced. Rolling and tying the short rib will allow for a tighter plate presentation.

When using this technique, make sure you still include the bones in the braising liquid.

This video demonstrates one of many methods for candying nuts. Once candied, these nuts can be used as a garnish for desserts, salads, or any dish that would benefit from a salty-sweet crunch

The basic method used in this video is extremely simple; powdered sugar is thinned with liquid until it forms a light glaze, and then seasoned with salt, spices, and acid. Nuts are then tossed in this glaze and baked until a candy like shell is achieved.

In this video we take our leftover turkey and gravy, and turn it into a delicious pot pie. This is a simple dish that will feed an army and quickly use up all of your Thanksgiving Day leftovers.

The Pie Crust

The crust for this pot pie is a simple 3-2-1 pie dough. This means 3 parts AP flour, 2 parts fat (in this case butter), and 1 part ice cold water.