The Perfect Blend of Spices

The perfect blend of spices is key to any meal. Whether one is cooking ribs, steak, hamburgers or meatballs, combining the proper mixture of spices enhances the flavor and taste of your meal.

Now it's not necessary to go out and spend your weeks salary on fancy spices that only sound impressive, but end up tasting bland. The different array of things that can be found in the pantry would work out fine.

I find that by using salt, pepper, hamburger seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, tarragon, paprika, cumin and coriander I come up with a delicious spice rub every time.

For the ribs and steak I put a dry rub on both sides of the meat in order to guarantee optimal flavor. Flavoring one side of the meat and leaving the other helpless is a major mistake in my opinion.

Beginning Of BBQ Season

By David
Kaye

The unofficial beginning of Summer, Memorial Day, represents a time when millions of people go outside and get crackin on the grill.

Whether it's tender steak, succulent chicken, gorgeous pork chops, flavor able fish, fresh fruit or an ordinary hamburger, I can't wait to start cooking on my nice hot grill. Not only is it a pleasure to interact with family and friends, but the beautiful weather makes it that more enjoyable to be outdoors.

The great thing about firing up the grill is that the number of recipes you can make are endless. Every night of the week it's possible to make a different delicious and tasty chicken meal. Like steak, chicken is extremely versatile and with a little eagerness on your part you can whip up different sauces to baste your chicken each and every night.

I find that after putting the bird on the grill skin side up I don't begin to add on the sauce until there is 10-15 minutes remaining in the cooking process. By waiting till the end, the extra level of flavor will be able to pack in more pungency, than if you slabbed on your favorite sauce in the beginning.


Marinating the chicken overnight makes the final product even more mouth watering and fun to eat. By adding olive oil, lemon juice, lots of garlic and onion, thyme, pepper and salt my marinate is perfect every time. Add the chicken or steak to the marinate and put in a zip lock bag for at least 12 hours. As Emeril says, it makes the food ''happy''. Who does not want to be happy?

One of the best grilling secrets I ever learned was to use a meat thermometer to check if the meat or poultry was ready. Depending on how well you like your meat done, insert the thermometer to see when the temperature reaches the appropriate level.

This technique guarantees that your food is not overcooked and great every time. For making a turkey in the oven, using the same thermometer is a life saver.

Now I don't know about you, but plain hamburger rolls just don't agree with me. By putting the roll on the grill for 10-15 seconds before you're ready to eat, the roll becomes flavor able and produces magical grill marks that turn an average hamburger into an incredible one.

MultiGrain Pancakes To Kick Off Memorial Day Weekend

By David
Kaye

Memorial day weekend is generally associated with the beginning of grilling season for millions of backyard cooks and the start of Summer.

When I woke up early Saturday morning, the temperatures were in the mid seventies and the sun was beaming. While I contemplated making pancakes on the bbq for the first time ever, I stuck with the more conventional method of preparing them on the stove.

For four individuals it's recommended on the back of my pancake box to make eight to ten pancakes, but because I wanted to have extra for the next few days I made enough batter to assure that at least 20 to 24 were made.

It's a great time saver to use a mix that comes in a box, instead of having to prepare your own mix. Many of the ingredients that the companies use in their recipes might not be available at your everyday supermarket and it would be a complete waste of time to go searching for the hidden ingredients.

I prefer to use a multigrain pancake mix from Trader Joe's, a health food store right down the block from me. By only having to incorporate oil, milk and an egg to the mix it's very simple for any cook to make delicious pancakes.

One way to introduce new cooks into the kitchen is by asking them to help you make breakfast. Let he or she add in the ingredients and then fold in the batter. Maybe if they become interested in the recipe they can learn the proper techniques needed to make perfect pancakes. One of techniques is to use patience and let the food cook itself. Please do not be flipping the pancake when it has not begun to bubble up or get puffy.

After pouring in the mix, I let the pancakes cook for about two to three minutes on the first side, or until it starts to bubble up. Once the first side is complete, you only need to wait another minute to minute and a half until the pancake is golden brown and ready to be removed from the skillet.

The one knock I have on many fans of pancakes is that they top their flap jack with syrup, butter and even jelly. Butter is extremely fattening and in my opinion unnecessary to add on top of a pancake. Drizzling real maple syrup is all you need to enjoy a mouth watering, scrumptious pancake to begin your morning.

Dinner at Dallas BBQ In The Heart of Chelsea, New York

By David
Kaye

When you're walking around Chelsea and you happen to be craving mouth watering bbq, go to Dallas BBQ located on the corner of 8th avenue and 23rd street. Their website is http://www.dallasbbq.com/

Despite reasonable prices, I was initially skeptical when I reviewed the menu with my good friend Dan as we walked around NYC looking for a tasty, yet inexpensive meal. We hit the jackpot when we entered this restaurant which claims to be New York's most popular bbq restaurant.

After surveying the menu I quickly realized how affordable the prices were. For example, if you arrive before 5:30 P.M. during the weekdays you will receive two full meals consisting of chicken vegetable soup, rotisseried half chickens, cornbread and a choice of potatoes or yellow rice for $9.99. That deal can not be found anywhere else in the city.

Even if one was to order an individual meal most of the prices are $9.99 or less and the portions are truly Texas sized. Most choices over ten dollars are either combo meals consisting of even more food or they are mouth watering sirloin steaks.

Even though I was enticed to order their famous baby back ribs, I decided on the Bar-B-Q brisket of beef for $9.99. It was served with a baked potato, pickles, cole slaw and their famous bbq sauce.

I was down right shocked to see my food arrive within ten minutes of ordering it. Never in my life did I receive such a hearty meal from an impressive restaurant in such a short period of time. Not to mention, the waitress was extremely courteous, friendly and always there if my friend and I needed anything.

The brisket of beef was tender, slowly cooked to perfection and was overall delicious. Their famous bbq sauce on the other hand was zesty, well spiced, but too strong for my palate. I felt that the sauce added an unnecessary extra level of flavor to the meat and in a sense took away from the tastiness of the brisket. Fortunately the baked potato was well prepared, not over cooked and gave me the opportunity to slice right into it without any struggles.

In my critique of Dallas BBQ, I think that the restaurant provided a warm atmosphere with a great view of the heart of Chelsea, reasonable prices, tremendous portions, fantastic service and quality, well prepared food.

If you're into good bbq at affordable prices, Dallas BBQ is the place for you.

Lunch at Ellis Island With My Best Friend

By David
Kaye

When the sun is shinning and the temperature is in the upper seventies there is nothing better to do than take a ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, especially when it is with your best friend.

After taking off from Battery Park in Manhattan, the Circle Line ferry made a stop at the symbol of freedom in our country, lady liberty. I was fascinated as we approached the statue to see it up close in person because I never knew how enormous and breath taking it was.

Unfortunately, when we left the Statue of Liberty the wait for the next ferry to Ellis Island was at least twenty minutes. The one thing I despise when going to a tourist attraction is the extensive lines, but that needs to be expected right before Memorial Day weekend. Next time, I will plan accordingly and bring something to nosh on in between meals.

Even though Ellis Island was very beautiful and it made me think how fortunate I am to have had ancestors who were brave enough to withstand the despicable treatment they encountered by immigration officials when they entered America, I was disappointed at how expensive the prices were at the food court.

To think that a salad consisting of iceburg lettuce, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, shredded carrots and lite ranch dressing must have cost 5 to 10 cents at the most in the early 1900's, and is now $4.95, seriously makes me think how ridiculous these food joints are.

While the salad was tasty and provided the necessary fulfillment to wait another four hours for dinner, I began to reconsider how consumers such as myself need to appropriate their money when eating out at establishments that don't care about the quality of their food.

Notes: Ferry ride cost $11.50[round trip] to go to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

Welcome To Cookin' Time With David Kaye

By David
Kaye

Hey everyday, welcome to the inception of my new cooking blog. After years of learning from my grandmother and mother about the joys of cooking, I have a strong hunger to share my experiences in the kitchen, give reviews of different restaurants I eat at around the country, and lend advice on different tips that I find helpful.

Now, I might start off sluggish due to time restraints, but I am committed to writing a daily blog that will be beneficial to you the reader and myself. My mission is to encourage young kids and teenagers to get involved in the kitchen and start learning how valuable it is to have an interest in the cooking process.

There will be daily recipes that I use on a consistent posted on this blog so that more and more people can learn how easy it is to cook. Remember, cooking is not rocket science and you don't have to be a culinary expert in order to plate up delicious meals each and every night.

In my opinion, Food Network star Rachael Ray has revolutionized what it means to make a quick, healthy and simple meal for your family without having to slave in the kitchen for hours.

I encourage every person, especially young children and teenagers to spend 10-15 minutes every day or even every other day watching the Food Network or another cooking show in order to gain an understanding of basic techniques and recipes.

Until next time, get cracking in the kitchen!