How I Taught My Brother To Cook

Improvisational Tuscan-Provençal Cookery (and other good stuff to eat)

Welcome to our "improv" cooking network. We'll share ideas about simple Italian, Tuscan, Provençal, French and "American peasant" cuisines.

Recipes, recipes, recipes!

You want recipe ideas? Use the search function on this page that says "Search Social Network" at the upper right corner (for example searching for "chicken" turned up over 30 ideas). Or just click here for hundreds of photos and ideas for creative dishes we've created. Improvisational cooking is what we're about - so our photos give you a picture of what we made, and a few ideas of how we did it. The rest is up to you - that's improv! If you need a tutorial, buy our book.




Blog Posts

John Barrows

Food, Inc.

Posted by John Barrows on November 18, 2009 at 7:28am — 1 Comment

Patrick

How To Watch A TV Cooking Show

Posted by Patrick on November 8, 2009 at 12:07pm — 7 Comments

John Barrows

What, me worry? (about what I eat)

Posted by John Barrows on November 1, 2009 at 2:29pm — 1 Comment

John Barrows

So you think you know pasta?

Posted by John Barrows on October 14, 2009 at 11:27am — 2 Comments

Patrick

Bake Sale Ban

Posted by Patrick on October 14, 2009 at 8:29am — 6 Comments

Laura

LES FROMAGES DE FRANCE

Posted by Laura on September 18, 2009 at 2:12am — 60 Comments

John Barrows

The Sicilian "pie"

Posted by John Barrows on September 16, 2009 at 5:20pm — 2 Comments

John Barrows

It's A Dog's Life

Posted by John Barrows on September 8, 2009 at 8:47pm — 2 Comments

Hilary Conway

Best Baked Halibut

Posted by Hilary Conway on August 13, 2009 at 9:06pm — 3 Comments

 

Recipe Of The Week: SWEET & SOUR SICILIAN WINTER SQUASH


TRY THIS SIMPLE RECIPE FOR THANKSGIVING INSTEAD OF NORMAL SQUASHED SQUASH EVERYBODY TAKES A DAB OF JUST TO BE NICE

This Is The Home of the Famous "Pane di Napoleone"!

This is the home of "Pane di Napoleone" the new, refined version of the no-knead bread dough. Requires no fancy expensive cookware. An unbeatable basic recipe for classic Italian bread, pizza, and almost any other bread that requires a yeast bread dough.

WITH JUST A LITTLE MODIFICATION YOU CAN MAKE SOME FARMHOUSE BREADWOW!
Check out the Pane di Napoleone Bread Collection from members

JOIN THE SITE - "How I Taught My Brother to Cook". It's all about improvising with food. Whatta ya' got ta lose? Break outa the pack!



Johnny Gets interviewed by the Oregonian Newspaper

Read the Story in The Oregonian

Take a look at our pizza world with creations from us AND members. Add your own too!
Visit the
PIZZA PAGE!

What's our damn book about?

Respect your food. Play with it too

How many recipes do you have on your kitchen shelf, if you add up all your cookbooks? Ten thousand? Probably more! You like to cook, but searching for a recipe that matches your mood and your pantry has become a chore. It’s time to leave rote instructions behind and unleash the confidence to improvise, and discover a style all your own.

Brothers Patrick and John Barrows want you to think more about your food, but not to stress over it. Taking cues from the peasant cuisines of the North of Italy and the South of France, their approach is fresh, simple and honest. Local in-season vegetables, the kind of meat that’s handed over the counter by an expert in an apron instead of shrink-wrapped, fresh eggs for hand-made pasta-- these home cooks show that the more you embrace a palette of basic high-quality ingredients, the more you and your family will enjoy what you’re putting in your mouths, and realize that convenience foods aren’t saving you time or money, and might be sapping your soul.

“How I Taught My Brother To Cook” is part family memoir, part cookbook and part raucous sibling rivalry. Most of all it’s a story of two men’s journey: to embrace their family roots in rural Italy and upstate New York, put good food on their family’s tables, and avoid the anxiety over diet fad and fashion that afflicts most Americans. Weaving a dialogue in recipes and techniques, the brothers take a “lowfalutin’” approach, though they rarely agree on whose approach is the more unpretentious. Bring your own opinion to the countertop conversation, and your memories of what your own grandparents and parents and favorite aunt fed you, and renew your joy in food.”

 
 

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Latest Activity

I would go with your recipe but over night 1st rise, knead, 2 hour 2nd rise, knead. Rest. Form into length. Rest for 1 hour. Put slits in. Bake, covered. ( when I say "rest", I mean the dough, not you)
yesterday
Yes, the standard baguette has a very hard, crusty crust that your have to work hard to break off a piece. But the inside is very light. I was assuming you'd used the no-knead. I have baked baguettes using the no-knead, and they come out great. Ke...
on Wednesday
Or ... we could just go there and find out for ourselves.
on Wednesday
Again, one must grow their own or raise their own to avoid the less than desirable stuff. The food industry is too powerful, who lobby to politicians, and in the end win while everyone else loses. Same scenario whether its food or shoe laces. We ...
on Wednesday
You could add cheese if you wanted but all I was trying to do here was make the standard fried potatoes & onions by baking instead.
on Wednesday
You could cover the dough instead of using the ice water. Also, I am not so sure that a French baguette has a thick crust anyway. I tend to think that it does not. We'll have to wait until the French Connection checks in.
on Wednesday
Actually, I used a recipe that I found in a book called "Local Breads - sourdough and whole-grain recipes from europe's best artisan bakers" (found only at the finest libraries). It's very similar to the no-knead recipe (only you knead this one). ...
on Wednesday
John Barrows added a blog post
Rent and watch the documentary "Food, Inc." (inspired by Michael Pollan's books) Total corporate control of our nation's food supply from seed to market to table is literally poisoning us - worse than even the tobacco industry. It is even infiltr...
on Wednesday
I'm sure it was the no-knead: that's what I taught him ...
on Wednesday
maybe some cheese too
on Wednesday
Only other thing a should have done was brown the top more.
on Wednesday
Nancy should recall this cat climbing up her back.
on Wednesday
What recipe for the dough did you use?
on Wednesday
maybe leave the cover on longer - I think more moisture for a longer period may thicken the crust. only take the cover off for last few minutes to brown
on Wednesday
I thought that was your other head
on Wednesday
don't hurt yourself with all that complexity (don't try this at home, folks)
on Wednesday
Patrick added 2 photos
on Tuesday
Time out for a photo-op.
on Tuesday
Thank you. Once it cooled it really tasted great. My only complaint is that the crust wasn't as thick as I would have liked. Hopefully that will change when we get the new range installed next summer.
on Tuesday
Very nice job!
on Tuesday

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