Episode 004  Pots and pan choices can be overwhelming!  What do you really need compared to what is merely nice to have? After you’ve decided the pieces that you need, what materials are best for cooking?  Scotty Harris is an expert authority on the subject. He is a chef instructor at the Niagara Falls Culinary Institute in Niagara Falls, New York.  He also opines on his blog Cooking in Theory and Practice. Scotty will give you his cost /benefit analysis on cookware and he’ll also tell you us about his food journey.  After being an amateur chef for many years, he left a career as an attorney and transitioned to cooking as a profession. You’ll hear about that too!

My mom couldn’t find her recipes, so my holiday baking list will include someone else’s  mother’s fruit cake.  I saw this recipe in a Facebook group that I am on called Cookbook Junkies.  The guy who offered the recipe is James Glucksman and he is the owner of Pen-y-bryn Lodge in Oamaru, New Zealand.  He was nice enough to give me pointers too.  In addition to James’ mom’s fruitcake, I will be making  and Italian holiday treat called struffoli and molasses cookies.  What kind of baking will you be doing for the upcoming holidays?  Let us know!

I give my reaction to the season premieres of Top Chef and The Great American Baking Show and I give my guess who will win both competitions.

A few weeks ago, I got the charter issue of Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Magazine.  I finally got to cook from it!

Finally, I want to get you ideas for upcoming episodes.  I asked on the Guys and Food Facebook page, and got some good suggestions.  If you have suggestions for the show, let me know.  Email me at gabe@guysandfood.com or call 716-427-GUYS (4897).

Also, if you (or some guy that you know) would be a good guest on the podcast, let me know!