Ben Starr

The Ultimate Food Geek

Author: Ben Starr

  • Benny’s Legendary Rosemary Fried Chicken

    My pumpkin carrot cake may be more famous, but that’s only because it appeared on MasterChef.  This rosemary fried chicken has elicited the same response from virtually everyone who’s ever tried it: “This is the best fried chicken I’ve ever tasted.” It’s that good, folks.  After you taste it, you’ll never want fried chicken from…

  • FINALLY! An All-Stainless Steel Meat Grinder Attachment for Kitchenaid! (Smokehouse Chef)

    **This is an objective product review of a meat grinder I recently purchased.  I have no affiliation with either Kitchenaid or Smokehouse Chef, I do not receive any benefits or “kickbacks” from them, and the links in this ad are to the product pages on Amazon if you want to purchase them.  I do not…

  • All About Buttermilk

    While I tell people that my favorite ingredient is pumpkin, that’s certainly true in the fall when pumpkins are in season.  Pumpkin inspires me, and it’s what I’m known for…it’s my “signature ingredient.” But there’s another ingredient that I’m obsessed with, that I use every single day, and that I couldn’t live without.  Buttermilk.  Yet…

  • Subway and the Yoga Mat Scandal

    This week, news has spread across the media about Subway’s use of the chemical azodicarbonamide (EH-zo-die-car-BAHN-ah-mide) in their breads.  The blogger Vani Hari, who owns the popular website FoodBabe, has been after Subway for several years for using this commercial dough conditioner, which is also used in making foamed plastics, like yoga mats and shoe…

  • A FRANK Tale: NYE 2013

    Many of my readers have said they love my FRANK blogs more than any other, so I’ll try to blog about every FRANK dinner so you can all get a hint of what the experience was like for our diners.  Please note that there are only a few photos of plated dishes on this blog…Jennie,…

  • Ben’s Secret to Stock

    Homemade stocks make ALL the difference in recipes, particularly in soups, sauces, and gravies.  But who’s got room in their freezer for gallons and gallons of homemade stock?  Lots of TV chefs will tell you to reduce the stock a bit and then freeze it in ice cube trays, but then you have to maintain…

  • How to Make Aged Cheese: “Black and Bleu” Ricotta Salata

    I’ve been making cheese at home for about 3 years now, and SO many fans have begged me for instructions on how to make cheese after I’ve posted photos of exquisite homemade cheeses. Cheesemaking is a specific hobby with it’s own set of necessary equipment and supplies.  It’s sort of like wine making or beer…

  • In Defense of Texas Wine

    In a recent conversation with a potential FRANK diner, the subject of Texas wines arose. “There are some amazing Texas wines!” I happily responded. “No,” countered Jennie, “There’s no good wine in Texas.” This sparked a bit of a debate.  “Have you ever tasted a good Texas wine?” Jennie asked. “Well…..I have tasted an amazing…

  • A FRANK Tale: Bread, Bread, Bread

    In mid December of 2013, Jennie Kelley and I decided it was finally time for a FRANK theme that we had been toying with for more than a year: Bread.  Homemade bread has been an integral part of our menus at FRANK since the very beginning, and diners always tell us that our homemade bread…

  • How to Make the BEST Loaf of Bread on Planet Earth

    Tough title to live up to, right?  But I was literally stunned out of my mind when I tasted this bread the first time, and each time I’ve baked it since, it seems to get better.  This bread makes people scream.  Literally. What you are about to read is very, very long.  After all, if…