Melissa Gaman

2 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Melissa Gaman

This article may contain affiliate links that Yahoo and/or the publisher may receive a commission from if you buy a product or service through those links. Until I went to culinary school, I was very inexperienced around fish. As a childhood picky eater I avoided fish as much as possible, from frozen fish sticks to tuna salad, much to the disdain of my seafood-loving mother. I’m not sure when the switch flipped, but it happened very quickly.

2 weeks ago | thekitchn.com | Melissa Gaman

SkillsCutting & Peeling FoodWhenever you see the heart icon, just tap it to save the story you’re reading to your account!facebookpinterestemailcommentsWe independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing. Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe; Food Styling: Janette ZepedaUntil I went to culinary school, I was very inexperienced around fish.

3 weeks ago | tasteofhome.com | Melissa Gaman |Art Culinaire |Margaret Knoebel

Some people write off fruit salad as nothing more than a bowl of mixed fruit, but there is an art to blending the right combination of different sizes, shapes, flavors and textures to create the perfect bite of fruit salad. When I was younger, the ideal fruit salad was crafted by balling three different kinds of melon and tossing it with enough sugar to create a thick syrup.

3 weeks ago | tasteofhome.com | Melissa Gaman |Art Culinaire |Margaret Knoebel |Julie Andrews

When I moved to New York, my sandwich exposure boomed. I had party Italian subs at gatherings, omelet-filled bagels and huge pastrami sandwiches. There was a world of deli offerings in the Northeast, one key example being the hero, hoagie or grinder sandwich. Different regions have different names for food, and I had to learn that the hot Italian sandwich I loved to order should be called a grinder—at least in New York and its vicinity.

3 weeks ago | miamiherald.com | Melissa Gaman

I have a love-hate relationship with brown sugar. I love the deep caramel-y flavor and depth it gives my baked goods, the soft texture it lends to cakes and cookies and the richness it offers toffee and butterscotch sauce. I hate its finicky consistency that toggles between fresh and easily packable into measuring cups and rock-hard lumps that refuse to cooperate, and the fact that it seems to always end up dry and clumpy exactly when I need to make cookies stat.