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chez Geek is the website of one Jonas M Luster, chef, hedonist, food nerd, coder (in his spare time), and terrible writer. It has no relationship with chez Geek, the card game, which he nevertheless highly recommends you play.

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Content on chez Geek is divided into three categories: articles, recipes, and randoms. Articles are generally more substantial than randoms, which are just random observations, and recipes contain some cooking instruction. You may also want to see everything we have to offer.

LATEST ARTICLES

Taking Heat: Taking “Culinary Creeps” for 400, Alex. “This much maligned meal machine masters magnetron motions to make mushy messes” “What is a … Microwave?” Today I asked my students a simple question – if Escoffier had had a Microwave at his disposition, would we find French dishes prepared in it? The answers were split along the same lines I [...] Read "Taking Heat" more
Why your Scallops don’t taste like mine…: Aaah, the scallop. That noble, yet accessible, crustacean core. Easy to sear, season, plate, and enjoy, it’s a quick treat on the plate, a buttery, herbal, taste of the wide ocean. You had the scallop appetizer at my place, listening to the satisfying crack of its sear under your knife before digging your teeth into a [...] Read "Why your Scallops don’t taste like mine…" more
Ten for ‘10 – ten things you’d be insane not to make yourself in 2010 (part 2: Peanut Butter): Few things scream “comfort food” as loudly as a good old-fashioned PBJ. It’s the snack of our younger years, the go-to when money got tight in college, the safe thing to bite into when the flu wrapped its cold arms around us. Bread, peanut butter, jelly, go. Read "Ten for ‘10 – ten things you’d be insane not to make yourself in 2010 (part 2: Peanut Butter)" more
Ten for ‘10 – ten things you’d be insane not to make yourself in 2010 (part 1: Mayonnaise): Brillant Savarin, the great 18th century lawyer and gastro-writer, once famously said “we all can learn to cook well, a pity we waste our time eating badly.” So, for 2010, I present you with ten things you would be insane not to make yourself this year. They’re all easy, simple, and will add some [...] Read "Ten for ‘10 – ten things you’d be insane not to make yourself in 2010 (part 1: Mayonnaise)" more
What’s so bad about HFCS?: Regardless how you stand in the High Fructose Corn Syrup debate, it is about time to set some parameters for discussion. I have had this argument a good hundred times in the past months, and rarely did my (often enraged and slightly fanatical) discussion partners even know what the substance they discussed with me was [...] Read "What’s so bad about HFCS?" more