Ben Starr

The Ultimate Food Geek

Tag: Master Chef

  • Nimble Chef…my latest project

    For the past year I’ve been working secretly on a really cool project with Iron Chef Cat Cora and the team that created her iPad app Cat’s Kitchen.  And since the project was officially announced yesterday, now I can share it with all of you!!!  It’s a revolutionary app called Nimble Chef, and it takes…

  • All About FRANK

    “Just who is this FRANK character and why does Ben Starr spend so much time with him?”  That’s a rough translation of an email I got from a delightful Italian fan last week.  Then I realized, many of you are intrigued with this FRANK thing I’ve got going on with my bestie from MasterChef Jennie…

  • 1-Hour Hazelnut Cranberry Sticky/Sweet Rolls

    When I’m making a very special breakfast, I often choose my Overnight Cinnamon Rolls because they get rave reviews.  Any kind of yeast-risen roll for breakfast is a winner…but sometimes you can’t prep the night before, or don’t have HOURS to prep that morning.  So I’ve been developing a series of 1-Hour yeast risen recipes…

  • Buttermilk Cardamom Coffee Cake

    We’ve lost the coffee cake, somehow.  I rarely see it on menus at breakfast restaurants.  And it’s such a yummy and easy thing to make.  I’ll make an attempt at revitalizing interest in coffee cake by coming up with some new, inventive flavors, and this is my first…featuring my favorite spice, cardamom.  So many fans…

  • Cheesecake-Stuffed Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

    Just when you thought breakfast couldn’t be more decadent, I bring you my legendary Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins…but stuffed with cheesecake.  Yes…cheesecake.  It sounds complex, but it couldn’t be more simple.  These muffins come together in about 15-20 minutes and bake in another 20.  Less than an hour of work, and you’ve got what many people…

  • How to Cook a Pumpkin and Turn it into Puree

    In the fall, we’ve got pumpkins coming out our ears, and it just pains me to think that 95% of the pumpkins grown in this country are simply carved for Halloween and then tossed into the trash.  Sometimes people buy 4 or 5, carve only one, and let the rest sit on their front porch…

  • Smoked Mozzarrella, Eggplant, and Mushroom Fritters

    The inspiration for this recipe came from the book Artisan Cheesemaking at Home, which is a FABULOUS way to get hooked on a new hobby.  Before I even started making my own cheese, though, I had to try this recipe.  The only problem was that I didn’t have most of the ingredients it called for,…

  • Scotch Eggs

    I had never heard of a Scotch Egg until I watched MasterChef season 1 and Ramsay was bemoaning the lack of a Scotch Egg appearing in an egg challenge.  When I heard what it was…a boiled egg wrapped in sausage, breaded, and deep fried…I was bound and determined to offer up a Scotch Egg to…

  • Candied Ginger

    Every tried to buy candied or crystallized ginger in the spice rack at the grocery store?  It is ridiculously overpriced…a single small bottle can cost upwards of $10, which is silly because you can make your own for about $10 a POUND. To get started, you’ll need: 1 pound of fresh ginger root To make…

  • Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies

    Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin.  It’s not just for pie.  These delicious cookies are rather decadent…chewy, moist, and exploding with pungent ginger flavor.  I recently baked hundreds of these with Michael Chen from MasterChef Season 3 for a third grade class at a local middle school during an assembly about seasonal cooking.  You might think kids would…