{"id":64714,"date":"2022-07-05T13:59:43","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T19:59:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=64714"},"modified":"2025-03-07T11:24:51","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T18:24:51","slug":"tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\/","title":{"rendered":"What restaurant reviewing taught me about cooking at home"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"A
Reviewing restaurants has lead to many great tips for cooking at home. One tip: use the highest quality ingredients to make simple recipes like this delicious grilled portobello mushroom burger. Photo: Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most of us learn to cook by first watching other people do it. Perhaps you\u2019re a son whose mom made blue-ribbon pies, or a daughter with a dad who slung pizzas at his own father\u2019s pizza parlor. Or anyone, anywhere, who once asked someone cooking over their stove, \u201cSo, how much salt did you just add?\u201d<\/p>\n

I learned much about cooking from my parents, especially my mother, and from cooking with friends. But I also learned from watching the cooking\u2014to be precise, the finished results of the cooking\u2014of hundreds of restaurant chefs.<\/p>\n

I reviewed restaurants hereabouts for 15 years, mostly in the 1980s and 1990s, a bit into the aughts, eating and assaying thousands of restaurant meals.<\/p>\n

Tips for cooking at home from a restaurant and food critic<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s (some of) what I learned about home cooking from reviewing all those restaurant meals. These are lessons that I\u2019ve taken to “hearth,” most especially when cooking for guests in my home. Sitting down to a meal at another\u2019s table is close to being a restaurant reviewer at a chef\u2019s restaurant.<\/p>\n

I remember writing recurrent criticisms in my reviews, about how the butter on the table tasted \u201cof the refrigerator\u201d or how mealy or stale the bread was. These are little things (that, in the nature of little things, add up) that a good cook should monitor.<\/p>\n

For example, in the frig, keep the butter in its own shed, away from the foods from which it can pick up odors and off-flavors. (This caveat applies to many foods that might absorb the malodorous: a slab of polenta set to cool, for example, or certainly many a baked good.)<\/p>\n

From all those years\u2019 restaurant meals, I learned lots of solid cooking techniques, for example how hand-patted burger meat way outshines, especially texturally, pre-formed, packaged pucks. How mushrooms are sponges, really, and so to mind my hand when adding moisture (if at all) when cooking or serving them.<\/p>\n

Mushrooms are like meat as plant matter and profitably can be cooked in the same way\u2014on or over high dry heat.<\/p>\n

I learned not to soak chopped nuts in a salad dressing for more than a few minutes lest they lose their crunch. Or to beware how easily it is to eradicate the crispness that I\u2019d achieved on roasted vegetables or the edge of a steak or the bottom of a risotto cake by either letting it steam if contained somehow (covered in a serving dish, say) or by dousing it with an embarrassment of saucing.<\/p>\n

Some things really annoyed me, mostly dishonesties, it turns out. I used to rank or grade a restaurant on the correspondence between what it said it was and what it delivered on the plate. A really fine pho joint got the same sorts of positives as a posh fine dining establishment if both were honest in their own ways.

More great tips and recipes from Bill St. John<\/a>.<\/div>\n

One thing totally bugged me: canned corned beef, which to my mind looks and smells just like anything wet for the pooch from Purina. (It may taste like it too, but I cannot and will not go there.) So, whenever I asked a server if the restaurant made \u201cits own corned beef hash\u201d and they said it did but it did not, I got peeved. Cooking from a can is re-cooking someone else\u2019s cooking. Don\u2019t do it; cook whatever it is yourself.<\/p>\n

I suppose what I learned most about cooking from all that restaurant reviewing is also another form of honesty, that is, to buy the best quality ingredients that you can afford, prepare them simply or straightforwardly, with fine focus, all the while keeping the plate balanced (among textures, tastes, savors, aromas, indeed all the senses).<\/p>\n

That sounds like a lot, and actually it is, which means that it also allows for the play and pretention that can be its downfalls. Dining out \u2014 and, similarly, entertaining at table \u2014 is beset by the urge to splurge, to impress or wow.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to check that, just like an autumn or winter coat at the door.<\/p>\n

Grilled Portobello Burgers<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Makes 6.<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/strong><\/h3>\n

6 medium to large cremini or portobello mushrooms<\/p>\n

6 egg-based (brioche) hamburger buns or rolls<\/p>\n

1\/4 to 1\/2 cup good quality olive oil<\/p>\n

Several grinds of black pepper<\/p>\n

Kosher or sea salt<\/p>\n

Several pinches herbes de Provence, crushed in palm of hand<\/p>\n

Leaves of romaine lettuce<\/p>\n

Directions<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Choose mushroom caps larger than the diameter of the buns, to allow for anywhere from 25-50 percent shrinkage from the heat of the grill. De-stem the mushrooms (use the stems later for stocks or broths) and brush or quickly rinse away any noticeable growing medium from them. If unsliced, slice the buns or rolls crosswise along their equators leaving a slight \u201chinge\u201d just before slicing all the way through.<\/p>\n

Add the remaining ingredients, except the lettuce leaves, to a small bowl and mix together well. Just before grilling, liberally brush the mushroom caps on both sides with the flavored oil.<\/p>\n

Grill the caps on both sides until they have released much of their water and are beginning to darken well and turn \u201cmeaty,\u201d taking care not to blacken or burn them. Set them aside. Briefly toast the insides of the buns atop the grill. Layer the caps onto the buns and top with the lettuce leaves. Serve with any number of possible condiments or sauces.<\/p>\n

Corned beef hash<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Making
Here is a tip for cooking at home: Make your own corned beef hash. It will always be better than something out of a can. Photo: Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Serves 3-4.<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/strong><\/h3>\n

2 cups cooked corned beef, trimmed and cut up into small cubes<\/p>\n

2 cups cooked waxy potatoes (such as Yukon Gold), cut up into small cubes<\/p>\n

1\/3 cup heavy cream<\/p>\n

1 medium onion, peeled and small diced<\/p>\n

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, in two equal portions<\/p>\n

Flat-leaf parsley, chopped fine<\/p>\n

Freshly ground black pepper<\/p>\n

Directions<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In a bowl, gently mix together the corned beef, potatoes and cream. Set aside.<\/p>\n

Over medium-high heat in a large skillet, preferably nonstick or seasoned cast-iron, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and in it cook the onions for 6-7 minutes to soften them.<\/p>\n

Add the remaining butter to the skillet and, when it has melted, the meat and potato mix, pressing down on everything with a spatula to flatten it uniformly. Cook like this for 10 minutes, or until a crust forms on the bottom. (Peek to see how it\u2019s coming along.)<\/p>\n

Next, brown the topside in any of three different ways: by broiling it close to the broiling element for 5-6 minutes; flipping the hash over in broken sections and cooking the new sides for 8-10 minutes; or (this is the most difficult but can be the most attractive) placing a large plate over the hash in the skillet, flipping over both the skillet and plate together, then sliding the less-cooked side of the hash from the plate back into the skillet and cooking that side for 8-10 minutes.<\/p>\n

Garnish with chopped flat-leaf parsley and serve with plenty of ground pepper and hot sauce or ketchup. Poached eggs are a traditional topping, but any soft-cooked eggs work well too.<\/p>\n

R<\/em>each Bill St John at billstjohn@gmail.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most of us learn to cook by first watching other people do it. Perhaps you\u2019re a son whose mom made blue-ribbon pies, or a daughter with a dad who slung pizzas at his own father\u2019s pizza parlor. Or anyone, anywhere, who once asked someone cooking over their stove, \u201cSo, how much salt did you just […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2197,"featured_media":64719,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[4799,2366,9187,4415],"class_list":["post-64714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthy-living","tag-bill-st-john","tag-healthy-recipes","tag-readysetco","tag-recipes"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTips for cooking at home from a restaurant reviewer - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here are tips for cooking at home that I've learned reviewing restaurants. Use the best ingredients you can find and make simple recipes.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What restaurant reviewing taught me about cooking at home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here are tips for cooking at home that I've learned reviewing restaurants. Use the best ingredients you can find and make simple recipes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UCHealth Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-05T19:59:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-07T18:24:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/07\/05103824\/Mushroom-burger-tiny.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bill St. John, for UCHealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bill St. John, for UCHealth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Bill St. John, for UCHealth\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6fab47ae1c5b24834f25747358a6c8e3\"},\"headline\":\"What restaurant reviewing taught me about cooking at home\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-05T19:59:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-07T18:24:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1291,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/05103824\\\/Mushroom-burger-tiny.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Bill St. John\",\"Healthy recipes\",\"Ready. Set. CO\",\"Recipes\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Healthy living\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tips for cooking at home from a restaurant reviewer - UCHealth Today\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/05103824\\\/Mushroom-burger-tiny.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-05T19:59:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-07T18:24:51+00:00\",\"description\":\"Here are tips for cooking at home that I've learned reviewing restaurants. Use the best ingredients you can find and make simple recipes.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/05103824\\\/Mushroom-burger-tiny.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/05103824\\\/Mushroom-burger-tiny.webp\",\"width\":600,\"height\":450,\"caption\":\"Reviewing restaurants has given Bill St. John a lot of tips for cooking at home. Use them as you try his portabella burger recipes.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What restaurant reviewing taught me about cooking at home\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\",\"name\":\"UCHealth Today\",\"description\":\"UCHealth Today\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"UCHealth\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/24135149\\\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/24135149\\\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"UCHealth\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/uchealthorg\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/uchealth\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/uchealth\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/school\\\/14839\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/uchealthorg\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UC41SJI79yjZIe96OajzN22g\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6fab47ae1c5b24834f25747358a6c8e3\",\"name\":\"Bill St. John, for UCHealth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f15541c88f3b19e0ec84fd2afc4e2b6d17fe91bf648ceaedbee9f1f59d1cda08?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f15541c88f3b19e0ec84fd2afc4e2b6d17fe91bf648ceaedbee9f1f59d1cda08?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f15541c88f3b19e0ec84fd2afc4e2b6d17fe91bf648ceaedbee9f1f59d1cda08?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Bill St. John, for UCHealth\"},\"description\":\"For more than 40 years, Bill St. John\u2019s specialties have been as varied as they are cultured. He writes and teaches about restaurants, wine, food & wine, the history of the cuisines of several countries (France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and the USA), about religion and its nexus with food, culture, history, or philosophy, and on books, travel, food writing, op-ed, and language. Bill has lent (and lends) his subject matter expertise to such outlets as The Rocky Mountain News, The Denver Post, The Chicago Tribune, 5280 Magazine, and for various entities such as food markets, wine shops, schools & hospitals, and, for its brief life, Microsoft\u2019s sidewalk.com. In 2001 he was nominated for a James Beard Award in Journalism for his 12 years of writing for Wine & Spirits Magazine. Bill's experience also includes teaching at Regis University and the University of Chicago and in classrooms of his own devising; working as on-air talent with Denver's KCNC-TV, where he scripted and presented a travel & lifestyle program called \\\"Wine at 45\\\"; a one-week stint as a Trappist monk; and offering his shoulder as a headrest for Julia Child for 20 minutes. Bill has also visited 54 countries, 42 of the United States, and all 10 Canadian provinces.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/author\\\/bstjohn\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tips for cooking at home from a restaurant reviewer - UCHealth Today","description":"Here are tips for cooking at home that I've learned reviewing restaurants. Use the best ingredients you can find and make simple recipes.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What restaurant reviewing taught me about cooking at home","og_description":"Here are tips for cooking at home that I've learned reviewing restaurants. Use the best ingredients you can find and make simple recipes.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\/","og_site_name":"UCHealth Today","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/","article_published_time":"2022-07-05T19:59:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-07T18:24:51+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/07\/05103824\/Mushroom-burger-tiny.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Bill St. John, for UCHealth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@uchealth","twitter_site":"@uchealth","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Bill St. John, for UCHealth","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\/"},"author":{"name":"Bill St. John, for UCHealth","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/person\/6fab47ae1c5b24834f25747358a6c8e3"},"headline":"What restaurant reviewing taught me about cooking at home","datePublished":"2022-07-05T19:59:43+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-07T18:24:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\/"},"wordCount":1291,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/07\/05103824\/Mushroom-burger-tiny.webp","keywords":["Bill St. John","Healthy recipes","Ready. Set. CO","Recipes"],"articleSection":["Healthy living"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\/","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\/","name":"Tips for cooking at home from a restaurant reviewer - UCHealth Today","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/07\/05103824\/Mushroom-burger-tiny.webp","datePublished":"2022-07-05T19:59:43+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-07T18:24:51+00:00","description":"Here are tips for cooking at home that I've learned reviewing restaurants. Use the best ingredients you can find and make simple recipes.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/07\/05103824\/Mushroom-burger-tiny.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/07\/05103824\/Mushroom-burger-tiny.webp","width":600,"height":450,"caption":"Reviewing restaurants has given Bill St. John a lot of tips for cooking at home. Use them as you try his portabella burger recipes."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/tips-for-cooking-at-home-from-resturant-food-critic\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What restaurant reviewing taught me about cooking at home"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/","name":"UCHealth Today","description":"UCHealth Today","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization","name":"UCHealth","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/24135149\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/24135149\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"UCHealth"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/","https:\/\/x.com\/uchealth","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/uchealth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/14839\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/uchealthorg\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC41SJI79yjZIe96OajzN22g"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/person\/6fab47ae1c5b24834f25747358a6c8e3","name":"Bill St. John, for UCHealth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f15541c88f3b19e0ec84fd2afc4e2b6d17fe91bf648ceaedbee9f1f59d1cda08?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f15541c88f3b19e0ec84fd2afc4e2b6d17fe91bf648ceaedbee9f1f59d1cda08?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f15541c88f3b19e0ec84fd2afc4e2b6d17fe91bf648ceaedbee9f1f59d1cda08?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Bill St. John, for UCHealth"},"description":"For more than 40 years, Bill St. John\u2019s specialties have been as varied as they are cultured. He writes and teaches about restaurants, wine, food & wine, the history of the cuisines of several countries (France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and the USA), about religion and its nexus with food, culture, history, or philosophy, and on books, travel, food writing, op-ed, and language. Bill has lent (and lends) his subject matter expertise to such outlets as The Rocky Mountain News, The Denver Post, The Chicago Tribune, 5280 Magazine, and for various entities such as food markets, wine shops, schools & hospitals, and, for its brief life, Microsoft\u2019s sidewalk.com. In 2001 he was nominated for a James Beard Award in Journalism for his 12 years of writing for Wine & Spirits Magazine. Bill's experience also includes teaching at Regis University and the University of Chicago and in classrooms of his own devising; working as on-air talent with Denver's KCNC-TV, where he scripted and presented a travel & lifestyle program called \"Wine at 45\"; a one-week stint as a Trappist monk; and offering his shoulder as a headrest for Julia Child for 20 minutes. Bill has also visited 54 countries, 42 of the United States, and all 10 Canadian provinces.","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/author\/bstjohn\/"}]}},"coauthors":[{"id":2197,"name":"Bill St. John, for UCHealth","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/author\/bstjohn\/"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2197"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64714"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64739,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64714\/revisions\/64739"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}