Baking Pans: Size Matters

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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

We’ve all been there. A recipe calls for a square pan but all you have is a 9×13. “I’ll just decrease the baking time and it’ll be fine.” Come on, you know you’ve said it. I hate to break it to you (and to myself),size matters but actually, the pan isn’t just a suggestion. In baking, the best tip I can offer to you is to follow the recipe exactly. Cooking is different because you can play around with measurements and get creative but baking is more like a science and even the pan size makes a difference.Continue Reading

Be the Belle of the (BBQ) Ball

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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

Memorial Day Weekend has come and gone which means it’s officially summer, right? Well it is in my book anyway. Over the Bell of the BBQ Ballweekend across the country, grills were sparked up for their kickoff barbeque, beaches opened to the public, and we went ham on burgers, hot dogs, and pasta salad. Ready or not, grilling season is here. It’s amazing how much better a burger tastes when it comes off a piping hot grill, don’t you think? But it seems that less and less people are kicking it old school with charcoal these days and it’s a shame. Some people may consider charcoal grills to be too high maintenance but I think they’re great. Plus, there are some major benefits to using charcoal compared to gas and so if you’re not on board yet, you may think again after today’s post.Continue Reading

How to Make Mozzarella Cheese in 10 Easy Steps

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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

 

Yesterday was a really great day. Actually, this whole weekend was really great. On Saturday, Matt and I explored downtown Tampa and Oktoberfest and then how to make mozzarella cheeseyesterday, with football games on the TV in the background, we attempted to recreate his mom’s famous meatballs and sauce so we could enjoy meatball subs for dinner. While the kitchen smelled out of this world amazing all day long, I am sad (but not surprised) to say that our attempt to match Mama B’s recipe fell short. The meatballs were still tasty and the sauce was still delicious, but it just wasn’t the same. Hers are just too good to match! However, we also made our first ever batch of homemade mozzarella cheese and THAT was a big win. I immediately knew I had to share the process with you all and I can officially say that if you have the time (about an hour) and the resources, that you should definitely try this one at home. So, the question of the hour is, “How do you make mozzarella cheese?”Continue Reading

2015 Fancy Food Show Highlights

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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

I remember being a young teen (maybe 13 or 14-years-old) and being thrilled when my dad invited me to the Food Show at the Javits Center in New York City. I got to wear a badge and wander the massive space wide eyed and bushy tailed as my love of the food industry really started to come alive. I’ll admit, I’ve only gone that one time, but I’ll Fancy Food Show Recapnever forget it. This year, though I was bummed I couldn’t accompany him myself, my dad scoped out the food show with the McKinney and Doyle bakery manager, Vicki, and a couple members of her amazing staff, Amanda and Sarah and everybody had an amazing time. For those who don’t know, the Fancy Food Show brings together some of the world’s leaders in the food and beverage industry and gives them the chance to showcase their latest and greatest. This year, thousands of vendors took over the Javits Center in NYC for three days at the end of June. I know I’m not the only one who wasn’t able to attend so I thought today would be a good day to go over some highlights.

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