With our 24/7 conscious and unconscious thought commitment to food ideas, you would think that when we sit down to write the next set of exciting new dishes, it would be relatively easy. It is not.

When it comes to hors d’oeuvres, I want to avoid a tired cliché. When a client asks for scallops wrapped in bacon, I try to conceal any sign of a facial twitch.

Table bread is expensive and a good bit of it gets thrown away. Flour and yeast are ten times cheaper than quality bread. There are not many make vs. buy scenarios with a gap like that. But baking bread is cool, especially if you can do it well.

It turns out that keeping your coffee excellent, as opposed to just good, is very much like what we do as cooks—attention to detail is the key.

Joey Abitabilo, Executive Chef at Shelter Harbor GC in Charlestown, R.I., kicks off his “Pastiche” blog by detailing Executive Sous Chef Josh Scott’s process of creating a rich, consistent demi glace.