Have you ever thought you’d like to try cooking an Indian dish but the thought of sourcing all the ingredients stopped you? The recipe may call for spices that you don’t normally keep in your cupboard – turmeric, cumin seeds, coriander – and if you don’t cook Indian dishes a lot, those spices may get old and you end up throwing them out, wasting the spices and the money you paid for them.

That’s why I’m excited about this edition of Scott’s Kitchen. Tabla, the fine Indian restaurant in Orlando and Winter Park, is offering a meal kit with most of the ingredients you need to make its chicken curry, including the chicken, as well as basmati rice pulao to go with it. It’s all portioned out (you’ll still need to measure as you cook) so there’s no waste.

Each Curry Chicken with Rice Pulao meal kit serves three to four people and costs just $30.

Even better, 100 percent will go to Cooking for Cause, a charity founded by Shivi and Sahil Jain, whose parents own Tabla. The Jains have chosen Ekal Vidyalaya, an organization that brings education to rural India, to receive the proceeds from the sale of the meal kits.

And Tabla’s chef Sajan Prem will guide you through the process of cooking both dishes in the video below.

Meal kits must be ordered in advance through Tabla’s Resy page.

The recipes are below. Look them over, watch the video, then order your meal kit from Tabla and cook yourself something delicious knowing you’re also Cooking for Cause.

In this episode, chef and cookbook author Hari Pulapaka shows me how to make bhindi masala, a popular okra dish from India.

It’s a recipe from Pulapaka’s upcoming book, Dreaming In Spice, a Sinfully Vegetarian Odyssey.

Many of the ingredients may be found in your favorite grocery store, but you may need to go to an Indian specialty store, such as Spice House in Longwood, for the curry leaves. (They keep the curry leaves behind the checkout counter, for some reason.)

Watch the video then read Pulapaka’s recipe below. And make the naan, too, it really adds to the enjoyment.

Here’s the excerpt from Pulapaka’s book:

One of the more popular dishes at Delaney’s Tavern is the Chilean Sea Bass. In this episode of Scott’s Kitchen, executive chef Anthony Albino demonstrates how it’s done. And then Scott tries his hand at it.

You can give it a try, too. Watch the video, read the recipe and get cooking.

In this episode of Scott’s Kitchen, Bruno Vrignon, executive chef at Epcot’s Chefs de France, walks Scott through the preparation of a classic steak tartare.

If you like a lot of chopping, this recipe is for you. Watch the video, then sharpen your knife and get chopping.

In this episode of Scott’s Kitchen, chef Jason Wolfe of Tornatore’s Cafe & Pizzeria in College Park walks Scott through the process of making the fan-favorite dish Rigatoni alla Vodka, complete with death-defying flambé.

(If you don’t have a gas stovetop, you can flambé the vodka using a long-handled butane lighter.)

Watch the video, then give the recipe a try.

Welcome to our new feature: Scott’s Kitchen. Here we’ll cook chef recipes, talk about cooking techniques, and maybe whip up some cocktails.

Today, chef Austen Suchanek of Stefano’s Trattoria in Winter Springs shares the recipe for the popular Tortellini di Stefano.

I chatted with Suchanek via Zoom and she walked me through the recipe. She also shared the recipe for the meat sauce that is used to prepare the tortellini.

Suchanek says you can find cheese tortellini in the fresh pasta section at the grocery store. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of making the meat sauce, you can find that in the pasta sauce aisle.

Here are the recipes:

In this episode of the Tasting Table, a collaboration with WFTV Channel-9 and Inside Central Florida, I discuss takeout from my own dining room table. I have some tips for what I look for in a takeout experience, and a few recommendations from some recent meals.

In this episode of Tasting Table, in collaboration with WFTV-Channel 9 and icFlorida, we visit Toledo, the Spanish style restaurant on the top floor of the Gran Torino Tower at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. For more Tasting TAble videos, download the WFTV Now app for Apple TV, Roku and other streaming devices. 

In this episode of On the House, bartender Ashley Hutagalung demonstrates how to make a Proper Pineapple, one of the signature cocktails at American Social. Watch the video, give it a try, then stop by AmSo and have a proper Proper Pineapple.

American Social is big on its happy hour, which runs from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday with $4, $5 and $6 drink specials and and great deals on shareable plates.

American Social is at 7335 W. Sand Lake Road, Orlando.

Gin is really big in Ireland right now, maybe even more so than whiskey. In this episode of On the House, Alan Delahunt of Raglan Road Irish Pub at Disney Springs demonstrates how to make PJ’s Poison, a signature gin cocktail at the popular restaurant.

Watch the video below, then grab the ingredients and give it a try. Sláinte.