Be A Better Cook

Fast and Easy Tortellini w Prosciutto and Peas

2024-12-20T14:37:00.000-06:00

This is a great, fast and simple dish for busy holiday times when you just need a quick meal. As well, it scales up easily if you need to cook for a larger crowd.

Prosciutto notes:

Have it sliced thicker than normal for prosciutto. At my grocery store I had them slice on the #1 setting
Use the least expensive prosciutto available, since it will be cooked
When cutting crosswise, some strips will break apart, others stay intact. This doesn’t matter at all, in fact, it’s a feature.

Put on a large pot of salted water to boil

1/3 lb prosciutto, cut crosswise into 1/2” strips

2 shallots, thinly sliced

1 T olive oil

Sauté over med-high heat until prosciutto is almost crispy
Season with salt and generous fresh black pepper

1/2 C chicken stock

1 C green peas, slightly thawed if using frozen

Raise hear to high, add and stir one minute
Lower heat to low

24 oz fresh tortellini

Boil for 50% of recommended cooking time
Taste, and if not close to being done continue to boil for one minute.
Reserve 1/4 C cooking liquid
Drain and add to prosciutto and pea mixture

Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Some notes on chicken stock:

When you make your own chicken stock, be sure to freeze some of it in 1 cup or 1/2 cup containers. You can then partially defrost a container, pour out about half of it for a purpose like this dish and return the undefrosted portion to the freezer.
When using store-bought stock, keep in mind that the ‘standard’ box container is 4 cups. A lot of dishes can for 2 or 3 cups of stock. Store the remaining in the fridge for a few days for freeze it. Then you’ll have a small portion of stock available for dishes like this.

Shoemaker’s Chicken - a Fall Classic

2024-11-16T11:31:00.002-06:00

Chicken Scarpariello is the real name of this wonderful Italian-American classic, also known as Shoemaker’s Chicken. It’s a terrific blend of sweet peppers and onion, the supporting cast for semi-braised chicken and Italian sausages. While there are some slightly spicy peppers in this version, there is no true ‘spiciness’. Rather, there is a piquancy, a tartness, due to a disproportionate amount of red wine vinegar that blends with white wine and stock to create the delicious sauce.

This recipe is based heavily on the version served at Rao’s, the famous Harlem restaurant that opened in 1896. Besides their food, they’re quite famous for having only eight tables and no possibility of a reservation. So the place is filled with regulars who essentially ‘own’ their given table on their given night, along with celebrities who fill in as permitted by the head of the original owning family.

If you have a serious desire for Rao’s, and haven’t run across their pastas and sauces in a grocery store (they really are quite good), then you can get a chance at the Los Angeles outpost they opened about 10 years ago. Not quite the same thing, but I’ll bet the food is quite good - someday I’ll find out.

Rao’s Chicken Scarpariello - “Shoemakers Chicken”

2-3 small red potatoes, sliced

Parboiled to tender

—————

Preheat to 400 deg.

3 lbs bone in chicken, seasoned

2 T olive oil

Brown 5 min on each side
Remove

2 lbs Italian sausage

Sauté 3-4 min (undercooked)
Remove and slice 1” pieces
Remove all but 2 T oil

2 large bell pepper, in strips

2 jalapeños, in strips

1 lg onion, sliced

1 t garlic

Sauté 5 min

—————

4-8 hot cherry peppers (in vinegar)

Sausage pieces

Potatoes

1/2 C chicken broth

1/2 C white wine

1/4+ C red wine vinegar

1 T dried oregano

S&P

Mix together in sauté pan
Spread on roasting pan
Add chicken atop
Roast up to 30 minutes, sauce thickened

Charlie Trotter’s Chicken Stock

2024-10-05T13:31:00.005-05:00

Every chef has their own slight variation of making chicken stock. This one from Charlie Trotter uses a very long cooking time and a very simple selection of vegetables and seasonings. So though the cooking time is long, the prep time is super short.

Also, making a half batch of this recipe can be done using the bones and carcass of a single chicken. So after roasting a chicken for dinner, save everything and that night or the next day make the stock. No saving up bones and planning involved.

I used this stock for two Charlie Trotter soups:

Ginger-Infused Egg Drop Soup with Chicken Thigh

Braised Leek Soup with Oyster Mushrooms

Charlie Trotter’s Chicken Stock

6 lbs chicken bones

3 C onion, chopped

2 C carrots, chopped

2 C celery. Chopped

1 C leeks

1 T white peppercorns

1 bay leaf

Cover 3/4 with water
Boil, then simmer 4 hours, skimming
Strain
Low heat 30-45 min until 2 qts, if necessary

From: Charlie Trotter Cooks at Home

Charlie Trotter’s Ginger Melon Soup with Citrus Granite

2024-09-22T15:08:00.000-05:00

This is a great recipe to test out your new Vitamix 5200. With only two ingredients in the soup, it seems like a no brainer. However, it’s important that you make the citrus granite (which is just a fancy word for ice). The soup, while flavorful, doesn’t stand up on its own. It’s too subtle.

There is a great documentary on Netflix about the groundbreaking work done by Charlie Trotter - titled “Love, Charlie”; it’s an important survey of how we went from fine dining meaning French to now meaning Fine Dining in America.

Ginger-Melon Soup

2 small or 1 large honeydew melon, flesh cut into 1-2’ chunks

1/4 C candied ginger, coarsely chopped (see note)

Purée in blender until smooth
Strain through a chinois / strainer / cheesecloth

Citrus Granite

1 grapefruit

2 oranges

2 lemons

1 lime

1/4 C simple syrup

Juice all the fruit into a metal 8x8 pan (or similar)
Freeze, scraping the surface with a fork every 10-15 minutes until completely frozen

Assembly

Place a scoop of granite in center of a shallow bowl
Carefully pour soup around the granite
Garnish with mint or citrus zest if desired

Notes:

Add a 1/4 C water to the melon if it doesn’t blend right away
Use 2 T of preserved ginger if you can’t find candied ginger. Mix 1/4 C of julienned ginger into 1/2 C water and 1/2 C sugar. Simmer 10 minutes. Drain and repeat 2 more times with refreshed water and sugar.

Adapted from: Charlie Trotter Cooks at Home

VitamIx 5200 - the best kitchen tool I’ve gotten in the past 10 years

2024-09-21T18:02:00.000-05:00

One of my 4 pillars of good cooking is to invest in effective kitchen tools and to avoid kitchen gadgets.

Two years ago I bought a Vitamix 5200, and it is one seriously high performing kitchen tool.

When it comes to mid-sized appliances like stand mixers (KitchenAid) and food processors (Cuisinart) there are some well known, time tested clear cut choices. I had a classic Waring blender, which was the go-to blender choice for many decades.

I wasn’t overwhelmed with the Waring’s performance, but also having an effective stick blender and the fact that I don’t use a blender too often, I saw no need to invest in an expensive Vitamix. Boy did I miss the boat on that one.

The Vitamix came on to the home cooking scene about ten to fifteen years ago, when this professionally used kitchen machine was discovered by home cooks. The claim was massive power. Since I wasn’t a smoothie junkie and could get by with my existing blenders I didn’t give it much thought.

But then my wife and I did the Optavia diet (about 100 pounds combined loss, thank you Optavia). That diet included many flavored shake products and it was clear the Waring wasn’t up to the task. In order to better support the diet I splurged on the Vitamix.

What a revelation. Power is everything.

For shakes the Vitamix easily destroys ice cubes and the mix into a smooth, creamy, perfect consistency. I’ve since used it for soups and am shocked at how quickly and thoroughly it creates velvety, partly foamy consistencies. Here’s a recap of features and attributes:

Simple controls - nothing more than an on/off switch, a variable/fixed speed selector and a knob for varying the speeds.
You can fill this machine as much as you want - see the picture above - and it will reduce the entire container without having to open it up and remix / push down the ingredients.
The blades are not sharpened like a food processor’s but they somehow chop through solid ingredients and reduce to a very finely chopped size. Herbs, vegetable, any solid is reduced to a super fine, actually minuscule size. I still strain soups through a chinois, but could easily serve many soups unstrained.
Leaving the blender to run for just a few seconds after completely mixing ingredients will begin to introduce air into the mixture, creating a creamy, frothy texture.
There are many more sophisticated, and more expensive, models available than the 5200 - but this no frills machine should meet virtually every need a serious cook has.

Because of the power of this blender, I’m finding myself making more soups, especially chilled vegetable soups like this summer pea soup.

Overall, splurging on the Vitamix is the best $400 I’ve spent on a kitchen tool since I bought the $400 toaster. But that’s another product review. Too bad we don’t eat toast very often anymore.

Here’s a link to the Vitamix 5200 if you’re interested in purchasing one.

Gordon Ramsay’s Veal Stock

2024-09-07T13:51:00.003-05:00

This is a traditional brown veal stock, using bones roasted in high heat. Optionally, it can be reduced by half. Further reduction will result in a true Demi-glacé, which can be used in small amounts or combined with other liquid (wine, water) to create a stock of desired density.

Gordon Ramsay Veal Stock

3 lb veal bones

- Roast 1-1.5 hours until browned

- Meanwhile……

7 T olive oil

1 lg onion, peeled, chopped

2 lg carrots, peeled, chopped

1 celery, chopped

4-5 garlic, unpeeled

- Heat until lightly colored

1 T tomato paste

- Cook 2 more min high

3/4 C port

3/4 C Madeira

- Deglaze

- Boil to syrupy consistency

Bones

- Remove excess oil

- Add to pot

5 Qts cold water - to cover

- Bring to boil

- Skim

Bouquet garni (bay, parsley, thyme)

4 oz cremini mushrooms

- Add to pot

- Simmer up to 6 hours

- Remove from heat, rest

- Strain

- Season lightly

Optional - reduce by up to half

Store 4-5 days fridge, 3 month freezer

Adapted from: Gordon Ramsay Three Star Chef

Thomas Keller’s White Veal Stock

2024-09-07T13:47:00.003-05:00

This veal stock still has the gelatinous, velvety feel of a more traditional veal stock. But it is even more versatile, as it can be more easily substituted for chicken stock, and done so using almost same liquid measure. If needed, use a little less than called for and add water.

Thomas Keller White Veal Stock

2 lbs veal bones

- Bring to simmer over 1-1.5 hours, skimming

- Drain then rinse, no filmy feel

2 qts cold water

- Slowly simmer, skimming

1 C leek, 1” pieces

3/4 C onion, 1”

Sprig of parsley

Bay leaf

2 sprigs thyme

- Simmer 4 hours, skimming

- Turn of heat

- Rest 10 min

- Ladle through Chinois, don’t pour

- Discard bottom stock w impurities

- Ice bath

Store 1-2 days or freeze

Adapted from Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry Cookbook

Veal Stock // Chilled Pea Soup

2024-09-07T13:36:00.002-05:00

Veal stock is considered a magic ingredient that separates the enthusiastic home cook from the serious home cook. I agree. I’m not always cooking at a high level, so only make veal stock every few years. But when I do, and see it in the freezer it inspires me to undertake more advanced dishes.

But you don’t have to attempt something complicated to be advanced. I used a light veal stock recipe from my friend Thomas Keller (ok, I’ve only met him twice, but once he bought my dinner at Per Se). This light stock was perfect in a chilled pea soup, which is potentially a four-ingredient recipe.

You can make this soup straight up, or add herbs, shallot confit, roasted tomatoes, garlic chips,…..and exotic savory topping you care to. That can take it from wonderful to amazing, but is not required.

Here’s the recipe, which was inspired by Gordon Ramsay in his cookbook Maze.

Chilled Pea Soup

1 medium onion, sliced

Olive oil

- Heat oil and sauté onions for 8-10 minutes

1 C stock (veal or chicken)

1 C milk, half&half or cream

- Add and bring to a boil

1 lb fresh or high quality frozen peas

- Add to liquid and take off the hea

- When slightly cooled blend in batches

- Strain though a mesh strainer or chinois

- Season to taste with S&P

- Chill for an hour or more

Top with shallot confit, garlic chips, roasted tomato or herbs. Drizzle with olive oil

Magic Viniagrette

2024-08-20T10:14:00.001-05:00

This is an all purpose vinaigrette that I’ve used in many diverse dishes with such positive results that I called it “Magic Vinaigrette”.

Besides normal use on vegetables and salads it can be a gentle addition to a piece of plainly cooked seafood. It’s excellent as a marinade. And…..it’s magic!

Here’s the magic potion:

- It uses 50/50 olive oil and canola oil, which dilutes the olive oil to a more subtle flavor.

- Then it uses a 50/50 mix of white wine vinegar and sherry vinegar. High quality sherry vinegar is divine, but can be quite strong on its own. So again, subtlety is added by blending with the ww vinegar.

- The proportions are 4 parts oils to 1 part vinegars. It gets finished with an optional squeeze of lemon juice and S&P.

The ingredient selections are critical:

- A robust, high quality extra virgin olive oil is needed

- Use high quality Sherry vinegar from Spain. Mass-produced sherry vinegars from the grocery store are not really a good substitute, as they tend to have just the slightest flavor of sherry and are often harsh.

- Rather an ordinary white wine vinegar, I use rice wine vinegar from China. Pearl River Bridge products (including their great soy sauces) are beginning to show up in large US supermarkets over the past year or two.

The two vinegars themselves and the 50/50 split of the oils and vinegars are the magic.

Magic Vinaigrette

	Small	Regular	Large
Extra Virgin Olive oil	1/4 C	1/2 C	1 C
Canola oil	1/4 C	1/2 C	1 C
Spanish Sherry vinegar	1 T	2 T	1/4 C
Rice Wine vinegar	1 T	2 T	1/4 C
Lemon, juiced (optional)	1/2	1	2

Salt and Pepper to taste
Combine in a jar and shake well
Keeps 4 weeks or longer

Broccoli Salad for Your Labor Day Picnic

2022-09-01T23:32:00.001-05:00

As many of you know, I’ve been dealing with cancer for the past few years. Blogging fell low on my list. Many people have kindly asked that I share my advice, menus and recipes again. If you’re one of them - thank you. It’s meant a lot to me that you found this useful.

Sending my love, Tom

If you’re cooking this weekend this is a nice version of broccoli salad, because of its use of Asian flavors instead of the regular suburban mayo, ranch, bacon, etc.

Broccoli Salad

Dressing

½ cup raisins

½ red onion, finely sliced

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

4 tsp sugar

1 tsp Kosher salt

Ground black pepper

Combine and let rest for 10 min

3 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs sesame oil

Add to mixture and stir

Salad

1½ pounds broccoli, chopped into ½” pieces

1 apple, cut into ½” cubes

2 scallions, sliced

½ cup toasted almonds

1 cup red or green grapes, cut in half

Toss with dressing

Notes:

Include the broccoli stalks: cut into small, thin, bites sized pieces, excluding the toughest woody parts
If desired, blanch broccoli for less than 1 minute and cool in an ice bath
To toast almonds: roast at 300 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes

Adapted from New York Times Cooking subscribe here.

Bacon, Corn and Cheddar Gougeres (cheese puffs)

2012-12-18T12:03:00.002-06:00

This recipe has become a staple on our holiday and major
celebration menus. The kids love them A LOT - adults devour them too.

6 slices flavorful bacon (hickory smoked or applewood)
2 ears of fresh corn
1 cup water
1 stick butter (1/4 pound) - if unsalted, add 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups grated extra sharp Cheddar
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
2 tablespoons chopped chives

Cook bacon, cool, chop into very small inch pieces.
Scrape kernels from corn and sauté in a small amount of leftover bacon fat until slightly browned. For the best technique on cutting corn, see the article here,
Preheat over to 375 degrees.
In a large sauce pan combine water and butter, heat until butter melts.
Remove pan from heat and add flour, mix until thoroughly combined. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating each egg into the batter before adding the next. Helpful tip: use a fork to mix the egg into the batter. A whisk is too flexible and a wooden spoon doesn't incorporate the egg into the mixture fast enough.
Add bacon, cheeses, chives and a generous grinding of fresh black pepper.
Use two teaspoons to place small mounds of the mixture onto 2 baking pans lined with a silicon mats. The batter yields about 40 pieces.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until gougeres are lightly browned on the bottom and golden atop.

Alternately, you can put the batter into a gallon sized ziplock bag. The dough holds well for a day or two in the fridge. Snip a corner of the zip lock bag and squeeze batter out the tip, like a pastry bag.

Tips:

Use a fork for mixing the dough.
Use high quality, extra sharp cheddar. This recipe will be bland if you don't.
Use high quality Parmigiano. Same thing - it will be bland otherwise.
Frozen corn can be substituted for fresh with minimal loss of flavor.

Secret Ingredient for Turkey Soup

2012-11-26T08:53:00.005-06:00

Turkey Soup with Ancini de Pepe Pasta
Notice the stray tarragon leaf that escaped
from the bundle of herbs.

A few years ago I hit upon the idea to add some depth to historically bland day-after-Thanksgiving turkey soup. A generous dose of Spanish sherry added a nice undertone.

This year there was no sherry in the house, so Marsala wine was used. Terrific. It's worth going so far as to now call either of these a secret ingredient.

Here's a link to the original recipe: Leftover Turkey Soup.

These are some of the other choices / techniques which helped make this year's version a success:

Use chopped fresh fennel in addition to onion, celery and carrots.
All my rich stock was used up on Thanksgiving day, so this stock was make simply from simmering the turkey carcass for a few hours, then adding onion, celery and carrot for the last hour. Strain and reserve just the liquid.
About 2/3 cup of Marsala - more than original recipe calls for.
Ancini de pepe pasta - little balls the same size as peppercorns. Cook separately, and under cook by about two minutes from the suggested cooking time - about 6 minutes total for mine.
A bouquet garni of fresh tarragon and thyme - removed before serving.

A bouquet garni is simply a small bundle of herbs, tied together with kitchen twine, which allows one to remove the herbs easily. If dried spices or seeds are used, the ingredients can be put into small cheesecloth bags made especially for this purpose.

Gently Seasoned Lamb Burgers + Minty Cucumber Yogurt

2012-06-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it's too hot to cook outside. This weekend after a Saturday swim meet, followed by a late afternoon at the pool; then Sunday golf in 100+ heat index - there were not going to be burgers on the grill.

Yet most methods for indoor grilling / broiling are ineffective, or messy or both - accompanied by average or below average result, such as lack of that char that is the whole point of grilling.

So if you're committed to indoor cooking, and know it's going to be a little "softer", why not soften up the ingredients too.

Lamb burgers are not unusual, but typically are loaded up with herbs, spices and garlic, especially to match the intensiveness of high-heat grilling.

In this recipe, I soften up the burgers by using very few seasonings, and soften up the lamb by mixing 50/50 lamb and pork. THEN, we let the vegetables and Tzatziki (cucumber yogurt sauce) take over to set the cool, fresh tone.

I also like theo crispiness of grilled Chiabatta rolls. That adds back in a little of the traditional outdoor grilling style.

The burgers are on the very small side - which allows them to be cooked quickly in a ridged grill pan, get browned, but also not make an incredible indoor mess. Each burger was served on half a grilled Chiabatta rolled, cut diagonally into a triangle.

Gently Seasoned Lamb Burgers

4 crusty Chiabatta rolls
2-3 plum tomatoes
1 large cucumber
A few handfuls of mixed greens
1 pound ground lamb
1 pound ground pork
1.5 teaspoons garlic, very finely chopped
Juice of one lemon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Optional: Add one medjool date, finely chopped, for each patty, prior to cooking.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a ridged grill pan over medium high heat.
Slice Chiabatta rolls and grill cut side down until lightly browned. Flip and allow outside to be heated slightly - a few seconds or so is all. Cut rolls diagonally.
Slice tomatos, cucumbers and rinse greens.
Combine remaining ingredients to form 9 or 10 small balls. Gently press each ball into a small patty.
Over medium high heat, grill 4 or 5 patties at a time, up to 4 minutes per side. Reduce heat slightly once there is some good brown color on the patty.

Minty Cucumber Yogurt Sauce - Tzatziki

1/2 cup of cucumber, mostly peeled, cut into very small pieces
2/3 cup of plain greek yogurt
6-8 leaves of fresh mint, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
Juice of half a small lemon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients. If you have time, salt the cucumber pieces and let drain in a strainer for 20-30 minutes.

It's Not Too Late to Plant an Herb Garden

2012-04-24T12:04:00.000-05:00

The Only Shortcut To Becoming a Great Home Cook

I've published this article a couple times in the past - and continue to share it annually, since this is truly the singular best advice I can give anyone who has an even passing interest in cooking. .

There is only one shortcut to good cooking. It's fast. It's easy. It's inexpensive. Anyone can use this shortcut, even a child.

Use Fresh Herbs

You may say to yourself, "Of course that's true. I use fresh herbs whenever I cook nice or fancy." Or this might be news to you. You could also argue that fresh herbs are expensive and don't last long. Usually you only need a few sprigs and the rest goes to waste. So it's really just a way of buying your way to being a better cook.

In some sense this is right. A bag like this one costs $2.79 at my local store.

Yet, a plant like this costs $2.49 at a garden center and will last months, even if you just leave it in the original pot and water it once in a while. If you plant it in a garden, it may last for years. My main thyme plant is ten years old now.

And finally, an herb garden like this can support your kitchen for a decade, with only occassional replanting of perennials, and inexpensive plantings of annuals.

Here's what you need to know about fresh herbs:

Simply using fresh herbs where they are called for in a recipe will dramatically increase the flavor of a dish.
Using fresh herbs where dried are specified is typically done by increasing from teaspoon quantities to tablespoon quantities.
Buy potted herbs at a garden center - even if you only use them for cooking and never plant them. The small container plant will stay alive in your kitchen or on your back porch for months. And it will KEEP GROWING, funny how they do that. This way you won't continually replace expensive store bought herbs.
Plant an herb garden. In the south, rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram all survive the winter. Chives, parsley, mint and cilantro do well in pots all year. Some annuals (cilantro) need to avoid the extreme southern heat, but are ideal in a garden in the north. Basil does well everywhere in the warm seasons. A bay tree (which might start as a twig) in an attractive pot can be taken in during a northern winter. I haven't bought bay leaves for 10 years now. Herb gardens need little attention, as most herbs thrive in bad soil, so it's a very simple gardening proposition.

I promised you a shortcut, and now it sounds like you have to plant a garden. Not really. You can simply grab a package of fresh herbs from the store, or pick up a simple plant and use it tonight in the kitchen.

One of the best ways to use fresh herbs is on pasta. A mix of two or three finely chopped herbs, along with some olive oil, good Parmesan and salt and fresh ground pepper make a surprisingly sophisticated dish, with lots of flavor. Last night I used thyme, tarragon and mint. It was delicious.

2012 Herb Garden
Now includes sorrel (far left)
and Mexican tarragon (brownish at 1:00 position)
There's a whole lotta fresh oregano behind the rosemary plant,
back in the raised brick garden

Cooking Gift Sets: No, Says the Grinch

2011-12-20T19:00:00.000-06:00

[ Here's a popular article from last year's holiday postings. Tom ]

Who Hash Gift Set, $49.99.
Includes one can Who Hash produced by hash artisans
from rural Whoville and one inexpensive can opener.

I'm not a big fan of cooking gift sets. Especially Any Gift Set That Includes a Food Product. The quality of the food and gadgets is likely poor and the price likely high. In one catalog alone I saw gift sets for:

Paella
Pizza
Whoopie Pies
Donuts
Ebelskivers
Fondue
Cupcakes
Grilling with BBQ Rub
Moroccan Tagine
....and my favorite, the Himalayan Salt Block set

None really looked like a fair value to me. The sets included gadgets you probably wouldn't use, the quality looked questionable, prices high-ish. Bah.

Grinch with 3x larger heart.
No gift sets - just plates, knife, fork and roast beast.

Yet, in appreciating that the Grinch himself opened up to new possibilities and embraced the positives of Christmas in Whoville, I too, can open up with a positive ending to my Grinchy ramblings today.

Months ago you may have read my thoughts on the Kitchen Tools You Can't Live Without. It's a pretty short list of essentials that every good cook should have. Picking a few items from that list, and a few others we rely on, here's a very short list of favorite kitchen tools. Most are easily found even during last minute shopping, or might be worth exchanging for if there were some impractical cooking items in your stocking.

Moderately Priced SHARP Chef's Knife

Keeping a knife sharp is far more important that what you paid for it.

Oil Mister

Less expensive than Pam, better taste from your own choice of oil.

Flat edged wood spoons

How well does a rounded spoon scrape a pot / pan?

Stick Blender

Easy to clean up, replaces many blender and food processor tasks

Chinois

Better than a mesh strainer, a key for sauces, large capacity,

easy to clean, and can double as a regular strainer / colander.

Wow - those eggs must be good....

2011-12-05T18:14:00.001-06:00

...because I see that I just wrote an entire post without realizing that I had posted this separately about a month or so ago.

Eggs with Toasted Breadcrumbs and Herbs

2011-12-05T18:11:00.002-06:00

Here's a simple dish inspired by Judy Rodgers of the Zuni Cafe (in S.F.). Toasted breadcrumbs along with fried eggs seems like an obscure combination - until you've tried it. Then it will seem to be an obvious combination, and one you'll return to often. The gentle crunchiness of small breadcrumbs with fried eggs is surprising. I've also used crumbles of leftover grilled polenta in this dish.

Eggs with Toasted Breadcrumbs and Herbs

Coarsely grind a few slices of rustic bread. Alternately, use Japanese panko breadcrumbs. Reserve a few tablespoons of crumbs.
Add a few leaves of fresh herbs (thyme is great).
Heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil in a non-stick or stainless skillet. Add the bread crumbs.
Right after the crumbs begin to brown, break 2, 3 or 4 eggs into the skillet, sunny-side up style.
If you care to flip the eggs, sprinkle a the reserved crumbs over them first.
Top with an herb sprig, or a thin slice of crispy pancetta or bacon.

4 Ingredients: White Beans.....a versatile addition to salads and main dishes

2011-10-22T16:42:00.002-05:00

I get a little jazzed up about good beans. Think about a semi-fancy salad that has had small white beans sprinkled over the top. Or an Italian appetizer of white beans with garlic, olive oil and herbs (with maybe with a little pancetta or prscioutto). A hearty French stew or cassoulet.

But I also think of bean cooking as a total hassle. Soaking overnight, rinsing, etc. ending up with mush. So sometimes I've resorted to a can of 'high quality' imported white beans. Well, that's not too great a solution either.

Here's what might work best - soak dried beans for 'a while', then cook them with some aromatics until they taste right. The longer you soak the shorter the cooking. Big beans take longer too. Keeping it that simple, and not obsessing about cooking times and procedures should help make bean cooking less intimidating.

Using the beans with monkfish and shrimp creates a pretty enjoyable result.

Braised Monkfish and Shrimp with Fennel, Tomato and White Beans

White Beans

1 cup dried white beans
1 carrot
1 small onion
1 bay leaf

Soak the beans in cold water overnight, or for a few hours. Put beans in a pot and cover with cold water.
Bring to a simmer, stir occasionally and cook for 30 minutes or up to two hours. Taste a few along the way, and as soon as they have a texture you like, take them off the heat and drain them.
Add a little olive oil, salt and pepper.

Serving suggestions:

- Toss with olive oil, drained flaky tuna, chopped herbs and chopped hardboiled eggs.

- Serve as an accompaniment to most any soup

- Mash a few tablespoons with fork, add garlic, herbs and spread on a cracker

- Use as a replacement for rice

Four Ingredients: Fried Eggs, Bread Crumbs and Herbs

2011-10-09T22:00:00.001-05:00

These pictures are even in the ballpark for how good this tastes - just try it some weekend morning when you've got a slice of high quality bread lying around. I’ve used leftover grilled polenta as well, but big fresh bread crumbs are better than the polenta.

Pulse a piece of rustic bread in a food processor or blender to make coarse bread crumbs.
Cook bread crumbs over med-high heat in oil or butter to toast. Reserve a few on the side.
Add two eggs. If you want to, flip them with a spatula after 2 minutes. Or do the sunny side up thing.
Sprinkle some chopped fresh herbs atop. Top with reserved crumbs.
Further, top with a slice of crispy pancetta, if that happens to be lying around your kitchen too. Bacon or bacon crumbles would be good. But frankly, the egg, crumbs and herbs don't need the pig.

This dish was inspired by Judy Rodgers, Zuni Cafe.

Four Ingredient Dishes

2011-09-17T10:31:00.001-05:00

Quick and Easy Dishes in 10 Minutes
68 Fresh and Healthy Recipes
Dinner for 4 for $10
30 Minute Meals

--- > Link to a cranky review of Cooking Light magazine
--- > Link re: how long it takes to make a 30 minute meal, and why. Semi-cranky review of Rachel Ray

These lines are the stuff of popular cooking magazines and TV shows. They make me think of a line from a literary journal (sort of) called McSweeney's. "Print submissions cannot be less than one word, and cannot be over 100,000 words, unless there is a compelling reason to have them longer or shorter, in which case you can do as you wish." Not sure that has much to do with Four Ingredient Dishes or cooking magazine headlines, but it is funny.

Anyway.

For decades Gourmet Magazine tried to publish really quick recipes that used only a few ingredients. Rarely did they work well, because they were too.....stripped down. No layers of flavor. Certainly a high quality ingredient here or there made a dish spectacular. But somehow I never thought they pulled it off on a regular basis.

The popular cooking magazines are worse because they promise so much, then deliver even less than what Gourmet tried to do. Jarred and pre-packaged ingredients, accessible but expensive produce (e.g., sugar snap peas), ill-conceived and ill-composed recipes.....I could go on an on. And I did. Follow the link to the article above.

A New Era of 4 Ingredient Dishes

Funny, though, during the last generation of chef and restaurant evolution, there have been major movements toward simple, high quality cooking that focuses on great ingredients, new pairings and even new techniques. This has resulted in a body of work, sprinkled here and there, that includes a number of excellent recipes / dishes / approaches that use few ingredients yet produce exceptional results.

For example - earlier today we had Fried Eggs with Toasted Breadcrumbs, as published by Judy Rodgers in the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. It might be a 2 ingredient dish - salt and olive oil can't really count. Nor do herbs and vinegar, which are optional.

Ingredients:

Bread
Eggs
Salt and olive oil
Fresh herb(s) - optional
Vinegar - optional.

The approach is to create a few tablespoons of breadcrumbs from a semi-fresh loaf of rustic / hearty bread (which also can be made with four ingredients - see this article from my other blog). Toss the crumbs in olive oil, heat in a pan until just starting to brown. Add a little more olive oil and crack a couple eggs into the pan. That's it. Optionally, flip the eggs for over-easy (adding a few breadcrumbs to the uncooked side before you flip). If you've got 'em, throw a few fresh herbs in at some point. Splash a little balsamic or sherry vinegar in the pan after removing the eggs, swirl it and immediately drizzle. Even better.

I just got this cookbook and am impressed. It's as much a cooking instruction book as it is filled with great recipes. I'm looking forward to working through it and will share a detailed review someday for you all.

First dish I made based on ZCC was Fish Fillets with Romesco Sauce and Asparagus. Excellent, Romesco was complex but time intensive.

Homemade Oriental Chicken Ramen Noodles

2011-08-28T22:12:00.001-05:00

If you get a chance, pick up a copy of the new quarterly food / cooking publication called Lucky Peach. It's published by a really innovative literary / cutting edge group called McSweeney's. The cooking mind behind it is David Chang, who I always want to call Michael Chang, the tennis player. Chang has been the hottest young star-chef / restaurateur of the last few years.

A warning - the magazine is esoteric, at times raunchy, highly entertaining, informative, creative and geared primarily to high end cooking. BUT, there are a few really approachable recipes that anyone could tackle. Oh, did I mention the art? No. The journal is creative and aesthetically brilliant in several dimensions.

Anyway, you can find it most easily online. McSweeney's Lucky Peach.

The first issue is focused on Ramen, the real thing from Japan, not our $0.11 packages. And eggs. Why eggs? No clue. But hey - they're the publishers, they can do what they want.

As my readers, you know that I won't publish recipes directly from other's sources. But I will share the concept of this recipe, which Chang really presents as chicken soup (with noodles), not as ramen. However, the Asian flavors make it ramen-like (especially to closet packaged ramen lovers).

Create a three ingredient chicken stock - water, chicken, salt - simmered (not boiled) for an hour or a little more. The simmer concept is a simple yet critical technique. Remove the chicken and cool.
In parallel, create a concentrated vegetable stock (called a nage) using Asian ingredients: onion, kombu (a seaweed), ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, garlic, shallots, scallions.
I substituted leeks for onion, which added further subtlety.
Combine the stock and nage. Add cooked noodles and chunks of chicken.

The subtle Asian seasonings were sublime.

Two Skewers for Grilled Swordfish

2011-08-08T21:47:00.000-05:00

Mark Bittman published a little e-book called "What I Grill and Why". It's only available on Kindle, but if you have a Kindle it's worth far more than the 99 cents it's selling for at the moment.

The best thing I discovered in it was his technique for using two skewers to better grill chunks of fish. A single skewer allows a line of fish pieces to individually stick to a grill grate, then spin around the skewer when trying to remove it. Two skewers allows for a more unified solid 'rack' of fish pieces, which can better be released from the grill.

AWESOME idea. It will work for most firm-fleshed fish.

Bittman provides a recipe that marinates swordfish chunks in lime juice, sesame oil, soy sauce, cilantro and Tabasco. I used a sprinkling of red pepper flakes instead of cilantro. With freshly caught swordfish from the gulf, it was wonderful.

Sichuan Style Grilled Salmon and Cracklin's

2011-08-01T14:25:00.000-05:00

There's a common Sichuanese technique used for braising or roasting whole fish in which scallions, garlic, ginger and herbs are placed into large slits cut into the sides of the fish. But most everyday cooks are intimidated by cooking whole fish.

A great variation of the whole-fish, slit-flavoring concept is offered in Jamie Oliver's book and TV series "Jamie At Home".

He cut slits into the flesh side of salmon fillets and stuffs them with fennel fronds. Drizzle both sides with olive oil, salt and pepper, then grill.

For my Sichuanese version I used scallion, garlic, ginger, cilantro, and drizzled with a light mixture of soy sauce, Xiao Xing rice wine, and sichuan peppercorn oil. If you don't have access to Chinese markets, you can substitute sherry and hot-sesame oil for the last two ingredients.

Over high heat, grill whole fillets skin side down for about three minutes. A careful flip and few minutes of grilling on the other side and you're done.

Almost.

As the skin side was grilling it should have gotten charred a bit. Carefully, with a sharp knife, you can begin to peel off the skin while the other side of the filet is cooking. In the picture above, I've just begun to peel it back. Don't worry if it breaks into more than one piece.

Once the whole skin is off it's probably time to remove the filet from the grill. Now take the skin and put the non-charred side over the hottest part of the grill to crisp it up. This may take up to 4-5 minutes, and you should turn the skin to ensure both sides are cooked to a crispy texture.

I'll admit it doesn't look too pretty at this stage. But I dare you to make it from the grill to the kitchen without tasting the craklin' and then having one more immediately.

You can break the craklin's up and sprinkle them over the whole salmon filet, or serve individual salmon portions with a nice size chunk of cracklin'.

Not the clearest picture, especially of the craklin'
between the pasta and salmon -
but it's best of the bunch from a smile perspective.

It's Too Hot To Cook Outside

2011-07-21T23:00:00.000-05:00

Houston temps have been hovering in the high 90's for months, with 'feels like' temps over 100. For months! Most quick trips to the grill result in a shower and fresh shirt - even if you're cooking just one quick item, such as the huge slab of salmon stuffed with fennel we cooked last night.

Indoor versions of summery foods can be accomplished under a broiler when your patio seems like a sauna. My method for roasting red, yellow or orange peppers in large strips under a broiler is easier than the time consuming process of roasting and turning a whole pepper on a burner or grill. Of course the technique works on an outdoor grill too.

The indoor dishes we've enjoyed lately all rely on the chopping, carmelizing and roasting techniques that I've described over the last few weeks.

Sweet and Sour Roasted Pepper Strips with Sesame Oil. This dish is nothing more than roasted peppers with 1/2 a teaspoon each of sugar and rice wine vinegar, with a pinch of salt and a couple drops of sesame oil.

Roasted Corn, Edamame and Tomato Salad with Mint and Basil

Italian Sausage, Roasted Peppers and Carmelized Onions - though hearty, this dish is GREAT at room temperature.

To my friends in NY, Chicago and DC who have been complaining about the heat.....In Houston our heat stays for 5 months and always has the humidity. But we do get to grill in December. And don't be makin' fun of me for staying inside sometimes.

Italian Sausage, Roasted Peppers and Carmelized Onions - from the Frankies

2011-07-21T22:23:00.002-05:00

This recipe was adapted from a great recipe by the Frankies, two guys from Brooklyn named Frank, from their book The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion and Cooking Manual. This cookbook is written to please any level cook. They share traditional Italian-American cooking (note: not Italy-Italian), supplemented by skills and techniques they developed as high-end chefs. They now deploy this talent at their two classy neighborhood-hangout restaurants in New York.

This recipe is incredible. Yet I've modified it a little, to further make it a more efficient everyday dish for a busy cook. I believe they serve this dish with polenta (as have I, but that's a different kettle of fish). I suggest pasta and a quick par-boil of the sausage.

Parboiling the sausage can can be done simultaneously with carmelizing onions and roasting peppers. Cooking pasta (or polenta if you're comfortable with that) can be done simultaneous to cooking tomatoes in the recently combined onion/pepper mixture. After a very quick soapy rinse the same pot gets used for pasta.

Note: There are only 4 ingredients in this dish + pasta (and olive oil, salt and pepper, which don't count). It's about technique and ingredient quality (the sausage and tomatoes).

Italian Sausage with Carmelized Onions and Roasted Peppers

8-10 Italian sausage links

3-4 red and yellow peppers

2 large onions

A 28 ounce can of San Marzano tomatoes

1 pound pasta, a large shape such as rigatoni

Perform these three steps in parallel with each other to the greatest extent you can. All can be done hours in advance (put the sausage in fridge).

Fill a pot big enough to cook a pound of pasta about halfway with water. Bring to a near-boil and cook 8 Italian sausage links for 10 minutes, then remove. Sausage will not be fully cooked.
Preheat a broiler (or grill). Slice red and yellow peppers (and green if you want) around the core into four large segments. Place skin-side up on a foil-lined pan and broil until skins are browned. Set aside to cool. Details on this technique are here.
Slice one or two large onions. In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil at medium high, add onions and cook for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 20 minutes more (30 minutes total). Details of this technique HERE.

Perform these two steps in parallel as best you can:

Remove casing from sausages and break apart. Add to carmelized onions. Cook over medium heat until sausage is slightly browned.
Peel skins off peppers when cool enough to handle.
Add peppers and a 28 ounce can of San Marzano tomatoes. Add salt and fresh ground pepper.Cook for a while. Five or ten minutes will do, a half hour or a little more is even better.
Cook pasta per package directions and drain. Fresh pasta (yet another fish kettle) would be absolutely over the top here. I actually have details on how to select and cook pasta....here.

Pasta into large serving bowl. Pepper, onion, sausage over pasta. Add grated Romano or Parmesan. Basil if you've got it.

The technique of cooking several ingredients separately is common in some super high end kitchens (think Thomas Keller) to allow each ingredient to be cooked to a desired done-ness and retain it's texture at a desired level. The opposite approach - creating a melthing pot of flavors, has is own distinct benefits. I like what happens in this dish - as it takes an immigrant classic and brings it up a level.