Another quick and easy dinner. This is another one of those dishes I grew up with. Mom would cook this up real quick, but she would use cut up strips of chuck steak. I decided to use skirt streak instead.

I am a member of FoodBuzz and they asked me to review and use Kikkoman’s new Ponzu sauce. Ponzu is a citrus based sauce that is often mixed with soy sauce and called Ponzu Shoyu. Here Kikkoman has brought their soy sauce and ponzu.

I marinated the skirt steak in some ponzu for about 15-30 minutes. Next I got some olive oil heated in a saute pan. I take the marinated steak out of the ponzu sauce and pat them dry with some towels. You want to pat them dry so they sear well. Don’t throw away the ponzu. I take an onion and slice them into rings and put them in the marinade. Meanwhile I cook the skirt steaks over medium high heat. Get some good color on them. When seared on both sides, add the marinade and the onions to the pan. Continue to cook and simmer for about 7-8 minutes.

Serve over rice!

A week or so ago I made another childhood dish, Chicken Adobo. I didn’t blog about it since the photos turned out so horribly – the taste, was a different story. I need to be on the quest to make Filipino food more pleasing to the eye. While making the adobo, I have to say that the tastes and smells brought me back to the old kitchen in the house I grew up in. I, personally hadn’t made chicken adobo for probably over 15 years. My mom actually cooked it at least once a week when I was growing up.

The technique is simple (braising) and it gets better the next day. The ingredients are simple, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves. Tonight I decided to change the protien out and use pork. I really wanted to do pork ribs, but didn’t find any that I liked at Fresh N Easy. So I did bone-in pork chops instead. I had to braise it a bit longer than chicken and I found that there is this magic moment when the meat starts to fall off the bone and be the most tender meat. Served over fresh rice, it sure is a pleaser.

INGREDIENTS

6 skin-on bone in chicken thighs/1 rack of pork ribs
3/4 cup Kikkoman Lite Soy sauce
3/4 cup White vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons whole peppercorns
1 whole head garlic, peeled
3 bay leaves, cracked in half

DIRECTIONS

1. Take the garlic cloves and give them a good smash, but keep them whole. Add your protien (chicken or pork) and place into your pot.

2. For chicken, bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook, covered, for 30 minutes covered. Then uncover and continue cooking until the chicken is tender and the liquid has reduced some. Turn the pieces from time to time. You’ll know its ready when the meat starts to fall off the bone.

2a. For pork, same instructions as the chicken but you’ll have to braise a bit longer as the meat is more tough than chicken. I had to do mine for over an hour – keep the lid closed. There will be a moment when the meat is tender and falls off the bone. Then take the lid off and allow liquid to reduce. Oh, if you’re buying a small rack of pork ribs, cut them down to two-three rib pieces when cooking.

3. Take off the heat and serve over fresh hot rice.

Add some sauce to the rice and enjoy!

Probably 9 out of 10 “special rolls” in most Sushi restaurants are a California Roll with some kind of topping and a squirt or two of special sauce. Some have salmon skin or fresh water eel (unagi) or avocado and fresh tuna. While eating my rolls today I found myself unimpressed. This roll smothered in sauce and spicy tuna has lost its appeal after the second piece.

I need to remember that when I go to a place that serves sushi, that it is the nigiri-sushi that I really enjoy. Here, tender pieces of fish on properly-seasoned pads of rice. This allows for the freshness of the fish to come thru. Nothing better. My top favorites tend to be:

1. Sake – salmon
2. Saba – spanish mackerel
3. Ebi – shrimp
4. Unagi – fresh water eel

Lately, however, I have lost my taste for tuna. Its odd, since I used to down piece after piece of tuna in the past.

I was talking with my friend and co-worker, Lisa Lohnes and we got into a discussion about clams and mussels which gave me the idea for tonight’s meal. This dish is soooo simple and soooo tasty! You can have this dish ready to eat in less than 15 minutes! Great quick meal for any day of the week!

Linguine with Clams
Serves 2

3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1 can of chopped clams with its juice
3/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley leaves
salt and pepper
1/2 pound linguine
2 Tablespoons cold butter

In a sauce pan large enough to hold everything, sauté the shallots and garlic in the olive oil – be careful not to burn the garlic.  Add the clams and its juice, the wine and half your parsley and cover and continue to simmer about 7-8 minutes. Use a white wine you would actually drink. Tonight I used a Chardonnay.

While that’s going on, cook the pasta according to package instructions. Use plenty of water and don’t forget to salt your water.

Check your clams sauce…add the two tablespoons of cold butter and whisk into the sauce

When your pasta is al dente, drain and toss with the clam sauce, add remaining parsley directly in your sauté pan and salt and pepper to taste.

I loved this dish.

I love Trader Joes. I love the fact that I can buy pizza dough ready to be rolled or puched out and place it in the oven. They key for a nice crust is a HOT oven. Oh…and invest in a pizza stone. You can find them anywhere these days. Set your oven to the maximum it will go in BAKE, don’t set it to BROIL. Give time for your pizza stone to heat up and absorb the heat. Meanwhile…

Take one package of Trader Joe’s pizza dough and remove it from the bag. I like to set mine out on the counter with some flour and give it some time to get to room temperature. Once at room temperature, roll it in some of the flour and section off a piece for a single size pizza.

I don’t like to roll mine out. I take it in my hands and slowly stretch and let gravity take a hold of it to stretch the dough. The dough is pretty resilient so don’t be afraid to pull. I get mine to an oval shape ouat 8 inches wide or so. Once you get the shape (it shouldn’t be perfect) make sure to lay it on some flour so it doesn’t stick. I then slide mine onto my pizza paddle. You will want to assemble your ingredients while its on your paddle. If you don’t have a paddle, any flat surface will do, just make sure you have enough flour on the bottom so it will slide off your surface.

My pizza was amazingly simple: pizza sauce, mozzerella, pepperoni and goat cheese. slide your pizza on the well heated stone.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until you see the edges have browned and the cheese is bubbly.

Yumm!!!

This was a dish I grew up with as a kid. Arroz (Rice) and Caldo (Hot) and always made with chicken. Very similar to other Asian porridges or Congee. My version is not as soupy as some Congee I have eaten. I have never made it as an adult, so this is my variation of a recipe I found on the internet. (My mom wasn’t available to ask…)

INGREDIENTS

1. 3 chicken thighs
2. 2 cups of medium grain rice (note not long grain rice)
3. 1.5 qt. of chicken stock (preferable stock you made, but canned is ok)
4. 7-8 quarter sized slices of ginger (peeled, sliced into “coins” then smashed)
5. 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
6. 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
7. 2 tablespoons fish sauce
8. 1/2 cup sliced shiitake caps (discard stems)
9. salt and pepper

GARNISH

1. green onions
2. Lime

DIRECTIONS

• In a large pot, heat some olive oil.
• Salt and pepper your thighs and brown the chicken on both sides, skin side first.
• When you flip over the chicken, add the chopped onion and let it sauté until the other side of the chicken browns.
• Add minced garlic, give a quick toss and add uncooked rice.
• Mix around the rice and add the fish sauce.
• Add ginger. Mix around and add 1 qt of chicken stock. Reserve the rest for later.
• Cover and bring to simmer.
• When it comes to a simmer bring your heat to medium and continue to stir well. Add your slicked shiitake mushrooms.
• Making sure rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of your pot.
• Continue to check the tenderness of the rice (much like risotto). If mixture is getting too thick, add your reserved stock a little at a time.
• When rice is cooked just right, pull your chicken thighs out and take rice off the heat.
• Shred the thighs with 2 forks. Discard the skin.
• Return the shredded chicken to the porridge. If it seems that the rice is too thick, add some of your reserved stock again and stir.
• Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
• Garnish with green onions and a lime slice.

ENJOY! Squeeze lime over rice before eating.

That’s right. Burger King is getting ready to setup a Whopper Bar in South Beach, Florida. Patrons will be able to grab a Whopper and American beer 24 hours a day in this new concept for the burger chain.

This isn’t their first venture however. They have been testing the idea in Venezuela, Singapore and Munich. In 2008 they opened a Whopper Bar at the Universal Orlando Resort, but I’m not sure if they served beer or not.

The bar will offer delivery for local patrons, a walk-up window and there will be on-site outdoor seating.

This was a concept drawing for a Whopper Bar that was released last year related to the opening of the Universal Orlando Resort location.

Orange County Restaurant Week – February 28 to March 6

Newport Beach Restaurant Week – January 22 to January 28

Los Angeles Restaurant Week(s) – January 24 to January 29; January 31 to February 5

San Diego Restaurant Week – January 17 to January 22

Take advantage of special lunch &  dinner menus and pricing during each event. The San Diego event has a contest this year to win a year’s worth of free dining (eat out every weekend). Los Angeles is offering a chance to win several $100 gift cards good at participating restaurants up there.

Shannon has been affiliated with the Back Bay Rugby Team in Newport Beach since 1997. They are having their annual Fundraiser and will be hosting a Silent Auction and Wine Tasting event. The event will be held at the South Coast Winery savoring the delights of the vineyard and enjoying some hors d’oeuvres.

Ten wines will be featured with 5 tastings and hors d’oeuvres.

When: Saturday, February 6th, 2010
Location: South Coast Winery, 3608 South Bristol Street in Santa Ana

Cost: $40 per Person
Time: 7 until 10 pm
Dress Code: Cocktail Attire

RSVP: Before January 23rd, 2010.
For tickets please contact Gina Bonnett, gbonnettbbrfc@yahoo.com

The picture doesn’t look to great since steamed salmon doesn’t look too great – but it sure tasted great! I steamed the salmon in a parchment pouch with:

Julienned Leeks
Baby Bok Choy
1 Tablespoon of Lite Soy Sauce
1/2 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
2 drops of Sesame Oil
Salt and Pepper

In a pre-heated 400 degree oven, place your pouch in the over for about 12 minutes. When done, removed from oven and tear open your package at the table!

Tonight the long awaited episode of Iron Chef  America featuring the secret ingredient of national importance. Iron Chefs Mario Batali and Bobby Flay were joined by Chef Emeril Lagasse and White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford.

It was nice to see Chef Lagasse on the Food Network again after his departure a year ago. However the highlight for me was getting to see Chef Cristeta Comerford in action. Chef Comerford has been the White House Executive Chef since 2005. She is a Filipina and that has been quite inspiring to me. Chef Comerford has the distinction of being the first woman to hold the post and the first Filipino appointed to this awesome position. However she has been working at the White House since 1995 when she was recruited by the then White House Chef Walter Schieb. When Chef Schieb resigned in 2005, First Lady Laura Bush appointed Chef Comerford to her current position.

The “super battle” followed normal Iron Chef style with the secret ingredient being anything that is in the White House garden. Earlier this year, First Lady Obama helped to place an 1,100 square foot planting area that has over 50 kinds of vegetables and fruits as well as honey. Yes, honey. The White House has it’s own bee farm and they harvest fresh honey from the bees. The bees also help with germination in the garden as well.

Iron Chef Flay was paired with Chef Comerford while Legasse and Batali were teamed up on the other side of Kitchen Stadium. The four chefs hand picked their vegetables from the garden then were “whisked” up to New York to the Kitchen Stadium studios. There the chairman (on a flat screen) said the challenge was to create dishes that will inspire American to cook with fresh vegetables and understand the importance of local farming and sustainability. In addition to the vegetables from the garden, they were also given an array of proteins all from local sources within 1200 miles of the Stadium.

In regular Iron Chef fashion, each team needed to make five courses. I won’t go into each of the dishes here, you can watch the episode on the Food Network. What I will say is that both teams tried their best to highlight the vegetables from the garden. First Lady Obama hinted earlier that she definitely wanted to see Sweet Potatoes used tonight.

The winners of tonight’s battle will win a donation of $25,000 to a charity of their choice. Both teams did a great job in highlighting the garden.

I was really impressed with First Lady Obama’s initiative to place a garden on the grounds of the White House. Many in the past have protested the placement of a garden on the grounds saying it didn’t fit with the formality of the White House. This garden isn’t the first however. For those that remember, a small garden was started on the roof of the White House during the Clinton administration. Prior to that Presidents Adams, Wilson and Roosevelt had some kind of garden on the grounds.

I try my best to purchase locally and try to make it to my local farmers’ markets in the area. The two I attend regularly are the Irvine and Aliso Viejo markets on Saturday and Sunday mornings respectively. I also joined a CSA group. FarmFreshToYou.com will deliver locally grown vegetables and fruits to you on a frequency of your choosing. They have diffent plans and sizes to choose from. I have been VERY happy with the selection of vegetables.

FarmFreshToYou.com is run by Capay Farms which is headquartered in Northern California and has recently opened up farmland just north of Los Angeles with auxillary farms in the Inland Empire. Every two weeks I have a small box of vegetables and fruits delivered to me. But they go further. YOu can log onto their website to see what is on harvest for the upcoming week. They also give you the opportunity to “block” something from your box and subsitutute with something else – a feature that I think makes FarmFreshToYou.com very unique. The prices are reasonable, but most importantly I know my money is going straight to the farmer and I’m supporting local farms.

If tonight’s show does anything beyond its entertainment factor, it’s that we all have the ability and choice to support local farming and sustainability. Fresh ingredients are the best ingredients for any chef, home or professional…

Ok…so this is my last DinnerInDisguise entry for 2009. I was shopping at Nina’s Grocery in Lake Forest which specializes in Indian and British Foods. My original goal was to buy Pastie or Empanada dough. Unfortunately, they don’t carry it anymore and none of the friendly employees had a clue as to what I was talking about. They even offered Samosa dough to me, but told them it was the wrong kind. Well while I was in there, there was a frozen “pie” section filled with British labels. I was intrigued and bought a pie and some Sticky Toffee Pudding. The pie was made by a company called Piccadilly Fine Foods. I bought the Steak and Mushroom Meat Pie. The description:

Ground Beef Chuck Steak and Fresh Mushrooms. Slowly Simmered in a Rich Brown Sauce with Onion Herbs and Spices.

Well I put it in the oven for the suggested 20 minutes at 375. I took a couple of pictures and then I broke into it:

It didn’t look very appetizing. I was a mash of ground beef in a dark brown sauce. I have to be honest in the fact that I did “look” for mushrooms, but I couldn’t find one.

Then I tasted it.

It tasted like NOTHING. There was no seasoning in the sauce. The crust tasted like nothing, dense and brown.

Now….yes, it was a frozen pastie, but I have had Frozen Turkey Pot Pie made by Swanson’s that had 100x more flavor than this pastie.

Now, I have the ambition to make something similar but give it some real flavor. I will see if I can get to it this weekend.

So to my British co-workers, Steven and Julian, I assume that pasties in the UK aren’t supposed to taste like this…

The International Culinary Schools at The Art Institutes are summoning the best teen chefs across the U.S. and Canada to showcase their culinary talents in The Art Institutes Best Teen Chef Competition 2010.

The top prize winner will earn a full-tuition scholarship toward a bachelor’s degree, associate’s degree, certificate program or diploma program to study culinary arts at one of the more than 30 participating Art Institutes schools.

Now in its eleventh year, The Art Institutes Best Teen Chef Competition awards more than $200,000 in tuition scholarships to The Art Institutes schools to high school seniors in the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec) interested in pursuing a career in the fast growing culinary industry.

Local cook-off competitions will take place at participating locations of The International Culinary Schools at The Art Institutes on April 17, 2010.

First place local winners will progress to the National Best Teen Chef Final Round Competition, which will be held on Saturday, May 15, 2010 at The Art Institute of Houston.

In addition to a full-tuition scholarship and the title of Best Teen Chef 2010, the national first place winner will be an “Intern for a Day” at Food Network Kitchens in New York City. The winner will also receive a tour of Food Network’s studios, dinner for two at a Food Network chef’s restaurant and a library of Food Network Kitchens cookbooks.

“It’s great to see the passion and enthusiasm for food in the eyes of the Best Teen Chef competitors,” says Chef Michael Nenes, Assistant Vice President of Culinary Arts for The International Culinary Schools at The Art Institutes. “They have a drive, focus and an understanding of food that produces beautifully presented and great tasting results.”

To be eligible to enter the competition, high school seniors must first submit a completed Entry & Release Form by February 5, 2010 to a participating International Culinary Schools at The Art Institutes location where they wish to enter the competition. Deadline for complete entries into the competition is February 26, 2010.

To learn how to enter the Best Teen Chef Competition 2010 and view full details, visit http://www.artinstitutes.edu/pr.aspx?ID=ai1017.

Did any of you catch Gordon Ramsay’s show last night, Cookalong LIVE?

In the show he made a three-course meal in one hour. One of the dishes he made was Steak Diane. I have been craving beef for several days now and decided that I was going to have Steak Diane, but with a Ribeye steak instead.  The recipe below is a severly edited version of Gordon Ramsay’s recipe from last night.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Rib Eye Steak
• 3 shallots, peeled
• 4 ounces crimini mushrooms, cleaned (if crimini unavailable use button mushrooms instead)
• 1 tablespoon salted butter
• 2 small garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, to taste (I used Reduced Sodium)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup brandy or cognac
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• Small handful of flat-leaf parsley

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat oven to 300f.

Cook the potatoes in a pot of boiling salted water for 10 minutes or until just tender. Drain the potatoes and set aside.

Heat a little olive oil in a skillet pan large enough to accommodate the Ribeye steak. Get a good sear on your Ribeye. When you have good color on the one side, flip over and sear for a minute.  Place pan in the oven.

I took a tablespoon of some fat from the Ribeye and placed it in another saute pan and added another tablespoon of Olive oil. Slice the shallots and add to the pan, allow to soften briefly before slicing and adding the mushrooms with a tablespoon of butter. Crush in the garlic using a garlic press or mince finely.

Add the Worcestershire sauce, then the mustard and heat through for a minute. Turn up the heat and tilt the pan away from you. Pour the brandy into the far end and allow it to ignite – be careful that the flame that flares up doesn’t singe your eyebrows! Once the alcohol has burnt off, swirl the juices around the pan. Add the cream and allow the sauce to thicken before turning down the heat. [NOTE: I have an electric stove, so obviously I didn't have a flame. So what I did was add the brandy and ignited it with one of those long neck lighters. Worked like a charm. Do be careful the initial flash goes pretty high, so I pulled my pan away from under my fan/microwave unit. When the flames started to go down, I put it back on the stove.]

Chop the parsley and add half to the pan.

By the time you finish the sauce, your ribeye should be about a medium. If you want med-rare, take it out halfway thru the sauce prep. Place your ribeye on your plate and let rest for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, take the juices from your pan and pour it into your brandy sauce and mix well. This adds TONS of flavor.

I hope you enjoy this, I sure did!

Something really quick. The noodles were from the Ramen packet, but I didn’t use the seasoning packet. I usually find that the seasoning packet is many salt. Use chicken broth instead, you’ll enjoy it more. The spam/ham/kielbasa will release some of the fat in the meat and it will permeate into the broth. Yummm!

INGREDIENTS

2 Cans of Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1/2 cup water
1 Tablespoon Lite Soy
1/2 Teaspoon of Japanese Sesame Oil
Pepper to taste
1 Package of Top Ramen (or similar brand) – discard seasoning packet
Some sliced mushrooms
Few slices of leftover spam or ham or Polska Kielbasa
Scallion thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS

Mix all the ingredients together except noodles and scallions.

Bring to a boil then add mushrooms and meat. Simmer for 1 minute. Season with fresh ground pepper. Pinch of salt if it needs it.

Add noodles and cook for 2-3 minutes. Break noodles up and serve. Garnish with scallions.

Enjoy!

Yea!!

So if you see me around the OC, honk!!

It has been a day. First I woke up with a sinus headache then I left my asthma inhaler at home today. Anyway, tonight on TV we have Glee and the Finale for Top Chef: Las Vegas. I just wanted to relax tonight and enjoy my shows so I did take out. I had Mongolian Beef and some Hot & Sour soup. It’s cold tonite in Southern California (49 degrees) so the soup hit the spot for me.

Learn to cook a 3 course meal, right alongside Gordon Ramsay, as he shows you how to create meals in under an hour. That’s right, FOX is taking a cue from the BBC once again and hosting a new show called Gordon Ramsay’s Cookalong LIVE.

From FOX’s website:

Have you ever wanted to make a delicious three-course meal for your family? Want to invite your friends over for a unforgettable dinner? Or would you just like to treat your taste buds to something special? For the first time ever, Chef Gordon Ramsay is going to show you how to do just that, as he invites viewers all over America to cook along with him from the comfort of their very own kitchens.

Prior to each show, you can go to the Cookalong webpage on FOX and download a list of ingredients, a shopping list, equipment list and you will actually be cooking alongside Gordon for the one hour! Isn’t that crazy??

The first episdoe is a three course meal comprising of:

• Starter Course: Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp, Chili and Tomatoes
• Main Course: Steak Diane with Sautéed Potatoes and Peas
• Dessert: Quick Tiramisu

It will be interesting to see if America is ready for a real, teaching, cooking show in Prime Time. I think it will such a departure from normal that it just may get an audience. Just think if it goes well, it just may boost ratings for all my favorite Saturday morning cooking shows on PBS!

Maybe we’ll even see a different side of Gordon that we have yet to see and that’s the passionate chef who enjoys sharing his gift of cooking.

Tune in on Tuesday, December 15 and look for me in the audience (if they even show the audience)! I will be attending the LIVE show for our East Coast friends and taped for the West Coast at 9pm on FOX.

The first test was to cook some salmon, sous vide. For those unfamiliar to sous vide cooking, it’s all the rage right now on cooking shows like Top Chef and Iron Chef America. Basically it is cooking vacuum sealed food in low temperatures over a long period of time. A crock pot you say? No, not really. The vacuum sealed bag is immersed in temperature controlled water. This is the key. Sous vide cooking has also been brought to the forefront by such chefs as Thomas Keller, Grant Achatz and Wiley Drufresne.

My first experiment was with salmon. In a vacuum sealable bag (the ones provided to me were from Reynolds). It’s basically in the form of a ziplock bag. A device pulls all the air out of the bag. In the bag I had the salmon, lite soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, a dash of sesame oil, a sliver of ginger, one scallion and  some salt and pepper. I cooked the filet for 45 minutes at 140 degrees. When I took it out, the color looked odd to me. With sous vide cooking there are no sear marks or browning. Usually with meat, after cooking sous vide, you would brown it quickly to achieve the look. Once I opened the bag, it smelled wonderful. Once I got the salmon on the plate, i broke into with with a fork. It was one of the most tender, moist, succulent pieces of salmon I have ever cooked or have eaten. The flavor really spread out over the entire piece of salmon, not just where the ingredients were. I was expecting that the place where the ginger was would be overwhelmingly ginger, it was not.

[Show as slideshow]

fIntrigued, I wanted to do another test. Cook a similar piece of salmon but leave it in there for 2x longer than its supposed to be cooked for. Another thing with sous vide cooking is that you cannot overcook the food. At least, that’s what I understand. Because the water temp is low, there is no way the food could overcook. More on that theory later. I did the same as before but instead of 45 minutes I left it in the water for 2 1/2 hours. My expecation would be that it would be drier and overcooked. I opened the bag and took the salmon piece out and it was just a moist and flavorful as the first piece. Here I was at just past midnight and eating my salmon in the quasi-darkness of my dining room in awe of what I was eating.

[Show as slideshow]

So what’s next…well I wanted to try some eggs. My first attempt was to cook an egg, in the shell. According to the instructions, 45 minutes. What I failed to check was the temperature. The machine was set for 138 degrees. Here’s the deal. From a scientific point of view, egg whites won’t coagulate at 138. No matter how long you leave it in the 138 degree water, it will never firm up. 45 minutes later I broke open the egg only to find a runny, non coagulated mess. The temperature was too low. so I took the eggs (I actually had two of them) and put them in a vacuum bag. Threw in some salt and pepper and a smidge of butter. Sealed the bag up and put in the sous vide supreme and left for work. Yes, I left for work.

Almost 9.5 hours later, the egg in the pouch was still runny and the whites never quite come together. Amazing! It was in the 138 degree water for over 9 hours and the egg was still uncooked. Eggs need to be at least at 142 degrees in order for the whites to coagulate. Yes, even a few degrees can make a huge difference.

Looking at the manual, they call for 147 degrees for 45 minutes. So, I repeated the experiment with two eggs. 45 minutes later, I took them out and the eggs did coagulate. I sprinkled some salt and pepper on top and what I ate was the fluffiest egg. I love soft-boiled eggs and they don’t compare to what I was eating. The egg whites alone were like this airly custard. Pushing my spoon thru the yolks produced an image of this dark, rich orange contrasting against the white. It was so soft, so smooth – i was in heaven again.

My next part of the experiment was to do a meat. I opted for boneless porkchops. The chops went into the vacuum bag with a touch of olive oil, salt, pepper and 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Note the instructions say that I don’t need a lot of salt and pepper. We’re talking a smidge above a pinch here – and not on both side, just the side visible to me from the top of the bag. The porkchops go into the Sous Vide Supreme for a minimum of 4 hours at 141 degrees.

So about 3.5 hours later, I take two more fresh porkchops, season them on both sides with salt and pepper and pan fry them in canola and a pat of butter (for fairness of the other having some butter) and cook them for about 4 – 5 minutes per side over med-high heat. They look real good.

At the four hour mark, I take the sous vide porkchops out. What I see thru the bag looks like a mess.

I take them out of the bag (there were 3 of them) and pat them dry. Why? Cuz I”m going to sear the outside of it for about a minute to give it some color. The color right of of the bag is a bit “greyish”.

Now, on the plate you have the sous vide porkchop on the left and the pan fried on the right.

Next I sliced into each chop on a diagonal. The sous vide chop seems very easy to cut thru. The color is even in the inside. The pan fried chop is a bit harder to cut thru. In addition, I see some pinkness isn the middle. Nothing to worry about, its a very light pink – the scare of trichinosis is no longer a factor in today’s pork products. The fact that the pan fried chop is still pink means I didn’t cook it long enough.

Now the real test. Taste and texture. The sous vide chop was indeed tender, but most importantly, there was flavor in the meat itself. It could have used a “tad” bit more salt, but the seasoning was throughout the meat.

My pan-seared chop was a bit tough to bite through, but not by much. What about the seasoning? Well if you remember, I did season the chop on both side prior to cooking. While it was very tasty on the outside, the main portion of the mean seemed less so.

So, over all, was it worth the 4 hour wait? Was the sous vide chop better than the pan-seared one? I think the sous vide chop won by the fact that it was cooked thru and thru and the seasoning was inside the meat itself. It did have a better texture than the pan-seared chop I have to say.

If I had more time, I would have liked to have done a pork chop but leave it in there overnight and see if the texture would still  be the same. According to all I have read about sous vide cooking, the result should be the same if at the minimum of 4 hours of cooking or if it was in there for 6-7 hours. I guess my egg test from earlier also helped make that statement true.

Will I go out and buy a Sous Vide Supreme? I’d like to. Maybe Santa will get me one for the Holidays. If I get a bonus at work I just might put some of it towards one, although I am looking to expand my small collection of All-Clad cookware as well.

Please take the time to visit Sous Vide Supreme’s website and check out some of the testimonials. It certainly does bring the ability to cook sous vide home. It is small, has accurate temperature control, seems well made and solid.

A sidenote: I would have liked to have tried this system with a better vacuum system. The test unit came with the Reynolds vacuum system and there was something about it that didn’t seem as thorough as say a FoodSaver or an Oliso Frisper. These units use thicker plastic and it seems that the plastic forms around the food better. With the FoodSaver you only use what you need. The Reynolds solution uses a battery powered pump. It did the job, but I feel that the seasonings may be have better if there was a true vacuum.

UPDATE: You can now purchase the SousVide Supreme at Sur La Table! That’s right and right now it’s $50.00 off for a total price of $449.00

I have to say that this was one of the moistest, succulent pieces of salmon I have ever had by my own hand. Sous vide you ask? Yes sous vide. More on Sous Vide in the next post. I cooked this piece of salmon for 45 minutes at 140 degrees in a water bath – the salmon was in a vacuum sealed bag with some Asian flavors. I used a new machine made for the home cook, the Sous Vide Supreme by Eades Appliance Technology.

I didn’t mesure but my marinade basically was

1 Very Thin 1.5″ coin of Ginger
1 scallion including the white part
2 Tbls Lite Soy Sauce
1 Tsp Rice Vinegar
Dash of Sesame Oil

I placed the salmon in a Reynolds vacuum seal bag and then placed it in the temperature controlled water bath of 140 degrees. 45 minutes later I had one of the best pieces of salmon I have ever cooked. I had it with a side of Trader Joe’s Brown rice.

Eve won the copy of Baking With Kids by Cindy Mushet and Sur La Table. Eve said that she luved baking brownies while growing up . To mix things up she’d either put pecans or M&Ms in her mix. Eve is 22 and is the eldest of 4 siblings. She cooks quite often for the housefold and loves to cook Italian food. Her favorite cooking magainze is Taste of Home and likes to hang with her friends at the mall and Starbucks! Congrats Eve, I hope you enjoy the book. It has lots of great recipes.

Theresa is from South Carolina and being a diabetic she knows the importance of watching what you eat and the importance of watching the amount of sugar intake. The book is packed full of information that anyone, not just diabetics like you and myself, should read. Enjoy the book and let us know what your favorite recipes are from the book!

Enjoy the books and Happy Holidays!

Tonight’s recipe is an adaptation from one of my childhood memories. I used to watch Nathalie Dupree when I was a kid and enjoyed watching her. Many, many years later I would have the opportunity to meet one of my childhood tv chefs. Nathalie taught a class for me at Sur La Table and she was as charming in person as she is on the air.

INGREDIENTS

2 c flour
1 ts salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 large cubed steaks
2 TB cream
1/2 c vegetable oil

1/2 c cream
2 c chicken broth
1 dash of Tabasco

PREPARATION

Mix 2/3 cup of the flour, the salt, and pepper together.

Beat eggs together with the cream.

Heat the oil in a heavy cast iron skillet over moderately high heat. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the flour. Dredge the steaks in the remainder of the flour, dip in the egg mixture, and then back into the flour. Shake off excess, let sit for 5 minutes before cooking.

Place the steaks in the hot oil and brown well. Turn and brown other side. Reduce heat to medium, cover the skillet, and cook for 5-7 minutes, turning occasionally, until the steaks are cooked through and tender. Chicken fried steak should be well done, but not dry.

Remove the steaks from the skillet and drain. Keep warm.

Add the onion slices to the pan and saute quickly. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the fat in the skillet and stir in the 3 tablespoons reserved flour. Stir to incorporate any particles on the bottom of the pan and! ! cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the cream, then the chicken broth. Season the gravy and dont forget the dash of hot sauce. Top with the gravy.

Serve with potatoes. I opted for roasted potatoes instead of mashed. I had enough mashed potatoes over the Thanksgiving holiday.

The roasted potatoes was sooo simple. I used New Dutch potatoes. Cut them into similar sized pieces. Drizzle some olive oil on them. Salt and Pepper along with thyme and fresh rosemary. Toss and place on a baking sheet. Cook until just browned on the edges, 400 degrees.

To enter for a chance to win Baking Kids Love, click here…

To enter for a chance to win A Recipe for Life by the Doctor’s Dietitian, click here…

Winners will be drawn at 11:59pm on Wednesday, 11/25. Winners will be announced on Friday, 11/27.

The menu was simple:

Turkey, brined, then simple aromatics in the bird, butter under the skin
Ham, cracklin’ sugar coating
Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes with Buttermilk and Butter
Sausage Stuffing
Gravy
Roasted Asparagus
Yams in a sweet brown sugar sauce
Lumpias – thin ground pork, water chestnuts, scallions and seasonings rolled in rice paper
Braised Brussel Sprouts

[Show as slideshow]

I had fast food tonight. After a long day at work, dealing with family drama, I didn’t have the strength to cook. I ended up going to Daphne’s Greek Café. I know the picture looks like there is a large glob f Tzatziki sauce, but it really wasn’t.