Quinoa has an outer seed coat of saponins which need to be thoroughly rinsed off, otherwise the grain will have a bitter unpleasant flavor. There are several ways to do this.
1) Rinse the grain under running water several times using a fine mesh strainer. This is the preferred and simplest method. A typical colander will often not work, as the holes are too large and the grains will escape.
Are you lacking a mesh strainer? Use one of the 2 methods below.
2) Rinse the grains several times with cold water in a coffee french press. Put the quinoa in the french press, add cold water, plunge, pour out the water, repeat.
3) Line a typical colander with larger holes with paper towels, and rinse away. This method can be a bit messy and annoying, but works in a pinch.
So there you go! We, fine mesh strainerless, used the french press technique tonight, and had a light dinner of rainbow quinoa, edamame, chopped green onion, and tamari. For a light, fluffy, non mushy quinoa, use 1.5 cups of water for every cup of quinoa.
This is the coolest online concept we’ve seen in a long time! Harvard University and MIT have created edX, and are offering free online classes for everyone.
And look at this course beginning October 8th! Science & Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science. We’re in! Our instructors are Chefs Ferran Adrià, José Andres, David Chang, Wylie Dufresne, Joan Roca, Carles Tejedor, Dan Barber, Nandu Jubany, among several other chefs, culinary professionals, and science experts.
Below is a short video featuring the course highlights for more information. We will be there! Will you join us?
Because we’re not chumming around with master chefs and epicures 24/7, it can be easy make the error of mispronouncing common food words. Several French and Italian bread terms are often top offenders or the errors. So today, our short lesson will teach you how to correctly pronounce several varieties of bread like a true epicure. Read on!
BOULE: The French word for ball, boule is really a reference to a shape (round) rather than an actual type of bread. Because no accent exists over the letter “e”, the e is not pronounced. In French, boule is simply pronounced “BOOL”.
BISCOTTI: This crunchy twice baked biscuit in Italian is typically pronounced “bee-SCOT-tee”. The O in the middle syllable is a soft O as spoken in the word “cot”. Click on the arrow to listen to an Italian female version.
BRIOCHE: This eggy buttery French bread is pronounced several different ways. Americans typically say “Bree-OHsh” with the O as in ocean, while often Europeans say “Bree-OSH”, with the OSH rhyming with “wash”. We defer to Julia Child here, as her way MUST be correct no? Julia says it Bree-OSH, as demonstrated here (listen) , and in this gem of a vintage video, “The Story of the Three Brioche“.
Boom. Debate over!
CHALLAH: This beautifully braided Jewish bread typically served on Sabbath is pronounced with no C at all, “HAH-lah”, and Webster nails it. Listen here.
CIABATTA: This rustic porous Italian bread is pronounced “chuh-BAH-tah”. Click the arrow to listen.
CROISSANT: Many people mispronounce the buttery crescent roll. In French, final consonants are silent. So the “T” is not heard, and it’s properly pronounced “kwa-SOHN”. Click the arrow to listen.
FOCACCIA: This classic Italian flat bread is simple to say: “fo-KA-cha“.
PUGLIESE: An Italian bread very similar to ciabatta, but with a round shape. It hails from Puglia Italy, in the region of Apulia, which is in the heel of the boot. Pronounce Pugliese with a silent G, “pool-YAY-say“.
Keep in mind with all of the above, the pronunciation will often vary by the country region.
Do you have a different version of a pronunciation, or would you like to share another commonly mispronounced food word? Let us know in the comments!
The leek. Big brother to the scallion aka green onion, it has to be the dirtiest vegetable ever. But thankfully it’s a cinch to get them uber squeaky clean and fit for consumption. Former chef and test kitchen director of the now defunct Gourmet Magazine Ruth Cousineau shows us how to prepare leeks the quick and easy way, in this short video. Quick tips from the video:
To prepare chopped leeks
– cut off the ends
– slice lengthwise, remove the tough outer layers, then chop
– soak in a bowl of water while separating the leek pieces, then rinse and pat dry.
Verizon had the big announcement today regarding their Iphone launch, and it truly wasn’t such a big announcement at all, as the news has been leaked on the web for weeks. Financial analysts are predicting a huge number, of 9 to 15 million new Iphone users for 2011 with the expansion. On that note, we thought we’d mention a few must have Iphone apps for chefs, cooks, and foodies. Make that cheap frugal chefs cooks and foodies, as each of these apps are less than $3.00. (Hey we need to spend our money on food!) We’ll get you started with our favorites, with a brief description of why they are loved.
Once again the gingerly shorts wearing chef wins our hearts. This elegant app features over 60 of Mario Batali‘s signature Italian recipes with deliciously clear videos and simple instructions. The recipes can be searched by Italian region, by course, by season, kid friendliness, by category, or by quickness. Browsing by region will give you a short food history lesson of the geographical area with gorgeous photos, and each recipe includes a regional wine pairing selection. Grazie mille Mario!
This is a recent addition for us and we are finding it well worth the money spent. The app includes over 700 cheeses, which you can find via search, by texture, by region or country, or by milk type. Cheese info includes suggested wine pairings and a photo, which you tap for a detailed description of the origin and history of the cheese as well as a flavor profile. You may also make a favorites list, and add personal notes and ratings to each cheese.
Epicurious, Free for recipes, $1.99 to to synch your recipe box
Of all the recipes sites and apps out there, Epi is our favorite for its uber large database, simple navigation, gorgeous photos and most of all recipe reviews by users. The beautiful thing about the reviews here is that they are often quite detailed, and users mention recipe tweaks and substitutions that were helpful for them. A small fee of $1.99 allows you to sign in and access your personal recipe box and shopping list.
Barron’s Food Lovers Companion is huge, has a cringe inducing $11.99 price tag, and poor user reviews which pushed us far away. We’re more than pleased with the Global Eater Food Dictionary. Over 1100 food terms found on restaurant menus are defined, and are found by a country search or world search in seconds. Now when you order Spotted Dick or Sweet Breads you’ll be fully informed of your plate contents.
Yes, there are a few grumpy and fake reviewers out there, but in general we find this app to be an essential Iphone resource. We especially love the click to call phone numbers, maps and “restaurants nearby” features. It’s no Zagat, but hey it’s free. Zagat to Go‘s app is $9.99, which may well indeed be worth it, however it misses our thrifty “under $3.00” criteria.
While not an essential app, it’s a free and fun way to pass time and induce hunger. Foodspotting finds your location, or you can enter another one, and shows you user photos of restaurant food nearby. The photo quality varies widely, but it’s nice to discover whats out there. You can search for foods, places, or people. It has a twitterilike and facebookish feel, as you can “follow” people, “nom” or “want” their photos. Smaller regions are a bit sparse for photos compared to larger metro city areas, but we think this app will rock the rural areas too as the community continues to grow. A bonus: In December they released an Android beta app.
Seafood Watch, Free
Monterey Bay Aquarium’s sustainable seafood guide is a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of the best environmentally and nutritionally safe fish. It also includes a sushi guide and a “super green” guide, as well as “Project Fishmap”, a location based store and restaurant sustainable seafood finder. Because noone wants to eat the last fish in the sea.
On the bottom menu, hit “programs”, then “topics”, then “food”. Voilà, all of the most recent foodie podcasts shows for your listening pleasure, perfect for passing time on the way to work.
Because sometimes a free silly brainless game is exactly what you need. And whacking Fabio Viviani in the head with a pie is fun! Ok we have issues, but you know that already. 🙂
It’s the little oyster app that could. From the The Mermaid Inn restaurants in NYC, this gem of a resource helps you demystify ordering oysters while eating out. It allows you to choose from over 200 East coast or West Coast oysters, and features photos, harvesting information, flavor profiles, and an option to add a personal rating for future reference.
Most of these apps should be available for the Ipod Touch or Ipad in addition to the Iphone, however some will require wifi for access.
Did you know? There are over 300,000 Iphone apps in existence. Surely we missed a few foodie app must haves?? Let us know your suggestions in the comments!
Are you a Yum Sugar reader? If not you we highly recommend them! We lovingly think of them as an online foodie pop culture venue. Featuring food trends, great recipes, celebrity chef news, and food festival event coverage, they are on our daily “must read” RSS Google reader feed list. We’ve met key player Katie Sweeny aka SweenCat and the YumSugar team in real time at the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen, and not only do the girls share our true mutual adoration for tasty nosh and chefs, more importantly they are seriously super fun to spend time with.
Yesterday the YumSugar team published a great video with a Thanksgiving focus featuring the lovely Katie with many of our favorite chefs, including Jamie Oliver, Emeril, Rocco DiSpirito, Anne Burrell, and Jacques Torres . The chefs discuss the best cooking advice they’ve ever been given, their favorite food trends, and what they are up to for the holidays. Bobby Flay is calorie counting. Jamie is adorable as ever. And as much as this surprises us to say, the cooking tip from Rocco is ridiculously spot on.
P.S. Hurry! Ending December 6th, you still have time to win the Yum Sugar Ultimate Foodie Holiday Giveaway for delicious prizes including a gorgeous Italian soft leather Valextra travel bag.
In this video he shows Epicurious how simple it is to make fresh butter, in less than 15 minutes. This recipe uses only one ingredient: heavy cream. Daniel recommends using the best you can find, “which usually means organic cream from a small producer”. In this recipe he uses whipping cream from California’s Straus Family Creamery, which comes from grass fed cows and is about 36% butterfat.
Here’s his simple technique:
Fresh Butter
1 half gallon of whipping cream (this makes a quite a bit, for home use you could half this and use 2 pints, aka 1 quart, for 2 cups of butter. A basic rule of thumb is that 1 pint of cream will yield 1 cup of butter.)
Add the cream to a mixing bowl, and enclose the area between the top of the bowl and the top of the mixer with plastic wrap to avoid a mess. Using an electric mixer, beat on #6 until mixture thickens a bit, and then increase to #7 setting, for a total of 6 minutes. Place the mixture into a colander or strainer, let the fresh buttermilk drain out. Squeeze with your hands to expel as much liquid as possible. Mix in salt if desired. Add herbs or flavorings if a compound butter is desired, and roll the butter into a log with plastic wrap. Use within 2 weeks.
Regarding flavorings, the possibilities are endless! Chop the ingredients as finely as possible, and keep at room temperature for 2 hours (before rolling) so that the flavors may blend. Some delicious variations for compound butter:
{Savory Tv is pleased to welcome Chef Renee Fontes as a delicious guest poster. Renee is a restaurant chef and caterer, and enthusiastically volunteered to help us out with our recent chocolate obsession! In our featured post today, she tells us how to make the perfect chocolate sauce for dipping, including a fail safe secret for tempering. For more delicious recipes, tips, and photos from Renee, visit her site here.}
Hot Tips For Dipping Chocolate
Temper, temper! There is a trick to getting chocolate to coat and harden on anything you want dipped in its sweet, silky, delight. The trick is called tempering. Follow this easy method and you will be an expert at creating chocolate dipped fruit such as strawberries, raspberries or bananas, nuts, candy or even bacon!
Chocolate becomes stable and glossy when it is properly tempered by a process of melting it to the right temperature and cooling it to the right temperature. Without this process it’s impossible to create candy and chocolate decorations. When you buy chocolate it is already in temper, but melting it knocks it back out. To get it back into the “zone” there is the classic way and a quick temper method I like to use.
The quick method I found in Food Lover’s Companion by Sharon Tyler Herbst ( love that book!) works and you don’t have to have a marble slab in your kitchen to participate. Melt two thirds of the chocolate to be tempered to 115 degrees add in the one third remaining stir constantly until smooth and 89 degrees. Spring for some great chocolate, chop into small pieces place in a double boiler and melt over simmering water. Keep a eye on the temp if it starts slipping under 89 degrees set it back over the water to maintain 89 temperature and stir occasionally.
Now you are ready to dip! Make sure your items are clean and dry. Really dry. Use tongs or skewers to lower items into chocolate allow excess chocolate to drip back into bowl. Put parchment paper down and place dipped goodies on it to set. Make sure items do not touch are they will become one when cool.
After you get good at fruit and candy, you can dip anything! You could even propose with a chocolate covered engagement ring! Chocolate is fun and you may lick the bowl after you are finished.
Score: Just what the Thanksgiving doctor ordered. Top Chef Hosea Rosenberg shows us how to carve a turkey with ease and confidence, in this featured video from Whole Foods Market.
Instructions via the video:
After letting your turkey rest for 20 minutes, place on the cutting board and pull out the aromatics.
Find the loose skin between the breast and the leg, carve downward to pull the leg away. You can use a fork to help pry the leg off, and you may need to twist the leg to assist.
Next remove the drumstick from the thigh, taking your knife down the middle between the two. Serve the leg whole or slice it if desired. Slice the thigh diagonally, keeping the skin intact.
Next, take off the wings, you can either twist them by hand or use a knife.
Next, the breast meat. Find the breastbone in the top center, and cut on both the right and left sides of the bone, letting the bone be your guide. Slowly and carefully cut down across the ribcage.
Slice the breast meat into slices, and make a gorgeous display by fanning the slices on the platter.
Garnish your finished platter with fresh herbs. You’re done, prepare for praise!
Considering brining your Thanksgiving turkey this year? If so you must watch this video brought to us from Chow.com. The delicious Top Chef Master Michael Chiarello explains in simple terms how to do it correctly and common mistakes to avoid.
Why brine? It allows flavor and seasoning to penetrate the inside of the turkey as well as the outside, and will produce a very juicy and evenly cooked bird.
Key tips from the video:
Avoid over salting, it will lead to a stringy and dry bird.
Be sure your container is large enough for the entire turkey.
Do not over brine the turkey.
Start with fresh water.
Use pure Kosher salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, bay leaf, and any other desired flavorings or spices. Bring these items to a boil the day before, let cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.
Use two smaller turkeys rather than one large one, to yield twice as many parts and be more tender.
Before brining the turkey, remove from plastic, rinse it in water, and remove the bag of giblets.
The perfect brining container? An ice chest or cooler. Put the turkey in, add ice on top, pour the brine in. Michael suggests putting the cooler in the garage, and brining for 12 hours overnight.
In the morning, remove from the brine, pat dry, and let the turkey get to room temperature for about an hour.
No roasting rack? No problem. Simply put the turkey on top of whole vegetables such as celery and carrots.
[pro-player width=’550′ height=’353′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaXaLiHzlaE[/pro-player]
Craving more from Michael? Follow him on Facebook and Twitter, and visit our other posts:
Admit it! You eat chicken wings and waste 50% of the meat while doing so!
We forgive you, dear reader, it’s not your fault, you never learned the correct way, and neither had we. Until Chef John of Food Wishes came to the rescue in this amazing video and post featuring the truly perfect way to eat them, wasting literally nothing and coming out with clean hands to boot.
Chef John, your highness, we tip our hats to you for this ever so helpful culinary tip!
One of the wonderful reasons to celebrate Autumn and early Winter is because of the arrival of pomegranates into our stores and markets. Grown throughout the world, in the US our pomegranates typically come from California and Arizona, and are in season from October through January.
The tangy and sweet culinary gem is the basis for so many delicious Fall recipes, but cutting open the fruit the wrong way can cause your kitchen to look like a gory crime scene! Before we were in the know regarding the proper way to cut open a pomegranate, we had several frustrating episodes of splattered staining ruby red seed juices throughout our walls and kitchen appliances. Today we are thrilled to share this video featuring Chef Akasha from Akasha Restaurant in Culver City, CA, demonstrating the correct way to cut and disassemble a pomegranate.
Key tips from the video:
Using a sharp chefs knife, cut of the crown about a half inch from the top.
Slice the sections through the white membrane. (we do this part in a bowl under water to avoid a mess)
Separate the seeds in a bowl of water, and the membrane will float to the top as the seeds (aka arils) will sink to the bottom of the bowl.
Strain the seeds removing any remaining membrane pieces.
Apologies as we know many of you are quite confident in your onion chopping skills! We had a request for an onion chopping tutorial and hope that this is helpful to some. If you watch a good deal of cooking shows on Tv, you know that there are several different types of techniques when it comes to slicing onion. And the tough part is, the chefs slice so quickly that observation is often futile. In our culinary tip video today, Chef Marc Bauer from the French Culinary institute demonstrates his technique for finely dicing an onion shallots, or garlic , in a nice semi slow motion.
Earlier in the year we posted about projected food trends for 2009, and as the year is halfway over we thought we’d have a new look at emerging culinary trends popping up. Because while we may not always partake in new trendy menu items served up via cutting edge chefs in hot restaurants, it’s fun to be in the know. And besides, our palates are fickle and constantly craving new creative flavors. What’s new out there?
Via Creative Commons Mr Wabu on Flickr
Our first insights are via Chow’s Trend O Meter from the past few months, which appear to be trends they are experiencing as well as tips sent in from readers. They say:
IN:
Waffles, topped with anything from pulled pork to dulce de leche, and also going back to Southern roots, served with crispy fried chicken (hangover cure!)
Ice cream in strange and savory flavors, such as bacon, purple yam, and thai chili with goat cheese
Duck hash, as well as the classic corned beef hash
Congee, the classic Asian rice porridge, has been popping up frequently in west coast restaurants
Exotic upscale donuts have replaced cupcakes as the new sweet treat of choice
Sugar cereals such as Trix and Fruit Loops are back, and, showing up as toppings on waffles and donuts
Roti, an indian flatbread, frequently used as a wrap for curry dishes has shown up on the radar nationwide
Kimchee, the spicy Korean picked cabbage is in, most likely a result of the famous Kogi Taco Truck
Pickled eggs are moving in to trendy venues, and egg on pizza has shown up frequently as well
Unfortunately, the mild fish Skate has risen from trash to treasure, however this is a sad trend as it is in general severly overfished and in serious decline, not recommended.
Homemade granola and customized online granola
Fried Chickpeas are showing up everywhere. Here is a great recipe we devoured recently for crispy fried garbazos in a garlic chili oil from Chef Andrew Zimmerman of Del Toro restaurant in Chicago, highly recommended!
Regarding alcoholic drinks, Mezcal (a smokey agave spirit) cocktails are hot, in addition to German beers, bacon infused bourbon, and good old Pabst Blue Ribbon.
And Chow reports that the following menu items are out: Seared Ahi, pita bread, cupcakes, sliders, Belgian beer, Mojitos, and infused Vodka. Bah! Regardless of hipster trends we will forever hold seared Ahi close to our heart!!
In other media sources, the Food Channel reports that pigs are being put on hazelnut diets, to add a sweet nutty tasting flavor to pork, a new trend that may raise the bar for US cured meats.
The Seattle Post reports an emergence of the citrus fruits Blood Orange and Yuzu that we should expect to see in future drinks, candy and sauces, as well as exotic crunchy snacks such as roasted coconut, jackfruit, pumpkin and taro root chips.
On our end in the western US, we’ve seen a huge trend and consumer love for Mexican Coke, sold in glass bottles and made with pure can sugar versus high fructose corn syrup. Now found not only in Mexican grocery stores but traditional grocery stores throughout the west, it truly is delicious when served ice cold, sadly it also leave a huge carbon footprint in its tracks.
Good news for frugal shoppers from the AP, as they report that salvage grocery stores aka “dollar stores” for food are flourishing, offering severely discounted prices on items such as slightly crushed boxes of cereal and saltines or past their prime bottled dressings and sauces.
Do you have your finger on the pulse of anything else we should know? Love or detest any of the new food trends? Let us know in the comments!
Fellow chefophiles, did you watch the Top Chef Masters premiere on Bravo Wednesday night? A spinoff of the traditional Top Chef, this series features renowned, elite, VIP chefs competing against each other for their favorite charities. No spoilers here, but James Beard winner Chef Hubert Keller of Fleur de Lys won our heart completely. Born in France and originally a pastry chef, Keller surprisingly has a love for hamburgers, and has authored the newly released cookbook “Burger Bar: Build Your Own Ultimate Burgers“. In an excerpt from the book, Keller says,
“We knew everyone loves burgers, but we wanted to offer something new. What if we reimagined burgers and applied our fine-dining culinary training to create the best-tasting burgers possible? We would take them seriously because, we noticed, burger lovers take the subject seriously. Very seriously.”
We discovered this video from Chow with Hubert Keller’s tips for how to cook the ultimate burger. The burger he makes is a tad huge and over the top (stuffed with short ribs!), but the video contains some great tips.
Never use frozen beef patties or prepackaged buns.
Fat is required! (He recommends 25 – 30%)
Never season the meat ahead of time.
Do not overheat or underheat your skillet.
Don’t push down on the burger! You’ll lose all of the great juices.
Use water on your hands to shape the patties, and be creative with seasonings.
Use Canola or another high heat tolerant oil (not olive).
Let the meat rest before serving, so that juices will evenly distribute.
The current dismal state of the economy is horribly depressing, stagnant, and no one has any clue when things will turn around. Our wallets are thin, and the grocery store checkout lane almost bring tears to our eyes. Who better to turn to than professional chefs for money saving cooking and shopping tips? We put a shout out on Twitter, several chef forums, as well as scoured the recent news, and here are our results!
Break it down yourself. Our local Telluride friend Chef Bud Thomas hosts a live internet cooking show and and has a blog with gorgeously simple recipes. Bud recommends buying an entire bird, not only can you save over $13, but you can use the bones for stock.
Here is his chicken price breakdown, whole versus pieces: “:Whole $7.72. Pieces: two breasts $11.31, two thighs $2.47, two drumsticks $3.44, two wings $4.72. Total cost whole bird = $7.72 Total cost pieces = $20.79. Price difference = $13.07” Eye opening isn’t it?
Sacramento personal Chef Jeff McDonald shares his grocery shopping essentials here, and we love his tip for block cheese: “Shred cheese yourself to save money. Pre shredded cheeses are convenient, but if you’re willing to shred as you go, you’ll get twice the cheese for your money.” We all know this but do we really practice it? Next time you’re about to grab the bag of cheese, stop! Not only will your wallet thank you but your taste buds will as well.
Use every part of the animal possible, a tip Julia Child would surely endorse! Hector Santiago is the chef and owner of the Atlanta tapas restaurant Pura Vida. He tells the Restaurant Informer his means of coping. “The way I work is, I cut my costs by making sure I am using everything, every possible part of my ingredients. I get, say, a whole trout; I don’t throw anything away but the guts. If it comes with roe, we use the roe for caviar. The bones we make into stock. We get the most out of the product by making sure nothing goes to waste.”
Grow your own. Season 4 Top chef Mark Simmons from Get Fresh in Brooklyn grows a small garden in his restaurant patio. He offers organic gardening tips here, and recommends stretching your dollar by growing swiss chard, spinach, and kale, as they produce leaves for the entire growing season. Tomatoes and peppers are also recommended, as the canned sauces can be used year round.
Fish Tips: Our friend, Chef and author Ben Diaz (featured left) sent us the following tip: “When buying fish always try to buy it whole. It’s a little more work but your fish will stay fresher for up to 3 more days. Always check availability, buying fish when they are in season is a great way to save money and ensuring that you get the highest quality possible.” Thank you Ben!
In an interview with NPR, Naked Chef Jamie Oliver says that “Seafood can be expensive. There’s people’s time and labor and petrol costs to get the boats out there. Talk to your fishmonger (or local fish market) and tell him you’re on a budget and set him the task of sorting you out. Fishmongers and butchers have had a lot of business taken away from them by supermarkets. If you just talk to your butcher or fishmonger and say, I’ve only got three dollars, I’ve got two kids, what can I do? I think you’d genuinely be surprised with what you come back with.”
Shop around. Stores such as Whole Foods are so fun to shop in but can really siphon your dollars if you aren’t careful. The Washington Post reports that DC area restaurant chefs have been saving money shopping in Asian superstores such as H Mart, for their affordable and exotic ingredients including noodles, fresh seafood, and produce. If you are lucky enough to have such ethnic markets in your area, go exploring!
Shop local. North Carolina chef Amy Tornquist of Watts Grocery restaurant saves money while remaining committed to regional sustainable food. She tells Southern Living magazine “if it’s a decision between buying organic at the grocery store or fresh from your local farmers’ market, always go with local first,” and believes that small farmers primarily use organic growing methods, but may not have the size or money to be certified as organic. Her farmers market tips include: getting there early for the best selection, and to build relationships with the farmers, not only to learn more about them, but they can often give you recipe ideas and tips on how to best use their produce.
Make a list. Oprah recently had a show where celebrity chefs moved into viewers homes to help them save money. Cat Cora‘s tip is so basic but essential, always have a plan and bring a shopping list to the store, “the statistic is literally that people spend 50 percent more than they need to if they don’t have a list”. Guilty, guilty we are with this one, thinking, “the list is in my head!”. Our new mission is to never leave home without one.
Make your own. Chef Curtis Stone was also on the show and was a fan of making your own snacks. He suggests buying tortillas in packs (flour or corn) and making homemade chips as cheaper, healthier alternative to bagged chips.
Make homemade spices! Our friend Chef Ray Duey (the chef shown on the right) from Chef Garnish sent us a great tip via email. “When I juice vegetables I save the extracted pulp and dehydrate it. I then grind it and add a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper and viola, homemade, non wasted, fresh made Mrs. Dash seasoning !!” We love this one!
Stop wasting. Award winning NYC Personal Chef Mark Tafoya is one of our first chef friends we met on Twitter. Our favorite tip of his includes not wasting your broccoli stalks, remove the rough outside with a vegetable peeler and use the rest! You can listen to it here. He also has a free podcast packed with delicious recipes and tips.
Save with slow food. Chef Ming Tsai is a fan of crockpot cooking to balance your budget, and shares his favorite slow cooker recipes with the ABC show The View, including a delicious Asian Beef Stroganoff .
So there you have it! Perhaps basic, common sense tips really, but a nice reminder and reality check for us all. Do you have any favorite tips money saving tips to share? Do tell in the comments please!
One of the world’s top grilling masters is a female! Elizabeth Karmel is executive chef of Hill Country Barbecue in NYC, acclaimed as one of the Wall Street Journal’s “Top 10 Barbecue” restaurants in the US, and their brisket is “a thing of balance and beauty” per the New York Times. As if that were not enough, she is also the author of the bestselling cookbook Taming The Flame, a virtual bible of grilling. In our videos today, she shares her tips for smoking food on the grill. The first video discusses how to smoke food on a charcoal grill, and the second using a gas grill.
Food trends can be fickle and short lived, and what was trendy, hip, and smoking hot yesterday can be as washed up and stale as cold leftovers today. So, what’s currently hot in the culinary world?
Every year in October, the National Restaurant Association surveys professional chefs to find out their culinary forecast for the upcoming year. This year, over 1600 chefs responded, rating over 200 foods as a “hot trend”, “yesterday’s news” or a “perennial favorite.” We found a great video summarizing the results and you may read or download the full pdf report here. What made the list? Healthy, nutritious, fresh locally grown foods, superfruits and exotic fruits, artisan cheeses, free range meats, sustainable seafood, organic wine, smaller portions and mini foods such as tapas and dim sum. Overall a refreshing focus in general and very healthy trends, let’s see if they prove to be true in the months to come!
We also found this list from top experts in the hotel and restaurant industries, with current hot food ingredients including:
– Ricotta cheese and comfort foods
– Asian noodles in broth
– Flat iron and flank steak (due to it’s affordable cost)
– Ethnic flavorings for poultry
– Breakfast foods any time of the day ( we love this one!)
– And the trendy spice for 2009 = Tarragon.
Food and travel writer Lisa Rogak authored this article with chef insights on food trends, and her list reinforces the local food, smaller portions, and affordable meat trends, in addition to tea infused foods, and savory cocktails such as Chili Serrano Martinis ( hangover anyone? ).
Other hot alcoholic beverage trends according to Epicurious include Ginger cocktails and Ginger beers. Says editor in chief Tanya Steel, ““One of the areas people are not cutting back on is liquor, people are drinking more.”
What do the Brits think of the issue? Well for one, that foodies rule, as we already are aware! Check out their predictions from the Guardian for the new year here, or watch a great video from The Food People here.
What trendy foods for 2009 does Bon Appetit see in their crystal ball? You can read the wrapup here, or the full report in the January issue, but a top trend is “Luxury for Less”, including affordable substitutions, such as eye of round for prime rib, and truffle oil instead of truffles. Peruvian food is climbing it’s way to the top of the ethnic ladder, and their top dessert ingredient of the year is peanut butter.
We’d love to know your thoughts, or if you have any predictions of your own, let us know in the comments!
(Note: Also see our newer post with additional updated food trends.)
What is a whetstone exactly? Also referred to as a wet stone, waterstone, or sharpening stone, whetstones can be natural or manmade, and are typically made of finely bonded ceramic. They are truly the best and smartest way to sharpen knives, as other methods will grind away precious metal from your knife’s blade, and shorten it’s life. One side of the stone is a coarse grit which you sharpen with first, and the other a fine grit which is used last. The whetstone is used as a primary method of sharpening, and the honing steel is used for maintenance, read more about the differences and brand recommendations here. Knife sharpening takes practice, but once you become accustomed to the technique you will be deliciously pleased with your effortless, gorgeous, even cuts of food.
Watch the video to see Chef Danilo Alfaro‘s easy techniques for knife sharpening, using a whetstone and a steel .
Shrimp and fish cooking on a salt block, photo via creative commons flickr user mccun934
Not just any salt, beautiful, pinkish amber, millions of years old Himalayan salt blocks from Pakistan! We first caught wind of the concept of cooking food on salt slabs from this post on Richard Huff’s blog.
This video by Chef Dani Luzzatti from Bellalu Catering and Glenn Weddell from Mani Imports helps to demystify and enlighten us on the many uses of salt blocks in the kitchen. The ancient pink beauties may be used as a cold plate or used hot to cook on, infusing their flavor gently into the food. What makes the flavor so special is that in addition to salt, the blocks contain over 80 trace minerals, adding a new complexity of seasoning to your food. Salt blocks can be directly set onto a gas range or barbecue grill, but electric ranges require a spacer. More information can be found in this Himalayan salt block guide.
Searching for more ideas, there unfortunately seems to be no actual salt block cookbook available (yet!). But here are several recipes and more information to get you started:
First, here are some great ideas to start with from At The Meadow, which has great customer service and is a highly recommended supplier from which to buy your blocks. They also offer a dark chocolate fondue recipe here.
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Pollo al Mattone or “Chicken Under a Brick” is an interesting recipe from Colleen at Davero, as it puts the salt block on top of the chicken, in a mesquite fired grill.
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Here are several recipes courtesy of EcoIdeas:
2 Each Peaches (Cut in ½ )
1 Cup Mascarpone Cream
2 Cups Vanilla Ice Cream
1 ½ Cups Port Wine (Ruby Port is the best)
3 Tbs Light Brown Sugar
Preheat your salt block by either placing it directly onto the flame (heat for 8-10 minutes on each side) or by placing the block into a pan for an electric range (allow to heat for12-15 minutes on each side). Place a few vegetables at a time onto the H.S. block and cook for 3-4 minutes and then flip and continue to cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.
You will also need to freeze your H.S. Bowl by placing it in the freezer overnight. In a sauté pan reduce the Port wine until it becomes a syrup consistency. You will want to reduce this by about 2/3.
Quarter the peaches and remove the pit. Toss the peaches with the brown sugar. When the H.S. stone is hot sear the peaches on both sides until they become caramelized. While the peaches are searing mix the ice cream and mascarpone cream together in the H.S. bowl.
Allow the block to cool down until it is safe to handle. Rinse the block under warm water and clean with a steel scrub pad to remove any cooked on residue. Place the block onto a cotton towel and allow to dry completely before storing.
1 Each- Roasted Red Pepper (slice into ¼)
1 Each – Yellow Squash (slice on bias)
1 Each – Zucchini (slice on bias)
1 Each – Red Onion (slice ¼” thick)
1 Each – Portabella Mushrooms
1 ounce – Balsamic Vinegar
1 each – Lemon (zested)
1 cup Eggless Mayonnaise
2 ounce – Basil (chopped)
3 tbs – Roasted Garlic
Place all of the cleaned vegetables in a mixing bowl with the balsamic vinegar, lemon zest, 1 ounce of chopped basil. Season with salt only. The vegetables will pick up the salt from cooking on the block.
Preheat the H.S. block by either placing it directly onto the flame (heat for 8-10 minutes on each side) or by placing the block into a pan for an electric range (allow to heat for12-15 minutes on each side). Place a few vegetables at a time onto the H.S. block and cook for 3-4 minutes and then flip and continue to cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.
While the vegetables are cooking you can prepare the aioli. Place the mayonnaise, the remaining basil and roasted garlic into a mixing bowl . Mix until the aioli is well incorporated.
Allow the block to cool down until it is safe to handle. Rinse the block under warm water and clean with a steel scrub pad to remove any cooked on residue. Place the block onto a cotton towel and allow to dry completely before storing.
Seared Asparagus With An Olive And Herb Relish
Ingredients:
1/2 pound green asparagus (trimmed)
1/2 pound white asparagus (trimmed)
2 each lemons (zested)
1 each shallot (peeled and diced)
2 tbs kalamata olives (rinsed)
5 each garlic cloves
1 ounce basil
1 tbs flat-leaf parsley
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp himalayan salt
Place the peeled garlic cloves in boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove and allow to cool. Place the olives, lemon zest, shallots, garlic, basil, parsley and sea salt in your Himalayan mortar and pestle and grind ingredients until they are well combined. It doesn’t need to be a smooth paste. Place the olive mixture in a bowl and whisk in the olive oil.
Preheat your salt block in a 500 degree oven. You can also preheat the block on your gas range by placing it directly onto the flame for 6-7 minutes on each side(be sure to use an oven mitt or tongs to flip). If you have an electric range place the salt block into a pan and allow the block to heat up for 10-12 minutes on both sides before cooking.
Toss the asparagus in a bowl with 1 tbs of olive oil. You will need to cook the asparagus in a couple of batches. Place the asparagus directly onto the heated salt block and cook for 5-6 minutes, occasionally flipping the asparagus to prevent burning.
For serving, place some mixed greens onto the 12″ salt plate alternate the green and white asparagus in a circular pattern. Drizzle the olive relish on top of the asparagus.
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These are not true recipes, but photos with beautiful salt plating ideas, scroll halfway down the page to see: 1) Chef Mark Zeitouni’s local snapper with avocado, micro cilantro, and lime juice; and 2) Chef Jesse Souza’s kobe beef with white soy and lemongrass.
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Salt Seared Tuna with Fennel, Courgettes and English Pea Pesto
Recipe courtesy of Sean Brock from the Food Network Challenge
Whisk together the beer and flour, season with salt. Hold refrigerated.
Take 8 baby zucchini and blanch in salted water until tender. Puree in blender until smooth.
Place the fennel and remaining zucchini and squash in a small pan and cover with vegetable stock. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and braise over low heat until tender. Season with salt.
Pea Pesto:
1/2 cup fresh English peas
1 teaspoon almond oil
1 Meyer lemon, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon Parmesan
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
1/4 extra-virgin olive oil
Place all ingredients for pea pesto except the olive oil into a blender and process until smooth. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the extra-virgin olive oil.
Tuna:
2 Himalayan salt blocks
1 1/2 pounds fresh big-eye tuna
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
2 teaspoons fennel pollen
Ground black pepper
Garnish:
Fennel fonds
Red ribbon sorrel
Nasturtium leaves
Place the salt block directly on the stove top and heat until hot about 5 minutes. Toss the tuna in olive oil and season with salt, fennel pollen and pepper. Place in a cryovac bag and cook, sous vide-style, at 130 degrees F for 10 minutes. Remove from the bag quickly sear the tuna on the salt block on all 4 sides.
Dip the blossoms in the beer batter and fry at 350 degrees F until golden brown. Smear the pesto across the plate and arrange the vegetables in the pesto. Slice the tuna thinly and place around the vegetables. Serve alongside fennel, courgettes, pesto and garnishes.
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Tuna Sashimi on Himalayan Salt , courtesy of chef David Burke
Ingredients:
5 oz. Sushi Grade Tuna Cut into 2” Cube
1 Himalayan Salt Block. Available at S.O.S. Chefs or Asian-Style Plate
2 Tsp. Ginger Oil (Recipe Follows)
¼ Bunch Chives Cut into 2” Sticks.
XO Sauce (Available at Any Asian Market)
1 Lemon
Method:
Ginger Oil
– 3” Piece of ginger chopped.
– Blanch 3Times.
– Place in blender w/ 3 oz. Canola Oil. Puree until smooth.
XO Sauce
– Zest lemon.
– Mix w/ 2 oz. XO Sauce.
Plating
– Slice Tuna Into 1 oz. Portions.
– Place On Salt Rock.
– Lightly Brush with Ginger Oil
– Place 1 2” Chive Stick on Each Slice.
– Place XO Sauce In Small Dipping Bowl.
– Serve with toast.
Makes one serving.
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So that should get you started! If you have recipes you would like to share please let us know or leave us a link in the comments section. And we conclude with a wonderful salt quote:
“. . .all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And, when we go back to the sea. . . we are going back to where we came.” -John F. Kennedy
