Cooking with Marcus at Distinctive-Decor.com

Plant-Based Black Bean Burgers

2012-02-12T12:06:00.000-08:00

There is a small, but growing movement in our community to educate people about how a 100% plant-based diet can reverse heart disease, lower cancer rates, and improve quality of life. I do not know the stats right off hand, but our Oklahoma county ranks among the highest in the state for cardiovascular disease, cancer and obesity.

The catalysts for this movement include a handful of doctors and our local hospital, who are following one of the hospital's missions to prevent disease in our area. They have been spurred on by the research of Cleveland Clinic Cardiologist, Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., who has found that eating a plant-based diet can reverse heart disease.

My personal involvement in this is for a number of reasons. The first, and most important to me, is that I am getting older and need to take better care of myself for my family. I have been moving in the plant-based diet direction for about a year now. My wife introduced me to the writings of Dr. Esselstyn and Dr. Campbell, author of The China Study. Also, the documentary "Forks Over Knives" (available on Netflix instant play) pushed me along this path to plant-based nutrition.

Don't get me wrong. I love (loved) to eat meat, eggs, milk, cheese and seafood. I like all of it, but I knew that I was eating too much of it. Weight gain, rising cholesterol, acid reflux, my dad's prostate cancer and heart problems pushed me to re-evaluate what I was putting into my body. With the growing library of nutritional information in my head along with other external factors I decided to make a change. As a matter of fact, it was irrational, in my mind, to continue on the path that I was taking.

Needless to say, living in an area with lots of cattle, steakhouses, and burger joints, the Esselstyn program may be slow to catch on. Hopefully with the healthy and delicious recipes I will share here, all of us southern Oklahoma carnivores can at least try this plant-based eating and lifestyle change that will lower our cholesterol levels, reverse heart disease, and lower cancer risks. (Please know that all recipes previously posted in this blog were written before I made this change.)

Black Bean Burgers (Vegetarian and Vegan Burgers)
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
1 can of diced tomatoes with chiles drained (Rotel)
1 bunch of fresh cilantro
2 cloves of garlic peeled
2 green onions with tops chopped
1 cup of carrots chopped
1 cup brown rice (cooked)
1 cup quick oats
Salt, soy sauce or Bragg's Aminos to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put the green onions, cilantro, carrots, and garlic cloves in a blender or food processor and process until pieces are finely minced to the size of lentils or smaller. Once a fine mince is achieved, add the rinsed beans and tomatoes with chiles until a paste (which is really more like a hummus) is formed.

Pour the paste into a bowl and add one cup of brown rice and 1 cup of quick oats and stir. (I like the brown rice because in makes the veggie burgers a little more moist.) Taste your mixture and add seasoning as needed. Form the mixture into patties and place on a lined baking sheet. This mixture should yield about 8 patties.

Place into the oven and cook for 12 minutes and then finish under the boiler of 2-3 minutes. All you want to do is brown the patties a little.

Assemble your burgers on whole wheat hamburger buns. Use a turner to pick up the patties from the baking pan and place a patty on the bun. I substitute mashed avocados for mayo as my spread, and loaded the sandwich with dill pickles, mustard, greens, tomatoes and onions. This "hamburger" is very satisfying and super-healthy. With recipes like these, some meat-eaters might be convinced to give this diet a chance!

Roasted Garlic Hummus

2011-08-31T08:09:00.000-07:00

Roasted Garlic Hummus Recipe compliments of Jamie Whitten

1 can garbanzo beans aka chickpeas

1 head garlic, roasted and squeezed out

1/3 cup Tahini

½ cup plain Greek yogurt

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt to taste

Several dashes cayenne pepper

4 Tbls olive oil

½ tsp. cumin (or more to taste)

Directions:

To roast garlic: Do not peel the head of garlic; instead, leave the entire head together, but cut off the top. Drizzle with olive oil and put in a garlic baker or custard cup covered with foil. Bake at 225 degrees for an hour or until soft. Let cool and squeeze the pulp out of each clove.

Rinse beans in strainer and place in a food processor. Process a few pulses. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Adjust seasonings if needed. A nice presentation is to serve the hummus in a flat bowl, sprinkled with paprika and drizzled with olive oil. Some assorted olives are a nice addition to the plate.

Tex-Mex Cooking with Chef Wally (a.k.a. John Lopez)

2010-10-23T07:54:00.000-07:00

Chef Wally, also known as John Lopez, and his wife, Kathi recently taught us how to make the Tex-Mex food John grew up eating in Texas. The food was fabulous and the class was a hit! During the class John taught how to make red salsa, jalapeno "Chile Macho" (the name says it all), standard guacamole, rice, beans, cheese enchiladas and BBQ brisket enchiladas. John cooked all of these dishes in Swiss Diamond Nonstick cookware and used his Peppermill Supreme 2000 exclusively for freshly ground black pepper and salt. John Lopez is the author of the cookbook, Texas Barbecue 101 and if you want a signed copy, I am sure that we can get you one!

“Enchiladas de Doris” Cheese Enchiladas
(These are the enchiladas John grew up eating)

12 corn tortillas
1 cup canola oil + ½ cup
1 cup flour
1Tbsp Chili Powder = 1 tsp. Gebhardt’s Chili Powder
1 tsp cumin powder
¼ tsp or less, curry powder (if you can easily taste the curry powder in the sauce, you put too much)
1 Tbsp salt
10-12 cups chicken broth
1 large onion, chopped
1 onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1-1/2 Lb. medium cheddar cheese, grated
¼ Lb. Queso Fresca, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Heat 1 cup canola oil in a 3-4 quart sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add flour & stir to make a blond roux. Cook for a couple of minutes to remove “raw” flour taste. Do not brown. Add minced onion and garlic, stir; add chili powder, curry, cumin, and, stir to blend; cook for 1-2 minutes. Do not burn spices.
Add chicken broth, stirring with a whisk to eliminate lumps. Add one half of salt. Stir & cook on low simmer for 20 minutes. Taste for seasoning & add more salt if needed. Cover, remove from heat. Let cool.
Ladle some sauce in the bottom of a baking dish, lasagna pan, casserole, etc. Dish must be large enough to hold 12 enchiladas without crowding.
In an 8 or 9 inch skillet, heat 1/2 cup canola oil. The oil should be hot enough to sear tortillas. Test temp by dipping an edge of tortilla in oil. It should bubble & sizzle.
Dip a tortilla in the oil on both sides just for a couple of seconds. You are trying to “seal” & soften the tortilla. You can use a wood spatula for this. I use my fingers, very carefully dipping the tortilla, ALMOST, all the way in the oil.

SAFETY NOTE: There is a very fine balance between temperature of the oil, just hot enough, but not too hot, and the length of time you dip, and the distance from the hot oil to your fingers. This technique was handed down to me from my mother. For safety reasons, I don’t recommend you try it, but it is interesting to watch.
Let the tortilla drain over the hot oil. You can blot on clean towel or paper towel if you like. I don’t blot. Immediately dip the tortilla into the sauce mixture on both sides. Here again, I use my fingers, but a wood spatula will work fine.
Place the tortilla on a work surface. Place a small amount of cheese and a few pieces of onion on the tortilla. Roll neatly and tightly and place in baking dish. Leave a little room between each enchilada.
Continue until all enchiladas are in baking dish. Cover with sauce. Sprinkle onion & cheddar cheese on top, sprinkle crumbled queso fresco on top. Cover with foil & bake for 20-25 minutes.
Remove the foil & bake for 5-10 minutes more until sauce mixture bubbles, then remove from oven, cover with foil & allow to “rest” for 5-10 minutes.
Serve with your favorite sides of rice & beans, plenty of cold beverages. We always top our enchiladas with “Chile Macho”. This is a fresh salsa recipe handed down in my family. My father puts it on EVERYTHING. He is 98 and we all believe he has lived to this age by eating tons of this. Recipe is below.

Chile Macho
(The only condiment John's dad carries with him at all times!)

12 Ripe Jalapenos
12 cloves garlic
Dash of salt
Juice of 1 lemon or lime
A scant few drops of vinegar

When you select your jalapenos at the market, look for ones with a smooth skin, a nice dark green color, and “little light colored lines” running perpendicular the length of the pepper. The lines are an indication of ripeness.
Remove stems from jalapenos and coarsely chop. Smash garlic with blade of knife and remove peel. Place jalapenos and garlic in food processor. Pulse, over & over to chop mixture completely and evenly. DO NOT CONTINUOUSLY PROCESS AS YOU WILL END UP WITH MUSH! Before food processors, my mother used to put ingredients in a sausage grinder and it came out great.
Add lemon juice, salt, & vinegar. Mix well and allow to set up for at least a couple of hours. If it looks too dry add a little bit of water. Keeps in the fridge for a week.

(Note to non-Texans: OK, this can be very hot. There are those folks who add a tomatillo or two or even a tomato or two. Removing the seeds and stems from the peppers takes away the heat. I don’t recommend it but there are those that do that.)

Mexican Rice

2 Tbsp canola oil
1 Cup long grain white rice
2 Cups chicken broth
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup onion, minced
1 tsp Gebhardt’s chili powder
½ tsp cumin
Dash curry powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp Mexican oregano

Add oil to a saute pan or covered casserole pan, add rice & cook, stirring until lightly toasted, add onion and garlic, cook, stirring another 1-2 minutes. Do not burn garlic. Add salt and spices, stir to blend & cook for 1 minute. Add broth, stir. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low simmer. Taste broth to test seasoning. Add salt if needed. Cook for 20 minutes. Let rest 10-20 minutes. Serve.

Roasted Salsa Rojo

1 onion, peeled & cut in half
4 large jalapenos
4-6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
2-4 tomatoes
8-20 hot dried red chiles like chile Japon
1-1/2 cups water, hot, not boiling
Dash of vinegar
Juice of I lemon
½ tsp. Mexican Oregano, crumbled
1 tsp. salt
1-2 cans (15 Oz.) of tomatoes (roasted if you can find them)

Place jalapenos, onion, garlic, and red chilies in fry pan. Toast a few minutes then remove red chilies to hot water in a small saucepan to reconstitute. Continue toasting until all vegetables are charred a bit. You may need to remove garlic first to prevent from burning. Peel garlic. Chop all other vegetables rough chop. Place in food processor.
(When red chilies are reconstituted, about 20 minutes, drain and add to food processor. Reserve water as you may wish to thin salsa with it.)
Add salt and Oregano. Pulse until mixture is processed evenly. Do not puree.
Add tomatoes, pulse to process evenly.
Add lemon & vinegar, pulse to blend.
Taste & add salt if needed.

Wally Guacamole´

4 Haas avocados, halved peeled and seeded
1 clove garlic, pressed with a garlic press
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt to taste
Optional:
1/3 cup onion, diced
1/3 cup diced tomato
2 green onions, thinly chopped
Cilantro leaves for garnish

Place avocados in a mixing bowl. Using a small knife, chop the avocados into roughly ½ inch chunks. Add garlic, lemon juice, and ¼ tsp salt.
Using a kitchen fork, blend the ingredients, mashing a bit, in the process. You do not want a puree or paste; you want this to be chunky.
Garnish if you like. You can mix any of the optional ingredients, if desired, when mashing.

Chicken Salad

2010-07-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

My chicken salad recipe is really simple, but you will need a food processor. I do not like chunky chicken salad. I like my chicken salad to be more chopped up and this is why I use a food processor to make it. I use a Cuisinart Elite food processor.
5 boneless and skinless chicken breasts

2 stalks of celery

1/4 medium onion

1/2 cup pecans

1 T Garlic Powder

Salt and pepper

1-2 Cup Mayonnaise

Poach chicken in simmering chicken broth until done (about 15 minutes) Once chicken is done place in a food processor and mince it. Use the pulse button to get the chicken to the desired texture. Remove to a large bowl.

Mince pecans, celery and onion in the same manner and pour into the bowl. Add the mayonnaise, salt and pepper and stir. If salad is too dry add a little of the cooking broth or more mayonnaise. Taste and add seasoning to your liking. Refrigerate immediately.

Pimento Cheese Spread

2010-07-19T08:33:00.000-07:00

3 oz. room temp. cream cheese.
1 lb sharp white cheddar cheese grated
1/2 lb. jack cheese grated
2 roasted red bell peppers
1 t. freshly ground pepper
3 T. chopped green onion or minced white onion
1/2 to 1 cup Hellmann's mayonnaise or homemade mayonnaise
3 dashes of hot sauce
1 t. garlic oil or granulated garlic
1 t. paprika

Preheat broiler on high and insert the peppers to roast. Keep an eye on them and roast them on all sides. Remove and wrap loosely in a towel or place in a zip-lock bag. Once cooled, remove the outer thin skin of the peppers.

I use a gas burner to roast the peppers. If you go this route, place the peppers directly over the flame on the burner grate. Allow them to blacken on all sides and remove them. Wrap loosely in a towel or place in a zip-lock bag and allow to cool. Remove charred skin, core and seed and place in a food processor. Use the pulse function of your food processor and process until you get the desired texture you want.

Whisk mayonnaise, peppers and cream cheese together to loosen the cream cheese. Grate cheeses in a food processor using the grating blades. Place cheeses, onions, hot sauce, paprika and garlic powder into the bowl with your pimento, cream cheese and mayo and fold until combined.

Serve immediately as an appetizer with toast points or toasted pita bread. Of course, you can make a sandwich with it, too! If you refrigerate it the mixture will stiffen. Bring back to room temperature and it will relax.

Gazpacho

2010-07-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

Gazpacho

2 Cucumbers (peeled, seeded and cut into cubes)

4 Large tomatoes (cubed)

1 Green bell pepper (chopped)

1 Red bell pepper (chopped)

1 Red onion (medium) (cubed)

2 Cloves garlic

Salt and Pepper to taste ( or use Knorr Chicken Bullion Powder as the salt)

1 cup tomato juice

1 T. parsley

¼ c. red wine vinegar

1T hot sauce or tobasco or 1 t. cayenne

Set aside 1/2 of the cubed vegetables and reserve for later. Place all other ingredients with a few cubes of ice into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour blended vegetables into a large bowl and add in the reserved cubed vegetables. Stir and taste. At this point you may want to add more salt or vinegar. Cover tightly andchill for 2 hours or more and serve with a garnish of parsley or olive oil. This cold soup goes well with crusty breads.

The Best Margarita--EVER!

2010-06-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

My friend, John Lopez, who knows a lot about food and drink made me one of these Margaritas at market last year in his showroom. Seriously, it was the best Margarita I have ever had and it is so simple to make. I am going to pretty much post his email to me about these Margaritas.

Before I post his email, you must know that these are "adult" Margaritas. While they go down very easy they are very potent!

Here is his email:

"The original Margarita recipe was 1 part citrus (lime) juice, 1 part orange liqueur, and three parts Tequila. I reduced the tequila to two parts to reduce liability about 15 years ago. At two parts tequila, there is plenty of tequila flavor to stand up to the sweet and sour flavors. Most good bars, if they even make "real" margaritas will use 1 to 1 to 1+, but this gives wrong flavor profile, throwing off the balance of sweet, sour, & tequila. You want to taste all three flavor components.

Important to use good quality tequila, i.e., Herradura (my personal favorite and the first weber blue agave tequila imported to USA, by Bing Crosby, no less), Patron, etc., but always use Silver Tequila, as rested or aged tequilas only confuse the classic margarita flavor. Also use Cointreau (very good but expensive) or natural Triple Sec such as De Kuyper. Avoid artificial flavored Triple Sec and Grand Marnier (too rich with Brandy & wastes $$)

We always use lemons for the juice in the cocktail and a lime to rim cocktail glass for Kosher salt, but try to only moisten the outside of the rim as you want the salty taste on your tongue but not in the cocktail. We only use lemons because lemons always taste like lemons. Limes vary in their taste.

These drinks are an acquired taste if you are used to normal bar style margaritas made with sweet & sour which tends to bury the tequila flavor.

If you prefer serving "Up", shake at least 30 times in shaker with fresh, dry, not melting, chunks of ice. Strain into Martini glass, avoiding the cliched Margarita tourist glass, salt rimmed , if you like. If you like on the rocks, prepare the same way in a shaker, but strain into small, (6 ounce seems to be perfect) tumbler or juice glass, salted as above. This keeps intake down & helps prevent over-indulging.

So the simple answer, if there is one, to your question is 1 part juice to 1 part orange liqueur to 2 parts tequila.

Hope this is enough info. If not, advise & I will opine.

Warmest regards from your trusty, amateur barkeep,

wally

Brewing Tea

2009-08-19T08:01:00.000-07:00

Tea is the second most popular beverage in the world. Only water is rated higher in world consumption than tea. It is estimated that somewhere between 18 and 20 billion 6 oz. cups of tea are drunk daily on our planet. An extension of numbers shows that the United States only imports enough tea annually to keep world usage rates going for 2 days. We have a lot to learn!

Tea has lots of things going for it; it is healthy, tasty, can be drunk hot or cold and has no calories. The only drawback for some is that it contains a stimulant called caffeine. Personally, I like caffeine, but a growing contingent of folks do not. My goal is to fill the casual tea drinker in on the types of teas and at what temperatures these teas brew the best. This entry is by no means exhaustive, but hopefully you can take a way a kernel of knowledge from it. I almost always brew my tea in a teapot, or when I am lazy, in a cup. There are all kinds of contraptions for brewing tea from tea infuser balls to tea infuser sticks. I heat the water in a tea kettle. I like the nostaligia of hearing the whistle. I use loose tea most of the time because it is much better than bags in terms of flavor.

Basic Types of Tea- Black, White and Green teas all come from the Camellia sinensis bush. What makes them different is in where the leaves come from on the bush and how the leaves are processed.

Black Tea- Fully fermented during processing. Leaves are picked from the mid section of the tea bush branch toward the trunk. Many times black teas are heat dried in big rolling bins similar to a clothes dryer. Black tea is the most common variety we drink around here. (36mg caffeine per 6 oz. cup) water temperature: 200 - 212 degrees; steeping time: 4 - 5 minutes

Green- Not fermented at all, unprocessed grassy taste (20mg caffeine per cup) Picked from the ends of the tea bush while leaves are opening. Water temperature: 170 - 190 degrees; steeping time: 1 - 3 minutes

White- Sometimes called Silver Needle (15mg caffeine per cup). The leaves are picked and harvested from the tips of the tea bush before the leaves open fully, when the buds are still covered by fine white hair. Hence the name. White tea is scarcer than the other traditional teas, and can be quite a bit more expensive. Charcterized by a light and sweet flavor. Water temperature: 170 - 190 degrees; steeping time: 1 - 3 minutes

Red Tea- Not really a tea (technically a Tisane, or herbal tea, because it is not made from the Camellia sinensis plant)-- instead it is made from the dried and oxidized leaves of the South African Aspalathis linearis plant. Often, Red tea is called Rooibos (from the Dutch South African language meaning red bush). Little to no caffeine.

Herbal Tea- Also called Tisanes are not teas at all. They are a grouping of herbs, zest, flowers and more that are a substitute for tea. Some are quite good! Water temperature: 212 degrees; steeping time: 5 - 7 minutes

Cool Trick! Decaffeinate your tea at home. (only for loose teas, sorry) You may decaffeinate your own tea by pouring hot water over the tea leaves, waiting 30 seconds, then pouring off that first infusion. This removes roughly 2/3 of the caffeine per 6 oz. Don't exceed that 30-second time frame, however, or you will lose much of the vitamins and antioxidant effects, as well as flavor. Depending on the kind of black tea you are drinking, this method will lose some of the flavor, which I think will be acceptable to most who want to reduce caffeine. This only works for loose tea, however, not for tea bags. Tea bags are designed to brew very quickly -- the leaves are in very small pieces, called "dust", which enables the tea to brew more quickly. You would lose much too much flavor with a tea bag.

Making Homemade Chicken Stock

2009-08-06T09:09:00.000-07:00

When I was a young boy we raised a few chickens on our property. I can remember gathering the eggs before school each morning. I will never forget the summer day when granddad and grandmother came over with an axe and large stock pot in their hands and said we were going to slaughter some young chickens. I had never realized before that time how chickens made it to my dinner plate. We killed, boiled and plucked the chickens in my back yard. I have never tasted better chicken in my life. I think I was 10 years old at the time and I can still remember the flavor and the tenderness of that chicken and how good the chicken stock tasted.

Sorry for reminiscing. There are very few things that taste better than homemade chicken stock. Sure, it takes a little time, but the effort is worth the flavor. When I'm in a pinch or a rush, I generally reach for chicken base or a store-purchased chicken broth, but I stay away from chicken bullion cubes. They are too salty--as a matter of fact, all of them are too salty, but when you are in a rush you just have to make do. Making homemade chicken stock does take a little time, so when you're ready to make it make a bunch of it. It freezes for a long time. I use chicken stock as a base for soups and sauces or whenever a recipe calls for it.

Homemade Chicken Stock
3-4 lbs. assorted chicken necks, backs & wings (I save them up in the freezer as I get them)
6 garlic cloves
1 large onion, quartered
5 carrots, rough chopped
5 celery stocks
Enough water to cover everything
2 bay leaves
5 T. kosher salt
1T. white pepper
olive oil
fresh parsley

To make the stock, first heat a large stock pot or pasta pot to medium-high heat. Add the oil and the chicken parts and brown them (browning will add depth of color and flavor to the stock) until they are lightly browned. Once browned, add the onion, garlic, celery, carrots, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Add enough cold water to cover everything--about 3/4 full.

Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once the pot has achieved a boil turn down the heat to simmer. When the boiling ceases skim off any fat that has risen. Cover tightly and simmer for another hour and a half. Turn off the heat and allow the broth to cool for about 35 minutes. If you are using a pasta pot with an insert simply raise the insert and discard the bones and skin and other solids. If you are using a regular stockpot you'll want to use a colander or strainer and pour everything through it.

To make the broth clearer you may filter it through a coffee filter or paper towel. Once filtered, place the stock in the refrigerator overnight. The fat will rise to the surface and harden. At this point, you can simply scoop it out. There will be some gelatin there, too. Keep it if you can; it's good for you. Freeze what you do not plan on using straight away.

Happy cooking,
Marcus

Making Ice Pops for Your Kids and Grandkids

2009-07-30T09:40:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up my mom made ice pops for my brothers and me all summer. Generally they were made with juice or punch. As we grew a little older we would make them ourselves. It would take forever for them to freeze because we would open the freezer every 10 minutes to see how they were doing. My wife and I, at the constant urging of my 7 year old son, introduced making home-made ice pops to him and his little sister this summer. There are very few things that will brighten a kid's day like an ice pop. Where we come from, the generic name for ice pops is "p@pcicle$" (sorry for the spelling, but I once received a certified letter from the company that I intentionally misspelled telling me to cease using their trademarked name on my website).

The ice pop molds from my childhood were anything but exciting to me and many times we used the even more unexciting ice tray with toothpicks. Today, you can get some really cool ice pop mold shapes that kids will love like rockets and shooting stars. There are some really cool rocket ice pop molds that allow for two stage freezing so you can have two flavors in one. The most popular one we sell is called the Groovy ice pop mold, which holds a lot of icy goodness.

The problem with store purchased ice pops today is that they are full of refined sugars and corn syrup that many people argue are detrimental to a child's health. I am not an authority on the sugar debate, but I do know that supermarket varieties are full of dead calories with little nutritional content and the fact that the packaging they use is not "green" is of concern. If you want to see healthier recipes for making ice pops try looking at this blog.

Here is a recipe for Red, White and Blue ice pops. It is not the most healthy recipe, but you will know how much sugar your children will be taking into their bodies. Recipe is from Cuisipro.

1/4 cup blue raspberry Jell-O (half package)
1 cup water.
1/4 cup lemon juice.
1/2 cup sugar.
1 teaspoon gelatin powder.
1 cup water.
1/4 cup cherry Jell-O (half package).
1 cup water.

When making ice pops with more than one flavor, make sure to allow each flavor to cool before adding it to the mold or it will melt into the previous layer.

Combine the blue jello powder with 1/2 cup of hot water. Stir until the powder is dissolved and had 1/2 cup of cold water. Pour this mixture into the molds until the bottom one third of the mold is filled. Place in the freezer for at least two hours or until frozen.

While the bottom third is freezing, combine sugar, gelatin, lemon juice and 1/2 cup of hot water. Stir until dissolved and add 1/2 cup cold water. Allow the mixture to cool and fill the next third with this mixture. Freeze for another two hours.

In another bowl, repeat the same process with the cherry flavored gelatin that you did with the blue gelatin powder. Fill the pop molds almost to the top, put on the lids and insert the sticks. Allow to freeze overnight, or at least five hours.

How To Make Chiles Rellenos with How to Video

2009-07-24T10:49:00.000-07:00

Dora Jennings visited our cooking class again tonight at Distinctive Decor and bestowed upon us more great Mexican recipes! Tonight, Dora taught us how to make chiles rellenos. Being a chile rellenos lover, I was super excited to learn. We hope that you enjoy these recipes as much as we did. Enjoy our How-to videos embedded in the recipe.

Chiles Rellenos de Picadillo
By Dora Jennings

Picadillo

1/2 pound ground beef.
One large potato, diced.
One half onion, diced.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Brown the ground beef on medium-high heat in a skillet. Break down the meat into very small pieces and add the onions and potatoes and cook until potatoes are cooked through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Preparing the Poblano Peppers

Six poblano peppers
1 cup flour.
Six large eggs separated.
Peanut oil or vegetable oil for frying
One onion sliced.
Salsa.
Crema Caique

Step 1: Place your poblano peppers on the open flame of your gas burner and evenly char the skin of the pepper making sure you don't burn through the pepper. You will need to turn them often to produce a black char over the entire pepper. Make sure that you do not burn the stem, you will need that stem as a handle later when frying.

Step 2: Wrap each charred pepper in a wet kitchen towel as they are done. Allow the peppers to steam from their own heat for at least 10 minutes. The steam from the peppers will facilitate peeling. (You may also use a zip lock bag to do this.).

Step 3: Peel the charred skin from the peppers and (Step 4:) cut a small opening toward the top of the pepper and cut down the pepper about 3 inches and pull out the seeds (you may rinse the pepper in water to make sure all the seeds are gone). See the video on this.

Step 5: Stuff the pepper with Picadillo stuffing and seal with a toothpick and set aside.

Bring a frying pan to high heat and add oil to the pan. Add oil until you have at least 1/2 inch in the bottom.

Whip egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. With the mixer on low speed add the egg yokes one at a time until blended.

Step 6: Place flour in a flat plate or pie dish and roll the stuffed peppers in it coating the entire pepper.
Step 7: Dip them in the egg batter making sure they are coated evenly.

Step: 8 Make sure the oil is sizzling and carefully place the pepper on the pan and fry on all sides (I usually fry it on three sides) and set on a cookie sheet with a rack so the oil can drip down away from the pepper. You do not want your pepper to sit in oil while it is cooling. The frying time for each side should only be about 30 seconds, or less per side.

Chiles Rellenos Topping.

3 T. Olive oil
one large onion sliced
3-4 Cups fresh roasted salsa (see the roasted tomato salsa recipe in this blog.)
Crema Cacique

Heat oil in frying pan. Add the sliced onions and sauté until fragrant. Add salsa and cook for about a minute. Serve over the chiles rellenos and top with crema caique. Serve the chiles rellenos immediately.

Making the Roasted Mexican Salsa and Guacamole

3 fresh jalapeno peppers
9-11 fresh Roma tomatoes
2 T. Knorr Powdered Chicken Bullion

Char the tomatoes and peppers on a scorching-hot cast iron griddle or pan until the skins are black and they are softened. Once black and soft throw into a blender along with the 2 T. of bullion. Blend until you get the consistency you want. For a chunkier salsa only pulse the blender.

Note: Dora says that a 2:1 ratio of tomatoes to peppers yeilds a medium-hot salsa. I used three peppers and 11 tomatoes and mine almost blew my head off! I suggest you use 1 whole jalapeno and cut the other two in half. Scoop out the seeds and the white rib that holds the seeds. Blacken the halves on the skin side only. If you like it hot leave them whole. Serve with corn tortilla chips or use as a condiment. If you want to play a joke on someone double the jalapenos or throw in a habanero pepper!

Our Big Fat Greek Cooking Class Recipes: Hummus and Greek Meatballs

2009-07-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

Originally posted July 17, 2009

The following recipes are not mine. They were learned by my aunt Jamie when she was in Greece recently. She wrote them and I edited them. She taught the cooking class that we entitled, "Our Big, Fat Greek Cooking Class." The class was sold out and everyone enjoyed the food. Here are her recipes.

Roasted Garlic Hummus

1 can Bush’s Best garbanzo beans
1 head garlic, roasted and squeezed out
1/3 cup Tahini
½ cup plain yogurt
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt to taste
Several dashes cayenne pepper
4 Tbls olive oil
½ tsp. cumin (or more to taste

To roast garlic:
Do not peel; leave the entire head together, but cut off the top. Drizzle with olive oil and put in garlic baker or custard cup covered with foil. Bake at 225 for an hour or until soft. Let cool and squeeze the pulp out of each clove.

Rinse beans in strainer. Process a few pulses. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Adjust seasonings. A nice presentation is to serve the hummus in a flat bowl, sprinkled with paprika and drizzled with olive oil. Some assorted olives are a nice addition to the plate. Brush flatbread (pita bread) with olive oil and toast it on a griddle. Cut into wedges and serve with hummus for dipping.

Greek Tzatziki Sauce

2 cups Greek style yogurt
1 English cucumber, seeded, chopped finely and water squeezed out
3 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
2 tbls McCormick Greek Seasoning2 tbls olive oil
2 tbls lemon juice or white wine vinegar
Salt to taste

There are two key steps to making tzatziki so it will not be runny and watery: First, if you cannot find Greek-style yogurt, strain regular plain yogurt over a bowl in a strainer lined with coffee filters or cheesecloth for several hours or overnight. It will reduce by at least half. Second, cucumbers have a lot of water in them, so chop them very finely, sprinkle them with salt, then roll them in a clean tea towel and squeeze out as much moisture as you can.

I like the taste and texture of English cucumbers, but regular cucumbers will do
just fine. Cut the cucumbers in half and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds. Mix all ingredients and refrigerate for several hours or overnight to develop best flavor.

Keftethes: Greek Meatballs

2 lbs ground pork
8 slices French bread, soaked in water and then drained
2 eggs
1 onion chopped very finely
2 tbls dried mint
2 tbls dried oregano
2 tbls dried parsley
1 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients---I used latex gloves and mix with my hands. Roll into balls about the size of a walnut, or make into patties. Fry in ¾” vegetable oil at 375 degrees or medium high heat, turning once. At some point they will start getting really loud---you’re on the right track! They will also turn almost black---this is a good thing! Drain on paper towel-lined jelly roll pan. Serve immediately or store. To reheat place in an oven until warm or serve at room temperature.

Brunch! Eggs Benedict and Kentucky Hot Browns

2009-07-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

Originally posted April 21, 2009

There are very few things I like to eat better than Eggs Benedict. Here is a nice recipe for those who fear making hollandaise. My recipe uses chilled butter and some water to help make the sauce more stable. It takes a little longer to cook it, but the risk of the sauce separating is decreased. Do not fear; try it!

Eggs Benedict

4 slices of Canadian bacon or ham (warmed)

4 English muffin halves (2 whole ones) toasted

4 eggs poached

Hollandaise sauce

3 egg yolks

1 t. water

1/8 t. cayenne pepper

12 T. butter cubed

Salt to taste

3 t. lemon juice

To prepare the hollandaise pour 2 inches of water into the bottom pan of a double boiler or saucepan and bring to a simmer. Whisk the egg yolks (separate the whites from the yolks using your hands or an egg seperator), water, lemon and salt in the top pan of the double boiler or metal mixing bowl. Place the mixing bowl or upper part of the double boiler on the lower pan and continue to whisk. Do not let the water in the bottom pan touch the bottom of the pan containing the egg yolks. Whisk until the yolks thicken (until you can see the trails left by the whisk wires in the eggs) and add the butter in small quantities while whisking. Incorporate all the butter into the sauce. Take the pan or mixing bowl from the steam for about 10 seconds when you mix in a portion of butter and then return it to the heat.

If the hollandaise starts to get too thick add hot water and continue whisking. Whisk until all butter has been incorporated. Add the cayenne. TASTE! It might need more lemon or salt.

Poaching eggs:

There are a variety of kitchen tools available for poaching eggs like poaching pans or poach pods. I like using an egg cooker most of the time for ease.

The technological way: add eggs and push a button.

The traditional way: In a wide-bottomed sauce pan or sauté add 3 -4 inches of water and about a tablespoon of salt. Bring the water to a simmer.

Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Once water is simmering stir the water in a circle to create a mild whirlpool. Crack the egg and release the contents into the whirlpool. This will keep the yolk and white together. Cook until the white is set and the yolk is still runny. Remove egg from the pan with a slotted spoon.

Kentucky Hot Browns (A Derby Staple)

This dish is quintessentially southern. It is served all around Kentucky. The flavors work beautifully together. Start by roasting the turkey breast, toasting the bread, slicing the tomatoes and cooking the bacon. You will want these to be ready ahead of time. Then prepare your bechamel cheese sauce. Bechamel is a white sauce made of butter, flour and milk and serves as the base for many famous sauces. If you have ever made homemade mac and cheese odds are you have made a bechamel sauce. You could easily pour this sauce over macaroni and become a hero with your kids. This recipe serves 8.

3 tablespoons butter

¼ cup all-purpose flour

2 cups cold whole milk

1/4 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese English White Cheddar is best

8 T. grated Parmesan cheese

1 pound cooked turkey breast

8 slices toast

8 slices tomato

16 strips bacon

More Parmesan for topping

Salt to taste

Place the butter into a saucepan on medium-low heat. Once the butter is melted add the flour and whisk for about 4-5 minutes. Add the cold milk and whisk to remove any lumps. Add salt. Once mixture has thickened add the cheeses. Stir until cheese is melted.

To assemble, place the toast on a baking sheet or in an oven proof dish. Place turkey on top of toast and smother with the sauce. Add grated Parmesan to the top and place under a 400 degree broiler until brown spots appear. Once browned, remove, add tomato to the top and two pieces of bacon. Serve immediately.

Baked Fish with Risotto Primavera and Parmesan Cheese Garlic Bread

2009-07-24T10:33:00.000-07:00

Originally published April 7, 2009

Not too long ago My wife and I were in Dallas for market (the World Trade Center in Dallas)--we do this twice a year. People always tell me, "Oh, what fun it must be to go to market!" Well, to me, market pretty much sucks. We have appointments booked from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. All those hours are spent with manufacturers' representatives who want to sell you whatever you will buy. We always leave exhausted. It is far from being fun, but you have to keep up with new product offerings. It is important to go.

This year we decided to only make a few appointments so we could venture from the same old showrooms we always visit and see new lines we might want to offer at www.distinctive-decor.com This allowed us to get to our hotel much earlier in the evening. So, we went out to eat. One night we ate at a really loud and dimly lit restaurant named Avanti in Dallas. It is a yuppie-ish Italian restaurant. My wife had spinach lasagna that she washed down with a beer and I had the dish that I am writing about here- baked fish with risotto primavera (which also was washed down with a beer). The food was good, but best of all it was fairly simple--simple enough for me to deconstruct and make for myself.

Baked Fish

The fish for this dish needs to be a white-fleshed fish. Cod, red snapper, flounder, mahi-mahi or striped bass work well. Season the fish on both sides with salt, pepper and paprika. The paprika promotes browning. Cook fish in 1 T. of olive oil for 3-4 minutes on one side in a hot pan. Flip the fish, squeeze lemon over it and slide the pan into the oven set at 400 degrees. Cook 10 minutes. Remove when the fish begins to flake.

Risotto Primavera

2-3 Cups of Risotto (Arborio) or Short-Grain Rice

1 broccoli head cut into small pieces

3-4 Carrots cut into strips

2 Zucchini squashes cut into strips

¼ Medium Onion Finely Diced

¼ C. White Wine

8-10 Cups of Chicken Broth or Stock

Grated Parmesan Cheese

¼ Cup heavy cream (essential for a primavera)

1 T. Italian seasoning

½ Cup water

Salt to taste

Cut broccoli into small pieces and cut zucchini and carrots into ribbons. You can do this with a julienne peeler. Sauté carrots, zucchini, broccoli and Italian seasoning. Add ½ cup water to steam. Once water has evaporated remove vegetables to a tray.

Pour 2 T. olive oil into a medium sauce pot and sauté the onion until translucent. Add the arborio rice and stir to coat the rice in oil. Deglaze with the white wine and allow the wine to absorb while stirring. Add chicken broth one cup at a time and stir until broth has been absorbed. Risotto gets its creaminess from the starch content of the Arborio rice grains and the action of rubbing them together by stirring. Keep adding stock until the rice is a dente, but tender. Grate in Parmesan cheese, add cream and stir in the vegetables. If the risotto is too tight you may add more stock or cream to loosen it.

Italian Bread Appetizer

Small sourdough loaf, split

4 garlic cloves

4 T. Butter or Olive Oil

Parmesan cheese

Dry basil

Split the sourdough loaf and brush to coat with the garlic butter or garlic oil. (Create the garlic oil/butter by heating the fat and simmering the garlic cloves in the fat for 10-15 minute.) Sprinkle an even layer of parmesan onto the bread and drizzle a little more garlic butter or oil on top. Cook under the broiler at 400 degrees until lightly browned. As soon as the bread is removed from the oven sprinkle crushed dried basil on top. All you want is a dusting of basil.

Basil Oil

2 cups of fresh basil leaves (not packed)

Juice of 1 lemon

½ cup olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Once mixture is smooth, pour into a squeeze bottle

and use. Spoon the risotto on the plate and lay the fish across the risotto. Next squirt basil oil over the top of the fish in a nice design. Make it pretty!

Tres Leches Cake by Dora Jennings

2009-07-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

Originally posted February 5,2009

I want to thank Ashley, a friend of mine from high school, who reminded me to blog about this. I was browsing Facebook and noticed that she was musing about her tres' leches cake. I offered this recipe to her from Dora Jennings, who teaches some of our cooking classes in the store.

This is a fabulous cake and it takes a little work, but it is worth the extra labor. The cake is super-moist and sweet and the topping is a simple, sweetened whipped cream with meaty chunks of mango sitting atop--absolutely rich, sweet, creamy and fruity deliciousness. I will add that this cake is full of wonderful waist-size-increasing calories and should be eaten in moderation--if you can resist. If you are lactose intolerant...sorry--this recipe is a "no go" for you! It IS called 3 milks cake!

Here is Dora's Tres' Leches Cake recipe:

6 Large Eggs (yolks and whites separated into two bowls)

2 Cups Sugar

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

2 t. Baking Powder

½ Cup Whole Milk

1 t. Vanilla Extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease and flour a 9” X 13” rectangular cake pan—set it aside until later.

Get out your stand mixer or hand mixer and beat the egg whites on low speed until soft peaks are formed. Add the sugar gradually with the mixer running and beat until stiff peaks are formed. Add the egg yolks one at a time on low speed until all yolks are incorporated.

Sift the flour and baking powder together to mix. Pour the flour mixture into the egg mixture in thirds and fold as to not deflate the mixture.(Pour in a third of the flour mixture, fold until incorporated and repeat two times. Move quickly!)

Add the vanilla, pour into the cake pan you prepared. Cook 25 minutes or until the cake is golden and set in the middle. A toothpick or cake tester will help you with this. If the tester is inserted and comes out clean you are good to go--if not, bake until it is done.

Cream Topping:

1 14 oz. can of evaporated milk

1 14 oz. can of sweetedned condensed milk

1 Cup heavy cream

In a blender or mixer, combine above ingredients and mix at high speed until well mixed. Pour this mixture over the still-hot cake and allow it to cool to room temperature. The idea is to let this topping seep through the entire cake. Cover and refrigerate.

Final Cream Topping:

2 Cups Heavy Cream

½ Cup Powdered Sugar

1 t. Vanilla Extract

1 Bag of Frozen Mango or 2 Ripe Mangos

After cake has been completely chilled, whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla until soft peaks are formed. I usually use a stick blender for whipping cream. Spread the cream topping evenly on top of the cake and arrange the mango chunks on top and serve. You can use other fruits if you do not like mangos.

Lemon Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Risotto

2009-07-24T10:28:00.000-07:00

Originally published January 29, 2009
I picked up the know-how on the lemon chicken from the famous New York eatery, Rao's Restaurant. They published a cookbook quite a few year's back and this recipe stood out to me. I thought its tartness would go very well mushroom risotto. Boy, was I correct. My mushroom risotto is very rich and needed an uplift from the lemon pan juices. When you serve this dish make sure to lay down a bed of risotto and lay a piece of chicken on top. Spoon a couple of spoons full of the pan drippings on top of the chicken so that it runs down to the risotto--the result: gastronomical heaven.
This is my "go to" recipe when we entertain 8-12 people in our home. Guests absolutely love it. The secret is that you can prepare this meal in little time. The chicken is super simple and can cook while you are working on the risotto.
Here is the recipe and instructions.

Italian Lemon Chicken

(Inspired by Rao’s Restaurant in NYC)

1-2 chickens cut into pieces (bone in and skin on--don't skimp on the skin)5 Garlic Cloves

Juice of 2-3 Lemons

1 T. Red Wine Vinegar

Salt and Pepper

¾ Cup Oil

Do not season the chicken. All flavor is imparted by the vinaigrette. Making the vinaigrette is easy. Simply place the above ingredients (excluding the chicken) in a blender and blend well. I use an immersion (stick) blender for this. Taste and make sure your marinade is tart, but not overwhelmingly tart.

Arrange unseasoned chicken pieces in a roasting pan or lasagna dish. Place under a 500 degree broiler on the middle rack. Cook for 10 minutes and flip. Cook 10 minutes longer and remove the chicken from the oven. Apply the vinaigrette liberally-coating to each piece of chicken. Any leftover vinaigrette may be poured into the roasting pan. Place back under the broiler for 3 minutes and it will be ready.

Tomatoes & Squash Medley

2 Small Squash

2 Small Zucchinis

1 Clove Garlic Minced

1 flat of Cherry Tomatoes (Halved)

2 t. Italian Herb Seasoning

2 T. Olive Oil

Slice the squash and zucchini on the bias (diagonally slice). Add oil to hot pan and add the squashes, tomatoes and seasoning. Sauté until the squashes are tender.

Creamy Mushroom Risotto

2-3 Cups of Risotto or Short-Grain Rice

1 Flat of Mushrooms Sliced

¼ Medium Onion Finely Diced

¼ C. White Wine

8-10 Cups of Chicken Broth or Stock

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Heavy Cream (Optional)

Of the three dishes here, this risotto is the more challenging of the three, but don’t worry—it is easy, too.

Pour 2 T. olive oil into a medium sauce pot and sauté the onion until translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid. Add the rice and stir to coat. Deglaze with the white wine and allow the wine to absorb while stirring. Add chicken broth one cup at a time and stir until broth has been absorbed. Risotto gets its creaminess from the rice grains rubbing together as they release their starch. Keep adding stock until the rice is a dente, but tender. Your rice grains should not be crunchy--just firm. If they are crunchy add more stock and cook longer. Grate in Parmesan cheese. If the risotto is too tight and clumpy you may add more stock to loosen it. When you serve risotto it should relax when it hits the plate, not be in a clump. You may also add cream at this point, but adding cream is cheating! Most restaurants do add cream because they do not have the time to stir the risotto.

Tortilla Soup and Hungarian Mushroom Soup

2009-07-24T10:20:00.000-07:00

Originally published January 26,2009

My family loves soup; you should hear my kids slurping soup from their spoons. While their slurping can grate on my nerves, I can take it (for a little while) because I know that they are really enjoying the soup I prepared for them. Both of my kids really like these soups and I taught participants in one of my cooking classes how to make them, too. Both are simply delicious and will warm you on a cold winter's day or night. The tortilla soup works on a warm spring day, too.

The Mansion’s Retired Tortilla Soup

(From the Mansion at Turtle Creek Cookbook--Dean Fearing's recipe adapted by me)

The beauty of this soup lies in the light tomato broth (like a tomato consommé) and the beautiful garnishes. This is absolutely the best tortilla soup I have ever eaten.

3 T. Oil (do not use olive oil)

4 Corn Tortillas (roughly chopped)

6 Cloves Garlic

1 T. Chopped Cilantro

1 Cup Fresh Onion Puree

2 Cups Fresh Tomato Puree

1 T Cumin Powder

2 t. Chili Powder

2 Bay Leaves

4 T. Canned Tomato Puree

2 Qts. (8 Cups) Chicken Broth

¼ t. Cayenne Pepper (or to taste)

1 Cooked Chicken Breast Shredded or cut into strips

1 Avocado (Peeled, seeded, and cubed)

4-5 Corn Tortillas (cut into strips & fried crisp in oil)

½ Lime (squeezed into finished soup)

Lime for garnish

Scallions cut thinly for garnish

Jalapenos for garnish (seeded and ribs removed cut into cubes)

Heat oil in a stock pot or large saucepan and add the chopped corn tortillas, cilantro and the garlic. Sauté until tortillas are soft. Next, add the fresh onion and fresh (not canned) tomato purees into the pot and bring to a boil. (To make the purees, simply blend tomatoes and onion in your blender.) Add the cumin, chili powder, bay leaves, canned tomato puree and the chicken broth and reduce heat to a simmer. Add cayenne and salt to taste and cook for 30 minutes—stirring frequently.

Strain and pour strained soup into a warm tureen or bowl and garnish table-side with the chicken, cheese, lime, avocado, tortilla strips and serve immediately. (Serves 8-10)

Hungarian Mushroom Soup

This soup is rich and hearty. A crusty loaf of sourdough bread is a must with this soup for sopping up the last drops.

½ Med. Onion (finely diced)

2 Garlic Cloves (finely diced or grated)

1 Qt. (4 Cups) Chicken Broth

1 Qt. (4 Cups) Beef Broth

1-1/2 T. Paprika (not smoked)

1 T. Dill

2 T. Butter

2 Flats of White or Cremini Mushrooms

Salt to taste

1 Cup Heavy Cream

2 T. All Purpose Flour

Heat the butter in a large saucepan or stock pot and add the onions and then the garlic (to keep garlic from burning). Once softened, add the mushrooms and cook until they release their moisture. Add the flour and paprika and stir. Cook for two minutes. Add the broths and bring to a boil and reduce the heat to med-low. Cook for 10 minutes and add the cream and taste. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Add the dill.

Serve with a garnish of sour cream and a side of crusty bread.

(Serves 8-10)

Authentic Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chiles Sauce, Spanish Rice and Beans

2009-07-24T10:17:00.000-07:00

Originally published October 7, 2008

Authentic Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce, Spanish Rice and Beans

Recipes used with permission of Dora Jennings

Recently, we invited a wonderful lady, Dora Jennings, to teach a cooking class for us on Mexican cuisine. Dora teaches the Mexican cuisine she learned growing up in a Mexican border town. Of course, other regions of Mexico have different takes on what she prepared for us. This meal is fabulous and I was able to re-create it easily.

Chicken Enchiladas and Red Chiles Sauce

10 dried and seeded Huajillo (Guajillo) peppers

5 Ancho peppers dried and seeded

Garlic Powder or Garlic Oil

Enough Corn Tortillas for 2-4 enchiladas per person

4 Chicken breasts de-boned and skinned

1 Med. Onion diced

24 oz. Queso Fresco crumbled

Powdered Chicken Bullion Knorr Brand

1 Cup Peanut oil or other oil with high smoke point

2 tbsp olive oil

Preparing the enchilada sauce:

Split the dried peppers, remove stems, fibers and seeds. Place the peppers into a pot that is deep enough for them to be covered with water. Bring the water to a boil and add the peppers. Boil them until they are soft. Once softened, taste the water used to boil the peppers. If it tastes bitter discard the water.

Place peppers, a tablespoon of powdered chicken bullion and some of the remaining red water used to boil the peppers (if the water is bitter add fresh water) into a blender. Blend until the sauce is smooth. Dip your index finger into the sauce. When you rub your index finger and thumb together you should feel no fibers or skin; it should be slick. If not, you may want to use a sieve and strain it.

Place a sauté pan on medium heat and add the olive oil. Once it is hot add the garlic oil or garlic powder. Once it is fragrant add the red sauce and lower the heat to simmer until you are ready to dip the tortillas.

Poaching the chicken:

Bring a pot of water to a boil add salt or chicken broth and then add the chicken breasts. Bringing the water to a boil first will reduce the amount of white film that leads to boil-overs. Cook the chicken until it is done—about 20 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate so it can cool. Once it is cool enough to handle, shred the chicken.

Creating the Cheese Topping:

Cube one 24oz wheel of Queso Fresco (Queso Fresco is available in most grocery stores) into 1 or 2 inch cubes. Likewise, cube ½ of a medium onion. Place the onion into a food processor and pulse 3 times. Add the cheese and pulse until the cheese and onion are mixed well and cheese is crumbly.

Assembling the Enchiladas:

Add peanut oil to a skillet (about 2 cups) and heat to 350 degrees. Add one corn tortilla and cook on both sides until the edge just begins to crisp (5-10 seconds on each side). You want your tortilla to be pliable. If the tortilla cannot be rolled it has been cooked too long. Repeat this process until you have cooked the entire batch.

Dip a tortilla into the red sauce and place a small amount of chicken on it and roll it tightly. The enchilada should be about the diameter of a nickel. Place it on a baking sheet, seam side down, and repeat until you are finished with the batch. Sprinkle the queso fresco and onion mixture onto the enchiladas and bake for 10 minutes in a preheated oven set to 275 degrees.

Spanish Rice

2 Roma Tomatoes

¼ Onion Chopped in large pieces

1-1/2 cup Basmati, Texmati or other Long Grain Rice

Powdered Chicken Bullion to taste

4 T Olive oil

Chicken Broth (reserved from poaching the chicken)

Pre-soak rice in warm water—the longer you soak it the quicker it will cook. Drain well just prior to cooking.

Boil the tomatoes until soft, place in a blender and add powdered chicken bullion and blend them.

Set a frying pan or sauté pan over medium heat and add the oil. When oil is hot, add the onion and cook until softened. Add the drained rice and toast for 5 minutes. Add the tomato puree, mix well and cook for 2 minutes. Add enough poaching liquid to cover the rice and cover. If rice is undercooked after all broth is absorbed, add more broth until rice is soft.

Mexican Beans

By far, the beans are the easiest part of this meal to make. They taste great. I will always make my beans this way from this point forward.

3 cups of dried pinto beans

½ head of garlic

½ onion

6 slices chopped bacon

Powdered Chicken Bullion

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the bullion, bacon, garlic head and onion and bring back to a boil. Add the beans. Taste the water and adjust seasonings now because your beans will end up tasting like the liquid used to cook them. As the beans cook they will absorb the broth, so keep hot water handy to pour in when the beans begin to absorb the liquid. When the beans are soft, puree them with a hand blender until smooth.

Arroz Con Pollo with Salsa Verde

2009-07-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

Originally posted July 25, 2008

Arroz Con Pollo (Chicken with Rice) is one of my favorite Spanish dishes. The chicken is tender and the rice is fluffy. (I made a large pot of it for our staff here at www.distinctive-decor.com and they loved it.)

My recipe is a conglomeration of many recipes. (This brings up a practice of mine. I always research multiple recipes and take what I like from each one. I then piece the recipe back together and give it a whirl. If I like it; I keep it. If not, I go back to the drawing board. This is not a hard thing to do; I promise!)

For this recipe to really be great you need a heavy cooking vessel that retains heat well and can be placed into the oven. I use a 9-1/2 quart Le Creuset French Oven for this, the larger the better. They are somewhat expensive, but the results are outstanding. Consider the investment because I use mine for Sunday pot roasts, soups, stews, braising or even boiling 2 lbs of pasta.

Arroz Con Pollo

1 Fryer or purchase an already cut-up chicken
Enough cooking oil to brown the chicken and sauté your sofrito
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
cayenne pepper to your taste (go sparingly if you make the salsa condiment)
Chorizo sausage
1 yellow onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper chopped

3 bay leaves
4 cups long grain white rice
1 can diced tomatoes with liquid
6 cups chicken broth, warm
(Green olives are optional—if you want them in the dish, scatter them over the top after the dish has cooked.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix the paprika, cayenne, salt, pepper and cumin to make a dry rub. Coat each chicken piece with the rub. Gently place the chicken, skin side down, in your heavy, enameled cast iron Dutch/French oven heated to med-high. Brown both sides of chicken pieces and remove to a plate. This will take about 10 minutes.

Saute your chorizo in the French oven and cook for a couple of minutes. (If you are using dry chorizo you need to chop it up and sauté it before browning the chicken. Once crispy remove it and reserve until you reinsert the chicken later. The fat rendered from the dry chorizo will serve as your browning fat for the chicken.) Add your sofrito--onions, peppers, bay leaves and garlic. Saute until softened thoroughly (almost falling apart). Add the broth and tomatoes and cook for another two minutes. At this point, taste the mixture and adjust seasonings. Add the rice and boil (stir a few times to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the Dutch oven. Once you have achieved a boil, reduce heat and cook until the mixture simmers for 7 minutes. Reinsert the chicken (lay it on top so the rice will cook evenly.) Put on the lid and pop your dutch oven into the oven preheated to 350 degrees. Cook the dish for 20 minutes or until the chicken is done and the rice is tender.

(After 20 minutes remove the dutch oven from the oven and check the doneness of the chicken and rice. If your rice is not as tender as you like it and all liquid has been absorbed simply add a few cups of hot water and cook in the oven 10-15 minutes longer. If liquid still remains place back into the oven until visible liquid has been absorbed.

Believe it or not, arroz con pollo can be a little flat on the tongue because the rice tends to weaken the flavor. Sometimes it needs something tangy to really highlight the flavors. This salsa verde is a great way to add that tang and still be true to the dish.

Salsa Verde (Green Sauce):
2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
One whole bunch of fresh cilantro leaves
5 scallions roughly chopped with green ends

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cup olive or canola oil
2 Limes, juiced

Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor. Blend well. Pour as much as you like over your arroz con pollo.

Why We do What We Do

2009-07-24T10:12:00.000-07:00

Originally published July 22, 2008

I have made no secret about what my wife and I do for a living in this blog (see the links). Our website, www.distinctive-decor, has been quite a success for us. We sell gourmet kitchen products, fine china, fine tea ware, bar ware, coffee ware, collectibles and a number of other items. Our goal is to sell the highest quality merchandise and offer it to our customers at a fair price with great customer service.

It has become quite normal, with our store's web presence, to do business with some really neat people working on cool projects [at least, I think so]. We have sold items as props for the movie industry, carafes for green rooms in New York and LA and helped outfit some chic restaurants. We have worked with casinos, clothiers, coffee houses, tea rooms and a host of other industries.

This past week we worked with the staff at a very well known cooking show. This was a kick for me because I have watched this guy on TV since he started on the network. They were interested in Tutto Mio, a line of fine Italian dishes and serving pieces. We were able to get the deal and they were a pleasure to work with, too.

While last week was gratifying it is not as significant or as gratifying as all the feedback we receive from our repeat and first-time customers.

Frittata and French Omelets

2009-07-24T10:06:00.000-07:00

Originally published on April 30, 2008

From now on when I teach a cooking class I will post the recipes here. Although, I have already written an entry on omelets I have learned some things since then. I haven't written anything about frittatas to date. I made these recipes for two classes recently and they went over well.

The beautiful thing about frittatas and omelets is their versatility. You can fill them with practically anything savory. The only limit to them is your culinary imagination. Fillings can be as basic as ham and cheddar cheese to something a little more gourmet - like the filling I will tell you how to make. We will get to this later; first, let's start with the frittata.

Frittatas are Spanish "omelets." They are not flipped to cook the top, rather they are cooked a little over halfway in a nonstick pan or cast iron pan and then placed in the oven or under the broiler to finish them off. You can add whatever you want to them--just make sure that what you are adding has most of its moisture cooked out of it before adding or you will have wet spots in your frittata. (A funny story: I was teaching this class on Thursday and a lady, who was taking the class, lived in Spain for a spell. She talked about how she missed Frittatas and how after they would eat them they would go to a tapas bar. The people in the class started laughing and cackling. I immediately knew that they had mistaken what she said as "topless bar" because I thought she said "topless," too. She was quite embarrassed, but I cleared it up for her. Yes, the wine was flowing for some folks that night. Maybe you had to be there; it was funny at the time!)

Savory Frittata (serves 4-6 people)

8 eggs
5-6 Red or white potatoes (small)
½ Medium onion (large dice)
½ cup cubed ham (ham steak)
½ cup of good grated Swiss or Gruyere cheese
Enough freshly grated Parmesan to sprinkle over the top
12” nonstick pan

Transfer the pan to the broiler and broil until the top is browned and the frittata has puffed. Keep an eye on it while it is in the broiler or it WILL burn. Sprinkle the top with the grated Parmesan cheese and serve with sour cream condiment.

Sour Cream Condiment

16oz Sour cream

1 bunch of scallions or chives (or both)
Salt and white pepper
1 t. ground roasted garlic or garlic powder
1 t. parsley
10 inch nonstick pan. I am linking to this pan because it is the slickest pan that I have ever used. This is the pan I reach for every time I make eggs.
1 T. cream to thin the mixture

Thinly slice the scallions or chives and add other ingredients. Mix well and let sit for an hour or two (a day is better) in the fridge. Other uses: use as a vegetable dip or as a condiment for crackers or baked potatoes.

Port Wine Omelet Filling (serves 10-12 people)

1 medium onion cut into strips
3-4 red and/or yellow bell peppers cut into strips
¼ cup of ham sliced into strips (used for flavor)
2 flats of mushrooms rinsed and sliced (Appx. 30-40 medium mushrooms)
1/2-3/4 bottle of inexpensive Port wine
1 t. beef or chicken base
Chopped parsley for garnish
2 T. Butter for sautéing
2 T. Butter for finishing the filling
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper

Sauté onions, ham and peppers for a few minutes to soften and add the mushrooms (you will think there are too many, but they will cook down)—season with salt and pepper. Once well cooked (very little moisture left in the pan, deglaze with the bottle of Port wine. Reduce the liquid until it starts to “tighten.” You are looking for the consistency of high quality maple syrup (sauce will coat the back of a spoon). DO NOT LEAVE THE PAN. This sauce can go from liquid-to-syrup-to-burnt quickly. Remove pan from the burner and finish the filling with the butter. Now it is time to make your omelets! Grab a high quality nonstick pan and get going.

2-3 egg omelets will give you the tenderest omelets. The French omelet involves a technique that I can’t really write about, but that you need to know. The beautiful thing about the technique is that there is no flipping or turning of the omelet. I will let Julia Child—God rest her soul—show you how to make omelets the “French” way. Click here to see her do it.

Excerpts below are for educational purposes only and are borrowed from: Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I.
Let the eggs settle in the pan for 2 or 3 seconds to form a film of coagulated egg in the bottom of the pan.
Then increase the angle of the pan slightly, which will force the egg mass to roll over on itself with each jerk at the far lip of the pan.

As soon as the omelet has shaped up, hold it in the angle of the pan to brown the bottom a pale golden color, but only a second or two, for the eggs must not overcook. The center of the omelet should remain soft and creamy. If the omelet has not formed neatly, push it with the back of your fork.

Grasp the handle of the pan with both hands, thumbs on top, and immediately begin jerking the pan vigorously and roughly toward you at an even, 20-degree angle over the heat, one jerk per second. It is the sharp pull of the pan toward you which throws the eggs against the far lip of the pan, then back over its bottom surface. You must have the courage to be rough or the eggs will not loosen themselves from the bottom of the pan. After several jerks, the eggs will begin to thicken. A filling would go in at this point.

Making Panini: The Original Fast Food!

2009-07-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

Originally published on April 14, 2008

Panini are Italian sandwiches made of rustic, crusty breads and cured meats. Generally they are toasted and have grill marks on them. They supply a gourmet taste and are simple to make. (I want to make a disclaimer from the outset. In no way am I telling you that my Panini recipes below are authentically Italian; however they do use Italian elements and Panini are Italian-style sandwiches. Panini in Italy are served on a bun and filled with Italian cured meats like prosciutto or salami and are served either hot or cold.)

Equipment: You will need a grill pan and press or you can opt for an electric panini maker like the Krups Panini Maker or Cuisinart Griddler. We sell both the electrics and the grill pan kinds. I like the electrics because I am impatient--they cook from both sides at the same time thereby cutting cooking time in half.

I like to use a rustic sourdough bread or simple focaccia for my Panini. They both offer a toasty crunch and flavor, but use whatever bread you like as long as it is not an overly processed bread like Wonder bread. I also use mozzarella cheese instead of the traditional Mortadella cheese.

Panini Florentine
One of my favorites--take two slices of bread, place mozzarella cheese on one slice of bread along with fresh baby spinach. Then add garlic infused oil, salt and black pepper onto the the spinach. On the other side place ham or prosciutto. Put the two sides together, drizzle with olive oil and place the sandwich on the grill where the ham layer is on the bottom. Let gravity pull the melted cheese from the top layer to the ham. The cheese will "glue" both sides of the sandwich together.

Chicken Pesto Panini

Either grill chicken on your panini maker or buy deli sliced chicken breast. Spread basil pesto on one slice of bread and put on the amount of chicken you desire. On the other slice place the cheese. Drizzle both outer sides of the sandwich with olive oil. Place sandwich on the grill pan or maker with the cheese as the uppermost layer in the sandwich. After cooking, open the Panino and add fresh tomato slices and serve.

Grilled Veggie Panini

Grill on a grill pan or in a panini maker, zucchini slices cut into thin ribbons (you can do this easily with a nice peeler), onion and sweet red or yellow peppers (cut into strips). Remove grilled vegetables and then build your sandwich. Spread sun-dried tomato pesto on one slice of bread and then layer your vegetables. Place cheese on the other slice. Drizzle olive oil on the outside of the sandwich and place in the maker. Grill with the cheese layer as the upper layer so it will melt downward.

When you cook the sandwiches it is important to achieve brown grill marks on the outside. We use olive oil to promote browning. Your sandwich should be crispy and crunchy. Now that you see how easy it is, invite your friends over for a panini party. Provide the ingredients, panini maker and wine and you are sure to have a great party. Let your guests build and cook their own!

2009-07-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

Originally posted March 10, 2008

For those of you who check my blog regularly I apologize for being absent. The last half of the year was pure busy-ness. We added a new www.distinctive-decor.com showroom and moved our whole online operation to a new physical location. It was a lot of work, but it was well worth it. The store looks great and is getting some attention.

I had a new Viking kitchen built into the new showroom for cooking classes--a big thanks goes out to Viking Range Corporation for their cooperation on it. The classes have been fun. Recently I taught a class, "A Classic French Bistro Meal." It was well attended and I received nice feedback from it. Below I give the recipes for this class.

Anyone can make this meal and it will taste fabulous. I cooked the entire three-course meal in less than two hours, teaching all the way through. Seriously, anyone can do this meal. You will wow your guests with it. Here is the menu.

French Onion Soup

1/2 cup unsalted butter

4 onions, sliced thinly
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 fresh thyme sprigs or ½ t. of dry
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup port wine, about 1/2 bottle

2 tablespoons of young Balsamic Vinegar

1Tablespoon of Worchester Sauce
2 quarts beef broth (use beef base)
1 baguette, sliced and toasted
1/2 pound grated Gruyere or sliced baby Swiss

Caramelize onions over medium heat in batches. Once sufficiently browned transfer onions to a stock pot. Add garlic, bay leaves, thyme, port wine, balsamic vinegar, Worchester sauce. Cook until the smell of alcohol subsides and add the beef broth or stock. Taste…season…taste…and season again. You can "beef" it up a bit with beef base. I know it is cheating, but I do not have time to make my own beef stock reduction.

Potato Gratin

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 sprig fresh thyme or ¼ t. dried
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Butter
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for broiling—total of one cup.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat the cream and butter a casserole. Place one layer of potato in an overlapping pattern and season with salt and pepper. Remove cream from heat, then pour a little over the potatoes. Top with some grated Parmesan. Make 2 more layers. Bake in a baking dish, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Sprinkle some more Parmesan and broil until cheese browns, about 5 minutes.

Marcus’ Steak Au Poivre

4 to 5 tender cuts of beef. (filet mignon, strips, whatever you like)
Fresh cracked pepper to coat the steaks
Salt
Olive Oil and butter for sautéing.

Heat fry pan over medium heat

Add oil and butter

Add steaks covered with pepper and salt

Cook 4 minutes per side to create a sear and crust (steaks will be medium-rare).

Transfer pan to 400 degree oven 5 minutes for medium (depends on size of steaks)

Remove steaks and tent with foil.

For sauce:

1 shallot minced
2 cups beef broth (reduced by half) traditionally one would use demi-glace, and I encourage that, but can't find it in my neck of the woods.
½ Cup Brandy
½ Cup Cream
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
Parsley

Pour off fat from the steak fry pan. Add minced shallot (and a pat of butter if needed) and sauté over medium heat. Add beef broth and reduce by 1/2. Add brandy to pan while off heat. Pre-measured and in a measuring cup. NEVER POUR FROM BOTTLE!!!! Flame carefully with a lighter or tilt pan over flame. If you do not want to flambe it allow the alcohol to burn off. Add cream and parsley and heat through. Spoon sauce over steak.

Spinach Cakes

2 packages of frozen chopped spinach (Thawed and squeeze out all moisture)
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
½ cup Italian bread crumbs for mixture and ½ cup for breading
¼ cup softened onions, scallions or shallots and 1 clove garlic softened
Salt and pepper
¼ freshly ground nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Add spinachthat you remove the moisture from and all other ingredients into a bowl and stir.
Take about 1/2 cup of the mixture and form into a patty. Coat with seasoned breadcrumbs.
Heat a fry pan to medium heat, add olive oil. Add the cakes and cook one to two minutes per side or until browned. Serve warm.

Quick Mousse

2 cups whipping cream

12 ounces quality semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 ounces espresso or strong coffee

1/3 Cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons butter

Melt chocolate and butter in double boiler and stir to cool. Beat cream, vanilla and sugar to medium peaks.

Add a portion of the whipped cream to melted chocolate and mix in to lighten the chocolate. Add chocolate in thirds to the cream by folding. Viola!

Either serve immediately or cool in refrigerator. (If you want to serve it later, spoon into individual dishes and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.

Macaroni & Cheese

2009-07-24T09:41:00.000-07:00

Originally published July 5, 2007

I made baked macaroni and cheese for a July 4th family get together yesterday. There were leftovers so we decided to bring the dish to work. The ladies in the office scarfed it up fast and told me I had to give out the recipe--so here goes...

4 T unsalted butter
1 small onion finely diced
1 clove garlic minced
4 T all-purpose flour
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf or 3 healthy sprigs of thyme
1T dried mustard
2-3 cups of whole milk
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1/2 lb elbow pasta
1/2 lb cheddar cheese
1/4 cup of grated parmesan
1 cup of crushed saltine crackers
1 egg is optional if your sauce is too thin and you need a binder while baking.
1 Fresh tomatoe (sliced) to go on top after baking

Using medium heat, melt the butter and add the onion. Cook until the onion is soft and add in the flour, cayenne and dried mustard. Use a flat whisk and stir. Cook the mixture for approximately two minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste. At this point, you can add a bay leaf or thyme and add 2-3 cups of milk to the mixture and 1/4 cup of heavy cream (start with 2 cups of milk and if your sauce is too thick add more). Stir like a madman (or woman) with a flat whisk to remove all lumps. Be sure to run the whisk across the bottom, corners and side of your saucier. The mixture will thicken gradually and thicken completely when you see the boil coming.

After mixture has thickened, remove from the heat and add 1/2 lb of grated cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you like). Stir to melt. STOP, taste your sauce and season for taste. Add 1/2 lb of cooked macaroni pasta and fold the macaroni into the sauce. Pour sauced pasta into a baking dish. Top with cheddar and Parmesan cheese and 1 cup of crushed saltine crackers (place pats of butter on the cracker topping to aid in browning and add more calories!). Place in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top has browned. Garnish with chives or green onions, tomatoes and eat. Serves: A lot of people.

Bowtie Pasta with Vodka Sauce

2009-07-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

Or regionally, published May 23, 2007

My son asked me to make some pasta for his lunch on Saturday (like most kids he loves pasta). Also, like most children he is impatient. I decided to stray from my regular tomato sauce that takes a little more time to cook and try a quick vodka tomato sauce. It was great, so I am passing it on to you here. The sauce comes together in about the same amount of time as it takes to cook the pasta.

Boil 1/2 pound of small penne or bow tie pasta according to the package directions.

In a large skillet heated to medium-high heat add olive oil, 1/2 diced red or yellow onion, 2 cloves of minced garlic and as much red pepper flakes to suit you--cook just to soften the onions. Take your skillet from the fire and add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of vodka (BE CAREFUL; the alcohol will flame up on you). Once the alcohol has evaporated or burnt off add 2 cans of whole tomatoes that you have squished (Is that a real word?) with your hands. Add salt. Allow the sauce to cook for about 5 minutes and add 1/2 cup of cream to the sauce.

Drain your pasta thoroughly and pour it into your vodka sauce. Add fresh basil and stir--coating the pasta with sauce. Serve with grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy! Serves four.

Spinach Quiche

2009-07-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

Originally Published on April 10, 2007

Here is the recipe for a great spinach quiche I made the other day. My wife and I made a mistake and bought a huge bag of organic spinach at one of those wholesale clubs. We intended to eat much of it immediately in salads, but it just sat in the refrigerator. We refused to let it spoil so I thought about what I could make. My wife said, "just cook it all." She really likes cooked spinach.

Let me be honest with you. There are few things that I enjoy less than eating cooked spinach; I do like it raw, though. I don't like the texture or the mouth feel of cooked spinach unless it is creamed. I decided to make a quiche--something that I had never made, but often ate when I went to a local tea room with my wife. I figured that I could dispatch at least half the bag of spinach in it. I was pleasantly surprised when the quiche turned out tasting rich and wonderful. I couldn't stop eating it--I ate it for dinner and breakfast!

Buy a frozen 9 inch pie shell and bake it according to package directions (or make your shell from scratch if you enjoy that type of exercise). Either prick the pie shell with a fork or fill with beans or pie weights before cooking the pie shell to reduce rising during cooking.

Add to a bowl and whisk:
1 cup cooked spinach (Spinach should be seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic. Once cooked, squeeze out as much moisture as possible and chop.)
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup of milk
pinch of salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of nutmeg
English Cheddar Cheese (not the yellow cheddar--use white)

Whisk well and pour mixture into a pre-baked pie shell. Again, the pie crust may be store-bought. Sprinkle a small amount of the cheese of your choice over the top. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and place the quiche on the middle rack. Cook for 30 minutes; the top should be brown around the edge, have brown spots on the top And the center should be set when done. Allow quiche to cool for 30 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

Choosing the Best Cookware for You

2009-07-24T09:20:00.000-07:00

Originally posted on March 26, 2007

Trouble Deciding What Cookware to Buy?

Choosing the best cookware is all about materials and the quality of materials. Sure, you can purchase cookware from a bargain chain store, but odds are that you will have to replace that pan or pot 4 or 5 times over time when you could buy a quality one that lasts a lifetime. The surface material and the material running throughout the pan are of paramount importance when deciding which set or individual piece you should purchase.

When purchasing cookware you will need to think about the surface material, pan construction material, and the overall appearance and design.

Surface Material

The most prominent cookware surface options available in the marketplace are nonstick, stainless steel, and hard anodized aluminum.

Nonstick pans release food better and are easier to clean than stainless steel and hard anodized aluminum. Every home cook should have at least one good nonstick pan on their pot rack. However, it doesn’t necessarily make sense for the entire set to be nonstick. Nonstick pans can be too slippery for sauce making and make it difficult to properly brown your food. Non-stick surfaces serve an important purpose and can make cooking foods that tend to stick a breeze. See below for tips on how to choose the best nonstick surface coating.

Stainless steel cookware surfaces are the best choice for browning red meats, fish and poultry as well as for simmering your favorite sauces. (When you brown meats you want “fond.” Fond is the little dark bits of meat and seasoning that stick to the pan after browning meats. The fond creates the base for sauces and can easily be lifted from the hot pan when a liquid is added.) Some argue that the downside of a stainless steel surface is that it is more difficult to clean. While this is true, deglazing a pan after cooking will greatly minimize the time you spend scrubbing the pan in your sink. By far, stainless steel is the best all-around cooking surface because stainless steel is non reactive and can take a beating.

Hard anodized aluminum cookware surfaces are sealed through the anodizing process. Allow us to say from the onset that there is a contingent who argue that cooking with non-sealed aluminum cookware is harmful. Also, non-sealed aluminum will react with some foods causing either a funny taste or a change in the color of the food. However, hard anodized aluminum is safe and will not react with food. The anodizing process not only hardens the aluminum, but also seals the surface creating a non-porous and non-reactive cooking surface. Anodized aluminum will not leach out into your food. The hardening and sealing produced by anodizing creates a cooking surface that is easy to clean and will brown meats sufficiently.

Choosing the Right Nonstick Pan

DuPont makes six different qualities of nonstick surfaces: (listed here from the most basic to the most advanced level) Classic, Xtra, Select, Platinum, Platinum Pro, and Autograph 2. Autograph 2 cookware surfaces will release food the longest, resist scratching the longest and last the longest overall. When you buy a pan with a nonstick surface make sure you know these six DuPont surfaces and which surface is the best.

Cookware Material

Look for stainless steel pans that are fully “clad” or “plied.” For instance, Viking Cookware calls their fully clad pans “7-ply.” When a pan is clad or plied it means that aluminum, or some other good heat conductor like copper, has been sandwiched between layers of stainless steel. This way you get the even conductivity of the aluminum or copper with the durability of the non-reactive stainless steel.

Be sure to read about the pans and know if they are “bottom clad” or “fully clad.” Bottom clad pans are the least desirable of the two, but still perform well and are less expensive to purchase. Bottom clad pots and pans will have the aluminum sandwich on the bottom of the pan only and stainless steel on the sides. Fully clad pans have the aluminum sandwiched throughout the entire pan including the sides. Herein lays the superiority of fully clad pans — heat is distributed up the sides of the pan for more even cooking while bottom clad pans do not heat well up the sides.

Maybe hard anodized aluminum pans tickle your fancy. Make sure to find out how much pure aluminum is contained in them. Don’t buy a pan containing less than 80% pure aluminum. Hard anodized aluminum pans like the Anolon Titanium Cookware have aluminum running throughout the pan and will heat evenly from the bottom to the sides. (If you have a induction range, make sure that you buy a hard anodized aluminum pan that has an induction disc in the bottom or your induction range will not heat the pan. Infinite Circulon hard anodized cookware works well on induction ranges.)

Allow us to throw in cast iron cookware and ceramic cookware. Cast iron surfaces must be properly seasoned to seal the pan. The seasoning process creates a nice stick-resistant coating. Cast iron is heavy, will heat slowly and hold heat longer than any other type of cookware. When enamel coating is added there is no need to season the pan. The enamel seals the surface. Here we have to go with what we know and what we have used. Lodge has full line of fantastic pre-seasoned cast iron cookware. When buying enamel coated cast iron cookware, look no further than Le Creuset.

Emile Henry has perfected ceramic cookware. Their unique firing enables the cookware to be used on your range or in the oven. It is lighter than cast iron and has many of the same uses. Ceramic cookware aficionados swear that using ceramics is the best way to preserve the nutritional qualities and flavor of food. Emile Henry stewpots are perfect for searing and then braising in the oven at low heat.

Other Considerations

Make sure that the pans are oven proof to 400 or 500 degrees with stainless steel handles, make sure the lid is tight fitting and that the pan feels good in your hand (not too heavy or imbalanced). Look at the overall design: what design factors do you find appealing, what design aspects make the pan safer to move around, pick up and prevent burns?

While this is not an exhaustive buyer's guide for choosing cookware hopefully it provides help in choosing the best cookware. Using the information given here will give you the proper foundation to choose cookware that is of the quality you expect. The outside color, style and attractiveness are important, but the materials that make the pan are crucial.

Happy cooking!

You May Think You Don't Like Them.

2009-07-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

Originally posted March 26,2007

A few Sundays ago I invited my parents and grandmother over to eat after worship services. It was a standard Sunday meal that my mother fed my siblings and me growing up on Sundays. Pot roast, potatoes, carrots, steamed broccoli and brussel sprouts. Wait a minute; my mother never fed us brussel sprouts!

A few days earlier I was browsing my local supermarket produce section and saw almost perfect brussel sprouts. They were very firm ones (never buy mushy, slimy or loose-leafed brussel sprouts) and they had a nice green color. I had to buy them, but was a little apprehensive about doing it. I knew that my wife and I liked them, but I also know the reputation these little guys have. Most people turn their noses up and say, "yuck" and move to the next dish. I was determined to make great brussel sprouts and change perceptions--at least my family's perceptions.

Sure enough, when my family arrived I told them what we were having and when I arrived at brussel sprouts the enthusiasm for the meal seemed to wane. It was like someone let the air out of a tire. I told everyone to have an open mind and that I had already tried them and they were great. After that everyone agreed to at least try them. We all ate far more than we should have and after the meal I received the only accolade I wanted. My 86 year-old grandmother said, "those were the best brussel sprouts I have ever eaten; how did you make them?"

Grandmother asked, so I am sharing with the world.

Rinse the brussel sprouts and trim their bottoms. Peel off the outer loose leaves. Cut the larger sprouts in half long way and leave the smaller sprouts whole. Cut 3 thick pieces of bacon into thin 1 inch strips and render the fat from them in a saute pan (make sure the saute you are using has a lid because you will need it later). Once the bacon has rendered all of its beautiful fat, take out the crispy bacon strips and placed them on a paper towel to drain. [Save them for the garnish.]

Pour out all but about a tablespoon of the bacon fat and saute 1/4 cup of diced onions in the fat until the onions are softened (use medium heat). Season with salt and pepper. Once softened, throw in the sprouts and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. After the brussel sprouts have been sauted, pour in one cup of chicken broth or stock and cover. Cook for 10 minutes and try one. If it needs to cook longer--let it cook longer.

Once you are satisfied with the texture of your brussel sprouts pour them into a serving bowl and sprinkle the cooked bacon over the top. Enjoy. Like my grandmother said, they will be the best brussel sprouts you will ever eat. Don't be a chicken; try them!

Mexican Tacos with Roasted Tomato Salsa

2009-07-23T17:13:00.000-07:00

Dora Jennings came to teach another Mexican cuisine class at the store. The class was sold out for a month prior to its start! People in my neck of the woods, southern Oklahoma, love Mexican food--or what they perceive is Mexican food. This is not Tex-Mex, folks; this is the real deal. The people in the class liked the real thing better! Dora grew up in a border town and this is the food she knows how to make and likes to make. This food is so simple to prepare and good to eat. There is little technique involved, so you have few excuses not to try it.

Making the Roasted Mexican Salsa and Guacamole

3 fresh jalapeno peppers
9-11 fresh Roma tomatoes
2 T. Knorr Powdered Chicken Bullion

Guacamole- I almost forgot. All Dora does is dice the avocado and mix it with the salsa. Pretty easy, huh?

Making the corn tortillas:

Dora commented that in her family when a girl turned 13 years of age she was expected to make corn tortillas for the entire family. I commented that it must suck to turn 13 in her family! All kidding aside, making homemade corn tortillas is quite easy as long as you have the proper equipment. You will need a cast iron griddle or pan, a tortilla press and wax paper (In my opinion, the best thing to use the plastic from a bread bag (you know, a Wonder bread bag) instead of wax paper. Cut circles out of the bag that match the diameter of your tortilla press.)

Corn tortillas (makes about 25 tortillas)
2 C. Maseca (Masa Instantanea de Maiz)
3 T. flour
2 C. lukewarm water
cooking spray or cooking oil like peanut oil
pinch of salt

Heat the pan or griddle on high heat. Mix the Maseca, salt and flour. Add the water and mix well with your hands. You are looking for the consistency of Play-Dough. Roll the dough into small balls no larger than 1 oz. or the size of golf balls. When the griddle is very hot apply cooking oil to a paper towel and wipe the cooking surface of the pan or griddle--be careful! Press a masa ball to form a tortilla and cook. Keep pressing balls until all are cooked.

Tacos De Picadillo

1/2 large onion (diced) 1 lb of lean ground beef
2 medium Russet potatoes diced into a 1/4" cubes
1 T ground cumin
salt
pepper

Add the ground beef, onion, cumin, salt and pepper to a saute pan or another pan that has a lid. Brown the ground beef and onion. Make sure as you are browning to chop the meat into small nuggets. Add the potatoes when meat is almost done, cover and coop until potatoes are cooked through.

Use whatever you like to top your tacos, but Dora suggests using finely sliced tomatoes, chopped green lettuce, oinions, avocados and mexican crema. Have these on a platter for topping.

Remember the tortillas you just made? Now we get to fry them! Heat peanut or canola oil in a pan. Add one tortilla at a time and fold them in half or use a deeper pan and use a taco press. Folding them in half will cause some to break, but don't worry. A taco press virtually eliminates breakage. Cook until the desired crispiness is achieved. I like mine soft. Set on paper towel or an oven rack to drain.

To assemble the tacos place 2 T. of the meat and potato mixture, then lettuce, tomatoes, onions. avocados, salsa and then the crema. (Mexican crema is not sour cream. It will be located in the refrigerated mexican section.) Un-freaking-believable how good these tacos are!

Ceviche Norteno (Tart Ceviche with a Mexican Twist)

2009-07-23T16:41:00.000-07:00

Ceviche Norteno
By: Dora Jennings

1/2 pound fresh salmon fillets, diced (this can be done with any fresh whitefish, but salmon is nice for special occasions)
1/2 cup lime juice (about 6 to 8 limes)
1 cup of tomatoes, diced.
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped.
1 cup cilantro, finely chopped.
Two garlic cloves, minced.
Two large avocados, diced
1/2 cup Valentina Mexican Sauce.
1 diced jalapeno pepper (optional, but recommended!)
Salt and pepper to taste.
Crackers or Tostaditas

In a non-corrosive bowl, such as glass, combine the diced salmon, garlic, onions and lime juice. Marinate for at least two hours or as long as over night. After marination, add tomatoes and cilantro to a separate bowl.

Combine the salmon with the contents of the second bowl and mix; add Valentina Mexican Sauce and gently fold ingredients together. Just before service, add the diced avocado making sure you do not over stir so that the avocado retains its shape. Serve chilled with crackers. Serves 8-12

(notice the above image does not contain the tomatoes, jalapenos or avocados. They were added later and we forgot to take a picture. Eating this ceviche without those ingredients is really good, also.)

Happy eating,