I Scream, U Scream

Last week my wife needed a support structure for her gingerbread house and used two small milk cartons. Since they came with heavy cream in them I decided the best use for it would be to make ice cream. This is my wife's absolute favorite ice cream and she had consumed most of it before it had finished hardening in the freezer. It uses peppermint essential oil but if you do not have that then use peppermint extract, I am not sure the amount but I believe the two are not interchangeable. Exercise caution with the extract, you can always add more but there is no going back once too much is added.

The World's Absolute Greatest Mint Chip Ice Cream.

3 egg yolks
¾ cup sugar, divided
1½ cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 drop peppermint essential oil (and only one!)
1 cup chopped Andes mint candies (or mini chocolate chips)

  Whisk together egg yolks and ¼ cup sugar in a bowl until thick and pale yellow. Set aside.
  Heat milk, cream, essential oil and the remaining ½ cup sugar in a saucepan (or saucier) over medium heat until steam rises from the mixture.
  Gradually add half of the hot milk mixture to the yolks, whisking constantly (slowly or you will end up scrambling the eggs). Then add the yolks back to the rest of the milk mixture (again slowly).
  Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for about 5 minutes.
  Transfer the mixture to a sealed container and chill overnight. Churn according to your ice cream maker's instruction and add the chips during the last few minutes of churning. Allow to harden in the freezer for 4-6 hours.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

I have to admit that I didn't do much holiday cooking this Christmas season. I did do some holiday candy and a confectionist I am not. Other than than I helped my wife with a pair of pumpkin pies we took over to my Inlaws' to Christmas dinner and they were very well received. I have only recently put together the clues to why the pumpkin pie my family makes was different that just about everybody else's.
  Since early in High School I was in charge of holiday pies due to my mother working the ICU graveyard shift at the hospital (Dinner conversation at my house growing up was pretty interesting). Clue number one was the stained recipe card penned in my grandmother's hand. The title read 'Pumpkin/Squash Pie' and I never gave it much thought at the time.
  The next clue I discovered while perusing a cookbook and I came across a recipe for New England Squash Pie and I saw that my family's pumpkin pie recipe was almost exactly the same except it used squash instead of pumpkin. For some reason my family made basically new england squash pie with pumpkin and served it at holidays.
  There are several differences between a more traditional pumpkin pie and and a new england pie. First was the fat in the pie, new england pie uses a combination of evaporated milk and whole milk mixed with melted butter. Second is the spices, it is heavier on ginger and cinnamon but there are no cloves whatsoever. And lastly it uses only brown sugar rather than white or a combination of white and brown sugars.

Pumpkin Pie (Makes two 9" Pies)
2 unbaked 9" pie shells
1 twenty eight oz. can steamed pumpkin (Not the pumpkin pie mix, just steamed pumpkin)
2 tsp salt
1 fifteen ounce can evaporated milk with whole milk added to make 3 cups
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
6 eggs slightly beaten
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tbs melted butter

Set your oven to 425°. Dump everything but the pie shells into a mixer a turn it on medium. When the pie mix is mixed and the oven is heated, open the oven and pull out the oven rack. Place the two pie shell on the rack and divide the pie mix evenly between them. Carefully slide the rack back into the oven and close the door. Bake it for 20 minutes then drop the oven temp to 350° and bake the pies for another 30-40 minutes until a knife inserted into the middle of one of the pies comes out clean. I usually let them cool overnight. Serve them with whipped cream.

A La Cuisine!

Every so often my extended family participates in a cooking competition. We are planning one over the Christmas holiday and this battle's theme in cheese. Other themes have included broccoli, chili, lasagna, and mac & cheese. The battle after this one is going to be bacon- I am so excited! My challenge this time is that due to accommodating people's holiday and work schedules the battle is a weekday night so I have approximately 12 minutes between getting home from work and loading up the van and head off to the judging. Additionally cheese does not lend well to long cook times- say in a slow cooker for example. So I decided to go with a homemade cheese spread and my favorite is Kentucky Beer Cheese.
  Beer cheese is a spicy, garlicky cheddar served with crackers in Kentucky pubs to make patrons thirsty and therefore buy more beer. I decided to alter the traditional recipe by first reducing the spice and garlic because many of the family are not fans of spicy foods.  Fearing this change would make the spread too bland, I went with a stronger cheese than medium cheddar and opted for an extra sharp white Vermont cheddar. Additionally I have never been a fan of beer (I am sorry if any of you guys think less on me now) I am simply not a fan of the bitterness of hops in beer. I understand and respect its necessity as a preservative before refrigeration was around but I just do not like it. I replaced the traditional beer with hard cider. A dry amber I thought would go best with the cheddar- I used Woodchuck Amber.

Cider Cheese
  2 pounds Extra Sharp Cheddar
  1 12 oz. Bottle Dry Hard Cider (Feel free to use your favorite brew here)
  3 Cloves Garlic
  1 tsp salt
  1 tbs Worcestershire Sauce
  1 tsp Hot Sauce (I like Franks Red Hot)
  A Dash Cayenne Pepper ( or to taste)

1. Finely shred cheese into the largest bowl you have.
2. Peel and mince garlic, making sure to remove the stem end. Sprinkle the salt over the garlic and using the side of a chef knife, work the garlic into a paste. Add to the shredded cheese.
3. Sprinkle cheese with Worcestershire, Hot Sauce and Cayenne. Toss together with you hands.
4. Pour cider (or beer) over cheese and mix well with your hands.
5. Run the cheese mixture through a meat grinder with a fine die. Alternatively you an pulse it in a food processor until smooth. If you lack either of these devices just stir the hell out of it with a wooden spoon- but it will be a little chunky this way.
6. Transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate overnight to meld flavors.
7. Serve with crackers, pretzels and apple wedges.

And would you believe it? I lost. And to my own wife none the less. With cheese pizza. Uhg!

Bowl of Red

Cold weather makes me want to make chili, so that is exactly what I decided to do. This is not your usual combination of ground beef, chili powder, kidney beans, tomatos and onions. It is a tad different.
  First is the meat. I do not use ground, I use cubed or 'stew' meat. Just about any inexpensive cut will work. If you want beef, use chuck roast, pig; boston butt (which is actually the shoulder) lamb use shank or neck. The cheaper cuts of meat have more connective tissue and are therefore tougher but really shine in a long low cooking process like that used in chili. 
  Second is the spices, I use some chili powder but the main aeromatic is chipotle. Chipotle are smoked jalapenos canned in a spicy vinegar sauce and is usually found in the mexican food aisle in the supermarket.
  Third is no beans. Instead of the startch off of the beans to thicken the chili, I throw corn chips in the pot, it adds a nice flavor and texture to the chili.
 
Willy Chili
  3 lbs stew meat (beef, pork, and/or lamb)

  2 tsp cooking oil

  1 1/2 tsp salt

  1 (12-ounce) can of beef broth (you can also use beer)

  1 (16-ounce) jar of salsa

  half a large bag of Fritos

  2 chipotle peppers canned in adobo sauce, chopped

  1 tbs adobo sauce (from the chipotle peppers in adobo)

  1 tbs tomato paste

  1 tbs chili powder

Toss meat with salt and oil and heat a heavy (preferably cast iron) frying pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, brown the meat in 2-3 batches and transfer the browned meat to a slow cooker.

After all the meat is browned deglaze the frying pan with the broth or beer if you are using it. Deglazing means to pour the liquid in the hot pan and scrape up all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan with a spatula or whisk. Next dump the liquid on top of the meat in the slow cooker.

Next add the salsa, fritos, chipotles, adobo, tomato paste and chili powder to the slow cooker and mix everything up. Turn the slow cooker to low for 7-8 hours. Serve in wide bowls with shredded cheese, diced avacado, corn tortillas, fritos, hot sauce, sour cream, pumpkin/sunflower seeds, chopped cilantro, diced tomatoes, hominy or anything else you like with your chili.

By the way, this recipe did win a chili cook-off.

Ironman

One of my all time favorite cooking materials is cast iron. It's cheap (relatively), it's almost indestructible, its easy to clean and it's heat retention properties are unmatched. Additionally it is very versatile, after leaving home my first set of pots and pans consisted of a 2 quart cheap saucepan and a cast iron chicken fryer (a deep frying pan with a lid) and with it I could fry, deep fry, sear, bake, broil, roast or braise (stove top or oven). The only thing I used the saucepan for was to boil, stew or steam.

Seasoning Cast Iron:
Do this before you cook anything on the cast iron. Even if the cookware is 'pre-seasoned' I still do it.

Wash the cookware with hot, soapy water and a stiff brush. (This is the ONLY time one uses soap on cast iron). Rinse and dry it completely. Apply a thin, even coating of solid vegetable shortening to the cookware (inside and out). Place aluminum foil on the bottom rack of the oven to catch any dripping and set the oven to 350°.  Place cookware upside down on the top rack of the oven. Lids (if any) go right side up. This is so no fat pools on the cookware- pooling fats will cause a sticky mess that requires a sandblaster to remove.  Bake the cookware for an hour.  After the hour, turn the oven off and let the cookware cool in the oven. In the future if you notice the seasoning wearing, just repeat the steps.

Cooking With Cast Iron:

Cast Iron has the best heat retention of any cookware I know of. When one places cold food in a hot pan, the pan looses some of its heat to the food- there by cooking it. Cast Iron looses little to the food so it keeps a high temperature. Because of this a lower heat is needed and I seldom cook with cast iron over anything higher than medium. Additionally its heat retention properties allow for good searing and browning of meats. This combined with its ability to regulate fluctuating oven temperates make cast iron ideal for long low braises like pot roast. You brown the meat in it on the stove top, add liquid then put it into a slow oven for a long, low braise.

Cleaning Cast Iron:
Rule #1: Do not use soap.
Rule #2: Do NOT use soap.
Rule# 3: Do not put it in the dishwasher (See Rule #2)
  The trick is to clean the cast iron while it is hot, preferably as soon as you are done cooking in it. Other than that you only need two things to clean cast iron; water and a stiff brush. I use a natural hog bristle brush because I am afraid a synthetic bristle will melt on the hot iron.
  As soon as you evacuate the food from said cookware, transfer it to you sink. Turn the water on the cast iron, there will be steam- a lot of steam- so be careful. Scrub it clean with your brush. If extra scouring if needed I usually drain off the water and add a few heavy pinches of salt and continue to scrub away, this trick is very handy for cast iron grill pans. Please note that if you were cooking on high heat let it cool down or you run the risk of warping or cracking the hot iron. I can't think of why you would be cooking on high with cast iron though, to brand cattle maybe?
  After it's clean move it to the stove and heat it until it's dry. Drizzle a bit of cooking oil into the hot cast iron and spread it with a folder paper towel. The more you use it the easier it becomes to clean because the seasoning improves with use. Because of this shy away from high protein 'sticky' foods like fish and eggs until the cast iron is well seasoned.

I Gave Her The Bird After She Told Me To Stuff It.

Thanksgiving is over but I feel, as a service to humanity, I should share the world's ultimate stuffing recipe. Now depending on one's geographical location various ingredients make their way into holiday stuffing; sausage, oysters or the poor bird's own entrails are sometimes added. In addition I have seen bacon, fruit, nuts and potatoes (regular and sweet) added but I have never had a better stuffing than mom's. Its beauty lies in its simplicity- the main flavoring agents (other than the bird it resides in) are dried onions and celery. Not only are they readily available and keep forever in the spice cabinet but like herbs their flavor intensifies when dried, adding more flavor to the stuffing than their fresh counterparts could. In addition to stuffing turkey it is fantastic in a roast chicken or between two slabs of ribs.

Mom's Stuffing
1 large loaf of cheap white bread (if you paid more than $1.12 it's too expensive)
1 stick butter
1/4 cup dried minced onion
3 tbs celery flakes (found in the spice aisle at the supermarket)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 325° and put your tea kettle on the fire. Cube the bread and toss it in your largest bowl. Slice the butter thinly and add to cubed bread. Add onion, celery, salt and pepper. When your tea kettle whistles pour about a cup of boiling water over the stuffing. Mix well with a large spoon and immediately stuff the turkey. I fill both ends and secure the neck skin with a few staples from my staple gun directly into the bird's cervical vertebrae. Place your freshly stuffed bird in the oven and roast until done.

This recipe will stuff a 12-14 pound gobbler, double or triple for larger fowl, halve for smaller. You can also assemble everything the night before, cover the stuffing with a kitchen towel and add the boiling water the next morning then stuff and roast the turkey as normal. This if good for early afternoon turkey dinners.

Seeing Red

Just about every year I have made Cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving. It began as my sole contribution to the meal and now it is merely one of several dishes I prepare. Be warned however, this is not a cranberry sauce for the faint of heart, it is very potent stuff.

Cranberry Sauce
     1 Pound Cranberries (About 4 cups)
     1 1/2 cups water
     2 cups Honey (Clover is fine but Orange Blossom is best)
     1 Orange
Combine cranberries, water and honey in a 2-3 quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile take a vegetable peeler and remove as long of a strip as you can from the orange peel. Flip the peel over and scrape as much of the white pith off the backside with a paring knife without destroying the peel. Discard the pith and drop the peel in the saucepan then eat the orange while you wait. Keep the fire at about medium high for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep it from burning. Remove the orange peel and transfer the sauce to an oiled mold to set. Two clean 15 oz cans work nicely or any festive Jello mold you may have around. Chill until set, I usually make it the night before.

Stock Options

I roasted a chicken today! (Chicken gravy on rice is one of the greatest food on earth!) After picking the carcass clean, what to do with it? Feed it to the bear? I used to (family joke) but no longer. Now I use it to make stock! I must mention here that stock and broth are two separate things. Broth is made from meat but stock is made from bones. Bones (and connective tissue) contain collagen, you can extract it using water as a solvent.  Long, low cooking converts the collagen to gelatin and that provides a 'thick' mouth-feel to the stock. Ever wonder where Jello comes from? Calf Hooves- same process. Yum huh? Anyway back to stock.

Killer Poultry Stock.
1. Into your largest pot drop one picked poultry carcass (chicken, turkey, duck, emu, etc.) Another option is to freeze the carcass and make stock when you have several carcasses (carci?)
2. Add enough cold water to cover the bird(s) by 3-4inches and put over medium heat.
3. Add your aromatics to the pot. This is a matter of taste. For me a mir poix is necessary (onions, carrots and celery- it's french) I also like some peppercorns, parsley, chives or green onions. Garlic if you want. Bay leaf is you are feeling Dutch (Pennsylvania that is).
4. When the pot comes to a slow boil back off the heat to a bare simmer and leave it for several hours. I usually start it after dinner and leave it overnight- this is not recommended with a gas stove however.
5. Strain out the bits and salt to taste.
6. You can either freeze it for later or make soup. I like chicken noodle.
7. For chicken noodle add more onions, carrots and celery. Add the leftover chicken and simmer for a few hours. Then make fresh noodles or buy thick egg noodles, add them and cook until al dente. You can add rice or barley instead of noodles but remember not to call it chicken noodle soup in front of others, that would be embarrassing.

Happiness Through Fiber

Not getting enough fiber is a concern of someone my age. One good way to increase fiber intake is switching from white rice to brown. The main problem is that brown rice takes 14.78 hours on the stove top to cook due to its bran coat being water resistant. This time requirement excludes it from the average week night meal. Fortunately with a little planning and some freezer space brown rice can grace not only our plates on week nights, but our colons as well.

Bulk Brown Rice
a 2 lb bag of brown rice ( I get Great Value brand at Walmart for like $1.46)
8 cups boiling water
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat your oven to 375°.  Combine water, rice and salt in a 9" by 13" baking dish (I use Pyrex). Mix well and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for about 1 hour. Uncover (watch the steam escaping) and fluff with a fork. Partition two cup portions into quart freezer bags, label, date and freeze. To thaw remove from freezer the night before then microwave on high for 3 minutes in a microwave safe bowl. Alternately cut away the bag from the frozen rice block, place in a bowl and nuke on high for 6-7 minutes, stirring about halfway though cooking time

A Grind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste.

It is time to make sausage -specifically breakfast sausage-again! Once I run out of sausage in the freezer I need to go make more. Why not just buy breakfast sausage you ask? One word; sage. Commercial breakfast sausage has too much sage in it. How much sage it too much? Any sage is too much, if there was sage sitting across the room when the sausage was ground it has too much sage. In my opinion sage is not fit to eat, neither is rosemary for that matter. If I wanted to taste pine tree I would go out to my backyard and gnaw on one of the spruce trees. Sorry, I am getting off topic, back to sausage.
  My grandfather shared my opinion of sage and I use his recipe as far as I could re-create it. To my knowledge the recipe was never written down. He would mix ground pork with his spices and fry a little piece, adjust the seasoning and repeat until it tasted right. He did this every time so there was never any set recipe.
  First off is the pork. My grandfather ground up pork scraps but as I do not raise pigs I am forced to use other sources. I get boneless pork shoulders from Costco. They come in 12-16 pound packages, usually two shoulders to a package. It is a relatively cheap cut at $1.89/lb. and has about the right meat to fat ratio for good sausage. A 75% meat to 25% fat ratio makes good sausage (I said good sausage, not healthy sausage, not low fat sausage. Good sausage.) If you would rather not grind your own just get plain ground pork in the meat section. The fat content usually isn't high enough but it will be close.
  Next are the spices. The spices are the key to the sausage . No secret guarded spice mixture here, just salt and pepper. Salt and Pepper?! That's It?! How is that sausage?!  If you have had grandpa's sausage you understand, if not, once you try it you will see. On to the Recipe.
 
Country Sausage.
Per 1 pound of ground pork
 Add:
  2 tsp salt (I use Kosher)
  1 tsp black pepper (Fresh Ground is best)

Mix well.
If eating immediately: Shape into patties and fry in oiled skillet over medium heat until done.
If storing : Portion 1 pound of sausage into a quart freezer bag, squeeze out the air, flatten and freeze.

Oh What A Pickle I Am In.

I like pickles. Not just cucumber pickles either. Some time ago I decided to make a conscious effort to add more vegetables to my diet. One of these ways is to have ready-made pickled vegetables available to add to sandwiches or other dishes. They are easy to make, the ingredients are cheap and they last forever in the fridge.

Pickling Brine:
   1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
   1 cup Water
   1/4 cup Sugar
   2 tsp. Salt (I use Kosher)
Combine all ingredients small sauce pan and bring to a boil.

Pickled Red Onion
  Thinly slice two red onions and pack into a clean quart mason jar. Pour a batch of hot pickling brine over the onions. Screw on the cap and let cool on the counter for a few hours. It will keep in the refrigerator until the end of time. These are great on turkey, roast beef or salami sandwiches, on pizza or even just straight out of the jar!

Pickled Jalapenos
  Slice 10-12 large jalapenos and pack into a clean quart mason jar. Pour a batch of hot pickling brine over the peppers. Screw on the cap and let cool on the counter for a few hours. It will keep in the refrigerator until the cows come home. These are great on sandwiches, tacos, quesadillas, omelets, pizza or anything else you want to add a bit of heat to.

Pickled Cauliflower
  Pack a head's worth of cauliflower florets into a large clean pickle jar (I use a 2-quart Vlassic jar I got in the economy-size section at Wal-Mart). Pour a double batch of hot pickling brine over the cauliflower. Screw on the cap and let cool on the counter for a few hours. It will also keep in the refrigerator until the end of time. These makes a nice accompaniment to sandwiches and packs well in a lunchbox.

Quit Wining and Get to Work!

It is fall again and the grapes are ripe! I tuned last year's crop into grape jelly but this year I wanted to try wine. I have been brewing mead for over a year so wine is an easier process though I found stemming and mashing the grapes tedious. We used the food grade pail I make sauerkraut in and lined it with a sterilized mesh bag, dropped in the stemmed grapes (about 14 pounds) and went to town on them with a potato masher.

   I then pulverized a campden tablet with a mortar and pestle and stirred it in. Campden tablets kill any natural yeast or bacteria on the grapes then dissipates after about 24 hours. After the campden tablet did it's job I added a packet of wine yeast and covered the bucket with plastic wrap to keep anything out. After a few day the plastic wrap domed out with the carbon dioxide given off as the yeast happily lived out their existences. About two weeks after that I siphoned the liquid into a clean milk jug (actually distilled water came in it but you get the idea) and stretched a balloon with a pin hole in it over the top.
  After that I added a can of frozen grape juice concentrate, a gallon of distilled water and 2 pounds of sugar to the bucket along with the mesh bag of the grape skins and seeds. This in theory should produce another 1-2 gallons of wine by using the tanins in the skins and seeds. It has only been a week into the second batch. I will let you know how it goes...

It's a Pennsylvania Thing

When I speak with people of Chicken and Waffles I always get strange looks. 'Chicken and What?" they always ask. Yes, chicken and waffles, and it is awesome. It makes great use of leftovers from a roast chicken dinner.

Chicken & Waffles

1. Melt 4 Tbsp. butter in a sauce pan (or Saucier) over medium-low heat.
2. Sprinkle 4 tbsp. of AP flour over the butter and whisk to combine.
3. Whisk 2 cups milk into the flour and butter mixture and raise the heat to medium high.
4. Add leftover chicken (1-3 cups or so) to the mixture and if you have any leftover gravy throw that in too.
5. Bring to a boil then drop the heat to medium low and simmer until thickened.
6. Salt and pepper to taste.
7. Meanwhile make a batch of your favorite waffles. If it is a very sweet recipe reduce the sugar.
8. Serve the chicken over the waffles. Viola!

Variation include minced onion, carrot and celery sauteed in the butter prior to adding the flour or dropping a bay leaf in with the milk. Mushrooms also would be very nice.

Lazy Potato Cookery

Happy October! We are enjoying the Indian Summer and decided to have a cookout today. Having excess potatoes I made potato salad.  I have modified my mother's potato salad recipe, not to improve it but to expedite the process- mostly because I am lazy and hate peeling and boiling potatoes. Anyway here is the current recipe I am happy with.

15 Minute Potato Salad

1. Take 2 lbs of potatoes and scrub them well. Stab them a few times with a fork then toss half of them in the microwave. Nuke on high for 6 minutes. After you remove them wrap them in a clean kitchen towel and nuke the other pound of potatoes.

2. While the potatoes rest, crack 2 eggs into a microwave safe bowl, punch a hole in each yolk (so they don't explode) and nuke them in high for 2 minutes or until cooked though.

3. Meanwhile dice a medium onion and 3 stalks of celery. Toss it on the largest bowl you have.

4. When the potatoes are cool, cube them and add them to the onion and celery. Chop the eggs and add them as well.

5. Drizzle about 2tbsp of apple cider vinegar over everything and toss to coat.

6. Fold in about a cup of mayonnaise (I use either olive oil mayo or Miracle Whip)

7. Transfer the potato salad to a smaller bowl, cover and chill.

The recipe works well for smaller amounts of potato salad but for a large amount, for a party for instance, it is easier just to peel and boil the potatoes and eggs rather than spend 6 minutes per pound nuking the potatoes.

The Joy of Processed Pig

Last night night featured a rare treat in my house. My wife does not like it so I do not make it often. The quintessential comfort food: Spam Casserole.

Spam Casserole

  1-2 cans diced Spam (I use Spam Lite- you can't tell the difference)
  3 cans Cream of mushroom soup
  1 large bag egg noodles
  1 15 oz. can asparagus
  1 8 oz. can sliced mushrooms
  2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat the over to 350.
2. Boil egg noodles for about 5-7 minutes or until very firm.
3. Combine everything except the cheese in an oven-proof casserole dish.
4. Top with cheddar cheese
5. Bake 35-45 minutes or until the cheese is as brown as you like it.

+3 Knife of Bloody Dismemberment

Today's topic became apparent when I sliced my left hand this morning while preparing dinner for the slow cooker; knives. A good knife is one of the most important and frequently used tools in the kitchen.

I use two primarily, an 8" chef knife and a 3" paring knife. I do have many many other like my cleaver, santoku, usuba and ulu but, while very cool, the chef and paring knives are my instruments of choice. I use the chef knife for 92.773% of my food diassembly needs such as slicing, dicing, mincing and butchering. The paring knife us used for small jobs where I would most likely hurt myself with the chef knife; for instance peeling, hulling strawberries or trimming radish roses. The paring knife is made by Rada Cutlery and apart from Lodge Cast Iron is about the only brand recommendation you are likely to see on this blog. My mother uses a rada paring knife, my grandmother used a rada paring knife and most likely her mother used one as well. They hold an edge well, are very affordable and almost indestructible being of all metal construction.

I highly recommend keeping you knives sharp. Keep a stone in the kitchen and learn how to use it or have them professionally sharpened about once or twice a year. It may sound counter intuitive but a sharp knife is a safe knife. Dull knives lead to excessive force, excessive force leads to slippage and slippage leads to you running about your kitchen clutching a bleeding appendage. Also when an accident happens (not if but when) a sharp knife leaves a clean cut and a clean cuts heal faster.

On the receiving end of these knives is the cutting board. I keep two around. First is my end-cut maple block. It is used for cutting mostly vegetation. I use one side (called the stinky side) for onions and garlic and the other side for everything else. I wash it by hand and rub it down with vegetable once in a while. My other cutting board is a large plastic one. It is used for raw and cooked meats (but not at the same time) and is large enough to provide alot of cutting space but small enough to fit in the dishwasher to prevent cross contamination of food borne pathogens.

My last implement is a board scraper. Also known as a dough blade, it is basically a flat piece of metal with a handle used to scoop up whatever you sliced or minced or chopped or whatever. I used to use the side of my chef knife until one day I attempted to fillet off the meaty side of my left hand. I recommend one highly, they are only a few buck and may save you from super gluing one of your hands back together.

Lastly I want to discuss storage. Reaching into a drawer full of knives can be dangerous. A knife block helps organize things but the slots can collect dust and mold after a while. I use a magnetic strip screwed to the side of the cupboard above the sink. I keeps the up and out of the way, well ventilated and accessible. Chef knife, paring knife and board scraper hang side by side on mine, ready for use.

Good luck, be safe and watch those fingers!

Gravy Train with Biscuit Wheels

If you had a brand new shiny saucier what would you make first. Bechamel? No. Hollandaise? No. Sausage Gravy of course! Here is my recipe.

World's Greatest Sausage Gravy

1. Brown 1/2 lb to 1 lb bulk pork breakfast sausage (that means no links) store bought is fine, homeground is better :) Good and brown is key here. The best sausage gravy I have made was when I got distracted and nearly burned the sausage. Browning the sausage good creates little brown bits in the bottom of the pan and these little brown bits taste good. The french call it 'fond' or foundation and is absolutely key to good sausage gravy.

2. Drop the heat to med-low and add 1/4 cup AP (all purpose) flour by sprinkling it over the sausage. Sprinkling reduces the chance of lumps. Although lumps are very easy to disguise in sausage gravy.

 

3. Season to taste with salt & pepper-this will depend on the type of sausage you used as well as personal taste. I use 1/2 tsp sea salt and 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper.

 

4. Stir constantly for a few minutes until it reaches a blond color.

 

5. Pour in 3 cups milk (whole milk is best but anything will do except skim). Watch that the steam doesn't get you.

 

6. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil, this will gelatinize the starches in the flour and thicken the sauce.

 

7. Once it hits a boil drop the heat back to med-low and simmer until you reach a bit thinner that you would like. Once the gravy hits the biscuits it will tighten up a bit and you don't want paste here. So a little runny is a good idea at this point.

 

8. Serve over fresh baked biscuits or toast. Fruit makes for a lovely accompaniment.

 

Now get out there and harden those arteries!

Meddle Not In The Affairs Of The Dragon; For You Are Crunchy And Taste Good With Ketchup

I attempted Ketchup again this weekend. I compared and combined several recipes to make this batch. I decided to use my slow cooker so I didn't have to keep too close of an eye on it. I also used canned tomato puree rather than skinning and seeding a metric ton of tomatoes to cook down to 2 cups of ketchup. I also found a spice mixture that seemed to give me the flavor I was looking for but not too overpowering. I really like the flavor of this one and its got a nice tomato flavor and is not too sweet. Anywhere here is the recipe.

Slow Cooker Ketchup
1  28oz. can tomato puree
1 small yellow onion- chopped
1 clove garlic- smashed
1/4 C honey
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 bay leaf
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp whole peppercorns
2 whole cloves
1" cinnamon stick

Combine the tomato puree, onion, garlic, honey and salt in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the tomato mixture to your slow cooker. Wrap the bay leaf, celery seed, peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon stick in cheese cloth or place in a metal tea ball. Add the spice packet to the slow cooker  and set it to HIGH for 6-8 hours depending on how thick you want it. Keep in mind that it will thicken slightly once it cools. Transfer the ketchup to a clean pint canning jar, lid and store in you refrigerator. It should keep about 2 months.

Have Saucier, Will Travel.

Oh Happy Day! I came home today to find a box waiting for me on the front porch. What would cause such excitement you ask? A new copy of the Anarchist's Cookbook? New Zombie video game? No - a new 7ply stainless steel saucier (pronounced soh-sye, it's french)! Its copper core allows for quick heat distribution and the stainless steel promotes heat retention.

Several months ago our Costco Teflon cook set started to self destruct and the final nail in the coffin was my wife carbonizing our nonstick stockpot (I was glad to tell you the truth - I hated that stockpot). We were looking at new cook sets when I had the epiphany that building a cook set piecemeal would not only allow me to choose the optimum piece for each task but give us a set that will my son will inherit.

First to go was that stockpot, I replaced it with a stainless steel one for longevity and heat retention. I went large-16 quart plus tall and narrow to reduce evaporation. Got it at the local restaurant supply store for a song.

Next to go were the skillets. Guessed it? Yep that's right- cast iron. Two cast iron Lodge skillets with stainless steel handles, one 10" and one 12". A better cooking implement simply doesn't exist. I also picked up a good nonstick skillet- 10"diamond augmented Teflon. Used only for high protein 'sticky' foods like eggs and fish.

After that was the saucepans. First to go was the 3 quart one, the saucier replaced it. What is a saucier you say? Imagine a stainless steel saucepan and a metal bowl had a baby. The bowl shaped sides allow for a whisk to get in the corners so it is ideal for sauces (you probably guessed that from its name) and also making candy, jelly and gravies. It can also be used as a regular saucepan for boiling eggs or pasta and steaming vegetables. It is simply more versatile than a sauce pan.

After the saucier I plan on going with a smaller (1 and 1/2 quart) saucepan to accompany the saucier. Next probably a good stainless steel roasting pan because the Teflon one needs to go-probably before Thanksgiving!

Saving Rain For Another Day

It is only a remotley related to food but today I had the first good downpour since finishing my rain barrels. I plan to use the water on the garden, composter, raspberry plants, grapes and horseradish so you see?- it is food related! I got three 55 gallon food grade plastic barrels from a local carwash I do work for. These type of barrels can also be aquired from food and beverage suppliers (Sysco or Coco-cola for instance). They each have two 2" holes in the top with screw-on caps.

 

The first thing I did was turn one upside down and cut a 4" hole the bottom. Next I took one of the screw caps and drilled a 3/4" hole in it and threaded galvanized pipe to form an elbow and screwed a brass spigot on the end. I then glued two threaded 2" PVC elbows to a short length of pipe and screwed each into a hole in both barrels. I lastly capped the remaining hole and drilled a few air holes into the second barrel. Got all that? Confused? So am I.

 

Basically the water flows into the top of the left barrel and both barrels fill/drain at the same rate because of the pipe between them at the bottom. The water comes out the spigot that my son is playing with. To the left of the left barrel you can also see an overflow system that will drain any excess water and the whole thing sits on 8 cinder blocks because when full it weights 800lbs!

 

I also built a single barrel for the front downspout (less roof area drained through that one). I am surprised how quickly they fill, in the picture it got that full from one 10 minute downpour this afternoon! It should help that water bill for the rest of the season plus many more after that (Hopefully).

Rule #1: Never Forget That I Have No Idea What The Hell I Am Talking About.

I must first and foremost thank my wife for suggesting this blog. Sitting around the table last night during evening snack -my most favorite meal BTW- discussing the evening's adventure after the dogs got into the chicken coop, my dearest wife suggests I should start a blog to share these kinds of stories so others may laugh at me as well as she. I recall a similar thought as I stared down into my trash can at five gallons of rotting pickles an a dead chicken, "I may not be any good at these types of things but it sure is entertaining."

For anyone curious "Eat or Die" is the motto of Jim Harrison- poet, screenwriter and author of great titles like The Legends of the Fall and The Raw and The Cooked.

I plan to use the blog to share stories, recipes, adventures, challenges, triumphs and mishaps related to my pursuit of food. From raising chickens to brewing mead, they all make for interesting stories and I figure this is a good starting point for the cookbook I am writing. I hopefully will be posting weekly but time will tell on how often that will actually happen so stay tuned for more info...