Kitchen 101 »

Wood and Herb Flavoring Options For Grilling By erwin

June 10th, 2009

Different herbs and woods affect grilled meat’s overall aroma, after taste and even presentation. Choose aromatic additions to enhance your grilled meat to take your dish to the next level.

Alder Chips: Marry well with salmon and other fish and light meats.

Apple Chips: Enhance chicken and game birds, pork, salmon, sweet glazes, and fruit sauces.

Cherry Chips: Are similar to apple and complement poultry and seafood.

Hickory Chips: deliver a slightly nutty flavor to pork, chicken, and turkey.

Mesquite Chips: Enhance fish, chicken, turkey, and pork.

Oak Chips: Complement pork and beef.

Pecan Chips: are similar to hickory and pair well with chicken and pork.

Dried Basil Stems: infuse a wide variety of foods with a sweet herbal scent.

Dried Rosemary Sprigs: Give a pleasantly woodsy flavor to beef, lamb, pork, chicken, and meaty fish fillets or steaks.

Mixed Herbs: Create fragrant smoke that suits a wide variety of foods; they are sometimes sold in tea bag type packages.

Grapevine Cuttings: A by product of wine making, add fruity flavor to such grilled foods as beef, lamb, chicken, and fish.

Making Good Grill Marks By erwin

June 10th, 2009

Marking your grilled foods with professional looking cross-hatching is easier to do than you might think, and the distinctive marks create an attractive presentation. Each pieces 45 or 90 degrees, depending on whether you prefer diagonal or square grill marks, and continue to the halfway point.

1. Prepare the grill for direct heat grilling, the  higher the heat the better

2. Clean the grill rack well, oil it generously, and place the food directly over the coals or heat elements, arranging the pieces so that they line up in the same direction.

3. After one fourth of the total cooking time has elapsed, use a spatula or tongs to rotate

4. At the halfway point, turn over the food pieces, keeping them lined up, and proceed to grill the food.

5. Repeating steps 2 and 3, finish cooking the food.

6. To preserve the cross hatching, it is best not to move the food again. If you must turn it, however, try to keep it in the same relative position and angle.

Crowned Best Restaurant in the World in 2006, 2007, 2008…El Bulli By lacredo84

April 16th, 2009

The St. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants has voted El Bulli of Spain as the most prominent restaurant in the world in 2006, 2007, and 2008 with the Fat Duck of United Kingdom placing second in the consecutive years.

A three Michelin starred restaurant inspired by the ingenious chef Ferran Adria, is open to 8,000 reserved guests per season with over 1 million in requests. The average cost of a meal is about $325 U.S. dollars. Utilizing science and chemical processes to transform the ingredients used in many food concepts, the molecular gastronomized plates is sure to catch the attention of the restaurant’s curious diners.

Even Joel Robuchon, once critiqued as the best chef in the world before his retirement in Paris, considers Adria to be the best chef in the world presently. His simple ideology of food, service, and ambience being the focus of a restaurant has brought tremendous success to his name and to those that he impacted in the culinary world.

The 2009 list of World’s Best Restaurant will be released in London on April 20. We shall see if El Bulli wins a 4th consecutive title!

Classic French Knife Cuts By erwin

October 12th, 2008

Learn these classic French knife cuts lingos as you dive into our fun recipes.

Our Favorite Cuts

Brunoise: 1/8 x 1/8 x 1/8 size cuts		Macédoine: 1/4 x 1/4 x 1/4 size cuts
Parmentier: 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2 size cuts		Julienne: 1/8 x 1/8 x 3/4 size cuts
Batonnet: 1/4 x 1/4 x 2 size cuts		Alumette: 1/4 x 1/4 x 2 1/2 size cuts
Rondelle: Round slice		Paysanne: 1/2” x 1/2” x 1/84

Other Classic Cuts

Heatproof Spatula By Olive Oil

October 6th, 2008

Though pricier that regular spatulas, heatproof spatulas will prevent melted plastic in food. They will benefit a cook with mixing and stirring hot foods right on the stove top, as well as using the heat proof spatula for folding and mixing batters. Dishwasher safe and non-meltable, it’s a gadget that once used in someone else’s kitchen, will turn into a required kitchen tool.

Check out: Le Creuset Heatproof Spatula

Mellon Baller By Olive Oil

October 6th, 2008

Usually this gadget comes with two different size ballers and a sturdy handle. It’s a great gadget for scooping melon, ice cream, or cookie dough; to core apples or pears or to make indentations in cookies before cooking. Any holiday baking chef will be lost without this gadget.

Corkscrew By ohhsnapitsruth

October 6th, 2008

Whether cooking with or for the cook, wine is certain to play a role in the kitchen. The traditional waiter’s corkscrew, which collapses into a pocket-sized opener, is the least expensive and sturdiest but does require a bit of skill and hand strength. Depending upon the cook, there are dozens of varieties of this must have gadget.

Colander By bunny

October 6th, 2008

A perforated metal (usually stainless steel or copper), six quart colander will aid in rinsing salad lettuce, washing fruits and vegetables or draining pastas. Vegetables can be steamed right in the colander and clean up will be quick and easy. Another variety of colander, the mesh colander, will prevent smaller bits and pieces from getting through but does require a little more clean up.

Shears By Olive Oil

October 6th, 2008

From opening bags, snipping herb, cutting up tomatoes, noodles or pizza slices, a good pair of kitchen shears will come in handy. It may take a little time to get used to cutting meats, trimming fat or creating perfectly cut cookies with scissors, but once you start there’s no stopping.

Digital Thermometer By ohhsnapitsruth

October 6th, 2008

Any dish that is baked, fried or roasted will come out perfectly with a digital thermometer. Oil can be tested before adding chicken, fish will never be to too rare and roasts will ooze with juices but never bleed. Even candy making is made simple; no more guessing with the sugar syrup stages. A must have gadget for the serious cook.