Category: TOPICS & CATEGORIES

Challah

    • Dry Ingredients
  • 4 C AP Flour
  • 1 C Sugar
  • Salt
    • Wet ingredients
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 TBL melted butter
  • Yeast and warm water
  1. Mix until it stops sticking to the bowl
  2. Let rise 1-2 hours in a lightly oiled bowl (covered)
  3. Pour out and divide into three ropes
  4. Braid
    • Start from middle – tuck ends under
  5. Let rise 30-60minutes
  6. Brush with egg and honey mixture
  7. Bake @ 375 35-45 minutes or until 190º internal temp

Cookies from Box Mix

Cake and Pancake mixes are simply flour, baking soda, salt and sometimes dried milk.  Making cookies from a box mix is easy, if you can measure ingredients, you can bake cookies from box mix. You can use any kind of pancake mix or cake mix you have on hand and one of your favorite cookie recipes.

  • 3/4 C box mix – Bistro sells Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix
  • 3 TBL butter, slightly softened
  • 1/4 C brown sugar – packed (or ¼ C granulated white sugar and 2 tsp molasses)
  • 1 medium egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • scant salt
  • OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS
    • ¼ C chunky peanut butter
    • ¼ C raisins or Craisins
    • ¼ C semi-sweet chocolate chips, chilled
    • ¼ C walnuts, chopped
  1. Mix together sugar, salt, butter, vanilla and egg
  2. Add optional ingredients (chocolate, nuts, etc)
  3. Stir in dry pancake mix with a spoon just until combined
    NOTE: Batter should be thick
  4. Cover and put into the refrigerator for 20 minutes
  5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  6. Cut dough into 4, 6 or 8 pieces, depending on how big you want your cookies.
  7. Form into balls with your hands
  8. Put 3 TBL CinnaSugar in a bowl
    (1/2 C each granulated sugar and cinnamon – scant nutmeg)
  9. Roll dough balls in CinnaSugar to cover.
  10. Place cinnamon covered balls 4 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet
  11. Optional:  Sprinkle with Maldon salt
  12. Press down only slightly
  13. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set.
  14. Remove hot cookies immediately from cookie sheet to cooling rack with spatula.
  15. Cool for at least 2 minutes before removing from baking tray, then enjoy.

Here is a combination as suggested by Arizona Your Life A-Z

  • 1 box 16 oz cake mix
    (or 15 oz mix plus 1/4 C flour or Bisquick for each ounce under 16)
  • 1/2 C Vegetable Oil
  • 2 Eggs
  • Plus sprinkles, chocolate chips, nuts, etc
  • 350º for 8-10 minutes

Tips: Sauces

  • Use the recipe as a guideline.  Taste and adjust as you proceed
  • Rely on your instincts
  • Add fresh herbs at the last minute.  Dried herbs can be added earlier
  • Keep the heat low.  Do not let the sauce burn
  • If it does burn, DO NOT scrape the burnt part off the bottom, pour the soup carefully into another pot, then proceed.  Taste to make sure it does not taste burnt.
  • Don’t cook fish stocks for more than 15 minutes, or ammonia taste may result
  • Continue to skim fat off, or they will dissolve and make your stock taste “dirty”

 

TIps: Knives

Full Tang gives your handle more strength over the years. The bolster should not extend all the way to the bottom of the heel, because as you sharpen it, over the years, and the cutting edge and the belly get smaller, the bolster will actually interfere with knife operation.

Comfort is important.  Get a knife that fits your grip

Metal Alloys used for Knife Blades

Steel plus a bit of iron
Carbon alloy helps make it hard
Chromium helps to harden and prevents corosion
Molybdenum allows a finer grain
Nickle adds to toughness + elasticity
Tungsten offers wear resistance
Vanadium
Silicon
Manganese

Choices for Cutting Boards

Wood Composite – good
Polyethelene – good
Rock Maple – good for Vegetables
Bamboo – good, but a bit slow surface – fibrous

Bad Choices

Glass
Metal
Granite
Marble

1. Use a Santuko Knife for delicate slicing, such as butterflying a breast. It is thinner than butcher knives. It’s not good for mincing though. Use a butcher knife for this.

2. When choosing a meat cleaver, get one with about 65% of the weight toward the front. A cheap option is a hatchet.

Knife Sharpening

Two things that you can do to a knife:
1. Sharpen
2. Hone

Sharpening:
Use only a professional knife sharpener
Sharpen for (1) long lasting or (2) sharpest edge
The BITE is the ability to hold an edgeHoning:
Use a sharpening steel to realign.
Does not actually sharpen
5 both directions, then 3, then 2, then 1

Really dull knives

1. Belt sander
2. Grinding wheel

Cutting board

 

Don’t use glass
Don’t wash in dishwasher
Do keep clean
Do use steel every time you use the knife
Do use wood or poly cutting board
Do store in a safe place

20º utility blade – not as sharp, but will not dull as quickly

15º sharp blade – very sharp, but will dull more quickly

Top knife sharpeners

 

Get one with a high guide hip – minimizes wiggle

  • #1 Chef’s Choice Trizor XV edge $150
  • #2 Chef’s Choice – Electric – Diamond 316 Asian Knife Sharpener – $80
  • #3 Chef’s Choice – Manual – Pronto diamond hone Asian Knife Sharpener – routine sharpener – $50

Three types of sharpeners

  • Carbide
  • Ceramic
  • Diamond

The Knife House

Having it done for you
This is actually advisable.  The job will be much better than you doing it yourself.
Here in Phoenix, us The Knife House near Indian School Road and 40th Street.

Rustic Rye Bread Dinner Loaf

  • 1/4 C warm milk
  • 2 TBL hot water
  • 2 TBL yeast
  • 3 TBL brown sugar
  • 2 TBL melted butter
  • 1 C rye flour
  • 1/2 C bread flour
    • Mix to combine
  • Add 1 tsp salt
  • Add bread flour (slowly) until it starts to combine
    • Mix to start combine
  • Pour onto counter and knead 5 minutes finally forming into a ball
  • Cover with about 1 TBL EVOO
  • Let rise for one hour or until doubled
  • Turn out and divide into 2 balls
  • Knead and form
  • Put onto greased baking sheet
  • Let rise another hour
  • Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until 190 internal
    • DO NOT let temperature exceed 200
  • Honey butter
    • 1/2 stick softened butter
    • 2 TBL honey
    • salt

Bagel Breakfast

  • 1 everything bagel
  • 1 onion bagel
  • 4 TBL butter
  1. Cut bagels into 1/2 inch pieces and bake on a tray in the oven for 12 minutes at 350º
  2. Turn out into huge mixing bowl
  3. Toss in 1/2 C shredded cheese
  4. 4 slices of bacon broken apart
  5. 1/4 C chives
  6. In separate bowl mix 6 eggs and 1 C milk
  7. Add a few shakes of garlic, salt and pepper to the eggs
  8. Toss all together in large bowl, and let rest two hours.
  9. Put into greased baking dish and bake for 45 minutes at 350º
  10. Let cool 5 minutes before cutting

Pull Apart Cinnamon Soldiers (also Garlic BELOW)

Inspired by Bobby Flay’s Pull Apart Cinnamon Bread

INGREDIENTS and STEP BY STEP

  1. Start with a large rustic loaf of bread – about the size of a flattened-out soccor ball.
  2. Cut cross section both ways (almost through, but not quite) leaving 3/4 inch posts of bread
  3. Mix stuffing
    • 1 C softened butter
    • 1 C brown sugar
    • 1/2 C white sugar
    • 1 tsp vanilla
    • 2 TBL maple syrup
    • 1/4 C cinnamon
    • 1 tsp nutmeg
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • OPTIONAL:  Chopped pecans or walnuts
  4. Shove into all of the nooks and crannies between the posts (or soldiers)
  5. Wrap bread loosely in foil
  6. Sprinkle with Grandpa’s CinnaSugar
  7. Bake at 350º for 20 minutes

Pull Apart Garlic Soldiers

  1. Substitute Asiago cheese, garlic and Gruyere for sugars, cinnamon and nutmeg above.
  2. Reduce baking time to 15 minutes

 

General Tso’s Chicken

  1. Hoisin-Soy mixture for Overnight Marinate
    • 1/2 C Hoisin
    • 3 TBL soy
    • 2 TBL Rice wine vinegar
    • granulated sugar
    • salt
    • 2 TBL corn starch
    • ginger
    • garlic
  2. Cut up chicken thigh and put into a Zip Lock bag
  3. Put sauce into a pan and heat until it thickens
  4. Let cool then pour into the bag with the chicken and let marinate 2-14 hours
    – NEXT DAY
  5. Bowl 1:  1 beaten egg and 1 C buttermilk
  6. Bowl 2:  1/2 C corn starch,  3/4 C AP Flour dredge and 1 TBL GTP
  7. –
  8. FRY at 350º oil for 8-10 minutes or BAKE in the oven at 425º for 15 minutes
  9. Make sweet sour topping sauce
    • 2 TBL rice wine vinegar
    • 2 TBL soy sauce
    • 3 TBL hoisin sauce
    • a squirt of siracha
    • 1 TBL corn starch
    • 3/4 C chicken broth
  10. Add toasted sesame seed oil to a large hot sauce pan
  11. Add minced garlic and minced fresh ginger
  12. Stir for about 60 seconds, then add topping sauce into pan
  13. OPT:  Crushed red pepper flakes or GTP
  14. Simmer and thicken
  15. When chicken is done, put into the sauce pan and toss
  16. Serve over rice and top with chives

See also Sweet and Sour Chicken

 

Smashed Potato Hashed Browns

  • Clean a Russett potato and poke it full of holes
  • Wrap it in a wet cloth
  • Microwave it for 4 minutes
  • Cut into about 3 pieces, then let cool
  • At this time also preheat your cast iron skillet inside on the stove top
  • Melt 2 TBL butter and 2 TBL peanut or canola oil in a cast-iron skillet with a few whole sprigs of rosemary
  • Smash potatoes roughly with a fork – leaving big chunks
  • Put potato into the pan and press down to maximize contact
  • Sprinkle with salt and pepper
  • Let the potatoes crisp up, then remove to a paper towel
  • In a mixing bowl put the fried rosemary pieces with a few minced cloves of garlic, salt, parsley or basil, and grated cheddar
  • Plate potatoes and top with an egg
  • Garnish with grated Parmesan and a bit of basil

 

Waffle Pizza

  1. Flatten pizza dough
  2. Heat up waffle pan and put dough layer onto pan
  3. Add sauce, pepperoni, mozzarella, etc
  4. Add a pizza dough top
  5. Close waffle iron and cook 5 minutes
  6. Slice into sticks
  7. Serve with sides of ranch dressing dip and marinara sauce

 

 

Baigan Bharta (eggplant and spinach)

  1. Eggplant
    • Cut eggplant into 1/4 inch medallions
    • Cover heavily in salt
    • Let rest 30 minutes
  2. Onion – Diced
  3. Spinach – Destemmed, rinsed, spin
  4. Prepare Curry
    • 1 pepper
    • 1 clove
    • 1 cooriander
    • 1 cayenne
    • 2-3 cumin
    • 2 turmeric
    • 1 cardamom
  5. Rinse eggplant twice and pat dry
  6. Prepare clarified butter by heating over heat for about 20 minutes.  Pour off top, discarding the milk solids
  7. Toast mustard seeds
  8. In hot cast iron add clarified butter to smoke point
  9. Add the eggplant, but don’t crowd the pan
    • Sear and remove
  10. Add the onion to the emptied pan and caramelize – 10-15 minutes
  11. Add garlic and ginger and toss
  12. Add spices right after tossing, then cook about 2 more minutes
  13. Add 2 C water or broth and bring to a boil
  14. Add 1/4 C brown sugar and dried spinach
  15. Reduce liquid substantially, then add eggplant
  16. Cook 6-10 minutes
  17. Serve over Basmati Rice with a side of DAL (lentils), yogurt and tomatoes

 

Biscuit Sticky Buns

    • Cook Caramel
  • 1 TBL butter
  • 1 TBL water
  • 1 1/4 C brown sugar
    • Mix together till smooth
  • 1/2 C heavy cream drizzled in while whisking
    • Cook until starts to brown
    • Meanwhile line a buttered glass baking dish with parchment paper
    • Pour the caramel onto the parchment paper
    • Sprinkle caramel with chopped pecans and set aside 
  • Mix 4 C Bisquick
  • 1/3 C buttermilk powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • Cut in 1 stick cold butter
  • and enough cold skim milk to make a stiff dough
    • Combine all quickly and flatten with a rolling pin
    • Try to shape into a rectanble
  • Top with softened butter, sugar, chopped pecans, CinnaSugar
  • Roll up starting on the short side so you end up with larger rolls, do not start on the long side
  • Trim off ends
  • Cut into twelve one inch medallions and place on top of caramel
  • Bake 375º for 30-35 minutes
  • Turn pan over and carefully remove pan, then peel off parchment paper

Pumpkin Fluff

  • 2 C pumpkin puree
  • 1/3 C real maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 TBL pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 C whipped cream
    • mix to combine
  • put into parfait cups (uncooked) and top with whipped topping, pecans and crushed ginger snaps

Basic White Bread

  • 2 tsp instant yeast
  • 2 TBL warm water
  • 2 TBL honey
  • 1 C hot water
  • 2 TBL canola oil
  • 3 TBL powdered milk
  • 1 TBL potato flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 C bread flour *
  • 1 C bread flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 C bread flour
  1. Mix yeast small measure warm water and honey
  2. Stir to combine, then set aside
  3. Mix next six ingredients
  4. Add 1 C flour and 1 egg
  5. Mix until a soft dough forms.  If too sticky, add some of the last measure of flour
  • For wheat bread, substitute 2 C wheat flour for the first * measure of flour
  • For 14 grain bread, add 1 TBL each:  9 grain cereal, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, millet, amaranth
  • For rye bread, substitute 1 C rye flour and 1 TBL caraway seeds for 1 C bread flour during * the first measure.

 

Alpine Fondue

Simple Fondue

  • 3 oz Emmenthaler – grated
  • 2 oz gruyere – grated
  • 1 oz gouda – grated
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • scant white pepper

Use any 40% semi-firm cheese.  Other choices include asiago, young gouda, taleggio, fontina, gruyere, Emmenthaler, or Comté.  Good melting cheeses will have high moisture, high protein, low age (max 150 days) and low fat

Making Cheese

  • Enzyme is added to dairy to curdle
  • Curd is cut and whey removed
  • Put into presses which compress and remove more whey
  • Loose cheese is cut into blocks – put into round molds
  • Cheese is pressed into rounds
  • Turned out and placed on aging racks
  • Gruyere is aged months to years and is produced here in the US
  • Older cheeses are generally harder
  • Scrub and add salt and bacteria during aging process

Step by Step

  • Cast iron fondue pot or double boiler
  • Rub with garlic, add wine, brandy and lemon
  • 1 C white sauvignon blanc – high acid
    • 2 TBL fruit brandy
    • 1 TBL fresh lemon juice
    • 12 tsp  prepared horseradish
    • 1/2 cloves garlic
  • Bring heat to 135º
  • At 135º add cheeses – melt between handfulls
  • Heat until 150º
  • Important
    • #1 high acid
    • #2 corn starch
  • Final addition
  • Whisk until smooth
  • Add horseradish to smooth sauce
  • Dipping choices
    • bread
    • chilled veggies – broccoli, cauliflower
    • cooked sausage – kielbasa, bratwurst

Cheesy Egg Waffles

  1. Beat three eggs
  2. Mix with 1/2 C shredded cheese
  3. Add 1 TBL Bisquick
  4. Pour into a waffle maker and let cook 3 to 3 1/2 minutes

NOTES: 

  • Because of the Bisquick, these will puff up a bit, so don’t overcrowd your waffle iron, or you will wind up with a mess.
  • I like mine served with a side of salsa

 

Carole Stubbs’ Cheesecake

This is hands down, the best cheesecake I’ve ever had.  She brought three to a party, and I ended up eating half of one of them.  I was soooo sick.

  • 8 ounce package Philadelphia Cream Cheese (room temp)
  • 1/3 C sugar
  • 1 TBL light Karo
  • 3 TBL sour cream
  • 1 large egg
  • zest and juice from two lemons
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Use my recipe for a graham cracker crust.

  1. Butter the sides and bottom of a baking pan.  Ideally, use a springform pan
  2. Cut strips of parchment paper about 2 inches wide and place around sides of pan.
  3. Prepare graham crackers – press into BOTTOM ONLY of the baking pan (not the sides)
  4. Beat cream cheese, sugar and Karo
  5. Add egg and sour cream and beat
  6. Add lemon and vanilla and beat to incorporate
  7. Pour into prepared graham cracker crust
  8. Place the baking pan in the bottom of a large casserole dish, and fill the dish with about one inch of boiling hot water
    NOTE:  If using a springform pan (or any pan that may leak) wrap the baking pan with foil to isolate it from the water.
  9. Lay foil lightly over top of the pan/dish
  10. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes
  11. Cool at least 2 hours before serving
  12. Top with fresh blueberries or lingonberry preserves

TOPPING OPTIONS

For the sour cream topping:

  • 2 cups sour cream (475 ml)
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar (35g)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the raspberry sauce:

  • 12 ounces (340g) fresh raspberries
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
  • 1/2 cup water (120 ml)

Caramel Ganache

  • 28 individually wrapped Kraft Caramel candies -Approximately 8 oz
  • 3 TBL butter
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  1. Prepare an ice water bath for when the caramel is melted
  2. Bring whipping cream and butter up to 195º and add the caramel pieces and salt
  3. Stir until smooth
  4. Place the pan with the caramel mixture into the ice water bath and beat with an electric mixer, stopping to scrap down the sides
  5. This will take about 5 minutes but eventually the mixture will get creamy and thicken.

In -n- Out Burger Animal Style Burgers

  1. Two Meat patties on the grill
  2. Yellow mustard on both patties
  3. Flip, add salt and pepper
  4. American Cheese on both patties
  5. Caramelized onions on one of the patties
  6. Put second patty on top of the onions
  7. Mix sauce:  vinegar, sweet relish, mayonnaise, ketchup
  8. Toast the bun and spread sauce on it
  9. Put pickles, lettuce, tomato, onion on the bun
  10. Place patties, top of bun, and serve.

 

 

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