Let's talk kitchen stuff

Let's do something a little different- instead of me just talking about a recipe, let's get a conversation going about our favorite kitchen stuff. We all have some item we just can't live without and something we wish we'd never wasted money on, a favorite cookbook, whatever the case may be. 

If you are serious about cooking, then you probably are serious about your kitchenware as well. I know I am! I believe that if you really care about the food you are preparing, you need to have the best equipment and utensils. You need to buy the best quality utensils your budget will allow.  You might think you're saving money buying a cheaper set or item, but if you have to replace if every couple years, your savings are going out the window.

Let's start with prep tools. The most basic of prep tools for me are knives. When choosing my knives I considered them an investment and I wanted knives that would last as long as I am able to cook, and perhaps be handed down to my children if they want them. There are a LOT of great knives on the market. You can find a pretty decent set of knives at the big box stores and they can hold up for quite a while. I used to have knives like that, but I found that I was always sharpening and checking for nicks. One thing I don't want is to be replacing knives every few years.

So I went knife shopping. I did my research. I knew what I wanted, I wanted high quality forged steel with a full tang through the handle. I wanted a respected name and I wanted something that lasted forever. I chose Wusthof, but rather than buy a pre-made set, I bought an empty block and individually chose the specific knives for the uses I wanted, a santoku knife, chef's knife, bread knife, sandwich knife, tomato knife, meat slicing knife, scissors and an assortment of varied use paring knives.

Cookware was an easy decision. I knew I wanted Calphalon. I've seen it used by other cooks and loved the performance of the hard anodized finish.  I wanted to avoid the nonstick coatings that scratch and flake and are potentially hazardous. Calphalon has cookware in all different price ranges, both sets and open stock. I got lucky and found a nice set at Kohl's for under $500 and added a few open stock pieces to complete my needs- a grill pan, for one. I have also added a few AllClad pieces here and there when I'd get a good deal.

If you have been following my blog for very long then you KNOW I am totally, utterly and hopelessly in love with all things LeCreuset. I FINALLY got my first dutch oven not that long ago after scrimping and saving and waiting for the right sale at Williams Sonoma and it happened to be during a season that they had colors I loved! I have lovingly used that awesome piece for some wonderful stews and braises, even duck confit!

I have also accumulated some fun pieces over the years- a Guy Fieri Knuckle Sandwich chef's knife, a Cutco chef's knife that cuts through bone like butter, and a variety of other fun utensils. IKEA has relieved me of several dollars over the last few years.

And then......... there are the cookbooks. I am a cookbook hoarder!! I like to buy a new cookbook and sit down in my comfy seat and read it cover to cover like other people read bestsellers. And I have cookbooks of all kinds, old church cookbooks I found at garage sales to books written by celebrity chefs. I could have an entire library of cookbooks if I had enough bookshelves (maybe someday).

I have some other kitchen items, some I thought I HAD to have, like an espresso machine that has been used once, a Keurig k-cup machine (like I needed another coffee maker that I don't use), a collection of Bundt pans I have no idea why I bought, and baking utensils of all kinds. But the one item in my kitchen you will have to pry from my cold, dead hands- my Kitchenaid stand mixer. I could not live without that!

So, I've talked about some of my favorite things in the kitchen- what are some of yours? What is your go-to cooking utensil? The best kitchen gift you've ever received? The biggest waste of money? Let's hear some feedback!!

One Hot Jelly Mama !!!!

The Mad Scientist is at it again !!!  I couldn't HELP myself !! My wonderful friend Ron Elkins has this awesome fresh pepper business in Florida, www.ghostpepperfarms.com, and I couldn't help but order some fresh ghost chiles this summer, as we did not grow any at home this year.

Well a pound of ghost chiles is A LOT of heat to work with so I knew I needed to get creative and fast. Knowing that pepper jelly is a pretty popular food and super easy to whip up, I thought  I'd do at least one batch. Researching recipe after recipe I couldn't really find what I wanted. Many called for red bell pepper, which is a readily available ingredient, but for me in small town Iowa, can be outrageously expensive. I know a lot of people make jellies from fruit juices so my little brain started thinking.......apple ? Too mild. Grape ? Too sweet. Ahhhhh CRANBERRY !!!!

So armed with 100% cranberry juice NOT cocktail, with no added sugar I began my experiment!! 

NOTE: This recipe/method is minimum 2 days prep so allow for that time.

Hotter Than Death Ghostly Cranberry Jelly

8 cups cranberry juice
4 ghost chiles
1 package Mrs. Wages pectin (just happens to be the brand I used, use whatever you like)
9 cups sugar

Start off by heating the cranberry juice to simmering. Meanwhile, CAREFULLY quarter the peppers leaving the stem end intact. Seeds and everything stay inside for now. 

Once the juice is hot, add the peppers,cover and let steep overnight. Refrigerate when it's cooled down a bit.

The next day TASTE TEST your juice. If it is way too hot you can replace some of the juice with fresh cranberry juice that has not been steeped with pepper. If you don't think it's as hot as you like, reheat WITH the peppers in the juice and allow to steep overnight, or add another pepper if you have one. The next day you will want to re-taste again before proceeding. Mine was not quite hot enough so I reheated the juice with the peppers in it, let it steep another couple hours and then it was perfect. You want a product with good hot hot hot heat that is still edible. When you have reached the right amount of heat, strain the juice through a jelly bag or coffee filter to remove all seeds and proceed with the jelly making.

In saucepan, combine juice with pectin. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium high heat. Add sugar all at once, stir constantly and return to full rolling boil for one minute. Remove from heat, skim foam if necessary.

Ever stared down into a volcano filled with molten lava?

Ladle hot jelly into 8 or 4 ounce jars, wipe rims, fix lids and seals and process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Remove from water, allow to cool at room temperature overnight. Remember, sometimes jelly does not "jel" immediately. Give it a few days before reprocessing with more pectin if needed. Check for proper seals, refrigerate or freeze any that did not seal. Label and store in cool, dry place. After my jelly boil over and sticky mess to clean up I ended up with 13 half pint jars processed and a custard cup in the fridge to test.

Now.......you have this beautiful ruby red and hellishly hot jelly. This is NOT peanut butter and jelly stuff, so what do you do with it? Some people like to spoon it over a softened block of cream cheese and serve with crackers. I plan to use it as a glaze/sauce for sticky sweet hot wings, a glaze for pork roast or kebabs, even steak cubes. Mix a little with cubed chicken and fresh Asian veggies for a spicy stir fry. Add a teaspoon to a vinaigrette for a roaring hot kick in the pants. Use your imagination and have fun !!

Relishing the spring produce

What a weird year it's been weather wise. Snow, warm, snow, warm, freezing like the arctic circle, snow, HOT, cold and rain rain rain. Seemed like we would have another early warm spring (and early warm planting season) but, alas, that was not to be. Finally we are starting to see the lovely spring produce and cool weather crops hitting the farm stands and markets

One of my favorite cool weather veggies is the humble radish. Crunchy, a little heat, a little sweet, and such beautiful red color. LOVE radishes !!! Over the winter months I browsed lots of blogs, websites and books looking for the right recipes to make this little veggie shine, as well as give me something new to make for the cupboard, and I happened upon a recipe for Radish Relish. So........ I had to, of course, make my own adjustments to make it "my own" so here it is, and I hope you enjoy.

Radish Relish

2 lbs red radishes, cut into tiny matchsticks

1 cup finely minced onion

1 tsp ground ginger

3 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 Tb kosher salt

1 Tb whole coriander seed, slightly crushed after measuring

1 Tb cumin seed

1 Tb mustard seed (I used brown- any color is fine)

2 cups apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 cups sugar

Cut radishes into tiny matchsticks. The reference recipe said to shred them but I like more crunch and bite to relishes.

Combine vegetables with seasonings and set aside.

In large non-reactive pot bring vinegar and sugar to boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add veggies to boiling brine, stir well, return to boil. 

Prepare half pint jars for boiling water bath canning (warm lids in hot water, sterilize jars in boiling water). Ladle hot relish into jars with half and inch headspace. Wipe rim of jar, fix lid and ring and process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes (start processing time when water is at a full rolling boil).

I can't wait to try this out on a freshly grilled steamy brat with some yummy stone ground mustard !!

Everyone loves babies !!!

Baby vegetables, that is !!

On a recent trip to the city we browsed the produce section of a large grocery store to see what we could find that was new and different. After our weird winter and very late snow, fresh garden produce in my garden is a long long way off so........we decided to browse.

Compared to our little small town grocery store we probably had triple the selections and I'm always on the lookout for something new to experiment with. Melissa's Produce Company always has some interesting vegetables and they like to feature a lot of baby vegetables. On this shopping trip I found Pee Wee Baby Dutch potatoes and when they say Pee Wee, they aren't kidding. They are about the size of grape tomatoes!!  Well in spite of them being a little pricey I had to have some.

Now....what to do with them? Roasted? Super cute potato salad? Skewer and grill? I had ground beef, chicken breast and pork chops to play with so.....a glance through our herbs and spices and rubs and I decided on chicken.

This dish is super easy to throw together and great for a weeknight. You can switch up the seasoning to whatever flavors you like too!

ROASTED CHICKEN BREAST WITH BABY POTATOES

2 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into large chunks

2 cups PeeWee potatoes

1/2 onion, sliced into wedges

1-2 cloves garlic, crushed

olive oil

salt, pepper, meat rub of choice

Coat the bottom of a 9x13 pan with olive oil. Arrange chicken chunks around the edge of pan (I cut the chicken into chunks because the potatoes will not need as long to cook as regular "big" potatoes). Sprinkle with salt, pepper and whatever meat rub or seasoning you choose (we make our own meat rub).

Wash potatoes well, put in medium bowl. Add a couple tablespoons of oil, onion chunks, garlic, salt, pepper and more of the meat rub. Toss to coat well. Pile into the center of the baking dish. 

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees until chicken is done and potatoes are tender. At this point, you can add some cooked sliced or baby carrots, green beans, or whatever additional vegetable you like. Toss lightly with roasted potatoes and return to oven just til heated through. 

Enjoy !!!

Craft beers and food pairings, a delicious new trend

In the past several years, wineries have been springing up all over Iowa, which is a GREAT thing for Iowa wine drinkers, but along with that another trend has been popping up- craft breweries. Luckily for me, I live close to a wonderful brewery just up the highway in Ames. Olde Main Brewing Co. opened in October, 2004 led by brewmaster Puff Irvin. What started as two friends' dream has now become a full brewery and brew pub.

Another very exciting trend is the food and beer pairing dinner. Much like the wine and food pairings everyone is familiar with, each course of the meal paired with a different beer. The Port on Lake Panorama hosted their first Beer and Food Pairing Dinner featuring beer from the Olde Main Brewing Co. The dinner was a sell-out and the beer and menu perfectly complimented each other.

We began our culinary adventure with a brief story shared by the brewmaster, Puff Irvin. He shared how he got his start, how the business came to be, and offered a lot of interesting and informative facts that a lot of beer drinkers probably don't know! He also explained how to get the best tasting experience from your beer and why a glass is so important.

As the first beer, Longface Amber Ale, was being served he explained the brewing process, the flavor notes of that particular beer and the difference in alcohol content. This particular beer had a mild sweetness and a finish with a hint of caramel.  

The chef paired this beer selection with an antipasti platter, a colorful plate of Genoa salami and coppicola, marinated olives, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers and a selection of cheeses. Just like during wine and food pairings, drinking and smelling the beer before and after eating food gives you two totally different flavor profiles.

The second beer was Olde Main Off Kilter Scottish Ale, which was also an amber colored beer. Brewed in the Scottish style without hops and a lot of malt this beer boasted coffee flavors and a subtle sweetness. With this beer the chef paired two light dishes, the first being a cold Cucumber Avocado and Lime soup, which was a smooth, refreshing and sophisticated blend of flavors and textures, with the smooth soup garnished with diced avocado and tomato. 

Served alongside with soup was a Greek salad with fresh green pepper, tomato, kalamata olives and feta cheese tossed in a light Greek vinaigrette.

For the third course Puff introduced us to Olde Main's Dinky Wheat, a Belgian style wheat ale. 

Dinky Wheat has notes of coriander, orange peel and chamomile along with a secret ingredient. A lot of us who like wheat ales like to add a wedge of orange to bring out the citrus notes, but this fabulous brew already had citrus notes brewed in. It was my favorite of the night.

The chef's selection for this delicious beer was a light and flavorful pasta dish. Linguine tossed with sun dried tomatoes, fresh baby spinach, slices of marinated chicken breast, cannellini beans, garlic, olive oil, garlic, a splash of white wine and slices of grilled chorizo tossed in to kick up the flavor. This dish was so delicious and sensual......it was the perfect match for the Dinky Wheat.

Our fourth and final beer of the evening was the Sodbuster Stout Ale- a dark, thick and rich brew made with malt that had been roasted in a coffee roaster to bring out the deep dark coffee and chocolate flavors. The aroma of the stout in the glass reminded me of a wonderful espresso.

Our dinner was brought to a delicious finale by the chef's amazing Creme Brulee. There was no better dessert to pair with the warm espresso and chocolate notes of the stout. The smooth vanilla custard and crunchy caramelized sugar topping were flawless.

As much as I enjoyed Puff's presentation and expertise at his craft, the meal would not have been possible without the amazing kitchen craftwork of Chef Joe Riccio. He spent a lot of evenings up late after arriving home from work, brainstorming and planning and researching to come up with a perfect four course dinner. Even though this was a one-time event, Joe is hard at work every week at The Port where he offers nightly specials, homemade soups and a weekend prime rib buffet with an ever-changing menu. Stop in for dinner sometime and you can still enjoy a cold Olde Main brew !!

Mother's Day Memories

With this Sunday being Mothers' Day I thought it would be fitting to recreate one of my mom's best dishes and share with all of you. My mom is no longer with me, but she is in spirit and I know she's be tickled to see me share and brag about one of her "Erika Only" specialties. I call this dish that because I have never heard a recipe quite like it- a lot of very similar dishes, but just nothing like Mom's.

Mom, me, and my daughter Debbee

My mother was a funny little gal. Born and raised in Germany she had a mastery of the English language one can only acquire living near a lot of American GIs in the 40s and 50s. She cussed A LOT, and often didn't realize you probably shouldn't use THAT word in THIS instance. She was a young girl during World War II and remembers the people welcoming the Allies to her hometown of Weisbaden, which had been badly damaged by bombings, people were hungry, many homeless and destitute. Shew grew up and later married an American soldier from Minnesota, my dad, and together they moved from Germany back to a teeny tiny town in Minnesota, where I would be born several years later.

Mom was a waitress at Johnny and Kay's waaaay back in the 70s

Because she came from a family of very modest means, they ate very simply. Meat on Sunday, soup and other inexpensive and easy-to-stretch foods the rest of the week. She was not a gourmet German cook by any means, and many of our meals growing up were very simple meat and potatoes dishes. The occasional German foods but not as much as just everyday normal American food. Her spaghetti sauce was legendary, her chili like no other and her lentil soup is by far my favorite food on this entire planet. But any time Mom asked if we wanted something special for dinner, this was my most requested dish, and I can't help but think she is probably looking down, hoisting her beer stein high and saying "Salut" as I type.

Mom's Chicken Paprika

chicken (whole, parts, breast only- whatever you prefer, I used boneless skinless thighs this time)

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery- I use the leaves also

coupe gloves garlic, chopped

chicken stock or broth

1 bag frozen noodles or about 1 lb homemade

1 cup sour cream

paprika

salt and pepper

In deep stockpot place onion, celery, garlic and chicken. Add chicken stock to cover chicken, add a couple grinds black pepper and a big pinch of salt. Cover pot, bring to boil then reduce and simmer until chicken is very tender and falls off the bone.

Remove and strain broth (SAVE THAT BROTH!!!) and when cool enough to handle, remove meat from the bones and cut into bite sized pieces. You CAN use boneless chicken but you definitely get better flavor with chicken on the bone, if you have time to cook it. Otherwise, leftover roast chicken and a can of chicken broth is a good quick substitute.

** Note- you CAN skip straining the brother if you are able to get all the chicken bones and skin and yuckies out if you want to leave the onions and celery bits in the broth. I sometimes do.

Return meat to pot, bring to boil. Add the noodles and cook until tender, adding more broth if necessary. You want the noodles to soak up most of the liquid during cooking, you don't want a soupy consistency. Stir OFTEN to prevent noodles from sticking or burning.

When noodles are done, remove from heat, drain off any excess liquid that might remain, and stir in the sour cream and 1-2 tablespoons paprika. Mix well, and serve.

What does a vegetarian zombie eat ?

Ok.....wait for it....... and you have to say it with me in your best zombie impersonation......

GRRRRAAAAAAIIIINNNNNNNNNSSSSSS

Silly, I know, but I thought it was cute. And it also happens to be the subject of today's story and tonight's menu- grains. I've been experimenting with different grains for a couple years now, of course the old standby, rice, LOVE wild rice (although technically it's grass seed, not a grain), quinoa, which I love, and today it's farro.

Farro was a tough one for me to find around here !! A lot of the "better" stores don't carry it, heck even quinoa, as popular as that is, isn't in some supermarkets. Since I live way out in the country it's a roadtrip to Des Moines if I want something unique. I found farro at Williams Sonoma just by chance. The Chef and I were at the mall (something that NEVER happens) and I dragged him in there so I could drool over the cookware and Wusthofs. They have a small food selection and voila !! Farro was among the selections. A bit pricey for our budget but I really wanted to try it.

So anyway, a lot of research went into this grain. It's origins, how to cook it, how it's served, recipe after recipe. I found lots of great ideas, but I am an experimenter in the kitchen. I am going to create something new. So let's get to it.

Garlic Butter Chicken with Vegetables and Farro

1 cup uncooked farro
2 1/2 cups water
1 tb good quality chicken base
herbs- I used a mixture of parsley, thyme, chive, chervil and black pepper

Bring the above to boil, cover and let simmer. I've read cooking time ranges from 30 to 90 minutes so I tasted a grain at about 30 minutes, still pretty firm, at 45 minutes I thought it was nicely done but NOT very bulked up so I did the unthinkable and threw in about 1/2 cup long grain rice in there to bulk up the quantity (told you I was into experiments). Next time I'd use 2 cups farro.

For the rest of my dish-

3 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
8 oz package fresh mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
1 medium onion, cut in thin wedges
1 bunch fresh asparagus, tips trimmed and set aside, stems cut into 1 inch pieces
3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 olive oil
same herbs as above

Using the herbs, garlic and olive oil, toss the chicken, set aside to marinate while farro cooks.

When farro is nearly done, heat large skillet or wok, add a little more oil and stir fry vegetables adding the tips at the last minute or so, set aside in large bowl.

Stir fry chicken til done through,  melt 1/2 stick BUTTER- do not use margarine- lecture to follow. Heat until butter is melted but NOT browned, pour over vegetables and farro and toss and serve.

I also added about a handful of chopped red bell pepper- we stock up in the summer and freeze it to use later so I had it on hand- just tossed it in the bowl and the hot veg and meat thawed it out.

This makes a BIG bowl of yumminess, so either have friends over or enjoy leftovers for a day or so.

The dish reminds me a lot of risotto. The butter binds everything together in a creamy saucy texture. I kept my seasonings kind of French-style but you could definitely go with an Italian twist, some sliced peppers, maybe Italian sausage instead of chicken- it's very flexible. Add what you like, leave out what you don't.

I've also found a couple other grains I have been researching and can't wait to try, kamut, which requires presoaking and some planning ahead and millet- birdseed to most people but I found it in a gourmet grocery shop so I'm going to eat it.

Now for the lecture. Margarine- filthiest word in the kitchen. NEVER ever ever substitute margarine for butter in a recipe. EVER. For one thing, it's disgusting- nothing but chemicals and harmful saturated fats. I don't care how light or healthy your product claims to be, it's nothing but chemicals and water- leave a pat of butter and a pat of margarine out on a few warm days and see which grows mold.  Besides the chemical grossness, it contains so much WATER which will alter the texture of your finished dish, whether it's a sauce or baked goods. It even makes your toast soggy. Yuck. So stick with my advice here and go with butter all the time.