Choosing a rice cooker. This is my preference, ask these questions yourself. What's important to you? Besides making good rice.
Here are some criteria that are important to me:
- must have a keep warm function- non stick surface (if you are sure NO ONE will use metal utensils)
- don't buy one that's too big- don't buy one that's too small
- buy one that is the size of the rice you normally cook for the day, rice doesn't keep much more than a day even in the rice cooker
- must have a steamer tray to make veggies and heat things up with
- I like glass lids (easy to access when making something other than rice) or the lid that locks (keeps warmer for longer)
- I don't like a lot of features on it, but you might want it. This is where the expense comes in, the electronic controls beyond a moisture sensor and temperature sensor
- If I can, I look for the thickness of the pan, thicker = better (less scorching)
What else? that's about it I think. In short,
- get one the size that your family will finish in one day
- get one that has a warming function
- anything else is extra
Friday, October 15, 2010
Cooking in a rice cooker - Part 1
And I'm not just talking about rice, flavored rice and steamed veggies or dumplings. I mean beef stews, soups, casseroles, etc. This one will address how a rice cooker does that and some basic recipes. Part 2 will follow with more elaborate recipes.
A rice cooker is simply a somewhat insulated base with a thermostat and a heating element and a pot that sits inside the base along with a lid. Rice and water goes in the pot, the pot goes into the base, cover with lid, and press the cook button to enjoy perfectly cooked fluffy rice in a short time.
The rice cooker does this by heating the water until it reaches a boil, then the heat is turned off but will come on again when it senses the temperature will fall below a simmer. At this point the water is kept at a simmer. Without going into a thermodynamic lecture, the pot's termperature will be at the same temperature as the water until the water has evaporated.
At this point, the temperature will rise with any additional heat, and at that point the rice cooker knows the water has gone and switches to a warming mode, well below simmer but just perfect for braising. Quick side note about braising. The connective tissue in the meats breaks down into lip smacking collagen at 140 F. So a braise should be done at 140 F or above until most of the connective tissue is gone before simmering the liquid away for the flavorful gravy.
Now that we know how the rice cooker works, we can use this information to easily cook the following in a rice cooker:
- braised meats
- simmering soups
- flavored rice
- rice with veggies and meats that can be boiled/steamed together
Level 1 expertise:
- you can use chicken broth instead of water
- season the water with your seasoning of choice (ie spanish rice)
- add chunks of left over chicken
- add egg or quick cooking fish on top of the rice after it's done and make sure it's in the warm mode
- use coconut milk, lemon grass and clove to make Indonesian rice
Level 2 expertise:
- in the cook mode, you can add oil and aromatics and sautee (small diced onion, garlic, carrot, celercy, etc) before adding your water and rice
- in the cook mode, sautee aromatics and add chicken broth, veggies, starches and seasoing to make soup
- in the cook mode, sautee aromatics and add water, chicken/chicken bones/wings and necks and veggies to make chicken broth
- in the cook mode, sautee aromatics and add water, beef bones or pork bones to make beef or pork broth
Level 3 preview:
- poaching stuff
- sous vide
- braising recipes
etc...
Additional tips:
- consider adding things to your rice, but remember how long it takes for them to cook. Add canned beans at the beginning of the rice cooking, but frozen peas should be added after it's done
- playing on the above idea, making mock pilaf is easy. Add cubed sausages, chunks of veggies, chicken broth, seasoning, nuts, dried fruits
- replacing water with more flavorful liquid is the easiest way to change the rice (coconut milk or tomato juice/veg juice or beef/chicken broth or ???)
- adding spices and herbs in addition of or independent from water replacement is another good way
- don't forget that you can also steam at the same time (for some rice cooker models), this makes for an easy chicken rice. Replace water with chicken borth, steam quartered chicken above to let the juice fall down, voila)
- don't forget you can also cook oats and polenta
- anything that can be done in a rice cooker can be done on the stove top (or the oven even). Or if you prefer you can also do it in a pressure cooker.
A rice cooker is simply a somewhat insulated base with a thermostat and a heating element and a pot that sits inside the base along with a lid. Rice and water goes in the pot, the pot goes into the base, cover with lid, and press the cook button to enjoy perfectly cooked fluffy rice in a short time.
The rice cooker does this by heating the water until it reaches a boil, then the heat is turned off but will come on again when it senses the temperature will fall below a simmer. At this point the water is kept at a simmer. Without going into a thermodynamic lecture, the pot's termperature will be at the same temperature as the water until the water has evaporated.
At this point, the temperature will rise with any additional heat, and at that point the rice cooker knows the water has gone and switches to a warming mode, well below simmer but just perfect for braising. Quick side note about braising. The connective tissue in the meats breaks down into lip smacking collagen at 140 F. So a braise should be done at 140 F or above until most of the connective tissue is gone before simmering the liquid away for the flavorful gravy.
Now that we know how the rice cooker works, we can use this information to easily cook the following in a rice cooker:
- braised meats
- simmering soups
- flavored rice
- rice with veggies and meats that can be boiled/steamed together
Level 1 expertise:
- you can use chicken broth instead of water
- season the water with your seasoning of choice (ie spanish rice)
- add chunks of left over chicken
- add egg or quick cooking fish on top of the rice after it's done and make sure it's in the warm mode
- use coconut milk, lemon grass and clove to make Indonesian rice
Level 2 expertise:
- in the cook mode, you can add oil and aromatics and sautee (small diced onion, garlic, carrot, celercy, etc) before adding your water and rice
- in the cook mode, sautee aromatics and add chicken broth, veggies, starches and seasoing to make soup
- in the cook mode, sautee aromatics and add water, chicken/chicken bones/wings and necks and veggies to make chicken broth
- in the cook mode, sautee aromatics and add water, beef bones or pork bones to make beef or pork broth
Level 3 preview:
- poaching stuff
- sous vide
- braising recipes
etc...
Additional tips:
- consider adding things to your rice, but remember how long it takes for them to cook. Add canned beans at the beginning of the rice cooking, but frozen peas should be added after it's done
- playing on the above idea, making mock pilaf is easy. Add cubed sausages, chunks of veggies, chicken broth, seasoning, nuts, dried fruits
- replacing water with more flavorful liquid is the easiest way to change the rice (coconut milk or tomato juice/veg juice or beef/chicken broth or ???)
- adding spices and herbs in addition of or independent from water replacement is another good way
- don't forget that you can also steam at the same time (for some rice cooker models), this makes for an easy chicken rice. Replace water with chicken borth, steam quartered chicken above to let the juice fall down, voila)
- don't forget you can also cook oats and polenta
- anything that can be done in a rice cooker can be done on the stove top (or the oven even). Or if you prefer you can also do it in a pressure cooker.
Monday, March 1, 2010
On Kitchen Knives
How many knives are in your kitchen drawers? You can discount the steak knives and the butter knives. Go ahead, count them, I will wait. Got it? OK, now how many of those do you actually use often? How much have you spent on knives? Knives should be a decades long investment for most home cooks. Buy the best you can afford that fits you.
Having said that though, I wouldn't spend more than $300 for all of your kitchen cutlery. A great japanese chefs blade can be had for $75 or less, and an french/german blade made in Americal for $100 or less. The best bang for the buck (hence my favorites) brands are Victorinox Forschner and Dexter-Russell. Both are extensively used in restaurants and commercial kitchens.
Some myths that aren't true:
1. Forged knives are better than stamped. This is no longer true and "forged" doesn't always mean forged. There are a lot of cheap (I DON'T mean inexpensive) that are forged from low quality steel. Some of the more expensive knives are not forged but sintered. Even worse, some expensive brands have devalued their product line by making cheap knives (again, I don't mean inexpensive) *Bottom line: do your research and buy good quality knives*
2. Brand names = quality. As I mentioned above, this is no longer true. Henckels make cheap stuff that is no better (even worse) than the less expensive Victorinox Forschner stamped blades or even the ubiquitous white handled Dexter-Russell knives you see in a lot of restaurants. *Bottom line: do your research and get the best bang for your hard earned buck*
3. Never needs sharpening. Hmmm...yea... Usually this means the blad is serrated somehow. Either a scallop serration or sawtooth or other styles. They WILL get dull, and when they do most are impossible to sharpen. But what's wrong with them? The sawtooth style serration will RIP your food rather than cut (best to cut through leather, shoes and cans). The scalloped serration is not very good at all for chopping, mostly good for slicing, but it won't be as smooth and as fast as a well sharpened knife. *Bottom line: keep it simple, except for one serrated slicer/bread knife, your other knives should be good quality steel with a smooth edge*
4. Gimmicks = good. Some have specific uses, but most are useless. Diamond coated edge? No thanks, how do you sharpen it? What happens if the diamond coating wears off? Titanium coated knives? Usually pretty good at preventing surface rust, but what happens when the coating gets scratched? Besides you should always immediately wash and dry your knives after each use. The one gimmick that I wouldn't mind having is a ceramic bladed knife (Kyocera brand). A ceramic blade is wicked sharp and keeps its sharpness for a long time. The caveat is to ONLY use it for slicing and LIGHT chopping. The edge is brittle, so any abuse (cutting on hard surfaces, hard chopping, etc) will chip it faster than a steel blade. The whole blade is brittle, so don't drop it or use it in extreme temperatures or use in hot boiling water then ice cold water. *Bottom line: watch out for gimmicks, most will solve one problem but will create others. For the most part, a simple knife is better for the long run*
Taking care of your knives:
1. Wash your knives immediately after use, especially after cutting acidic things
2. Dry your knives immediately after washing
3. Use your steel often, at least before each use
4. Don't put your knives in the dishwasher
5. Don't put your knives in the drawer unprotected
6. Don't use powered knife sharpeners unless you're confident you know how to use it
7. Don't cut on glass, metal, marble, ceramic or stone
8. Only cut on wood/bamboo or plastic surfaces
9. Don't scrape your board with the knife edge, use a board scraper or at least the back of the knife not the edge
10. Don't use your knife for anything else except cutting foodstuffs (no opening tin cans with your knife despite a famous Food Network chef predisposition to do this)
What I recommend:
1. 8"-10" Victorinox Forschner chefs knife (or a santoku or a chinese chefs knife/not a cleaver)
2. the most comfortable vegetable peeler for you, OXO is what I use
4. A decent steel, at least the length of your chefs knife
5. Victorinox Forschner serrated slicer, I have the 10". I like the curve so my knuckle doesn't hit the board. Get one that's at least curved if not offset so you have knuckle room
What makes a good knife, in order of importance:
1. Comfort/good balance, I prefer mine to balance at the bolster
2. Durability
3. Edge holding capability
4. Full tang
How to hold your knife:
1. Pinch the balance point with your thumb and forefinger
2. Wrap your other fingers around the handle (if the knife fits you well, these two steps should feel natural)
3. In general lock your wrist and make your big movements from your arm/shoulder, precise control of the tip should be through your thumb and forefinger
4. No need to grasp the handle as if it's going to fly away, just curl your fingers around the handle
Material considerations:
1. Carbon steel - can be hardened to be very hard, but usually more brittle than stainless steel. Hard material means the knife can be sharpened to a very keen edge and hold that edge longer. But use it to hack away at hard bones or to open a tin can, the edge will chip faster than a stainless steel one. Major downfall: tend to rust and produce black stain on your acidic foods.
2. Stainless steel - a little bit less hard than carbon steel but usually tougher. Higher toughness means it is not as brittle and would tend to bend rather than break/chip. A stainless steel knife may be less sharp than a carbon steel and doesn't hold its edge as long. However, it is resistant to rust and stains throughout its life.
3. Ceramic - very sharp, very hard (thus holds its edge for a long time), very brittle. It can break just being dropped on the floor or counter. Need to be carefeul with chopping motions, best to use as a slicer only. Also prone to cracking with extreme temperature use (use in very hot foods/boiling water and immediately dunked into ice cold water).
4. Exotic steels - VG10 is the darling of the knife industry right now, both kitchen and knives in general. There are many other exotic steels, but do be careful with nomenclature. Surgical stainless steel isn't that good for real knives. This is a steel focusing on the stainless aspect of the material, not necessarily hardness/toughness/edge holding. A lot of great expensive knives are made of exotic steels that produce great compromises. As hard as a carbon steel but retains some stainless properties, or just as stainless and tough as a stainless steel but can be hardened a little more.
The only knives you need in the kitchen, in order of importance:
1. 8"-10" chefs knife with a curved belly or santoku knife with a curved belly
2. vegetable peeler that is comfortable for you
3. a steel, at least the length of your chefs knife
4. serrated slicer
5. easily disassembled kitchen shears
6. cleaver
7. paring knife
8. boning/filet knife
Uses around the kitchen:
1. Chefs knife or santoku for chopping or slicing
2. Vegetable peeler for peeling vegetables or shaving cheeses or chocolates
3. A steel to straighten the edge that's been rolled. Use a steel every time before use (4-6 strokes per side)
3. Serrated slicer for slicing roasts, cutting bread, cutting soft ripe fruits (apricot, tomatoes, nectarines)
4. Shears for butchers twine, but even more importantly to cut the ribs from fowls to butterfly them, mince herbs, chopping whole tomatoes in the can, trimming the fat on meats, cutting fins on fish, etc
5. Cleaver for separating larger meat joints, cutting through frozen foods,
6. Paring knife for making decorative cuts, devein shrimp, section citrus fruits (making supremes), strawberries
7. Boning/filet knife to filet fish, making cuts close to the bones, making slits and pockets for stuffing into the meat
Knife brands I would consider:
Victorinox Forschner 10" Chefs knife - $27 @ Amazon
Victorinox Forschner 10.25" curved bread knife (40547) - $26 @ Amazon
Dexter-Russell 8"-10" Chefs knife - $15-$35 @ Amazon
Tojiro DP series 8.2" Chefs knife - $80 @ korin.com
Global 8" Chefs knife - $100 @ Amazon
MAC 8" Chefs knife - $120 @ Amazon
Shun Classic 8" Chefs knife - $135 @ Amazon
Hattori 8" Chefs knife HD series - $90 @ japanesechefsknife.com
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Tomato Sauce and Its Derivations
Besides the gravy method sauces, this is the other most versatile method for sauces. It starts out with a basic tomato sauce recipe, then you add things to it to make other sauces. The difference is that with tomato sauces, I'm actually backed by the common culinary methods. It is one of the mother sauces.
The italian is probably the foremost expert on turning a humble tomato into a myriad of sauces with fancy names like Amitriciana, Bolognese, Norcina, Marinara and many others. Now if you notice, the sauce names sound an awful lot like region names in Italy.
Ding ding ding! That is correct, Italian cooking is so rooted in their surroundings that different regions will use the ingredients indigenous to them. Some regions use sheeps milk, others goats milk and yet others cow's milk for their cheeses. Some use lamb for their meat, others pigs and yet others beef.
This is the beauty of knowing the methods rather than recipes. It allows the method cooking practicioner to go to a farmer's market to buy fresh ingredients and apply them to the appropriate cooking methods.
-------------------
Let's get started with a basic tomato sauce.
Sautee onions, carrots, and celery in some kind of fat (bacon fat, chicken fat, olive oil, etc) until translucent and brown on the edges. As always when sauteeing vegetables, add a pinch of salt.
Add garlic to taste (chopped or sliced) for 30-45 seconds until fragrant then add tomato paste and the herbs. Add a dash of red chili flakes with the garlic if desired (it is, trust me)
When you can smell the tomato paste, add the tomato water (see below) and scrape the pan until clean.
Add the tomatoes (see below) and some wine (red or white, I prefer white)
When the mixture is boiling, turn down to simmer until the consistency is correct. Halfway through simmering, to have a more meaty consistency add quite a bit of bacon (you got the bacon fat from somewhere right?).
I like to add FRESH herbs like basil at the end of the cooking, before serving. Add the crisp bacon on top (if available).
Voila...tomato sauce (marinara when basil is added)
------------------
Preparing your tomatoes
Unless it is peak tomato season, always use good canned tomatoes. Canned tomatoes and tomato paste will give you the tomato flavor while the fresh out of season tomatoes will give you the freshness. *Don't throw away the water in the canned tomatoes, use this to deglaze the pan when I call for the tomato water above*
With your fresh tomatoes (especially when in season), the tomato water actually have a fair bit of flavor. Cut the tomatoes in half and let the juices and seeds fall into a colander, catching only the liquid in a bowl below. *This is the tomato water I call for above*
Roasted tomatoes
For tomato sauces, I love to put in roasted tomatoes for their intense flavor. I can also eat roasted tomatoes as is! here's how I do it. After halving and seeding the tomatoes, put the tomatoes on a glass/stainless steel baking or roasting pan. Add olive oil, herbs (Oregano, basil, thyme), salt, black pepper, garlic, finely diced onion and bake for 2-2.5 hours in 300-325 degree oven. Just like roasting meats, now we have to caramelize the concentrated sugars. Blast the oven to 400-425 degrees and bake for another 30-45 minutes. Check after 20 minutes and 5 minutes afterward for overbrowning (ie burning).
If you have a food mill, you can grind the roasted tomatoes in there and you'll end up with a smoother sauce without the skin. I like the skin, it adds a different flavor to it so I just throw the whole shebang in a food processor. As is, it's a pretty good sauce already. But I like the extra sweetness and richness the sauteed vegetables add to it and that's why I have the extra steps above.
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Other sauces and dishes you can make:
Bolognese - Use bacon or pancetta to sautee the vegetables. In addition to adding the tomato water in the step above, add some beef broth or chicken stock, cream and ground meat (pork, beef, turkey, etc). Let simmer until the meat is tender and continue on to the next steps. Instead of adding white whine, add red wine instead. Traditionally served with home made tagliatelle noodle
Amatriciana - Use pancetta or guanciale to sautee the vegetables (bacon is ok, but not authentic). Authentic Amatriciana is made with guanciale, cured unsmoked pig jowl. Yep I said jowl. When simmering, add a good amount of pecorino cheese and just a bit of cream. Serve with dried pastas like spaghetti and crisp rashers of the guanciale. A very simple version can be made with fresh tomatoes sauteed in guanciale fat, add the cheese and add the noodles.
Puttanesca - add anchiovies when sauteeing the vegetables. Add black olives, capers and chili pepper flakes with the garlic. Continue with the next steps and serve over spaghetti with parsley
Creole/sauce piquante - Instead of adding italian herbs, add creole seasoning. Add seafood toward the end of the simmer, leave the sauce a lot looser and serve over rice.
Clam sauce - add clam juice and clams at the end, serve over long noodles
Chicken and rice bake - In a casserole pan, add uncooked rice, an equal amount of water, chicken and add the sauce to cover the chicken. Bake at 325-350 degrees until chicken and rice are done. To make it quicker, use cooked rice, omit the extra water and sear the chicken and use only chicken breasts. Can also cube the chicken, sautee them and then add to the cooked rice and tomato sauce
Chili - Yep, you can make chili out of this stuff. Instead of italian herbs, use chili seasonings (cumin, coriander, etc). Add spicy stuff if you want. As a matter of fact, it's best if you fry the meat in the chili seasonings and add it to the tomato sauce just after the tomato paste step. Add beef broth or chicken stock to deglaze. Add the beans at the end if you want. And of course simmer until it's reduced to a good consistency for you.
Mushroom sauce - You can make it vegetarian and add sauteed mushrooms as it's simmering.
Tortilla soup - When processing the tomatoes, leave them a little chunky (or add diced tomatoes). Don't add the italian seasoning, but mexican instead (taco seasoning anyone?). Add the finished sauce to chicken soup and add tortilla chips to thicken. Just add enough sauce to make the chicken soup tomatoey. Also add fresh tomatoes at the end. Some people will add cilantro but I HATE cilantro.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Gravy Method Sauces (mac and cheese, alfredo, etc
Gravy-ish Sauces
People with formal culinary training will probably lynch me for clumping these sauces together. Well, sorry guys, I want to organize my sauces by how they're made. I think learning how to cook well is all about understanding the methods and flavors, not memorizing recipes.
In this post, I'll show some methods on making "gravy" of different kinds. They'll include cheese sauce (for mac and cheese and creamy alfredo), gravy (white and brown), and stews.
First, the method for these sauces are simple. Make a roux, add liquid, whisk until thickened, add flavors. Bechamel, espagnole and veloute from the classic french mother sauces fall in this category.
Now, let's look at different things you can do:
- use different oils such as bacon drippings, chicken drippings, sausage drippings, butter
- if using drippings, make sure there are enough oils to make the roux so you don't end up with a thin sauce (which you can fix by adding more roux; make the roux and add the thin sauce to thicken then add the additional thick sauce to the original thin sauce)
- fry some aromatics such as herbs, onions or garlic in the oils before adding the flour
- when frying aromatic vegetables, don't forget to salt them to draw out the moisture
- fry some chunkies such as crumbled sausage, mushrooms, etc before adding the flour
- the longer you cook the flour, the deeper in color and flavor they'll get, but less thickening power
- If you didn't have enough roux made, you'll end up with either the right consistency of sauce but not enough of it or enough sauce but too thin. Simple to fix, just make more roux if it's too thin or make more sauce to add
- use milk, broth or stock for the liquid. Make sure it's warm/hot so it doesn't
break the sauce
- add cheese in small amounts to make cheese sauce
- add meat to braise in the sauce to make things like swiss steak, beef stew, or roasts
- add meat in the liquid to braise without adding the roux. When the meat is done use the left over liquid to make the sauce
By now, you should be able to use your creativity to make your own sauces, but here are a few recipes anyway.
---------------
Simple Bechamel
Heat some butter in the pan, medium heat, when bubbles subside add the same amount of flour and whisk until the oil is absorbed. Cook only until it smells nutty (blonde roux) without much change in color from the flour.
Add warm/hot milk to roux, slowly and waiting for each addition to mix completely before adding more. Whisking continuously until it's thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Add seasonings, salt and white pepper (to keep the whiteness).
Additions:
- while heating the milk, you can add a bouquet garni of your favorite herbs
- while heating the butter, you can add some onions, garlic, or the whites of the
scallions. All diced very finely so as to not interfere with the texture of the sauce
---------------
Smart Mac and Cheese
you can make many variations, I will try to help you be creative in my explanation but it might make it less clear. I will give you a simple one later in this post.
Fry up some bacon or sausage (crumbles or slices) if you want to add some meatiness. Add onion, mushrooms if you want to the above oil or simply fry up the onions or mushrooms or other vegetables (leek, carrots, etc) in your favorite oil (bacon drippings, olive oil, etc). Add your seasonings now, especially spices. When you fry spices, the oil soluble flavor compounds come out better.
Add about the same amount of flour as there is oil in the pan. Be careful to watch how much mac and cheese you want to make, see my original notes above.
Make the roux to be a little darker than blonde roux.
Add warm/hot milk (you can add fresh herbs and crushed garlic to the milk while heating it up) slowly. Small additions at a time, only add after the previous milk has been absorbed by the roux. Stir continously. When you get to the right consistency (coats the back of the spoon), you're ready to add cheese.
Use good melting cheeses, grated. Muenster, asiago, cheddar, fontina, gruyere, havarti, monterey jack, gouda are all good ones. Add the grated cheese one handful at a time, stir until all is melted before adding more.
Add your macaroni to the sauce. Top with home made bread crumbs, broil until brown.
Voila!
--------------
Simple Mac and Cheese
- heat up some oil of your choosing (butter, bacon drippings, etc)
- add some flour (same amount as the oil) and stir until the oil is absorbed and it smells a bit nutty or turned a smidgen darker color (blond roux)
- add some warm/hot milk until the right consistency. Add a little bit at a time, whisking continously until well mixed before adding more
- add shredded cheese one handful at a time, stir continously until the cheese is melted before adding more
- add the macaroni to the sauce. voila done!
- top with home made bread crumbs, broil until brown if desired
*Note: if you want to make fried mac and cheese, let cool in the fridge or use left overs. If you made the sauce thick enough to cut into squares, great. If not form into balls and make flat patties. Fry on a hot pan until heated through and GBD (Golden Brown and Delicious)
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Homemade Bread Crumbs
Take a loaf of day old bread. Cut into 1 inch cubes, put on cookie sheet. Bake at 300 until dry (not a lot of color). Crush into crumbs or use your fancy schmancy food processor. Heat some butter (or your favorite oils) and herbs/seasonings/finely chopped aromatics (garlic/onion) until bubbles subside or garlic is heated through. Add the crumbs, stir until all the oils are absorbed.
At this point, it's ready to be added to the mac and cheese. To store for longer, keep on the pan until a bit crisp
--------------
White Gravy
This is another methodical way of cooking. The difference between white and brown gravy is whether to use milk or stock. I am shortening the sauce making description as it is the same as have been described above. Fry up your favorite meats if you want to use them. Bacon, crumbled sausage, etc. Add more oil if this doesn't produce enough to make your roux. If making a vegetarian one, use butter and oil (50/50 ratio) and heat until the butter smells nutty.
Add your aromatics if you want, finely chopped (onions, garlic). Add spices if you wish. Add the flour to make the roux. Add the warm/hot milk (don't forget to flavor it with bouquet garni if you wish). When the gravy is thickened, you're done. Now just season with salt/pepper. voila
---------------
Brown Gravy
Fry up your favorite meats if you want to use them. Bacon, crumbled sausage, etc. Add more oil if this doesn't produce enough to make your roux. If making a vegetarian one, use butter and oil (50/50 ratio) and heat until the butter smells nutty.
Add your aromatics if you want, finely chopped (onions, garlic). Add spices if you wish. Add the flour to make the roux.
*this is where it differs with white gravy*
If you have pan drippings from a roast or any meat cooking, you want to use it here. Add extra liquid if all you have left is the browned bits on the bottom, scrape until clean. This liquid is what you want to add to the roux above. If you still need more liquid, use canned broth. I like chicken broth even if I'm making meat gravies.
When the gravy is thickened, you're done. Now just season with salt/pepper.
voila
---------------
Wine Gravy
Fry up your favorite meats if you want to use them. Bacon, crumbled sausage, etc. Add more oil if this doesn't produce enough to make your roux. If making a vegetarian one, use butter and oil (50/50 ratio) and heat until the butter smells nutty.
Add your aromatics if you want, finely chopped (onions, garlic). Add spices if you wish. Add the flour to make the roux.
*this is where it differs with white gravy*
If you have pan drippings from a roast or any meat cooking, you want to use it here.
*this is where it differs with brown gravy*
Add a good robust red wine to the browned bits on the bottom, scrape until clean. Cook until reduced in half. This liquid is what you want to add to the roux above. If you still need more liquid, use canned broth. I like chicken broth even if I'm making meat gravies.
When the gravy is thickened, you're done. Now just season with salt/pepper.
voila
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Alfredo Sauce
The original alfredo sauce is simply pasta tossed with cheese (parmesan) and butter, maybe cream to thicken a bit. You can still make it this way.
The next version is still simple, but closer to what we know it now.
Melt butter on the pan, take off heat when it starts bubbling, add cream, wait until it's warm then parmesan, salt and pepper. Put it back on low to medium low heat and stir until smooth, do not let it boil. Add the noodle
The last version is to make bechamel and add the parmesan cheese.
Additions:
- you are of course free to add flavors such as herbs and spices or aromatics
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Braises and Stews
- Sear the meat (coat lightly with flour and salt); the meat can be in large pieces like roasts or cubed like stew meats until brown on all sides
- Add aromatics/vegetables
- Add a little bit more flour to absorb the oils
- Add warm/hot stock until 1/2 to 3/4 of the meat is covered (if using canned, use low sodium)
- Cover and let braise on low (or in the oven for 325 degrees) until the meat is tender, check after the first hour. Depends on how big the meat is
- When the meat is done, the gravy should be fairly thick. If not, taste and if it's not too salty let it reduce. If it's already salty enough, make some roux to thicken
- Voila...stews and pot roast, depending on what kind of meat you put on there
----------------
Swiss Steak
- Lightly coat cubed steak with seasoned flour
- Sear both sides until brown
- Add aromatics
- Add more flour to absorb the left over oil
- Add warm/hot low sodium broth
- When the gravy is thickened to a stew consistency, add the meat back on
- Braise for 30 minutes
- Season with salt and pepper
- Voila
---------------
People with formal culinary training will probably lynch me for clumping these sauces together. Well, sorry guys, I want to organize my sauces by how they're made. I think learning how to cook well is all about understanding the methods and flavors, not memorizing recipes.
In this post, I'll show some methods on making "gravy" of different kinds. They'll include cheese sauce (for mac and cheese and creamy alfredo), gravy (white and brown), and stews.
First, the method for these sauces are simple. Make a roux, add liquid, whisk until thickened, add flavors. Bechamel, espagnole and veloute from the classic french mother sauces fall in this category.
Now, let's look at different things you can do:
- use different oils such as bacon drippings, chicken drippings, sausage drippings, butter
- if using drippings, make sure there are enough oils to make the roux so you don't end up with a thin sauce (which you can fix by adding more roux; make the roux and add the thin sauce to thicken then add the additional thick sauce to the original thin sauce)
- fry some aromatics such as herbs, onions or garlic in the oils before adding the flour
- when frying aromatic vegetables, don't forget to salt them to draw out the moisture
- fry some chunkies such as crumbled sausage, mushrooms, etc before adding the flour
- the longer you cook the flour, the deeper in color and flavor they'll get, but less thickening power
- If you didn't have enough roux made, you'll end up with either the right consistency of sauce but not enough of it or enough sauce but too thin. Simple to fix, just make more roux if it's too thin or make more sauce to add
- use milk, broth or stock for the liquid. Make sure it's warm/hot so it doesn't
break the sauce
- add cheese in small amounts to make cheese sauce
- add meat to braise in the sauce to make things like swiss steak, beef stew, or roasts
- add meat in the liquid to braise without adding the roux. When the meat is done use the left over liquid to make the sauce
By now, you should be able to use your creativity to make your own sauces, but here are a few recipes anyway.
---------------
Simple Bechamel
Heat some butter in the pan, medium heat, when bubbles subside add the same amount of flour and whisk until the oil is absorbed. Cook only until it smells nutty (blonde roux) without much change in color from the flour.
Add warm/hot milk to roux, slowly and waiting for each addition to mix completely before adding more. Whisking continuously until it's thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Add seasonings, salt and white pepper (to keep the whiteness).
Additions:
- while heating the milk, you can add a bouquet garni of your favorite herbs
- while heating the butter, you can add some onions, garlic, or the whites of the
scallions. All diced very finely so as to not interfere with the texture of the sauce
---------------
Smart Mac and Cheese
you can make many variations, I will try to help you be creative in my explanation but it might make it less clear. I will give you a simple one later in this post.
Fry up some bacon or sausage (crumbles or slices) if you want to add some meatiness. Add onion, mushrooms if you want to the above oil or simply fry up the onions or mushrooms or other vegetables (leek, carrots, etc) in your favorite oil (bacon drippings, olive oil, etc). Add your seasonings now, especially spices. When you fry spices, the oil soluble flavor compounds come out better.
Add about the same amount of flour as there is oil in the pan. Be careful to watch how much mac and cheese you want to make, see my original notes above.
Make the roux to be a little darker than blonde roux.
Add warm/hot milk (you can add fresh herbs and crushed garlic to the milk while heating it up) slowly. Small additions at a time, only add after the previous milk has been absorbed by the roux. Stir continously. When you get to the right consistency (coats the back of the spoon), you're ready to add cheese.
Use good melting cheeses, grated. Muenster, asiago, cheddar, fontina, gruyere, havarti, monterey jack, gouda are all good ones. Add the grated cheese one handful at a time, stir until all is melted before adding more.
Add your macaroni to the sauce. Top with home made bread crumbs, broil until brown.
Voila!
--------------
Simple Mac and Cheese
- heat up some oil of your choosing (butter, bacon drippings, etc)
- add some flour (same amount as the oil) and stir until the oil is absorbed and it smells a bit nutty or turned a smidgen darker color (blond roux)
- add some warm/hot milk until the right consistency. Add a little bit at a time, whisking continously until well mixed before adding more
- add shredded cheese one handful at a time, stir continously until the cheese is melted before adding more
- add the macaroni to the sauce. voila done!
- top with home made bread crumbs, broil until brown if desired
*Note: if you want to make fried mac and cheese, let cool in the fridge or use left overs. If you made the sauce thick enough to cut into squares, great. If not form into balls and make flat patties. Fry on a hot pan until heated through and GBD (Golden Brown and Delicious)
--------------
Homemade Bread Crumbs
Take a loaf of day old bread. Cut into 1 inch cubes, put on cookie sheet. Bake at 300 until dry (not a lot of color). Crush into crumbs or use your fancy schmancy food processor. Heat some butter (or your favorite oils) and herbs/seasonings/finely chopped aromatics (garlic/onion) until bubbles subside or garlic is heated through. Add the crumbs, stir until all the oils are absorbed.
At this point, it's ready to be added to the mac and cheese. To store for longer, keep on the pan until a bit crisp
--------------
White Gravy
This is another methodical way of cooking. The difference between white and brown gravy is whether to use milk or stock. I am shortening the sauce making description as it is the same as have been described above. Fry up your favorite meats if you want to use them. Bacon, crumbled sausage, etc. Add more oil if this doesn't produce enough to make your roux. If making a vegetarian one, use butter and oil (50/50 ratio) and heat until the butter smells nutty.
Add your aromatics if you want, finely chopped (onions, garlic). Add spices if you wish. Add the flour to make the roux. Add the warm/hot milk (don't forget to flavor it with bouquet garni if you wish). When the gravy is thickened, you're done. Now just season with salt/pepper. voila
---------------
Brown Gravy
Fry up your favorite meats if you want to use them. Bacon, crumbled sausage, etc. Add more oil if this doesn't produce enough to make your roux. If making a vegetarian one, use butter and oil (50/50 ratio) and heat until the butter smells nutty.
Add your aromatics if you want, finely chopped (onions, garlic). Add spices if you wish. Add the flour to make the roux.
*this is where it differs with white gravy*
If you have pan drippings from a roast or any meat cooking, you want to use it here. Add extra liquid if all you have left is the browned bits on the bottom, scrape until clean. This liquid is what you want to add to the roux above. If you still need more liquid, use canned broth. I like chicken broth even if I'm making meat gravies.
When the gravy is thickened, you're done. Now just season with salt/pepper.
voila
---------------
Wine Gravy
Fry up your favorite meats if you want to use them. Bacon, crumbled sausage, etc. Add more oil if this doesn't produce enough to make your roux. If making a vegetarian one, use butter and oil (50/50 ratio) and heat until the butter smells nutty.
Add your aromatics if you want, finely chopped (onions, garlic). Add spices if you wish. Add the flour to make the roux.
*this is where it differs with white gravy*
If you have pan drippings from a roast or any meat cooking, you want to use it here.
*this is where it differs with brown gravy*
Add a good robust red wine to the browned bits on the bottom, scrape until clean. Cook until reduced in half. This liquid is what you want to add to the roux above. If you still need more liquid, use canned broth. I like chicken broth even if I'm making meat gravies.
When the gravy is thickened, you're done. Now just season with salt/pepper.
voila
-------------
Alfredo Sauce
The original alfredo sauce is simply pasta tossed with cheese (parmesan) and butter, maybe cream to thicken a bit. You can still make it this way.
The next version is still simple, but closer to what we know it now.
Melt butter on the pan, take off heat when it starts bubbling, add cream, wait until it's warm then parmesan, salt and pepper. Put it back on low to medium low heat and stir until smooth, do not let it boil. Add the noodle
The last version is to make bechamel and add the parmesan cheese.
Additions:
- you are of course free to add flavors such as herbs and spices or aromatics
-------------------
Braises and Stews
- Sear the meat (coat lightly with flour and salt); the meat can be in large pieces like roasts or cubed like stew meats until brown on all sides
- Add aromatics/vegetables
- Add a little bit more flour to absorb the oils
- Add warm/hot stock until 1/2 to 3/4 of the meat is covered (if using canned, use low sodium)
- Cover and let braise on low (or in the oven for 325 degrees) until the meat is tender, check after the first hour. Depends on how big the meat is
- When the meat is done, the gravy should be fairly thick. If not, taste and if it's not too salty let it reduce. If it's already salty enough, make some roux to thicken
- Voila...stews and pot roast, depending on what kind of meat you put on there
----------------
Swiss Steak
- Lightly coat cubed steak with seasoned flour
- Sear both sides until brown
- Add aromatics
- Add more flour to absorb the left over oil
- Add warm/hot low sodium broth
- When the gravy is thickened to a stew consistency, add the meat back on
- Braise for 30 minutes
- Season with salt and pepper
- Voila
---------------
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Quick and versatile pasta dish
I love simple pastas without creamy sauces or tomato sauces (I love them too, but they're close second and third). This recipe is from walking around in a farmer's market.
Get whatever greens are in season. I like kale, chards, spinach, mustard greens, etc (mix them up too if you'd like). Roughly chop them, I don't use the stems in chards and kale.
Get some cherry tomatoes, halve them and roast cut side up drizzled in olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs. 350 degrees until soft (15 minutes? depending on your oven, etc). This is an extra step, if you are too lazy, cut them in half and don't roast them.
Get some olive oil in a wide pan on medium low. Throw some garlic in there (whole if you don't like too much garlic, take them out later. Sliced thinly or chopped finely if you like garlic) until fragrant.
Toss the greens in the pan, until just wilted but not yet soft. Salt them as you put them in the pan.
Toss the tomatoes in if they're not roasted. If the tomatoes are roasted, add after the greens are soft and wilted.
While cooking the greens, cook some pasta, larger ones like orecchiette work best or bow ties.
When pasta is done, toss in the greens and tomatoes with just a tad of the water (a couple of tablespoons?). The starch in the water will act as an emulsifier to let the oils adhere to the pasta
Toss until well coated, serve in a large bowl with lemon zest. Some might like a squirt of lemon juice.
Variations:
- you can serve this cold...add ricotta salata or other crumbly cheeses (feta would be ok too). Better if the tomatoes are not roasted
- when serving hot, you can add pine nuts, any hard italian cheeses (romano, parmesan, etc), fresh cracked peppers. A nice roasted chicken would be great with this.
Get whatever greens are in season. I like kale, chards, spinach, mustard greens, etc (mix them up too if you'd like). Roughly chop them, I don't use the stems in chards and kale.
Get some cherry tomatoes, halve them and roast cut side up drizzled in olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs. 350 degrees until soft (15 minutes? depending on your oven, etc). This is an extra step, if you are too lazy, cut them in half and don't roast them.
Get some olive oil in a wide pan on medium low. Throw some garlic in there (whole if you don't like too much garlic, take them out later. Sliced thinly or chopped finely if you like garlic) until fragrant.
Toss the greens in the pan, until just wilted but not yet soft. Salt them as you put them in the pan.
Toss the tomatoes in if they're not roasted. If the tomatoes are roasted, add after the greens are soft and wilted.
While cooking the greens, cook some pasta, larger ones like orecchiette work best or bow ties.
When pasta is done, toss in the greens and tomatoes with just a tad of the water (a couple of tablespoons?). The starch in the water will act as an emulsifier to let the oils adhere to the pasta
Toss until well coated, serve in a large bowl with lemon zest. Some might like a squirt of lemon juice.
Variations:
- you can serve this cold...add ricotta salata or other crumbly cheeses (feta would be ok too). Better if the tomatoes are not roasted
- when serving hot, you can add pine nuts, any hard italian cheeses (romano, parmesan, etc), fresh cracked peppers. A nice roasted chicken would be great with this.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Classic Mother Sauces
There are probably literally hundreds if not thousands of sauces out there in the world. Many of them are derivations of each other; some say derivations of only a few "Mother Sauces". The original classification of sauces began in the 19th century. Arguably, the very basic classic sauces are:
- Bechamel: milk based sauce thickened with white/blond roux
- Espagnole: brown stock/broth based sauce thickened with brown roux
- Veloute: clear/white stock/broth based sauced thickened with blond roux
- Tomato: tomatoes, herbs, seasoning, oil
- Emulsified/Hollandaise: oil and egg based with herbs and seasoning, with a touch of acid. Some examples are mayonaise, aioli, hollandaise
- Butter: butter based with herbs and seasoning, acid. Some examples are beurre blanc, browned butter/meuniere
Other basic sauces:
- Sugar: sugar based such as butterscotch, caramel, chocolate, creme anglais
- Fruit: Fruit based
- Vinaigrette: oil and acid based such as pesto, chimicurri
- Chunky: chunks of fruits and vegetable based such as salsas and chutneys
These sauces are called mother sauces because they can be augmented to make derivative sauces. Bechamel can easily be cheese sauce for mac and cheese or broccoli and cheese by adding cheddar. Espagnole can be made into a demi glace by thinning it with more stock; made into au poivre with the addition of cognac and cream (especially if the espagnole was made in the same pan as the steak). Gravies can be made from veloute or espagnole.
I will cover the sauces in depth and a few creative uses in future installments.
- Bechamel: milk based sauce thickened with white/blond roux
- Espagnole: brown stock/broth based sauce thickened with brown roux
- Veloute: clear/white stock/broth based sauced thickened with blond roux
- Tomato: tomatoes, herbs, seasoning, oil
- Emulsified/Hollandaise: oil and egg based with herbs and seasoning, with a touch of acid. Some examples are mayonaise, aioli, hollandaise
- Butter: butter based with herbs and seasoning, acid. Some examples are beurre blanc, browned butter/meuniere
Other basic sauces:
- Sugar: sugar based such as butterscotch, caramel, chocolate, creme anglais
- Fruit: Fruit based
- Vinaigrette: oil and acid based such as pesto, chimicurri
- Chunky: chunks of fruits and vegetable based such as salsas and chutneys
These sauces are called mother sauces because they can be augmented to make derivative sauces. Bechamel can easily be cheese sauce for mac and cheese or broccoli and cheese by adding cheddar. Espagnole can be made into a demi glace by thinning it with more stock; made into au poivre with the addition of cognac and cream (especially if the espagnole was made in the same pan as the steak). Gravies can be made from veloute or espagnole.
I will cover the sauces in depth and a few creative uses in future installments.
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