cooking

Essential Cooking Tools, and Some Extras

0
1435 days
by in cooking, food production, process, tools

When I moved out of my parents’ home over four years ago, I inherited hand-me-down familial cooking gear galore. After several years of cooking on my own, I’ve supplemented and weeded, yielding this list – the absolute basic tools that no cook should be without. I must urge you to never, ever, ever purchase a set of knives or pots/pans. (more…)

Broccoli Soup, and Healthy to Boot

3
1452 days
by in cooking, food, food storage, Recipes

This one is simple. “A piece of cake” will now be referred to as “A pot of broccoli soup”.

You’ve been served

Inactive prep time: as long as your water takes to boil
Other prep time: 5-15 minutes
Cooking time: 4-5 minutes

serves: generally, 2-4 medium servings per pound of broccoli

Needed are 3 ingredients, bare minimum. They are: (more…)

Artichokes with Beets and Spaghetti

0
1469 days
by in cooking, food, Recipes

I bought some beets and have been experimenting with them in their raw state. A few days ago I made a beet salad with fennel fronds. Here’s what I did today.

Artichoke, Beet and Spaghetti

Here’s what’s needed:

  • 2 or so artichokes, fresh or canned. In either case, make sure they’re thoroughly cleaned, rinsed, and relatively dry, and halved.
  • one beet, small or medium. Or as big as you care to eat. Don’t forget to peel it.
  • one medium shallot.
  • olive oil
  • sugar
  • pasta

You’ll also need:

  • a sauté pan
  • a large pot with a cover, filled with water, seasoned with salt (about 2-3 tbsp kosher per 6 quarts, it should taste like sea water)
  • wooden spoon
  • chef’s knife, cutting board

So getting right to business, put your pot o’ water on high, and cover. Finely chop the shallot, and slice the beet into circles, as thinly as possible. To do this safely, slice off one end so the beet has a flat surface on which to rest. Heat your pan on medium -high and add a bit of olive oil, enough to sauté the artichokes. Add the shallots and sauté till they start giving off their flavor, then add the artichokes, flat side down. Push them with your fingertips to make sure they’re coming in full contact with the surface of the pan. Sprinkle with a touch of sugar and sauté till they’ve got some color on them, on all sides. The sugar should have carmelized somewhat.

When the pasta is done, drain and use a fork to turn two tantalizing tangles. Plate with the thin – and transparently so – beets, artichokes, and finish with a drizzle of olive oil. Eat.

Pan Seared Chicken Braised with Fennel & Beet Salad with Fennel Fronds

1
1474 days
by in cooking, food, Recipes

Fennel is amazing. I had eaten it, but never cooked with it until today. What intrigues me the most, anise flavor aside, is how many ways it can be prepared. The whole plant can be put to use: the root can be roasted or eaten raw, fronds for salads or as garnish, and the seeds can be crushed, ground, or used whole. Even the fibrous stalk can be cooked with other foods to impart its flavor.

Here’s what I did with it.

prep time: 10-15 minutes
active cooking time: 6 minutes
passive cooking time: 35-40 minutes

ingredients:

  • 1 chicken thigh, with skin (I bought a whole, natural, free-range bird and broke it down myself)
  • 1 large fennel plant, rinsed and dried. We’ll only use one stalk, so just chop off a stalk through the root. The root should be about the size of half a medium onion.
  • 1 beet, leaves and all, rinsed and dried
  • olive oil
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • white wine – I used a Pinot gris

Pan Seared Chicken Braised with Fennel

I first set my oven to 375°F before getting to work. In a medium pan I heated some olive oil in a pan while julienning the stalk of the fennel. I added some strips to the oil to flavor it and added the chicken thigh, searing on some color and rendering off some of the skin fat. I then transferred the chicken to a glass pan. Metal would probably be better. Oh well. I added some of the fennel fronds, bit of wine, and braised for about 35 minutes. When braising, you can use almost anything acidic, as long as the flavors work together. Lemon juice, wine, tomatoes, beer, stock – the main idea is to impart some flavor in a tougher bit of meat and keep it moist, which will also assist in breaking down the tissue.

While the chicken was cooking, I sliced the fennel bulb and fronds as well as the beet root into crescents. I mixed everything together with my hands, drizzled some olive oil and seasoned lightly with salt and pepper. Chop the veg as rough or fine as you like. I like big chunks.

Fennel and Beet Salad

I served the chicken with some store bought pasta. That will soon be a thing of the past. Enjoy.

Roasted Natural Chicken with Potatoes, Carrots, Garlic and Oregano

4
1479 days
by in cooking, food, Recipes

This is the first thing I made when I moved out of my parents’ home. I usually visit weekly and make something while home. I already made breakfast, so here’s what I made yesterday for lunch.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Total baking time: 1 hour 45 minutes
The lineup: (more…)

The Perfect Scrambled Eggs

2
1480 days
by in cooking, food, Recipes

Eggs are quite possibly the world’s most intriguing and universal food. They are symbolic, nourishing, versatile, and complex. Almost everyone can cook them some way or another – but not many can do so well and with consistency. Let’s try to change that. (more…)

The Well-Stocked Pantry

4
1481 days
by in cooking, food, food storage, organization

It’s not a pantry without a bunch of key items. I’ve listed mine in rough order of importance, the most used and versatile near the top. Mind you, this isn’t the same for everyone, but I think its a pretty good base (a bit sprawling, even). Also, this is stuff that generally doesn’t need refrigeration. And now, the list: (more…)

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