Taking Your Temperature

I had a post about fried chicken ready to go that someone requested, and then I realized a fundamental flaw in what I was writing. I explained my love for cast iron (see below), but one other component that has become instrumental in my cooking is the use of a thermometer. That's right; I rarely trust myself to test the doneness of my meat and dishes. Maybe if I worked in a restaurant for twenty years or had spent countless hours in a kitchen poking and prodding meat. At this moment in time, I tend to let things cook a wee bit long.

Meat temperatures are usually listed as a recommendation for not killing yourself or making your loved ones sick. Good idea if you ask me, but by that time your dish is overdone. This is more apparent with meats such as chicken and pork. Chicken cooked to 165 is wonderful, moist, and tender. You are afforded a few degrees of fudge room with a whole chicken, but something like a boneless breast is a whole other story. If you hit about 180 with the conventional roasting method, you might as well go outside and eat a tire off of your car. Seriously.

Which brings me back to monitoring the temperature. I use a thermometer. In fact, I use three. Three? Excessive? Heck no. They all have different purposes and are useful in certain situations. I heartedly recommend purchasing one, they are relatively inexpensive, last a very long time, and take a lot of the opening the oven or pan and prodding your poor dish out of cooking.

Good Old Fashion Instant Read Thermometer
I like these for testing temperatures of meat I grill, pan fry, or anything small. Its fast and mostly accurate. I had an analog one (big long spear with the head on the end), but unless you want to spend a lot of money for a good one, these are relatively useless after about a month. So I bought a digital one, which is calibrated by some cool method and stays that way for a long time. Most them are compact and have different options. Stay away from the big grill fork thermometers though, unless you strictly grill at all times. Spearing a small piece of fish with one of these will give you nothing but trouble.

Probe Cooking Thermometers
This is quite possibly the most used item in my kitchen other than my spoons (I don't know why, but I never have enough spoons). Most of these are under $20 unless you opt for the wireless model. Being that I live in an apartment and I can hear mine beeping, I do not find it necessary to purchase a model which allows me to clip a huge pager-like device to my hip just so I can walk into the next room and look cool. But that's off topic. These little beauties have a thin wire attached to a metal probe (hence the name) that fits into a section of a roast, whole chicken, etc ... that you want to monitor while it is in the oven or on the grill. The reader sits nicely outside the oven and tells you the temperature without opening the oven and losing all of the residual heat. Generally, it will have an alarm letting you know when your food has reached a specific temperature. This little bugger has single-handedly saved Thanksgiving for me.

Fry Thermometer
My latest addition to the party, this analog thermometer sits vertical and clasps itself to the side of whatever I happen to be frying in. Great for deep frying (duh) and candy making, this is not a huge necessity, but they are pretty cheap and allow me to make French fries relatively painlessly.

One last note is carry over temperature. People preach it on TV all the time. For bigger pieces of meat such as whole chickens, turkeys, and legs o' beast, you will see a 5-10 degree increase after you remove said food from the heat source. For smaller bits you will only see about a 2-3 degree increase, but it is important nonetheless. Just remember if you pull your chicken at 168, it might be getting close to tire quality, so just be mindful.

Okay, now that my techno babble is done, I can move on to fried chicken.....later this week. Enjoy.

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Playing with Pasta

I ordered a pasta maker with my tax refund this year. The type that hooks up to my Kitchen-Aid mixer (no way am I cranking that stuff out by hand). I hopefully will get to try it out over spring break, though I have been warned the first batch will taste like metal. Good thing, since the first batch will probably go horribly wrong and have to be fed to the garbage. Stay tuned, and if works out, pasta party at my place.

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Beans!

I have to say, beans are not usually followed in any recipe with an exclamation point. In fact, the foods that have a "!" on the end are usually processed bags of blah. Next time you peruse through the grocery store, watch out for them.

But I'm getting off topic. This is about beans, or rather, beans! More specifically refried beans. A staple to many Mexican dishes but probably only found in your diet as a side at a Mexican restaurant or in a Taco Bell burrito. Not the way they were originally intended. Taking a page from my pseudo Hispanic heritage (I grew up near Mexico) I like to put beans in lots of foods. More importantly, my girlfriend loves them. Why? Because they are simply delicious!

Refried beans come from re-cooking pinto beans and mashing them into a kind of paste. While this sounds mildly displeasing, they are actually quite tasty. I have made my own before, and while they are quite good, they take a bit of time with the soaking, the cooking, the cooling, the mashing, and anything else I can think of to get a smooth texture. In my opinion its much better to go with the canned variety. I like Rosarita Fat-Free. Yes, I said fat free, so deal with it. I promise you will not be disappointed.

A small tangent I would like to go for is the wonderful health benefits of beans. Full of fiber, vitamins, and protein while being devoid of fat, cholesterol, and loads of calories, pretty much every other country in the world eats more beans than we do. And most of them live longer. Get it? The refried variety show up in a lot of my dishes, so before I go off on those I have to explain how I make beans. So here we go.

Refried Beans

1 can Rosarita Fat-Free Beans
1-2 T bacon fat
1-2 oz shredded cheese (Cheddar and Colby-Jack work best)
2ish T of milk

Whoa, whoa, I know, I said buy fat free, and now I want you to add bacon fat? Yes, I do. First of all, 1-2 tablespoons of the stuff split between four people is much healthier than anything you shamelessly ate the last time you walked into a fast food joint. And more importantly, pork fat rules! It lends a smoky flavor that cannot be matched by any other fat put into beans. And if you do not have bacon fat, save some the next time you make bacon. I keep a small container in my fridge at all times. If you think about it, many great dishes would taste better with bacon fat than butter.

So back to our beans. Heat a small pot over medium-low heat, add the bacon fat until it melts, and add the beans, stirring to incorporate the two. Add the milk and cheese and stir. Vary the amount of each to accommodate your desired consistency. Heat until the cheese melts, and serve.

Yep, no seasoning. If you want some spice, you can add whatever you like. No need for salt thanks to the cheese. You can serve these on the side or use them for burritos, tacos, and many other goodies. They are the base for my Indian Fry Bread, which I will post in the near future.

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Rabbit Food Cake

Maybe the title of this post is a bit misleading. But you know what I mean. Carrot cake. The delicious, oft misunderstood and mis-made cake that graces diners and chain restaurants around the country. It is served very cold, very dense, and always has a carrot made of icing on the top. This, contrary to what the boxed restaurants of America want you believe, is NOT carrot cake. Carrot cake is super moist, covered in delicious icing, and super awesome.

I refuse to order carrot cake at a restaurant anymore because unfortunately I know what I will receive. Not in anyone's best interest. Instead, I turn to the faithful recipe that has served my family well since, well, I don't know. The background and introduction to this cake is rather short, mostly because this cake is simply put, freakin sweet.

A note to mention. To grate carrots, you have to options. First, put the grating attachment on a food processor and grate accordingly (this is truly the easiest). If you do not own a food processor (which have many good uses) you can simply peel your carrots and grate them on a normal grater. This might take a little bit longer, but you need them shredded.

Carrot Cake

2 C. sugar
1 C. vegetable oil (or Canola)
2 eggs
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 T. cinnamon
2 t. baking powder
2 C. flour
1 C. chopped walnuts
1 C. raisins
3 C. grated carrots

Preheat oven to 350.

Blend sugar and eggs in a stand mixer until fluffy. Add oil and mix. Add dry ingredients and blend them in. Make sure to wipe down the sides of the bowl if using a stand mixer, some parts tend to stick to the sides. Add the nuts and raisins next. Add the carrots last and mix slowly, being careful not to over mix. Pour into a greased bundt pan (yes, again with the bundt pan, it allows the center to be done at the same time as the edges. If you use a square pan you might burn the edges) and bake for about 40 minutes or until the center of the cake springs back and does not feel sticky. Let cool slightly, turn out on a rack and cool, then ice.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1/4 C butter
1 8oz. package cream cheese
2 tsp vanilla (or 1 tsp each vanilla and almond extract)
1/2 package of powdered sugar.

Let butter and cream cheese come to room temperature and soften. Beat in mixer until creamy. Add vanilla and powdered sugar. If it's too thick, add milk, if too thin, add more powdered sugar. If you don't think you have enough, add some milk and powdered sugar to increase the volume slightly.

Enjoy.

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Slight Hiatus

Due to a bit of a busy stretch, I will not post as much as I would like this week. But never fear, I have some lined up for carrot cake, Indian fry bread, a book I read (no, you cannot eat that), chicken with almonds, and why avocados might be perfect.

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What's White About Chili?

I like chili. Hearty, flavorful, spicy chili. But its always red. Why? We think of tomatoes, beans, ground beef and chili powder. This is the classic and common method to making chili, and what I was pondering while working out a recipe for turkey chili. Yes, you could probably swap out beef for turkey, but the beef has more flavor that stands up to the tomatoes and spice you put in traditional chili. In fact, I was pretty sure the chili I make most of the time is not "traditional" because, first off, it has beans. But that is not why we are here. This is about turkey chili.

Why can't turkey chili be a different focus all together? For this, I turned to one of my all-time favorite varieties, chili verde. I have fond memories of this (it is mainly a pork based chili braised in chicken stock and green chiles) from Albuquerque where it is sold at a balloon festival with a shot of Jack Daniels. At four in the morning. No lie. Well, turkey goes well with green chiles, and it likes mild, subtle flavors. So I went about looking for a recipe for a green or white chili.

I was severely disappointed. I do not want thyme, basil, and cocoa powder(?!) in my chili. That's not what I was after. I wanted smokey, spicy, and earthy flavors. Uh oh, this was turning out to be one of those hit or miss moments my girlfriend hates. She gives me this look of despair and hopes we don't have to order out.

Lucky for her (and me), this chili turned out awesome. It has everything I wanted, the flavor, the texture, and the turkey was not washed away in a bed of tomatoes. This is a slightly spicy dish, if you want more or less, adjust the amount of chipotles you add. Barley gives some texture to the dish (not to mention it's healthy). Thanks to the 6 inches of snow we just received here, this dish will give you some serious comfort.

White(ish) Turkey Chili

Olive Oil
1 pound ground turkey (at least 90/10, I like 95/5)
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
2 chipotle peppers in their adobo sauce, diced
2 4 oz. cans diced green chiles
1 10oz can green enchilada sauce
1 12-15 oz can tomatillos (I don't remember the exact size - you can find these in the Mexican isle at the grocery store), drained and chopped
1 cup dry pearled barley
2 15oz . cans chicken stock
1 15oz. can cannellini bean beans, rinsed
1 T Cumin
1 T Chili Powder (go for the Ancho kind, its smokey)
Salt
Pepper
1 T cornmeal
1 T tomato paste
Sour cream

Heat about 2-3T of olive oil over medium heat in a good sized pot. Add onion and cook until slightly wilted, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook one minute longer. Add turkey, breaking it apart and cooking until it has lost its pink color. Add the chipotles, cumin, chili powder, and some salt and pepper. Stir and cook for about 1 minute. Add green chiles, tomatillos, enchilada sauce, and pearled barley, followed by chicken stock. Stir, bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add beans and cook 10 more minutes, or until barley becomes only slightly chewy. Remove lid, stir in cornmeal and tomato paste, and cook for about 5 more minutes. The chili will thicken nicely. Serve topped with a bit of sour cream.

Is it white? Kind of. Is it green? Kind of. Is it awesome? You betcha

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Pork for everyone

I enjoy a good pork chop. Especially breaded and baked. So much in fact, I make it about once every other week. Pork chops were the first savory food (along with macaroni and cheese) I ever attempted to cook all by myself. I say attempted because they didn't turn out so great (granted, I was 7). However, my troubles have been remedied and I think I've made pork chops over 50 times. I like the center cut chops the best because the bone does nothing except add cooking time. Unlike chicken breasts, pork chops do not need a bone to add flavor (it only helps when braising or grilling). I also like my chops about an inch thick, anything more and they are begging to be stuffed (some other time, I promise). If you do buy the 2 inch thick chops, slicing them in half (like making a layer cake) is a simple solution.

The common method of making pork chops is dipping them in an egg bath, which is usually 1 egg with salt and pepper whisked together, and then another dip in bread crumbs. Place in baking pan and bake for 45 minutes or so until they reach 160 degrees (lets call it 45 minutes), and eat.

This works pretty well, but there are a few glaring errors. First, pork is a different beast than it was when everyone got together to determine cooking temperatures (probably about 100 years ago). The fatty pork of old was prone to many different disease states, which required it to be cooked to 160. Pork is now leaner and resistant to most bugs. The main parasite in pork, trichinella, is eradicated at 145 degrees. Therefore, pork's cooking temperature can be lowered.

The second error is the breading. Plain old bread crumbs are gritty and bland, only suitable for deep frying or meatballs. For years my family has used crushed stuffing. Yes, crushed Pepperidge Farm stuffing is a great breading. It comes in big chunks, has lots of seasonings, and makes for a great crunchy coating.

So far so good. However, a few more problems have reared their ugly heads. After baking, the bottom is soggy and the chops lack an even, crispy exterior. And pork loves to dry out. Pretty much all the pork I cook now is brined, which makes a huge difference. Trust me, its easy, and you should brine any pork that is not going to be barbecued.

I consulted Cooks Magazine, which, if you are not getting this magazine, is totally worth it. They bake their pork on a rack, which prevents the soggy bottom. It also lets the pork cook faster, which prevents drying. So after playing around with the recipe, I have settled on the following:

Breaded Pork Chops

1/4 C salt
4 C water
2 pounds pork chops (probably 4 of them), about an inch thick

Dissolve salt in water. Trim all excess fat from pork, place in zip-top back, add water, and brine for 15-20 minutes. In the meantime, prepare breading and pan.

1/4 C flour + 6 T
3 egg whites
2 T Dijon mustard
1 1/2 C stuffing. slightly crushed

Prepare three pans, one with flour, one with the 1/4 cup flour, one with the egg whites and mustard, and one with the bread crumbs. Add the 6 T flour to the egg whites and whisk until slightly lumpy.
To prepare the baking pan, take cooling rack and lightly coat with non stick spray. Place on top of a baking sheet.

And now, it all comes together. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Remove the pork from the brine, rinse with fresh water, dry well and season with pepper (it's already plenty salty). Dredge one chop at a time in flour, shake off excess, dip in egg whites and then in breading. Make sure to press down for the breading to get even coating. Place on rack and repeat with other chops. Bake for about 15 minutes or until they reach 150 degrees internal temperature. Let cool for about 5 minutes and eat.

And there you go. The egg whites prevent sogginess (that was the yolk fat), and the mustard adds some tasty flavor. You can drizzle lemon juice over them if you wish, but I like mine as is.

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A Quick Chocolate Cake

Two years ago my girlfriend and I were playing cards at my mom's house. Between hands my mom gets up and tells us she is going to make "a quick chocolate cake". A little bit of skepticism crossed. And that is exactly what it was, because 10 minutes later there was a cake in the oven, and a short time after that we were enjoying warm, moist chocolaty goodness.

I have made this cake for years, and never once did I stop and consider that it took me less time to make this than to make, say, a batch of biscuits. It is pretty straight forward, and tastes better than most chocolate cakes that are put in front of me. Do yourself a favor though, and do not skimp on ingredients. You can use butter, margarine, or even Smart Balance, but do not use fat-free sour cream (low-fat is cool). Your cake will be slightly mushy.

This cake is great by itself, but even better with cream cheese frosting.

Quick Chocolate Cake (Red Devil's Food)

3/4 C butter
2 C sugar
2 eggs
1 C sour cream
2 1/2 C cake flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 C cocoa
1 C boiling water
1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and beat until nice and fluffy. Add dry ingredients, followed by sour cream. Mix well, make sure to scrape out sides as some will stick. Add boiling water, mix slowly until incorporated, then mix well. Add vanilla last. Pour into a greased pan (I like Baker's Joy). Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Some notes.
- Beat the sugar, butter and eggs well. But once you start adding everything else, be sure not to over mix. This will affect the moistness and tenderness of the cake.
- Add the vanilla last. This is not because the vanilla will curdle, it is because if you add the hot liquid after it will evaporate the vanilla's alcohol. This does not allow the alcohol soluble flavors to come out in the taste.
-This cake works well as a bundt, which allows more even cooking.
-Baking time will vary on your oven, but leave it alone if possible. Do not use a toothpick or open the oven often, it will cause the cake to fall. So how do you tell if it's done? If the cake is barely wobbly in the center. If it is completely firm it is over done, if it is gooey it needs a bit more time.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1/4 C butter
1 8oz. package cream cheese
2 tsp vanilla (or 1 tsp each vanilla and almond extract)
1/2 package of powdered sugar.

Let butter and cream cheese come to room temperature and soften. Beat in mixer until creamy. Add vanilla and powdered sugar. If it's too thick, add milk, if too thin, add more powdered sugar. If you don't think you have enough, add some milk and powdered sugar to increase the volume slightly.

One last thing. Great cake deserves milk. Always

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Cast Iron or How I Learned to Love the Fond

I will be honest; I grew up with all non-stick cookware. I thought only the big restaurants and fancy chefs had anything else. I made my eggs, sauces, and cooked all of my meat in similar vessels, not knowing what I was missing. A while back I was watching a particularly good episode of Good Eats in which fried chicken was prepared. To my dismay, it was done in a cast iron skillet. Wait, I thought, aren't those only used outside on a ranch or as decoration? Obviously I had been pretty sheltered.

A few weeks later I decided to try out this cast iron, went down to my local store, and purchased a $15 model (Lodge has an impeccable reputation) that was about 14 inches in diameter. I went home, prepared my fried chicken, and somewhat disappointed with the result. The chicken stuck to the pan, there was a slight funky taste to my coating, and I was very unfamiliar with cooking time in something that holds heat so well. Nevertheless, I was determined to make something of this skillet and turned to the internet for answers.

Turns out I experienced the same result most first-timers experience with a cast iron skillet. It was not seasoned, which leads to food sticking and a less developed flavor. Seasoning a cast iron skillet refers to repeated use of the vessel, causing small deposits of oil and food particles sticking to the iron surface. Over time this can lead to a deeper flavor and a relatively non-stick surface. Cast iron was once the material of choice to cook stews, bread, and any frying due to its wonderful heat retention and even distribution. Skillets and pots were passed down generations thanks to their wonderful seasoning. However, with the advent of non-stick cookware and the home cook asking for quick, easy solutions, cast iron took a back seat to more convenient methods and with it, taste.

One of the main reasons cast iron can make things taste better is because of the fond. Fond is the browned bits of meat that stick to the bottom of the pan after cooking. With cast iron, this fond is partially left on the bottom of the pan, and further cooking can pull up deeper flavors from the pan. This can dramatically increase your flavor base of gravies, stews, and many other foods you can cook in cast iron. After all of my research, I found out a few key things that should be noted when using cast iron.

- Do not ever wash the pan with soap. Hot water is the only cleaning substance that should ever be used. If food bits stick the bottom of the pan, do not use an abrasive sponge. Instead, pour some salt (kosher preferably) over the spot and scrub at it with a paper towel. This will allow the salt to gently remove the food without scratching.

- Dry the pan as soon as possible. If not, rust will quickly set in and you will have to scrub it out before your next use. The best way to dry is to put the pan on the stove over low heat for about 5 minutes.

-Seasoning can take some time, do not get frustrated. If it seems your skillet is losing some of its seasoning, add 1/4 inch of oil to the bottom of the pan (preferably canola or vegetable) and put it in a 300 oven for an hour. Wipe out the excess oil. This will seal up the pores and reestablish the seasoned layer.

-You can cook almost anything in cast iron. Do not be afraid to try eggs (they will not stick after a while and will taste great), braised meats, and especially fried chicken. I now use my cast iron skillet to make sausage gravy thanks to the skillet imparting a wonderful browning of the meat.

Sausage Gravy

1 pound of original roll sausage
Flour
2 C Milk
salt, pepper, cayenne

Heat skillet over medium heat. Add sausage, brown and chop until a nice dark brown. Sprinkle flour over the sausage (about 5T) and stir until the flour absorbs most of the fat from the sausage. Cook this for about 2 minutes to allow the flour to hydrate. Add the milk, stirring often until the gravy has thickened. If it is too thick, add a bit more milk to thin it out. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. Serve over biscuits, toast, or pretty much anything that deserves gravy.

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Salsa- A journey to hot and back

Salsa has always been somewhat of a tradition with my family.

I remember eating dinner at a friend’s house when I was six; we were having tacos. They passed around a bottle of salsa and I happily applied it to my meal without a second thought. At the time my dad was a professional chef, and he did not think bottled salsa was the way for me to experience the best thing since ketchup. After all, we lived in Arizona where tortillas are made from scratch and a whole aisle of the supermarket is devoted to them. So he happily went about creating his own simple salsa. In Arizona salsa is much more common than ketchup, and why not? It has a deeper flavor and a greater versatility. Creating a homemade recipe allows for fresh flavors, and it's cheaper than buying a bottle. Contrary to what they put in the store brands to make salsa last, the fresh stuff will last up to a month (or longer in some cases) because it contains salt and no fat.

The recipe my dad developed needed very little in terms of enhancement. I have tinkered with the recipe over the years, and for a while I followed certain trends. I tried cucumber in my salsa (something found in Sonora salsas), applied chili powder (which I will never, ever add again to my salsa), and varied other ingredients. But I always came back to the original version. This salsa can be prepared in many different ways; it just depends on your taste preference and tolerance to heat. I prefer mine chunky, almost like pico de gallo, but my girlfriend prefers hers smooth from a blender.

Salsa (Base)

3 Green Onions
1-2 T Fresh Cilantro
4oz Canned Diced Green Chiles
15oz Canned Diced Tomatoes, preferably the ones with green chiles or jalapeños
3/4 t Ground Cumin
1/4 t Ground Cayenne Pepper
Salt, Pepper

That’s it, that’s the base of this salsa. Simple, yet splendid. Now comes the best part about this recipe, the ability to modify it any way you want.

Chunky- Dice onions and cilantro. Add to a bowl with tomatoes and chiles, stir, then season to taste with salt, pepper, cumin, and cayenne

Smooth- Roughly chop onions and cilantro, add to blender with other ingredients. Pulse until desired consistency (be careful, you are not making baby food here). If you want it extra smooth, add a small can of tomato sauce, but be aware you will need to adjust the seasonings.

In the Middle- Follow chunky directions and add one small can of tomato sauce.

Like it Hot? - Substitute one can diced jalapeños for the green chiles or add one fresh diced jalapeño.

Some last notes. Do not season by measuring, season to what you like. I like cumin, and I love cayenne, so I go over. Also, do not leave the cilantro out of this recipe. You will make hot chunky tomato sauce without it. Last, the salsa does well to sit in the refrigerator for about an hour before being eaten. This is not a necessity, but it does help.

This salsa is great on eggs, Mexican dishes, and in guacamole (more on that later). Also, try it on burgers, you may never reach for a bottle of the red stuff again.

EDIT: Changed a few passages and hopefully painted a better picture.

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