The perfect grilled cheese, to me, is one of the 4 "mother sandwiches" in the culinary hierarchy. The simple conglomeration of toasted bread and melted cheese can make me feel better on even the worst days. But recently I read a bit of dribble from someone that made me so upset I needed two grilled cheeses to get over it.
To start with, I have nothing against American cheese and Wonder Bread. Together they make an amazingly crispy gooey sandwich that I love and crave. But as we grow older we like to take our childhood classics and make them our own. For me it was adding Swiss to the cheese mix, then sourdough instead of white bread, and then I started adding ingredients. Bacon and apples with cheddar, brie and cornichons, Blue cheese with caramelized onions and pear, the list goes on.
The reason I call the grilled cheese a mother sandwich is because it’s the basic platform for so many other great sandwiches. The croque monsieur in France for example is nothing more than a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. And with the addition of a fried egg and Mornay sauce it becomes a croque madam, a complete and satisfying meal.
But as far as I stretch my mind in search of new and exciting grilled cheese combinations, I always come back to the original for comfort. Because a grilled cheese does not have to be pretentious, or be made with $26 dollar a pound cheese. Its a comfort food, and for me that means two slices of white bread perfectly toasted on either side with 2 pieces of American cheese melted in between.
Stew
Monday, March 2, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Dicing an Onion
The most tedious part of preparing any dish is the prep work, be it cutting a tenderloin into fillets, or pealing and slicing a dozen apples to make a pie, prep work is a necessary evil in the kitchen. One of the prep tasks no one likes is to dice an onion. For the uneducated, dicing an onion can be a time intensive task that more often than not ends up with the cook in tears. The other day I happened to StumbleUpon this YouTube video. The pretentiousness, and incorrectness of it was unbearable, and I had to come make a post about it. Here it is, the proper way to quickly dice an onion.
Step 1: Get a sharp knife. A sharp knife will be able to make smooth cuts of the cellular structure of the onion, instead of spraying the mist into the air, preventing the sulfenic acids from reaching your eye. Think of a ketchup pack, if you were to step on it, the ketchup would explode out of it going everywhere. If, on the other hand, you were to make a quick, sharp cut across it, the ketchup would stay in the pack. The same thing is true with the cells of an onion, a dull knife will spray, while a sharp knife makes a smooth quick cut.
Step 2: Cut off one end.
Step 3: Cut the onion in half.
Step 4: Peal the onion.
Step 5: Make several vertical cuts across the onion, without cutting all the way to the end of the onion.
Step 6: Make 2 or 3 horizontal cuts, going almost all the way to the end, but do not complete the cut.
Step 7: Cut across the onion, leaving you with mostly even, similar sized onion pieces. Once you get to the end of your cuts, you can either throw away the end, or save it for stock.
Note: If you listen to the "chef" in the video above, he says step 6 is not necessary. If you look closely at the picture below, you will see the group on the left is done the correct way, while the group on the right is done his way. You should notice the correct way creates similar size and shapes, while his way creates misshaped pieces that are different sizes and shapes.
This becomes a problem when you try to cook the onions. The smaller pieces will be done several minutes before the larger pieces. This will result in some overcooked pieces and some undercooked pieces. When prepping, you need to make sure all of your vegetables are the same size and shape. This will create a better dish, and with a little practice, you will be able to do this task quickly, and with less tears.
Scott
Step 1: Get a sharp knife. A sharp knife will be able to make smooth cuts of the cellular structure of the onion, instead of spraying the mist into the air, preventing the sulfenic acids from reaching your eye. Think of a ketchup pack, if you were to step on it, the ketchup would explode out of it going everywhere. If, on the other hand, you were to make a quick, sharp cut across it, the ketchup would stay in the pack. The same thing is true with the cells of an onion, a dull knife will spray, while a sharp knife makes a smooth quick cut.
Step 2: Cut off one end.
Step 3: Cut the onion in half.
Step 4: Peal the onion.
Step 5: Make several vertical cuts across the onion, without cutting all the way to the end of the onion.
Step 6: Make 2 or 3 horizontal cuts, going almost all the way to the end, but do not complete the cut.
Step 7: Cut across the onion, leaving you with mostly even, similar sized onion pieces. Once you get to the end of your cuts, you can either throw away the end, or save it for stock.
Note: If you listen to the "chef" in the video above, he says step 6 is not necessary. If you look closely at the picture below, you will see the group on the left is done the correct way, while the group on the right is done his way. You should notice the correct way creates similar size and shapes, while his way creates misshaped pieces that are different sizes and shapes.
This becomes a problem when you try to cook the onions. The smaller pieces will be done several minutes before the larger pieces. This will result in some overcooked pieces and some undercooked pieces. When prepping, you need to make sure all of your vegetables are the same size and shape. This will create a better dish, and with a little practice, you will be able to do this task quickly, and with less tears.
Scott
Monday, February 16, 2009
Buffalo Wings
Every now and then I become obsessed with something, and until I have created my obsession I can I think of few other things. Past obsessions that have held my mind captive include; the ultimate BLT, guacamole, and ice creams. But the biggest sole stealing, elusive obsession I have ever had was for the perfect chicken wing.
This last super bowl my co-blogger and I tried many different ways to make the perfect wing, and we found one method that works consistently. Its a two stage fry, much like french fries, to first cook the wing at a low temp then crank up the heat and crisper them up. We started by frying at 250-270 for 8 minutes, then brought the heat back up and put the wings back into the grease once it came up to 375 for 2-3 minutes or till crispened up.
This then brings us to the all important ingredient, the sauce. I make a traditional sauce with a few unusual kicks that take it over the top. My basic sauce is Franks Hot Sauce, butter, granulated garlic, Sriracha hot sauce, and a dash of chipotle Tabasco. The heat and flavor of the Sriracha mixed with the dark flavor of the chipotle Tabasco help make this sauce anything but ordinary.
I found the secret to making this was all in ratios and timing. The ratio I use is 1 cup of Franks Red Hot Sauce to 1/2 cup butter. And as far as timing, I add the granulated garlic to the same pan I melt my butter in order to release all the pent up flavor in those little granules. Then to bring it all together you have to use a blender to fully emulsify the mixture, if not then it will separate and not cover the wings correctly.
Stew
This last super bowl my co-blogger and I tried many different ways to make the perfect wing, and we found one method that works consistently. Its a two stage fry, much like french fries, to first cook the wing at a low temp then crank up the heat and crisper them up. We started by frying at 250-270 for 8 minutes, then brought the heat back up and put the wings back into the grease once it came up to 375 for 2-3 minutes or till crispened up.
This then brings us to the all important ingredient, the sauce. I make a traditional sauce with a few unusual kicks that take it over the top. My basic sauce is Franks Hot Sauce, butter, granulated garlic, Sriracha hot sauce, and a dash of chipotle Tabasco. The heat and flavor of the Sriracha mixed with the dark flavor of the chipotle Tabasco help make this sauce anything but ordinary.
I found the secret to making this was all in ratios and timing. The ratio I use is 1 cup of Franks Red Hot Sauce to 1/2 cup butter. And as far as timing, I add the granulated garlic to the same pan I melt my butter in order to release all the pent up flavor in those little granules. Then to bring it all together you have to use a blender to fully emulsify the mixture, if not then it will separate and not cover the wings correctly.
Stew
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
The Food Network
Scott: People ask me if I like the Food Network, and most often I say yes. Other cooks say they do not like the channel because it shows how to "push a meal out in 30 minutes." I have to disagree, I think a network that convinces someone to try and cook something at home instead of going to McDonald's, is a good thing. Not everyone has the access to a restaurant kitchen, not everyone has the time to spend hours prepping and cooking a meal. A home cooked meal in 30 minutes is better than KFC any day.
Stew: I agree with you. While many people will scoff and hate on Rachael Ray, I personally am annoyed every time she opens her mouth, but you have to see the merit in her cause. Lets say you are a single parent trying to put quality food on your table for your kids so you don't have to resort to the take out menu every night. Its for this reason you will never see a cooking show with Grant Achatz, author of Aline, or Ferran Adria, executive chef of El Bulli. What they offer does not have any appeal to the home cook because its ten steps ahead of their abilities or needs. And that is fine because it is not what the Food Network is all about, its about giving the frustrated home cook new ideas that are easy to make with items that are easy to procure. Put a show on tv about sous viding and see how long that lasts.
Scott: It'll last 24 hours, about the time it takes to sous vide a flank steak. Once people realize they can cook a flank steak in 15 minutes they will never watch again. Instead they will watch Alton Brown, who makes learning about the science behind the food, fun. While his recipes are not all winners, they provide a good launching off point to encourage experimentation at home. Rachel Ray provides 2 or 3 shows daily showing how to make a full dinner in 30 minutes. Watching her show for one month, while driving you crazy, will give you 90 meals that are simple and quick to make. There is a strong benefit to what the Food Network does. However, there are somethings that I do not like about the network, its constant airing of competition shows. I've seen enough cake competitions to last a life time, and they have no redeeming value, they are not teaching the viewer anything they can do at home.
Stew: Agreed its like what happened to MTV when they stopped showing music videos and started showing The Real World and Date My Mom. It all started with Iron Chef Japan, which showed culinary competition using ingredients many of us stateside had never even heard of, and people loved it. Now we have countless Food Network Challenges that don't do anything for the home viewer except to say, "Look what you can, and will, never do." If Food Network could get back to the shows they were putting on even 5 years ago, we would appreciate and respect them much more.
Scott: Speaking of dating your mom, what's the difference between you and a mallard with a cold? One's a sick duck and I can't remember how it ends, but your mother's a whore. But, back on topic. Cooks who can not see the benefit of what the Food Network is, are pretentious, arrogant, pricks who see cooking as a means to reign their "superiority" over someone who chooses to not spend 10 hours making a meal, who after a long day at work, just want a warm meal for their family. As a cook, I am grateful for the shortcuts I have learned from the Food Network, and will continue to use them when I work, and when I cook for friends.
Stew: Hey my mother is a saint, while your mother put you through college servicing 15 now 16 year old wanna be chefs. But back to the issue, the Food Network has made food and cooking a desirable area of society, and an accepted one. Before them if you told your parents that you wanted to be a chef they would tell you to go to your room and wait till you came down off whatever drug you were on. Now we have thousands of people competing to be cooks and chefs. Culinary schools are sprouting up all over the country and our dark and secret world now has the spot light firmly fixed upon it. All in all the Food Network is a good thing, even if the do show competitive food styling.
Stew: I agree with you. While many people will scoff and hate on Rachael Ray, I personally am annoyed every time she opens her mouth, but you have to see the merit in her cause. Lets say you are a single parent trying to put quality food on your table for your kids so you don't have to resort to the take out menu every night. Its for this reason you will never see a cooking show with Grant Achatz, author of Aline, or Ferran Adria, executive chef of El Bulli. What they offer does not have any appeal to the home cook because its ten steps ahead of their abilities or needs. And that is fine because it is not what the Food Network is all about, its about giving the frustrated home cook new ideas that are easy to make with items that are easy to procure. Put a show on tv about sous viding and see how long that lasts.
Scott: It'll last 24 hours, about the time it takes to sous vide a flank steak. Once people realize they can cook a flank steak in 15 minutes they will never watch again. Instead they will watch Alton Brown, who makes learning about the science behind the food, fun. While his recipes are not all winners, they provide a good launching off point to encourage experimentation at home. Rachel Ray provides 2 or 3 shows daily showing how to make a full dinner in 30 minutes. Watching her show for one month, while driving you crazy, will give you 90 meals that are simple and quick to make. There is a strong benefit to what the Food Network does. However, there are somethings that I do not like about the network, its constant airing of competition shows. I've seen enough cake competitions to last a life time, and they have no redeeming value, they are not teaching the viewer anything they can do at home.
Stew: Agreed its like what happened to MTV when they stopped showing music videos and started showing The Real World and Date My Mom. It all started with Iron Chef Japan, which showed culinary competition using ingredients many of us stateside had never even heard of, and people loved it. Now we have countless Food Network Challenges that don't do anything for the home viewer except to say, "Look what you can, and will, never do." If Food Network could get back to the shows they were putting on even 5 years ago, we would appreciate and respect them much more.
Scott: Speaking of dating your mom, what's the difference between you and a mallard with a cold? One's a sick duck and I can't remember how it ends, but your mother's a whore. But, back on topic. Cooks who can not see the benefit of what the Food Network is, are pretentious, arrogant, pricks who see cooking as a means to reign their "superiority" over someone who chooses to not spend 10 hours making a meal, who after a long day at work, just want a warm meal for their family. As a cook, I am grateful for the shortcuts I have learned from the Food Network, and will continue to use them when I work, and when I cook for friends.
Stew: Hey my mother is a saint, while your mother put you through college servicing 15 now 16 year old wanna be chefs. But back to the issue, the Food Network has made food and cooking a desirable area of society, and an accepted one. Before them if you told your parents that you wanted to be a chef they would tell you to go to your room and wait till you came down off whatever drug you were on. Now we have thousands of people competing to be cooks and chefs. Culinary schools are sprouting up all over the country and our dark and secret world now has the spot light firmly fixed upon it. All in all the Food Network is a good thing, even if the do show competitive food styling.
Ice Cream
I've been big into making ice cream recently. Last night at the restaurant, we did not have many guests until 6:30, and the prep list called for "New Ice Cream." So, we got to making ice cream. The three of us in the kitchen started tossing out ideas. It started innocent enough: strawberry, almond, hazelnut, pistachio, and then things started to get weird, anise with cayenne, apple juice with cinnamon, roasted tomato, the list goes on. We finally decided on English Toffee and Rocky Road with Homemade marshmallow cream.
For the English Toffee, we made a butter pecan ice cream base with brown sugar, half and half, eggs, and vanilla. We put that in the ice cream maker and froze it for 30-45 minutes. While that was freezing, I made some toffee, heated equal parts butter and sugar to 185, and poured that over pecans, and melted chocolate over top. I placed that in the walk in and allowed to cool. When it had cooled off, we crushed the toffee up into little pieces and mixed that in with the ice cream base. We let the whole thing chill in the freezer. End Result: Amazing
The Rocky Road started off with a normal chocolate ice cream base. I made marshmallow cream: egg whites, corn syrup, vanilla, and powdered sugar. After freezing the ice cream, I folded the marshmallows and almonds in a placed it in the freezer. The final product was ok; the marshmallow got too dispersed in the ice cream, so we did not get the distinct layers I was hoping for. End Result: Acceptable
Scott
For the English Toffee, we made a butter pecan ice cream base with brown sugar, half and half, eggs, and vanilla. We put that in the ice cream maker and froze it for 30-45 minutes. While that was freezing, I made some toffee, heated equal parts butter and sugar to 185, and poured that over pecans, and melted chocolate over top. I placed that in the walk in and allowed to cool. When it had cooled off, we crushed the toffee up into little pieces and mixed that in with the ice cream base. We let the whole thing chill in the freezer. End Result: Amazing
The Rocky Road started off with a normal chocolate ice cream base. I made marshmallow cream: egg whites, corn syrup, vanilla, and powdered sugar. After freezing the ice cream, I folded the marshmallows and almonds in a placed it in the freezer. The final product was ok; the marshmallow got too dispersed in the ice cream, so we did not get the distinct layers I was hoping for. End Result: Acceptable
Scott
Saturday, February 7, 2009
My Last Meal
"What is your Death Row meal?" This is Anthony Bourdains favorite question to ask chefs. He has gone around the country and asked the best of the best what meal they would want to be last thing they ever eat. And from the best of the best he always gets the same answers. It’s never a whole lobe of roasted fois gras or truffles or fried sweet bread "mcnuggets" for that matter, it’s always something simple and usually links back to either their mother or grandmother.
Now why would you think that these chefs, the men and women who are at the pinnacle of the culinary world, would request at their last meal their mothers classics? I think it all comes down to the simple fact that our senses trigger memories and emotions. It’s the same reason why people can get all nostalgic for their ex when a girl walks by wearing the same perfume. The same thing happens with food, except the impact is much more concentrated. The food reminds us of the people we were with, the location, the weather; the world itself can stand still on tines of a fork.
So what would my last meal be? I have thought about this one for a while and come up with only option that would send me off in the right way. It would have to be a meal from my grandmother, a wonderful woman raised on the farm in North West Missouri, who taught me the importance of a small metal can full of bacon grease.
Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes (whose only ingredients were potatoes, butter, salt, pepper and a touch of milk), her own canned green beans with little bits of bacon, fried eggplant, and gravy made in the same pan as the frying with milk as the liquid. All followed by her home made peanut brittle, the stuff is legendary. Not a healthy meal but if I am going out I want to do it smiling.
There you have it my last meal. It’s the kind of meal that I have cravings for, the kind that no matter how many times I try to replicate it I can never get it exactly right. Every time it brings me back to her kitchen but not all the way. That’s what your final meal is meant to do, take you back to another place and time, to reconnect you with those loved ones in your past. Ask a real chef and they will tell you, truffles are nice but grandmas’ cooking is what I dream about.
Stewart
Cooking for others
Many people ask me to cook for them. And usually I end up doing it. Why? Because the only way you can get better at a particular task, is to practice. Over and over. And then practice some more. I once spent 2 weeks making cheesecakes. Over that time, I must have made almost 20 cakes. There was no way I could (or should) eat all of those cakes. I ended up taking them to all the people who recently had said I should cook something for them. They appreciated the work I put in to it, and I got some good feedback on what to improve for the next time. The end result is I can now get a basic cheesecake put together and in the oven in 15 minutes. Now, for me, a cheesecake is a last minute desert I can make when I find out I have company coming over for dinner (you know, except for the 4 hours it takes to cool).
I particularly like it when girls ask me to cook for them. They understand I do not own my own restaurant, and because of that, they appreciate it even more when they come to my apartment, and I have a full meal prepared. I love when they are on a "pasta and apples" diet. I love the challenge, and the joy it brings to them when they realize I made something they can eat. That I took the time to figure out how to please them. The best part? They are already at my apartment, and want to show their appreciation...
The best part about being able to cook, and cooking for others is the ability to convince them to try new things. At first they may think they will not like eggs on top of a pizza, but after I've cooked for them a couple times, and they've grown to trust me, I'll get them to try a bite. And sometimes, that's all it takes.
Cooking is a passion, and a simple way for me to showcase my talents. I love when people ask me to cook for them.
Scott
I particularly like it when girls ask me to cook for them. They understand I do not own my own restaurant, and because of that, they appreciate it even more when they come to my apartment, and I have a full meal prepared. I love when they are on a "pasta and apples" diet. I love the challenge, and the joy it brings to them when they realize I made something they can eat. That I took the time to figure out how to please them. The best part? They are already at my apartment, and want to show their appreciation...
The best part about being able to cook, and cooking for others is the ability to convince them to try new things. At first they may think they will not like eggs on top of a pizza, but after I've cooked for them a couple times, and they've grown to trust me, I'll get them to try a bite. And sometimes, that's all it takes.
Cooking is a passion, and a simple way for me to showcase my talents. I love when people ask me to cook for them.
Scott
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