Chef Michael's "The Good Stuff" Seasoning

 I can see you're already smirking... So am I... LOL

A while back I was making homemade chicken cold cuts using baked chicken breast. The spice blend turned out to be so good I decided it should be a thing. :-) Thinking back on all the proteins I've used it on I realized I was referring to it as The Good Stuff. I'm not changing it... It makes me smile. :-)

I make it by the jar now because of rather frequent use, so the recipe that follows will be in parts/proportions instead of finite measurements. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 parts kosher salt
• 1 part freshly ground black pepper
• 1 part garlic powder
• 1 part onion powder
• 1 part smoked paprika

Preparation:

Decide on quantity and choose an appropriate bowl. Add all ingredients and blend well using a small whisk or fork.

Use sparingly as the blend does have a mild heat level. It works well on chicken, pork and just about any kind of fish. 

Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Kitchen Tips & Tricks - Part 3

Welcome to the weekend, fellow foodies! Please enjoy my latest collection of Kitchen Tips & Tricks!

Rescue a Salty Soup - Taste of Home

Next time you oversalt a soup, toss in a few wedges of raw apple or potato. Simmer for 10 minutes and discard the wedges to get the flavor back to normal.

Roasted Garlic

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic.

Place the garlic heads in a baking pan; muffin pans work well for this purpose. Drizzle a couple teaspoons of olive oil over each head, using your fingers to make sure the garlic head is well coated. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 400°F for 30-35 minutes, or until the cloves feel soft when pressed.

Allow the garlic to cool enough so you can touch it without burning yourself. Use a small knife cut the skin slightly around each clove. Use a cocktail fork or your fingers to pull or squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins.

Homemade Heavy Cream

If you ever find yourself needing some heavy cream and can't get to the store, or if you need just a little bit and think the rest of a store-bought pint will spoil before you can finish it, use this easy recipe to make your own.

Combine 2 cups whole milk and one cup melted unsalted butter to create 1 cup heavy cream. :-)

Egg Peeling with a Teaspoon

Crack and gently roll your hard boiled egg. Then open the cracked shell and slip the back end of a teaspoon between the membrane and the egg white. Work the spoon around the egg and the shell comes off easily.

Save a Step when Peeling Veggies

This tip was shared by Patrick Fallon in the Jacques Pepin Fan Club group... and I like it!

When peeling carrots or potatoes, spread a dish towel over your cutting board to collect all the peels. When done, simply gather up the towel and dump the peels in your compost. :-)

It's the Little Things... 

Robert Loehrer, also from the Jacques Pepin Fan Club, contributed this information... Thanks, Robert!

Put a damp paper towel under the cutting board to keep it stable. Always shake seasonings into your hand then rain it onto the food and not directly into the food to control the amount going in, if you've ever had the top come off or used the wrong opening, you know.

Have a great week, everyone, and thank you for your support!

Blessed be… and happy cooking!

                                                            Chef Michael R

Kitchen Tips & Tricks - Part 2

Welcome to this week's Ramble featuring part two of Kitchen Tips & Tricks. In case you missed round one, you will find it by clicking here.

Hard & Soft Boiled Eggs... that peel easily :-)

For years I struggled to find a method of making hard boiled eggs that would not result in a mumble grumble session as I tried unsuccessfully to peel the little beauties in a consistently easy manner.

That is... until I received Irwin Orkin's The Gaijin Cookbook.

It's just amazing how easy these eggs peel.

To start, use an egg poker to vent the eggs on the blunt end. This pinhole allows the air inside the eggs to come out when you lower them into the boiling water. Without this step you run the risk of eggs cracking during the boil. Use a large perforated/slotted ladle to move the eggs around... the bigger the better. :-)

Get enough water boiling to make sure all eggs will be submerged. Once your pot shows a rolling boil, lower all eggs into the pot. Keep flame high and cook 11 min for hard and 7 mi 15 seconds for soft. 

While the eggs are cooking, prepare a large bowl with ice and enough cold water to cover your batch. When the timer goes off, ladle the eggs into the ice bath. Soft boiled stays 30-60 seconds... hard boiled stays until the ice is completely melted.

Do NOT store your hard boiled eggs in the original carton, but instead transfer them, still damp after draining, into a sealable container. Enjoy!

Elevated Red Wine Vinegar

Buy store brand red wine vinegar and add up to 50% of your favorite red wine. You will be amazed at the new flavor pallet! :-)

Flip Your Blade - Food Network

After chopping food, use the dull end of a knife to scrape the contents from the work surface.
Ingredients like onions are often chopped, then scraped into a bowl or cooking vessel. Always flip the blade over to use the end opposite of the sharpened blade for scraping. Otherwise, the blade will dull considerably, making it less efficient and more likely to slip when chopping or slicing.

Preparing Asparagus

Asparagus is a wonderful vegetable, but it does need a quick prep before cooking. There is a stringy section at the bottom of the stalk that is not a pleasant mouth feel so it should be removed. Instead of just guessing, there is a way to remove just the right amount of stalk to end up with perfect asparagus.

Break the asparagus by hand… Ted Allen Style. I learned this tip from Ted on the original Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Hold one stalk in both hands and bend it until it snaps. The spot where it snaps is where the stringy section at stalk bottom ends.

Plate Like a Pro - Taste of Home

Dip the blade of your sharp knife in hot water to heat it up. Then wipe with a dry towel and cut your cake or cheesecake into nice, tidy slices. Repeat each time for pretty slices with a clean edge. 

Get More Juice - Taste of Home

Next time you need fresh lemon juice, try this restaurant tip. Microwave a lemon for 7-10 seconds. Then, roll the lemon back and forth under your palm on the counter. When you squeeze, you’ll get more juice from the lemon with way less effort. Try it with limes, too!

Have a great week, everyone, and thank you for your support!

Blessed be… and happy cooking!

                                                            Chef Michael R

Kitchen Tips & Tricks - Part 1

Welcome to this week's Weekend Ramble! Today I'm sharing a few tips and tricks I've learned over the years. Some you may know... some may be a learning experience as they were for me when I first encountered them. :-)

Steaming Fish

Steaming is one of my favorite methods for preparing just about any white fish. I use a Guardian Service Breakfast Fryer as it is the perfect size for two filets. Of course any pan with a tight fitting lid will work. First step in steaming is to heat the pan over medium heat.

Next pat the filets dry and coat lightly with olive oil.

Season the fish on both sides and place in heated pan.

Cover and steam for 4 minutes, still on medium heat. Perfect every time.

Smash Mincing Garlic

I saw Chef Jacque Pepin demonstrate this method and have used it consistently ever since. The smashing opens up the garlic fibers and allows more flavor to be infused into the dish quicker. If you love garlic as much as I do.... :-)

First cut off the end of the clove and remove. Next tap the clove with the side of your blade just enough to loosen the skin.

Once skin is removed smash the cloves hard and then mince as usual.

Preparing a Saute Pan

This is one of those things everyone needs to know. I can honestly say I only learned its importance when I purchased my set of Hex Clad saute pans. Never put oil into a cold pan but instead heat the empty pan over medium heat first. The result? Nothing sticks!

The way to test the heat level is to wet your fingers with water and spritz into the heated pan. If the water does nothing... not warm enough. If the water reacts violently and splatters everywhere... too hot. If the water sizzles in place as it evaporates... pan is ready.

Cutting Bell Peppers

Tired of dealing with bell pepper seeds? Well yay Tik Tok for showing me this method. Forget about cutting out the stem and seed pod from the top. Instead make vertical cuts around the seeds... never touching them. Finally cut off the bottom and toss the seeds and stem.

Cooking Pasta

Salt the water. Always. That is all. :-)

Speaking of Pasta...

Banza should be every diabetic's brand. Several reasons... It's made from chickpeas so it it has a lower GI (44) than regular pasta (54). More importantly, being made from chickpeas it is high in protein and will therefore fill you up with less volume. I have found that about half of my old pasta portions are sufficient. Banza has a more varied shape line-up than other chickpea brands, too. Last but not least, their pasta tastes damn good. Texture and flavor are VERY close to old school macaroni, and honestly? That is important. 

Wondra Flour

This is a processed flour you can use to thicken gravies without clumping. As great as that is, my favorite use for it is to dredge my fish in it before dipping in egg and breadcrumbs or Panko. What Wondra flour does here is it makes the coating stay in one place during frying. Get some... you will not regret it! :-)

Have a great week, everyone... and as always... thank you for your support!

Blessed be… and happy cooking!

                                                            Chef Michael R