Continue reading »]]> A new episode of Good Eats aired Monday night, entitled “A Bird in the Pie is Worth Two in the Bush”. It contains 3 recipes for pot pies. I asked my wife which recipe she would like to try first. She went for the Individual Chicken Pot Pie with Puff Pastry. Below you will find my notes from this recipe. Visit Food Network’s website for the full recipe.

The Filling

1. I had some leftover chicken from making Alton’s Chicken & Dumplings the night before. So I use this chicken, instead of making new.

2. The recipe calls for cremini mushrooms. These mushrooms are also called baby bella mushrooms. This is what I find them called at my local grocery store.

3. The filling is pretty easy to make. Just make sure you use a wide enough pot, like a cast iron skillet. Having enough room to stir everything without it flying out of the pan is important here.

4. Be patient. It will take a few minutes for the filling to thicken up. It will look like too much liquid at first, so don’t panic.

The Puff Pastry

1. Be sure you follow Alton’s instructions closely. Making this pastry is not easy.

2. You need to keep everything as cold as possible. So don’t make this right next to a hot stove or a running dish washer. Alton said that if the butter starts to melt you need to stop and place a sheet pan with ice or an ice pack on top of it for 5 minutes. This will chill down the dough. I did this twice with my dough.

3. Alton used about 10 tablespoons of ice water to get the dough together. I didn’t count how many I used, but I know it was more than that. Keep adding a couple tablespoons at a time until your dough comes together.

Baking the Pies

1. I don’t have the size ramekins that Alton uses. I have two wide ones, so I used those. Not all the filling fit, so am saving some in the fridge to use the next day, along with half the puff pastry.

2. I found my pie cooked a lot quicker than Alton’s did. He said bake it for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 400 and bake another 15-20. I found that I only need about 5 more minutes after I reduced my heat to get to golden brown. This could be because I had a different shape ramekin. So don’t just go by the time the recipe gives, keep your eye on the pie. When it’s golden and the filling is bubbly, take it out.

Final Thoughts

My wife said this was the best pot pie she ever had. The puff pastry crust came out perfect, even better than store bought. I didn’t think I could make my own puff pastry, but this recipe showed me that I can. I am going to try to see how these pies do frozen, so we can pull them out of the freezer when we need a quick meal (much better than pulling a store bought frozen one).

Recipe Grade: A

Continue reading »]]> After watching Alton Brown rewarding Zingerman’s Roadhouse in Ann Arbor for their mac & cheese, I have been inspired to improve my own recipe. One of the things I had never thought about was cooking it in a cast iron skillet. In the procedure to make the Zingerman’s mac & cheese, the dish was finished in a hot cast iron skillet on the stove top, turned to high heat. The mixing here would give a nice caramelized flavor to the entire dish. I also read online about a restaurant who serves their mac & cheese in mini cast iron skillets. They finish it in a broiler. This is the procedure I tried first in my oven and the problem I had is it cooked too quickly and I had area that were almost black, and some of the cheese had barely cooked. Moving the rack further away from the heating element would help. But next time I followed my normal recipe, except I cooked in cast iron instead of my usual glass baking dish. Doing this provided a nice even browning on the top. Whenever I bake in the glass dish I always have some area that are dark brown and most of it isn’t browned at all. Cast iron provides more even heating than glass, so you get more even browning.

Ingredients
8 oz pasta of your choice (pasta made with bronze dies are best)
8 oz Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
2 oz or 1/2 stick butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon mustard powder
2 cups whole milk
kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add a gallon of water into a large pot. Add two heavy pinches of kosher salt. Pasta likes to be cooked in ocean-like water. Bring to a boil. When the water comes to a boil, add the pasta and cook until it is almost al dente, but still a little bit chewy, so it will be perfect when it comes out of the oven. Drain the pasta in a colander and place into your cast iron skillet. I like the one made by Lodge. It’s inexpensive, American made, and high quality.

To make the cheese sauce
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. When the butter is completely melted whisk in the flour, black pepper, mustard powder, and a pinch of kosher salt. When the flour is fully incorporated, pour in the milk. Turn your burner to medium, stir often, until the mixture comes to a boil. Let the mixture boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Now slowly pour in the shredded cheddar and whisk to combine. Pour the sauce over the pasta, mix to combine.

Baking
Now place the entire thing into your oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the top of the mac & cheese is beginning to brown. Be careful not to overcook it or the top layer will be too dry. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before enjoying.

Continue reading »]]> Recently on the Food Network, I saw two of my biggest food inspirations come together on my screen – Alton Brown and Zingerman’s. It was Alton’s show Good Eats that got me interested in cooking whatever I could from scratch. It was Zingerman’s co-founder Ari Weinzweig’s book “Guide to Good Eating” that got me into finding the best ingredients because good food tastes good! A new show premiered on Food Network last week, called America’s Best. Alton is the host and he runs down a top 10 list of the best in different food categories. Whoever is number 1 on the list gets a personal visit from Alton who delivers them an award. The first episode dealt with comfort foods. And who was number 1? The Macaroni & Cheese from Zingerman’s Roadhouse. Too bad I wasn’t eating there when Alton showed up.

Zingerman’s cooks their mac & cheese in a unique way – in a cast iron skillet. It is a great way to get a nice brown crust on the outside of the mac & cheese. Now Zingerman’s and Alton Brown have teamed up to inspire me again. I took my regular mac & cheese recipe and turned it into my cast iron mac & cheese recipe. Click here to read it.

Check your local listings for additional episodes of America’s Best on Food Network.

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If you don’t know what a tip sizzler steak is, check out my post on that topic. Before you cook this steak, it’s best to marinade it first.

Ingredients
2 tip sizzler steaks
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 cloves garlic (minced)
kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
canola oil

Start by combining the Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce into a plastic bag containing the two steaks. Add the minced garlic and place into the fridge for 2 hours. Make sure you put the bag into another container just in case the bag leaks. Remove your steak a half hour before cooking. A room temperature steak will cook better and quicker.

Preheat your oven to 475 degrees. Place a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Rub a little bit of canola oil on both sides of the steak, then sprinkle some kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Once the skillet is ready. Place the steak on it. Cook until a nice brown sear has formed and then flip the steak over. This can take about 45-90 seconds per side. When both sides are brown, place the entire thing in the oven. In about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes, flip the steaks over and cook another 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes. The reason we are finishing it in the oven is that by the time the inside was done, the outside would be black. The oven will gently finish the steak without burning the outside. I learn this tip from watching Alton Brown’s first episode of Good Eats on how to cook a ribeye.

The best way to know if the steak is done is to do 2 things: use an instant read thermometer and learn what the meat feels like when it’s done. When you push the meat it will have some give depending on the temperature you want it. If you do this enough along with a thermometer you will be able to figure out how much give the steak should have when you push it in with a pair of tongs or a fork. If the steak has no give, then you have overcooked it.

It is a skill to learn how to properly cook a steak and a steak like a tip sizzler, is one that can quickly go from tender to tough. Be patient with yourself and learn through trial and error.

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The pork chop, a classic American slice of pig. Today I am taking that slice and giving it some serious heat via my grill pan. This recipe begins with a brine. The brine is basically the same one that Alton Brown used on an episode of Good Eats to make a slow cooked pork dish. It is also the same brine I use when making a pork loin roast.

Ingredients for the Brine

2 cups vegetable broth

1/4 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns

Combine all the ingredients into a saucepan over high heat. Cook until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Then remove from the heat and add about 1 pound of ice to cool the brine down. Give it a good stir and set it aside. The amount of liquid should be enough for 4-5 average size pork chops. Increase the brine if you are doing more chops than that.

Now take your chops and place them in a gallon sized plastic bag and dump the brine into the bag. Seal the bag well, place it in a container just in case the bag leaks, and place it into the refrigerator for 2 hours.

When you are ready to cook, either head to the grill or if you don’t have one or it is winter (which are both true for me), then pull out a cast iron grill pan. I love the cast iron that the company Lodge makes. My instructions from here on will be for cooking with the grill pan.  Spray some oil on your grill pan just to make sure we don’t have any sticking and turn the heat up to medium high. In about 5 minutes when the pan is nice and hot, add your pork chops, making sure to only fit on what you can without any of them touching. Cook times will vary, but I cook mine about 6-7 minutes per side. You can use a instant read thermometer to see if the pork is done. You are looking for at least 160 degrees. Since you brined your pork before hand if you go beyond that temperature it won’t be as dry as it you don’t brine them. This is why I always brine my pork. And also to add flavor.

Add some freshly ground pepper or some coarse set salt and enjoy! Broccoli and fried apples make two nice side dishes for this meal.

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Here is my 2nd recipe combining meyer lemons and chicken. Last time we baked our chicken, this time we are going the grilled route. The recipe here starts out the same as the baked chicken, with a 1 hour lemon juice bath for the chicken.

Ingredients

boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 Meyer lemon per 2 chicken breasts
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Juice 1 meyer lemon for every 2 chicken breasts you plan to cook. Now to prepare the chicken, you want to increase it’s surface to mass ratio, so that it will cook quicker. To do this, take your chicken, one piece at a time, and place it on a layer of plastic wrap. Then put another piece of plastic wrap over this and use a meat pounder to flatten the chicken breast. Then place each breast into a large plastic zip top bag. Pour your lemon juice into the bag. Place the bag into a container, just in case it leaks, and place into the fridge for 1 hour.

To grill the chicken you can use an outdoor grill or a cast iron grill pan. You can use one of those George Foreman grills if you must, but they don’t produce the same grilled taste as an outdoor grill or grill pan because they can’t get as hot and maintain their heat. While your grilling source is heating up, remove the chicken from the bag and liberally season with kosher salt. When your grill is ready, place your chicken on it and cook each side for about 5-7 minutes. It took 6 minutes on my grill pan, but it will depend on your grill. If you cut into the chicken and see any pink, then you need to cook it longer. You can also use an digital instant read thermometer to test for doneness. You are shouting for 165 degrees.

To complete this dish, crack on some freshly ground black pepper (don’t even think of using the preground stuff!). Pepper and lemon make a great flavor combo. You get a nice spicy taste on the outside and a citrus one on the inside.

Continue reading »]]> Frying pans are an essential kitchen tool. It’s one of those tools that you use often, so you want to make a wise investment. Cheap frying pans won’t do the job well and they won’t last. Most of the time when using a frying pan you want to use it over high heat, so you want it really hot. If your frying pan does not have a heavy bottom it won’t be able to conduct and even distribute the heat. With these things in mind, there are three types of frying pans I would recommend having on hand: nonstick, stainless steel, and cast iron.

Non-Stick

These pans are you want when you are concerned about cleaning the pan when you are done. I always use a nonstick frying pan whenever I am making scrambled eggs. I also steam broccoli in mine.

Stainless Steel

There are times you want a pan where things will stick to the bottom. If you are browing a piece of meat in a pan and want to make a sauce for said meat, then you will want to de-glaze, which is using a liquid to get everything that stuck to the bottom of the pan off. That stuff on the bottom is full of flavor, so you don’t want to waste it. But if you have a non-stick pan you won’t have those flavorful bits on the bottom.

Cast Iron

Cast Iron is a great choice when you want your pan really hot, like when browing a chunk of meat for a pot roast. The nice thing about cast iron is when you introduce something cold to it, it doesn’t lose much in the way of temperature. I have seen people use these pans for making cornbread in, which brings me to another advantage of cast iron, it can take any heat your oven can dish out.

So whatever you choose make sure you are getting a quality pan. Also think about your needs, what are you going to cook in it? There are times when it’s nice to have multiple sized pan around. You may not want a huge pan if you are going scrambled eggs for one person. A good frying pan equals a happy cook.

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Have you ever seen a chuck arm steak in a store and wonder what to do with it? Or even what it is? Well I have that answer for you. The chuck arm comes from the chuck primal on the cow. The chuck primal is located towards the head of the cow. The muscles in this area get a lot of work, so the meat tends to be tough. The positive thing is that cuts from this area are plentiful thus cheap. The arm cut is located in the bottom half of the chuck primal. This cut doesn’t have as much fat in it than other cuts of chuck like the chuck eye which is perfect for pot roasts and can be made into a grilled steak. But the arm wouldn’t work as well for either. I definitely would never grill it, as it will be really tough. The only way to cook it is by braising it (which is cooking in a small amount of liquid). Braising the meat low and slow will give the connective tissues time to break down so that when you eat the meat, it won’t be so tough.

Here is how I cooked my chuck arm steak.

1 pound chuck arm steak

2 cups Beef or mushroom broth

4 oz. tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried thyme

kosher salt

canola (or vegetable) oil

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Before you begin to braise your meat you have the chance to add some additional flavoring by searing it. Heat up a grill pan (cast iron would be great) over high heat with a little bit of oil in the bottom, just enough to cover. While doing that season both sides of the meat with kosher salt. When the pan is hot in about 4-5 minutes, place the steak on the pan. Wait about 1 minute and then flip and cook for 1 more minute. Since this is a steak cut, so it’s a thinner piece than a roast, we just want to cook it quickly to give it a good sear to add additional flavor. We definitely do not want to cook the steak entirely now. Once the steak is done searing, remove it to a plate.

Now it’s time to prepare the braising liquid. Take the 2 cups of mushroom or beef broth and mix in the 4 oz of tomato paste until combined (the acids in the tomato will help break down connective tissue). Then add 1 teaspoon of dried thyme, mix to combine. Place your steak onto some heavy duty aluminum foil. You will want to completely cover the steak in foil so make sure you have enough. The reason for this is to make the best braise the meat needs to be completely surrounded in the liquid. With the foil you can accomplish that. Just make to place the entire thing in some kind of pan because no matter how good you seal it, there is still a good chance some liquid will escape. Better for it escape into a pan than onto the bottom of your oven.

Place in the oven and cook for about 1 hr 30 minutes to 1 hr 45 minutes. This should give the connective tissues enough time to break down so that the meat will be tender and not long enough to dry out the meat. Alton Brown said in one of his book that meat in the oven acts like a sponge that is being rung out. It’s liquid escapes to the outer surroundings. Since the arm steak has less fat than other chuck cuts, there is a greater chance for the meat to dry out, even though it is surrounded by liquid.

When your meat is done, give it at least 5-10 minutes to rest before cutting into.

So now, next time you see an arm steak in the store you will know what to do with it. It is possible to turn this cheap, tough cut into something to enjoy!

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Before you begin I recommend you read my post on “How to Cook a Flavorful Pot Roast“.

For this recipe you will need the following ingredients:

7-bone chuck roast

canola oil

Better then Bouillon Mushroom Base (or any other mushroom soup base)

3-4 cloves of garlic

1 onion (your choice of type)

kosher salt

freshly ground cumin

flour, corn starch, or arrowroot (if you wish to make gravy)

A couple notes about these ingredients.

1.Better than Bouillon makes a wide range of soup bases. I use them all of time whenever a recipe calls for a broth. For this pot roast, I am using their mushroom base. You can use another brand if you want, but I think Better than Bouillon is better than the rest.

2. Buying whole cumin and grinding it yourself (check out my post on spice grinders) will provide you with the best flavor possible. Spices lose flavor over time, so who knows how long ago that pre-ground cumin was ground.

3. You may be wonder where are the carrots? Well I think if you cook the carrots along with the roast you just end up with carrot mush. But if you have to have the carrots, feel free to add as much as you want. I will cook my carrots separately.

To begin, I recommend using a 4-5 quart cast iron dutch oven. The best part about the dutch oven is that you will be able to brown the meat in it, cook the meat in it, and prepare gravy in it. That will save you some time doing dishes afterward.

First, you will want to season your meat. Liberally season your meat with kosher salt and cumin on both sides. Second, place a small amount of oil in the bottom of the dutch oven, just enough to cover the surface. Third, set your burner to it’s highest setting. Once it has heated up, place the roast in the dutch oven and let it cook for 4-5 minutes. Then flip over and let that side cook 4-5 minutes. Take your roast out and set it aside. You should have some nice brown color on each side.

Now you will want to soften up your onion and garlic. Chop up your onion and garlic cloves and place them in the dutch oven (turn the burner down to medium) and cook them for a couple minutes, just to soften and bring out some flavor. Be very careful not to burn them as burning will only add bad flavors to your final dish. Remove them from the pot and set aside.

Set your oven to 200 degrees. Place the meat back in the dutch oven. Add enough water to come about half way up the pot roast and then add in your mushroom base (if you use an already made mushroom broth, then just pour that it until your half way up the roast). Add the garlic and onion on top of the roast.

Place the lid on your dutch oven and set it in the center of your oven. Let is cook for about 3 1/2 – 4 1/2 hours. You will know it’s done when it is fork tender.

Now if you wish to make a gravy, take your meat out of your dutch oven, set the dutch oven on a burner that is set to  high heat. In order to help the liquid thicken, you can use either corn starch, flour, or arrowroot. Just make sure you mix whatever you are using with some water first, so that you don’t end up with lumpy gravy. Cook your liquid until it thickens to your desire consistency.

For a side dish, mashed potatoes are the obvious choice (you have gravy ready to make for them). Read my post on how to make mashed potatoes.

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Pizza can be done is so many ways. There is the standard pizza pie you order from the countless pizza joins across every American town. You can turn bagels into pizza (see my post on when I did this). You can eat pizza as a pocket pie or calzone. Now I am bringing you yet another way to have pizza – Pizza Wontons. And here is what you need to do to produce them:

Ingredients
wonton wrappers
tomato sauce
freshly shredded mozzarella cheese
oil for fying (such as canola or peanut)
pizza toppings (like pepperoni just into small pieces)

Grab a sheet pan and place on it as many wonton wrappers as you desire. In the center place a small mound of mozzarella. It’s best if you buy mozzarella in a chunk and shred it yourself as you will get a more moist cheese with a better flavor. On top of the cheese place any toppings that you like, just make them small and go light on them. Then place your finger in a bowl of water and wet the edges of the wonton wrapper. Then fold in up tightly anyway your heart desires, just make sure the inside is sealed well so nothing comes out during frying.

Heat your oil in a cast iron dutch oven or electric deep fryer to 375 degrees. Drop a few wontons in a time and fry them until golden brown (this shouldn’t take more than a 1 minute). Set them on a wire rack over a sheet pan lined with paper towel or newspaper so excess oil can be drained away. Continue frying until you finish the entire batch. Serve them with warm tomato sauce for dipping.