lunes, 24 de octubre de 2011

Hunger Challenge Chili Recipe

Hunger Challenge Chili
Hunger ChallengeThis is one of the cheapest meals I know how to make. There are a lot of tricks to make it taste good without using very many ingredients. Chili is all about layers or flavor and texture and spice. While texture is not the hardest thing to achieve on a budget, flavor and spice are a bit trickier. To make up for the lack of complexity in the spices, I overcompensated in the texture department and also tried to get the most flavor out of the ingredients I could afford.

I like some fresh vegetables in my chili so I used one Anaheim chile and half of a large onion. I also used mushroom stems. Surprise! I will use the caps for another recipe and I would have just discarded the stems. Mushrooms, even just the crumbled stems, lend savory 'umami' flavor and also meaty texture. Speaking of meaty texture, this is not a purely vegetarian chili. It has two slices of bacon which might not seem like much, but it adds a bit of meatiness and fat for cooking the vegetables.

I used a combination of white beans and red beans which made it more visually appealing. The beans were cooked from dry beans so I spent less money than if I had bought canned beans. I also used one can of corn. I bought a 2 1/2 ounce packet of ground New Mexico chile powder I found in the Hispanic food section of the store. I used 3 Tablespoons but you could use less or more to taste. Likewise the amount of salt you use will vary depending upon your taste. I only used one clove of garlic which was probably a mistake. I would recommend at least two.

Because I cooked all the beans earlier, the chili comes together quickly. I normally don't buy diced tomatoes because they don't break down very well, but in this case that was fine. I primarily chose them because they had 'mild green chiles' in them and I was looking for all the flavor I could find.

Frankly this chili isn't all the different from my normal everyday vegetarian version, though it has a lot less spice. Depending upon your serving size, you could certainly add cilantro, chopped green onions and a tiny bit of cheese on top of each serving and still stay on budget.

Hunger Challenge Chili

$3.68 for 4 servings

2 slices bacon, diced .58
1 Anaheim chile pepper, diced .29
1/2 onion, diced .11
1 clove garlic .05 (I would recommend adding more)
3 Tablespoons ground New Mexico chile powder .30
Mushroom stems from an 8 oz pkg of mushrooms (no cost since they would normally be discarded)
2 cups water
1 can diced Mexican style tomatoes .98
2 cups cooked red beans (1/4 lb dried) .31
2 cups cooked white beans (1/4 lb dried) .31
1 can corn .75

Generous toppings for 1 serving, about 35¢
cilantro .05
cheese .24
green onions .06

Heat a large dutch oven and saute the bacon for a few minutes or until beginning to brown. Add the onions and pepper and continue cooking until they are soft and onions are golden. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook for another couple of minutes then add the chili powder, water and tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes before adding the beans and corn. Simmer another 10 minutes and season aggressively with salt.

jueves, 20 de octubre de 2011

http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/

Watch, listen, learn, and enjoy! Hundreds of free, original video recipes, done by Chef John Mitzewich, the web's most popular cooking instructor.

miércoles, 19 de octubre de 2011

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sBff/~3/yxzIPOxVwOg/spatchcocked-spatchcock.html

"Spatchcock" refers to the method of cutting open a whole chicken, so that it sits flat in a pan, or on a grill. However, it wasn't always the highly amusing verb it is today. 

Originally, it was a highly amusing noun used to describe a small, young chicken. Since these tender birds were usually butterflied to cook faster and more evenly over the coals, "spatchcock" became the culinary term for this technique. So, if you use a small, young chicken like I did, then you're actually spatchcocking a spatchcock, which is about the most entertaining answer ever to the question, "What are you doing for dinner?"

Above and beyond how fun it is to use in casual conversation, the technique really does work beautifully for grilling a whole chicken. Once you remove the backbone, and set free the sternum from its covering of cartilage, you'll have a bird that will cook quicker and more evenly. It also looks pretty damn cool.

If you don't own a sturdy pair of kitchen shears, then I hope this video inspires you to go out and get this must-have piece of equipment. They make this technique incredibly fast and easy, and you can also use them to completely section a whole chicken into serving pieces, as we showed in this video demo.

Anyway, I hope you pick up some spatchcock soon, and give this whole spatchcocking thing a try. I'll be showing a recipe I did using this technique in a future video, so stay tuned for that, and as always, enjoy!


martes, 11 de octubre de 2011

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sBff/~3/uejogF2Jp3Y/gumbo-go-go-duck-andouille-sausage.html

It's not easy to pry gumbo-making secrets from a cook in New Orleans, but you should have better luck if you slip them some truth serum, in the form of several well-made sazeracs. 

This particular gumbo, featuring duck, andouille sausage, smoked pork hock, gulf shrimp, and langoustine, was inspired by my recent trip to New Orleans, where I sampled a half-dozen varieties.

One rye whiskey-induced tip was to cook the famous Cajun roux in some duck fat instead of the more common and mundane vegetable oil. The roux is the soul of the gumbo and one of the challenges of this recipe is giving the fat and flour enough time to turn into that deep brick red-brown color.

My little trick here is to add a couple extra spoons of flour after the roux is browned. The dark roux gives the gumbo its signature flavor, but it doesn't have much thickening power. I just cooked it a couple minutes, and then stirred in the stock.

Another tweak is using pickled okra instead of fresh or frozen. This particular perversion was born out of necessity rather than some brilliant thought on my part. Of course, if this technique catches on, that story will change. The pickled okra gave the gumbo a great flavor and added a little bit of acidity, which is always welcome in something this substantial.

This can be made with hundreds of different combinations of smoked meats, game, poultry, and seafood; and in my opinion, the more the merrier. As usual, I'd love to hear about any variations you may come up with. As you'll see, the procedure is pretty straightforward, although you're talking about a full day's project. This is a dish that takes time, but I still hope you give it a try. Enjoy!



2 duck legs
1 tbsp vegetable oil, more as needed
1 cup flour, plus 2 tbsp for second addition
6 cups chicken broth
1 pound andouille sausage
1 large onion, chopped
4 green onions chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup diced peppers (any combination of sweet and hot)
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 smoked pork hock
2 cups water, or as needed
1 cup sliced okra, fresh, frozen or pickled
1 pound gulf shrimp
1 pound crawfish tail meat or langoustine
rice to garnish

Baby Shower Desserts Part 1 - Cabbage Patch Chocolates


You don't need a recipe to make cabbage patch chocolates - just a technique guide to show you the way.  To begin you'll need quite a bit of equipment and ingredients.  There are two sites that I like for supplies - each one has its shortfalls.  The one with the biggest selection is http://www.sugarcraft.com/.  The drawbacks with using sugarcraft are that they are very impersonal - there is no phone number if you have a problem, and if you don't have your order number, you are completely out of luck - they cannot tell you anything about your order without it.  In addition, they are very slow - no inquiries until at least 10 days, and that's when they ship.  From this site, you also cannot order a small quantity of candy eyes, unless you take whatever color they give you (and some of the colors are very funky and not suitable for baby dolls).  They do, however, have a huge selection with photos which makes it easy to see what to buy.  The site that I actually bought the supplies from is: http://www.chocomolds.com/.  They are very personal and friendly, shipped quickly and had a package of 48 eyes.  It is hard to use their site, however, because they don't have any pictures, so you need to know what you want.

Here is what you need:

Baby Face Lolly Chocolate Mold (3 per mold)

Mercken's Peach Wafers (this is very delicious tasting coating- Do not buy Wilton wafers which are yucchy).  If you are filling the molds completely with this, you need 2 ounces per face (you won't use that much but you lose some to hardening on utensils and bowls).  

Dark Chocolate, if filling the centers with it - about 1-1/2 ounce per face.  I used chocolate chips because they were cheaper (Ghirardelli).  If I were making fewer and spending only my money, I would have used bar chocolate.  Bar chocolate tastes better (to me) and is easier to work with because it melts into a thinner state than chocolate chips.

Instant-read thermometer - if you plan on tempering the chocolate

Mercken's Cocoa Dark Wafers (ok tasting - I use it for decorating only) - 1 bag  if you want to paint on dark hair.  You can also paint the hair with real chocolate, but if you don't temper it, it might turn whitish or rainbow-colored.  If you want light brown hair, add brown food color to the peach wafers.  If you want blond, you will need to buy 1 bag of Mercken's Yellow or White Wafers(not super white) and add food coloring to these.  You might also need Paramount Crystals to get the yellow coating to melt ( I didn't need it for the peach wafers).

Candy Eyes - each small package has 48 eyes. Don't forget that you need 2 per face!  You can make your own eyes, but you will need fondant and food coloring to do that.

4-1/2-inch sucker sticks

Petal Dust or something like that in a pink color to brush on the cheeks - I think I bought mine at Michael's, but any place that sells gumpaste supplies will have some. 

Assorted brushes - you'll need some good quality brushes so that the hairs don't come off in the chocolate,
and one cheap, bushy  brush for putting on blush.  The pointy one I use for attaching the eyes and the one on the right I use for brushing blush.  The pointy one was part of a set  of more expensive brushes
by Loew-Cornell. There are two nice pointy brushes in the set.  #1 and #4 370 round and 370 liner.  You'll have to do an Internet search as I don't know where I bought them.


This is also from the Loew-Cornell set. 370 Shader #8.  It's useful if you need to brush on chocolate to spots that you missed.  Also good for fixing errors (more on this later).












Heating Pad  for keeping the chocolate and chocolate wafers melted and at the right temperature.

Small cake decorating spatula - I like the one that is angled (I got mine at Michael's - it's manufactured by the The Ace of Cakes guy, Duff).  It looks larger in the photo, but the blade before it bends is actually only 3-1/2 inches long.

 Tweezers that you use only for food prep.  I bought a special pair from a gumpaste supplier, but you could use regular tweezers as long as they stay in the kitchen!


Full-size muffin papers in various colors - one for each head
Tissue paper for the clothing - about a 5 or 6-inch square for each head
Ribbon - at least 6-inches for each, or more if you want to tie bows
Waxed paper

INSTRUCTIONS
Wrap the heating pad with a dishtowel, and turn it on to low.
 Place no more than 1 pound of the Merckens peach wafers in a microwave-safe bowl ( use a bowl that doesn't retain heat, such as a pyrex dish or a plastic container).  Heat on medium power (5) for 1 minute.  Stir, and continue to heat and stir in 30 second increments on power 5, until the wafers are melted (don't let the coating get hotter than 120 degrees F.).  Set the bowl on the heating pad.


If you're going to fill the entire mold with the coating, do that now, filling each mold right up to the top.  Set the molds in the refrigerator to chill until the coating is completely set- anywhere between 5 -15 minutes.

If you plan to fill the centers with chocolate, you'll need to coat each mold with the peach coating.  There are two methods for coating the mold with chocolate.  I prefer  to spoon in about 1-1/2 teaspoons of the peach coating into each of the 3 holes and then to swirl the chocolate around inside of the molds until they are completely coated.  You'll be doing all three at once.  I like this method best because it spreads the coating evenly and is much faster than painting each cup.


When you use the swirl method, the coating might swirl slightly out of the mold cup.  This is actually good.  It ensures that the entire mold is coated.  Simply wipe off the excess coating with a paper towel or rag.   If you want an extra thin shell, you can hold the mold upside down over a piece of waxed paper and let the excess coating drip out of the mold.

If you have trouble with this method, you can paint each cup individually.  Start by putting in the 1-1/2 teaspoons of coating and then use the 370 Shader #8 brush to paint from this pool of coating.  After you get the whole thing coated, you might have to go back and daub on more chocolate on the spots you missed - you can see a few in the photo below.


 In the below photo you can see that I have missed some spots at the top, too.  These will be especially problematic if you don't notice them, as the dark chocolate and coating might not adhere well and you might get some separation when you try to unmold the chocolates (more on this later).


Make sure that the space where the stick goes is clear of chocolate, as the sticks won't be properly set into the chocolate if there is hardened coating in the stick space.

Place the molds in the refrigerator for no more than 3 minutes to set the shells.  Now you have to decide if you want to temper your chocolate or not.  Untempered chocolate will take much longer to set, will never be as firm as tempered chocolate, and can turn white or streaky when dry.  Since the chocolate will be encased in the coating, the white or streaky color won't show but you'll have to wait a lot longer for each one to set. 

If you do want to temper the chocolate, place about 9 ounces (chips or finely chopped bar chocolate) in a microwave-safe bowl.  Finely chop another 3 ounces of chocolate or set aside another 3 ounces of chips.  Microwave the chocolate on power 5 for 1 minute.  Stir and then reheat the chocolate in 30 second increments on power 3, stirring between each. Use an instant-read thermometer to make sure that the temperature is in the 90-110-degrees F. range.  When all of the chocolate is melted, add the remaining 3 ounces of chocolate and stir and rest until all of the chocolate is melted and the temperature comes down to 84 degrees, but not lower.  Place the bowl back in the microwave and heat for 10 seconds on power 2 to bring the temperature to between 88-90-degrees F.  If the temperature goes about 91 degrees, you have to let it cool back down to 84-degrees, and try again ( you can add more chopped chocolate to get the temperature down a little faster).  If the temperature drops below 84 degrees, you repeat the entire process.  Once you have successfully tempered the chocolate, place the bowl on the heating pad to keep it at the right temperature.  Stir and check the temperature often.

Spoon about 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons of chocolate into each cup ( I use 3 molds at a time to make 9 babies, and then repeat the whole process, but you can do whatever will fit your refrigerator and counter space), so that the chocolate comes to within 1/16 inch of the top.  Set the lolly sticks in the stick holes. You might need to press down on them to make sure that they are all the way into the space provided for them.


 Place the molds in the refrigerator to set the chocolate.  This will take about 5 minutes if the chocolate has been tempered and 15-25 minutes if the chocolate was not tempered.

Cover the top of the chocolate with 1 final layer of coating.  I find it's easiest to just spread it with a teaspoon.  Make sure that the molds are completely filled up, and then set them back into the refrigerator for about 3 minutes to set the coating.


Let the molds stand at room temperature for a minute before you try to unmold them.  If the coating and chocolate are too cold, the coating will crack when you try and flex the mold to get the chocolate out.  Place a piece of waxed paper on the counter or in a pan onto which you'll unmold the chocolate.  To get them out of the molds, press on the noses of the babies.  If the chocolate don't pop out, let them rest a little more and then try again.  They should pop out of the molds pretty easily.


If you haven't done a good job in sealing in the chocolate, or if they were too cold when you tried to pop them out, part of the shell might stick to the pan and separate from the chocolate.  Don't despair - it can be fixed!
 Just use the decorating spatula (metal) or brush to add a glob of coating  to the chocolate.


 Then heat the spatula in the flame of a gas stove or over the coil of an electric, just for a few seconds to get the spatula warm.  Press the spatula on the glob of chocolate and smooth it out.  You can use your finger to do the final smoothing.

Another problem you can have when the chocolates pop out, is that there is excess chocolate around the edge of each form because you put just a bit too much coating into the mold.

This also gets fixed with a warm spatula - if you look at the photo of the spatula, above, you'll see that's exactly what I'm doing.  Just run the warm spatula around the edge of the form and the little excess tails of coating will melt away.  Again, your finger is the perfect finishing smoother.

You're now ready to do the hair.  You can use that nice tempered chocolate you have warmed on the heating pad, or you can melt some of the cocoa wafers for dark hair, or use one of the other combinations mentioned above, for other colors of hair.  Use the fine pointed brush, above, to brush chocolate onto the curl that is molded into each chocolate.  You can then use your imagination to do other hair styles.  For fine, wispy hair, use an almost dry brush.  If you want some spiky hair sticking out, you will need to let some of the chocolate or dark wafers to start to cool and thicken, otherwise it will be too thin to stand up.


For the eyes, use a fine pointed brush to dot a small glob of melted peach coating in the socket of each eye.  Use tweezers to set the eyes into the sockets, and then press lightly so that the eye will adhere to the melted chocolate.

If you want to make your own eyes, I think it is much easier to use fondant than to pipe royal icing eyes.  Roll fondant into small round balls - they should be smaller than the sockets.  Into the center
of each ball, press in a small colored ball. For the iris, use black food coloring.  Eyes will look more natural if the iris is slightly cut off at the bottom of the eye (not as shown here), so that it gives the suggestion of a lower eye lid.

The last thing to do is to give the cheeks a little blush.  Use the petal or luster dust in a pretty pink color.  Don't put too much on the brush at once.  The dust has a little bit of a glittery effect, but if you put it on sparingly, and brush off any excess, it really gives the babies depth and personality!
For the bonnets, use scizzors to make a slit in the side edge of the muffin papers, and then set the heads into
the bonnets.  You can do the bonnets or the sleep sacks first.

To make the sleep sacks, set the tissue paper square either under the lower third of the head or at the neck.

 Fold in the two sides.


and then tie the ribbon around the top. 

You can also make a wider bottom, so that they look more like sleep sacks.


Voila!  You have now made some of the cutest looking chocolate lollypops in the world!