cooking @ home

©2008 Harry Kenney

Several different types of fish have gotten somewhat popular in the last few years and can now easily be found at your local fish monger or at the fresh seafood section of your local supermarket. Among these is one with the very cool sounding name of mahi-mahi. So what is mahi mahi? (The name by the way can be two words or a single hyphenated one from what I’ve found.)

Obviously the name conjures up the tropical Pacific, specifically Hawaii. And indeed the name is Hawaiian, meaning “strong-strong” as this fish can really put up a fight when on the end of a fishing line. Despite the name however, this fish can be found and caught in many places besides the deep South Pacific, also in the Caribbean, the west coast of South America and Southeast Asia; and it is in these areas the commercial fisherman go for. That said, in less abundance more recreational fisherman have caught them in the Arabian Sea and even in the Atlantic from New Jersey down to Florida.

So where did this fish come from so all of a sudden? It didn’t actually. You recall the dolphin fish of the 90s? This is the same puppy, er, uh, fish. I always thought calling a fish a dolphin (which we know is a mammal) was very stupid and needlessly confusing. Evidently so did everyone else. Especially when this fish when alive or freshly caught is a spectacular bright green and yellow. The color fades, so you won’t see green on the skin of the fish you’ve purchased at the store, more silver and black, though if you look closely at the one photo here, you will see the specks of yellow. You’ll notice on the fleshy side the pink with little specks of red. That’s a good indicator you have mahi-mahi.

Why is it so popular? Taste it and you’ll find out. It is one very delicious fish. Very firm, large flakes, a nice subtle sweet taste. Because of this I suspect it could take a nice marinade or glaze. That said though, my favorite way to cook fish is the most simple way, grilled and with few spices or flavorings. So, this is a very super simple recipe. In keeping with it’s most famous of origins I paired it with a nice tropical fruit salsa and laid it on a bed of yellow rice with a side of grilled fresh asparagus. Ah, the simple things in life.

Let me be a tad erudite and a tad hokey then and wish you the Hawaiian form of “bon appetit” — it actaully means literally (in plural form) “Let’s eat!” — E ‘ai ka-kou!

Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Lime
©2008 Harry Kenney

2 fillets mahi-mahi, about one pound
juice of half a lime
salt
pepper
vegetable oil

Get your outside grill or inside cast-iron grill hot and ready.

Score the skin side with a sharp knife in a diamond pattern to make crispy. Liberally apply and rub both sides with cooking oil. Season both sides, though predominantly the flesh side, with salt, pepper and lime juice.

Place on hot grill skin side down first for about three minutes. Turn, grill fleshy side for two to three minutes. One more turn and one more minute of grilling the skin side again.

Done. Serve with or without skin. Note this works great with the skin, but there are two long thick membranes about a quarter inch thick and roughly as long as the fish that will need removing.

Makes two to three servings.

©2008 Harry Kenney

Cooks are generally pretty imaginative. That said, when something gets popular, everyone jumps on the bandwagon. In the last few years we’ve seen the big bulsamic vinegar craze, and then there was the Parmesano Reggiano fad, and of course romaine has long replaced the boring iceberg lettuce as the salad staple. The first one is still going, though I see some chefs lately such as Bobby Flay starting to use sherry vinegar instead; and as for grated cheese, it seems of late Pecorino Romano is the food world’s “new black”.

What brings this up? Especially in terms of this particular dish? Well while there’s not too much wrong with everyone jumping on a bandwagon (well, there is to some degree), the thing is few people seem to know when to jump off that wagon, not even when it’s been run into the ground. And that brings me to the mango. Like most people I enjoy it, and yes, I’m sure I will use mango in future recipes just as I have in the past. But, please folks, there is a world beyond. In short, the wide-spread massive over-use of the mango to the exclusion of everything else stops here.

Now I am in no way insisting on an embargo of any kind. I just have to say, hey, there are other fruits in this world. There’s other delicious tropical fruits. You actually can make a salsa — believe it or not — without having to use mango in it every single time! (Ok, are you getting the idea that I’ve been “mango-ed out”? I’m even getting sick of using the word.) Amazingly, the, um … “M” craze has been going on for way far longer than the Parmesan Reggiano or bulsamic crazes. Unlike them there seems to be no stopping it. Again, except for right here, right now.

I say venture forth and discover the other delicious delicacies out there: guava, passion fruit, kiwi, papaya …. Even something more exotic like the pomegranate, or more commonplace such as the lately-unappreciated pineapple. And so, I present to you a dish I’m actually tempted to label “NOT Another Mango Salsa”. This is pretty much a “nouveau” salsa (not that traditional). Though having said that it is somewhat reminiscent of pico de gallo, and I’m referring to the Mexican version not the Spanish version. Note this salsa is also refreshingly devoid of tomato too. No mango and no tomato in a salsa? Stop me, I’m a madman! LOL!

I made this with the fish I had a few nights ago (that recipe will be up shortly), and what I had left over a couple days later I had along side my steak (another recipe you’ll see very soon) and it went great with both. Note, neither of these dishes were Mexican, so to say salsa must accompany only a Mexican or Southwestern dish is, well, like saying you have to use mango all time. It’s a rut that needs to be overcome.

So, you want something nice and a bit different as a side? It’s cool respite from the rest of warm and hot food on the plate. It’s fresh, it’s tangy, and it’s got a little touch of heat counterbalanced with that touch of sweetness. You’ll definitely enjoy this tropical fruit salsa with a variety of different dishes. Which ones? Well, I gave you a few pointers already, but — as with trying out different tropical fruit flavors — I leave whatever other dishes this goes with up to your own exploration. Enjoy the ride. That’s the fun part of eating and cooking.

Chunky Tropical Fruit Salsa
©2008 Harry Kenney

1/4 cup fresh papaya, chunked (or use canned)
1/4 cup fresh pineapple, chunked (or use canned)
1/2 large jalapeño, devaned, deseeded, chopped
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chooped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped fine (cannot use dried!)
2 tbsps grated fresh ginger (or ginger powder)
2 tbsps fresh lime juice
olive oil

Mix everything together. Put enough olive oil in have a nice coat, but this is not a dressing, not a vinaigrette, so err on the conservative side. Put in refrigerator at least half hour before serving so all the ingredients blend together well. Stir mix before poritioning out on plates. This side dish can be served cold, chilled or even (see note at end) at room temperature. Makes four portions.

Note: for health issues, don’t let at room temperature for an extended amount of time. This doesn’t just pertain to this dish. The assumption that food in an acidic (lime juice in this case) solution means it’s impervious to bacteria is not correct. Short period of time, again, as with any food, is fine. This isn’t to scare you, just educate. Use your head and you’ll be fine.

©2008 Harry Kenney

In the more than seven months since I put up my cooking blog, I’ve had a lot of time to think about exactly what are my personal “cooking philosophies”, my way of cooking, and more than that, my way of thinking in terms of all things food in general: buying food, cookware purchases, coming up with recipes and of course the actual techniques of cooking.

So in that time I’ve come up with my list, my do’s and don’ts for the home cook. I think all of the advice is practical. Having said that though, it doesn’t mean these are things that are necessarily obvious. That is, I think you’ll get some good tips here, maybe some helpful advice and even some brand new concepts that hadn’t occurred to you before; that’s definitely it’s intention.

And with that out of the way, my top ten list, starting with …

#10. If you won’t eat it or drink it, do not ever cook with it

Another close corollary to this is “Never use ingredients containing salt that should never have salt in them.”

Spices: use garlic powder and onion powder; never ever garlic salt or onion salt. Similarly never use cooking wine which not only contains salt but is also made from the dregs of wine and is totally undrinkable. If you can’t drink it, never cook with it. That means never ever use so-called “cooking wine”. In fact, if you have cooking wine and/or onion salt or garlic salt in your cubbard, put them in the trash right now. Your body will thank you, your taste buds will thank you. Try to avoid using “the spice packet that came with my tacos” kind of thing. Learn to make your own using your own spices so you know what you are using. Never use bullion cubes — unless you either want to kill people or are into drinking sea water; those horrid things should be outlawed as they’re nothing but massive doses of sodium. Use broth also known as stock. They now come in great plastic containers now, not just in cans. Or make your own.

#9. Use your head when purchasing cooking equipment

This is a giant pet peeve of mine: Never ever buy or cook in an electric wok. If I have to explain this one, you’re hopeless. Just go to your local diner from now on and turn your kitchen into a game room or something.

Another one, unless you are actually making melon balls or chocolate truffles or something that requires different sizes of “roundness”, then you don’t need a melon baller. The best way I’ve found to get seeds out of a cucumber is with a tablespoon. (You don’t need a melon baller for that!) My point is where you can save money, do it. Don’t buy every single utility or gadget that comes down the pike.

If you use it, or are definitely going to, very often, buy it then. Are you a health freak who every day with make a protein drink? Then buy a juicer, you will get the use out of it If you’re not, you will use it twice and in a couple years it will be in your yard sale. If you plan on making ravioli once or twice a month fresh you need a ravioli cutter. If you’re going to do it once a year, you can probably find a substitute. If you’re going to deep fry french fries or chicken or something once in a blue moon, use a stock pot and a candy/deep-fry thermometer. If you’re going to do it twice a month, invest in that small electric fryer and avoid the hassle. You get the idea.

#8. Avoid buying and using “imitation” anything

Especially never bacon bits. No one knows what’s inside them. If you’re that lazy, you don’t deserve bacon. Besides as with item ten, this probably has salt in it. That’s about the only thing you can guarantee is an recognizable ingredient inside this otherwise mysterious chemical product. Only possible — and I said possible — except to this rule might be flavoring extracts. Even then, taste both, the real and the imitation (no not at the store, buy one, next time buy the other) and see if you can live with the difference or not.

#7. Never pay more than $40 for a frying pan or a knife

… unless you’re a caterer or a professional chef, or you actually want to spend all your money on cooking and treat it as your luxury thing. For everyday cooks, you shouldn’t have to and better not pretend you’re a restaurant clearing several grand a week. You’re not (unless of course you are, but then why would you be here reading this?)

I saw on America’s Test Kitchen the other day when they were comparing saute pans. Last year’s winner cost $190. This year they found one for $70-something and they were happy to be recommending one that costs $110 less. Well I wasn’t. It’s a pan. Hello?! Let me talk with little words: Home cooks. Not master chefs. A pan. Get it? I can conceive of one possible exception, if they ever come out with a pan that cooks the meal, plates it, serves it, then washes itself, it might be worth going up to $60.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying use cheap, crappy things to cook in. But on the other hand don’t “buy into” the marketing that you need super expensive equipment either. Also, major tip: be a very patient shopper. I’ve waited and waited for those closeout specials and about a decade ago I ended up with a 10-piece brand-name anodized aluminum set of cookware that sold for years at $400 for just $99. Forgetting the four lids, and just including the pots and pans, that came to under $17 per item for professional-grade cookware.

#6. Just because the television cook did it or said it, doesn’t make it true

I actually wrote an article on this many months ago about this. It pointed out two big things. One, TV cooks will use metal on non-stick pans. Why? They have 200 more sitting on shelves behind the scenes the channel or network has purchased in bulk (or gotten for free for showing the name in the credits!). They are a television show with a big budget. If you do what they do, you too will be tossing out frying pans left and right. Problem is you don’t have their budget. Another biggie was when they put hot products, sometimes even hard things like nuts into a blender. They are not using the 10 or 20 year bar blender you have with the easily breakable plastic container and the low-power blades, they are using the new blenders that are practically food processors with new technology glass and plastic containers that don’t shatter. Listening to or watching them you could end up with serious injury.

More so, the other day I’m watching a very famous chef who forgot his feeder tube was in the food processor and poured six eggs into it. You could tell if you paid attention because it filled up and didn’t go in to the container. A microsecond later, he said the dough was now ready. In short, it’s television. They edited it out. It was embarrassing and if you didn’t have eagle eyes you missed it. If you end up following exactly what he did you’d end up with the same problem. TV mistakes are edited out constantly; alas that doesn’t happen in real life. So be careful. Very careful.

#5. Only do it if it’s worth the effort

If it’s worth the time to make something normal into something extraordinary, do it. If it takes a lot of time, and the level of taste remains the same or doesn’t go up that significantly, do the quick way. If you feel the several minutes you get using Bisquick over making it from scratch is worth the taste difference (that is if they seem essentially the same to you) take the quick way. I know a microwave baked potato taking 8-10 minutes is better than 40-55 minutes in the oven (though I sometimes miss the crunchy skin). If you’re not eating the skin, why take 8-12 times longer using the oven? And the reverse is true too. To me, you have to make waffles by scratch because of the folding in the egg whites to get that “heavenly cloud” texture, so it’s worth it to me. The time is longer but the difference in taste is great.

Only exception to this is the number-three rule of experimentation. There’s a lot of things you should do at least once in order to expand your cooking techniques and skill. For instance, personally I found all the effort to deep fry french fries (using the traditional method not with an electric fryer) was not worth the effort. The set up, cook time and clean up was insane when an oven roast would have made almost as good french fries with a lot less effort and time. I did gain experience from it though, so while I wouldn’t do it again I’m glad I did it once.

#4. When buying food, do the math first

You think you do this already, don’t you? Well you probably do not take it far enough as you should. Pay attention. We’re all subject to initial “sticker shock” at the supermarket. Wow that’s too much money. That’s out of my budget, I’m never buying that, you’re thinking to yourself. Whoa! Next time that comes to mind, stop, think hard, and do the math first. You’ll find a brand new world opening to you.

Ok, 31-40 fresh shrimp is $7 bucks a pound (in this instance). Too much. Extravagant. Pass it by … No! What are you going to do with it? Cook it and serve it fresh like a cocktail? You could. For a party it might be worth it. Chances are you are going to mix it with rice and other vegetables or you are going to put it in a pasta with other vegetables. In short, you’re going to do something we all are familiar with, you’re going to “stretch it”. When you’re done you will then end up getting between six to eight servings out of it all. Spaghetti’s a buck. Sauce is maybe $3 and you’re only using half a jar, so a buck fifty. You already bought the produce. Ok, so in the end, at (let’s go with the lower six servings), you’re going to make a meal to feed six at under two bucks a head. Expensive? Hell no! In other words, buy the shrimp. It’s not as expensive you first thought it would be.

Here’s one that happened to me recently when I was buying mushrooms for my mushroom soup recipe. I wanted shitake. Holy moly it was $10 a pound. Yowsah. But then I stopped. I walk closer to the bin where they are all loose, unwrapped, unpackaged. I pick a handful up. Wow these were very very light compared to the button mushroom cousins. So I grabbed a plastic bag and started tossing in big handfuls. I filled up the bag, put it on the scale. 4 ounces. LOL. All of that and it was $2.50. See what I mean? One more quick example. Veal. Super lean cut. Very little or no fat. You’ll often get away with serving 3 or 4 ounces of veal as a serving when compared to 8 oz of steak or fat. That is, the waste factor is a lot less, you get more out of a similar weight. Suddenly more expensive veal is seen as being easily on par with beef or pork.

So the lesson is you just can’t go by the price alone, you have to think about it, and almost always you will find that yes, you can buy that. And still remain within or very close to your budget. All with expanding the quality and variety of food you eat.

#3. Experiment! Experiment! Experiment!

Try new vegetables, new proteins like various fish. Get a new hunk of cheese every time you go to market and see if you like it. Try new techniques, maybe deep-frying or slow cooking tougher but cheaper cuts of meat. Always eat meat, try a fresh not frozen fish. That’s right you, the one who’s intimidated by standing the fresh seafood area in the market. Next time, buy a different fish and try it Does the fish intimidate you? Don’t know how to cook it? You’re on the web. If you don’t find the answer here (and hey, I haven’t cooked every fish possible, yet) you’ll find many places that will tell you what to do with it. You can even do your homework prior to going to the store and look up the information ahead of time.

Keep passing by that odd shaped melon? Take it home, look up a recipe. Ditto with that strange green bunch of stuff next to the lettuce. Buy a different kind of rice besides “white” when you’re in the rice aisle. Try a Classico or other spaghetti sauce that is not Ragu (yuck) or Prego. Maybe a vodka sauce for your pasta next time, or a four-cheese red sauce blend. Just get out of your rut!

#2 Remember, recipes are merely guidelines

Yes, exactly like the Pirates of the Caribbean and the pirate’s code. Recipes are not written in stone. (Ok, baking recipes are much more written in stone because baking is more science than art. Other cooking is comparatively pure art.)

In fact you’ll often see with my recipes that I list spices and herbs and say “to taste”. Why? Because everyone’s taste buds are a at least a tad different. More so, there are many variables in cooking, because we’re dealing with nature, that can’t be standardized. Your frying pan my be made out of a different alloy, your stove burners might go higher, your conception of “medium heat” might be someone else’s “low heat”. Your oven works differently. Your chicken breasts from your market might be 20% more or less than the one the recipe’s cook used. And there are literally thousands of other variables.

And the number one rule …

#1. If you like it, do it!

In the end, does it work for you? (And those you’re cooking for?) If you like your red wine chilled, do it. On the contrary if you like it at 80 degrees, well, whatever floats your boat. Do you think despite what the recipe said that it needs to be sweeter? Do it. Think the recipe is too hot? Use less or maybe none. (Yes this also goes back to the item about “guidelines”.) Point it, it’s not necessarily wrong just because someone says it is. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard cooks bark on that a tomato should never be served cold. So one day, I tried a tomato cold from the fridge and a room temperature one. I didn’t like the room temperature one. Now, maybe it’s my taste buds. Maybe it’s solely because I have gotten used to having it cold. Bottom line though is the same I like them cold.

Now, there is a slight “back track” here. And that refers to the item about experimenting. Try it. Like I did with the tomato test. Why? They might be right. You might like your tomato at room temperature. It’s like the Dr. Seuss story of “Green Eggs and Ham”. If you’ve never tried green eggs don’t say you hate the taste. Try it. Then make your mind up. Now once your mind is made up, once you’ve tried that odd looking squash, that fruit at room temperature, etc … then tell “them” to stick it with their annoying advice. Go into that restaurant, order the red wine and tell them to put it in an ice bucket for 15 minutes prior to serving it. And don’t relent; the customer is always right. But … at least give things a try first. At least once. Then you’ll know.

©2008 Harry Kenney

What can I say about mushrooms? Ok, first off, they’re obviously delicious! Eating-wise they can add another dimension to a steak. Or to chicken as well. They give that extra “something” when added to soups, a rice mixture or pasta. They can serve as a tasty vessel for stuffing.

In many ways they are “meaty” for both the vegetarian and the carnivore in us alike. I recall the oft-quoted here Frugal Gourmet, Jeff Smith, saying something to the effect of mushrooms being a sign of a generous God that from horse manure could such amazing things as mushrooms spring. Or something to that effect. He said it partly in jest and partly serious. Anyway, we get the idea of what he meant.

In other regards, by now you probably already know it’s a fungus or fungi. That there are edible and poisonious varieties; fortunately the poisonous ones don’t make it to the market. The term toadstools has often referred to them somewhate interchanably, especially in and since the European middle ages. However today that term seems old fashion and when it’s used — more often in fairy tales than in reality — they refer to the poisonous kind of mushroom. They can be used in medicines and lately cosmetics as well as some varieties used by shamans and others for psydelic trips. These also don’t make it to the grocers.

By the way, if you’re absolutely wild about mushrooms (edible and not) then head over to MykoWeb for what’s perhaps the greatest resource of knowledge pertaining to “mushrooms, funghi and mycology” on the Web. Just the Funghi of California section alone contains over 500 species and ia approaching 3,500 photographs.

While once considered to be without nutritional value, in modern times we know better. They are excellent sources of selenium and ergothioneine, two antioxidants, as well as copper and potassium/ Additionally, they are one of the few natural sources of vitamin D. Mushrooms are also good sources of three essential B-vitamins: riboflavin, niacin and pantothenic acid. Mushrooms are low in calories, fat-free, cholesterol-free and very low in sodium.

Flavor, hmm. Overall I think mushrooms are delicous, but describing the differences in types difficult to convey, but I’ll try. Crimini taste just like white button mushrooms taste like, well, I’d have to say they are what we normally think of with a mushroom, sort of the baseline. Portobellos taste meatier somehow, and shitake a bit more spicy and a bit more aromatic. Together though, wow, what a supeb and sublime combination.

As with other recipes, substitute the chicken stock for vegetable stock and you have a 100% vegetarian version of this incredible soup. And again, if I had found vegetable stock at the store (or had the presense of mind to have made some myself homemade) I would have easily gone that way. Oh, and timewise this is fairly fast for a soup. I’ve seen a few recipes where something like this is given to take up to two hours; really, I have no idea what they’re thinking in doing that. After prep work, this takes about 40 minutes from start to finish.

Hearty Three-Mushroom Soup
©2008 Harry Kenney

4 oz shitake mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed, rough chopped
6 oz baby portabellos (or mature portabellos) mushrooms, cleaned, rough chopped
6 oz crimini (or white button) mushrooms, cleaned, rough chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 leek, well-cleaned, chunks
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2/3 cup dry white wine (I used Pinot Grigio, if you’re wondering)
4 cups chicken broth (substitute vegetable broth for vegetarian version)
1 pint heavy cream
chives (topping, optional)

Add butter and oil to stock pot on medium heat. Add onions, celery and garlic and sweat for about 8-10 minutes. Add all the mushrooms and more oil, cook down, stir often. Again, not trying to brown or cook completely, but partially, about 10 minutes, adding more oil if needed. Then add wine, stir and add chicken stock. Cook for 20 minutes.

Now either transfer stock in sections to food processor and return to pot or use emersion blender to puree. Mushrooms will still be there in a very fine mince. Add cream to pureed mixture and cook for 10 minutes. Top with chives. Suggest serving with crostini, fresh bread or maybe polenta rounds. Makes about six servings.

©2008 Harry Kenney

Crostini. A sort of cousin to bruschetta, they mean in Italian “little toasts”. Funny though, the pronunciation sounds much to the English speaking person’s ear as “crust teeny” which would describe them equally well. Now I know I said I was getting away from the Italian food a bit, and I am, but, fact of the matter Italian food is such an integral part of the American food tapestry, I will always end up doing an Italian recipe now and then.

That said, the rest of this is certainly not in any way Italian. I topped it with Muenster cheese, an American cheese with an orange rind, and light texture and taste that is a great melting cheese. And to that I added a sliver of red apple. Supposedly one doesn’t don’t add herbs or spices on it. Hah, silly rabbit! I add a touch of garlic powder — not so much as to make it in any way a garlic bread however. And some dried oregano and basil. Where as for bruschetta I use the thicker wider Italian bread, for this I use the long and skinnier one. A French baguette would have worked just as well. Besides an obviously wonderful appetizer, I find, as I do with many appetizers, they also make great little “sides” accompanying a salad or soup.

  

Crostini with Melted Cheese and Apple
©2008 Harry Kenney

Half loaf of thin-wdith Italian bread or French baguette
olive oil
garlic powder
dried basil
dried oregano
5 oz. muenster cheese (or bree or another soft, mild cheese)
1 apple

Preheat oven to 375°F. Slice the bread very thin. On a parchment lined baking sheet place the 12 or more slices. Drizzle olive oil on one side of the bread than the other. Sprinkle the spices and herbs and place in oven for about 10 minutes until golden brown. Then take out and add a sliver of cheese and one small bit of apple. Two more minutes in the oven and done. Let cool slightly for a few mintues and serve.

©2008 Harry Kenney

You should know how this goes by now if you’re a long-time reader. If you’ve just stumbled upon this site then welcome! And here’s the dirty low-down: This is where you the surfer asked questions without actually asking me. You — or, I should say, “they” — placed search terms in the various engines and found themselves at my site. And through my server logs I found what they were searching for.

While most found the answers they were looking for, some did not, and it is to those I do my best to answer their “spoken yet unspoken” question. Besides being, I hope, somewhat helpful, there’s also a bit of “comedy”, namely in the weird searches people will do as well. So first the helpful hints stuff and then — for dessert, so to speak — at bottom are the weird and funny searches (and a snappy rejoinder or two). Enjoy.

“can I do a twice baked potato the night before the party?” – Good question and the answer is a good party planner tip. Be sure and check out my recipe on Ultimate Twice Baked Potatoes, btw. I would bake the potatoes the day before. Do the scooping out and mixing of ingredients and then put them in the refrigerator covered in plastic or gently piled into a large container. Then the day of the party, they’re ready and all you all have to do is the second bake. And they’ll taste very fresh. In short, yes, with twice baked potatoes you can do the initial bake the night before and the second bake the day of. I would not bake them three times, that is I would not do both bakes the night before and then a heat up the day of the party, it will not taste as fresh and would probably taste a tad soggy.

“true Italian hoagie ingredients” – Quick tangant first. Wikipedia seems to be going down the drain more and more. Just for fun (though lately disgust) I check them out when doing research. Now, I’m from Philly. I know what’s in a real Italian hoagie. I have no reason to “research” it. But, as with the Philadelphia Cheesesteak, I sometimes get curious as to what “crapola” people come up with. Anyway the ingredients list at Wikipedia includes proscuitto. Are you kidding me? At $5 per 4 ounces, hoagies would run for 12 bucks instead of $5 or 6 with that ingredient added alone. Never seen an Italian hoagie with that on, and in Philly, unless it’s some kind of upscale-gourmet version I never will.

Ok, enough of the “bologna” — pun intended. You came to the right place, here, for your answer. A true Philadelphia Italian hoagie (and there is no other authentic kind that a Philadelphia kind) is made with cooked capicola, genoa salami, cooked salami, ham and provolone. Some folks omit the ham, most have it on it. The good ones also include mortadella. Hoagies in general either come with mayonnaise or oil (with a touch of vinegar) and sometimes both, but with an Italian hoagie you get it with the oil, never with mayo. Sweet and hot peppers are optional, but most folks will pick one or the other or both. Natch the other ingredients of a hoagie are assumed: a fresh, firm Italian roll, little shreded lettuce, little raw onion and slices of tomato, maybe pickles, all seasoned with salt, pepper and dried oregano.

“can you use wine that has been chilled room temperature and back to being chilled again?” – I’m always getting questions about red wine every since my article on Chilled Red Wine? The Proof Is in the Lager. Ok, ever hear of “musky beer”? My nephew Billy knows this one. When you get a case of beer that’s unrefrigerated, but it in the icebox, take it out (for whatever reason), let it get warm, put it back in and later open it, you get musky beer. The cold, warm, cold has changed it’s composition enough that it gives it a funny taste. Now, if that’s beer, imagine what it will do to something as comparatively complex tasting as wine.

In short, try it. This goes back to my axiom of do what works for you, but generally my advice is, if it’s gotten to room temperature, drink it. If you have to put it back, again try it. Maybe it will not taste good, maybe you won’t taste the difference. Maybe if you put it in something else as an ingredient … in terms of drinks, maybe add it to a sangria, or maybe put it in your beef stew. I would not automatically throw it out, no, never. So try it, and it might be fine, second, if it seems a tad off, try mixing it with something else, using it as an ingredient, and if all else fails and it really tastes off to you, toss it.

Obviously the best thing to do in the future is to place it back in the refrigerator before it gets to room temperature or to add more ice to your ice bucket. I know, doesn’t help for now, but keep it mind for the next time.

“what makes a great cooking show?” – If I knew that, I’d either be the Next Food Network Star or better yet running the joint. Seriously, since you asked, a cook or chef that can connect with the audience, who has an interesting take on making things their own, who has a variety of experience, who has enough knowledge to give tips and talk about the food.

I do have one thing to say about food travel combo shows — most of which I can’t stand, and a few with I love. You had better do a minimum of five recipes per half hour, or you are not a food show travelling, you’re on a vacation and having a tax write-off and you’re annoying me. I don’t need to know everything about a culture or see the waves for ten minutes on a food travel show; you see, that’s what a pure travel show will give me. If you’re doing food, I want to see food and lots of it, not yacking, being introduced to your “new cultural friend Juan” to give you a tour of the mountains or the museums. I want to see and get the recipes for the food already! If you can’t do that, go on your trip or your vacation and leave the production crew at home.

“ground beef stew too dry” – That’s a pretty easy one actually. First, go with the fatty mixture. Whether it’s stew or hamburgers, I always go with the 80% ground beef to 20% fat. I know, the leaner you go the more expensive it is, so consumers think that’s better. What it is is leaner. Better depends upon what you’re trying to achieve. If you’re trying to get more fat out of your diet, I say forget ground beef altogether, going for a 90-10 mix is only depriving yourself of flavor and making your eating more bland. And it’s not cutting out much fat in your diet at the same time.

I recall the episode of Chef’s Story where they were featuring Cat Cora when she talks about one of her culinary school instructors who used to say the following to his class all the time, almost as a mantra: “Fat is taste. Fat is taste. Fat is taste” In the case of the ground beef stew it’s also the moisture. So first is the blend. Second, don’t over do it in the frying pan. Some folks totally skip a frying pan for ground beef stew and purely stew the beef. That would definitely give you moistness and tenderness. But in my opinion you’re loosing some flavor. Brown your meat in the frying pan with garlic and sauteed onions but brown it lightly. Remember this is not a slab of steak, this is not cubed beef. The surface area on each “crumble” of individual meat is the size of a pea or smaller. If you brown that hard and long and dark, of course there’s not going to be much moisture left inside of each clump of meat. So, right mixture, plenty of fat, a light browning not heavy, and you’re hamburger stew will be moist every time.

“adjusting cooking time stuffed chicken breasts” – gotten this a few times. I hate going by time. How do I know how big the breasts are? If you are really referring to half-breasts? Are the boneless? Are they boned? How thick the bones if they are? How deep and long did you cut the pocket? Is the stuffing actually denser or lighter than the chicken meat? etc etc … This is why time is not the answer and nothing I can answer. So go with the universal constant. Internal temperature. And how do we get that? With an internal probe or thermometer. In which case what you have to be careful with is you are not going to put the rod into the center the way you normally do. If you do this you will be taking the temp of the stuffing, but the chicken around it could still be too raw. Simply don’t insert the probe or rod too deeply, and instead check just outside of the stuffing area. Another way is to do what I just said plus two other places: check also in the stuffing, and at an end point away from the stuffing. By getting these range of temperatures you should be able to figure out if the area of chicken that has the greatest thickness without stuffing is done and if the area around the stuffing is done.

If you need a temperature reminder, we’re talking 165°F as the minimum level to eat chicken safely. Try not to exceed 175°F. At 180°F and over you have a very dried bird.

Strange But True Searches

“open face stomboli recipes” – An open-faced stromboli? Um, we have a special name for that. You may never have heard of it before. Write this down. It’s called a “pizza”.

“how to make beef brisket burnt ends?” – Burn them.

“microwave, turnip, aluminum foil” – Sheesh! I really do hope that search doesn’t mean what I think it does, otherwise the answer is “aluminum foil, microwave, big boom”.

“candy oven parts” – I’ll let you make up your own response to this. Really. Feel free to put them in the comments below.

“man vs wild recipe” – The only “recipe” I know Bear Grylls has is: Catch it while it’s moving. Rip it’s head off. Chow down. … Yuck!

“drunk on orange extract” – Seriously, whoever you are, your frat party privileges are now permanently revoked!

©2008 Harry Kenney

What we have here essentially is a Spanish Oxtail Stew featuring Root Vegetables. Not only is it a dish eaten in the south of Spain, but this is a dish that transcends not only geography, but also social classes and time itself. With a few variations this dish could have been eaten in close to this form not only a few hundred years ago, but also two thousand years ago, and even nine millennia ago. Talk about getting in touch with the earth and roots huh? So how did I decide to do this exact dish?

Having done so many Italian and Italian-American recipes lately I’ve felt a great need for change. And a desire to let my taste buds, if not my actual personage, travel to some different distant lands. It was an episode of Dinner: Impossible that got me interested in trying out oxtails. I find it in some ways humorous and in many ways delightful when poor people’s food or “peasant food” becomes trendy cuisine.

To quote About.com: “Cooks around the world have long made use of oxtails with variations on a theme. Today, upscale chefs are rediscovering oxtails to the nostalgic delight of older patrons and the wonder of the younger crowd who consider it an exotic meat.” Indeed, my mother who at 92 still recalls that her father enjoyed oxtails; apparently it was a part of his father and his father’s father’s English roots.

At first then I thought, ah, I’ll make an English version of this dish, partly due to Robert Irvine having brought it to my attention via his television program as well as because of my grandfather. And then I started looking around. And all I can say is “wow”. I mean think about it: oxtail, oxen, animal husbandry, early cultivation … In short, if you want to find a protein, a meat, a dish that goes back to the beginning of man’s civilized history, oxtails have been eaten since before recorded history.

So when researching I found there’s pretty much no ancient culture that doesn’t have an oxtail recipe. There are Chinese recipes, Indian recipes, Greek and Basque recipes. When later countries came into being, they continued eating oxtails, so there are recipes from the UK to South Africa to Burma and beyond. And if we go just a few centuries old, there are many Caribbean recipes too. In short oxtails are a global dish.

So while I initially wanted to make an English dish, I thought I would keep my mind open and see what most appealed to me with so many variations from so many countries available. When I found this one, I knew I just had to do it. Rabo de Toro, literally “Tail of the Bull”, a dish from Spain specifically the Andalusian region, and more specifically having come from the bull fights in Cordoba.

Speaking of history lessons, just as the dish coq au vin is rarely ever made with roosters any more and is today almost always made with chickens so is the case here. Rabo de Toro — unless you happen to be an actual matador — is almost always made today with oxtails. And, just to confuse you even more, oxtails, which did historically come from the ox, pretty much today come from the tails of beef cattle of both genders.

What makes this dish so especially Spanish? And what gives it that twist I was searching for? The answer to both are the ingredients of red bell pepper, paprika and chocolate. Yes chocolate. And what makes this classic recipe in any way mine? Two things. Oddly all the recipes I saw containing root vegetables seemed to neglect one particular one which I can’t imagine would have been originally left out, and so one contribution is my addition of the white turnip along with the traditional carrots and parsnips.

Also the recipes call for a deep, full-bodied red wine. Now as much as my bottle of Portuguese Porto Reserve would have been a fit pairing with this neighboring country dish I found that too expensive a proposition, so I ended up with a combination of both Merlot and American (yes, Taylor’s) Port; the Merlot provided a nice dry backbone while the Port gave it some deeper body and a touch of sweetness which was needed. And at less than half the price of using the Porto Reserve.

I will say one thing if you haven’t figured it out yet: This is a long and I mean long cooking dish. Some might think that great as for the most part you pretty much leave it do it’s thing. Part of my impatience though comes out with four full hours of just the beef cooking, not to mention the prep work or the 45 minutes after for the vegetable cooking was just a long time. But to my delight it was worth it. Delicious.

Btw, as slow cooking and crock pots have made a resurgence in popular recently, yes, this probably would be an excellent choice for cooking in that manner. However, just as I didn’t toss the bulk of the vegetables in until last so they would have body and not get soggy, I would probably suggest doing the same and not adding them to the slow cooker until the last hour.

For those of you particularly squeamish just think of this as beef stew with some interestingly different tastes thrown in — because really that’s what it basically is. And for those of you yearning for something out of the ordinary: here’s a taste of Spain, a dish with an interesting story and history behind it from ancient man to modern bull fights, and a stew containing chocolate — all rolled into one. What more could you want? ¡Olé!

Rabo de Toro – Spanish Oxtail Stew
©2008 Harry Kenney

2 lbs oxtails
1 medium-large yellow onion, diced
1-1/2 medium-sized parsnips, peeled, large dice
1 medium-sized white turnip, peeled, large dice
2 medium carrots, unpeeled (if fresh), large dice
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
15 oz of canned diced tomatoes (use fresh only at peak season)
2 tbsps minced garlic (or same amount from fresh cloves)
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp thyme
2 tsps oregano
1/2 tsp cumen (optional)
1-2 medium bay leaves
1 oz unsweetened (bakers) chocolate, sliced down into slivers
* 3 cups beef stock / broth
* 3 cups dry red wine (I used Merlot)
* 1-1/2 cups American (Taylor’s) Port wine
* 8 cups water
salt
pepper

3 baking potatoes to make mashed potatoes

* liquid ingredients marked with asterisk (and to lesser degree the spices not marked with asterisks) the amounts listed all depend on how much evaporation, time cooking, seasoning to your taste, etc. Constantly adding more and more as needed over the long cook. The amounts listed are approximations of the total amounts used over the entire course of the cooking. When starting out, start out with less and add more over time as needed and/or desired, as mentioned in the instructions here.

In a large stewing pot or dutch oven — I used a four quart pot — with heat medium-high begin by browning your oxtails on all sides using plenty of olive oil. I found using long tong work well. This takes about 15 minutes roughly.

Remove the oxtails onto a plate. Into the pot add more oil, most of the onions, most of the celery. Start to sweat. Several minutes in add the minced garlic. Continue to sweat, not to brown. When softened enough, put the oxtails back in adding also 1 cup of dry wine and 1/2 cup of port and one cup of beef stock. Turn heat to high. Scrape bottom to get bits up. Add salt and pepper and oregano. Add as much water as needed to just cover the top of the oxtails. Cover, when it comes to a boil, put flame back down to simmer.

This concept of checking on the stew, giving it a stir, adding more water or wine or stock as required. Bringing it to high heat when you’ve done so, then lowering back to a simmer if basically what you will do for the next four hours. How much of which and what I leave to you. Too much and it’s too rich, too much water and you’ll get watery stew. I would add no more than two cups of water at a time, a cup preferably. Wine the next time, some more stock the next. The amounts listed at the top of the recipe give you an idea of how much should be used during the entire course of the cooking.

After the three hour mark, start testing the softness of the beef. The best way I’ve found is to lift part of it out with a large serving spoon, and test with the end of a steak knife or fork gently. At roughly the four hour mark or the point you most feel the beef is tender, that it is just holding on to the bone barely, take it out, place on a plate and let it cool for about 15 minutes. During this time I leave the lid off the stew and let it continue on simmer, this will reduce the liquid somewhat.

Take the meat completely off the bone. Shread with your fingers or fork and place back into stew. At this point, add all the root vegetables, including the small remainder of onion and celery left over from the start. Add the remaining half of your oregano plus all of your spices including the chocolate. Add more broth, wines and water as needed. Cover, bring to full boil, reduce back to simmer.

You should find the carrots are done first, then the turnips and finally the parsnips in that order, and it should take roughly 45 more minutes of stewing.

Meanwhile, take three baking potatoes, punch three deep rows of holes in them with a fork, two on one side, one on the other and place in microwave for roughly 12 minutes. When done, let cool enough to touch, scoop out, use butter, milk, salt, pepper and make a medium to thick consistency mashed potatoes.

When stew is done, place some mash on the side of your deep bowl and fill the rest with the stew. Because of the richness of the stew including the deep notes of the dark wines used, go the other way and use a sweet blush or white wine as accompaniment. I suggest a White Zinfandel or a Riesling. I know, it’s not exactly Spanish, but it tastes good. Want to keep it Spanish and still sweet? The no-brainer would be go with Sangria; matter of fact that would probably be best.

©2008 Harry Kenney

I first did an article like this back in September. This is about certain foods or items or techniques that keep cropping up — on menus, food challenge shows, recipes shows and cook books — that despite hearing of them over and over you really might not know a whole lot about.

Again, your knowledge and experience may vary and you may know quite a few of these. Seriously, bravo! For the rest of us curious about just what these are, here’s ten of those often-heard, not fully understood foods and food items.

ceviche – is a South American appetizer, often considered to have first originated in Peru, whereby fresh raw fish (or other seafood) is marinated in citrus juice (usually lime juice, sometimes lemon and lime juice) which chemically cooks it to a certain degree, and the dish also contains tomatoes, chill peppers and onions. There are variations of this in nearly each South American country, as well as a starting point for chefs to make their own combinations. Because of the non-heat, chemical reaction one gets a meal that is less than conventionally cooked yet with a taste that is “more cooked’ than say a sashimi or tartar.

compote – a fruit mixture (can be fresh, dried, frozen, a combination) that has been slowly cooked (the “slow” is important to retain the fruit’s shape) in a sugar syrup, usually containing spices and/or liquor or liqueurs, served either as desert or along side meat or poultry.

confit – It seems this is one of those terms you hear ten times a season (guaranteed) on Top Chef and once in a while on Iron Chef America. I most often hear this as being a “duck confit”. It also seems to be one of those many cooking terms whose definition is changing. Historically it’s a method from Gascony, France whereby meat, most notably poultry, is salted and cooked in it’s own fat as a method of “ancient” preserving. Now you see it as the served dish. More so, one of the more modern definitions is it can also mean fruit or vegetables cooked and preserved in brandy or other liquor. Still very new, chefs are using this word instead of another word, “confiture” which means a jam or preserve that is often savory or “savory-sweet”.

tiramisu – While it is often called the Italian trifle, the texture is much ligther. Translated the word means “carry me up”, with the unspoken ending of the sentence supposedly “to heaven” as in this is a heavenly dessert. It is composed of sponge cake or ladyfingers dipped into a coffee-and-marsala mixture. Then it’s layered up with mascarpone and grated chocolate and refrigerated for several hours before serving.

Now here are three foods that sound so much alike they can sometimes be confused with each other:

cannellini – white beans or white Italian kidney beans, often called a Tuscan bean, prevelant in soups and salads

cannelloni – Literally tranlated as “big tubes” it is the large pasta cylinders that are that are stuffed with a meat or savory cheese filling and then baked with a sauce.

cannoli – Meaing “little tube”, these desserts where in sweet pasty shells are formed into tubes and deep-fried, then filled with a sweet filling, using consisting wholely or partially of whipped ricotta, plus other flavors such as nuts or chocolate.

And since it seems we’ve already touched upon a few sweet desserts, let’s end with that theme, talking about three “genteel” custard desserts that a lot of us keep hearing about and some of us can’t get enough of and which seem in many ways to be similiar

crème caramel – Some places call a flan a crème caramel and see no difference in the two; Wikipedia is among those. NewItalianRecipes.com however makes a distinction saying “a flan is a liquid or semi liquid mixture, held together with whole eggs, egg whites, or egg yolks, that is gently baked in a mold or pastry shell. Quiches, crème caramel, and crème brulee are examples of sweet flans.” Another definition of crème caramel is a rich custard dessert with a layer of soft caramel on top. Which then brings up the difference between this and ….

crème brûlée – defined as custard with a hard caramel top. And as a “rich custard base topped with a layer of hard caramel, created by burning sugar under a grill, or other intense heat source”. In short, yes, this is the dessert you see on television when the chef brings out the blowtorch! And neither of these should be confused with ….

panna cotta – Italian for “cooked cream” panna cotta is a light, silky egg custard, which is often flavored with caramel. It’s served cold, accompanied typically with fruit or chocolate sauce.

©2008 Harry Kenney

This recipe is so cut and dry that for once I’m not sure what even to write about. Of course, that’s not usually the case and this blog is set up to show the first two paragraphs and then “divide” so I have to write something here. I guess I’ll just say how nice it is to wander the earth from my desktop computer and from my kitchen and to see — and to taste — how different people’s do the same thing — like a salad — but do it their own way.

Californians, parts of Mexico and Spain all have salads that contain avacado, for instance. In Greece, it’s olives and feta that helps make it uniquely theirs, their “stamp” on things, or their contribution. You’ll notice two ingredients I say are option, I myself didn’t put into this salad, anchovies and hard-boiled eggs. Again two ingredients that make it more distinctly Mediterranean in nature. So, try it with one of the two Greek salad dressings I posted here yesterday if you want to keep it authentically Greek — or feel free to use your own favorite salad dressing. Your choice. Enjoy.

  

Greek Salad
©2008 Harry Kenney

1 medium green pepper, devaned, deseeded, small dice
Two dozen Kamala olives, halved
2 cucumbers, peeled and deseeded, diced
1 large red onion, diced
12-16 Roma (plum) tomatoes diced
10 oz romaine lettuce
2 oz radicchio
2 oz endive
anchovies, sliced (optional)

to taste:
organo
parsley
salt
pepper
garlic powder

toppings:

crumbled feta cheese
hard-boiled egg, sliced or diced (optional)

Greek salad dressing of your choice

Mix the above ingredients together in a bowl. Toss the seasonings thoroughly. I then like to put the salad bowl into refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes, both to give it all a chill and to let all the ingredients and seasonings marry together. Remember to never put feta or egg into the actual salad in terms of storage. Store them seperately. Only add toppings and dressing to a salad immediately before serving. Salad makes 6-8 servings.

©2008 Harry Kenney

Seems lately I’ve been doing some pairings. First the pesto then the pasta. Another day, a side and then a soup to go with it. Today, something similiar. I’ve made two Greek salad dressings and tomorrow or the next day I’ll put up the Greek salad that goes with it.

I told you I got into a bit of a “rut” doing a lot of Italian and Italian-American food. Well, rut is a negative word and I’m not pinning that in any way on the food, just the lack of variety. So you’ll also notice that I’m taking a more global walk on the wild side. Why? Pretty simple. I love all kinds of food. And fortunately seemingly every country, and often smaller regions of countries, have contributed major food items or at least nuances to the overall food tapestry of what we eat.

In this case, take the simple salad dressing. From my previous article on vinaigrettes we already know that a basic salad dressing consists of oil and then something acidic, either vinegar, alcohol or citrus acid and seasonings. In the case of the first dressing here it’s the lemon and honey where the Greeks have given us a twist.

When it comes to the second recipe, Greek cuisine has given us a complete flip from the norm with the introduction of yogurt as well as the infusion of mint to give a very different and intrinsically Greek flavor to the ordinary salad. As to the salad, well, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.

One more thing. This is odd. Now four of us had both dressings, two of each. I fully expected to like the creamy one better. To my surprise I liked the vinaigrette better. The creamier one tasted better prior to putting it on the salad, more body. And yet the other one tasted better to me on the salad. That said, one other person agreed and the other two liked the creamy. So, what it comes down to is you might like one of these or both; either way there’s at the very least one here you’ll enjoy, and hopefully two.

Lemon-Honey Vinaigrette
©2008 Harry Kenney

1/3 cup red wine vinager
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
juice from 1/2 a lemon (roughly 2 tbsps)
1/2 tsp parsley flakes
2 tsps dried oregano
4 tbsps honey

Place all the ingredients in a bowl except for the olive oil. Pour in the olive oil while whisking the bowl. You could do this in a blender also. Done. Makes enough for about 4-6 salads.

Mint Yogurt Salad Dressing
©2008 Harry Kenney

1 cup drained plain yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tsp mint flakes
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp lemon juice
salt
pepper

Mix everything together. Vary seasonings or proportions to taste. Ta-da. Enough for 8-10 salads.

©2008 Harry Kenney

Here’s the second homemade cookie recipe I promised I’d get up to the site that I did over the holidays. Applesauce cookies. Yum! And while this is a good one to eat all year round, it definitely has those fall – winter spices we’ve come to associate with the Holidays. Moms take note: with fruit, nuts and raisins in this it’s no doubt a higher than average nutritional cookie too.

There is one important baking item I want to touch on though, and I should have done this with the butter cookie recipe probably, and that is the whole discussion or school of thought about salted versus unsalted butter in baking and especially cooking recipes. Salted butter, even though most of us don’t taste the salt, is the most commonly found one at markets and convenience stores. And against popular thought, it’s the one I use.

Yes, I’m such a rebel. LMAO! Truth is I often do what’s eaisest. I usually grab the first butter I see in the market and the only butter sold at my convenience store, and that’s the common salted butter. I know, I know, all the chefs and cookbooks say use unsalted butter in baking recipes. Who’s right?

Believe it or not, I’m willing to admit I might be wrong. (Gasp!) Ok, remember I said “might”. Here’s the thing. No one who tasted my apple sauce cookies tasted salt. I also made some rugelah cookies — sorry, you will not see that recipe here any time soon. While they were tasty, something I did wrong with the recipe that I’m still figuring out, they did not come out exactly as rugelah is supposed to be, tasty as they were. When I do figure it out, I’ll put the recipe up then. As the Orson Wells wine commercial of the 70s said “no wine before it’s time”; same with my recipes.

However, of the seven people who had my butter cookies, one out of those seven tasted the salt. Interesting. Not enough to be a perfect survey or accurate barometer by any means, but it does show that some folks, especially in a more “bland” recipe (compared to this one) can taste the salt. Should one use unsalted butter then? Well here’s the opposite thing, upon researching this I’ve found discussions where people (adults and children both) who are so used to the “normal” salted butter they noticed the absense of the salt. Either they realized it was salt that was missing, or — most of them — realized something they couldn’t put their finger on was not present and didn’t like the cookies as much as those with salted butter in them.

Yeah, I know. Can’t please every palette. That’s life.

So what’s the answer? Well, I think it’s fairly obvious. If doing a simple cookie, butter cookie, sugar cookie, with a more “bland” or neutral taste it’s probably wiser to go the extra step and get the unsalted. And what about the rest? Well, I leave that up to you. (You’ll notice in my recipes I usually just say “butter”. In non-baked recipes that leaves it up to you to use margarine. In baking recipes I leave it up to you whether to make it salted or unsalted.)

As for me, I’m probably going to remain “lazy” for now and do what’s convenient — as long as no one complains or if the recipe is not so “blandish”. How much salt is in butter, you might be wondering? It varies from brand to brand, however a supposed average I’ve found repeated in my research indicates about 3/8 of a teaspoon of salt per stick, just under a half teaspoon in other words. Why is it in there in the first place? Apparently as a natural preservative.

That’s it. Class dismissed. It’s time for milk and apple sauce cookies!

Harry’s Applesauce Cookies
©2008 Harry Kenney

1-1/2 sticks butter (12 tbsps)
2-1/2 cups flour (all purpose)
1 cup, packed, brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt (unless using salted butter)
1-1/2 cups applesauce (suggest chunky, natural)
1 cup dark raisins
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cloves
pinch, ground ginger
3/4 cup shaved almonds (you could use walnuts or other nuts)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Use parchment paper lined cookie sheets (if you don’t have that, then definitely grease them instead.)

In a mixer cream together butter and brown sugar. Add egg. Add applesauce. Add trest of the dry powedered ingredients. Add nuts and raisins at the end.

Place on parchment-lined sheets in one to two tablespoon sized drops. (See photos) Space about two inches apart from each other. Depending upon your oven it should take 10-14 minutes. Look for the slighest browning on the edge and do not hesitate to gingerly lift one cookie up with a metal spatula and check underneath. Makes about four dozen.

I said previously that I had made some cookies during the Christmas holidays but had forgotten to get them up here. Well here’s the first of two cookie recipes. This is one of those classic, basic cookies. The butter cookie.

Now there’s a variety of things you can do with butter cookie dough. This particular recipe is (mainly — you’ll see what I mean at the end) for use with a cookie press or cookie “gun”. If you’re a woman you probably say press. If you’re a guy, you probably call it a gun.

A versatile batter, you can also make butter cookies by rolling them out then using cookie cutters, forming them into logs, cutting them into slices and shaping them into balls (hint, keep reading). In the past I’ve had weird success with cookies, burning the easy ones, and making excellent complicated cookies (such as biscotti).

I can’t candidly tell you why because I’m not certain what I did wrong exactly. I can tell you that my four years of cooking experience since has either given me the experience or the intuition or the “something” that I had only one or two miscalulations this time. Which is actually good because I can warn you what to be aware of as well as share a tip or two.

My first tip is avoid the bottom rack. You see, we all think our oven is even. We’ve cooked roasts and casseroles and maybe even pies and cakes, and it seems even. Until you get to the cookie. Cookie batter is hyper-sensitive. Where you think there’s no difference between front and back, left and right, top or bottom of the oven, you will learn quickly there is.

The bottom rack will always mess up your cookies. Now, some people subscribe to the notion — and I know Alton Brown is one of them — that you do a “Chinese firedrill” (my words, not his) by at the half way point, taking the bottom cookie sheets and moving them to the top, any pointing right and front to turn left and back and that this assures heating. This one I don’t seem to be capable of mastering — hey if it works for you, awesome! Since it doesn’t for me, I’m confined to the two sheets at a time insted of four method.

Which reminds me of my one mistake this year and my big tip. Oddly the first batch in I used both racks. I also forgot to try the fire drill thing. I caught the bottom in time though, and took them out only slightly overly browned. Good enough for me not to serve to guests but I could eat them fine. The second batch on the top actually did burn. This purplexed me how the ones that came out fine the first time burned the second time. I realized the cookie sheet I had had in the bottom helped deflect the burn. So the third batch I put two sheets on the top and one large empty baking sheet on the bottom rack. Perfect cookies.

Another thing, I’ve seen a lot of recipes that say make the shapes and chill them. I’m sorry. I’m a normal person. More than that, I’m a person who not only cooks but cooks a lot. My refrigerator is in an almost constant state of being too full to keep sheet after cookie sheet inside them to chill. To make it worse, I have a side-by-side refrigerator. (Hey it’s the one I have and it works, I’m not about to spring for a new one to fit in cooking sheets.) I’m betting most of you have the exact same problem. So, chilling shapes? Nice idea in a perfect world. But that’s not my world so it’s not done by me.

Ah one more thing. After a bunch of cookies, it seemed my cookie gun got tired. In other words, it got clogged, I couldn’t unclog it without having to take it a part. I got inpatient and I had only a bit of batter left. So the last batch I spread out, put some dried cranberries on top, mushed them in, made them into balls and cooked two minutes longer than the rest for a totally different treat. (Told you if you read to the end you’d get rewarded. There, two recipes in one.)

One final thing. This isn’t my recipe. That is, I got it off the Internet from a location that had general recipes and no one’s name attached to this. Mind you, I did make a modification or two from the original and the Great Law of Cooking says I could therefore call these mine. But since this recipe is generally so basic and generic, and my modifications so small, let’s just leave it that way. So I’m leaving my copyright off this puppy.

Butterflies or butter cookies … let them be free!

Homemade Butter Cookies

1 cup and three tbsps (19 tbsps) butter
2-1/2 cups flour (all purpose)
1-1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 tsps cream of tartar
salt, a pinch (unless using salted butter)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat to 375°F. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix wet ingredients seperately in the mixing bowl. Turn on mixer to beat or medium for a few minutes. Turn mixer to low. Slowly add dry ingredients a bit at a time. Mix a few more minutes. Take the bowl to the counter and start filling up your cooking press or gun and go to work.

This batter works nicely on ungreased cookie sheets. I suggest doing two at a time on the top rack and placing an empty cookie sheet on the bottom rack. Depending upon your oven it should take 6-9 minutes. Look for the slighest browning on the edge and do not hesitate to gingerly lift one cookie up with a metal spatula and check underneath. Makes roughly 100 cookies.

For a variation: Skip the cookie gun, instead take some dough, add some dried cranberries — sweetened ones are the best — and mix into dough and form tablespoon-sized balls or ovals. For these add two minutes cooking time but even more careful of not over-browning the bottoms.