A new year!

I have a quick post for the new year. There is one thing that every kitchen needs, it's a set of nice knives. The second thing every kitchen needs, someone who knows how to sharpen them. A couple weeks ago I sharpened my butcher sized knives, and man, I should have done it a while back. It makes a huge difference. Having a sharper knife is safer- you will cut what you intend instead of slipping off and getting your finger instead. Counter-intuitive, but true.

I always thought those big pieces of steel that come in your knife block were for sharpening... well that is almost true. Your knife at the very edge is a bunch of fragmented edges that bend either way. When someone pulls that piece of steel out and looks all professional, all they are doing are lining those edges up to be straight. While that refines how the blade is, it is really not doing a true sharpening of the blade. You will see a difference after using that steel, but if your knives are dull, it doesn't make much difference.

Here is where I come in- I have a good kit to use to sharpen your knives. It doesn't take much time, and has some safety features built in. A Colorado company Spyderco sells this great kit. You don't need oils, it doesn't take long to do one knife. I received this as a gift a couple years ago for Xmas. It's a great set. It comes with a DVD to show you how to do it. You will love having a sharp set of knives, and it is pretty easy.

Happy New Year, everyone!

-edit-
I just went to the web site and realized I wasn't being specific enough. Spyderco is a great company to buy knives, and as such, they have more than one sharpening option. I was referring to http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=77 the " sharpening triangle". It has two different sharpening stones, you turn them to get the refining you need, and you can pick if you want 30 degrees or 40. (I think those were the choices) Anyway, email me if you have questions.

-edit part two-
I got a new knife in my collection for Xmas- it's pretty nice. It's ceramic, I don't know if it will ever need to be sharpened- it'll hold it's edge for a long time. Check it out!

Party Makings: Chicken Tortilla Soup and Blue Cheese Bacon Dip

I have two new recipes to share today. We threw a party over the weekend, and got requests to share two of the things we made. It was supposed to end up walking at the zoo in the evening to see the holiday lights, so I made a soup to try and warm everyone up before we went. I guess everyone was having too good a time and we just kept on drinking mojitos and wine at our house.

The first is chicken tortilla soup. This is a recipe from a couple friends of mine- they made it for us years ago, and it was so good, I asked them for the recipe for this party. I doubled the batch, and it was almost gone by the end of the night. It's also pretty easy- not a ton of prep time.

2 Tbs vegetable oil. (I used my standby- olive oil)
1 med onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped (I put 2 in)
4 cups chicken broth
1 red bell pepper chopped into dice
1 tsp red chili flakes (I ground it with my mortar and pestle- you can add more if you like it spicy)
3/4 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 15 oz can crushed tomato
2 cups cooked chicken cut into dice
1 can drained corn
3/4 tsp dried cilantro
1/2 cup chopped chilies (that come conveniently in 4 oz cans)

Tortilla chips
Shredded Monteray Jack
Sliced avocado

There are two ways to do this recipe- I usually choose the latter. Here is the first.

Heat the oil in a dutch oven. Saute the onions, garlic. Add the bell pepper to soften. Stir in all of the other ingredients save the chicken. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Add the chicken and bring up to heat.

I also did it this way: Saute the onions and garlic in a large sauce pan. Add the peppers to soften. Place those in a crock pot, and add the chicken stock to stop the cooking. Add all the ingredients, including chicken. Set the crock pot on low, and stir occasionally for a few hours. I think it was going for about 4-5 hours... the chicken got tender, and people loved it.

So a quick note about avocado. Generally, buying these things is a lot like buying bananas- the ones in the store are not close to ripe yet- but it's not as visually obvious with an avocado. Most of the time, the blacker the skin, the more ripe. It should be a little soft when you squeeze it. If you are going to do a guacamole or something, you usually need to buy them 2-3 days earlier. I will do my guac recipe later. Getting the pit out is pretty easy- cut them lengthwise all the way around. Grab both halves in the palm of your hands and twist- the pit will come out in one side. Take that side, hold it in your palm, and quickly hit it with your butcher knife- sticking it in the side. Twist it, and the pit will come right out.

Have people add in the avocado and chips they want, have them sprinkle it over with the cheese.

Our second recipe comes from a Southern Living cookbook. This is a sinful dip- nothing about it is good for you, but everyone ate it anyway.

Blue Cheese-Bacon Dip

8 slices of bacon ( I'm pretty sure I put more in )
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 8-oz packages of cream cheese
1/3 cup half and half
1 4 oz package of blue cheese (I love my blue cheese, I bought premium very creamy stuff for this)
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted (I was running late by this time in the night- I didn't toast mine. It was fine anyway)

Cook bacon and pat dry on paper towels, removing the grease. (quick note on that- I love bacon, but I hate the house smelling like bacon after I cook it. My outside grill has a side burner- I always cook bacon using that) Chop into little pieces. I cooked it longer than I usually do to get it crispy for this dip. Saute the garlic with a little of the bacon fat. Use an electric mixer to whip up the cream cheese. Add the half and half, and beat until smooth. Add the onion, 3/4 of the bacon, 3/4 of walnuts, garlic, and blue cheese- whip until smooth. Place in the 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Mix again, sprinkle bacon and nuts on top and serve. We did it in a fondue pot so we could keep it warm. We served this with various crudité- veges, toasted french bread and crackers.

Oh, use your big mixer and bowl for this. I spun cream cheese on my clothes and all over the kitchen. While this was funny for the wife, I thought I was smarter than that. doh!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Crab Cakes

I have never been a fan of these crab cake things. Frying meat, and frying breaded meat is one of those things that I can't get behind. I have given it the old college try- while we were in Budapest on our honeymoon, I ordered the extreme- I think it was chicken wrapped around a pâté, breaded and deep fried. As if that wasn't enough, they drizzled some cream based sauce over it. Possibly the richest meat dish I have ever had. I could only eat about a third of what they gave me. That is saying something- I have done haggis while in Scotland and quite liked it, and I love pâté. I remember my mom bringing home tins of pâté for me when she went to France.

As it turns out, my wife loves crab cakes, and I'm one for a challenge- I'm not so hot at cooking something I don't love, and my wife cannot stand mayo, which is generally a staple ingredient. I think I came up with a decent compromise recipe.

1 lb super lump crab meat (had to go look up what lump crab is. wiki it!)
1/4 cup mayonnaise ( I put less in because my wife hates it so much )
1 tablespoon fresh dill minced (Be careful with this, I think I put too much in- I did almost 2 Tbs. I love the flavor, but I think I over did it)
2-3 scallions, finely chopped
2 large eggs
3-4 Tbs panko crumbs
2-3 tsp seafood seasoning- Old Bay is good. I had never used this before, but if you look online, it's in recipes everywhere. It wasn't in the spices aisle at my grocery store, I finally found it in the meat-seafood area.
ground salt and pepper to taste

If you have mixed a tuna salad, this will be exactly the same for you. Whip up the eggs, then add all the other ingredients. Pour over the crab and mix with your hands. When I say "mix to taste" I think it can vary from house to house. Ever since I stopped smoking, I am very sensitive to salt. You may notice that I don't add a lot in. The real rule for me is that you can't take it out again once added, and you can always add a little at the table.

So, I have tasted this again, as part of a green salad I made for my wife. I still think I over did it on the dill, but I think it's still tasty.

We have a pretty handy little cast iron griddle. I stuck that in the oven at 425 until heated. I patted together four patties, and grilled/cooked them for about five minutes on a side. Served them up kind of like a burger- sliced up some onion and tomato, put them on a piece of bread, made up some cocktail sauce with ketchup and horseradish. My wife did the heavy lifting on the prep of the plate- she threw some sweet potato fries in the oven, and cut up all the toppings.

I had leftover after making four burger sized patties, and I had a bit of my green chili from the last batch. My wife had the idea of mixing the two together. She likes her crab cakes with a little spice added- adding some red pepper flakes from the get go would work well. I'll post a comment on this thread as to how the green-chili version worked, that might be lunch today. Happy Thanksgiving!

One more ice cream recipe

I'm getting harassed to post more ice cream. This is one I haven't tried yet, but looks great!

Ben and Jerry have different tastes in Chocolate. This is Ben's mixed with Reese's Peanut Butter cups. Freeze the cups, and cut into pieces. They call for one cup. I think you should at least double that. Watch your fingers as you do that, you could hurt yourself!

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2 cups heavy or whipping cream
Editorial:
Heavy cream has more fat than whipping cream.
Many recipes call for half and half- a lower cal version still.
I usually go with heavy cream, and that is why I'm not doing a couple quarts of ice cream every other day.
1 tsp vanilla
1 pinch of salt

The recipe calls for a double boiler, but my wife is correct in saying that melting chocolate in the microwave is the easiest way. Do it this way for your choco fondue as well! Whisk in the milk slowly until smooth. Remove from heat and let sit to cool.

Whisk the eggs until fluffy. Whisk in the sugar _very_ gradually. I can't emphasize how important it is to do the sugar thing slowly- it will make or break your recipe. It's the same with vanilla, you think your hand is falling off. Add the cream, vanilla, and salt. Blend it up.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the cream and blend.

Refrigerate until cold for at least 3 hours. Stick it in the maker and go for the required time. Add the pieces of candy in the last two minutes as usual. I haven't done this recipe, but I think it will be great! Let me know!

Valentines Day Surprise - Shrimp Stir-Fry

I think it is likely that my wife might get into some trouble with her parents when I tell this next story. For some time after she moved into her house, the front door lock wouldn't work. This got fixed eventually, but it worked out for a surprise dinner I cooked up on Valentines day. I left work early, and drove down to her place before she got home and cooked the following recipe from the food network web site. Shrimp is one of her favorite foods, so I was pretty sure this one would be a hit. She wasn't ready for someone to be in her kitchen when she got home though- in retrospect, possibly not one of my most brilliant ideas.

Thai Shrimp Stir-fry with Tomatoes and Basil- slimmed.

2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs water
2 tsp southeast Asian fish sauce
4 tsp light brown sugar
3 tbs peanut oil
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 tbs grated ginger
1/2 to 1 tsp red chili flakes (season to your taste)
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 medium red onion, cut in 1-inch dice
1 yellow pepper cut into 1-inch dice
1 jalapeno sliced into thin rounds
2 cups cherry tomatoes halved. (those slightly smaller ones you can get work well)
3/4 cup basil, torn by hand
1/4 cup mint, torn by hand
2 tbs freshly squeezed lime juice
serving suggestion: Jasmine rice

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, water, fish sauce, and sugar. Set aside. Heat the oil in a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. (break out that wok if you have one. get it nice and hot) Add the garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds. Add the shrimp and stir-fry until pink but still translucent in the middle- maybe 2 minutes. Transfer the shrimp with a slotted spoon to a medium bowl. Add the onion, yellow pepper, and jalapeno to the skillet and stir fry for about 2 minutes. Return the shrimp with the soy sauce mixture. Bring to a boil to glaze the shrimp. Turn the heat off and add the tomatoes, basil, mint, and lime juice. Transfer to your serving plate and serve immediately.

As stated above, jasmine rice is a great flavor for this recipe, so have it cooking at the same time. This recipe is quite low cal- 286 calories per serving. Lots of flavor and no guilt!

Hard Boiled Eggs- the easier way

After years of doing hard boiled eggs from the fridge to the boiling water, I found out it is better to do them this way. You always "shock" them when you put them in the water, and as an engineer, I should have figured this out earlier. If they break, surely your Easter is ruined. Ok, it's not ruined, but then you have weird, ethereal boiled egg whites to deal with, and no one needs that.

Put the eggs in your pot and submerge them in water- should be about a half inch over the top. Bring the pot to a boil, turn off the heat and cover with a lid. Let it sit for about 12 minutes. I then submerge them in ice water which does two things. The cooking stops, and it makes them easier to peel. Another odd tip about eggs this way- they are easier to peel if they are a little older. Buy them a week before you cook them.

They are a great low cal snack, give 'em a try with a little salt!

-edit-

The NEW easiest way!


Get out your rice cooker, get it steaming, and then eggs in there for 12 minutes. Pull them out and let them rest on a paper towel.

done and done!

Al's Dip Unleashed!

Our Al's dip is a family favorite. So much so it got a family name! I'm not sure how Al's dip became famous that way, but we are keeping it.

It is very easy to make:

Cube a two pound block of velveta. I know, it's crazy.

Brown a pound of hamburger and drain.

Melt the cheese in a large bowl in the microwave on medium for two minutes at a time. Mix it up at the end of each two minute stint. After it's all melted, add the hamburger. Another two minutes in the microwave makes it easy to mix.

Add your favorite salsa to taste. We use Pace medium, usually. Have plenty of corn chips on hand for this one- it's a party favorite as well!

BTW, the wife wants a crack at this as a guest poster- she wants a clear record about how I'm OCD. Look forward to that post!

-edit-

I recently made this for the new years party we attended- but it just wasn't tasting spicy enough for me. I found some habenero pepper hot sauce we had in the fridge and added that. It added a little more zing to the mixture.

-edit 2-

Most recently I used ground chuck, and it was that much better- the meat was more tender and delish. I am also toying around with other hot sauces you find at the grocery. So far I like the habenero mentioned above the best.