Sure this apple butter recipe takes many hours to cook, but the recipe is quite easy (after you slice 5 pounds of apples), and once done, you have what is basically a spreadable apple pie filling, only better. Buttered toast sold separately. And, that’s just the beginning of what you can do with this miraculous mixture.
It’s perfect used as a garnish for cheese plates, especially alongside some nice sharp cheddar, or spread on some cheesy biscuits, which I believe we posted a recipe for last year. Other approved uses include spreading between the layers of a spice cake, filling seasonably appropriate thumbprint cookies, or even as a condiment for pork chops. Sorry, apple sauce.
This is quite a simple procedure using a slow cooker as seen herein, but if you don’t have one you can certainly do it on top of the stove over low heat, as long as you use a nice thick-bottomed pot, and stir often. Another option would be to place the mixture in a large roasting pan, and cook it in a slow oven, stirring occasionally until dark and thick.
No matter what method used to cook this, your house will smell amazing, as in they wish they could make scented candles that smell even close to this good. So, for those reasons and more I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for about 4 cups of Apple Butter:
5 pounds Granny Smith, cored, sliced
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg splash of water, about 1/2 cup
I was watching golf the other day, and the announcer said that great golfers don’t need lessons, they only need reminders, and I immediately thought how well that saying applies to cooking. Well, this creamy chicken toast recipe is both a lesson (aka recipe) and a reminder, and a comforting one at that.
We’ll get to the recipe, but first, the reminder. Sometimes even I forget just how simple it is to make a cream sauce by reducing heavy cream. Almost every “cream sauce” you see is really milk thickened with some type of starch, usually a roux. These sauces are easy, and delicious, and we’ve made hundreds of them, but once in a while it’s nice to have the thing those concoctions are meant to mimic.
If you’re worried this might be too rich for you, keep in mind that by the time we add all the buttery roux to a milk-based sauce, we’re getting pretty close to the fat content of this. So, why not just do this with cream all the time? Cream is way more expensive than milk, and that’s before we reduce it. How much more? You know the old saying…if you have to ask, use milk.
As far as the recipe goes, I loved how this came out, but it begs for adaptation, especially when it comes to which diced veggies to toss in. Just be sure you cooked whatever you're using before you add the cream, since once that reduces, your dish is done, still crunchy vegetables, or not. Besides that, not much can go wrong, and a lot can go right, so I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Welcome to another episode of food you only see in restaurants, starring the always eye-catching “airline chicken” breast. Legend has it that the name comes from the fact this cut of chicken is shaped like an airplane wing, but that’s not actually the reason.
This beautiful breast is known as airline chicken because it was such a popular menu item back in the day, when airlines still gave their guests real food. Above and beyond the wing-like shape, this worked so well is because food for air travel needs to be cooked way ahead of time, which means it can dry out, especially something like a chicken breast, but by leaving the wing joint attached, that becomes a little less likely. Plus, once you finished your breast, you got to eat a chicken wing drumette. Now that’s value-added service.
As I mentioned in the video, please feel free to use whatever spices and seasoning you wish, since that will not affect the technique at all. I should have used fresh herbs inside for a little nicer appearance once sliced, but I think I more than made up for that with the sprig of rosemary. Regardless of how you flavor yours, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Even though I only do it once every few years or so, making salmon gravlax at home is a fun weekend project, and with very little effort, you can produce some very impressive results. I’ve always done this with the traditional fresh dill sprigs, but after enjoying a beet-stained version at Plaj, I decided to try my hand. And, also stain my hand.
If you’re just doing a small tail piece like I did, these times and measurements should get you close to what you see here, but if you're feeling adventurous, and want to do something larger, then you may have to do some research for techniques that work better when doing a thicker piece of fish.
Those slightly more complicated methods involve turning, draining, and basting, to account for a longer curing time.So what I’m trying to say is, you can avoid all that by just doing a smaller piece, which, unless you’re hosting a large party, should be plenty. Speaking of large parties, and the litigious people that sometime attend them, please be sure to get your salmon from a reliable source.
I think a brick works great for a press, but anything that weighs a few pounds would be fine, as long as it’s large, and flat enough to distribute the weight evenly. A book with a few cans of soup on it would do the trick. Regardless of how you press yours, once unwrapped, sliced, and served on a toasted bagel, I think you’ll agree it was worth the wait. So, I really do hope you give this gravlax technique a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 6 to 10 ounces of Gravlax:
8 to 12 ounce tail section of fresh salmon with skin on (scaled)
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup white sugar
cayenne and/or freshly ground black pepper to taste
enough grated beet and/or fresh dill springs to thickly cover fish
- Press with something heavy, and let cure in fridge for 1 1/2 days, or until salmon is firm, and translucent when sliced. You can carefully unwrap, and poke to test, and then rewrap, and let cure longer if need be.
Ever since I saw Alton Brown grilling skirt steak on hot coals, I’ve wanted to try this technique for a larger hunk of meat, but it was the realization that no one had yet called a recipe “barbarian beef,” that provided the final push.
By the way, I did no historical research, but I assume your average barbarian was too busy pillaging to lug a grill around, and just cooked their meat right on the coals. So, for the purposes of this post, that's the story we'll be going with.
I used top round for this, and if you’re just going to slice it thin, and make sandwiches it’s fine, but now that I have a little experience, I’d like to try it with a tenderer cut. No matter what you use, you’ll want to take it off a few degrees under whatever your regular internal temp target is, since it definitely continues to cook after you take it off the coals.
It’ll depend on the size/shape of your cut, but use a thermometer to check, as the temp will probably climb by at least 10 degrees. Above and beyond doneness, the flavor of the beef really was great. Very similar to something off a grill, but with a little bit deeper level of smokiness. Even if you don’t cook your steak on the coals, the sauce was quite nice, and comes highly recommended, but officially, I really do hope you give both a try soon. Enjoy!
This seafood sausage recipe is one of those dishes you learn in culinary school, and then never make in a restaurant, the rest of your career. Unlike your more common meat-based sausages, which are made from assorted scraps, and you really don’t want to know, these seafood sausages need pristine product to shine, thereby eliminating the money-saving incentive of making sausage.
However, despite their lack of popularity, these really are a great way to take less than thrilling seafood, like some sleepy sole, and previously frozen salmon, and make something that seems far more special. The flavor is lovely, and the texture is similar to a boudin blanc, or white hot dog, if you prefer.
If you want something with a courser texture, simply make the sausage mixture as shown, but then fold in a few handfuls of chopped shrimp, scallop, or any other seafood. Once cooked, and sliced, you’ll see pieces of whatever you added studding the link. I actually prefer the smooth style, but it’s fun to experiment. Either way, I really do hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 Seafood Sausages:
8 ounces boneless, skinless sole or other white fish
4 ounces boneless, skinless salmon
4 ounces peeled, deveined shrimp
2 tablespoons plain dry breadcrumbs
4 large egg whites
1 large whole egg
2 teaspoons kosher salt (or maybe 1 1/4 teaspoon fine salt)
Even though they only require a few of ingredients, and the technique to make them only takes a few seconds to learn, homemade corn tortillas do take a fair amount of experience to master, because of all the variables. But, don’t let that stop you from trying, since the results, even as produced by a novice, are vastly superior to ones from the grocery store. They’re also significantly cheaper, but the “vastly superior” part is more than enough reason.
That’s because a bag of Maseca, which is the most commonly found brand of masa flour in U.S. grocery stores, and the one I used, is very inexpensive, and will make hundreds of tortillas. So, the instant corn masa flour isn’t a variable, but pretty much everything else is. From the amount of water, to how much salt, to how hot a pan to use, to how long to cook them; everyone seems to have a little bit different system.
When it comes to the water, you’ll know you have the right amount, if your tortillas press out to a nice round, relatively smooth-edged shape. If the outside edge of the tortilla has cracks once pressed, then you need more water. On the other hand, if the tortilla sticks to your fingers, or breaks apart getting it off the plastic, then it was too wet. Adjust accordingly. And like I said, give yourself a few years to experiment.
As far as the pan, I go with a cast-iron skillet, which I get nice and hot over high heat, and then I’ll back it down to about medium while I cook my tortillas. I also tend to cook mine a little longer in the pan than is traditional, but I enjoy that nice, lightly-toasted corn flavor you get when a little bit of browning occurs. A few extra seconds in the pan is fine, as long as they are stacked, and wrapped in the towel, which is probably the most important step in the entire operation.
In fact, eat one of these right from the pan, and then compare it to one that you’ve let steam together with the rest of the tortillas in the towel. You’ll be truly amazed at the difference. So, if you enjoy store-bought corn tortillas, but always wondered what the real stuff was like, I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!
After posting the long, and relatively complicated croissants video last week, I decided to take a little mental break, and do a video for how to put together a holiday cheese board. I’ve wanted to do this one for a while, and since we’re in the middle of entertaining season, I thought the timing was perfect.
It’s always stressful to have people coming over this time of the year. You want to please, and impress, but there never seems to be enough time to get everything done, especially in the kitchen, and that’s when a well-designed cheese board can save the day.
They’re fast to put together, and you don’t need any special skills, other than being able to talk to strangers at the fancy grocery store. Most feature extensive cheese selections, and it’s been my experience that the people who work in those departments love helping you pick out your cheese.
I know this, since I’m married to one of those people. Michele used to sell cheese in various shops and charcuteries, and her selection/pairing skills are legendary. Customers would simply tell her how many guests were coming, as well as what was being served, in particular, which adult beverages, and she would work her magic.
I gave you our basic approach for composing one of these boards, but there are many different ways you can go, so I encourage you to find the “Michele” at whichever place you’re buying your cheese. You won’t regret it. No matter which cheeses you end up with, or how you garnish them, I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
Le Mothais sur Feuille - Goat Cheese Prunes Fuyu Persimmons Bread - Rye Krisp Knife - Combo (spread, slice, stab)
Manchego Membrillo - Sheep Cheese Quince paste Bread - water crackers Knife - slice and stab (knife with holes)
I usually try new recipes, or techniques because they sound delicious, or unusual, but once in a while I’ll try something just because it sounds impossible, and that was the case with these flaxseed crackers.
I heard that if you mix flaxseeds with an equal amount of water, let it hydrate, spread it thin, and bake it in a low oven, you’ll get light, crispy, and surprisingly tasty crackers. I heard right.
I generally like to leave eating seeds to the birds, but these have a very mild nutty/earthy flavor, and while quite light, they’re still study enough to use with your favorite dips and spreads. Above and beyond the taste, I find that these start to lose their crispiness after about a day, so if you make them ahead of time, I’d re-crisp them in the oven again for maybe 30 minutes to dry them back out.
Also, please feel free to season these more creatively than I did. Although a plain cracker is perfect for pairing with a slice of cheese, I can’t help but think there are so many other ways these could’ve been spiced-up. Regardless of what you add to yours, I really hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!
PLEASE NOTE: I've been told that whole flax seeds are not fully digestible, and to get the health benefits you should use flaxseed meal, but other sources are telling me that the soaking, and chewing takes care of that, maybe. Probably not a big deal unless you're going to eat a whole batch, but consider yourself warned if you are sensitive to high-fiber foods! Ingredients for 32 Flaxseed Crackers:
1 cup raw flax seeds
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
pinch of cayenne
1 cup cold water
- Soak overnight, then bake at 200 F. for 3 hours, or until crispy.
Armed with nothing more than a sharp boning knife, and some patience, pretty much anyone can make this visually impressive, “chicken little.” At least that’s what I’m calling it, for lack of a better name. In the business, this is sometimes referred to as an individual chicken ballotine, which really doesn’t have much of a ring to it.
I was thinking of going with “pear chicken,” but then I’d have to deal with all those “where’s the pear?” comments. Anyway, regardless of the name, this is a real showstopper, and easily adaptable when it comes to seasonings, and glazes. I did the simplest pan sauce possible, by deglazing the drippings with a splash of chicken stock, but you could use wine, and/or demiglace, to fancy it up even more.
I’m recommending that we cook this to an internal temp of 150 F., to ensure ultra-juicy meat, which will terrify some of you, “Henny Penny’s”. I still see recommendations online to roast chicken to 165 F., which is not only crazy, but completely unnecessary. Anything that would harm you is killed at 140 F., so please try to relax.
Since there is a bit of production involved, I do suggest making these ahead, and keeping them in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. Not only will they roast to an even more beautiful golden brown, but your flavored butter ingredients inside will have time to permeate the meat. So, whether you’re making these to impress guests at a dinner party, or just improve your knife skills, or both, I really hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 2 portions:
one 1.5 pound game hen (this will work with any size bird, but roasting times will change)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the butter:
1 clove garlic, sliced
large pinch of salt and pepper
1 teaspoon minced thyme and rosemary
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup seasoned chicken broth to deglaze and reduce in roasting pan
- Roast at 450 F. for about 30 minutes, or until internal temp of 150 F.
Everyone loves a traditional turkey dinner with all the fixings, but because of the time and work involved, we usually only get to enjoy it once a year on Thanksgiving. So, what if we create a second holiday, called “Little Thanksgiving,” and feature this smaller, and much easier, Hasselback turkey?
By the way, when I say easier, that assumes we’ve figured out how to carve it significantly better than I demonstrated in the video.
A thinner, more flexible knife would have been much better, as well as just slicing off one section at a time. I may try another one, but before stuffing, I'll go around the outside edge of the breast with a knife, cutting in about an inch, where it attaches to the bone. This would still leave most of the meat attached at the center, and probably make slicing simpler.
I guess we could try using a boneless breast, but I really think the ribcage is important for keeping the meat, if you’ll pardon the expression, moist. If you’ve tried this sans bones, please let me know how it came out. Regardless, since these breasts can really vary in size, be sure to use a thermometer to check doneness. So, whether you do this for regular Thanksgiving, or that new “Little Thanksgiving” everyone is talking about, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 2 large or 4 smaller portions:
one 2 to 3 pound split turkey breast, bone in, skin on
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon melted butter for brushing on before roasting
For the very basic stuffing:
2 cups small dry bread cubes
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning (dried sage, rosemary, and thyme)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper and cayenne to taste
1/2 cup diced onion and 1/2 cup diced celery sautéed in butter until golden
1 cup hot chicken broth, plus more if needed
1 large egg yolk
NOTE: In the video I said to roast at 350 F., to an internal temp of 150 F., but in hindsight, I’m thinking that a 375 F. oven would work better.
For the stuffing, try these recipes, and cook the extra mixture in a pan alongside your Hasselback Turkey Breast.
As promised, here is the rice-flour coated chicken wings recipe I teased in the mumbo sauce video. It’s hard to believe that this is the first fried wings video we’ve ever done, but that was the case, which is why I’m so glad these turned out as well as they did.
Besides being gluten-free, which is probably a big deal to a small, but enthusiastic part of my audience, this rice flour coating ended up being light, crispy, and extremely sauce friendly.
The original buffalo style chicken wings are fried without any type of coating, and while I do enjoy them that way, they aren’t the best at holding on to a sauce. This is why people started adding some kind of starch to the outside, which creates a less slick, rougher surface, that really grabs onto whatever you’re dipping, or tossing them in.
By the way, before your wings get coated with the flour, you’re free to spice these anyway you want. Other than the salt, everything else is up for grabs. I went very simple, as I usually do, but the mind reels at the possibilities. Regardless of how you flavor yours, I really do hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for *one pound of rice crispy chicken wings:
1 pound chicken wing sections (flats and drums)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon fine salt)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 cup rice flour, preferably "stone-ground" (you can grind you own in a spice mill)
* This can be scaled up to however large a batch you need. I usually allow 1/2 pound of wings per person for a party.
- If you’re doing a larger batch, be sure to give the wings a toss or two during the refrigeration time. By the way, two hours would be a minimum, but if you want, you can leave these overnight with the seasoning.
