Around The Culinary World

Good morning everyone! Welcome back to a new week here at Out Of The Culinary. After a rough week last week, we're back with some medical news (more on that in a minute) and with a new batch of culinary stories to share to get your week started off right! The week, we've got stories ranging from Taco Bell's great legal meat dispute, tips to organize your kitchen and a Super Bowl menu for those who find their wallets to be a little more 'full' than others.

First and foremost, however, is our medical situation. As we said last week - Maggie was going in for a surgical consultation on Friday (28th) in order to find out exactly what her options were when it came to this difficult gallbladder problem she's been fighting for months. Long story short - surgery is scheduled and we're finally on the path to making Maggie feel 100% again. In the meantime, however, the doctor did suggest that we make some adjustments to her diet - in order to keep the gallbladder attacks down to a smaller scale. This presents a challenge for a cooking blog, obviously, as our once full menu now has to be carefully scripted and crafted around the foods that are deemed 'gallbladder friendly'. The doctor suggested that we switch to a bland diet - mainly mashed potatoes and oatmeal. Maggie isn't having any of that. Flavor, she states (rather stubbornly) is imperative. So, for the next two weeks, we're going to be taking an interesting diversion down the culinary road. Yes, we're still going to be cooking creative dishes and still plan on making delicious meals 3 nights per week - but now our ingredient list is hampered and our menu is trimmed. As such, you can expect a much tamer menu for the next couple of weeks. We will touch on each menu item (regarding why it's 'okay' for Maggie) as we present the dish, but just wanted to drop an FYI to keep our readers in the loop.

Now, on to the stories of the week!

The biggest news of the week has to center around Taco Bell. The news broke late Monday afternoon (after we had already shared our stories for the week - of course!) that an Alabama law firm was suing Taco Bell for false advertising, claiming that their 'seasoned beef' as advertised in commercials was not technically beef. The lawsuit centers around the USDA standard for products to be called beef. In order to advertise any item as containing beef - you have to have 40% beef in the product.

Let's stop right there for a second. Is anyone else shocked, nay, appalled by the fact that 40% is the percentage needed to be called beef? Shouldn't it be like...oh, I don't know? 80% 100% Heck at the very least it should have to be 51% beef to be called beef. I think it's the least we can ask for - a product that labels itself as beef to AT LEAST be 50% beef. 40% is a disgustingly low number.

The law firm claimed that Taco Bell fills their seasoned beef with (tasty?) binders and fillers that lower the percentage of actual beef in their seasoned beef to 35%. This, says the law firm, is false advertising and entitles someone (*cough*the law firm*cough*) to millions of dollars of Taco Bell's money.

Now, I don't know about you - but if someone made a blatantly false claim about me, I'd come out swinging. I'd yell from the rooftops, I'd go on Oprah - I'd do everything humanly possible to get my message out there and clear my name. TV commercials - full page newspaper ads... to their credit - Taco Bell did just that:

Taco Bell is fighting back, and fighting back HARD. Online ads, full page newspaper ads, they are not pulling any punching in getting their message to anyone who will care to read it. I'd imagine a countersuit for defamation and damages is in the Alabama law firm's future. 

Obviously, there still is a lot to be decided with this case. We can't simply say that Taco Bell has freed itself from the claims just because they are fighting back so aggressively. A story like this has the potential to destroy a company. In the short, customers may choose to skip Taco Bell while they find out all of the facts. In the long term (assuming this case has merit) Taco Bell could suffer greatly. If it's proven that their tacos only contain 35% beef (or less) I don't see how they could recover. That is reputation damage that corporations simply cannot outlast. 

In the end, the moral of the story is simple. Beef only has to have 40% beef to be called beef - be wary of fast food restaurants - even if they claim to use beef. It might only be 40% of what you think it is. Anyone else feel ill? 

Speaking of reasons to avoid fast food - The Huffington Post has a collection of the 10 worst fast food items (from a nutritional value standpoint). Oddly enough, the first item on the list is from Taco Bell... Click through to see the most heart stopping menu items from a multitude of fast food eateries. If you weren't motivated to cut down on eating out before - you might be after reading this! 

Seriously? How can this NOT be healthy! Just look at the slice of lettuce - and the tomato!

Next weekend, the greatest American sporting spectacle will get underway- the Super Bowl. Accompanying the big game is the always (if not equally than maybe more so) popular Super Bowl party. Nachos, little smokies, dip, chips, beer, hotdogs - you name it - it's all fair game for the big game. Did you ever wonder what the folks sitting in the multi-million dollar skyboxes were eating during the game? Well, now you can see for yourself. The menu for one such skybox has been revealed (courtesy of The Stir). Check it out and see how the high rollers fill their faces while multi-million dollar players pound their faces in on the field below. 

Above: NOT the Super Bowl spread for the millionaires

If you're like us, you have a lot of kitchen gear, and very little kitchen space in which to store said gear. The Daily Meal has composed a list of kitchen products and gadgets that can help you organize your kitchen, reduce the clutter and even help keep some kitchen utensils in better condition for longer. Check out the full list of space saving ideas HERE. 

Finally, America - you can rest at ease. After decades of research, after multiple test - the debate has been settled. We have finally discovered the perfect breakfast food. Bid adieu to bagels, say farewell to eggs and cereal can just stay home, because the folks at Eatingwell.com have discovered that this item is the king of the breakfast heap! Find out for yourself by reading the story HERE. 

That's all we have for you on this week's edition of Around The Culinary World. We have a full menu of recipes coming up this week, I will be cooking on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Maggie will finish us off on Thursday. As we said, we're shooting for a gallbladder friendly menu, so it's sure to be a week like you've never seen before on the blog. Be sure to stop back tomorrow evening to see what I've got cooking. Until then, 

~Cheers

A Return To Cooking - And Frittatas

Good evening everyone!  Yes, finally after a long, three day battle with my abdomen area, I am finally feeling somewhat better.  Granted, I could be 100%, but I can take what I'll get.  I've been struggling with my gall bladder for about 3-4 months now, and Monday was the most severe attack I've had up to date - I don't wish it upon my worst enemy.  I've seen several doctors, had an ultrasound, a scan to see at what level my gall bladder has been functioning at...and finally, I (or rather one of my doctors) decided that I need to get surgery consultation.  It's kinda crazy at 24 that I've had to deal with all pain and symptoms...and hopefully, we'll get some answers tomorrow.


One of items "prescribed" to me is that I start eating bland food: oatmeal, mashed potatoes, etc.  As a foodie, that is like a death sentence.  And it has been hard to stick to that routine, since we do like to cook.  But alas, tonight, I wanted to cook something up that was not only simple and easy to digest, but also flavorful and incredibly delicious.


The Recipe:  Mushroom and Bacon Frittata with Roasted Tomatoes
Original Recipe Found In:  Bon Appetite Magazine, December 2010

What You'll Need:
1 10.5 Ounce Container Grape Tomatoes
3/4 Cup Diced Shallots, Divided
1 Teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Slices Applewood-Smoked Bacon, Chopped
12 Ounces Mushroom, Cut Into 3/4 Inch Dice (About 5 Cups)
2 1/2 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Basil, Divided
6 Large Eggs
1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
Nonstick Vegetable Oil Spray
1/3 Cup Crumbled Soft Fresh Goat Cheese
Splash of Balsamic Vinegar

Now, I will tell you up front, that we made several drastic alterations to the recipe.  I have found, due to my gall bladder being wonky, that tomatoes or anything tomato based (i.e. salsa) have a negative reaction to my tummy.  After my episode this past week, I decided to nix the entire tomato portion out of the recipe...for the sake of body.  If you are testing out this recipe at home and can handle/love tomatoes, I'll go ahead and include the tomato portion.  Also, we did not use five cups of mushrooms.  I haven't quite got Tyler hooked on mushrooms...yet.  But I found a small can of it up in our cupboard and hopefully, the bites between the mushrooms would be minimal.

To start, position the rock in the top third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.  Place tomatoes and 1/4 cup shallots in a large skillet.  Add oil and toss to coat.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place in oven; roast tomatoes until soft, 15 minutes.  Transfer roasted tomatoes to a medium bowl; set aside.


Meanwhile, cook bacon in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp.  Now..."until crisp" also has another meaning, as in "watch very carefully so it doesn't get so crispy it's black."  I learned this the hard way...yet again.  But, when chopping the bacon, make sure it's not in itty-bitty little pieces.  Half inch portions will work just fine.


Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a medium bowl.  Add mushrooms and remaining 1/2 cup shallots to any drippings in the skillet.  Cook until brown and tender, 8 minutes, stirring often.  Stir mushroom mixture and 1 1/2 tablespoons basil into bacon.  Season with salt and pepper.


Whisk eggs and mustard in large bowl.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Spray same skillet generously with the nonstick spray; place over medium-high heat one minute.  Scatter mushroom mixture in skillet.  Pour eggs evenly over.  Sprinkle with goat cheese.  Cook one minute to set the bottom of the skillet.  Place in oven.  Bake until just set in center, eight to ten minutes.

Run a heatproof spatula around and under frittata to loosen.  Mash a few tomatoes coarsely in a bowl.  Mix in one tablespoon basil and vinegar; season with salt and pepper.  Cut frittata into wedges and serve, with tomato mixture on top.


The End Result:

The flavor was an interesting one.  The bacon/mushroom/basil combination was so flavorful and unique and tasted great.  The cheese needs to be spread around more in the frittata, so that it's not a mouthful of cheese.  Granted the crispyness of the bacon and mushroom was a little intense, but again, everything in the recipe worked.  It's still too early to tell if my abdomen will react to this well, but I am superbly pleasant with this turnout.


Thanks Maggie (and hello everyone! This is the latest I've stepped into any blog to date. Maggie had such a good opening that I didn't need to step in until now!)  I always enjoy Maggie's variations on frittatas (I think this is variant #3 or #4) they have such complexity and interesting flavors, but the ingredients are never overly complicated. Eggs, some form of meat and a little herbs/seasoning create a form of 'egg pizza' that is simply delicious. Tonight's dish was a nice way to close off the week. Even better was the fact that we actually felt up to cooking - a big improvement from yesterday, that's for sure.

That's all we have for you this week. As always, thanks for stopping by and reading our cooking exploits for another week. (However brief they were this particular week...) We're back on Monday with another Around The Culinary world and then (hopefully) will have another full week of dishes to cook up. Also, if any cooking myths, kitchen tricks or just down right wive's tales interested in testing - be sure to send them our way. We've working on a feature where we test what works and what doesn't when it comes to kitchen remedies. Our first one will be going up sometime next week (involving onions) but we're looking for more ideas - leave them in the comments on tonight's blog or send us an email (outoftheculinary@gmail.com) or even leave a message on our Facebook wall. The options are endless! Be sure to send in your ideas! Until Monday,

~Cheers

Tonight's Dish - Chicken Soup & A Nap

Hello there everyone. Sorry to disappoint those who are tuning in to see our latest culinary creation - but there won't be any culinary creations tonight. Between Maggie and myself we have almost every illness symptom you could muster up. I awoke this morning nauseous and experiencing stomach cramps. Needless to say, it was a no good for work - and my day was spent on the couch sleeping. I'm feeling slightly better now, but in now way am I able to cook.

Maggie has been fighting gall bladder issues since Monday. Her pain has gotten worse - to the point where she can't even function normally. She missed half of work yesterday and the last few hours today. For those concerned - she has a doctor's appointment on Friday - answers should be delivered then.

Needless to say, we've seen better days. A lot of rest and chicken noodle soup is on the menu tonight. We're going to try to be back tomorrow with Maggie's recipe, but that's all pending how everyone feels. Check back tomorrow night (or watch our Facebook page) to see IF we're cooking. Until then -

~Cheers

Dinner By The Dashboard Light

Good evening everyone. Tonight's menu item is a classic - but one that faces a lot of negative connotations and turmoil. Tonight, we're serving up meatloaf. Now, depending on the type of person you are (and the type of childhood you endured) you most likely pictured one of three things here:

Option #1

Option #2

Option #3

Option #1 is the singer - Meatloaf (obviously) and isn't really relevant to tonight's blog - but there are still some who picture him when they hear 'meatloaf'. (And subsequently start humming 'Paradise By The Dashboard Light') Option #2 is the most common image associated with meatloaf. Nasty - dripping in some form of grease (gravy?) and full of heaven-knows what's. Option 2 is ready to crawl right out of the tray, hope on your head and give your brains a good nibble. It's terrifying, it's nauseating, it's anything but appetizing. 

As a kid, I always thought of meatloaf as option 2. This has to be due to the thousands of kids shows during my days (Rocko's Modern Life, Salute Your Shorts, Angry Beavers - heck I think even the Rugrats made a crack or two at meatloaf's expense.) The jokes were always the same - somebody mentions meatloaf - they make a quick cutaway to something that resembles food either crawling, oozing, or otherwise being gross and then run away. It's all fun and games - except as a kid, I didn't know that meatloaf didn't have to be gross. For the longest time, I associated the phrase 'meatloaf' with negative images. 

Many years later, my mom introduced her meatloaf recipe to the family and I was converted. Meatloaf wasn't gross - it was a great blending of flavors and textures - a culinary creation that was worth the time and effort it took to create. In short, it was delicious. Tommy Pickles and the rest of the Rugrats could suck it - they didn't have any idea what they were talking about in regards to meatloaf. 

That's why, when I hear meatloaf, I think of option 3. A delicious culinary creation of layered flavors and amazing, juicy, succulent beef. No matter what option your conjured up when I first mentioned meatloaf tonight, I'm sure our recipe this evening will show you that option 3 is the most accurate image of the classic dish. 

The Recipe: Classic Meatloaf 

Original Recipe Found In: The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook: Every Recipe from the Hit TV Show With Product Ratings and a Look Behind the Scenes, 2001-2011

What You'll Need: 

For The Glaze - 

1/2 Cup Ketchup 

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

4 Teaspoons Cider or White Vinegar 

For The Meatloaf - 

2 Teaspoons Vegetable Oil 

1 Medium Onion (Chopped) 

2 Medium Garlic Cloves (Pressed) 

2 Large Eggs 

1/2 Cup Whole Milk or Plain Yogurt 

2 Teaspoons Dijon Mustard 

2 Teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce

1 Teaspoon Table Salt 

1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper 

1/2 Teaspoon Dried Thyme 

1/4 Teaspoon Hot Sauce 

2 Pounds Ground Beef (Lean - 90/10 or 93/7) 

2/3 Cup Crushed (Unsalted) Saltines (Roughly 16 crackers) 

1/3 Cup Minced Fresh Parsley 

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a large baking pan (9 X 5 minimum) with cooking spray. 

In a medium mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the glaze and whisk until everything is combined. Set aside. 

Next, add your oil to a medium skillet and cook the onions and garlic until softened and golden brown - roughly 5 to 7 minutes. Set the skillet aside to cool while you work on the next step. 

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, milk (or yogurt), thyme, hot sauce, dijon mustard and worcestershire sauce. Mix well with a fork until everything is combined. You should end up with a thick, gloopy mess that resembles a mixture of melted ice cream and spoiled milk.

In a large bowl, add your hamburger, crushed crackers, salt, pepper and parsley. I found that it was easier to mix these ingredients together (by hand) first - rather than following the recipe and mixing everything at once. Simply turn and knead the mixture until the parsley, crackers and meat are all well blended. Next, pour the egg mixture in with the meat and add the cooled onion/garlic mixture from the skillet. 

The recipe (comically) tells you to use a fork and mix everything together. If you're willing to sit there for 30 minutes and toil away at mixing - be my guest. Those who don't want to waste such time - can just plunge their hands into the mixture and get involved. (A fair waring - this part is gross, the texture is...well, I'm not entirely sure how exactly to describe the texture of this concoction - but all I know is that it wasn't pleasant. After a minute or two the 'icky' feeling goes away and then it isn't so bad.) 

Mix everything very well by hand until the egg mixture begins to absorb into the meat. If you still have a lot of excess 'gloop' you need to keep working in the egg mixture. Once the meat is moist - but not dripping, begin to work the meat into a large loaf like shape. Place your meatloaf into the baking dish you prepared earlier and finalize the shape by patting down any misshapen areas or lumpy spots. 

Using a pastry brush, cover the loaf completely with the glaze you prepared earlier. Focus on the sides first, making sure a light glaze covers all sides and crevices. Finally, once the sides are covered, layer the top of the loaf heavily with the glaze. You have the option of reserving some of the glaze to serve on top of the finished meatloaf - however, I enjoy the caramelized glaze so much that I used the entire glaze here. 

Once glazed, place the baking dish into the oven and let cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour - or until the inside of the loaf registers 160 degrees. Slice up and enjoy! 

The Results: 

Caramelized glaze - yum yum 

Meatloaf - tastes great, photographs horribly 

Delectable. This recipe showcases why meatloaf should not be thought of in a negative light - but rather lifted in a parade upon the streets as all proclaim its culinary prowess. Okay - maybe that's taking things a little too far - but you get the point. The subtle flavors, the amazing, juicy, tender meat - this dish is anything but boring and flavorless, it's a culinary treat. What's even better is that meatloaf is completely wide upon as far as the chef is concerned. This is my second take on meatloaf (my first foray happened in the pre-blog days) and both of those recipes had next to nothing in common (aside from the 'meat' aspect). My mom's recipe is unlike this recipe and it's still just as good. My point is your only limit on a delicious meatloaf recipe is your creativity. A simple dish, not that time consuming, full of flavor AND the great potential for creation? Meatloaf is a classic that everyone needs to try. 

That's all we have for you this evening. I'm back in the kitchen tomorrow night with another 100% new recipe. (This dish also has it's fair share of negative press, now that I come to think of it...) Be sure to stop in tomorrow evening to see what dish I'm trying to spin in a positive light cooking. 

As an aside - I'm brainstorming and idea for a new feature on the blog. There are a lot of cooking wive's and home remedies out there - burn a candle to avoid teary eyes while chopping onions, lemons clean stainless steal better than soap - etc. etc. What I'm thinking is it's time to put some of these to the test. That's where you come in, dear readers. We want your cooking / kitchen myths. If you have always heard something but have never put it to the test, send it in and we'll take a crack at it - Mythbusters style. Either leave a comment in the section below tonight's post or send us an email (outoftheculinary@gmail.com) We'll collect the best ones and put them to the test in a future blog. The more you send, the more we can test - so be sure to send some in! 

Until tomorrow, 

~Cheers

Around The Culinary World

Good evening everyone! Welcome to another week of cooking adventures at Out Of The Culinary. As usual, Monday has found a way to creep back into our lives - just when you think you've rid yourself of that horrid day - BAM - it comes back like foghorn blasting awake into a new work week. With the start of said new work week, comes a fresh batch of stories and happenings in the culinary world. That's what we like to call a classic trade off - yes, it's Monday once again. HOWEVER, on the positive side, your favorite amateur chefs have compiled the best stories from the culinary world and are ready to inform, enlighten and entertain you for a few minutes this evening. It almost makes that whole 'back to work' thing worth it doesn't it?

This week wasn't too exciting for culinary news, however, there was one very large announcement that could shape a lot of the culinary world in the future. Of course, I'm referring to Wal-Mart's big announcement last week regarding their new focus on healthy foods and lifestyles. Partnering with First Lady Michelle Obama's healthy lifestyle campaign, Wal-Mart announced that they were going to begin reducing sodium and sugar in a majority of their grocery products by up to 25%. They also planned to build more stores in low income areas that do not have access to a multitude of grocery stores and they want to create their own healthy food packaging, that will allow consumers to easily distinguish between foods that are those that are not. On top of all of this, Wal-Mart also announced that they were going to increase their supply of fresh (mostly local) produce and lower the price on said items. Essentially, this announcement looked like a big shift in direction for the nation's largest grocery outlet. Read all about this announcement HERE.

Initially, I was surprised by the move for Wal-Mart, after all they pride themselves at being a loss leader and junk food is the easiest loss leader in the market - but it did make some sense to me after a little thought. Wal-Mart is clearly positioning itself for the future. The modern consumer is beginning to demand healthy food options and more transparent products. Companies are making the switch to being more up front with what goes into their food, and consumers are beginning to demand that their produce not only be more affordable, but also locally grown, Wal-Mart is making the move early. By lowering their produce price (becoming a loss leader) and making their healthy products a prominent feature of their grocery stores, Wal-Mart is hoping to catch the curve at the beginning and start dominating the grocery market as the culinary revolution begins. From a corporate perspective it's a great idea. From a consumer perspective, it's a great move. Transparency, better food choices and lower cost? What's not to like?

EVERYBODY WINS!!

Well apparently there is a lot to 'not like'.

Darn...

A few short days after Wal-Mart's announcement, stories and opinion pieces began to pour in about why Wal-Mart's grand claims may not be as grand as they make them out to be. Anna Lappe has an editorial featured on the Huffington Post that breaks down Wal-Mart's claims and points out some of the fallacies. Among the issues that are brought up include Wal-Mart's assertion that reducing sodium by 25% in all products will make them healthy. The author argues essentially that some cans of soup need sodium reduced by 50% to 75% before they can be marketed as healthy - so 25% is certainly not going to be enough. The issue of moving into urban markets is also brought up - and a valid point is raised regarding Wal-Mart's notoriously bad effect on local economies. It's an interesting counter point to all of the PR hype that Wal-Mart was pushing - and well worth a read for those interested.



A day later, Elizabeth McVay Greene posted an editorial, also featured on the Huffinton Post that attacked the other portion of Wal-Mart's promise - to become a loss leader on local produce. In short, the author points out that the reason local farmers are able / willing to grow certain kinds of produce is because people are willing to pay an intrinsic value for the product. (Fresh corn is worth more to a consumer). By forcing farmers to take less and less for fresh produce, we could be lowering the cost in the short term, only to drive the producers from the market in the long term. The article further evaluates the economic impact of Wal-Mart's foray into the market - it's another great counter point to the story from earlier in the week. Check out the full story HERE.

In the end, I believe the rest of us are sitting off to the side not quite sure what to make of any of this. I applaud any retailer that is going to make the effort to become a more healthy and responsible seller. I think moves like the ones Wal-Mart is making is a good thing in the long term for the culinary world and the end consumer. However, I think it's important to keep in mind that retailers (and Wal Mart especially) are very good at PR and spin. We have to be sure to back up their claims and check into what they are saying. Just because they are making products 'healthier' doesn't mean they are necessarily 'healthy' there is a distinction and it is up to the consumer to be aware of the difference. Yes, Wal Mart is a retail bully who uses its massive capital to push and pull the market to its will. However, the important thing to remember in all of this is that producers and retailers are making these moves because they are feeling the pressure from the consumer. It's hard to believe, but the consumer does have the power in this arrangement. With enough pressure from the general public, every retailer, even Wal-Mart will have to listen and conform to public demand. In short, it's a good sign, but don't let your guard down - the healthy food 'fight' is far from over.

Finally this week - in a non Wal-Mart related story, did you know apples can kill you? (Technically, it's the apple seeds that can kill you but the fact remains that the doctor recommended apple has the potential to strike you down). In fact there are a whole bunch of foods that are normally good for you - but when eaten or prepared incorrectly become deadly machines of human destruction. It's sort of a humorous read - due to the items that are on the list (I don't think the Namibian Bullfrog is on anyone's grocery list -but maybe tuna is...), but still worth a browse. Check out what foods you need to keep your eye on HERE.

Bullfrogs? Isle 5

That's all we have for you in this week's Around The Culinary World (I told you there wasn't a whole lot of interesting news stories this week). We're lining up a full week of cooking on the blog - I'll be getting us started tomorrow evening and rolling into Wednesday with two 100% new dishes for the blog. Maggie will finish off cooking for the week with a dish for Thursday. As always, it's sure to be fun and entertaining. Be sure to stop back on Tuesday for the delicious or disaster outcome - until then,

~Cheers

A Taste You Can See!

Good evening everyone. Last weekend, Maggie picked up a new cookbook. Curtis Stone's newest cookbook to be more specific: Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone: Recipes to Put You in My Favorite Mood Like anyone who just bought a new cookbook, Maggie was eager to start making some of the recipes right away. It's my personal experience that you can tell a lot about a cookbook after one or two recipes. If the first few things you make end up as duds - something is wrong with the book. If the first few recipes knock your taste buds into a new dimension of OHMYGOODNESSTHATSGOOD! Then you might have something worth while.

So far, Maggie has only made two recipes from this new book. The first was the WORLD'S GREATEST COOKIE recipe (yes, all caps are needed to emphasize just how amazing these little morsels are.) The second, cinnamon french toast, had a lot of pressure on it. If it turned out amazing - this could be a great cookbook. A dud and we might have a new shelf decoration. How did it turn out? Well, I'll turn the keyboard over to Maggie so she can tell you herself.

The Recipe: Cinnamon French Toast With Caramelized Peaches*
Original Recipe Found In: Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone: Recipes to Put You in My Favorite Mood


What You'll Need:

For the caramelized peaches - 

1/2 Cup Sugar
4 Peaches (Pitted, cut into 8 wedges)
3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter

For The French Toast - 

6 Large Eggs
Four 1/2 Inch Thick Slices Of Bread (Texas toast works well)
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1/3 Cup Creme Fraiche (For serving)

*Bonus points for those who get the classic breakfast cereal reference in the blog title


Good evening everyone!  As Tyler mentioned, as soon as I get a cookbook, I immediately look for a good recipe...not only that, but looking at the pictures makes my mouth water.  As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew it was something I had to try right away.  Of course, I had high expectations that the recipe would taste as good as it's looks.  Would it live up to my culinary hype?


Begin with the french toast.  Beat the eggs in a 9x13 baking dish.  Place the bread in the eggs until they have absorbed the liquid, about five minutes.  Turn the bread over and have the other side absorb the eggs, another five minutes.

Next, caramelize the peaches:  Combine the 1/2 cup sugar with a 1/4 cup water in a saute pan.  Stir until the sugar to dissolved and the liquid comes to a simmer.  Boil over medium high heat, without stirring.  If there is any excess sugar on the sides of the pan, brush down with a wet pastry brush (although a plastic pastry brush would not work the best in this situation...the pan is hot and will probably curl and/or melt said brush - a word to the wise.)  Swirl the pan occasionally to make sure the syrup cooks evenly, about six minutes or until it's golden brown.  Another tip:  The syrup can turn from a light yellow color to a light tan color in a few seconds, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled!

After the syrup is a golden brown color, immediately remove from heat and add the peaches and butter; swirl until the butter is melted.  Return to the heat and cook over medium high heat for two minutes and set the peaches aside.

Stir the cinnamon and the 1/4 cup sugar together on a plate and set aside.  Melt the remaining butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the egg soaked bread to the pan and cook for two minutes on each side or until it's golden brown and heated through.  

Immediately from the hot pan, place the French toast in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and coat completely on both sides.  Top with the caramelized peaches (and syrup, if you want a little more sweetness,) serve and enjoy!

The Results: 

Quite possibly, the best French toast I have ever had.  The peaches added a nice tang to the overall sweetness to the dish.  The cinnamon and sugar mixture made a nice finishing touch and would work really well on it's own.  In the description of the recipe, Curtis makes note that any fruit that is in season would work with this recipe.  I would love to try it with apples or possibly bananas.  Overall, a great recipe to add to the "Make Again" category.

Thanks Maggie! (Looks like we've got a cookbook winner here! You can get a cookbook winner by buying our cookbook too! Follow the link on the right hand side of the blog) That's all we have for you this week. We're back at our usual time on Monday with another week's worth of amazing and insightful culinary news - followed up with another full week of cooking and excitement! Have a good weekend everyone! Until Monday,

~Cheers

Low & Slow - The Way To Go

Good evening everyone! For tonight's recipe - I'm returning to one of my favorite methods of cooking - roasting. I've made many roasted dishes on the blog before including chicken, beef and turkey. I've used everything from slow cookers to roasting pans and have tried every technique from marinating to brining - all in the effort to create the most moist, flavorful slice of meat possible.

For my recipe tonight, I'm turning to my favorite meat to roast - beef. In addition, I'm roasting my favorite cut of beef - brisket. However, I am using a new technique for tonight's roast. Instead of brining or marinating the beef for a few hours before cooking, I'm simply seasoning the brisket lightly before popping it right into the oven. In place of a long soak in some flavorful marinades, I'm creating a strong seasoning to baste onto the roast in short intervals. This is a method I have yet to fully test - but one that I'm eager to see in action.

In addition to a new cooking technique, I'm testing out a few new kitchen tools as well. One of our Christmas gifts was a brand new, extremely high quality, roasting pan (complete with roasting rack and heavy glass lid). So far, we have yet to put the dish to the test. Tonight, I'm putting it through its paces on a nice long roast.

I'm also using a new technique to crush garlic and chop the rosemary tonight. The recipe I'm basing this dish off of called for the rosemary leaves to be finely chopped and for the garlic to be crushed. I opted to try something completely new and used a pestle and mortar instead. More on that later - let's get cooking!


The Recipe: Roast Beef*
Original Recipe Found In: Jamie Magazine - December / January 2010/11 Issue

What You'll Need:

2 Pounds High Quality Roasting Beef (Brisket is ideal)
8 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
2 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary (Leaves picked and finely chopped)
2 Gloves Garlic (Crushed)
2 Tablespoons Honey

*My one complaint with Jamie's recipes is that he lacks any imagination in naming them! Most of them don't have a name and others are given generic 'snoozers' like the one above. I've dubbed this dish 'Low & Slow Rosemary Brisket' I like my name better!

Preheat your oven to 475 degrees.


Begin by mixing your Worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, chopped rosemary leaves and crushed garlic together in a medium mixing bowl. Rather than taking the tedious steps of finely chopping the rosemary leaves (and then cleaning the knife) and crushing the garlic in our garlic press (and then cleaning the garlic press) I opted to use a little kitchen tool that Maggie and I have had for a while, but have yet to use. The pestle and mortar.

For those who don't know this:

Is a pestle and mortar (also known as a mortar and pestle - they are referred to interchangeably). The pestle (the large stick part) and mortar (the bowl) are usually made of some heavy, durable substance such as stone or wood (ours is stone). Simply by placing the objects you wish to grind in the mortar, and rotating the pestle with a little force and elbow grease, you can reduce anything into a fine powder or thick paste. Using that strategy, I ground the rosemary and garlic into a thick paste fairly quickly. Added bonus - only one thing to clean instead of two!

Place your brisket into the roasting pan and season with salt and a little pepper. I've learned through many roasting procedures that a little bit of salt can go a long way to creating a juicy roast. (It follows the brining principle - but to a much lesser extent. The salt changes the structure of the protein in the meat - and encourages the protein to hold on to the moisture, rather than shed it during cooking).

Next, using a pastry brush or baster, cover the roast with about 1/3 of the sauce. Make sure everything is coated evenly and completely. If you want, you can throw in some vegetables around the bottom of the roast. I opted to roughly slice a few russet potatoes (skin still on) and throw them in around the roast. The potatoes will absorb a lot of the flavor of the roast while cooking and will only need to be mashed with a little butter to create a great side dish!

Place the roast into the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 320 degrees. (Setting the temperature higher and then reducing the heat allows the roast to cook at a constant temperature for the duration of the roasting time as the oven doesn't have to increase the heat when the oven door is opened.)

Halfway home

Cook the roast for 2 hours - making sure to baste the roast every 20 to 30 minutes or so. As the roasting time draws to a close (15 minutes remaining), drizzle the honey over the top of the roast (making sure to really work it into the crevices) and return to the oven. This honey will create a nice thick glaze on the top of the roast and really boosts the final flavor.

Allow the roast to rest for about 10 minutes before carving. Serve with roasted vegetables and enjoy!


In addition to the roast (and roasted potatoes) I'm also cooking up an interesting carrot dish that should compliment the main dish nicely.


The Recipe: Stovetop Carrots
Original Recipe Found In: JamieOliver.com

What You'll Need:

1 Bag Baby Carrots (Small)
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Tablespoon Sugar
A Collection Of Various Herbs (Rosemary, Thyme, Bay Leaf etc.) Bundled
1 Orange, but into 8 slices
2 Garlic Cloves


Begin by placing your carrots in a small pot. Add enough water to barely cover all of the carrots. Next, add a pinch of salt, the sugar, garlic cloves (skin on), your herbs and the orange slices and cook over medium heat until the carrots are tender. (Roughly 20 minutes)

It smells amazing, it doesn't look amazing while cooking though 

Once the carrots are tender, remove the tied herbs and discard all but one of the orange slices. Pop the garlic out of its skin as well. You have a few options from this point. You can either mix the last orange slice with a little butter and garlic and serve that on top of the carrots (as a sauce) or you can mix everything (including the carrots) together in a bowl and mash 'em all up. I opted for the second option.

Once mashed, you're ready to serve and enjoy!


The Results:

Let's start with the oddest menu item - the carrots. If you're like me, you read that ingredient list and asked yourself "Really? Can that possibly be a good flavor combination?" The answer is simple - yes, yes it can. Through some chemical process that I can only explain as magic - the carrots, orange, rosemary, bay leaf and garlic all blend together to make something...sweet. The final taste is almost like candied carrots. They hold this amazing, sweet (semi-sweet potato like) flavor that is certainly a surprise for your taste buds. I was pleasantly surprised with the finished carrot dish.

Finally, the roast. I've done this enough now to know what to expect with a roast cooked 'low and slow'. My only concern was that the constant basting would throw off the heat distribution in the oven and cause the meat to cook unevenly. That concerned turned out to be needless, however, as the roast came out of the oven beautifully golden brown and cooked to perfection all the way through. The tangy flavor of the marinade accompanied each bite without overpowering the final dish - all in all, this was a fantastic roast!


That's all we have for you this evening. Maggie is set up to finish off the cooking week tomorrow night with a recipe that I'm eager to try. She's using a food item that I haven't been a fan of in a long time - but I'm willing to take a shot at this particular ingredient again. After all, since we've started cooking I've started eating peas, green beans and carrots again - all things that were on my 'no' list prior to learning to cook. Who knows, maybe I'll fall in love with this mystery ingredient all over again! To find out what Maggie's got cooking, stop back tomorrow evening. Until then,

Cheers

Tyler Saves The Dish

Good evening everyone! Tonight, Maggie is taking to the kitchen to create this week's first dish. Her recipe, a variant on chicken soup and a vegetable stew - is one of my favorite types of dishes - a little concoction I've dubbed 'leftover stew'. Many families have some variation of this classic dish. Common kitchen items, blended together in one pot and fused into an entirely new dish. Heck, even some famous chefs and high dollar cookbooks included a 'leftover stew' recipe or two in their repertoire. Leftover stew - doesn't have to be leftovers - per say, but rather little bits of extra things you have in your kitchen. Frozen chicken pieces from a previous poultry dish, chicken broth, herbs, bread, frozen veggies - all things you're very likely to have laying around your kitchen at any given moment. Dishes like this are great due to their amazing taste and unbelievably low cost.

I'll turn the computer over to Maggie so she can share her version of this time tested dish.

The Recipe: Cobblestone Chicken Pie
Original Recipe Found In: HyVee Seasonal Handout

What You'll Need: (Serves 6)

5 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Divided
3 Medium Leeks, Cut in Half and Divided
2 Cups Sliced Fresh Mushrooms
1 Cup Sliced Celery
1 Cup Chopped Red Bell Pepper
1/3 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Dried Rosemary
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
1 (14.5) Ounce Can Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth
3/4 Cup Half and Half
3 Cups Diced Cooked Chicken Breast
1/2 Cup of Frozen Peas
2 Tablespoons White Wine
2 Cups Sourdough (or choose your own) Bread Cubes
1/2 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Good evening everyone!  As I sit here and type up the blog, there are so many things running through my head.  There was a point this evening I almost gave up this recipe; throw a two-year-old tantrum and moan and groan.  But towards the end, the smell of the dish was almost too good to be true.  Would it become the sweet smell of success??


Begin by preheating the oven to 400 degrees.  Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Here, we began to diverge from the original recipe.  All those vegetables I mentioned earlier in the ingredients list?  We opted for a cheaper, and more realistic, version.  We grabbed a bag of mixed frozen vegetables.  Not only would this cut down on preparation time, but we would have the veggies we would like. Since cooking is making a dish how you want it - we replaced our listed veggies with a concoction of carrots, green beans, peas and corn.  We kept the leek, just because it's a tasty little morsel and it adds zing to any recipe.  Cook the leeks, mushrooms, celery, and red pepper and bag of mixed veggies and cook until tender, 15 minutes.


The recipe calls for cooked chicken cubes. However, since we had frozen lying around, we opted to use up the frozen chicken and cube it up afterwards. How hard could it be to cook up the chicken? I was about to find out. In a medium skillet, I added olive oil and the three pieces of chicken (one breast, two thighs) and started to cook. With a splatter screen on top, I figured I was safe. Boy was I wrong. Very quickly, everything started to go downhill...


AAAnd here's where I step in to save the day. Maggie bit off a little more than she could chew tonight - due mainly to poor execution. She tried to pan fry the chicken pieces in a small skillet with only a splatter screen to protect her. Unfortunately - things got a little out of control when she added a little too much olive oil to the skillet. In a short matter of time, Maggie was spraying oil across the kitchen in a fiery (painful) eruption of greasy doom. In her attempt to check the temperature on the chicken, she burned her wrist, upper arm and elbow, got smoke in her eyes and came out of the kitchen - close to tears, asking for advice.

WE'VE GOT WOUNDED OVER HERE! 

Safe...until you remove the screen

I've been down this road before and had since learned that the best way to pan fry chicken is to use our covered skillet (with glass lid). I removed the chicken from the heat (to let the oil die down) and then transfered the chicken into the new skillet. Now covered, I turned things back over to Maggie so she could continue cooking. With instructions to cook on medium heat - I told Maggie it should take about 5 to 8 extra minutes.

All better

5 minutes came. 10 minutes. 15. Finally, I went into the kitchen myself to see why the chicken wasn't done cooking yet. Someone had forgotten one key thing....to turn the burner on. (Chicken doesn't cook on a cold stove!) Needless to say, by this point in time Maggie had just about had it. I stepped in, fried the chicken and moved over to the skillet with vegetables and finished cooking those.


Obviously, you're not going to have a lot of the issues we had tonight. However, we said from day one that we'd share everything with you, dear reader. The good and the grease eruptions of doom. We've been on a great streak lately. It was time for a big boo-boo or two.

Now - back to the recipe as planned.

Once your veggies are cooked (or softened if using mushrooms) add the flour, rosemary and black pepper. Stir everything until completely combined and simmer for one minute. Next, add the chicken broth and half and half. Stir constantly until the mixtures becomes thick and bubbly - this should take about 5 minutes. Finally, add the chicken and wine. Stir until everything is blended and allow to simmer for about 3 minutes.

Next, pour the mixture into a non-greased (2 quart) casserole dish. Top with the bread cubes and parmesan cheese. Place the casserole dish into the oven and cook for about 20 minutes to a half an hour - or until the bread crumbs become golden brown. Allow to cool briefly before serving and enjoy!

The Results:

Despite all of the drama with the dish - the end result was quite good. We ended up with a dish that could be best described as 'chicken pot pie' like. The flavor of the veggies, chicken and broth all created this great, creamy, delicious dish that made all of this extra effort worth while. Worthy of an attempt at home. (So long as you have better luck than Maggie!)

And - for those wondering - Maggie is fine. It's only her cooking ego that is a little bruised.

That's all we have for you this evening! We're back tomorrow night with a brand new recipe that has me eager to get cooking. I'm using a new kitchen tool (a Christmas gift) and cooking with one of my favorite techniques. Add that with the great slice of meat I have selected and you're sure (hopefully anyway) to end up with a great dish. Be sure to stop back tomorrow night to see what I've got cooking. Until then,

~Cheers

Around The Culinary World

Good evening everyone! Once again, we awoke this morning to find ourselves faced squarely with another Monday - luckily if you're reading this, you survived the worst day of the week and have successfully lasted until another day. While Monday mornings seem to be good for nothing more than a lack of sleep and a bleary trudge back into the working world - Monday evenings hold the hope of another installment of Around The Culinary World. (Don't try to deny it - this is the highlight of your food related blog reading Monday evening activity!)

This week, we have quite a few stories to share. Ranging all the way from healthy foods that are not good for you - diet errors that everyone makes, toxic candy and the passage of new school lunch guidelines. Let's get into this week's stories!

If you're a regular reader of the blog - you know that the debate surrounding school lunches has been a cause we've supported from day one. To sum things up in a sentence or two - the school lunch program (as funded by the federal government) had become incredibly broken. French fries qualified as a vegetable, fresh chicken could not be purchased by schools but frozen, sodium enriched breaded chicken were okay to buy. Flavored milks that contained just as much sugar as a can of pop were allowed on the lunch tray - all due to great 'support' by the right companies. The system was broken and the only way to fix it was to pass completely new legislation. Luckily, last week, such legislation took steps in the right direction. Fruit and vegetable requirements were increased, the french fry was removed from a 'vegetable' category and restrictions on food purchases were opened up for schools (assuming, of course, that it is a healthy food item). Read about this new legislation HERE and those who are looking for more information regarding school lunches can read Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution mission statement HERE.

In a related story - a report from The Atlantic points out that outright banning junk food from schools actually creates an unintended negative result. Essentially, junk food free schools become prohibition style candy black markets. Some enterprising students in UK and Australian schools began sneaking candy into the school and selling it to their fellow students. Some of these students manage to pull in $200 per week selling contraband candy! The author points out some of the more shocking (albeit slightly funny) instances of black market candy as well as some other options when to try when creating a healthy school environment. Check out the full story HERE.

Parents - look in horror at your school system! 

With the new year - many people make resolutions to diet and lose weight. Most people give up on those resolutions because of a lack of early success or a lack of direction. To help you out if you're taking on this (sometimes) challenging cause - we've collected a couple of stories to keep you on the right path. First, Eatingwell.com has a list of the 5 most common diet myths that people (wrongly) believe (and that might actually be tripping you up as you try to lose weight).  Next, the Huffington Post has a list of 13 foods that are marketed as healthy - but that are actually anything but. Check out his list HERE.

For our funny story of the week - we have a tale of a candy product being marketed...well...pretty accurately actually! Toxic Waste: Nuclear Sludge candy products have been recalled for being - you guessed it - toxic. It turns out that the candy had lead content in it that is not exactly good for your digestive system. Read the full story about this accurately named product HERE.

Finally for this week - you may have seen one of the many advertisements lately from McDonald's showing their new lineup of healthy menu items. Highlighted mainly by their 'fresh and healthy' oatmeal. How is this surprisingly healthy menu item? Well - let's just say there is a reason that McDonald's doesn't usually sell health food. According to one author - the end result of this culinary disaster is 'retching'. Not exactly a glowing revue. Read the full (hilarious) recount of the author's run in with McDonald's oatmeal HERE.

Ewww

There you have it folks. That's what's happening Around The Culinary World for Monday, January 17th 2011. We've got another full week of recipes lined up for you this week. Maggie will be doing double duty this week, cooking on Tuesday and Thursday. I'll be taking over Wednesday with a 'double recipe' blog (side dish and main dish) so you're looking at a minimum of 4 recipes coming your way this week! We're excited, and you should be too for this jam packed week of cooking! We get things started tomorrow night so be sure to stop back and see what Maggie is cooking. Until then,

~Cheers!