WORLD'S GREATEST COOKIES!!

Good afternoon everyone! Usually, we have the weekends off - after a long week of cooking and working, Friday, Saturday and Sunday make for a good 'wind down' from the busy work week. However, over the past two weeks, Maggie has cooked up some culinary delights that simply have to be shared. Her fist dish, made a week ago, was a very unique way to make your own delicious chips. Her second dish, made just yesterday, is (in my completely unbiased opinion) the greatest dish she has ever made - NAY! The greatest cookie ever made! (I could have easily eaten myself into a cookie coma had I been left alone with the container holding these delicious morsels from the Gods.)


I'll turn the computer over to Maggie and let her share the delicious recipes she's been cooking up during our 'off time' on the weekends.

The Recipe: Pita Chips
This is an original Out Of The Culinary Creation!

What You'll Need:
5 Pieces of Pita Bread (note, use the non-pocket variety)
Olive Oil
Salt

Good afternoon everyone!  As Tyler mentioned, this a rare treat for our frequent blog readers.  Not only one, but TWO recipes that are quick, easy, and not to mention tasty.  My inspiration for the pita chips came from my company holiday party a week ago.  They had delicious hors de vours including warm fluffy pita chips with spinach artichoke dip.  While I was trying to duplicate the dish and go for the warm, fluffy pita chip approach, I did end up with warm pita chips.  Fluffy...not so much...


Start by cutting with a large chef's knife (or slicing with a pizza slicer) the pita bread into eight sections - cutting the bread in half, that half into another half, so on and so forth until they form little triangles.  In a small ingredient bowl, pour a tablespoon of olive oil.  With a pastry brush, coat front and back of the pita bread with a thin layer of oil.  Prepare a baking sheet or two with cooking spray. When the pita bread is coated, layer the baking sheet with the pita bread.

Preheat the oven to 425.  Meanwhile, sprinkle or grind the salt over the sliced pita bread, but do not over coat the bread with salt.

Place the baking sheets in the oven for five minutes.  Take out the pita chips and, using a metal spatula, carefully flip them over.  Once these are all flipped, pop them back in the oven for five more minutes.  Remove and enjoy with your favorite dipping condiment.

The End Result:

A word to the wise:  don't let the pita chips be in the oven more than five minutes.  If you do, you won't have fluffy pita chips, you will have crunchy pita chips.  But these little morsels are delicious with any dip or condiment that you might have on hand.  Spinach and artichoke dip, salsa con queso, hummus, sour cream, you name it.  And, not to mention, they are incredibly healthy, since they were baked, not fried.  So, if you're in the mood for something a little different, and easy to prepare, pita chips are for you!


Now, on the not-so-healthy side of things, I also made some cookies.  I was perusing the cook book section of our nearest Barnes and Noble (like we always do,) and I came across a new cookbook.  Whilst I saw this recipe, the Starbucks in shop was making a fresh batch of cookies and I knew I had to have this book.  Fortunately, all the ingredients we had were at home and we didn't need to run to our nearest grocery store.


The Recipes:  Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chunks
The Original Recipe Found In:  Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone: Recipes to Put You in My Favorite Mood

What You'll Need:

1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Natural Chunky Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup (packed) Light Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
8 Tablespoons (1 Stick) Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
2 Tablespoons Honey
1 Large Egg
1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
5 Ounces Semisweet Chocolate, coarsely chopped

Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees and line two large heavy baking sheets with parchment paper.


Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.  In a large bowl, add the peanut butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, honey, egg, and vanilla.  Using an electric mixer, beat all these ingredients until well blended.  Stir the dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture, in two additions, making sure all the ingredients are well incorporated both times.  Stir in the chopped chocolate.

Using a cookie scoop or eyeballing three tablespoons full of dough for each cookie onto the baking sheets.  Give them enough space to plump up.  Bake for about 12 minutes or until they just begin to brown on top.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for five minutes.  Using a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack.  Enjoy the cookies warm and let them cool completely.

The End Result:

Oh...my...goodness...!!  Now, if you are not a big chocolate and peanut butter fan, I think you might become one after you make this recipe.  Everything was so well incorporated and it was so delicious and moist.  Even after you let the cookies cool, they are still incredibly delicious and makes for a great dessert!  


Thanks Maggie! That's all we have for this (bonus) edition of the blog. As always, we're back tomorrow with a new set of interesting and entertaining news stories for our trip 'Around The Culinary World'. After that - we're going to cooking up another full week's worth of recipes - so be sure to stop back here tomorrow night to get the week started right! Until then,

~Cheers

Recipe Revisit: French Onion Soup

Good evening everyone! Tonight, Maggie is making a return visit to french onion soup. You may recall, I first tackled this recipe a few months back and I have to say, that it has got to be the most complicated dish I've cooked to date. The onions were cooked in stages, one hour at a time for two sessions. Next, I cooked the onions in a large stock pot (adding sherry every 15 minutes or so to deglaze) for another 45 minutes. Finally, the soup had to simmer for almost another 30 minutes before being fully cooked. The idea to a perfect french onion soup is to caramelize and deglaze the onions as many times as possible. This brings forth the deep, hearty flavor that the soup is known for.

While this wasn't a hard recipe by any means, it was very VERY time consuming. In the end, the flavor was amazing (according to Maggie - who is the french onion soup fan around here - I could take it or leave it) and all of that hard work paid off in the end. When Maggie told me she had found a french onion soup recipe that didn't require caramelized onions or deglazing - I was skeptical. I was sure that compromising the cooking time would compromise the flavor as well. Was I right? Or is Maggie's quick french onion soup the new standard? I'll turn the keyboard over to Maggie and let her tell the tale.


The Recipe:  American Onion Soup
Original Recipe Found On: www.huffingtonpost.com

What You'll Need:

8 1/4 Inch Slices Baguette
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
2 Yellow Onions, Cut in 1/4 Inch Slices
2 White Onions, Cut in 1/4 Inch Slices
1/4 Cup Cognac
6 Stems Fresh Thyme, Whole
2 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
2 Cups Beef Broth
8 Slices White Cheddar Cheese
Fine Sea Salt
Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

Good evening everyone!  As the Arctic cold descends on central Iowa, it's nice to think of a hot bowl of soup.  Whether it's tomato (with the quintessential grilled cheese sandwich,) chicken noodle, or chili, everyone has their favorite and makes it on days such as these.  Although I am partial to a lot of types of soups, hands down, my favorite has to be French Onion Soup.  The warmth that the onions provide and the flavor is quite amazing - not to mention that it typically involves cheese...which, you should all know by now that it might by my favorite food.  Nonetheless, tonight, I'm tackling a twist on this great soup classic.  Will it live up to my onion soup expectations?
In Tyler's original version of French Onion Soup, we pretty much cooked the piss out of the onions, which meant cooking it for two hours the night before and an hour before we put any sort of liquid in our pot.  Tonight's version is a little less time consuming, more "I want to eat this before I need to go to bed" edibility.


Begin by melting the butter in a large pot (Dutch ovens will work fantastically.)  Add the chopped onions to the pot and cook over medium low heat until softened and starting to take color, about 25 minutes.  I was incredibly surprised how fast the onions went soft.  I would have thought for sure it would taken until the recipe was almost complete that the onions would be soft.

Next, slice the baguette and spray each side with cooking spray.  Pop them into a 350 degree oven and toast until golden brown, about fifteen minutes.  Set to cool and remember to keep that baking sheet out.  You'll need it later on... 

Add the cognac and simmer until almost evaporated.  Before I made the recipe this evening, Tyler and I decided to try the cognac, since we never had it before.  Let me tell you...wow!  This a very strong liquour and, for me, it burns going on and burns going down the throat.  I'm not a big fan of strong alcohol, but if a recipe calls for it, I'll use it. (Tyler loved it however, and found the flavor to great...)  The smell that accompanied the burning liquid was ever present when I put it in the pot.  But after a minute, it goes away...and eventually, you won't be able to smell it or taste it in the final product.  (If you cannot find cognac - any form of brandy is a suitable substitute) 

Add the chicken and beef broth and thyme leaves.  Raise heat to high, cover pot with lid and bring to a boil.  You'll want to watch on this one as well, because it will start to boil VERY fast and you'll want to ensure that you bring it down as soon as it gets to boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for thirty minutes.  Remove thyme leaves.

On the same baking sheet used to toast the baguettes, place two oven safe bowls.  Ladle the soup into the bowls, place several slices to cover the top of the soup, and top all that with the cheese.  Pop these back into the oven for three minutes, or until the cheese is melty.  VERY CAREFULLY, serve the soup, and enjoy!

The Results:

I found myself thinking when I was eating that this could have used more time...A LOT MORE time.  Spoiled by the previous French Onion Soup recipe, I was craving a deep, hardy flavor that leapt from the spoon to my mouth.  The flavor was just so-so, but then again, we did cook the onions for an hour.  The cheddar cheese was a unique twist to this dish, but again, it was truly Americanized, and tasted like the top of a burger.  But in the end, this particular recipe is good for those people craving French Onion Soup and don't want to spend their evening in a kitchen.  It's quick, easy, and gives those wanting a fix an easy solution.

Thanks Maggie! In the end, I was right on target with my early prediction. Cutting the cooking time by 75% cut the flavor by the same amount as well. However, this recipe does some nice substitutions - using the cognac in place of red wine intensifies the flavoring and the white cheddar (or mild cheddar) gives a totally different profile to the dish. This certainly isn't a classic french onion soup recipe - and it really doesn't try to be. (It is the Americanized version after all!) But for those who are looking for a french onion soup (ish) flavor and don't want to invest the time to make the recipe the classic way - or the money to buy it pre-made - this recipe is a nice stand in for the real deal.

That's all we have for you this evening. We're off the next two nights but are planning on sharing a neat little chip recipe that Maggie cooked up last weekend. It's a completely new way to use a pantry item - and it is well worth an attempt for those who follow at home. We'll be sharing that dish on Sunday - so stop back then to see what we've got cooking. Until then,

~Cheers

Heaven On A Bun

Good evening everyone! I spoke a few weeks ago about seeing certain recipes and then becoming motivated to make them. Last time, it was french toast that spurred me into action. This week, it's pulled pork sandwiches. The pulled pork sandwich seems to vary from region to region. Some regions prefer a sandwich that is dripping with a light, almost soupy BBQ sauce. Others prefer the sauce and pork to 'fuse' together, creating a thick almost stew like mixture. Some sauces are sweet, some are tangy, some are spicy. The only consensus on the pulled pork sandwich is that there is no consensus on how it's 'properly' done.

I'm using that lack of consensus to my advantage tonight and making one large change to the classic pulled pork sandwich. I'm removing the pork. This isn't in some dramatic attempt to shake things up - I'm actually removing the pork because pork and my digestive system don't get along too well. While the flavor of a pulled pork sandwich would be great; the all night long full of discomfort and suffering would really put a damper on things. As such, I'm substituting pork with chicken.

For this recipe, it is best to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs over any other piece of chicken. This is because the thighs of a chicken are dark meat - and a little more dense. While breast meat is leaner, chicken it also isn't as 'absorbent' when marinating all day. Thigh meat tends to be a little more moist than breast meat, and given the recipe we're making today - all the moisture we can get, we will take.

The major difference between the two is that thighs tend to be higher in fat than breasts. However, since we are using boneless, skinless thighs, you are cutting a significant portion of fat (from the skin) out of the equation. If you are like us, and cannot find boneless skinless thighs, that problem can be remedied with a good pair of kitchen shears and a few minutes of extra work.

Simply take you shears and trim the skin right off of the the chicken. If you start in the middle of the thigh, you should be able to work and easy seam right down the center. Simply lift the skin like a book page, and it should completely rip off on the side or at the very least expose where one extra snip is needed.

Before

After

We didn't go to the extra work of removing the bones from the thighs for this recipe - I didn't see a lot of advantages for all of the extra work. Since we're shredding the meat from the bone at the end of the recipe anyway - no sense in making extra steps for things that can be remedied later on.

Once all the prep work is out of the way - all you need is a good BBQ sauce recipe and you're ready to go. During last summer, I came across a BBQ sauce recipe that blew Maggie and myself away. We could not believe the flavor that this particular recipe delivered. I've made up a batch or two since that time, but only to keep in a jar and use as a table BBQ sauce with other recipes. I've been looking for a way to feature this sauce again and tonight I have finally found the place to do so. If you have your own favorite homemade BBQ sauce recipe, it can easily be substituted into this dish as well. Now, let's get cooking!


The Recipe: Savory BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
This is an Out Of The Culinary original recipe!


What You'll Need:

For the BBQ sauce-

1 Cup Ketchup
3 Tablespoons Molasses
3 Tablespoons Cider Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Grated Onion (Minced Onion OK Too)
2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 Teaspoon Chile Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

4-6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs

It is important to choose a mild or 'original' flavored molasses - as lighter styles are more bitter and will ruin the rich, smokey flavor you're looking for in a BBQ sauce.

Begin by mixing all of the BBQ sauce ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until everything is blended very well.

I'm always amazed by the metamorphosis this sauce makes while its being blended together. When everything is first piled into the bowl, it's black, soupy and pungent smelling (thanks mainly to the molasses). However, after a few minutes of elbow grease, the mixture develops into a deep crimson colored, thick and certainly BBQ-like smelling concoction. For those that still doubt that this hodgepodge of pantry items can create a fantastic BBQ sauce, I invite you to take a little taste of the mixture now. See? Told ya so.

Fresh BBQ Sauce

Normally, with this BBQ sauce recipe you'd have to cook the mixture in a skillet or pot for about 15 minutes to thicken the sauce up and bring out all of the great smokey flavor. However, since you're cooking the sauce with the chicken for at least 5 hours - I don't really think the 15 minutes of stove top cooking is going to make a lot of difference in the long run.

All that's left to do is pour a little bit of the sauce into the bottom of a 4 to 5 quart slow cooker. Next, nestle the chicken thighs in the bottom of the cooker and pour the remaining sauce over the chicken. Make sure everything is evenly covered with sauce.

Set the slow cooker to low and allow to cook for at least 5 hours before serving.

Just before you're ready to serve the chicken. Remove the thighs from the slow cooker (set the cooker to warm) and place them on a large tray or in a large bowl (I found that a bowl works best). You wont have to do much more than pick up the chicken pieces with a pair of tongs - the meat should be dropping right off of the bone. Simply transfer the chicken pieces over to the bowl, toss with the tongs until the meat is shredded to the desired consistency and pick out the bones.

The bones literally fell right off the meat

The one thing I wasn't expecting with this recipe was that the BBQ sauce would break down during cooking. While the sauce went in thick and crimson - by the end of a 8+ hour cook - it was soupy and a little black. You can still make use of the sauce here, however, while it may not look visually like BBQ sauce - it certainly still tastes like BBQ sauce. Simply use a ladle to spoon the sauce into the bowl (as much or as little as you prefer) with the shredded chicken, toss with tongs and serve. 

The Results:

Last summer, when I first made up a batch of this BBQ sauce, I claimed that it was the best sauce I had ever tasted. I still stand by that claim. This sauce produces a rich, smokey flavor that walks the fine line between spicy and hot - all the while delivering that 'fresh off the woodsmoker' flavor without all of the fuss of the wood and smoke. The chicken was amazingly tender and still incredibly moist - and as a bonus, it had absorbed the great flavoring of the BBQ sauce after stewing in the mixture all day.

This recipe is the definition of simple cooking. With about 20 minutes of total prep time (even less if you don't have to skin the chicken) you can whip this up before work, let it cook all day and then return home to a delicious dish that will taste like it took you hours to prepare. All day flavors, a few minutes prep time - that's what I like to call the best of both worlds.

Recipes like this are prime candidates to make it into our next cookbook (which could be pretty huge if we keep up cooking great recipes like this!) If you have yet to buy our current edition of the cookbook (what's wrong with you?) you can pick up your copy here. It's affordable, filled with great recipes and goes towards a great cause (supporting your favorite amateur chefs!)

We didn't post an update via our Facebook page yesterday - but we did share a brief story involving honey bees and organized crime. If you missed it, scroll down below this post and check it out. It's worth a read and sure to be the strangest thing you've read today.

That's all we have for you this evening. Maggie closes out cooking for the week tomorrow evening with revisit to a recipe I've made on the blog before - but she's taking it on in a whole new way. Old recipe, 100% new way to make it. It should be interesting to see how the two compare. Check back tomorrow evening to find out. Until then,

~Cheers

Around The Culinary World (Part II)

Good morning everyone. We're up early today to allow for extra time to commute into work today. Our region of the world got about 5 inches of snow last night, greatly clogging the roadways and slowing things down to a crawl. Today, we're supposed to develop 30 MPH winds - that should cause the snow to begin blowing into a massive cloud of swirling wintery doom. That makes for a nice commute!

Since I don't have to be to work until a little later, I thought I'd post a few updates this morning - since we won't be cooking tonight. (Grocery night was delayed until tonight - due to horrid road conditions yesterday).

This morning, I stumbled across a story that seems like it will be heading to the big screen as a major motion picture in 2 to 3 years. Apparently there is a crime syndicate that has been smuggling and laundering honey through different foreign ports for a few years now. International investigators are now just cracking down on a crime ring that is importing honey (mostly from China) and working the papers through many hands until the country of origin is lost. China has lower standards for honey production - they allow a chemical that protects the bees (but seeps into the honey) that American farmers are not allowed to use. Then, they substitute the flavor lost due to this chemical with corn syrup and other artificial flavorings (in other words - completely sabotage the health benefits of honey). The worst part? None of this shows up as 'Made in China' on a label (due to the laundering) and the USDA has just now caught on to the product.

This has a bigger impact than just the golden goo that comes in squeezable bears. Honey has become a major player in the world health market - it is being used in medicines, as an additive in other foods (like breakfast cereal) and in many healthy market products as a sweetener (because it was SUPPOSED to be a natural sweetener). All in all, investigators say this is the largest case of food fraud in US history.

Pictured: The 2nd largest case of food fraud in US history

This is a very interesting story that is certainly worth a read. (Hey, it's snowing and nasty outside anyway - what else are you going to do? Work?) Check out the full story HERE

(Just goes to show, stick to the honey from farmer's markets and local grocery stores that say Made in the USA - it's just safer that way!)


On snowy days like today, a good cookbook makes a great companion. Don't have a good, reliable cookbook you say? Well, we can remedy that!

Out Of The Culinary Cookbook by Tyler & Maggie Trimble | Make Your Own Book

The Out Of The Culinary Cookbook features the best recipes, as prepared by your favorite amateur chefs. At only $25 - this nifty little book features all the best recipes that we created in 2010 on the blog. Do yourself a favor and give the gift of great cooking - and help fund your amateur chef entertainers who put so much hard work into the finished product. We're really proud of the book - and think you'll be impressed once you get your hands on your own copy.

Follow the link at the bottom of the preview above - or click the link on the right hand side of the blog to get your very own copy today!


That's all we have for you today. Here's hoping everyone had a safe commute into work - and will find just as safe of a commute coming home. We're back tomorrow with a brand new recipe (an original creation from myself!) so be sure to stop in tomorrow evening to see what I've got cooking. Until then,

~Cheers

Around The Culinary World

Good evening everyone! As we found ourselves faced squarely with another Monday - most of us made the slow, reluctant trudge back into the working world. If you're in the greater Des Moines, that trudge into work was accompanied by a road full of snow and slush. A Monday and a snowstorm? Double whammy.

One nice distraction from work and the horrid winter weather out the window is to turn on the computer and read up on the comings and goings in the world. With this being a cooking blog - we're obviously a little more interested in the culinary comings and goings of the world. This past week was a busy one in regards to culinary news - so let's jump right into this week's Around The Culinary World.


The BBC is launching a new series that is sure to draw the ire of PETA and everyone with a squeamish stomach. 'Kill It, Cook It, Eat It' is a new show debuting this month on BBC (in America on January 11th)  in which viewers get to see the process of cooking a meal - all the way back to square one. According to the show description, viewers get to tackle tough issues in a tasteful manner. While I'm all for people knowing where their food comes from - I'm not sure episodes where viewers get to see cows being raised and then watch them be slaughtered 'up close and uncensored' and turned into burgers is really a necessary step in television programming. Read all about this disturbing show concept HERE

We all know that small children can become unruly and difficult on occasion. It seems like kids today are a lot worse - simply because some parents are so absentee and 'occupied' they forget to parent. Wild children and difficult kids are probably even more common in a daycare situation  - that being said I'm not sure this particular daycare's solution was warranted. I've seen some horrible children, and while this punishment may have been something I would have imagined doing to the little monsters, in no way would I ever actually DO IT. What exactly did these daycare providers do (and how does it relate to food?) Read for yourself HERE



Every once in a while the powers that be in the corporate world roll out a new product that makes the rest of us go 'huh?' The Huffington Post has a rather humorous collection of culinary items in squeeze bottles that...don't really need to be in squeeze bottles. (Here's a preview - bacon makes its way on to the list). Read the full list of squeezeables that don't need to be squeezeable HERE




Quick: name the most competitive culinary market in the United States. Did you say beef? The corn or soybean markets? Nope. It's actually the dairy market. It's a system that sees fluctuations in market price, but no such fluctuation in production costs. Some farmers are forced to sell their milk for half of what it costs to produce. The over saturation of the market is forcing the dairy producers of America to try another approach - read the full story about the (possible) realignment of dairy producers HERE

Is one of your new year's resolutions to eat healthier or lose weight? Does your current work lunch situation make it hard for you to eat well or have the time to eat right? Is fast food your only menu option for lunch? If worse comes to worse and you are forced into McDonalds, Wendy's or another fast food provider for lunch on a daily basis - you can still try to eat healthy. (We here at Out Of The Culinary would still encourage you to bring your own lunch - this is only a 'worse case scenario' not an excuse to eat out everyday!) The Daily Beat has put together a list of the 20 most healthy fast food menu items. Check out the full list right HERE

Shockingly - the Baconater did not make the list

There you have it. That's what's new and exciting Around The Culinary World for January 10th, 2011. We HAD a full week lined up for you on the blog. However, the snowstorm has made travel impossible and has delayed our grocery night into tomorrow night. As such, I'm canceling one of my recipes this week and we will be cooking only Wednesday and Thursday. Even shortened, it should be a lot of fun (and, as always, delicious) Be sure to check back Wednesday night to see what I've got cooking. Until then, (We might do a Around The Culinary World II to fill in for Tuesday - wait and see on that one).

~Cheers

American Inspiration, French Technique, Spanish Flavor!

Good evening everyone! Tonight's menu includes a return to stuffed chicken breasts. You may recall, I've done one other form of stuffed chicken breast before on the blog. That recipe was drawn from classic French cuisine and had a delightful combination of leek, mushrooms and forcemeat (I.E. extra chicken) pan fried and blended within a tightly wrapped chicken breast. Tonight, I'm keeping our feet (and stomachs) on home soil and creating the American version of stuffed chicken breast. Much like the American version of anything - this stuffed chicken breast contains cheese.

Cheese stuffed chicken breasts are something of a culinary booby trap. They pose two immediate issues. First, the cheese and other fillings tend to ooze out of the chicken breast while cooking - causing a lot of smoke in the pan and very little stuffing in the chicken. Secondly, cheese stuffing tends to have a very bland or generic flavor that doesn't really make all the work worth the effort.

The second issue is the easiest to fix. Change the type of cheese. For this recipe, I'm using a smoked gouda cheese, which has a deeper, more nutty flavor than standard American cheddar or even mozzarella cheese. With this stuffing, I'm also adding pimientos (more on them later) and scallions - just to spice things up a little bit and help solve that second problem easily.

The issue of leaky stuffing, however, is a more complicated issue. The original version of this recipe calls for the breast to be butterflied, filled with the stuffing and simply folded over (like a book) and cooked. I was hesitant to follow these directions, because I could foresee the chicken hitting the skillet and then, during the flip, tossing all of the gooey ingredients into said skillet. To remedy this, I considered two methods of butterflying and wrapping that would contain the stuffing. Option one was to cut a pouch into the side of the chicken breast. Similar to butterflying - but without cutting all the way down the edges. This way, you'd create a pocket to fill with stuffing, greatly lowering the chance the innards would spill out into the pan. While this would reduce spillage, it wouldn't stop spillage. So, I kept planning. 

The option I settled on was the same option I used in my first foray into stuffed chicken breasts. In that first recipe, I butterflied the chicken breast, then spread the filling on the breast, carefully rolled the breast into a tight wrap and used cooking twine to secure the breast in the tight roll. This kept the stuffing contained and allowed for easy cooking and maneuvering in the pan. With a cooking option set - I was ready to get cooking!


The Recipe: Chicken Breasts With Pimiento Cheese
Original Recipe Found On: Eatingwell.com

What You'll Need:

2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts (Trimmed of tenders and fat)
1/2 Cup Shredded Gouda Cheese (Smoked preferred)
1 Tablespoon Sliced Pimientos*
2 Tablespoons Chopped Scallions
1/2 Teaspoon Paprika
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil


* Pimientos are red, tomato sized members of the pepper family. Also known as the cherry pepper, these little guys pack a little bit of spice, but are not as strong as a normal red bell pepper. The flavoring between a red bell pepper and a pimiento are so close, however, that you can use a red bell pepper in place of a pimiento in this recipe.

Pimientos

(Side note: We had camera issues *Dead battery* so all but the final 3 photos are taken via my iPhone. Sorry in advance for slightly lower quality pictures tonight)

Begin by preheating your oven to 400 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine the scallions, pimiento, gouda and paprika. Turn until everything is well blended. Set aside.

Next, begin butterflying your chicken breast. (If you're unsure how to butterfly a chicken breast there is a great source HERE) Next, lay the butterflied chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap. Using a meat tenderizer (or heavy skillet) beat the living daylights pound the chicken breast until it reaches about 1/4 inch of thickness. Finally, using a sharp knife, trim the chicken breast until you've 'squared' it up (like the picture below)

Next, take a small portion of the pimiento/gouda/scallion stuffing and place it evenly across the surface of the flattened breast. Be sure to leave about 1/4 to 1/8 of an inch of space around all the edges, the allow for the mixture to spread when rolling. Add additional gouda (you should have extra if you shredded the cheese yourself) to the spots that seem bare.

It sure is colorful! 

Before you roll the breast, cut three pieces of cooking twine in 3 to 4 inch sections. Have them next to the cutting board or plate that you're going to be rolling the breasts on.

Grab one end of the breast and roll it tightly (making sure to keep the stuffing on the breast) until you've made a nice, tight wrap. If the roll seems too loose or floppy, unroll and wrap the breast again. Using the cooking twine, tie the roll on each end and in the middle. Be sure to tie the twine nice and tight. Repeat the process on the second breast.

Chicken rolls

In a oven safe skillet, add the olive oil and heat on medium high until the oil is shimmering. Place the chicken breast rolls into the skillet and cook 2 minutes per side (with a roll, you'll have four 'sides') or until all the surfaces are golden brown.

Once browned, place the skillet into the oven and cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until the center of the breast is 165 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Remove the twine, slice the rolls and serve!


The Results:

For being an Americanized dish - the final result tasted decidedly Spanish! The scallion and pimiento combined for a nice, almost salsa like flavor, which was neutralized by the nutty undertones of the gouda. All three melted beautifully into the center of the chicken (which was deliciously moist and flavorful on its own!) In the end, I'm glad that I used the cooking method I did. While it did take a little longer to prepare (about 20 minutes of prep time) it was worth it in the end. I lost absolutely NONE of the stuffing, and the wraps were super simple to turn and maneuver in the skillet.

This was a good week for recipes - my tilapia turned out tremendously, Maggie's steak with pan sauce was delicious and the stuffed chicken with pimiento cheese was extremely satisfying. All three of those recipes could easily earn their way into our next cookbook. If you don't want to wait for that to happen, you could always buy the Out Of The Culinary Cookbook - 2010's Best Recipes From The Blog - and have delicious recipes available to you 24 hours a day. Recipes such as the original stuffed chicken breast (which, in my opinion, was slightly better than tonight's version - not by much - but still a little better) can be found in the cookbook. Buy your copy by going to the Blurb Bookstore or by clicking the link on the right hand side of the blog. Makes a great gift!

That's all we have for you this week. Maggie and I have had a lot of fun getting 2011 started off right - here's hoping you've enjoyed cooking right along with us. We're back on Monday with another rendition of Around The Culinary World - I've already got a few very interesting news stories lined up for that feature. We'll see you back here on Monday night! Enjoy your weekend everyone!

~Cheers

Steak & Beer - But Not In The Way You'd Expect...

Good evening everyone! Last night, I started of 2011 with a completely new ingredient to the blog - tilapia. (Along with a nice, long description all about the fish - an informed chef is a useful chef after all!) Tonight, Maggie gets her 2011 cooking season started off fresh by using an ingredient that's new to the blog as well.

Guinness.

While I established my love for cooking with alcohol many times before on the blog - (I've cooked penne with vodka sauce, chicken with red wine, fruit salad with red wine, pumpkin pie crust with vodka, countless soups with white wines - the list goes on and on) I've never used beer in any form (yet - I have a recipe or two that you may see yet this winter...) Tonight, Maggie beats me to the punch and introduces the stout beverage to our blog. 

Stout, for those who don't know is a dark beer - also referred to as a porter. Stouts originated in Ireland and are still one of the most produced Irish beers to date. Stouts are composed of mostly barley and any (manufacturer specific) blend of malt. There are other forms of stout that are produced with oatmeal, lactose and even coffee - although the most common blend you'll find is made from barley. You don't have to use Guinness for this recipe - any form of stout beer will do. Although Guinness is the most common and well known stout - so depending on your grocery store's alcohol selection - it may be your only choice. 

Now, I'll turn the keyboard over to Maggie and let her share tonight's recipe: 

The Recipe: Steak With Stout Pan Sauce
Original Recipe Found In: Bon Appetit - January 2011 Issue

5 Teaspoons Dijon Mustard (Divided)
2 12-Ounce New York Strip Steaks
2 Teaspoons Olive Oil (Divided)
1 Tablespoon Butter (Room Temperature)
2 Teaspoons All Purpose Flour
1 Large Garlic Clove (Pressed)
1/2 Cup Low Sodium Beef Broth
1/2 Cup Stout Beer (We used Guinness)
1 Tablespoon (Packed) Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce


Good evening everyone!  I find it kind of ironic that the recipe I chose this evening included beer...and I don't like beer at all.  Will I drink it just because?  Sure, but I'd much rather prefer a Moscato wine or something fruity.  With beer being one of the ingredients, with the strongest stout Guinness to boot, I thought that I would have an end flavor smothered in alcohol.  Did it happen??  Read on to find out...

Please don't ruin the dish...

I began by heating a nonstick skillet with a teaspoon of olive oil over medium high heat.  Whilst the stovetop of was heating, I spread massaged the steaks with a teaspoon each of mustard.  If a teaspoon doesn't seem like a lot...it will end up being plenty for the steaks.  Season each side with salt and pepper.

Cook the steaks in the skillet for four to six minutes on each side for medium rare, more time for more doneness.  Transfer to a plate and tent with foil (to lock in all those yummy juices) and wipe out the skillet with a paper towel.

In a small bowl, mash the flour and room temperature butter - easier to mash that way - and set aside.  Heat the other teaspoon of olive oil in the same skillet over medium high heat.  Crush the garlic directly over the pan and cook for 20 seconds.  Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, go over 20 second...you will have charred garlic...and I bet it won't taste good (I'm not speaking from experience here, but I did notice my garlic crisp really fast.)  


Add beef broth and bring to a boil, less than a minute.  Whisk in stout, brown sugar, soy sauce, three teaspoons mustard, and butter mixture.  Boil until reduced to two-thirds cup, or three minutes.  Thinly slice the steaks, drizzle sauce over, serve, and enjoy!

Less like a pan sauce, more like a gravy 

The End Result:

The steak had an amazing flavor, being cooked in Dijon mustard for several minutes.  The pan sauce, which I thought would taste overwhelmingly of alcohol, had none to speak of.  It incorporated all those flavors from the different ingredients (stout, mustard, brown sugar, and soy sauce,) and created something completely unique.  It was a very delicious sauce and it almost looked like a gravy, with the butter and flour as a thickener.  But it was definitely something to stand on its own...and very tasty.


Thank you Maggie! 2011 is off to a great start. I think we have another candidate for a cookbook recipe (two in two days!) Speaking of cookbooks - have you picked up your copy of the Out Of The Culinary Cookbook yet? Why not!? With a collection of over 40 recipes - all hand picked and personally tested by your favorite amateur chefs (US!) you're sure to enjoy this fantastic cookbook! Grab yours today by following the link on the right hand side of the blog or by clicking right HERE.

That's all we have for you tonight. I'm back in the kitchen tomorrow evening with another new recipe. Be sure to stop back tomorrow evening to see what I've got cooking. Until then,

~Cheers

Tremendous Tilapia

Good evening everyone! Tonight, I took to the kitchen to get 2011 started off right - with a whole new (to the blog anyway) menu item: tilapia. For those that don't know, tilapia is the common name for close to one hundred related cichlid species of fish. Tilapia as we know it typically look a lot like this:

and have quickly become a mainstay in the culinary world as tilapia is now in the top five of the most consumed fish in world. This surge up the fish hierarchy can be attributed to the ease of raising tilapia. They are large growing fish, that mature quickly and exist mainly on vegetation. (They're big, they're grown quickly and are cheap to feed to put it bluntly). In addition, tilapia are tolerant to living in high density groups. By any standard, that's a recipe for profit, especially in the competitive and costly world of fisheries.

Today's version of tilapia is a hybrid of many different species of fish - scientifically bred to create the best fish for farming. As such, many forms of 'pure blooded' tilapia have been wiped out of existence, due to the muddled genetic bloodlines. In some areas, tilapia are considered an invasive species - if introduced into a warm water climate where they are not a natural element, the fish can clear out the vegetation and wipe out an aquatic ecosystem in short order. As such, many tilapia farms are required to store and raise the fish in above ground tanks that do not have access to a natural waterway.

In the culinary world, tilapia have a lot of healthy benefits. Like most large fish, tilapia are high in protein and are low in saturated fat content. Tilapia are also incredibly low in mercury, because they do not feed on other fish (like salmon do in fisheries). Wild (or fresh) raised tilapia are low in cholesterol and high in protein, making them a great addition to any healthy diet.

There is a reason to make a distinction between wild (fresh) and farmed tilapia, however. A Wake Forest University study published in 2008 found that farmed tilapia have an astoundingly high level of cholesterol and fat.

In addition, this study found that most farmed tilapia have lost most of their beneficial nutritional value due to the way they are raised. Farmed tilapia are fed almost exclusively corn - which contains high levels of omega-6 and long chain omega-3 (which, so the experts tell me, is a bad thing - especially the omega-6, which is only a bad fat). Essentially, this means that pound for pound, farmed tilapia has the same nutritional value of 80% lean hamburger or bacon. Yes - bacon. Not what you're expecting when you buy fish, right?

Researchers have pointed out that this poor nutritional benefit from farmed tilapia is especially bad considering the emphasis nutritional groups have been making on eating fish towards a healthy lifestyle. Farmed tilapia are considerably cheaper than fresh tilapia - thereby making it more easily acquired by low income families. The American Heart Association recommends that people with heart issues consume two servings of fish a week - the Wake Forest Study points out that Omega-6 is most damaging to patients with heart conditions. Now you can see the problem!

In short, when buying tilapia, be sure to verify that the fish was either wild caught or (more likely) fresh raised - which allows the tilapia to develop in a more natural way (many are raised in rice fields for example - the fish eat the rice plant waste for the growing season and are ready to harvest by fall).

Finally, from a culinary standpoint - tilapia is very bland and flavorless. This can be remedied, however, by using aggressive rubs or other marinades to infuse the fish with flavor. Tonight, I used one such aggressive rub to create one of the best fish dishes we've ever shared on the blog to date.


The Recipe: Chili Rubbed Tilapia
Original Recipe Found On: Eatingwell.com

What You'll Need:

2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Pound Tilapia Fillet (Wild caught or fresh raised)
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

* The original recipe calls for this dish to be served with asparagus. Since Maggie and I find asparagus to be disgusting and vile - we opted to serve our fish with corn instead. Feel free to substitute any vegetable of your choosing!

Begin by mixing the chili powder, garlic powder and salt together in a small bowl. I found it was easier after mixing the spices to transfer the blend to a small plate. Don't be alarmed by the relatively small quantity of spice - I know it doesn't look like there is enough spice there to cover 1 pound of tilapia - but you'll be surprised to find that you may even have a little extra spice left over.

Carefully dredge the fillets through the spice mixture, making sure that each fillet is completely and evenly covered with the seasoning. Rub the spice into any difficult areas and brush excess seasoning off of any areas that are clumping (this will make cooking a lot easier).

Next, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the fillets and cook - roughly 3 to 4 minutes per side. Once the fillet is white and flaky - you're good to go! Don't be alarmed if your fillet looks dark - chili powder tends to become an almost crimson color when cooked -which give the impression that the fillet is burnt. Finally, simply dish out directly onto the plate and serve with your favorite veggie. A few drops of lemon juice can also be added to the final fillet to add an extra kick to the seasoning.

The Results:

As I said earlier, this is one of the best fish dishes we've made to date on the blog. Only the breaded cod fillet topped tonight's dish. The chili powder and garlic salt combination provided a subtle kick to the normally neutral tilapia - the extra addition of lemon juice added the final layer of complexity to the flavor (a nice little 'zing' in the aftertaste). With a total preparation time of 5 minutes, and a cook time of 5 more minutes - this is an incredibly quick fix for any size of family. Great flavor, quick and easy to make and good for you? We have an early candidate for 2011's cookbook!

Speaking of cookbook's have you purchased your copy of the Out Of The Culinary Cookbook yet? Why not? It's filled with the best recipes from the blog - full color photos, large, easy to read pages. It makes a perfect gift or a great addition to any cookbook library. Grab yours by clicking on the link on the right side of the blog!

That's all we have for you this evening. Maggie takes to the kitchen tomorrow evening - and she's getting her cooking in 2011 started off with something completely different as well. Be sure to stop in tomorrow evening to see what she's got cooking. Until then,

~Cheers

Around The Culinary World

Good evening everyone and happy new year! Over the weekend, we all welcomed 2011 into our lives (some willingly, others treated the entry of a new year like a two year old - kicking and screaming down the aisle of Target). It was around this time last year that Maggie and I were taking stock of our lives and decided that it was time to change things. Take out, frozen dinners and low quality foods were creating havoc on our digestive systems...and our waistlines. We started 2010 off slow - simply buying better food. But, by February of 2010, we were venturing out on our own actually COOKING things. By March, we were comfortable enough to start sharing our creations and experiences with the world - and the rest is history.

So, as we enter 2011 - Maggie and I have a few (new) goals for the blog - and our lifestyle in general. (We're not calling them resolutions - as those tend to be broken too easily).

1. Improve the blog - both in content, quality and experience. In reality, this is an everyday goal. We want to provide entertaining posts, that are complete with full, detailed first hand directions to help you recreate any recipe you feel up to taking on.

2. Trend back towards all healthy cooking. The blog was born simply to provide an outlet to share healthy recipes. By the end of 2010 -we were delving into a few not so healthy dishes (looking at you pumpkin pie...) For 2011, we're shifting the focus back to eating healthy.

3. Enjoy every minute. Enjoy blogging, enjoy cooking, enjoy life - if you're not having fun - what's the point? The day the blog becomes a chore, rather than a pastime, I'm pulling the plug. I want to keep having as much fun writing this blog as I did from the first day.

There you have it. Three simple little goals that we're striving for in 2011.

Now that our little 'welcome to 2011' blurb is out of the way, let's get into the regularly scheduled Monday programming. Here's what's happening 'Around The Culinary World' for Monday, January 3rd, 2011:

Food clarity and transparency have become very large topics of late. People are (rightfully) demanding to know what is going into their food, where their food has come from and exactly what the food contains from a nutritional standpoint. In 2012, a new regulation will be rolling into effect for meat products that will help consumers understand just what nutritional value is in a particular cut of meat. Read all about the new developments coming to ground beef, chicken, turkey and other meat products HERE

Fast food - we've rallied against this sector of American 'cuisine' for the longest time. (After all, we are a cooking blog that promotes healthy eating...taking a pro fast food approach really wouldn't go with our message!) We've shown how certain fast food burgers don't seem to decompose...or deteriorate at all. We've shared how even 'healthy' fast food menu options can be very bad for your health. Tonight, we have yet another reason to avoid the drive-up lane and simply cook for yourself. A new study has found that toxicperfluoroalkyls a chemical used in wrappers and bags of fast food restaurants is actually leaking into the food it is surrounding. Yes, these chemicals are everywhere in the world around us (especially in non-stick cookware) but anytime you have an opportunity to remove a known carcinogen from your environment, you probably should take it. Read the full (slightly frightening) details HERE

It really wasn't a 'good news' week for culinary stories. We have yet ANOTHER case of poor food safety leading to many people becoming ill. This time the culprit is the (vile) alfalfa sprouts. A salmonella outbreak stemming from the greens has been traced back to producers in Illinois and has caused reported illness all the way to California. Now, I'm not a fan of alfalfa sprouts - I find their taste horrid and too much like actual grass for my liking. I can't really understand how a normal human can tolerate to eat this horrific plant. For some reason people DO eat them, however, and their consumption is yet again drawing attention to the food safety rules and regulations in the United States. Thankfully, the recently passed food safety act (that we've discussed multiple times on our Monday features) should help this issue - it's just a shame that stories like this have become all too common in our Monday features.

Did you have a little too much to drink this new year? Did you find yourself waking up wondering where the horrible drumming was coming from - only to realize that it was only your blood vessels pounding like a bass drum? Hangovers are an unfortunate (evil) side effect of a night of drinking - and many companies have plopped products on the market to 'cure' or even prevent hangovers. Do they work? How about the old wives tales regarding products like coffee or energy drinks? Do they fight off hangovers and better? Find.Eat.Drink (via the Huffington Post) has gathered a list of the most common hangover cures and put them to the test. See for yourself what works and what doesn't - and be prepared for the next time you indulge in a few too many drinks.


Finally tonight, we'll lighten things up with a little humor. (After a 'downer' news week - it's a welcome addition!) For many people, a new year is the time to make resolutions. Save more money, get a better job, lose weight, start cooking etc. etc. Many people, however, have a misconception that cooking is hard or needlessly difficult. Sadly, many people's first and only foray into cooking looks a little something like the comic below:

WARNING: In a few places, language may be NSFW or small children.

You can find a larger version of this comic HERE. Credit for this comic goes to The Oatmeal - for those who have not read theoatmeal.com - we'd recommend you take a journey over there right away. It's a hilarious site filled with comics, stories and other musings. Well worth a few minutes of your internet time each day. 

What's sadly accurate about the above comic is that this situation probably happens all too often. People get into cooking with the wrong recipe, or they simply feel like that's how every recipe is - and they try (usually fail) and give up. Cooking isn't hard - and doesn't have to seem so daunting. Maggie and I went from two lazy college students who could barely boil water to two amateur chefs who can duplicate the finest French dish. If we can do it - you can do it. 

What better way to learn to cook - or to see just how easy cooking can be - than to order a friendly, helpful, low cost cookbook to get you started. Have we got just the book for you! The Out Of The Culinary Cookbook is a collection of the best recipes from the blog so far - all broken down into easy to follow, easy to understand directions. Each recipe has been tested by Maggie and myself and are certified delicious! Be sure to buy your copy today - just follow the link on the right hand side of the blog. Get 2011 started off right by buying your copy of the Out Of The Culinary Cookbook today! 

(Hey, I put a lot of work into that book - you'd better believe I'm going to plug it every chance I get!) 

That's all we have for you this evening. We're back to cooking tomorrow night - I'll be starting things off on Tuesday, and finishing us off on Thursday. Maggie will fill in Wednesday (her old 'usual' spot from back in the early day of the blog!) so be sure to stop in and see what's for dinner. Until tomorrow, 

~Cheers