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I have always wondered why there are so many techniques to make something as simple as a hard boiled egg, although I now understand why it’s quite a science to make a hard boiled egg just right.  Think of all the times you have had a hard time removing the shell or the times you didn’t get the center to come out just right.  Growing up the method I saw most people use was to just boil the heck out of the egg, until they thought it was done.  Today I tried Julia Child’s method for a hard boiled egg and while it was time consuming, the method couldn’t have been simpler.  The texture of these eggs was nothing like anything I had experienced before, the whites were perfectly white and tender.  The yolks came out perfectly with the prettiest yellow color I had ever seen in an egg.  Truly these eggs looked like little works of art, the picture does them no justice.  This method can be scaled down to make a few eggs or 2 dozen at a time.

Here’s the method.

Step 1 - Put eggs in pan.  Add enough water to cover an inch over the eggs.  Bring up to boil.  Once up to a boil remove the pan from the heat.  Put a lid on the pot and allow to sit for 17 minutes.

Step 2 - Put eggs in ice water bath.  Bring the cooking water back up to a boil while the eggs chill for 2 minutes.

Step 3 - Transfer eggs (6 at a time) to the boiling water, bring back up to a boil.  Allow the eggs to boil for 10 seconds.  Remove the eggs and put back in ice bath.

Step 4 - Allow the eggs to chill for 15 - 20 minutes, then peel and use. 

 I have always wondered what the differences were between “normal” cauliflower and those radio-active looking colors you can find in your grocery store and this months issue of Bon Appetit inspired me to do a piece on it.  I love cauliflower I think it is delicious, although I am sure there are many people who despise it like they do broccoli.  I really enjoy cauliflower both in dishes and as a snack on crudite platters.  It is one vegetable that maintains some its texture no matter what way you serve it.  I have even seen it used as a replacement for potatoes in low carb diets, although I have not tried it this way myself.  I am going to make the cauliflower tart I saw in Bon Appetit this evening with dinner.  Keep an eye out for the recipe review. 

So did you know that cauliflower comes in white, orange, purple and green?  I think for many years most us could only get our hands on the white variety, but in recent years you can easily get any color of the rainbow. I know my grocery store carries all colors.  The white color in standard cauliflower comes from the way in which the plant grows.  The head of the cauliflower is not exposed to sunlight because of its thick leaves.  What causes the other colors?  Orange cauliflower is a cross between a Canadian swamp vegetable and white cauliflower.  This version of cauliflower has more vitamin A.  The light-green color is a cross between white cauliflower and broccoli.  The purple color is actually a wild plant from Italy. 

Cauliflower is a great vegetable to keep on hand in your fridge, as it can be stored for up to 5 days.  The good people over at Bon Appetit even have developed a cauliflower hummus, so if you are a big fan of hummus maybe you will want to give it a shot. 

Need help picking out a box of chocolates for your sweetie?  Let NPR help you out.  The folks over at NPR put themselves to the task of finding the perfect box of chocolates just for you.  They really did a thorough job testing out chocolates, they sampled 30 kinds.  I think you should be able to find something you like in your price range that suits your tastes. 

They chose 9 best choices.  These included such tasty treats Moonstruck’s Love Letter Truffles, Lake Champlain Chocolate Hearts, Fran’s Grey and Smoked Salted Caramels.  I have to admit I love anything carmel, so I would probably have to chose the Fran’s Grey and Smoked Salted Caramels.

You can check out the full article at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7132441.

  vs  

Recently, I saw a post over at www.accidentalhedonist.com talking about whether or not boxed cake mixes really were more “convenient” than from scratch baking.  In the interest of science I wanted to find out what the difference really was.  I have to say right upfront that I enjoy baking, but I don’t make it my mission to convert others.  I know some people hate to cook and bake and you know what that’s fine with me.  I am okay with everyone not making things from scratch, I understand time constraints and lack of interest.  The question posed here is how convenient are boxed cake mixes? 

Let’s start with the obvious - the simplicity of ingredients.  The photo on the left is, of course, the boxed cake mix and a its three extra ingredients.  The photo on the left is the classic yellow cake that I would make with it’s eight ingredients.  Don’t let the lack of ingredients fool you, making a cake from scratch does take time.  To be fair to the experiment I gathered all ingredients and did the measuring once the time clock began.  I wanted to look at exactly how long it would take you to measure all of your ingredients together and make the cake.       

So how long did it take me?  Well, let’s take the bake time out of the mix, baking times are usually pretty standard across the board.  The time it took to get the ingredients together and into the pan was what I was truly interested in.  The boxed mix took all of 5 minutes to put together.   The thing that took the longest with the boxed mix was the stirring, a total of 2 1/2 minutes.  Now for the standard yellow cake, this recipe is a classic.  The standard cake took with all of its additions and extra time beating almost 20 minutes to complete.  Now is 15 minutes a lot of time, I would say no normally.  But in the case of cooking and baking, I think 15 minutes is a lifetime for many people. 

How about cost?  Let’s say you have never baked in your life and don’t have cake flour and vanilla extract in your cupboard, let’s just play devil’s advocate.  Let’s say you had absolutely none of the ingredients.  The classic recipe with it’s cake flour, baking powder, salt, butter, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk, would set you back around $20.00. (Keep in mind this is with real vanilla, not imitation.)  The boxed mix would run around $7.00 with the box costing $1.50, oil around $3.00, and eggs $3.00 a dozen. 

So, I leave it up to you to determine if you think boxed cake mixes are more “convenient”.  Stay tuned tomorrow for the blind taste-test with these two cakes.  (I am going to use the same frosting on both and see which one my cake taste-testers choose - Thanks guys at Tundra!)

It happens to all of us at one time or another, we just can’t make it to the grocery store, have no fear you can have groceries delivered to you anywhere in the US.  When I moved to Oregon I got there before my car was delivered.  I was lucky enough to be living above a grocery store, but even if I wasn’t living above the store I could have had www.safeway.com deliver my groceries.  When my husband’s grandparents were sick one winter I had www.peapod.com deliver to them.  These two services are easy to use and deliver fast, but only to certain areas in the United States.  There is one service that delivers groceries anywhere via Fed Ex.  That service is www.netgrocer.com.  The prices are of course a little higher to cover the cost of having Fed Ex deliver them, but if you are in a bind paying $6 to $30 for your groceries to be delivered doesn’t sound so bad.  These services are great to keep in mind if you have a sick friend or relative who you want to surprise.  From my experience people really appreciate the thoughtful gesture. 

Don’t you just hate it when you get ready to bake something and you go to get an ingredient and you don’t have it on hand.  Even if with a well stocked pantry, it will happen from time to time to all of us.  So what do you do?  Well, here are a few suggestions for the next time you get in a bind.  Keep in mind this is a very short list of substitutions and I will periodically put up new suggestions. 

1 cup self-rising flour - 1 cup all purpose flour + 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder + 1/8 tsp. salt

1 cup cake flour - 1 cup minus 2 Tbls. all purpose flour

1 cup cake flour - 7/8 cup all purpose flour + 2 Tbls. cornstarch

1 tsp. baking powder - 1/4 tsp. baking soda + 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 cup light brown sugar - 1 cup granulated sugar + 1 Tbls. molasses

1 cup molasses - 3/4 cup dark brown sugar + 1/4 cup water

1 cup buttermilk - 1 Tbls. vinegar or lemon juice + milk to make 1 cup (leave for 5 min)

1 cup sour cream - 1 cup yogurt  

Nope, you didn’t misread the title of today’s piece on tea.  Sure tea is a great drink, I love the stuff.  More and more studies are celebrating teas healing powers every week, but did you know you can also use it to cook.  How about some Earl Grey cookies or Tea Smoked Salmon? 

Let’s start with the basics.  Here’s a quick overview of tea varieties.  The major kinds of tea are black, green, white, oolong.  All teas come from the one plant, Camellia sinensis.  The difference between the teas comes from processing of the leaves.   Black tea like green and oolong comes from the upper leaves of the plant.  White tea is slightly different, it comes from the same plant, but it is the buds of tea leaves, not the leaves themselves.  Two other popular teas, aren’t really teas.  Red and herbal teas come from other plants and thus aren’t truly classified as tea. Red tea comes from the rooibos plant found in South Africa.  Red tea is caffeine-free.  Herbal teas actually come from a variety of plants including mint, chamomile, and verbena. 

Black tea goes through the most processing and has the highest caffeine, ranging from 25-110 mg of caffeine per cup.  Caffeinated coffee contains around 100-135 mg of caffeine per cup.  Green tea is less processed than black tea and has far less caffeine.(8-30 mg of caffeine per cup)  White tea is like green tea, in that it is far less processed than black tea and the caffeine levels are similar with green tea (6-25 mg per cup).  The flavor of white tea is quite mild.  I love white tea with pomegranate, it’s a delicious combination, mild and fruity.  Oolong tea is kind of a cross between green and black tea.  It isn’t as processed as black tea, but is more processed than green tea.  It tastes a lot like black tea, only milder.  It contains 12-55 mg caffeine per cup. 

That’s a quick run down of teas.  There are plenty of brands available to suit any taste.  I recommend trying a wide variety of tea.  You may find that once you start drinking it you will like all different types.  My favorite of all teas is Earl Grey.  I would suggest trying at least a couple of brands to find the one that works best for you.  From brand to brand the flavor of the tea can be substantially different. 

Here are a couple of recipe ideas to take your tea drinking to the next level. 

This first recipe for Earl Grey Cookies comes from Martha Stewart and can be found at www.marthastewart.com.

Earl Grey Tea Cookies

Makes about 8 dozen

You can grind the tea leaves in a small food processor or with a mortar and pestle.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 2 tablespoons finely ground Earl Grey tea leaves (from about 8 bags)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest

1. Whisk together flour, tea, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.

2. Put butter, sugar, and zest in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low; slowly mix in flour mixture until just combined.

3. Divide dough in half. Transfer each half to a piece of parchment paper; shape into logs. Roll in parchment to 1 1/4 inches in diameter, pressing a ruler along edge of parchment at each turn to narrow log and force out air. Transfer in parchment to paper-towel tubes; freeze 1 hour.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut logs into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Space 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets.

5. Bake until edges turn golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

This next recipe is for Tea Smoked Salmon with Wasabi Latkes is from Ming Tsai and can be found at www.foodnetwork.com.

ASIAN SMOKED SALMON

1 pound salmon fillet, center cut, skin off
1/2 cup mirin
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup ginger julienne
1 teaspoon toasted Szechwan peppercorns

SMOKING MIX
1 cup long grain rice
1 cup sugar
1 cup oolong tea or black lychee tea
1 piece aluminum foil
2 wet cloths

Cut the salmon in 4 equal pieces and place in a small hotel pan or baking dish. In a bowl, mix together mirin, water, sugar and salt, stir until dissolved. Add ginger and peppercorns to liquid. Pour brine on salmon and marinate for 1 hour. Pull salmon out of brine and place in a bamboo steamer. In a wok lined with foil add the rice, sugar and tea. Mix well and turn wok on medium heat. When mixture starts to smolder, place bamboo steamer on top. Seal the seam between the bamboo steamer and wok with wet cloths. Turn wok down to low and smoke for 15 minutes. Turn wok off and let smoke another 15 minutes. Salmon will be about medium rare and should be served warm.

WASABI POTATO “LATKES”

2 cups warm riced potatoes (boiled in salted water, drained well)
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup sliced green scallions
1 tablespoon horseradish
1 tablespoon wasabi powder mixed with a little water to form paste
Salt and black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs

In a bowl, mix warm potatoes and butter. Mix in scallions, horseradish and wasabi. Season with salt and pepper. Shape potato mixture into 2 1/2 inch diamater cakes. Dredge the cakes in flour followed by egg and finally panko. Deep fry cakes at 350 degrees until golden brown.

PLATING

Put a small mound of apple salad in the center of the plate, a potato cake on top and the salmon on top of the cake. Drizzle emulsion around the plate and garnish with chives.

Can you tell which mushrooms were salted and which weren’t in this experiment?  I have always wondered - if you salt mushrooms does it take longer to brown them?  Today, in the name of science I tested it out.  Here’s the setup, just so you can understand the process a little better.  I took a saute pan and sliced two whole mushrooms up.  I evenly divided them down the pan, each on their own side, on the outer edge. (So no one mushroom got more direct heat than any other mushroom)  I salted one side and not the other.(very carefully to make sure no salt got on the unsalted side of the pan)  I used two separate utensils to flip them.  Each sliced mushroom was allowed to brown for 3 minutes without movement and then flipped for an additional three minutes.  The heat was cut off and the mushrooms were removed.  Can you tell which ones had the salt and which ones didn’t?

I was surprised to find that very little difference between the two. (The mushrooms on the right are the salted ones, if you are wondering.)  The salt did draw out water from the mushrooms, but it didn’t seem to draw anymore water than the heat from the pan did.  The salted mushrooms were not sitting in a water bath, they were sweating at best.  But the unsalted mushrooms were also sweating.  I am not sure what would happen had I left the mushrooms in the salt for an extended period of time, but I think that is beyond the point of this experiment.  The point here was to see if adding salt to a mushroom in a pan causes them to brown slower.  Check back next week when I do part 2 of this study.  I am going to cook a whole pan of chopped mushrooms and salt them, perhaps the number of mushrooms increases the sweating substantially.  Stay tuned to find out.

Bell peppers come in a variety of colors including red, green, yellow, orange, purple, brown and black.  They are nicknamed “sweet” peppers.   Sweet peppers are rich in vitamins including A and C.  Medium bell peppers average only 30 calories per pepper.  Bell peppers are one of those vegetables that you can find all year in the grocery store, they taste pretty good throughout the year, but have a peak season during the months of August and September.  The colored peppers like red and yellow can be quite expensive during the “off-season” reaching prices of $4.00 per pound and more.  Most peppers you buy are actually a red variety.  Green peppers are picked before they turn red. 

When picking bell peppers at the grocery store you want to look for firm peppers without wrinkles.  They can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.  You should wash your peppers throughly before cooking with them as they are heavily fertilized. 

So how about some recipes utilizing sweet bell peppers?

Try Rachael Ray’s Zucchini-roni Pizza.  It really is a delicious vegetarian pizza.  I love the way the zucchini cooks up.  I often use my own homemade pizza dough with this recipe and it tastes fabulous. 

Zucchini-roni Pizza

1 (14-ounce) jar roasted red peppers or 2 medium homemade roasted red peppers
1/2 pound smoked fresh mozzarella, sliced thin
1 thin crust packaged pizza shell, 12 inches
1/2 medium zucchini, sliced very thin into discs (think of pepperoni slices as a guideline)
2 cloves garlic, minced
A drizzle extra-virgin olive oil (about 1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Coarse salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
If you are using jarred red peppers, drain them very well and pat peppers dry with paper towels. Place peppers in a food processor and pulse-grind into a paste. Spread paste in a thin layer on a thin crust shell. Top paste with thin slices of smoked fresh mozzarella cheese.
Place very thinly sliced zucchini discs in a small bowl and combine with remaining ingredients. Toss discs well to evenly coat with seasonings. The zucchini discs will have a flavor similar to pepperoni. You have just made zucchinironi!
Arrange your zucchinironi slices around your pie: as little or as much as you like, but do not overlap slices or you pie will be wet.
Bake directly on oven rack or on a preheated, perforated pizza pan. Bake 10 minutes on the middle rack of preheated oven or, until cheese is bubbly and golden and edges of pizza are crisp.

Or

Giada’s Stuffed Zucchini and Red Bell Peppers

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, grated
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 large egg
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano
1/4 cup dried plain bread crumbs
1 pound ground turkey, preferably dark meat
2 zucchini, ends removed, halved lengthwise and crosswise
1 short orange bell pepper, halved and seeded
1 short red bell pepper, halved and seeded
1 short yellow bell pepper, halved and seeded
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Lightly drizzle the olive oil into a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Whisk the onion, parsley, egg, ketchup, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the cheese and bread crumbs. Mix in the turkey. Cover and refrigerate the turkey mixture.

Using a melon baller or spoon, carefully scrape out the seeds and inner flesh from the zucchini, leaving 1/8-inch-thick shells. Be careful not to pierce through the skin. Fill the zucchini and pepper halves with the turkey mixture, dividing equally and mounding slightly. Arrange the stuffed vegetables in the baking dish. Pour the marinara sauce over the stuffed vegetables.

Bake uncovered until the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown and a thermometer inserted into the filling registers 165 degrees F, about 45 minutes. Transfer the stuffed vegetables to a platter and serve.

Here are the links to both recipes over at Food TV -

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_19942,00.html?rsrc=search  (Rachel’s Zucchini-roni Pizza)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_30881,00.html?rsrc=search  (Giada’s Stuffed Zucchini and Red Bell Peppers)

I have been thinking about this site a lot lately.  I think it’s important to provide you with lots of information on everything from kitchen skills to recipes.  I hope these pieces help to make your kitchen experiences more enjoyable. 

Today I am going to talk about avocados.  I thought avocados were a great ingredient to talk about in the week before Super Bowl.  So here’s a little history and helpful information on avocados.  Check out the end of this piece for recipes with avocados. 

Avocados have long been misunderstood, one of those fruits that most people consider a vegetable and given the notorious distinction of being fatting.  Avocados are high in fat, but good fat.  This fruit is native to Central and South America, but of course, grown elsewhere now.  The most popular variety of all avocados is the dark skinned Hass (also known as Haas) avocado.  Another common type in the US is the Florida avocado, which is larger and lighter in color.  Avocado has a great creamy texture that works great with spicier Tex-Mex foods.  The most common of all avocado dishes is, of course, guacamole.  Hass avocados work great in guacamole, with their incredibly smooth and creamy texture. 

You can find avocados year round.  Avocados are considered ripe when they give slightly to a gentle squeeze.  Be very careful when squeezing an avocado, they bruise easily.  A couple of things I did realize about avocados is they should be stored in the fridge (for up to a week) once ripened and you can mash avocados with lemon or lime juice and store them frozen for up to five months. 

Here are a couple of links on avocado recipes:

Emeril’s Shrimp and Avocado Salad - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_33548,00.html?rsrc=search

Juan Carlos Cruz’s Chicken and Avocado Quesadilla - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_27645,00.html?rsrc=search

Tyler Florence’s Egg Salad Sandwich with Avocado and Watercress - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_28652,00.html?rsrc=search

Or a recipe from over at Epicurious.com - Tortilla Soup with Crisp Tortillas and Avocado Relish  - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/101126