Elementary Chef

Ever just feel like some comfort food? Here’s my pick:

Butter Pecan Popcorn
1-2 bags microwave popped popcorn (natural style, no butter)
Butter-flavored cooking spray
1/2 c Pecan pieces
2 T butter, melted
1/3 c light corn syrup
1/2 package instant butter pecan pudding mix

Pick out and throw away unpoppped popcorn. Spray a 17×12 baking pan with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients. Pour contents of bowl onto pan. Heat at 300 degrees for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through baking. Remove the pan from the oven. Cool popcorn completely. When cool, break into large pieces. Store leftover popcorn, tightly covered, in a cool, dry place for up to 1 week.

Webcasts are becoming a very popular way to learn new cooking techniques! Now, organic superstore, Whole Foods, has joined the explosion. See below:

Whole Foods Market Launches Weekly Online Cooking Show
Secret Ingredient Video Podcast Aims to Deliver Inspiration By Sharing Unique Food Finds, Fresh Flavors and Quick Meal Solutions

Today, the natural and organic grocer launches Secret Ingredient, its first-ever weekly online cooking show and resource for home cooks seeking useful tips and exciting yet simple recipe
ideas.

The video podcast will be available on Whole Foods Market’s website http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/secretingredient ) as well as on iTunes (http://www.itunes.com ) and on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com ). Secret Ingredient features foods that are exclusive to Whole Foods Market or are special because they meet the Company’s strict quality standards — including the world’s first nitrate-free prosciutto, award-winning aged Balsamic vinegar, fresh artisan-made goat cheese and hand selected Parmigiano Reggiano.

“We hope to deliver inspiration,” said Scott Simons, Whole Foods Market food aficionado and host of Secret Ingredient. “Because we focus on only one ingredient per episode, viewers really get to know the featured item and take away practical cooking tips and recipes. Top that off with easy yet tasty meal solutions and Secret Ingredient is a home cook’s treasure.”

The first episode features farm-raised catfish, a mild and versatile fish raised without antibiotics in a pristine, controlled environment. Using the fish, Simons delivers a quick and tasty recipe for Thai-inspired fish tacos.

The video podcast is filmed in high definition at Whole Foods Market stores and its culinary centers throughout the United States. A new episode is available every Monday beginning today at
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/secretingredient and all episodes will be archived
for anytime availability.

Shrimp scampi is one of my favorite dishes, and since I’m in the mood for it, I decided to blog the recipe!

Shrimp Scampi
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon minced green onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 to 5 cloves garlic minced or pressed
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
About 1/2 half pound medium-size (30 to 40 per lb.) raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel
Dash of liquid hot pepper seasoning (tabasco)
Lemon wedges

In a wide frying pan over medium heat,melt butter. Stir in onion, oil, garlic, lemon juice, and salt, cook until bubbly. Add shrimp to pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp turn pink (about 5 minutes). Stir in parsley, lemon peel, and hot pepper seasoning. Spoon into serving dish, garnish with lemon wedges. Makes 2 servings.

recipes, shrimp scampi, seafood, cooking

Oh my goodness! I’m typing from my kitchen, while I’m cooking up a storm. The flan is done and chilling…. The chile relleno is baked and sitting on the stove top… I’m currently browning the taco beef and some chicken and chopping taco veggies.

And next… I’ll make nachos! I forgot to tell you how! Not that you can’t all make nachos, but here ya go…

Top tortilla chips with taco beef, lots of cheese, tomatoes, onions, and black olives.
Throw under the broiler just long enough to melt cheese.

Enjoy your party! And send me pictures!

If you’ve been following along… We’ve invited guests to our Cinco de Mayo celebration. We’ve learned a few new cooking techniques and recipes. Now we’re ready to assemble our shopping list and hit the grocery!

To re-cap, here is a quick list of links to what we’ve already covered:

Here is our menu:
- Margaritas, Dos Equis, Iced Tea
- Nachos Grande
- Soft and hard tacos
- Chili relleno
- Mexican rice
- Refried beans
- Flan

The Nachos Grande will just be assembly, and we’re going to thank Lipton for making great ready to prepare Mexican rice.

Your shopping list for 8

For Margaritas:

That’s it! Tomorrow we start the prep work, so even the chef can enjoy the dinner party!

dinner party, cinco de mayo, menu, shopping list

This site is called Elementary Chef. Therefore, I would be neglecting my duties to you if I didn’t walk you through this step BEFORE we fix tacos for Saturday night. In many a recipe, you will find the mandate to “brown” the ground beef. First, let’s talk about what ground beef means. There are a number of choices of ground meat available at the butcher. Most of the varieties of beef are differentiated by their fat content. Moment of honesty? The lower the fat, the drier the taste. I’m afraid the fat really does just taste GOOD. Now clearly you should eat 70% lean (and therefore 30% fat) ground beef every day, but if you’re making chili….. It sure is good!

That said, for tacos, you can freely pick any ground beef at your butcher’s counter. I typically buy ground chuck. To brown the beef, you will heat a skillet to medium-high and add the meat. Unless you’re using some super-lean beef (97-99% fat free), you do not need to add oil. The fat will provide plenty of grease. As the meat cooks, gently stir it with a wooden spoon or a spatula to keep the meat from sticking to the bottom of the skillet. As the beef cooks, it will turn brown (hence the term, browning.) You will know it’s finished when all the pink is gone.

The beauty of ground beef is that you can brown it in bulk (several pounds at a time), and then freeze the pre-browned beef in single-meal size bags (1/2-1 pound.) Sure makes dinner easy!

browning ground beef, basic cooking

The Cinco de Mayo countdown continues! Today’s recipe is for refried beans. I know you can get refried beans in a can. And you can dump a couple of cans into a sauce pan, and no one will be much the wiser. BUT, if you want to go the extra mile… Try making your beans from scratch. Yum.

Serve refried beans as a starchy accompaniment or as a filling for tacos, enchiladas, Tostadas and the other dishes which call for refried beans.

Refried Beans
6 c. water
1 bag dried kidney beans
1 onion, diced
3 T hot bacon drippings (feel free to toss in the bacon, too! You can substitute butter for vegetarian beans.)
Salt, to taste
Garlic, to taste (about 1-2 t)
Chili powder, to taste (about 1-2 T)

Combine beans and water in slow cooker. Cook on high for one hour, then turn down to low. Simmer until beans are very tender. Mash beans with a potato masher, add bacon drippings (and bacon) or butter. Mix well; continue cooking, stirring frequently until beans are thickened and fat is absorbed. Add seasonings to taste.

cinco de mayo, dinner party, refried beans, Mexican, recipes

Elementary Chef is sick, sick, SICK today. So instead of helping plan your dinner party, today, you get tips for buying a grill, from Weber.

Before you start shopping, know these ABCs of grill construction:

A. On the top of every grill is the hood, which keeps heat from escaping
B. The cookbox is the body of the grill and houses the cooking system, which consists of three primary components:
— The cooking grates, where you place the food
— Below the cooking grates is a heat dispersal system
— The burner tubes at the bottom which provide heat
C. Underneath the cookbox is some type of system to channel and collect grease

Once in the store, follow these seven tips:
1. Give it the wiggle test. A well-built grill will feel solid and stable. Look for a grill that has solid steel welded construction. The casters and wheels should be up to appliance standards and designed to survive extreme hot and cold temps so they don’t break.
2. Lift up the hood. Most grill shoppers stop at opening and closing the hood. If it feels heavy, they tend to think the grill is good. But that’s like judging a car by the weight of its hood. Check what’s inside to really judge how it will perform. You also want a sturdy, weather resistant handle that also provides a safe clearance for your arm and hand.
3. Check out the grates. Better grills have individually welded porcelain-enameled steel, stainless steel, or porcelain-enameled cast-iron cooking grates. Avoid nickel- or chrome-plated steel because they can rust.
4. Lift out the grates and look inside. The cooking system should be designed to minimize flare-ups and allow for even, controlled grilling. On full-sized grills, there should be two or more separately controlled burners (not just control knobs) running the length of the cookbox. They should be spaced evenly and made out of high-grade stainless steel, which will stand up to the small amounts of water found in liquid propane and natural gas. Beware of grills with a dedicated infrared searing zone — you
may lose the ability to use that grilling space for anything but searing at high temperatures.
5. Where does the grease go? Look for a system that funnels drippings down and away from burners into an easy-to-reach, high-capacity, removable catch pan. Don’t settle for a grill that expects you to rig up an empty soup can for drippings. Avoid shallow pans as they could overflow on to
your deck, patio, or balcony.
6. Get the right BTUs. The BTU (British Thermal Units) rating measures how much gas the grill can burn, not heat output. A gas grill with 600 square inches of cooking space needs about 35,000 BTUs to reach a searing temperature of 550 to 600 degrees F. Generally, larger grills require
higher BTUs.
7. Whom to Trust. Ask if the grill is actually made by the company whose name is on the product. If not, you may have a difficult time obtaining replacement parts in the future. Also, look for an uncomplicated and generous warranty, a web site with plentiful guidance, and a toll-free customer support line manned by real people who quickly answer your call when you need help. In fact, call the customer service department while you’re shopping. It’s a great test of how you’ll be treated after the sale.