Elementary Chef

This past weekend I bought a breadmaker at a rummage sale. I was very excited because it is something I’ve wanted for a while. I was glad to get one cheaper than they retail since I wasn’t sure just how much I will use it. I’ve had it less than a week and have already made three loaves and will make my fourth one today.

The Sunbeam breadmaker came with a manual/recipe book. There are several bread, jams, and dough recipes. There is even instructions on how to make pasta using your breadmaker.

The first loaf of bread I made was from a mix, so it was pretty easy. The others were from recipes in the manual. They have all turned out really well. I enjoy the sweet breads more, of course that isn’t surprising to me since I have a huge sweet tooth. In fact, I think the whole set is sweet.

This weekend I will try to make some cinnamon rolls since the manual also includes glazes. It all sounds so delicious. I want to make some dough to use to bake our own hot dog buns. I may never buy bread again. If that does become the case, then this $15 purchase will be well worth it.

The loaves are pretty tall and this breadmaker is about 10 years old. I’m not sure how they have improved over the years. Some breadmakers I believe have a way to make longer loaves instead of tall loaves.

I’m really enjoying my breadmaker so much that if something happens to my current one I will buy one at full price.

One kitchen appliance I’ve been wanting for a while is a breadmaker. This weekend I happened upon one at a rummage sale for $15. It was still in the box and had written on it used 1 time. When breadmakers first hit the market, they were pretty expensive. Now they have come down in price. I thought $15 was a good deal especially on an appliance I may or may not use.

There is a lot you can do with a breadmaker. There’s the obivous - making bread - but you can also make dough, jams, and pizza crust. There are breadmaker mixes that make making bread very easy. The manual also has several bread recipes. We tried one today for a bread mix. Tomorrow I may try a plain white bread to start off with something simple.

There are apparently two cardinal rules when making bread in a breadmaker. First, use room temperature water and second, measure your dry and wet ingredients very carefully. Remove any excess off the top of dry measurements and sit the measuring cup on the counter to check liquids.

If I had known how versatile a breadmaker was, I would have probably bought one sooner.

One kitchen tool that is a must is a good, seasoned cast iron skillet. It is so versatile and will last forever. Cast iron skillets become a family heirloom. It can be quite challenging to break in a new cast iron skillet, but it is definitely worth the trouble.

When I first bought my cast iron skillet, I heeded my mom’s advice. Cover the skillet with cooking oil or grease. Place it in the oven for an hour at 350 degrees. Then repeat. I can’t remember how many times I did this but it was at least three. I still would have problems after cooking, so I would season the skillet again. My husband would even put it through the dishwasher(!) and the skillet could come out clean - rusty but clean. But after a good seasoning or two, it was back to normal. If your cast iron skillet begins to rust, put it in the oven on a very high temperature for 20 or so minutes. Then you should be able to clean the rust off.

After washing a cast iron skillet, be sure to dry it thoroughly before putting it away. Also after using your skillet, coat with oil once it’s dry after washing. I don’t have to do this anymore but when a skillet is new or if you have rusting issues, then you should do this.

My skillet is in need of a good season as food is beginning to stick. One thing I love about my cast iron skillet is that I have treated it poorly in the past but it survives. It’s definitely one kitchen tool that is a must for any cook.

The mini cupcake pan is one of my favorite kitchen items. It is great to make small, bite-sized cupcakes and muffins - ensuring that you can cut calories while still enjoying your favorite treat. It’s also fun to make these for bite-sized treats at parties.

The mini cupcake pan can not only be used to cook cupcakes but other yummy foods, too. Sausage balls are an easy recipe that makes a great addition to any party. Instead of rolling out the balls and placing them on a baking sheet, put the mixture into a mini muffin pan to make uniform, bite-sized goodness. It really makes this finger food favorite more appealing and ascetic.

Brownies are also another party treat that can be baked in a mini cupcake pan. Once again you will have a uniform snack food that is portion-controlled. Besides it will really stretch the batter since it will only take about a teaspoon to fill it up. You will have dozens of brownies. It’s just enough to get a good taste of brownie without overkill. Too much brownie is not a good thing. Believe me. If you are looking to take a nap, then by all means eat a big brownie.

There are plenty of other tasty treats you can make in your mini cupcake pan. Here is a list of mini cupcake recipes that range from really sweet ones like the peanut butter cup tassies to ones that could be served as appetizers like the taco cups.

The mini-cupcake pan might seem like an unnecessary kitchen item especially when you have a muffin pan. But it offers a great way to make small, bite-sized foods for either a party or for dinner.

At one point in time, I had three cutting boards. I think I’m down to two. This wood one is my favorite. The cutting board was a wedding gift from a friend in Australia. It has held up for 14 years and still looks really good. Besides this one, I have a plastic green on that I use exclusively for vegetables mainly because it tapers off at one end - making it easy to dump the veggies into a bowl or pan.

Since you can buy cheap plastic cutting boards, I have bought some strictly to use for crafting. It gives a great workspace when working with beads or small items - especially if you have anything to cut. It will save your table top that’s for sure.

Some cutting boards are really thick like a butcher’s block. Sadly I don’t have room for a big cutting board but if I did then I would definitely have one. Some kitchen islands have a butcher block for a top - making it a great multi-functional kitchen accessory. Again I don’t have room for one but would love on as well.

I have never seasoned my wood cutting board. You can season it with beeswax, mineral oil, coconut, almond, or walnut oil.

To clean a cutting board, you can use dish soap and water, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, or diluted bleach. I just use dish soap and water. I always clean my cutting board right after I use it. I then towel dry it, too.

I mainly use my cutting board for vegetables as I rarely cook chicken and usually the meat is already cut. When I cooked more chicken, I had a special plastic board for it because I was always worried about bacteria. Now I buy more pre-cooked chicken since it tastes better to me(never been wild about how my cooked chicken turns out) and don’t have to worry about cutting it up.

So tell me about your cutting board. Do you have more than one or a favorite type?

In our house, not a day goes by that we don’t use the microwave. Usually it’s to warm up something or use the timer. It still gets really messy sometimes. The last thing I want to do when it’s time to eat is clean the microwave, so food splatters are really hard to clean up. If I would just wipe down after use, then it would stay a lot cleaner. Why is it really hard to start good habits but bad habits are not a problem at all?

When I do clean the microwave, I first use a mixture of vinegar to loosen up that dried food. Start with a microwave safe bowl or glass. Next add a cup of water and a teaspoon of vinegar. Place it in the microwave for 3-5 minutes. Don’t immediately open the microwave door. You can put off cleaning just a few minutes longer and give the steam more time to work.

Now you can take your dishcloth and easily wipe off any food residue. It works great. If you still have stubborn spots, microwave the mixture for a few more minutes.

Wash your glass microwave plate with the rest of your dishes.

I always hated to clean the microwave as it was awkward to try to spray cleaner and then to scrub off the food spills and splatters. Vinegar is an amazing product and you should always have some on hand as it’s a great cleaner, laundry softener, and you can cook with it, too.

What makes this work well is really the steam. You can also use a cut lemon or Dawn dish washing liquid if you don’t have vinegar on hand.

I do love it when I get questions from readers. It makes my job so much easier! I got a question this afternoon about how to properly “zest” citrus fruits. Most commonly, a recipe will call for zest of lemon or lime. Sometimes (like in a recipe I plan to share just in time for Valentine’s Day!), the zest will be from an orange or some other citrus fruit. Regardless, the idea is the same, and you need a tool.

When you have properly zested a piece of fruit, the outer, colorful peeling will be gone, and you’ll be able just barely to see the white of the fruit. I have two favorite tools for this. My VERY favorite tool was a Christmas gift this year from my mother-in-law — the Microplane Zester. It’s INCREDIBLE, but God forbid you get your skin anywhere near it! This booger is SHARP! But it’s worth the danger. It does a fabulous job — just keep it covered and away from the kids. You can find these beauties at http://www.microplane.com, and they are well worth the investment.

My other favorite zester is for a different purpose. While the Microplane is fast, efficient, and oh-so-sharp, Pampered Chef makes a nice little zester for making “curly-cue” zests. These take a little longer, but they’re VERY cute — when you care about cute. This zester is available from Pampered Chef consultants — they do parties in your home — or online at http://www.pamperedchef.com.

Now, assuming you’re in a pinch, or not willing to invest in a good zester yet, you can use your cheese grater for this purpose. Just keep in mind that you want to keep the zest chopped fairly small (for better flavor) and you want to avoid getting the white rindy layers in your zest (it’s bitter.) So, opt with the smallest grater you own, and enjoy the citrusy goodness zest adds to all your dishes.

Can’t find a use for zest? How about these: on cupcakes, on broiled fish, in creams (whipped or other!)

Happy zesting!

People get cookbooks in a lot of ways. They can come to you as gifts, or you’ll hear about one online or maybe see one that looks interesting in the bookstore.

Thing is, it’s hard to know if the recipes are accurate, or the if writer has any idea what he or she is talking about. I heard a long time ago that Martha Stewart’s first cookbook was of better use as a doorstop, as many of the recipes were said to have some bad mistakes.

I don’t know since I’ve never seen it, but I’ve seen my share of bad cookbooks.

One I had was about sourdough baking. There were some good ideas in there, especially a spinach-cheese bread that was more of a snack item than just bread. Problem was, the basic sourdough method was wrong. Not only were you using the sourdough starter, but adding yeast as you would for a regular bread recipe. This resulted in loaves that were a grey color—not very appetizing—not to mention there was an odd taste as well.

There was also one that was supposed to be low-fat, “healthy� recipes, which turned out to not to be low-fat at all!

Probably the best thing you can do when choosing a cookbook, especially if you’re new to cooking, is stick with the tried-and-true, at least until you know more about it and can better judge the good from the not-so-hot. You can waste a lot of time and money using recipes that have basic flaws or typographical errors.

Your first one or two cookbooks should be those that somebody you know uses frequently, or that you’ve heard about so often you know it’s reliable.

Otherwise, it’s probably best to stay away from impulse buying when it’s a cookbook you’re considering. Most of my major mistakes came from buying cookbooks from the remainders section at the bookstore, and/or the author was somebody I’d heard about.

Now I realize those marked-down remainders got there for a reason, and it may not always be because of faulty marketing. Maybe the book itself has problems. Also, sometimes celebrities don’t write the book themselves. Well, you live and you learn.

Sometimes you can encounter a rare gem among the unpurchased and unread. Once you’ve had some experience in the kitchen and worked with a variety of recipes, then you can trust your own instincts.

cookbooks

This was a Christmas gift, but I’d been wanting one for a long time. In that inimitable way my husband has of figuring out what I really want for Xmas, he scored big this year!

I know, I’d read all the reviews about how toaster ovens don’t toast well, yadayada. Still, I wanted one, because I figured it would be a great help in the morning for my cheese toast – I have this almost every day, and it’s been a two-step process of toaster and microwave.

We also like garlic bread, toasted sandwiches of all kinds, (not to mention quesadillas!) and frequently find ourselves with one or two servings of something we just want to heat up. A microwave doesn’t always provide the kind of results we are looking for.

There’s also the issue of heating up the kitchen. Come summer, we try to come up with ways of having real food without having to raise the temperature in the house unduly with the big oven.

If you don’t mind if your toast comes out striped, and have limited kitchen space, a toaster oven may be the way to go for you, too. It’s a good idea to read through their (blessedly limited) user’s guide to ensure you’re using it right, as they’re a tad different from using a regular oven.

Never again having to trim oddly-shaped slices of bread is also a major selling point for me. When you do a lot of your own baking, or like the popular “artisan breads,� you know what I’m talking about here. ;>)

toaster oven

I got this for Christmas — good thing, ‘cos my most-recent copy was starting to fall apart. This is my third or fourth copy! So here’s a review, kinda. If you want serious, exhaustive critique, there are plenty of them out there. Here’s one.

I haven’t had a chance to use it, really, but what I see right off the bat is that it’s printed in Arial font, rather than the old Times New Roman, which makes it a little harder to read.

There is also only one bookmark ribbon in this hefty new edition, when there used to be two. I’m going to see if I can figure out a way to add another. So often I’m using more than one recipe or reference at a time, so I need more than one bookmark!

I keep telling myself I’m going to get the CD version, which my son has and wouldn’t be without. Maybe this year…

Oh, yeah, they have a website, now too. Complete with videos and newsletters!

Joy of Cooking

Even if you’re not shopping for cookware right now, these links have some good information on what’s what in the world of pots. I thought it was rather odd that the one with the most descriptive name (and the most information) was way, way, down on the list when I did a search on Google for cookware.

Cookware.org

Teflon
In Search of the Perfect Skillet

Pots and Pans: The Art Of Culinary Craftsmanship

cookware

Yes, those chilly days are here when you want something warm and substantial, without jumping thru too many hoops.

This is a two-person recipe, essentially. I make it in a little (I think it’s a quart-and-a-half) crockpot. I happened to see in a crockpot cookbook the other day that the author thought the little models were pretty much useless. Not so, in our house!

We use ours all the time. Not only is it more efficient for the amounts we cook, it’s much easier to wash up later.

Here’s what you do:

Peel and cut in half 2-3 potatoes. Introduce them to the bottom of the crockpot.

Pour over one 15-oz can or half a 32 oz jar of sauerkraut. Add 1 tablespoon caraway seeds, and/or 2 tablespoons brown sugar, if you like those flavors.

On top, place about 12-16 oz kielbasa, cut in serving-size chunks. (Some places it’s labeled Polish sausage. Or you may prefer simple smoked sausage. The difference is garlic. Polish has it, smoked does not.)

You should have just about enough room to fit it all in. Cover and cook on high 4 hours, low 6 hours. (It will also work if you need another 2 hours or so on low.)

Resist the temptation to stir!
When you’re done, you’ll have a meal you can serve on a plate as three separate things, not a muddle. The potatoes will have absorbed all the salt and flavors from the other things, and you may not need to add anything to them! Yummy!

crockpot, recipes

After I saw the post at Instapundit on cookware, I thought later he and his correspondents are looking at it in a different way than I would.

So in case any of you are thinking of cookware as a Christmas gift, you might also want to take into consideration the points I use when choosing pots and pans.

What the Instareaders are considering most are: how well does it cook, and how long does it last?

What I consider is: how well does it cook, how much does it cost, and how heavy is it?

For example, I do love cast iron. I actually have what could be considered a full set, including a dutch oven that I love. I never use any of it anymore, because it’s just too heavy for me with my arthritic hands. I don’t want to take the chance of having a big pot of something hot slip out of my grasp, while moving it from stove to counter, or wherever.

So if your intended giftee also has arthritis, or any other kind of disability, the weight can be important. A lighter, and possibly less durable item may be the better choice. Coincidentally, the lighter stuff tends also to be cheaper, so you can get more items for the same money.

Some pots/pans also have an extra little handle opposite the main handle. This is also helpful for those of us with weaker hands. I tend to use both hands when moving pots around anyway, and having the handle on the other side provides a bit of extra leverage.

Now, I know, some people would be horrified at the thought of giving someone pots and pans for Xmas. But a serious foodie would welcome any kind of kitchen thing!

It’s also possible your arthritic friend or loved one has been struggling with the same old, heavy equipment for a long time, and would enjoy having stuff that made the cooking a little easier. Heavy glass and ceramic mixing bowls are another thing that could be replaced with something lighter, such as stainless steel or even plastic.

After all, it is the thought that counts, right?

cookware, disability

Great discussion going on over at the Instapundit.

Check it out!

We had a request from Farley regarding what to do about her cast-iron pan that got yucky and flaky on the bottom.

So I took the request to my husband, our resident expert of sorts on cast iron, who said,
“What you’ve got there is a case of crud buildup. This happens a lot on these pans, because you’re not washing them, so the crud stays. It takes a long time to notice this, usually.

What I do is take the pan outside to the grill, and let it get red hot, like you would if you were making a blackened steak. Then I put on my heavy oven mitts, and take the pan over to a stump, a rock, or some other stationary object, and tap it until the crud falls off. Let it cool before you take it back into the house, re-season the pan, and you’re good to go.�
He also noted that you should not try this indoors, as there’s too much potential for accident due to the high heat levels involved.

When I asked what one would do if there was no grill available, I got a blank look in reply, as Paul is the Grill Maven of the Sonora, and can’t imagine anyone not having access to a good outdoor grill. My best guess on that would be soap&water, a metal scrubbie (maybe even a Brillo in a pinch) and plenty of elbow grease. You’re going to re-season it anyway, right?

There’s more on general care of cast iron pots & pans here.

cast iron, kitchen equipment