Thursday, September 15, 2011
Kitchen Tip
Kitchen Tip: Get your cookware at IKEA. Seriously. Buy the midgrade stuff like the IKEA 365 line. It's solid and cheap enough to be rough with. A nice 9 inch frying an will run you about $15. And in my opinion that pan is way better than the twice as expensive kind you get at other places.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Food tip:
Next time you buy paprika get the Sweet Hungarian Paprika variety. Way tastier. More aromatic.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Cooking fact:: Broth vs. Stock
Cooking fact: What's the difference between "stock" and "broth"? Well, the difference is that stock is made with bones. That means there's collagen in the liquid which will give a more satin texture. And turns kinda gelatinous when it gets cold. Oh and one more thing, broth usually has little floaties and chunkies swirling around in the liquid. Stock on the other hand is just a nice thin liquid.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Pro tip of the day
Mr. Finicky's Pro tip of the day:
Right about now you can buy basil plants for 2 or 3 bucks. Not only is that cheaper than the 4 or 5 dollar bags from the produce department, you get way more basil than in the bags, and it can grow more!
Right about now you can buy basil plants for 2 or 3 bucks. Not only is that cheaper than the 4 or 5 dollar bags from the produce department, you get way more basil than in the bags, and it can grow more!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Mr. Finicky on Facebook
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Food Tip of the Day
Food Tip of the Day:
Nothing goes better with fresh tomatoes than fresh herbs. But most of the time you're not going to use the whole bunch of parsley at one time. So to keep those leafy herbs like cilantro, Italian parsley, rosemary, etc fresh just wash the bunch, cut a little of the stems off and put it in a glass 1/3 filled with water. Not only do they stay fresh for about 2 weeks they also are a pretty centerpiece!
Nothing goes better with fresh tomatoes than fresh herbs. But most of the time you're not going to use the whole bunch of parsley at one time. So to keep those leafy herbs like cilantro, Italian parsley, rosemary, etc fresh just wash the bunch, cut a little of the stems off and put it in a glass 1/3 filled with water. Not only do they stay fresh for about 2 weeks they also are a pretty centerpiece!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
How to peel and seed a tomato
Peeling and seeding a tomato is really not too tough, but why would you wan to? Without the seeds sauces are more velvety, that is more uniform in consistency. Seed are tough, and don't taste all that great after they're cooked for a long time.
In my opinion the bigger the tomato the easier this process is.
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, enough to completely cover your tomatoes.
While you wait for the water to boil de-stem and wash your toms (this should go without saying but for instructional purposes I'll include).
2. With tongs or a slotted spoon drop about 7-10 medium sized tomatoes into the boiling water. And wait a little bit. Typically for me this takes about a minute for a medium sized tomato.
3. When you see the skin wrinkle or split open take the tomato out and put it in an ice bath (a cold water bath will do it if you make sure to replace the water when it gets warm). This is to make them cool enough to handle and to stop the cooking process.
4. When the toms are cool enough to handle just peel off the loose skin!
5. To cut the tom take the tomato, stem up, and with a knife cut the tom in half just to the right of the stem. Flip the tom half with the stem on its side and cut the top off so it's flat. Put the tom on its flat top(stem on the cutting board) and surgery that stem out. I make two cuts at an angle to form a little stem pyramid then I just yank it out.
6. Take the tom halves and use your fingers to scoop out the seeds. Now you are never going to get every single seed so don't obsess about it. And don't forget to wash your hands before you cook.
Yeah! Now you have tomatoes ready for canning or to make any number of tomato and tomato sauce dishes.
In my opinion the bigger the tomato the easier this process is.
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, enough to completely cover your tomatoes.
While you wait for the water to boil de-stem and wash your toms (this should go without saying but for instructional purposes I'll include).
2. With tongs or a slotted spoon drop about 7-10 medium sized tomatoes into the boiling water. And wait a little bit. Typically for me this takes about a minute for a medium sized tomato.
3. When you see the skin wrinkle or split open take the tomato out and put it in an ice bath (a cold water bath will do it if you make sure to replace the water when it gets warm). This is to make them cool enough to handle and to stop the cooking process.
4. When the toms are cool enough to handle just peel off the loose skin!
5. To cut the tom take the tomato, stem up, and with a knife cut the tom in half just to the right of the stem. Flip the tom half with the stem on its side and cut the top off so it's flat. Put the tom on its flat top(stem on the cutting board) and surgery that stem out. I make two cuts at an angle to form a little stem pyramid then I just yank it out.
6. Take the tom halves and use your fingers to scoop out the seeds. Now you are never going to get every single seed so don't obsess about it. And don't forget to wash your hands before you cook.
Yeah! Now you have tomatoes ready for canning or to make any number of tomato and tomato sauce dishes.
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