Ghee, not Glee. The easy way.

Ah, butter. Such a glorious flavor. It contributes a richness and flavor that cannot be matched by anything else.  If only we could cook with it at high temperatures without burning the crap out of it.  Actually, we can.  By clarifying the butter, we remove the water and milk solids thus increasing the smoke point without losing a whole lot of flavor.  Traditionally, this is called ghee.

Ghee, historically was made from yogurt.  By boiling and constantly stirring the yogurt and then straining out all the solids, we are left with a flavorful oil that works wonders for high heat cooking.  The flavor is nutty, buttery, even creamy.  For most of us, this is just way too time consuming to do properly, and I haven’t found real traditional ghee anyway.  Nowadays, most ghee is made with butter instead of yogurt, so that is what we will talk about today.

So, first off we need to decide how good to make the Ghee.  You can use expensive butter and make it super tasty, etc, but I have found there isn’t too much difference between mid-range butter and cheap butter.  The only thing I WILL NOT compromise on is using sweet cream unsalted butter.  Actually, if you really want to save money, you can do a 50/50 mix of butter and margarine.  Ideally, you will want to make this at least a pound at a time.  You will also need a heavy bottom pot for this, otherwise it will heat too quickly and you might scald the butter.

Put the pot on the stove, toss in your butter (and margarine if you choose).  Start with low heat to melt the butter.  Stir occasionally to make sure it does not scald.  When the butter is melted all the way, start bringing up the heat stirring regularly.   Ideally, the butter should get to a gentle rolling boil for about 5 minutes.  After this 5 minutes, drop the temperature to a very light simmer skimming as much of the “scum” off the top as possible.  When all the scum is gone, kill the heat.

Now, that you have cooked off all the water, removed as much of the particulates as possible, and separated the butter fat from the milk sugar, it is time to ladle off the butter.  This is important.  Don’t get greedy, don’t get impatient.  Ladle out the ghee slowly into a clean container that you can seal airtight.  I say slowly because you don’t want to stir up the stuff at the bottom.

Ghee is great because you can chill it or store it at room temperature.  You can use it for anything you would use cooking oil for.  For moments of inspiration, you can mix it with other oils to raise their smoke point and absorb their flavor.  Oils like walnut, Wanna make a brown roux without the bitterness?  Ghee is the way to go.

As always, if you want to let me know what you think of the instructions, what you have done with your ghee, or have any ideas for future posts, let me know with comments below, or email me.

Enjoy

Published in: on July 8, 2010 at 8:52 pm  Leave a Comment  
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SALSA!!

Corn Salsa
Summertime is here and it is time for SALSA!!! I love salsa. Cool, refreshing, a little spicy, and EASY!! I will make salsa out of any “solid” fruit or vegetable. I am happy that @JoshSmith over at walletpop.com asked me for this recipe. This is going to be fun.
- First, let us address peppers. Different peppers have different flavor and different heat. To determine the heat, I recommend the Scollville Scale. This scale tells you just how hot a pepper is. For flavor, you kind of have to guess. Pablanos and Seranos are kind of earthy, Jalapenos and Habeneros are kind of sweet. I typically do not leave the Jalepeno unless I want something REALLY hot for salsas. I control the heat by how many seeds I include and how much sugar I add.

*As an aside, if anything is too hot, use sugar water to kill the heat. Not soda (corn syrup), not beer (carbohydrates), and                               especially not milk(fat) as these things will carry and spread the heat not cut it. Use plain sugar in water.


- For spices in a salsa, I tend to stick with the most bright and the most “earthy” spices I can. Cilantro is a bright herb bringing a kind of “iron” flavor to your salsa. White pepper is nice because it doesn’t taste as “dirty” as black pepper. Red pepper has kind of a sweeter flavor and is great for fruit salsas. Cumin is that “earthy” flavor you find in chili. Anise sounds kind of crazy but, dealing with “spicy” fruits like mango or pineapple the licorice flavor is a tremendous complement, just don’t go crazy with it. A very little anise will go a long way.

- Vinegar is important as well. This will provide you with the sour flavor that really develops the salsa. Most people think of vinegar as salads and cleaning coffee makers. I am here to tell you, this is a cheapening of what vinegar can be. Think of vinegar like wine gone too long. Different vinegars complement different flavors. A Balsamic is great for sweet, dark salsas like tomato/black bean, pineapple, even simple fresh roma tomato salsas. Red wine vinegar works great for tomato, tomatilla, and grape salsas. Rice wine vinegar complements asian style salsas and if you want a real treat try a jicama/ginger salsa with rice wine vinegar. That is goodness. Cider vinegars are great for apple, pear, or any real “hard” fruit salsa. The key is to test it for yourself.
- Oil, I only ask that you don’t use simple oils like “vegetable” or rapeseed oil. Use olive, cottonseed, almond, walnut, whatever kind of oil you think is tasty. Not the bland stuff.
- Acid is very important in salsas as it helps break down and combine ingredients. Keep in mind there is acid in citrus and tomatoes as well as many other things. This is how a salsa joins its flavor.

AND, with that the informational period is over. Now it is time for the salsa. I am going to describe a corn salsa, but the “sauce” can be used as a base for many different kinds of salsa. By using the information held above, you can alter this base to work for all kinds of fruits, vegetables, and legumes. I will offer options at the bottom of the page.

I LOVE corn salsa. I use this in so many dishes it becomes ridiculous. Eggs, burritos, topping pot roast, with chips, ooowee!! Corn salsa is awesome. Because of this, I make kind of a big batch. The recipe I am going to present is a Corn/Tomato/Black bean salsa. It makes about 10-15 servings depending on how much you use, I figure about ½ cup is a good serving.
*A standard can is about 14 oz.

Ingredients:
• 1 can corn (better than frozen for salsa) drained/rinsed
• 1 can diced tomatoes with liquid (consistent in flavor)
• 1 can black beans drained/rinsed
• 3 jalepenos diced (2 de-seeded)
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tbsp cumin
• ¼ cup vinegar (cider)
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• 1tbsp oil (olive)
Take all the stuff listed above except the oil and mix it all together. Let it stand refrigerated for 24 hours.
Add the oil and mix well before serving.

If you want to do another kind of salsa, use different fruit/vegetables.
• Mango/white bean
• Pineapple/red pepper
• Jicima/Ginger(fresh)/Black beans
• Pumpkin(diced and lightly steamed till soft)/nutmeg instead of cumin/oregano instead of cilantro
• Apple
• Pear

The truth is, you can make a salsa from just about anything. Salsas are great for topping grilled food, adding extra veggies to simple sautees, topping salads, heck I even put fruit salsa on top of ice cream. Sweet, spicy, and chunky, salsas are great for so many things.

If you find new ideas or combinations for salsa, let me know at One Guy Cooking

Published in: on June 4, 2010 at 5:52 am  Comments (3)  
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Good Gravy!!

Here is a quick tip for those eating on the go.

Let’s say you cooked a meal and all of a sudden you realize: “This needs gravy!!”
Gravy is good because it makes a dry meal moist. It adds flavor to the bland. And, its tasty on its own. I like gravy and rice, but you can add it to everything. Like, Gravy and Eggs.
For this, you will need a soup base or stock base, preferably not the bouillon cubes your mom used to use. I personally like L.B. Jamison’s, but you can use what you want. Just make sure it is a powder (of sorts).
If you have drippings, cool. If not, no big deal.

  • The first step is your fat. For two servings, I use 2 tbsp of fat. Usually, one tbsp of butter and one tbsp of olive oil. This is not specific, so you can guestimate if you have drippings already.
  • Get the oil hot on Medium High Heat.
  • Mix in a teaspoon (or a little more if you want more flavor of your base. I keep Chicken and Beef in the house, but you can get seafood or lobster or vegetable, or pork. If you are really in need and have some ramen around the house, you can even use the flavor packet from that.
  • Mix about 2 tbsp of flour to the fat. Do this carefully. You want the texture and consistency of “wet sand”. Like when the water rolls off the beach. That kind of “wet sand”. You may need a little more, or a little less flour. Just make sure it is nice and mixed.
  • Keep stirring this for about 15-20 seconds.
  • Now add about 1 cup of water. Again, you may need a little more or less depending on your flour and your taste.
  • Make sure this gets mixed really well. You want to try to get rid of all lumps. This is best in a pan that is not “non-stick” because you can use a whisk, but you can use a wooden spoon in a “non-stick” pan and get decent results.
  • Bring it up to a boil for about 30-60 seconds.

Voila!! Gravy!!

Experiment with this a bit. You will find that you can add all kinds of flavors with just a little hot sauce or Worchestershire, some truffle oil, or fish paste.

Let me know if you have any really tasty ideas to alter this.
Or if you want me to post anything special for you.
Enjoy!!

Published in: on June 1, 2010 at 1:54 am  Comments (1)  
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Chicken Fried Rice For Jim

As I am writing this for a specific occasion, I am going to make uber-fancy Chicken Fried Rice. I will also add an uber-easy Chicken Fried Rice after. I will also put an asterisk next to something that can be substituted with easier ingredients.
Tools:

• Wok or Heavy bottom sautee pan
• Wooden spoon
• Marinating container
• Mixing bowl
• Whisk

Ingredients:

• Chicken breast
• Snow Peas
• Carrots
• Jicima
• Spring(green) Onions
• Broccoli
• Ginger
• Garlic
• Soy Sauce
• Olive Oil
• Lemon
• Rice (Jasmine works best)
• Sesame Oil
• Brown sugar
• 2 eggs

The day before making the dinner, make the rice according to the instructions on the bag. Place the chicken breast between two pieces of wax paper and flatten with meat hammer or heavy pan. The chicken should be at least twice as big and half as flat. Slice the chicken into bite sized pieces. Put into a container that can be either closed or wrapped tightly. In a bowl whisk together ¼ cup soy sauce, the juice from ½ the lemon (about a tablespoon), 1 tablespoon Brown Sugar. While whisking, drizzle about 2 tablespoons of the sesame oil into the sauce. You want to emulsify it a bit so the oil stays distributed. Pour the sauce in with the chicken, seal it up and marinate overnight. When the rice is cooked, refrigerate that too.
Ok, This is the prep work. You can do this the day before or the day of, whichever you prefer. Peel the ginger, the carrots, and the jicima. Chop them and the onions and broccoli. You want everything to be either 1 inch julienned sticks or ¼ inch cubes (even the broccoli). Chop the ginger and garlic to a fine dice.
And now, the fun. Turn on the heat to med high, get the pan nice and hot. You want it hot enough that if you drip some water on it, the water dances and spits. Pour about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the pan. Add ½ the onions, and the chicken. Make sure you keep it moving. Because you pounded it flat, it shouldn’t take very long to cook. Now add the carrots and jicima for about 30 seconds. Add the rest of the vegetables. Keep everything moving, keep stirring. Add another tablespoon of olive oil, and wait 10 seconds. Now, you can add the rice. Again, keep this moving add the garlic and ginger, and most of the rest of the onions. When you see the rice start to turn a little brown, add 1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce. For this part turn up the heat a little. The rice will start to jump and split, crack open the two eggs over the rice . Keep stirring the mixture for about 2 minutes or the egg is cooked then remove from heat. Divide between two plates, sprinkle some of the green onions on top, and voila, Chicken Fried Rice.

Simple Chicken Fried Rice
Make the rice the day before so it is cold when you fry it.
Ingredients

• Rice (Jasmine is my favorite)
• Canned chicken(well drained)
• 2 eggs
• Frozen mixed vegetables
• Diced onions
• Garlic powder
• Ginger (powder)
• Soy Sauce

• Olive oil

Pan on medium high heat, get the oil nice and hot. Add the onions and canned chicken. Add the rice. Season with garlic powder and ginger powder. Add the frozen vegetables. Stir for about 45 seconds. Add Soy Sauce until it looks like the right color. Crack the two eggs over the rice. Stir until eggs are cooked.

Published in: on May 20, 2010 at 1:55 am  Comments (4)  
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Cooking for one. Tips and Tricks for ease and savings

I know, this is going to cause a few people to go into shock, but yes this is a new post.

I figured I would share some of my tricks for good tasty cooking for one (or two) easy and fast.

For the sake of brevity, I am only using myself as the example here.  Even though I only say one, that could include several.  It’s just easier to write about what I know.

1. MOST IMPORTANT!!!  Go to Sam’s Club or CostCo or GFS or anyplace similar and get yourself the restaurant sized plastic wrap.  The short or long roll, it doesn’t matter.  You will spend about $20 for something that will work better than any “Saran Wrap” you can find on the market and it will last you a year or better.  Mine is about 2 years old and no sign of an end in sight.  If you are a big foil user, get the big roll of this too.  Saving money is a good thing.

2. Freeze your meat.  This sounds quite obvious, but I often find that I have too much meat for one serving.  AND, it’s usually cheaper to buy in larger quantities.  When I get ground beef, I have the person at the meat counter separate it into 1/2 lb portions so I can wrap the portions in plastic when I get home.  I get the bulk packages of chicken thighs and wrap those in pairs too.  Hot Dogs, Bratwurst, Pot Roast, sausage, anything you want.  Just make sure you have time after shopping to divide it all into individual portions.  Even if you are planning on cooking for more than one, make individual portions.  The individual portions will prevent waste in the long run and that is always good on the wallet.  For chicken breast, I get the bags of individually frozen breasts.  Even though it is a lot cheaper to buy the raw bone-in breast, the ease of the individual breasts is too much for me to pass up.

3.  Frozen vegetables.  There is a wide variety of frozen vegetables available.  Using frozen not only tastes better, but you can decide for yourself how much you want to use.  It’s easy to sautee some veggies into any dish you want.  With a microwave and a sandwich bag, it’s real easy to steam the veggies you want to perfection.  Don’t add water, just put the frozen veggies in the bag, close it up, and microwave on high for about 1-2 minutes.  Watch out though, the steam in the bag gets REALLY hot.

4.  Starches.  What a pain in the ass making starch for one can be.  So I say don’t.  Part of this trick, I learned from working in restaurants.  Get some small plates (saucers and such) from a thrift store.  Portion your starches to individual servings and wrap them tightly with plastic.  I have a rice cooker (thank you, darlin’).  I love how easy making rice can be with it.  I make 4 cups of rice at a time and will make 8 portions of rice out of it.  I use the rice for stir fry or burritos, or just sides.  Mashed potatoes are just as easy to portion out.  If you are just using them for sides, just pop the plate, still wrapped into the microwave for 2-3 minutes.  For anything else, just sautee or bake as desired or prescribed in your recipe.

5.  Empty your cans into Tupperware before cooking.  I love corned beef hash.  If I may plug here, I would say that the Hormel brand is the best out there, but I can’t eat a whole can of hash in one sitting.  So I portion it out.  I store it first to so that it won’t go bad as quickly.  Same could be said for salad fixins’ (beets, garbanzo beans, etc), and soups.  Just do it right away, before you cook it.

7.  Chop your veggies.  I like to have diced onions, peppers, celery, and tomatoes in just about everything.  The tomatoes I have to dice for each meal, but onions and peppers can be done early in the week and tossed in a freezer bag and frozen.  Just use as much as you need and keep the rest frozen.  This method lets me get the big onions, and peppers, and I don’t have to waste anything.

8. For a nice trick, ramen noodles are great.  Cook off the ramen per the instructions, and while they are absorbing that broth and softening, sautee some sliced chicken or pork tenderloin with some onions and veggies.   Perhaps you can add some ginger if you have it, some celery, garlic, a little soy sauce.  Good stuff.  When the chicken is fully cooked, add the broth and noodles to the pan.  Mix a little sour cream or butter if you want to smooth the flavor a little.  Good, easy, tasty.  All the things I love about cooking.

Well, I have to get back to doing my homework.  Sorry for such a long delay.  I hope to add another post soon.

Much love folks.  Enjoy your food.  I hope I helped some.

Don’t forget to leave your comments or questions

Published in: on February 23, 2010 at 8:50 pm  Comments (1)  
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Sorry for the problems

I know my site has been down a few days.  I was waiting for my domain to switch to this lovely new site.  I hope you like this page better than the last.  I know that I do.

I have to make a tomato recipe soon.  This may be tough, but I have an idea.  I will try to get that written and published tonight.

Thanks much for your patience

Mingus

Published in: on October 21, 2009 at 8:34 pm  Leave a Comment  

Boar Bacon and Clam Chowder

I have some boar bacon that I need to get rid of.  Yeah, this is probably not something you say very often, but I am a sucker for the spontaneous food buy.  “Squid ink???  Sold!!  Monkfish on sale??  You betcha!!  Squirrel fillets??  AwlRIGHT!!”  I have been known to do this.  A year ago I had the notion to make clam chowder and never did.  This means I have clams in my cupboard that I should probably use as well.  It’s supposed to be cold this week and I have a few minutes to kill so why not?  Let’s make some clam chowder!!
I like to get my ingredients together first so here is what I got.  Some onions, some corn, a potato, the clams (boiled baby in a can), and of course the boar bacon.
I am a sucker for skin-on potatoes so I don’t bother peeling them.  A simple slice horizontal, slice vertical and then chop gives me pretty good dice.  I diced the onions a few days ago for something else and I have to use them now or they will die.  No point saying how much it is cause I don’t know.  I don’t think it matters.  I like onions and would like to taste them, but you might not.  Dice the bacon last so you don’t have that cross contamination thing people talk about.
Oh!!  I forgot.  Try to play some music from Boston or anywhere along the NE coastline.  It helps to get in the mood.  I chose Morphine for this.  The couple arguing in the parking lot out back helps with the ambience as well.  “NO, I am not getting in the car!!  You’re an asshole!!”  Yup, sounds like Boston.
Back to food; I start with some olive oil in the bottom of the pan.  Some people prefer butter.  I like both so I throw some in.  GET IT HOT on MEDIUM HIGH!!!!  I have an electric stove so I need patience.  (With a gas stove, I can throw it on high and back it down.  No way that is happening with electric.)
When it is hot, throw in the bacon (you can use regular bacon too.  The smokier the better).  Some people may ask why I am not just rendering fat back and skipping the oil.  I have the boar bacon.  You probably have bacon.  Do YOU keep fat back in your fridge?
Once that has cooked, popped, and sizzled for about 30 seconds (yes, half a minute) add the onions (I would add celery here too but, I didn’t have any).  If you are using an electric stove like me, it better not be higher than 7 or 8, EVER.  The only time I let my stove get to HI or 10 is if I am boiling water.  There is no other point and invariably food will get burnt on HI.
So the onions are sweating nicely, turning a little clear and that oil has recovered.  You have the pop and sizzle again so it is time to add the potatoes.  “WHAT??  You add the potatoes now??  Where are the clams???”  Patience young padawan.  You want to fry the potatoes just a bit so they hold form after boiling.  People don’t tell you this trick.  My chef told me that Martha was wrong.  He was right, she wasn’t. Deal with it.  You want to salt the potatoes while your at it.
“What about pepper?  Sean!!  What about pepper???  The Ewok (Emeril) always says to add fresh cracked pepper!!  (twist, twist, crack, shake, BAM)”  No, no pepper until there is sauce.  You put pepper in the hot oil and you are gonna waste your pepper.  I won’t stop you but it’s like putting oil in pasta water.  Oil floats so it sits on the top and MAYBE will get on the pasta when you dump it out.  Pepper is essential oils or rather that is what you want from it.  When you have hot oil, it scorches the pepper oils.  Yer better to wait until you have something that has a lower boiling temp like milk or water to carry it.
Ok, do your potatoes have a little tan?  Maybe about a minute while you move them around a bit will do.  They should not be browned.  Now you can add the clams.  I like boiled baby clams because they are whole.  You can used chopped if you want.  Usually that is cheaper.  Just make sure to add the water they come in.  That means you can’t get the ones in oil.  Don’t get the smoked clams.  It won’t be tasty.  The liquid should cover 2/3 the stuff in your pot.
As Bob Marley said, “Stir It Up”  keep it moving gently until it starts to bubble a little.  This doesn’t mean you stand at the stove for the next 5 minutes stirring.  Every 45 seconds should be ok.  Wander around, have a conversation, play DoodleJump, whatever.  Once it is boiling a little, you can add cream, enough that it swirls at the top, probably a ¼-½  a cup.  Then add your milk, probably about 1.5-2 cups.
From here you have to kind of watch it more closely.  I use this time to start a roux.  WHAT?? You don’t know how to make a roux???  Ok, it’s easy.  Put a sautee pan on heat.  Put either 3 tbsp of olive oil and 1tbsp of butter OR 6 tbsp of butter in it.  While that is getting hot and melting, get some flour out.  All the butter melted and is starting to fizzle and pop?  Good, add some flour and mix well.  Keep adding flour until it is the consistency of wet sand.  You want it to be like the sand you find under your toes when you walk along the beach after a wave comes across.  Or your kid’s sandbox after a rainstorm, whichever analogy works for you.  Keep this stuff moving though.  Stir the chowder back to the roux.  Stir the chowder, back to the roux.  You want the chowder boiling a little and you want to smell a “toasty” smell from the roux.  At the “toasty” smell point, add to the chowder and… MIX FAST!!  Stir that chowder well, keep stirring for about 1 full minute.  Drop the temperature on the chowder and let it simmer for at least 3 minutes and now, you have a great New England Clam Chowder.  If you want Manhattan style, instead of milk, add tomato juice (I like V8).  Keep the cream though because you are going to want that smoothness.
I WOULD tell you to get some frozen bread dough from the store to make fresh bread bowls for this, but you probably want to make your own bread.  The frozen dough is WAY too easy.  Just thaw, cut in thirds, let it rise to twice its size on a greased sheet pan, bake at 350 for 25 minutes, let cool.  I know you wouldn’t want to do anything like that so I won’t recommend it.
If you try this recipe, let me know what you think.  If you do anything wacky with it, let me know that too.  I like the wacky.

I have some boar bacon that I need to get rid of.  Yeah, this is probably not something you say very often, but I am a sucker for the spontaneous food buy.  “Squid ink???  Sold!!  Monkfish on sale??  You betcha!!  Squirrel fillets??  AwlRIGHT!!”  I have been known to do this.  A year ago I had the notion to make clam chowder and never did.  This means I have clams in my cupboard that I should probably use as well.  It’s supposed to be cold this week and I have a few minutes to kill so why not?  Let’s make some clam chowder!!

I like to get my ingredients together first so here is what I got.  Some onions, some corn, a potato, the clams (boiled baby in a can), and of course the boar bacon.

I am a sucker for skin-on potatoes so I don’t bother peeling them.  A simple slice horizontal, slice vertical and then chop gives me pretty good dice.  I diced the onions a few days ago for something else and I have to use them now or they will die.  No point saying how much it is cause I don’t know.  I don’t think it matters.  I like onions and would like to taste them, but you might not.  Dice the bacon last so you don’t have that cross contamination thing people talk about.

Oh!!  I forgot.  Try to play some music from Boston or anywhere along the NE coastline.  It helps to get in the mood.  I chose Morphine for this.  The couple arguing in the parking lot out back helps with the ambience as well.  “NO, I am not getting in the car!!  You’re an asshole!!”  Yup, sounds like Boston.

Back to food; I start with some olive oil in the bottom of the pan.  Some people prefer butter.  I like both so I throw some in.  GET IT HOT on MEDIUM HIGH!!!!  I have an electric stove so I need patience.  (With a gas stove, I can throw it on high and back it down.  No way that is happening with electric.)

When it is hot, throw in the bacon (you can use regular bacon too.  The smokier the better).  Some people may ask why I am not just rendering fat back and skipping the oil.  I have the boar bacon.  You probably have bacon.  Do YOU keep fat back in your fridge?

Once that has cooked, popped, and sizzled for about 30 seconds (yes, half a minute) add the onions (I would add celery here too but, I didn’t have any).  If you are using an electric stove like me, it better not be higher than 7 or 8, EVER.  The only time I let my stove get to HI or 10 is if I am boiling water.  There is no other point and invariably food will get burnt on HI.

So the onions are sweating nicely, turning a little clear and that oil has recovered.  You have the pop and sizzle again so it is time to add the potatoes.  “WHAT??  You add the potatoes now??  Where are the clams???”  Patience young padawan.  You want to fry the potatoes just a bit so they hold form after boiling.  People don’t tell you this trick.  My chef told me that Martha was wrong.  He was right, she wasn’t. Deal with it.  You want to salt the potatoes while your at it.

“What about pepper?  Sean!!  What about pepper???  The Ewok (Emeril) always says to add fresh cracked pepper!!  (twist, twist, crack, shake, BAM)”  No, no pepper until there is sauce.  You put pepper in the hot oil and you are gonna waste your pepper.  I won’t stop you but it’s like putting oil in pasta water.  Oil floats so it sits on the top and MAYBE will get on the pasta when you dump it out.  Pepper is essential oils or rather that is what you want from it.  When you have hot oil, it scorches the pepper oils.  Yer better to wait until you have something that has a lower boiling temp like milk or water to carry it.

Ok, do your potatoes have a little tan?  Maybe about a minute while you move them around a bit will do.  They should not be browned.  Now you can add the clams.  I like boiled baby clams because they are whole.  You can used chopped if you want.  Usually that is cheaper.  Just make sure to add the water they come in.  That means you can’t get the ones in oil.  Don’t get the smoked clams.  It won’t be tasty.  The liquid should cover 2/3 the stuff in your pot.

As Bob Marley said, “Stir It Up”  keep it moving gently until it starts to bubble a little.  This doesn’t mean you stand at the stove for the next 5 minutes stirring.  Every 45 seconds should be ok.  Wander around, have a conversation, play DoodleJump, whatever.  Once it is boiling a little, you can add cream, enough that it swirls at the top, probably a ¼-½  a cup.  Then add your milk, probably about 1.5-2 cups.

From here you have to kind of watch it more closely.  I use this time to start a roux.  WHAT?? You don’t know how to make a roux???  Ok, it’s easy.  Put a sautee pan on heat.  Put either 3 tbsp of olive oil and 1tbsp of butter OR 6 tbsp of butter in it.  While that is getting hot and melting, get some flour out.  All the butter melted and is starting to fizzle and pop?  Good, add some flour and mix well.  Keep adding flour until it is the consistency of wet sand.  You want it to be like the sand you find under your toes when you walk along the beach after a wave comes across.  Or your kid’s sandbox after a rainstorm, whichever analogy works for you.  Keep this stuff moving though.  Stir the chowder back to the roux.  Stir the chowder, back to the roux.  You want the chowder boiling a little and you want to smell a “toasty” smell from the roux.  At the “toasty” smell point, add to the chowder and… MIX FAST!!  Stir that chowder well, keep stirring for about 1 full minute.  Drop the temperature on the chowder and let it simmer for at least 3 minutes and now, you have a great New England Clam Chowder.  If you want Manhattan style, instead of milk, add tomato juice (I like V8).  Keep the cream though because you are going to want that smoothness.

I WOULD tell you to get some frozen bread dough from the store to make fresh bread bowls for this, but you probably want to make your own bread.  The frozen dough is WAY too easy.  Just thaw, cut in thirds, let it rise to twice its size on a greased sheet pan, bake at 350 for 25 minutes, let cool.  I know you wouldn’t want to do anything like that so I won’t recommend it.

If you try this recipe, let me know what you think.  If you do anything wacky with it, let me know that too.  I like the wacky.

Published in: on October 16, 2009 at 3:07 pm  Comments (1)  
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Chicken Adobo is your friend

There are over 500 recipes for chicken in the Armed Forces Recipe Service.  More than 500 ways to make chicken!!  Can you imagine being forced to live in your office building and only eating from the cafeteria for 6 months??  You would need that kind of variety, right?  You are probably wondering which is the best of the bunch.  Well, it is opinion, but I say the Chicken Adobo is the best.
The Navy is filled with Phillipinos.  There are plenty of reasons for this, but I don’t want to get into that.  I want to talk about the food.  If you are familiar with the Phillipines at all, you will know the culture is a mix of Asian and Spanish so the food is too.  I have had the pleasure of eating very traditional and VERY tasty Chicken Adobo while I was in the Navy.  How this applies to you is that I have the easiest, tastiest recipe to share.
First things first, you need the ingredients.  Chicken (I prefer thighs) with the skin peeled off, Onions, Garlic (I prefer fresh but you can use that nasty powder if you want), soy sauce, ginger (fresh or powder), vinegar (rice wine is best but you can use any), some flour, and a little sugar.  Oh yeah, and some olive oil, but that is a given.
Now to cook.  Slice the onions, I like to make them kind of thick, but it’s up to you.  If you are using fresh garlic, slice them too.  If you want to cheat, use the chopped garlic in the jar.  Try to avoid the powder unless you absolutely have to.  If you are using fresh garlic, peel and finely chop this now as well.  Um… yeah, I think that is all the prep we need here.
Get a sauce pan, preferably a wide thick bottom sauce pan.  Heat some oil in the pan.  Toss in the onions and stir this around.  When they have sweated a little, dredge the chicken in the flour and put them in the pan.  Make an even layer on the bottom of the pan (this is why you need a wide bottom pan).  Brown that chicken BROWN IT NOT BURN IT!!  Add the garlic and ginger for 20 seconds.  Count it if you must.  The important thing is to not burn the garlic.  (Ick, bitter garlic is not happy)  Pour enough soy sauce to cover two thirds up on the chicken.  Add about ¼ cup vinegar and enough water to completely cover the chicken.  Add the sugar.  This will probably be about 3 tablespoons.  Stir this mix up a little and then cover the pan loosely.  I like to put a wooden spoon over the pan and put the lid on top of that.  Drop the heat to a simmer and let it cook.  Now is the time to cook your rice however you like it.  Stir the chicken occasionally and by the time the rice is done, the sauce with the chicken should be kind of thick.  If you want it thicker, let it simmer longer.
There you go.  The best Chicken Adobo I have ever had.  Quick, easy, cheap, one pan.  You can make this for a lot of people or just for one.  I like to serve it with some stir fried veggies.  Sometimes I will make Lo Mein instead of rice.  That is the cool thing about this recipe.  It can be customized to any thing that you like.
Enjoy.  Don’t forget to let me know if you have any wacky ideas in customizing this.
@kingfuat gave me the idea for doing meatloaf so I think I am going to do that soon.
btw….  I want to thank Ramil Quiroz and his wife for this recipe.  They are the ones that opened my mind to Filipino food.

There are over 500 recipes for chicken in the Armed Forces Recipe Service.  More than 500 ways to make chicken!!  Can you imagine being forced to live in your office building and only eating from the cafeteria for 6 months??  You would need that kind of variety, right?  You are probably wondering which is the best of the bunch.  Well, it is opinion, but I say the Chicken Adobo is the best.

The Navy is filled with Phillipinos.  There are plenty of reasons for this, but I don’t want to get into that.  I want to talk about the food.  If you are familiar with the Phillipines at all, you will know the culture is a mix of Asian and Spanish so the food is too.  I have had the pleasure of eating very traditional and VERY tasty Chicken Adobo while I was in the Navy.  How this applies to you is that I have the easiest, tastiest recipe to share.

First things first, you need the ingredients.  Chicken (I prefer thighs) with the skin peeled off, Onions, Garlic (I prefer fresh but you can use that nasty powder if you want), soy sauce, ginger (fresh or powder), vinegar (rice wine is best but you can use any), some flour, and a little sugar.  Oh yeah, and some olive oil, but that is a given.

Now to cook.  Slice the onions, I like to make them kind of thick, but it’s up to you.  If you are using fresh garlic, slice them too.  If you want to cheat, use the chopped garlic in the jar.  Try to avoid the powder unless you absolutely have to.  If you are using fresh garlic, peel and finely chop this now as well.  Um… yeah, I think that is all the prep we need here.

Get a sauce pan, preferably a wide thick bottom sauce pan.  Heat some oil in the pan.  Toss in the onions and stir this around.  When they have sweated a little, dredge the chicken in the flour and put them in the pan.  Make an even layer on the bottom of the pan (this is why you need a wide bottom pan).  Brown that chicken BROWN IT NOT BURN IT!!  Add the garlic and ginger for 20 seconds.  Count it if you must.  The important thing is to not burn the garlic.  (Ick, bitter garlic is not happy)  Pour enough soy sauce to cover two thirds up on the chicken.  Add about ¼ cup vinegar and enough water to completely cover the chicken.  Add the sugar.  This will probably be about 3 tablespoons.  Stir this mix up a little and then cover the pan loosely.  I like to put a wooden spoon over the pan and put the lid on top of that.  Drop the heat to a simmer and let it cook.  Now is the time to cook your rice however you like it.  Stir the chicken occasionally and by the time the rice is done, the sauce with the chicken should be kind of thick.  If you want it thicker, let it simmer longer.

There you go.  The best Chicken Adobo I have ever had.  Quick, easy, cheap, one pan.  You can make this for a lot of people or just for one.  I like to serve it with some stir fried veggies.  Sometimes I will make Lo Mein instead of rice.  That is the cool thing about this recipe.  It can be customized to any thing that you like.

Enjoy.  Don’t forget to let me know if you have any wacky ideas in customizing this.

@kingfuat gave me the idea for doing meatloaf so I think I am going to do that soon.

btw….  I want to thank Ramil Quiroz and his wife for this recipe.  They are the ones that opened my mind to Filipino food.

Published in: on October 16, 2009 at 3:04 pm  Leave a Comment  
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