Category: Ask the Chef

Ask the Chef: Should I Store Avocado in Water?

Ask the Chef: I’ve heard that storing a cut avocado in water will keep it from browning. Is it a good idea? Response: There are a lot of mixed opinions about this, but here’s what we have found. Yes, storing half an avocado in a container and …

Ask the Chef: I’ve heard that storing a cut avocado in water will keep it from browning. Is it a good idea?

Response: There are a lot of mixed opinions about this, but here’s what we have found. Yes, storing half an avocado in a container and covering it with water will keep it from browning. But is it a good idea? Probably not. Stored that way, the avocado is susceptible to the type of bacteria that causes salmonella.

Your best storage is to be sure the outside of the avocado has been washed and dried, then sprinkle the avocado flesh with lime or lemon juice. Keep the stone in the half you are storing, then wrap the cut avocado in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator for use within the next two days.

You’ll find other questions in our Ask the Chef series and other instructive pieces in our How-To Section.

Photo by Gil Ndjouwou on Unsplash

Cooking in a COVID-19 Crisis: Day Four

Photo by Benjamin Ashton on Unsplash Cooking in a COVID-19 Crisis: Day Four This is No. Four of this somewhat unusual recipe series, but we recognize it’s been weeks of #stayhome for many people. It’s time for a break. It’s also likely time for a …

Photo by Benjamin Ashton on Unsplash

Cooking in a COVID-19 Crisis: Day Four

This  is No. Four of this somewhat unusual recipe series, but we recognize it’s been weeks of #stayhome for many people. It’s time for a break. It’s also likely time for a trip to the grocery store, assuming you haven’t been for a week or more. The good news is your local grocery stores are probably still operating their meat or deli counters, with even more attention to safety and health than ever before.

This is the time to take advantage of the skills of those behind the counter. One of my  favorite things to pick up to bake at home is stuffed pork chops. My store has a bountiful selection of stuffings, already bound up inside a nicely butterflied  chop. Raisin and apple, mushroom and sage, wild rice, even plain—something for just about any taste buds. Choose yours, take it home and bake it, and you are good to go!

Pork Chops

This is a deli-ready dish that will make you feel like you spent hours in prep. Serve it with a side of pork gravy if desired, and something out of the everyday like canned cranberry sauce.

Step 1: Pick up stuffed pork chops from your grocer’s deli counter.

Step 2: Put the chops in a casserole dish, cover it with foil, and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes—taking the  foil off for the final 15. You can dress it up by adding canned cherries if you  want.

Step 3: Prepare your  sides—something like cranberry sauce, applesauce, and a green veggie.

Step 5: Serve, add a drink and dessert, and put up your feet while you watch whatever is in your queue.

Ingredients needed from your pantry (or the grocery store):

  • Stuffed porkchops from the deli/butcher counter
  • Packaged mix or canned gravy mix if desired
  • Canned cherries (usually found with the pie ingredients, but look for the non-jellied kind)
  • Side dishes such as vegetable and fruit

The price point on these is cheaper than you’d think, and they know just how to do it without the pork chops falling apart—trust them. Of course, you can always do the alternative of buying butterfly chops and stuffing them with your own creation (or packaged, such as StoveTop).

Be sure to plan ahead so you can limit your trips to the grocery store, and be safe out there!

 

Cooking in a COVID-19 Crisis: Day Three

Shortcut cooking at its best!

We don’t live on baked goods alone, but apparently baking has a new fascination. People who have never made bread before are trying it, putting packaged yeast in the endangered column. Cinnamon rolls, banana bread, even hot cross buns have all crossed my feed from everyday cooks.

Perhaps it’s a primordial need for carbs, and bread feels more virtuous than baking cookies. However, not everyone has the baking gene, and the desire for something comforting and yeasty doesn’t necessarily have to be fulfilled with hours spent waiting for something to rise before  baking.

Enter biscuits and gravy. My grandmother can be credited (or blamed) with my love for this  dish. She’d roll out fresh biscuits, fry up the sausage, and use the remaining grease to make the most delectable gravy my childhood heart could imagine. She’d bring it all to the table with flour smudged up her forearms and, often, in her hair. The smell throughout the house was tantalizing, and just the memory makes me salivate just a little.

Last year we had a big family event where 16 of us ended up in one house, sharing the cooking and clean up and having a wonderful time, with other family members nearby. At one point I suggested biscuits and gravy, and the next thing I knew we had 26 coming for breakfast. I took the shortcut of open-and-bake biscuits, but did the quick gravy from scratch—and the method below shortens it even more. In our theme of supporting local restaurants while still cooking, try this out on your carb-craving family.

Shortcut Biscuits & Gravy

Sure, you can make biscuits from scratch, or pop open a can (which is my usual go-to shortcut). However, times like these call for a quick drive through your favorite biscuit breakfast place. The easiest thing to do is drive-thru a Brahm’s, if you have one in your  area. Trust me, we’ve tested a huge sample of biscuits and gravy, and while Another Broken Egg Café has the best, Brahm’s is a good back up  found in more places.

For biscuits alone, though we tend to favor Hardee’s biscuits, but you may have other great choices in your  town. If you aren’t going to take the easiest road  and just pick up the full meal, the following is  about as easy as we can make it!

Step 1: Send someone to pick up the hot biscuits, as many as you need (and don’t fear the leftovers). If they don’t sell the biscuits by themselves, ask for them deconstructed. OR, pop open and bake a tube of Grands.

Step 2: Meanwhile, fry up one tube of Jimmy Dean regular/mild sausage in a frying pan.

Step 3: Add ¼ cup flour to the cooked sausage.

Step 4: Add 2 ½ cups whole milk and stir quickly.

Step 5: Add a little salt and a LOT of black pepper.

Step 6: Serve with coffee and juice. Leftovers, if any, microwave just fine.

Ingredients needed from your pantry (or the grocery store):

  • Grands Homestyle biscuits (if baking at home)
  • Jimmy Dean sausage
  • Flour
  • Milk
  • Salt and pepper
  • Coffee
  • Choice of juice

As always, be sure to plan ahead and limit your trips to the grocery store, and be safe out there!

 

Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash

 

Cooking in a COVID Crisis: Day Two

If you are tired of cooking or running out of recipes here’s day two of our solution, complete with an easy recipe for your family during this crisis.

Photo of Chick-fil-A

This  is Day Two of our somewhat random series of recipes and other food ideas that might take the pressure off cooking right now. After all, you are likely working from home, fitting in classroom lesson oversight, keeping things reasonably clean and not really sure how many more meals you can make without help. These recipes are specifically designed to rely on a little outside help—giving you the benefit of helping local restaurants AND staying home.

Mom’s Chicken & Stuffing

This is a recipe that came from my much-loved mother-in-law, with a shortcut or two from her version. Part casserole, part fancy dish, it is perfect for everyday or company (not that you are having any company, but you know what I mean). You can prepare it at any point when you need a break throughout the day, or even the night before, and bake it just before ready  to eat.

Step 1: Order chicken strips or nuggets from your favorite drive-through or delivery spot. We like Chick-fil-A (who doesn’t) and are also fans of Slim Chickens, if you have one of those in your area. Get enough to fill the bottom of your casserole dish with one layer.

Step 2: Cover the chicken with one can of Cream of Mushroom soup mixed with half a can of water. If you have a large casserole dish, adjust your quantity as needed.

Step 3: Prepare a stuffing mix, such as Stove Top and mound the stuffing over the top of the chicken and soup.

Step 4: When ready to bake, put it in the oven and bake uncovered at 325 degrees for one hour.

Step 4: Add sides such as green beans, canned pears, or a salad.

Step 5: Serve, add a drink and dessert, and pull out a family  board game for the rest of the evening.

Ingredients needed from your pantry (or the grocery store):

  • Cream of Mushroom soup
  • Stuffing mix, with the butter required to make it
  • Side dishes such as vegetable and fruit

If you prefer to do this the “hard way,” which isn’t that hard, just get some fresh chicken tenders at the grocery store, dip them in a series of flour, then egg, then bread crumbs, and fry until done. Layer these into the bottom of your casserole dish and follow the rest of the instructions from there.

You  can also use a package of herb seasoned bread crumbs, such as Pepperidge Farms, instead of a prepared stuffing. This recipe is so versatile—you can even use different soups, such as Golden Mushroom or Cream of Celery, if your family isn’t into the mushroom flavor.

As always, be sure to plan ahead and limit your trips to the grocery store, and be safe out there!

 

 

Cooking in a COVID-19 Crisis

Are you running out of recipes? Unsure whether to eat out or cook at home? Torn between supporting local restaurants versus braving the grocery store aisles? Here’s day one of a solution, complete with an easy recipe for your family during this crisis.

Photo by Sara Cervera on Unsplash

Day One

When I look at most recipes online or in cookbooks I pass. In fact, I’ve always said that I read cookbooks as though they are works of fiction. Beautiful photos, striking ideas, flavors that sound delicious—but ingredients and instructions that are far beyond what I have any desire to do.

Even in these days of #stayathome, I’m still working, doing my share of hours-long Zoom meetings and following through with my assignments. In fact, I think that there is an extra burst of creativity in some of my work, since I’ve cut out the commute, the make-up, even the getting dressed—like a good part of America. Which means I still don’t have the pure time it takes to do a lot of cooking, let alone the ability to shop for ingredients or equipment (is saffron an essential? Hmmm).

Then there’s the argument that we should be supporting local restauranteurs as much as possible. We’ve done our share of take out and, in fact, have spent a somewhat exorbitant amount on extra tips. We even bought Easter dinner from one of our finer dining establishments, because when else can we sample their variety and easily store the leftovers?

However, I am actually cooking more than usual. As I follow social media, it seems the world is, as well. I see comments about how kitchen appliances have never had such a work out, and how dishwasher detergent should have been what was hoarded. I see people seeking recipes and worrying because they, too, are working AND teaching their children AND preparing not just one, but often three meals a day. No wonder the stats show hot dog sales have been up.

So, without benefit of photos, I’ll take a few days to post simple recipes that are doable with simple ingredients. This is not to say that “simple” is a new idea, but some of these are geared to my own #stayhome experience. If nothing else, perhaps this will help a few of my friends as I share what’s worked for me. Here goes day one, with a recipe that crosses both the home kitchen and the restaurant world.

Spaghetti &  Meatballs in the time of COVID-19

Don’t have time for prep and want to support a local restaurant? Here’s how.

Step 1: Call any local sub shop and order deconstructed meatball sub sandwiches, one per person you  are feeding. Arrange for curbside pick-up or delivery. (We used Firehouse Subs because their meatball subs are really good).

Step 2: Open a jar of spaghetti sauce and put the meatballs in the sauce to warm them back up.

Step 3: Prepare a salad and dressing to accompany the meal (if desired)

Step 4: Take the sandwich bread and turn it into garlic bread, spreading a garlic/butter mixture on it. Just before serving time, broil the bread to melt the butter and make it toasty. Your deconstructed sandwich may come with cheese, and you can use it on the bread for cheesy-garlic bread.

Step 4: Cook your spaghetti (we like thin spaghetti or angel hair) according to package directions.

Step 5: Serve salad, spaghetti with sauce and meatballs, add a little Parmesan cheese to taste, and you have a meal! Add dessert if you’ve been baking then suggest the family do clean-up, and go back to binge-watching Tiger King.

Ingredients needed from your pantry (or the grocery store):

  • Spaghetti sauce
  • Spaghetti noodles
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Prepared garlic
  • Butter
  • Salad/salad dressing ingredients

You can dress up  your  bread with a sprinkle of sweet paprika or Italian spices. You can use garlic powder or the jarred garlic pieces. You can even get Italian sausage and cook it up  in small pieces to throw in if you want to extend the meal—or buy prepared meatballs from the meat department. There are countless ways to make a simple Italian meal your own.

Be sure to plan ahead and limit your trips to the grocery store, and be safe out there!

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