Twealing And Perking

 Sometimes even storebought foods need a perk or a tweak to make them more palable. If that sauce is not quite tasty enough - add something? Or the pie crust that needs a little something extra. Add to it. It makes for a tastuer bite.

One of the easiest items to zing up is sauce and gravy. Jarred tomato sauce is tasty but it can be made to taste almost like mom's. Add olive oil to give the sauce some body. This gives it a smoother texture to it which makes for  a silky bite . Sliced green or red peppers are always a good plus to any tomato sauce. Both kinds add sweetness and depth to the flavor. Mushrooms give a chewiness to the sauce as added in sausage. THis could be vegan or non vegan for a more heartier sauce.For a vodka sauce splash in a quarter cup of vodka and half a cup of heavy cream. Frozen pizza can also benefit from some tweaks and perks too. A good sprinkling of oregano helps improve the taste  along with a liberal drizzle of oil. Most frozen pizza have just the usua; topping but you cna perk up a plan 9one with artichi]oke hears, greena dn black olives alogn with vegan susage and even bacon. Scatter pineapple chunks on it as well if you want to . You can apply this idealogy to Thanksgiving foods too, You could add some steamed chestnut to that Stovetop Suffing or add a drop of cognac to jarred gravy.

Baked goods can also get some tweaks and zings. Croissants are good on their own but add some almond butter mixed with cinnamon to create a tasty breakfast or brunch treat.You could also split them, warm them and add apple butter as well.  Since this is pie season, premade pie crusts can always get a boost. Brush them with melted butter for a more homemade taste. You could also brush heavy cream on and then dust the edges with granulated sugar. Zing up that store bought pumpkin pie with some fin homemade toppings. You can make a pecan streusel. Use toasted pecan pieces, oats melted butter , brown sugar and salt. Pop into the oven fro ten minutes to get the streusel crunchy.You could also drizzle on homemade or store bought caramel sauce. As for that other Thanksgiving staple pecan pie. think of serving it with a dollop of bourbon whipped cream. This is combining heavy cream with confectioner's sugar and adding one tablespoon of bourbon along with a teaspoon of vanilla.  Bought shortbread cookies, a favorite winter treat can be elevated a notch when dipped in melted dark chocolate.

Turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. Add some zing to every day ingredients or store bought foods. Giving them some oomph wikk make a difference.

Six Years Without The Chef

 It has been six years since we lost the Master Chef of this household. I wonder what she would have thought of some of my most recerntly acquired tastes. would she have liked the Caribbean and Puerto Rican influences in my diet? I wonder.

I work at a school where there are some interesting food choices in the campus .I have finally tried jerk chicken and loved it. There'sa fieriness to it that add totp the meat's flavor. Would my Mom would have liked it? That's a hard question. She would have appreciated the work going into it but the spiciness may have put her off a bit.I know she would have had fun in replicating the recipe. She may have tweaked it and would have eliminated fiery Scotch bonnets and added more crushed peppers and/or nutmeg. She would have also tried making a vegan version of it as well. Then there are the tostones  and empanada from the Borracua stand. She would have like the tostones if they had the pink sauce, a mix of ketchup, mayo and some hot sauce.I think she would have like the empanadas too, enjoying their crispiness  and either the tender spiced chicken insid or the pizza one , rich with sauce and mozzarella.

My Mom was open to all sorts of recipes and flavors. I know she would have dome some amazing recipes with my Berbere spice that I use for my Ethiopian stews. Would she have approved of my taking the family recipes for both the broccoli and green bean salad and changing them slightly? I use onion powder instead of fresh minced onions. Ir's easier and the onion flavor is nicely distributed. Using the powder also gets rid of the threat of heartburn which comes with eating fresh cut onions.As for air frying, she'd probably OK it. She would have liked the ease of it  along with the crunchiess it gives to almost everything. She would have definitely gotten one and used it on a daily basis if they had come out forty or thirty years ago. (why didn;t they? There's not much technology in them- they're jsut a mini convection ovens after all). All our meals would have been cooked in them from chicken to ham. all made delicious thanks to her magic touch

My Mom would have like the new addtions to my diet. She would have liked my air fryer.They would have been perfect for her.

For The Veterans

 Today is Veteran's Day. We honor them only for one day yer we should honor our veterans  - no matte r their age -  all year round. It could be a simple meal or just taking them out for dinner.

If there are elderly  veterans in your family, include him or her in your dinner plans once or twice a week. They'll appreciate a hot homecooked meal. Make sure they bring home leftovers thatcan last them a day or two. If they're not coming , still make extra about  and bring it over . ANother idea is taking them food shopping. They'll not only be grateful fort eh ride over but will be grateful for the company. If there's a Dunkin Donuts or a Starbucks there,treat them to a coffee or a tea along with some sweet snack. It'll be  a nice afternoon out for both of you.If the veterans are young and have kids, ask to babysit the littel ones while they have a quiet dinner out. A nice gatitude  gift is a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant.

There are now veterans that are having homes built by Habitat For Humanity.. If these are your neighbors, then greet them warmly with a basket of food. You could arrange a  basket full of pasta, jarred sauces and  grated cheese.Another diea is having a basket of different fruits and vegetables forhealthy eating. Including whole wheat crackers amd maybe  gluten  free cookies. Also a lovely kitchen gift is always nice, whether they're dish towels ro even oven mitts. Also integrate them into neighborhood activities like barbecues and block parties to make them feel truly welcomed. Invlite them to go to local farmers markets with you or evne grocery shopping. 

Our veterans have given this country  their time, blood and sweat. Treat them well. They deserve it.

Favorite Thanksgiving Memeory

 This is the month that evokes food memories. it could be the gently spicy taste of pumpkin pie or the heavenly smell of roast turkey. We're all like Proust and his madeleines when it comes to Thanksgiving.

Here's the question of the week - what is your favorite food memory of the holiday?

Turkey On The Go

 Turkey on Thanksgiving can be troublesome. It's a big ,unweidly bird that rquires a lot of care and attention, Now imagine making that bird a to go one. It cna be daunting unless you have the right guide. Thanksfully there is  one.

regular contributor Melissa Clark wrote about this in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Most make ahead recipes call for roasting a whole turkey, letting it cool and then cutting it into pieces before chilling.This is a convenint method because the meat is already carved. However it also intensifies the usual problems of roasting a whole bird. The dark meat will remain moist while the breast dries out. Even if the first roasting goes well, the second roasting will surely dry out the meat. You could always just rehreat it with  gravy or broth, but them you wind up with tough ,soggy meat and even worse,limp and slippery skin. Some home chefs cut up the pieces and then roast it. Theorectically this does work, but as Ms. Calrk found out from the reheating it still leaves you with tough  breast meat.The legs and other parts will be fine however, perfect for those who like them. The ones who want white meat are in for a disappointment.

What to do? Ms. Clark recommneds her favorite method,  - spatchcocking. This is simply butterflying the body by cutting along the backbone and snipping the joints so that it lies flat on a pan. Your buther can do it expertly for you if you;re having qualms about doing it. A plus of this is that spatchcocked birds cook faster, in half the time fo a traditional roast. Just reheat as is  without any added liquid to the roasting pan. The skin and fat protect the breast, preserving its; juiciness,The legs remain just as succulent and juicy as when they were first roasted.It should be reheated for the same amount of time that it took for the first roasting  - forty-five minutes, however lower the oven temp to 350 degrees Farenheit(the bird ahould have originally been cooked at 450 degrees Farenheit). Keep in mind that the turkey does need to rest at least two hours before re-roasting it. You can also line the bottom of the roasting pan with fresh herbs for not only a great taste but to give the kitchen a fantastic aroma.

If the bird has to travel, do it right. It'll make everyone's Thanksgiving easier, safer and more delicious. have the bird ready wheever you and it wind up.

The Kitkat Scandal

Could one candy bar cause a heap of trouble? Yes That was the case with KitKats but not for the obvious reasons.It has to do with shipping the more unusual flavors from Japan to the US. The problem is a good portion went missing. it was the start of a strange mystery.

Regular contributor Amelia NIerenberg wrote about this bizarre tale in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section. Japanese versions of the popular candy bar are so much in demand here in the States. American candy lovers go wild for such unique flavors like melon, matcha latte and daifuku mochi. Exporter Danny Taing knows this and brought in 55,000 bars. He expected to make $250,000 dollars in profit. There was only one problem. He never received the shipment at his Carlstadt,New Jersey warehouse. THis is where it gets crazy. Mr Taing hired Shane Black, a freight broker in Sarasota Florida. His company coordinates and marshalls the thousands of trucks that ship goods across the country. For this Kitkat job Bokksu would pay him, $13,000, It seemed an easy enough and straight forward deal. He then posted  a job on akind of Craiglst for truckers . A company  HCH Trucking responded and Mr. Black corrosponded with someone called Tristan. It seemed routine.

Yet it wasn't. It was the start of shell email accounts, phantom truckers and supply chain fraud. It also  produced one seriosuly bewildered cargo freight broker. Where did the Kitkats go? When they failed to reach New Jersey after a couple of days.Mr Black had nightmares of them being somewhere in the US , chocolate oozing out of the trucks. He called Tristan who replied that one of the trucks broke down in Washungton, Pennsylvania ,a small towm just outside of Pittsburgh. That alone set up red flags. He then called the company's headquarters in Jersey City. There was chaos there.It turned out that the Kitskats never left California and luckily  half were still in deep freeze. The other half should be on the way to the Garden State, However thatload disappeared and  wound up at Island Cold Empire Storage. Mr Black tried to get the local Californian authrotities involved but no go. In the meantime the Kitkats spoiled. Mr. Taing could never resell them to Kitkat enthusiasts. He was afraid tha tpeople would get sick if they ate them. Bizarrely Mr Taing bought the company that shipped them over and cause the problem. Japanese Crate.

If anything the Kitkat scandal opened up an entire cna of worms. Authorities  should now be alerted to what's happening lost shipments. it affects everyone, from the manufacturer to the customer.

Baking Deconstructed

 It's baking season. fpr season bakers this means breezing through recipes , both new and time homored to produce sweet and savory treats. yet for those beginning and intermediate, baking can be confusing.It's time for a lesson in what makes a cake.

Of course all baked goods start with flour. There's a surprsingly twenty-one (!) sorts. Most home bakers use all purpose. This is the most popular and the most used. For a healthirt spin try whole wheat in both your cake and cookie recipes.Most fruit based cakes use it and it has the same falvor more or less as white flour. Bread flour is primarily used for bread along with pizza  dough  bagels and dinner rolls. Cake flour is just for cakes and gives a tender crumb. This si due to the low amount of gluten used .It also makes for tender pancakes too. There is also pastry flour  across between cake and fine milled white flour. It's great if you're going to bake croissants, crackers cookies , pie crusts and tarts. There are other grain flours, namely rye ,spelt and even graham, used for  - what else making home made graham crackers. Keep in mind that  holiday baking , especially cookies can benefit from using such diverse flours as almond and oat flours. What else goes in a cake Baking powder and baking soda. Don't confuse the two. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. It has other uses, namely cleaning bathroom tile along with porcelin and even teeth. Baking powder is a blend of baking soda and cream of tartar. Can they be interchanged? Yes, three times the amount of baking powder can be used as a sub in for baking soda.

Another important baking ingredient is flavoring. There is vanilla extract and vanilla paste. The first is lighter in flavor than the paste yet both can be interchangeable. However most sophisticated home bakers will use the paste because it has flecks of vanilla bean in it. This adds to ice cream and creme brulee along with pastry cream. What about chocolate? Master pastry chef and New York Times Foood section contributor Claire Saffitz insists on  Dutch process cocoa powder. She says that it's alkalizing process darkens the color and deepens the flavor. The end result is an intense fudgy flavor, perfect for brownies and Devil's Food cake. Coffee is another ingredient that gives those brownies and chocolate cakes a rich mocha flavor. Use a dark roast or robust espresso  for those. As for a lighter flavor try blends with a fruity flavor. What about icings? These too, are important in finishing off baked goods. Keep in mind that icing does not have butter in in .It's more of a glaze that can be thick or thin. Basic ingredients are usually just milk, confectioner's sugar and vanilla extract. frosting contains butter or cream cheese and has a thicker , fluffier texture. It's perfect on cakes and cupcakes. while icing is better suited for cookies , Bundt cakes and buns.

Once you know all of this , then baking should be a snap. You can create a wide range of tasty savory and sweet treats. Just remember to use the right ingredients for an enire array of fresh from the oven goodies.