Praising Braising

Braising is one of those techniques that does wonders to any meat or vegetable. This two step process can turn even the most toughest cuts into mouth watering tenderness and create a gourmet meal out of the basest ingredients. Best of all it's an easy process that novice home chefs can try with ease.

Braising come from the French braise which comes from brazier or cooking over coals. Chefs and cooks originally do this but the technique has evolved into something more complex,It uses both dry and moist heats to cook either meats veggies and even fish. One of the most popular braising dishes is braised  short ribs. This is simply first browning the meat in a skillet with just oil and a light seasoning of salt and pepper. The next step involves baking them in a sauce of wine spiked chicken stock blended with various herbs.A popular recipe these days is beer braised ones . This can be made with anything from Budweiser to Guinness stout. Chicken and brisket can also be cooked this way,Brisket is made for braising and anyway it's made it usually comes out so tender that it can be flaked as opposed to sliced.There are even braised brisket sliders. Brisket usually works well with a red wine infused bath .One of the mot famous braises is sauerbraten, that delicious German dish.Made with rump roast  along with peppercorns and juniper berries , this dish is first marinated and then roasted in butter. the sauce is a gravy made with gingersnaps and the meats juices  for a flavorful, spicy dish.

Chicken can also be braised.It's usually done wIth lemon as seen as David Tanis A City Kitchen's column in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. Mr. Tanis recommends using the most tender part of the bird, the thigh. He first marinates them and roasts in an open Dutch oven for twenty minutes. The braising takes about  one hour. The result is amalgam of Mediterranean flavors from the citrus to the added mix of black and green olives along red pepper and fennel, If you want a more sophisticated dish, then try coq au vin, This French classic is a true braise and can be made a variety of ways. It's basically a butter rubbed chicken cooked, first browned and then cooked with white or red wine, bacon, onions and carrots.It's an easy and impressive dish  for beginner home chefs to make.Fish and veggies are also good candidates for the technique. Fish braising time is usually much less than beef or chicken simply because there is no muscle or sinew to break down. Braising makes the flesh melt in your mouth tender along with giving it a rich pan sauce. Any fish from fresh water to deep sea can be used.Try a braised red snapper puttanesca style>it has the bite of red and black pepper.  Veggies can also be braised , Try a side dish of braised root veggies such as carrots, potatoes and turnips , perfect for roasts. For the best flavors be generous with both the spices and the stock.
Use veggie or chicken with a splash of white wine.

Braising is a great way to elevate any meat or veggie to a flavorful dish. Use it to liven up you rmidweek chicken or  Sunday roast veggies. it will make for truly memorable dining

Purifying The Vinyards

No one ever thinks of pesticides when they drink wine. The grapes used, maybe .definitely the bouquet , along with the taste and after notes  No oenophile ever thinks about the possible blight a wine's purity. Yet it's important to do so and to whether what they're drinking is organic or not.

This debate has been polarizing vintners throughout France and even the Piedmonte section of Northwestern Italy.Elaine Sciolino reported on it in yesterday's New York Times food section. Along with interviewing various wine growers she also attended some tastings as well.To most, especially to the people who make wines there is no difference between regular and pure wine. Pure wine comes from non pesticide sprayed vines.  Hipster  wine tasters and sellers want organic wine, :according to them it tastes better. More experienced vintners say this is balderash.Organic wine is the same as wine made from sprayed grapes. Either has the potential for excellency or disaster.  To be honest there is a limit of how much chemical can be sprayed on grapes to protect them.Many vines have been saved from flavescence d'or or golden rot, a deadly bacterial disease thanks to mandatory treatment in some areas. However winemakers could look to Piedmontese vintner Stefano Belloti who planted different crops around his grapes to inhibit pests. His grapes are surrounded by peach and almond trees along with mustard plants. He also has ducks and chickens around to  eat  plants that would also threaten his grapevines

Of course there are vintners who go against pesticides. There is money made on anything untouched by chemicals and organic wine is big right now. These naturalist winemakers, such as Emannual Giboulot , who refuse to use anything on both plants and soil. Monsieur Giboulet even won a court case allowing his vines to forgo any treatment.It was not without trauma and drama. He was threatened with a six month jail stay and a $33,000 fine, in 2014 he also refused to spray his vineyard with Pyrevert. a much used pesticide in France It resulted in a thousand dollar fine . along eith annoying and angering  nearby winemakers. They feel that unsprayed crops could bring about contagious diseases and destructive insects. Many associate it with parents sending unvaccinated children to school. Monsieur Giboulet asserts that going without spraying is better. It even allows insects beneficial to the growing process, to thrive as well The soil is also not contaminated which is good for upcoming plants.. Another plus of not spraying is that the wine can be sold as organic. However that means less sulfites as well which could result in selling a wine that's more like old grape juice than , well, wine.

Most purists these days will buy an organic wine or one that started out with pesticide sprayed grapes. The question is will this purity make for a better bouquet and flavor? That's up to the individual. Ms. Sciolino found that what she savored had the same rough edge as her grandfather's wine. If that;s what works , then  stick with the purer vino.

Frugalize Your Food!

Every kitchen, whether home or professional, produces  scraps.They usually wind up in the garbage which is a sin. Anything can be repurposed .Leftovers can be turned into yummy dishes. Peelings and ends can be repurposed into new dishes .There's no need to have wastefulness. Everything and anything can be used. Just ask Seattle residents about this. The people there are learning a thing or two about recycling their meals.

This was the subject of an article in today's New York Times' Wednesday Food section. Regular contributor, Kim Severson, travelled to Seattle to write about the city's new recycling program. It goes like , dump that half eaten pizza or lemon peels  ad get slapped with a fine. Garbage men are now extra diligent in sorting through trash.If they do come across any foodstuffs, even a pizza box, a red sticker is placed on the garbage can and the homeowner is fined. Yes it is shaming,, but it also helps the environment as well as teaching home chefs about recycling and kitchen frugality.The idea is nothing new. San Franciscans have been composting for a long time and it's becoming beloved with some New York City restauranteurs as well. It is more economical because vegetables peels can be repurposed into part of various stocks. Carrots tops can be ground into a different kind of pesto. Chicken carcasses can yield up everything form bone and marrow for soups to skin for tasty schmaltz.

Repurposing may be tough for a generation who is used to throwing out as well as using only processed foods. It was just two generations ago that home chefs used to use every part of any  fruit vegetable , meat and bread. It was part of life, thanks to Depression frugality and World War Two rationing.Luckily there are books out there to help.Steve Satterfield has written a book entitled "Root To Leaf" about an in depth look at vegetable cookery  and how to cook usually thrown away corn cobs and mushroom stems. There's also Diana Gunders , a project scientist for the Natural Resources defense Council book, Waste Free Kitchen Handbook  and Eugenia Bone's The Kitchen Economist.It is pretty easy to repurpose. One loaf of bread can be turned into a variety of different foodstuffs. Stale bread can be transformed into strata or French toast. Very stale bread, especially baguettes make excellent breadcrumbs. Chicken is the star of repurposing, with it being redone for homemade soups to pot pies to foie gras. Any food can be frugalized , you just have to be clever in doing so.It  does take some thinking.

Make leftovers and kitchen waste a thing of the recent past. Reuse and repurpose everything from veggies to chicken legs. It 's good for the planet and good for you.

Eat Away Those Winter Blues

With yet  another snow storm happening, it's hard to get excited over the prospect of Spring.These cold , grey days make it hard to get happy over anything. However there are foods to chase these late winter blues away. Eat them and feel as happy as a lark on a warm day.

Naturally chocolate is a mood booster. Have a nibble during the day as a treat to alleviate mid afternoon boredom and give you energy. Stay away from  the milk kind and concentrate on the dark (in fact the darker the better). Don't go for the caramel or nougat filled candy bars. Stick to just a simple square  like GHiradelli Chocolate. Any kind of carb will also bring about smiles, however don't go wild with the cupcakes and cookies.Instead have a yummy rice bowl or a plate of whole wheat pasta for lunch or dinner. Start the day off with a slice of seven grain toast with warmed jam and a little butter. for a crankiness free morning.Another mood lifting dish sure to make you sing is risotto Milanese .It combines Arborio rice with  saffron, which is a natural Prozac. The spice has antidepressant fluoxetine and imipramine, two phytochemicals known to help depression.

It comes as no surprise that both fruits and vegetables help in lifting the late winter blues. Some citrus fruits and dark , leafy veggies such as spinach contain folate.Folate is one of the B vitamins affects the neurotransmitters that  impact our moods. To take advantage of this whip up a lemon vinaigrette for a spinach salad. Create dinners that are more veggie centric too. Think about pepper and tomato rich stir fries or meatless chilis with mood boosting beans.Snack on more fruit too, and even think of dipping  strawberries and bananas in rich dark chocolate = which just eating these brings about a smile. Fish , too, can improve moods.It has to be the oily fatty kind like tuna, salmon and mackerel and rainbow trout which are chock full of Omega-3's which alter brain chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin. Try a sunny salad Nicoise that's full of tuna and different veggies. It's a nice nod to summery days on the French Riviera. Another tropical mood booster is coconut, although sniffing it is actually more of a high than actually eating it. Wash any of these foods down with tea, black , green or oolong. The chemical in it , theanine, improves not just mood but attention and focus. Switch to  any soothing tea instead of the usual afternoon cappuccino.

Eat right and you won't experience any of those late winter blues. All that snow and ice won't get to you. You'll be a sunny as a Spring day.

Planning Your Spring Garden

Even though it's still winter and there's a foot of snow on the ground, it's still a good time to plan your Spring garden. Plant what you know you'll use both vegetable and herb wise and then start plotting where each will go. Weigh need with desire in choosing what your cooking and canning needs are.The result is a highly productive garden bursting with ingredients for good summer and even fall eating.

If you haven't already buy yourself the 2015 Farmer's ALmanacIt has the entire year in weather  and more or less  accurate.This guide will aide in picking out when is the best time to start hoeing and seeding. Another must is  ask yourself what plants thrived last year? Did the beets work? Were the green beans dried out?  Stick with vegetables you had success with and replant them. Also plant what you use the most. If last summer was spent making sauces , salsas and catsups then plant plum tomatoes. A family of salad lovers would most  likely plant romaine and Bibb lettuce than they would onions and scallions. For first timers. think of what you bought at the farmer's markets during the summer of 2014 and then buy the seeds for those favorite veggies. Another step in Spring garden planning is laying out where you want the veggies. Using paper and pencil, make a blueprint for where you wish to put each veggie.

The same planning goes for fruits and herbs. Keep in mind that some fruits such as melons and pumpkins (technically squash) require a lot of space.Their vines or tendrils  tend to choke other nearby plants, so they either need isolation or be trained to grow up a lattice. (which is another story if you want them trained). The same applies to grapes which require both trellises and a lot of ground. Another fruit that requires a lot of land sacrificeis the strawberry  . Like grapes they need a distance of eight inches to a foot between each other and a soil build up of five to six inches high. If this is daunting ,then stick to herb growing.The best ones to grow in the Spring are parsley,cilantro (its' seeds are coriander), chervil, dill,and chives. All are easy to plant and are versatile to use in both meat , fish and veggie dishes,Spring is also the time for basil, a kitchen must have no matter what time of year.It's also one of the simplest herbs to grow and yields the biggest harvest.

Yes, there's a foot of snow on the ground yet but Spring will be coming soon upon us. Start thinking about your garden and what you want planted in it.A  well planned one is a successful one,.

Steak And Potatoes Please

Sometimes the best meals are the simplest. The most famed and desired is  the simple steak and potatoes. It's an easy meal to make and thanks to the different cuts of meat and variety of potato recipes can be served a variety of ways. One day it can reflect the gaucho cuisine of Argentina the next , an homage to French bistro dining.

What steak makes for a good dinner./you have a choie.Most people go for the filet mignon .as we all know it's top of the line There are several reasons for this.It's not as marbled with fat as other cuts and extremely tender,It's best served cooked rare to medium. The best cooking method for it is searing or grilling. If searing , then you can  added a medallion of herbed butter for more flavor.A less expensive cut is the flank steak or London Broil. This is a triangular piece that has a robust beefy flavor and is good hot or cold. They are tougher in texture so marinating is in order.Try a simple oil and vinegar one, with some rosemary sprigs added. You can also try a soy and ginger one too. or for something exciting cook it gaucho style with a yummy chimichurri sauce. It's a spin on salsa Verdi with cilantro,tequila and lime juice.This  Sometimes you just want a plain hamburger. Use chop meat instead of the usual premade patties. Add some minced onion for a truly flavorful ones or insert a small blob of butter or an ice cube for tender moist ones.


As for the potatoes, there's a dozen recipes you can choose from. A plain baked potato is always the best It doesn't interfere with the meat's great flavor and you can use it to sop up the juices. Just bake in foil and add some butter or sour cream afterwards. You could also try pomme frites, the French way of making fries. These are then fried twice , the second time with garlic butter infused with parsley. You can serve aioli with both them and the choice of meat. Scalloped style is a great way to go, especially if you have filet mignon.These are thinly sliced  potatoes (use a mandolin for this) and baked with a cheddar  cheese sauce,layered in a casserole dish.You can sprinkled paprika or breadcrumbs on top for color and crunch.. Red potatoes also compliment any meat, even chicken and turkey. They're also easy to make. First coat in oil, sea salt and rosemary before being set in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes. One of the best recipes is mashed. Homemade mashed is excellent gracing a steak . Pour th e extra juice over the spuds and it is a classic meat and potatoes meal.

Nothing beats a good steak served with potatoes. It's simple yet filling., the perfect comfort dish for a cold night. Make it a variety of different ways. They're all good, they're all tasty.

Fish On Fridays

Now that it's Lent in some Christian religions, the faithful are observing some of customs and rites of the season. One is forgoing meat on Fridays and opting for fish . Doing such  will introduce home chefs to different kinds of fish and ways to cook them. It's a step up ,leading to a healthier diet,

Tilapia is a hot fish right now, even though it's been eaten for centuries. Originally called Saint Peter's fish It is high in Omega 6 and a good source of protein along with having the lowest levels of  mercury for any fish.It can be grilled or baked and is easy to prepare. Try it as a taco filling with cucumber relish or baked with a side of couscous. Tilapia can even be turned into panko crusted fish sticks , with a side of fries, Both can be baked instead of deep frying. Another tasty fish is the traditional cod.This is the kind used in making the traditional English dish fish and chips. As unhealthy as the dish is, it is sheer heaven in taste when it has a thick crispy crust and deep fried. Use British beer in the batter for an authentic taste and have plenty  of malt vinegar for dousing. If you want something lighter, then try it sautéed  in an easy lemon sauce .Serve with a green salad and it makes for a nice , healthy dinner.

For more ambitious home chefs  there is boulliabaisse, the famed French  Provencale fish stew.It has clams, shrimp and fish  fillets cooked with different spices such as bouquet garni and saffron for half an hour , There is also the added prep of sautéing onions and pepper too for the mix as well Making the stew is worth all the labor because it's one of the most delicious seafood dishes out there.if you want exotic but without all the work there is Chilean sea bass.This toothy prehistoric looking fish has been a top player on the culinary scene for the past quarter century. It's tasty cooked filet style in a simple salt and pepper crust with a white wine sauce.It is also good pan seared with mushrooms in a Marsala wine sauce.Ofcourse there is tuna fish, the easy go to . This can be made into a simple salad Nicoise with fresh veggies and hard boiled eggs.It can also be used in a tuna and herbed rice salad as well. Always used the Italian imported one in oil as opposed to the American canned one in water.It's more flavorful and has a silkier texture.

You can observe Lenten Fridays with a traditional fish dinner,It;s a great way of introducing the family to seafood and different , fun recipes.They may want seafood all year round then, instead of just during Lent,