Getting Immersed In Your Blender

One of the best gadgets out today is the immersions blender. This magic wand can help in creating the creamiest salad dressings along with well blended sauces. It is a must for every home chef.

I have the American Collection immersion blender I bought from Target.com. As you can see it’s fourteen inches long and electric. The motor is a powerful one despite its’ size.150 Watts, .

It’ stainless steel and plastic, which makes it easy to wipe off any splatters that land on the handle./

What’s amazing are those tiny but sharp  little blades. I made a salad dressing that had chunks of soy bleu cheese and those two sharp mini mini knives turned the mix of that, mayo, olive oil and  applecider vinegar into the creamiest dressing. To be honest it would rival a store bought one for smoothness . I plan on using it for whipping aquafaba into meringues and will definitely use it for my sauces ,

The only problem is cleaning the entire blender. There is a break in the plastic that indicates it can separate from the motor but this was hard to do. Unfortunately, I had to very carefully sponge wash the entire gadget. Cleaning the blades turned out to be a dilemma too, thanks to the deep well behind them. If I could have detached the bottom, it would have been much easier. What I wound up doing was wrapping a wet paper napkin around a Q-tip swab and then delicately cleaning the well. I’m going to buy a small cleaning brush so washing and scrubbing any food residue will be easier the next time around,

The immersion blender should be a kitchen necessity. It is one of those gadgets that makes mixing and blending that much easier in creating whipped toppings and creamier souls and salad dressings. This  really is a kitchen must have for any home chef.

Your Best Beef Stew Ever

Beef stew is one of those recipes every home chef should know.Yet, how to make the perfect one is somewhat of a conundrum. Should wine be added? Or tomato sauce? Slow cooker or oven? Luckily there is a recipe that can lead to stew nirvana. One taste and it will be your go to recipe.

Of course it was the famed Julia Moskin who tackled this in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Ms. Moskin has made her fair share of the dish as well as its' French and Italian cousins. bouef bourguignon, daube and peposo. Am American beef stew doesn't have the sophistication of red wine. Onions and water first flavored our earliest versions, later it was beef broth and tomato sauce. These are good  and do give the meat and vegetables a certain flavor. however they don;t add any oomph.If you are making yours with a Pinot Noir or a Cote du Rhone, remember that it has to be cooked slowly.  The alcohol, acidity and fruitiness have to be tamed so they leave a tangy, syrupy taste that pairs well with the red meat. Remember too , red meat needs slow cooking too. It helps breaking down the collagen and, muscle fibrils. You could make stew in a slow cooker. The meat does have to be well browned before putting in in.A crockpot stew is a wonderful meal to come home to but the beef doesn't have  that caramelized , textured  quality an oven cooked stew would have. Ms. Moskin prefers an oven over a stove top any day. Bake it at 300 degrees Farenheit or even lower at 275 degrees. The meat softens while the liquids and aromatics blend into a rich complex sauce.

Funny enough Ms. Moskin doesn't write about what kind of meat to use in her article. It is mentioned in the recipe , though. Home chefs should use well marbled beef stew meat, namely chuck. No other cut will work. She also adds juniper berries is part of the traditional French recipe. Where to get them? Not surprisingly Target and Wal-mart sell the dried variety. You'll only need a dozen along with two bay leaves.As for the wine, a red non -sweet one (Ina Garten's bouef bourguignon calls for  Pinot Noir or a Cote du Rhone.),preferably from the Burgundy province but Chianti can also be used.Let the meat marinate in the wine , juniper berries and bay leaves for at least two hours  and less than a day. The vegetables used are also the ones used in the traditional recipe.It's a blend of carrots, onions and a large starchy potato, preferably an Idaho. More wine is also added, usually half a bottle along with three tablespoons of tomato paste and chicken broth.Many home chefs may be put off at the idea of adding bouquet garni but this is a simple mix of thyme, rosemary, more juniper berries and whole cloves. Orange peel is also in the mix to give the dish a fresh brightness. These are wrapped in a cheesecloth and dropped in. You can also toss in cubed panecetta or ventreche, a kind of French bacon.

This is the best stew recipe out there. It's also a relatively easy one that any home chef can make.Try it and enjoy the delicious meld of flavors form aromatics, to meat to a good Burgundy.

A Sweet End To Passover

One of the traditions of Passover ending is eating anything with leavening, .In the States it's pizza and brownies, but elsewhere it's an older tradition representing Mediterranean roots and recipes.It's called Mimounia the Moroccan way to end the holiday.

Ron Leiber, who usually write about finance for The New York Times has written this interesting and informative article for the paper's Wednesday Food section.Many American Jews don't know of this sweet  raucous feasting yet it's done in Israel thnaks to the influx of Moroccans arriving in the country  for the past sixty years. They do occur here , but not in many households.It began two hundred years ago but the reasons for how and why are hazy, There is a similar Hebrew word that means faith along with an Arabic word meaning good fortune or luck. There is also an etynological connection to the Jewish philosopher Maimonides and is also the name of a Berber goddess. (although there could be a connection to the Sicilian bread mouffleta) Foods such as milk, eggs wheat and fava beans are set out along with a live(!) fish  in a bowl to symbolize fertility and abundance. A typical table would have fancy marzipan, nuts  and even candied eggplants. Moroccan mint tea is served with it to offset all the  sweetness

One of the stars of the holiday is moufleta - a layered, fried flat bread similar to the Indian flatbread,chappatti. Guests cover it with butter and honey. Flour is brought over for it by non-Jewish friends and neighbors at the appointed hour,,It's kind of like pizza dough with a scant amount of
 sugar, salt and dry yeast. The dough is mixed and formed into twenty balls, slightly smaller than a tennis ball. After letting them rise, then flatten them to a seven or eight inch disc.fingers should be constantly oiled with either vegetable or canola oil. ( I would say try extra virgin olive oil, which is probably how it was first made). This keeps the dough from sticking to the hands along with the work surface.A non-stick or cast iron skillet is used to cook them,  Set it over a medium-low heat and place the dough, that now should be stretchy into the pan. Cook on one side for one to two minutes and then flip it over. Add the second moufleta and when it's bottom is golden add the third. Repeat until there are seven layers. You could also fry them up individually, as long as they're eaten hot so the butter and honey also get heated. up.

Mimounia is a neat way to welcome back leavened treats. The star of it all is moufleta, an easy to make  bread ,soaked with honey and butter. This is a true taste of the return of breads and cakes,

Easy Spring Desserts

Believe it or not , the blustery ,cold Spring weather will give way to warm days and high temps. That means easy desserts , perfect for barbecue and picnics. Good-bye to elaborate winter sweets, it's time to create effortless afters.

One of the easiest desserts is pudding pies and tarts. Jello has recently come out with a line of all natural puddings, made without any preservatives and dyes. They're call Simply Good and that's an apt description of them. They'd make perfect fillings for any pie or ice box cake,Pudding pies are a snap to make. Buy an already made crust (you can make them yourself if you're that ambitious) and fill with one of the Simply Good packets. These usually take two cups of milk but for a thicker , more set filling using only a cup and a half. Then it's just placing it in the fridge to set. One tasty combination is banana pudding in an Oreo crust .For a fancier take , decorate with puffs of Reddi-Whip and shaved chocolate. The last is an easy embellishment.Use a micro grater and dark chocolate  and grate a dusting over the pie's surface. You can do the same with a chocolate filling too. Another easy idea is individual tarts .Use the small sponge cakes , usually found in your grocery's fruit section. Fill first with an even layer of chocolate or vanilla pudding then add a second layer of sliced strawberries or peaches. If you;re using vanilla  pudding, lace it with brandy for a fun kick.

Another spring dessert idea is trifle. True , this treat is often associated with Christmas or New Year's but it can easily made for warmer days.Use fresh fruits such as strawberries and blueberries, layered with vanilla pudding or for a fruitier fix, use the banana flavor. An even cooler and tastier treat is an ice cream trifle, perfect after the first barbecue of the season. Take store bought cake, whether a sponge or pound cake tear into pieces and place in the bottom of a trifle bowl, Lberally sprinkle with brandy or sherry . Fill with French vanilla ice cream and cut seasonal fruit.,Top with berries and serve right away. Want something more decadent to chase those burgers and ribs? The try an ice cream version of Death By Chocolate.Use store bought chocolate pound cake, add a sprinkle of chocolate liqueur  such as Godiva and then a layer of chocolate ice cream. It can either be topped with more liqueur or syrup and Cool Whip. You can add either a layer of strawberries or cherries. For a simple and elegant English  dessert, think the inelegantly named Eton Mess. A favorite of William and Harry (and possibly Kate and Meghan). it's a simple mash up  of crumbled store bought meringues, any kind of whipped cream and fruit. It can be made as a trifle or as individual parfaits.

It's Spring. That means easy meals followed by easy desserts. They're a snap to make, and fun to eat.

A Spring Diet

Spring is the time for all things green - and that includes diets. It's time to shed those heavy winter dishes and think lighter and brighter. Embrace low calorie meals and a different way of eating during the warmer days.

The colder months leave us wanting heavy, gravy rich meals. This is fine. because we need more energy in shoveling snow and just dealing with frigid temps. However now that some areas are hitting sixty and  even seventy degrees , it's time to serve lower in calories foods. Luckily Spring ushers in asparagus season. One serving is only thirty calories. Asparagus is delicious when it's dressed with melted butter, sliced hard boiled eggs and Parmesan cheese. However these amp up the calories and fat. What you can do is try a low calorie cheese and margarine. As for the eggs you can scoop out the yolks if you want and just chop up the egg whites.Artichokes are also big right now. It's tempting to stuff them with oil soaked bread crumbs and mozzarella however think lighter. Imagine dipping the leaves in a refreshing lime vinaigrette where fresh squeezed limes sub in for lemons. Add some oregano or  dried cilantro for some zing. This makes a nice appetizer for early season barbecues. Dandelion greens are also in season. These can easily be picked from your yard and turned into zippy salad. Remember to wash them very well because every creature in the neighborhood could have sniffed them or worse.

Spring is the time of foraging. One of the biggest woodland  harvests right now is fiddlehead ferns. These are a dieter's dream with only ten(!) calories a stalk. Many will balk, wondering what the flavor will taste like. Not to worry. Fiddleheads have a flavor that's that some compare to asparagus, broccoli or green beans. Try them sauteed in margarine and chopped garlic. They're the perfect foil to grilled chicken or salmon. Ramps are also growing right now and they're ready for the picking. They have an onoin-y taste and again, think of them as a great side to chicken or fish. The Spring season is the start , not just of the growing season but also the grilling season. It's tempting to throw a steak on the coals and just feat. Yet the average eight ounce steak has close to a whopping five hundred calories, more if you brush it with any kind of butter.Opt for salmon instead which is only about two hundred and thirty calories. Even better are scallops with only eleven (!) calories for each one. You could even afford to brush them with butter.Serve them with morels , a wild mushroom that can be foraged. These tasty forest nuggets are only ten calories a mushroom. It's an elegant dinner , full of substance , but light and airy.

Warmer weather means a change of diet. Think chicken and fish, along with the greens of the season. It makes for a wonderful, and healthier change of pace.

My Big Easter Tofu Extravaganza

Easter dinners are always special and a challenge when you have vegetarians in the house.What happens to that heavenly baked ham? It becomes tofu - namely tofu baked in the style of ham.

I found this recipe during a search. I had scoured my local Stop & Shop for the Gardein Holiday Ham loaf. Nothing. Not even the turkey one. I guess those are made ar only Thanksgiving and Christmas. I bought a block of Nasoya Hard Tofu, hoping to find a recipe. Bingo! It was a Washington Post entry by Joe Yolan about a spin on a  recipe from Isa Chandra Moskowicz. It's part of The Superfun Times vegan Holiday Cookbook. I added some of my own spin on it.

First here is the tofu,

This is what you should have,  Then it's wrapping the tofu brick in paper towels 

Doing this soaks up the water (because tofu is basically a sponge).I double wrapped it in two paper towels. Then to squeeze more water out of it, I put a can of soup on a plate over it.

In the meantime, I made the marinade. It takes three tablespoons of grated ginger

You need a ginger grater for this, A hasp or a micrograter can work too.

This was probably the hardest part of it. Four cloves of finely chopped garlic are also added.

Now for the orange. Ms. Moskowicz recommends blood oranges which I could not find. I subbed in D'Angelo which have more or less the same tangy sweetness as the blood oranges. Both the juice and the zest had to be used. I started with a micro grater or hasp, Bad idea I used a regular grater. The orange looks like a shaved peach,

Use a heaping tablespoon of zest and  1/2 cup of juice. This is mixed with two tablespoons of maple syrup and four teaspoons of low sodium soy sauce. Also add two tablespoons of olive oil. Whisk everything together

The tofu was then cut into blocks. I was able to get five

Then covered in plastic and marinaded in the fridge for two hours.

 Cover with foil. Bake in a 375 degree Farenheit oven  for twenty minutes.

Take the foul off. Flip the bricks and bake for another fifteen minutes.

And this is the finished product served with mashed , soy buttered cauliflower.

It was very good but very labor intensive. Next time. I'll just use orange juice and marmalade along with ginger paste. Still it was pretty tasty - the perfect Easter meal for ham starved vegans.

Good Friday Thoughts

Good Friday is a day of reflection and thinking of others. It should be very apparent this year with the protesters and LGBTQ bans from certain chain restaurants. They need not just our support but  alimentary support too.

If you're a restaurant owner think about donating food to your local demonstrations. Sandwiches  and small salads will be fine along with cold bottles of water. If it's more organized, think about getting together with a few other restaurant owners to form a buffet.The hot dishes will be appreciated if there's rainy or cool Spring weather.Even chains such as McDonald's or Wendy 's can participate.

As for tolerance, everybody should be allowed to eat where they want to eat or order a wedding cake.  Think about tolerance and how the New Testament emphasizes that. Protest eateries and shops that promote exclusion. A big enough backlash can close down one place.

Be thoughtful for this Good Friday and practice tolerance and acceptance all year round.