Tom's Xanga

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:52:20 GMT

Thanksgiving taste-test: Ultimate mashed potatoes

I'll be spending the next few weekends testing recipes for Thanksgiving dinner.

Ingredients
6 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup half & half
12 tablespoons unsalted butter

Method
Put the prepared potatoes and garlic in a large pot filled with fresh cold water and bring to the boil. Turn the heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, 20 minutes.

Drain in a colander and shake out the excess water. Add the half & half and butter to the pot and heat until melted together. Push the potatoes and garlic through a ricer into the pot and season with salt. Stir and cook over moderate heat until very hot. Garnish with freshly grated parmesan, fresh chopped parsley, or sweet paprika.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:39:03 GMT

Nice package: Klondike bars

My purchase of Klondike bars last night baffled me for a moment. I thought maybe I was standing in the store’s freezer a bit too long and my brain had gone numb, but sure enough, my Klondike bars were in a 4-sided box with a graphic on the front asking the same thing I was “What’s with the box!?” Turns out Klondike ran out of the foil in which their famous bars are wrapped! So instead of pulling back on production, Klondikes are, temporarily, wrapped like a Ho-ho … another product that was once wrapped in foil, but now wrapped in white opaque plastic. It took me a while to accept the change in the Ho-ho and the King Dons, but the Klondike bar doesn’t come in a 4-sided box and the silver foil is darn near iconic. I hope whoever the foil buyer at Interstate Brands is/was finally got his/her act together and some new foil is on the way.

By the way, take a look at the bottom of the 4-sided Klondike box. There is a website address that will take you to a page where you can get a coupon for $1.00 off your next purchase of Klondike bars, foil-wrapped or not.

Scan by moi

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:10:04 GMT

Hey, Tom! Boring eggs

Hey, Tom! I need a simple (but not bland and boring) recipe using eggs as the main ingredient.

A. Let me be the first to say that I can’t think of a time when I had anything with eggs as the main ingredient and thought “wow, this is really bland and boring”, not even scrambled eggs. But there are many wonderful dishes that could illicit major kudos and props instead of just being safe.

Quiche is the first thing that comes to mind, but frittatas take the advantage in that they can be made with any number of eggs and in any size pan. Quiche typically requires more of a recipe whereas frittatas are more of a method. Here is an especially tasty one from the depths of my website.

Mushroom frittata

Ingredients
1 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small red potato, scrubbed and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
2 cups diced fresh mushrooms
2 teaspoons coarse salt, then more to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, then more to taste
1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes, them more to taste
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning or dried thyme
3 ounces grated Fontina cheese

Method
Heat oven to 350. Heat a skillet (non-stick, if you have one) anywhere from 8 to 10 inches over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the oil and heat another minute. Add the potato slices and mushrooms and sauté, turning occasionally, until the potato is tender, 8 to 10 minutes; season with salt, pepper and dried red pepper flakes. Shake the pan to distribute everything into an even layer.

Crack the eggs into a large bowl; add the dried herbs and salt and pepper and whisk until the yolks and the whites are just combined. Pour the egg mixture into the pan over the potatoes into an even layer. Cook over medium-high heat until the eggs are moist but set, 5 to 8 minutes (depending on the size of your pan). Sprinkle the frittata with the cheese and place in the hot oven and bake until the cheese has melted (and to whatever degree of brown you like).

Cut the frittata into wedges and serve hot.

Usually when I serve this I can’t help but present it by saying “Mushroom frittata! Ta datta!”

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:19:26 GMT

Candy land: English toffee

It’s the chocolate that distinguishes English toffee from regular toffee. Almonds are a good nut choice, but so too are cashews and pistachios look especially festive. Be sure to remove the entire layer around your pistachios to uncover that famous green color.

You can use chocolate chips but know that they contain a stabilizer (ever wonder why chips don’t melt in the oven?) which can make it just that much hard to melt them. Too, the better the quality of your chocolate, the better your English toffee will be.

Ingredients
1/2 lb unsalted butter, plus extra for the baking sheet
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup finely chopped chocolate, dark as you like
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts, put through a sieve to remove any dust

Method
Grease a rimmed baking sheet with butter and set aside.

Combine the butter and sugar in a medium sauce pan with a heavy bottom over medium-high heat and bring to the boil. Stir the mixture constantly until it is the color of a brown paper bag. Pour the mixture into an even layer onto the prepared pan. Sprinkle the chocolate evenly over the toffee; as it melts, smooth into an even layer. Sprinkle the chopped nuts evenly across the chocolate. Set the toffee aside and let it harden before breaking into pieces.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:24:20 GMT

Coming soon: Baby Coke!

Image courtesy of Coca Cola Company

Coca Cola announced that they will be selling some of their most popular soft drinks in smaller 90 calorie cans. The smaller cans will be an option for those who are watching their calories without switching to a sugar-free product. Look for 7 1/2 ounce Coke, Sprite and other varieties in New York and Washington D.C. by December and a national roll out by March 2010.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:08:10 GMT

Online shopping: Zingerman’s

Click and be amazed

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:04:44 GMT

Halloween candy bracket

Never really sure which candy to raid from your kid’s Halloween goodie bag first? Use my handy dandy Halloween candy bracket to help you make your decision. And then get to lootin’!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:13:17 GMT

Cocktail crush: Mesa fresca

A twist on the classic Margarita, especially good with seasonal grapefruits hitting the stores

Concoction
2 ounces silver tequila
2 ounces freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
Pinch of grey salt
Splash of lemon-lime soda

Method
Fill a margarita glass with ice and then fresh cold water, set aside

Fill a cocktail shaker two-thirds full with ice; add the tequila, grapefruit juice, lime juice and salt. Place a cap on the shaker and shake well.

Pour the ice water out of the margarita glass, remove the cap from the shaker and strain the drink into the glass. Top with a splash of lemon-lime soda.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:05:47 GMT

Master technique: sautéing vegetables

Sautéing is one of the quickest and easiest ways to prepare vegetables which makes for getting them on the table at lunch or dinner a no-brainer. The method is the same for everything from asparagus to zucchini and even works with defrosted frozen vegetables.

Ingredients
1 pound favorite vegetable fresh or frozen, trimmed as needed and cut into similarly sized pieces
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large shallot, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons House salt, then more to taste
Black peppercorns in a pepper mill

Method
Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the butter, coating the pan, and cook until the foam has subsided. Add the sliced shallot and minced garlic, stir to coat, sauté 30 seconds and season with 1 teaspoon House salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

Add the prepared vegetables and toss to coat. Continue to sauté until the vegetables are heated through, season with the remaining teaspoon of salt and black pepper. Serve sautéed vegetables immediately.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 11:44:01 GMT

Hey, Tom! What does peanut butter taste like?

Hey, Tom! What does peanut butter taste like? I've been allergic to peanuts practically my whole life, so I don't really know what peanut butter tastes like. I recently found a great substitute--Sunbutter, made from sunflower seeds--and it's sweet and creamy. My mom says it tastes exactly like peanut butter, but my friends think it tastes totally different. So which is it? (Is it ever salty? Today I saw a recipe that calls for "unsalted peanut butter," and before now I never knew there was a such thing as salted peanut butter!) I'm sure countless others of my peanut-free comrades would also like to know what peanut butter tastes like!

A. No offense to your mom, but sunflower seeds can't taste just like peanut butter the same way that almond butter or cashew butter or any other type of nut or seed butter can taste like peanut butter. They all have their own flavor. The texture can be similar because they are all nuts/seeds that around ground.

Peanut butter tastes like peanuts, sugar and salt. The mouth feel is unctuous and cut with natural oil from the peanut or added vegetable or peanut oil. Everyone’s palate is different, but if you can smell peanuts without having a reaction you could probably get notes of earth, oranges, seeds and sugar.