Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Dry Aging Steaks at Home – The Final Chapter I Think It Worked

Heres the final post in the dry-aging steaks at home saga. What follows is my honest opinion on the results, as well as a fairly pointless video showing me finishing the project.

Admittedly, there isnt much to learn from the video, but since some of you seemed genuinely interested I figured youd want to see the finale.

By the way, if you read my last
post you know Im in Vail, CO being wined and dined by RockResorts, so I did this voiceover in the hotel room with a voice you only get at 8,000 feet.

When I first considered how to test my dry-aged steaks, I was thinking of the standard "taste it with an un-aged steak and compare" method. Seemed logical, but then I thought of somet
hing even better -- why not taste it next a higher-grade, professionally dry-aged steak?

This would be the true test. Would my steaks have the same taste and texture as the real deal? As Ive already stated in previous blogs, theres really no debate about whether a dry-aged steak is a superior eating experience to a conventional steak, so it seemed anticlimactic to taste them side-by-side just to say, "hmmm…the steak aged two-weeks is more tender and flavorful." What a shocker.

So, instead I bought a thick, well-aged steak from the same butcher, using the same beef as the whole loin Id bought. Not only that, but I decided to make it even more of a challenge and bought "Prime" grade steak. The battle was on. Would my home-aged, "Choice" grade steaks match up against a "Prime" grade steak aged by an expert?

First of all, the Drybags clearly worked exactly as advertised. The surface was hard and leathery, as you can see in my short video, and the meat had definitely undergone a slow, controlled drying process.

The loin smelled exactly like the aged steak Ive worked with in the past, which is to say it had a faint, meaty musk that I would describe, as strange as it may sound, as very pleasant. After trimming off the hard, dried exterior, the color of the meat was a beautiful deep, dark red. As promised the bag allowed moisture to escape, yet sealed it from the outside environment, so no spoilage occurred.

The steaks were coated with freshly ground black pepper and allowed to come to room temperature. After a generous application of kosher salt, they were cooked over charcoal to medium-rare (internal temp of 130 degrees F). After resting, I sliced up the "Prime" dry-aged steak from the butcher. We tasted, and it was predictably fabulous.

We then cut into my steaks, and Im happy to report the results were pretty impressive. I found the meat tender and flavorful, and comparable to the professionally aged beef. Lenny and Denise from ChezUs joined us to assist in the tasting, and along with my wife Michele, we had four experienced palates on the case.

The final verdict was; two of us though the steaks were comparable, one thought the quality of the butchers steak was slightly better, and one definitely preferred the home dry-aged steak more.

So, there you have it. As to
whether the Drybags are an effective way to age your own steaks at home, the answer is a definite yes. Should you get one? I cant answer that -- these are matters of taste -- while I feel strongly dry-aged steaks are better, you may not.

If you love dry-aged steak, and want to eat it more often, without the expense of the steakhouse it may be a good investment. Its worth noting that it also comes with smaller bags for regular vacuum packing, so that could factor into your decision.

Thanks to Drybag Steak for letting me test the product out. It was a fun experiment, and the final product was quite luxurious.

If you want more info, or have specific questions, please refer to the Drybag Steak website.

Professional food bloggers do not live by old beef alone! In addition to the steaks you see here, the rest of the menu included:
- Frog Hollow peach, basil, and mozzeralla fresca crostini
- Prosciutto and argula on baguette
- Roasted cipollini onions
- Watercress salad with marinated early girl tomatoes
- Sottocenere truffle cheese and lobster mushroom pomme dauphinoise (I filmed this, so stay tuned for that video soon!)
- Two sauces: classic Bordelaise sauce, and not so classic "Béarnaise" aioli.




First Three Photos (c) ChezUs
Read More..

Jeenas Wholewheat Naan Bread

This recipe worked a treat for me today. It is wholewheat naan bread that is as soft and fluffy as a white naan. It is healthy to eat with currys,stews, soups or even opened up with a delicious filling added. This Wholewheat Naan Bread Recipe is simple and quick to make so why not give it a try. :)




approx 1/2 to 3/4 Sachet Yeast
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp White Sugar
Splash Milk
Hot Water
7-8 Tbsp Wholewheat Flour
3 Tbsp Plain Flour
3 Tbsp Yogurt
1/2 tsp Bicarbonate Soda


Put a splash of cold milk into a cup.



Stir in your sugar then add enough hot water to warm your milk up.(you wont need much hot water here)




Add your yeast, stir then leave for a few minutes while you prepare your other ingredients.




Sieve your wholemeal flour into a bowl.



You should be left with some bran left over.





Do not discard the left over bran. Put it to the side for later.


Add your plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and stir.



Add your bran and stir.
`
By now your yeast should have fluffed up.



Take another cup and put your yogurt into it with a tiny splash of hot water to warm through the yogurt. Now add your yogurt to your flour. Also Gradually add your yeast mixture and stir well.


You may need to gradually add more flour if it is too sticky. Knead your dough for a few minutes preferably 5 minutes.



Grease your bowl then over and leave for 30 minutes or until your dough has doubled in size. If your room is quite cool make sure you leave it to rise in a warm place.



Once your dough has doubled in size it should feel soft and light and fluffy.




Shape your breads with your hands and place onto a greased and floured baking tray. Put into a hot oven at approx 220C for 10 minutes or until golden.




For a more pita style bread roll out with a rolling pin into a thinner shape.



Enjoy Jeenas Wholewheat Naan Bread with soup, curry, stew or fill it with your favourite yummy filling! I opened mine up and ate it with some leerdamma cheese and it was delicious.


Read More..

Monday, April 14, 2014

Mexican Chicken

Mexican Chicken


Ingredients
  • Chicken breast ½ kg
  • Capsicum 1
  • Red capsicum 1
  • Tomatoes boiled 3
  • Fresh red chilies 5
  • Chicken stock 1 cup
  • Tomato paste ½ cup
  • Cumin powder 1 tsp
  • Ginger garlic paste 1 tbsp
  • Oregano ½ tsp
  • Butter 2 tbsp
  • Oil 2 tbsp
  • Tomato ketchup 2 tbsp
  • Coriander leaves 2 tbsp
  • Salt to taste
Method
  • Cut ½ kg chicken into cubes and keep aside.Heat 2 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp butter in a pan, add 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste, 1 chopped capsicum, 1 chopped red capsicum, chicken cubes, 5 chopped fresh red chilies and 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves. Fry well.
  • Add 1 cup chicken stock, 2 tbsp tomato ketchup, ½ cup tomato paste and 3 boiled chopped tomatoes.Also add 1 tsp cumin powder, salt to taste and ½ cup water. Cover and cook on low flame for 10 – 12 minutes. 
  • Now remove the lid, fry for 2 – 3 minutes and serve.
Read More..

Recipe for simple good food

Ever wondered why a culinary dish right turn not, even if the recipehave followed you carefully? It is one of the frustrating, annoying things in life. The secret to a good Court lies not only in his recipe , but also in a number of other things.

For good tasting food = good reciperecipe + ingredients good + good cooking techniques

Can analyze the above equation:

1. Good recipe:

A recipe is a set of instructions on how something to do. Therefore, a food recipe is a set of instructions, such as a culinary dish. In General, a food recipe would include the following:

(a) a list of food ingredients and their quantities/proportions. An example of this would be a teaspoon of sugar (tsp). The share could be more specific, say, 5 grams of sugar. Or it could be more abstract, such as a "pinch of salt;" "a handful basil leaves." The amount/proportion, that it is less likely, in quantities errors cause the more specific uses.

(b) how detailed the processes required, the food is. Mix flour and fold in flour means two different things. Whisk egg white until soft and fluffy or whisk you protein for three minutes at high speed. Dont you think that the latter statement clearer and more specific?

2. Good ingredients:

Taste hand picked home grown vegetables really better than the store bought variety? They do with my word to you; You are for a simple reason - fresher. You make grilling fish who was swimming in the sea. Try bread with all-purpose flour instead of high-protein bread flour. She could get something that is similar to the bread, but it cut and see not the body or texture of good bread. The simple fact is, to get the best final product, which you have to start with the finest ingredients.

3. Good cooking techniques:

The examples are endless. Heres two of them:

(a) creaming is a very important process cakes make good butter. You this step wrong and your butter cake will disappoint you. Creaming brush is a method in the sugar is used to bubble cut butter to create as much air possible. Recipesay usually "sugar and butter cream to light." s To get the maximum amount of air bubbles in the fat, it must be the right texture. When the butter is to soften the sugar combines only into and get enough air bubbles. It is therefore important to maintain the temperature of the butter between 65 to 70 degrees F prior to the to box. The butter is then enough body for the sugar crystals, their work.

(b) meat is often of a stove in a pan fried toast and the most recipes Please you to do so. Well browned meat tastes good as heat to produce complex responses between certain sugars and proteins creates a flavorful crust. A technique to obtain even more taste in the meat is it oven Brown at the end of the roasting process. Come during the roasting, meat juices to the surface and evaporate. These juices have many sugars and proteins. When the juices evaporated, they leave the sugars and proteins on the surface. Turn heat the oven to 500 degrees F for the last few minutes cooking these sugars and proteins. Voila! Better tasting meat.

Little things make big differences. You now know the secrets to great tasting food. And they are well used not really secrets but practical knowledge. So, next time if a recipe which result type not desired, you can safely, there is something missing in the equation for good tasting food!


To know the recipes, travel tips, the search. Great info on travel, food and other useful stuff at http://thetravelnfood.com

Read More..

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Buffalo Wild Wings in Red Hot Sauce– Restaurant Style


When I and my hubby first had Wings at the restaurant Buffalo Wild Wings we fell in love with them and later we visited quiet regularly to that place and used to enjoy these yummy buffalo wild wings.



One day I got a thought to try wings myself in my home and was doing internet searching and to my surprise got a recipe for these wings which was so simple then immediately I bought wings, hot sauce and prepared them very easily.

This chicken wings recipe is sure to please those love “Buffalo Wild Wings”. I baked the wings instead of frying them to make it healthier. Some say that by baking the wings chicken won’t be crisp, but I felt it was crisp. We can also grill the wings; this is also one more alternative need to try sometime. These Wings goes with Blue Cheese along with carrots and celery but optional.


Great lip-smacking and wonderful appetizer for chicken lovers and for parties.



Ingredients:

Chicken Wings – 12 wings
All purpose flour – ¼ cup
Pepper powder – ½ tsp
Salt As Required
Frank’s Red Hot Sauce – ½ cup
Butter – ¼ tsp
Oil – ¼ tsp
Chilli Garlic Sauce – ½ tsp
Paparika – ¼ tsp
Vinegar – 1 tbsp

Preparation

  • In a mixing bowl take cleaned buffalo wings, add pepper powder, salt and oil and mix well.
  • To this add 1 tsp of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce and mix well.
  • Meanwhile line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly grease with cooking spray.
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

  • Now take plastic bag and add all purpose flour, above spicy mixed chicken wings, and hold the bag tightly on the top and toss until well coated with the flour mixture.
  • Place the chicken wings onto the prepared baking sheet.
  • Bake them in the preheated oven till 20-25minutes.
  • After it is baked for 25 minutes remove cool for 2-3minutes and turn the wings to the unbaked side.
  • Again bake for another 20-25 minutes.
  • Meanwhile prepare the sauce, take a pan add butter on medium heat.
  • Once butter gets melted add Frank’s Red Hot Sauce and whisk together.
  • Later add vinegar, paprika, Chilli garlic sauce and whisk well.
  • When bubbles come up from sauce turn off from heat.

  • When Chicken wings are done with baking, take a wide bowl, place baked wings add prepared sauce to it ( keep 2 tsp of sauce aside) and turn the wings upside down by placing a lid/round plate which fits perfect to the bowl and mix well.
  • Now place the wings back on the baking sheet and place in the oven( no need to bake just we need to place in the oven).By doing this the sauce nicely bond with wings.
  • Now add 2 tsp of sauce which was set aside earlier add wings and mix well when ever you want to have them( by mixing this way it gives fresh flavor of sauce).
  • Serve these Mouthwatering Wings by dipping in Blue Cheese along with carrots & celery!!!!

Sending this to Chicken Feast hosted by Usha
Read More..

Creamed Peas and Southern Style Green Beans

As you already know I made Southern themed dinner for my group The Dinner Divas on Saturday. I wanted to go traditional with the sides without it being too heavy and hopefully I achieved that. I really liked the peas more than the green beans. The peas are basically cooked in a bechamel sauce which is very tasty. Thank you to my friend Carolyn from bakespace for helping out with this recipe! My issue with the beans are that they are sweet and sour. I like sweet and sour meatballs but not my veggies. I should have remembered that I made spinach this way once before. It just didnt appeal to me but the girls liked it...well, at least they said they did!


Southern Style Green Beans

Courtesy of Rachael Ray

4 servings

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pounds green beans, trimmed and chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 slices bacon, chopped
1 small onion, minced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar

Directions:

Cook green beans in 1-inch simmering water, covered, for 6 minutes. Drain and set aside. Return skillet to stove and set burner to medium high. Add bacon and brown. When fat begins to render, add chopped onions to the pan and cook until tender with the bacon. Add cooked green beans to the pan and turn to coat in bacon drippings and onions. When the beans are hot and bacon crisp at edges and onions translucent add vinegar to the pan and season with beans with sugar. Allow the vinegar to evaporate and the sugar to combine with pan drippings, 1 to 2 minutes, then serve.


Creamed Peas

Courtesy of Carolyn - posted on bakespace.com

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk*
about 2 cups fresh or frozen peas

DIRECTIONS:

Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour and salt, stir well until combined add milk and bring to a boil. Stir until slightly thickened. Stir in cooked peas. Serve over mashed potatoes if you wish.


*Micheles Note - If the roux becomes too thick when you add in the peas just add a little more milk and it will thicken up again.



Read More..

Pumpkin Quinoa Cookies

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Quinoa Cookies with Nutmeg Icing
Pumpkin cookies with quinoa flakes. Like oatmeal- but better.


Dear Reader (yes, Babycakes, I'm talking to you)- you know how I feel about you, right? I'm crazy about you. I read your kind and thoughtful comments. I'm thrilled you follow the blog on Facebook. I am humbled by your generous,  warm and giving e-mails (I save them). 

Your feedback and support keeps me going and inspires me.

I started this whole crazy blogging adventure back in a village on Cape Cod famous for quaint. One of those slow paced leafy communities with whitewashed churches and a town grist mill. Salt weathered shingles and white picket fences and roses in June. You know, historic. Beachy. The magical stuff of regional painters and windswept poets prone to melancholy.

Then an empty nest ignited the urge for going and my husband and I moved west to the rural high desert of New Mexico where the cobalt beauty of an oceanic sky met the hot iron of isolation and a certain individual's proclivity toward brittle bones. My broken hip changed my body forever.

Four years later (relocated to Los Angeles) I am profoundly grateful to live by the ocean again. I am wrestling with new ideas and facing certain limitations (still waiting for Margaret Mead's promise of zest). Days are often a stew of conflicting realities, losses and gains stirred so close together they emulsify.

There are days I feel thirty and days I feel eighty. Sometimes in the same single moment. 

Forgive my habitual drift into philosophical territory here, but here's the thing. A growing, deepening awareness of how little we actually control has sparked my need to surrender. And shake loose some assumptions. Including the perception of Other (risking a messy and complicated expansion of the heart, the awareness of Yeah, I am that too). Which startles you with a sharp clean view of what is valuable and true. 

What is bare bones rock bottom important.

Important not in some airy-fairy New Agey or even dyed-in-the-wool religious way. I chafe inside any system and its man-made rules (key word: man-made). I'm old enough now to look back upon decades with an estrogen-free seasoned eye. I see the need behind belief. I see the old paradigm. I see why people judge and separate, critique and belittle. I see the reason why unruly concepts are snipped down to size and labeled and tucked safely into rehearsed little packages of fear whisked with a pinch of faith. The Ego rules. And the Ego loves conflict.

I also see the powerful few doling out platitudes to the millions who struggle with so much less. And we are not blameless, either, we who are so willing to consume what masquerades as inclusion when it is anything but.

So here's the thing.

Before I share my recipe today, before I conjure words about cookies and yummy flavors and how much vanilla to beat into the dough, allow me some food for thought, if you will.

We are all given moments of grace.

Far too many of these moments are missed, floating by the fuzzy edges of momentum, a stream of invisible assumptions. And needs. Life guarantees change, but really, what else? Opportunity (what are you going to do with what you've got?). Choice. Self explanatory, right? We cut a swath of choices every single day. Trivial choices (would you like whipped cream on that?). And loaded choices (some requiring nothing less than moral courage to execute). Each and every choice spins us off in a direction, a trajectory with consequences.

And what I am coming to realize, even cherish, now more than ever, is this. The choices boil down to a choice between love (connection) or fear (separation). So what will you choose today?

Think about it.

As for me?

I vote for love.


Read more + get the recipe >>
Read More..