Things You Need In The Kitchen

As a financial advisor, I often hear people lament that they spend more and more on food. I see that many people eat out far too often because they don't have the time to shop and cook. And when I visit people's homes, I see that pantries, refrigerators and freezers are filled with prepackaged, pre-prepared meals. It's makes my mouth cry.

I want to help. I've made a list of everything I use regularly and provide a bit of extra advice. Generic or store brand is fine for almost everything. I'm also including our costs as best I can (living in the Denver suburbs). I hope this helps. There are no excuses not to enjoy yourself, at least occasionally in the kitchen and save some money in the process.

Staples.
All Purpose Flour, Bread Flour, White Sugar, Brown Sugar, White Rice (California Short grain "Sushi-style"), Honey, Kidney Beans, Black Beans, Bacon, reserved Bacon Grease, Peanut Butter, Canned Whole Tomatoes, White Vinegar, Cider Vinegar, Olive Oil, Soy Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, Brown Mustard, Yellow Mustard, Ketchup (or Catsup), Dry Vermouth, Yellow Corn Meal, Cheddar Cheese, Large Eggs (preferably farm fresh), Kosher Salt, Table Salt, Black Pepper Corns, Whole Bean Coffee, Skim Milk, Unsalted Butter, Heavy Cream, Canola (or Vegetable) Oil, Yeast, Vegetable Shortening, Lard, Red and Green Tabasco Sauce, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Oatmeal (Quick Oats), Cooking Spray, Popcorn, Mushrooms, Broccoli, Carrots, Celery, Onions, Garlic, Orange Juice, Oranges, Lemons, Limes, Bananas, Potatoes, Roma Tomatoes, Hamburger (we use venison because I hunt and kill it and we process the meat ourselves), Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, Bacon, Pork Shoulder Roast, Spices (whole when possible, ground if you're using a ton of it or you have very small quantities), Herbs (fresh when possible, dried over the winter if you have to) Cost: $201.69 initially for shopping the way we do (and buying hamburger); $125/month to maintain it.

Tools.

8-inch Chef's Knife (Victorinox), Chef's Kitchen Cleaver (Joyce Chen), Serrated Knife, Paring Knife, Steel, Silicone Cutting Mats (Color-coded for various food preps), Wood Cutting Board (Don't spend money on this. Talk to a local high school shop teacher or student. You can get it for free and appreciate it more.) Mixing Bowls (I use glass, metal and plastic for various things), Stand Mixer (heavy duty), Blender, Food Processor, 2 10-inch Frying Pans (well seasoned), Wok (very well seasoned), Pressure Cooker, 12-quart Pot, 6-quart Pot, Wire Whisk, Wooden Spoon, Silicone Spatulas, Cast Iron Dutch Oven, Electric Skillet, Mortar and Pestle, Blowtorch, Kitchen Shears Cost about $1000, about 1/2 of that just for the stand mixer (but only $50 for all the knives, combined).

Extras.

This can be anything. Go to farmers' markets and look for whatever is in season. Go to local ethnic markets (my favorite is the Asian market down the street) and try things you've never seen before. For tools, my brother loves specialty tools that will only be used for a specific purpose. I go in the opposite direction--my meat tenderizer is a 2 lbs rubber mallet (the same one I use to seal lids onto paint cans.) I do have popover pans and a V-slicer mandolin that works like a dream. But this is your kitchen and you will have special interests you'll want to try and space limitations that will keep you from buying (or at least keeping) every little thing you see.

Don'ts.

Don't buy cheap but don't overpay, either. Know where you can buy non-organic (thick skin or peel that isn't eaten) and when it has to be higher quality. For hardware, ask yourself if it last for 10 years or more. Maybe then ask if you would want to have it for 10 years or more. Don't let your knives get dull (dangerous!); don't leave hot oil unattended (more dangerous!); don't cut raw meat and raw veggies on the same mat or with the same knife (that's just inviting trouble.)

Taking the time and spending a little bit of money, over time, gets you to the point of having a kitchen you enjoy. An ancient Chinese proverb says, "The journey of 10,000 miles begins with a single step." Go ahead and take that first step. Start something in the kitchen.

Tonight for Dessert
Bourbon Pears
1 Bartlet Pear per person
Bourbon (cheap is good here)
Sauce

Split pears in half, length-wise and core and peel, leaving stem intact, if possible. Stack them into a mason jar as tightly as possible without crushing them (you want to keep them in their best shape). Fill the jar with bourbon. Let stand for the day; two would be better.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Remove the pears from the jar, reserving the bourbon for a nice pear-infused cocktail. (Use your own recipe or look back at the Manhattan a couple of months ago.) Bake the pears for 20 minutes in a glass baking dish.

Place the pears onto their respective serving dishes and drizzle with your favorite sauce--chocolate, caramel, a honey & wine reduction, or serve with a dollop of whipped cream cheese. MMMM!

The Perks of Being a Foodie

I was recently invited to judge a chili cookoff.  An informal affair, but filled with good humor, good friends and of course, good food.  I understand the honor of being chosen to judge rather than to cook.  It implies that I have a decerning palate, I can recognize the various degrees of good, I can justify my reasoning when someone calls my judgement into question and I can be charming and gracious to winner and loser alike.  I understand that I am also the pinnacle of integrity.  At least that's what it means in my mind. 

It does require putting personal friendships and emotions aside for a little while.  When you've clearly picked a chili that is not your friend's, it helps to have a thick skin, lots of charm and a few quick-witted jokes. 

Friend: It's over between us.

Me: Really?  But I was just getting to know you.

Friend: Well, that's come to a screeching halt, hasn't it?  You didn't pick my chili.

Me: My subconscience took pity on a lesser participant.  I wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong ideas. 
Friend: What wrong ideas?  It was a great chili.
Me: Oh, people would talk.  Rumors would get started.  "What did she have to do to win that award?"
Friend: I didn't have to do anything!  It was great chili!

Me: Yes, and now everyone will be suggesting impious things about your competitor.  I have successfully preserved your spotless name.  You may show your gratitude by serving me another bowl of your delicious chili.

I now offer a few suggestions for anyone planning to enter the judging lifestyle: 

1) As any self-respecting judge knows, bribes should be descrete.  Don't flaunt any "appreciation" that may have been shown for a job well done or an "impartial" opinion reached.  If no bribes are offered, still do a good job.  Don't take petty vendettas against those who don't know any better.  But find a gentle way of coaching so that these mistakes may be avoided in the future.

2) Never let anyone see your notes while you're in the throes of critique.  There is nothing more embarrasing than your true feelings being revealed.  How would you feel if one of the judged found out that you think their chili "lacks body," "has an interesting aroma," or "is reminiscent of the flavor in my mouth the last time I woke up after a three-day bender."  Simply because you think something, it does not mean that it should be completely expressed.  Similarly, if your notes need to be reviewed and therefore seen by the masses, know this ahead of time and have your own internal code.  For me, for example: "sweet" = "canned sauce;" "beans appear overcooked" = "looks like catfood;" or "terrible" = "O! For the love of all that is holy!  My tastebuds are abandoning my mouth!  I have tasted evil!  Why has God forsaken me?  Kill me now!"

3) Never let them see you sweat.  You may taste spicy foods, you may taste disagreeable foods, you may even be pranked, but keep your chin up.  If something is so "terrible" (see above) as to shame the very idea of food, remember, this is theater and all eyes are on you.  Retain the drama.  Your public awaits your verdict and there is no satisfaction for them in knowing the descision before the award ceremony. 

Indeed, judging offers tremendous rewards and prestige in the community.  When handled correctly, it can also be quite lucrative.  But I'd rather be cooking.  And in case anyone out there is looking to enter my cooking into a contest, I offer great bribes.

Tonight for dinner:

Butterfly Rosemary Lemon Game Hens

1 Game Hen per person

3 Lemon slices per hen

fresh Rosemary

Salt and Pepper

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Remove the hens from their packages and rinse them thoroughly inside and out.  Using kitchen sheers (or the proper use of a good knife) cut the back out of the birds by cutting along the spine on both sides from tail to neck.  Using a paring knife, remove the wishbone.  Open the birds and flatten them out skin-side up.  Gently run your fingers between the skin and the meat, seperating the two.  Place one slice of lemon under the skin on each side of the breast and 1/2 a slice under the skin on the thighs.  Place sprigs of rosemary liberally under the skin wherever you can.  Sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper.

Place the birds bones down and skin up on a cookie sheet, tuck the wings under themselves and slide it all into the oven.  Cook for 30 minutes and then take their temperature using an instant read thermometer, checking the breast meat and thighs.  Thighs should be 175 degrees and breast about 165.  If not, cook for a few minutes more.  When done, remove from the oven and cover with foil, letting it rest for 10 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Dinning at The Fort

We recently celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. In a brilliant moment of foresight, we planned our wedding so that our anniversaries might correspond to Denver's 5280 Restaurant Week. Never mind that we got married 9 years before the promotion started, and that it was the first date the church was available --this is our week.

For those who live outside of Colorado (or perhaps under a Colorado rock) 5280 (pronounced "Fifty-two Eighty") Restaurant Week follows the restaurant promotions of other cities but we are one mile above sea level: 5,280 feet = one mile, representative of the Mile High City. Get it? Here the restaurants feature multi-course dinners for the low, low price of $52.80 per couple (or $26.40 for a single person or a third wheel) and according to VISIT DENVER, the Convention and Visitors Bureau 281 restaurants participated this year.

We chose The Fort for our dining experience. Known for it's gourmet treatment of game meats (Venison, Bison, Quail, et al), and its tagline "Food and Drink from the Early West." I can't confirm that my cocktail was from the early West, but it was damn good. "Traders Whiskey." Fine bourbon, red chilies, tobacco and black gunpowder. Served neat, in a cordial glass. (OK, we did look it up. Find more, here.)

For the 5280 promotion, The Fort served a prix fixe menu of house salad, choice of Bison Ribs or Bison Brochette, with a quail and sides of corn with Lima beans, and mashed potatoes. Peach cobbler for dessert. They also gave us sourdough rolls and pumpkin muffins (with little apple pieces baked inside--delightful!) We ordered nothing more, and we were stuffed to the gills. Generous portions and delicious food! Because it was our anniversary, we also had our picture taken in authentic headgear (actually, I think mine was a hardhat with some buffalo fur scraps from the souvenir counter taped to it.) And although we didn't eat it that night, they gave us an additional desert of Chocolate Chili Bourbon Cake.

The picture probably would have been better served before the gluttony, but c'est la vie.
I sincerely recommend scheduling some time next year to take advantage of 5280 Restaurant Week. With nearly 300 restaurants participating in every neighborhood and small town in the Denver Metro area, everyone can find something to suit their tastes, and this is a great way of trying something new. The dates are not announced very far in advance but for scheduling purposes, please consider that no restaurant wants to lose its Valentine's Day revenue, nor try to work around the St. Patty's day hullabaloo. I don't know what the dates will be next year, but I know when they WON'T be.
For breakfast this morning:
Brule Bananas, Oven Bacon, Eggs over Easy and freshly baked Bread
Brulee Bananas

Slice bananas lengthwise and rest on a wire rack, on a cookie sheet, over a non-flammable surface. Sprinkle very liberally with white sugar. Don't substitute here! Nothing else will burn in quite the same way.

Grab your best blow torch. (Side note: do NOT spend the extra money on a "brulee torch." They are too small, are over-priced, and you have to spend extra for fuel refills. Instead, go for the small propane bottles, and a $6 screw-on torch.) Patiently melt the sugar, holding the torch relatively still until the sugar begins to burn, turns deeply golden brown and bubbly. You can refrigerate for a few minutes, but do not cover or the crispy shell will liquefy.

Bread

2 cups Bread Flour (more gluten than All Purpose Flour)

2 tablespoons Yeast

1 1/2 cups warm (110 degrees F) Water

2 more cups Bread Flour + more for kneading

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 stick of unsalted Butter, melted

The night before, combine 2 cups flour and yeast in a large bowl and stir to combine. Add the water stir until everything is well mixed. Cover with plastic wrap and let it do it's thing. In the morning it will have tripled or quadrupled in size.

Add 2 more cups of flour, salt and butter and mix until it comes together in a shaggy mass. Turn out onto a floured kneading surface and knead for about 5 minutes or until it's smooth. Return to the bowl, cover with a warm damp cloth and let rise for 1 hour. Punch it down and let rise in the same way for another 45 minutes.

Shape the loaf on a piece of parchment paper let rise while the oven preheats. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes. Let cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes (or a little more). Slice and eat it while it's warm.

FAQs

1) Why are you blogging?

What can I say--I'm a giver. Sometimes things like this have to happen. Does it make me a hero? Perhaps. A humanitarian? Almost certainly. A Pulitzer prize-winning author? Hardly.

I've often been critiqued by friends and family that I never write down any of my recipes. And I don't follow a cookbook. (Although I have many--read on.) And when I make something that I want to repeat, I regularly can't remember what I've done. This is my attempt to remedy all of that. And entertain myself in doing so.


2) How'd you get started cooking?

My mom and dad. Known for the quality and quantity of her food preparation, my mom can produce a salad, three sides, a loaf of bread, three pies for dessert and a coffee cake for the next morning's breakfast without thinking twice. And the problem is, I WANT TO EAT IT ALL! It's delicious! My Dad, on the other hand, owns the grill. Try him out: bring him fish or fowl, beef or game, pork, lamb or mystery meat, and I promise you, your taste buds will dance in exaltation. There has always been a certain destiny for me and my brothers and our passion for food.


3) Where do you get your inspiration?

First and foremost, from the love of tasting. I love putting good things in my mouth. Let your sense of taste learn to identify various flavors. When you bite into a ripe pear, what happens? Where in your mouth do you taste it? Now dust it with a sprinkle of cinnamon. How does it change? Add a few grains of salt. A whole new world has just opened up with three simple ingredients--when you really take the time to experience it.

I also read a lot of cookbooks. Fannie Farmer. The Joy of Cooking. The Essentials of Italian Cuisine. Cooks Illustrated. The foundation of many good ideas start in a cookbook, but I just change and substitute as necessary. And television. Iron Chef, hands down, does more to stimulate the old brain-pan to think outside of convention.


4) Have you ever made anything that wasn't good?

Yes. The most egregious act of treason ever committed in a kitchen was Sesame Fried Tofu.

My wife and I had a fight, and we have a covenant that we will not go to bed or leave each other in anger. This also means that sometimes we'll fight for hours before we get things resolved. (For any men reading this, learn this simple phrase: "You are absolutely right honey. I could not be more sorry." It's a good start, and when you mean it, will cut hours off of the heat of battle.) So, after all the vitriol had been expelled from our bodies, it may have still hung in the air. The attempt at diner that night was tainted. We sat and ate it anyway, but after about 5 minutes, I looked over to her and said, "This is really horrible, isn't it?" And I smiled. She said, "yes but I didn't want to say anything." And she smiled, too.


5) What does "Beyond Viand" mean?

A viand is a delicate and delectable dish. I am beyond that. More like guerrilla warfare in the kitchen.


6) What's for dinner tonight?

Picadillo Oaxaqueno
adapted from Rick Bayless' book Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico

1 pound Venison (Round Steak) (You can use pork, chicken, beef. You could probably use some kind of fiberous vegetable matter, too, but I'm not a vegetarian.)
1 Onion, chopped
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Red Chili Powder (Chimayo)
1 inch Cinnamon Stick, grated
6 Cloves, ground
12 Black Pepper Corns, ground
2 cans (16 oz) Crushed Tomatoes
1/3 cup Raisins
1/3 cup lightly crushed and toasted Walnuts

Slow braise the venison until it's pull-apart tender (think pot roast). This should take a few hours. Shred it.

In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil to saute hot. Add the garlic and onion and cook until translucent. Add the shredded meat, chili, cinnamon, cloves and pepper. Mix well. Add the tomatoes and raisins.

Simmer, stirring every 15 minutes for about 45 minutes or until the sauce has thickened to the consistency you like. I like sloppy joe consistency. Add the walnuts.

Serve with fried plantains, fried polenta, soft or fried tortillas or sopapillas.