 Feb 04
Whoah! a NEW RECIPE? Pot Stickers
Coming back from superbowl sunday, I had created a few appetizers for my cousin's party. My crab rangoons were one of them, shrimp cocktail was another one. But the one appetizer that really stole the show, was my pot stickers! Recipe: 1 package wonton skins preferrably rounds 1 pound ground pork/sage sausage 1 cup of napa or savoy cabbage, boiled and drained 1/4 cup of soy sauce 1 tblspn grated ginger 1/2 chopped onion or a few sliced green onions shot of sesame oil 1 teaspoon of garlic powder 1. mix sausage/pork, cabbage, soy sauce, ginger, onion, garlic, and sesame oil 2. layout a single wonton skin, and wet the edges with water. Take a single teaspoonful of mixture and place on wonton. Fold the wonton skin over, and seal edges to form a half moon shape! 3. Get a frying pan, with a lid to do the following. Pour about a couple of tablespoons of oil, just to slightly cover the bottom of the frying pan. Heat up the pan on high heat. Take several wontons, and lay them on the bottom, seams pointing up. Give it about a minute or two, and check to see if the wonton is browned at the bottom. When the wonton acheives a bit of browning, pour a 1/3 cup of water and immediately put the lid on the frying pan, and turn the heat down to medium for a few minutes. in a few minutes, the pot stickers should be completed. 4. Serve with a 50/50 soy sauce/rice vinegar mixture Enjoy! Dec 25
Ok OK! we will continue the freedom from the taco kit tomorrow, as today, we are going to cover Hollandaise sauce
Merry Christmas! today, I do apologize for the slowdown in recipes, Since I have been taking on a bunch of responsibility with my parent firm, Vanbrunt Group. Well, today is christmas, and I have to say that I made this awesome Hollandaise sauce for Eggs Benedict, and I wanted to share it with you. Also mom loves my cooking, and this is best way to post my recipe, so that she doesn't have to keep bugging me over the phone for recipes! lol! Recipe 1 Stick of butter 1 large lemon 4 egg yolks salt to taste This recipe is very similar to making a custard. Using a double boiler, so that you can melt butter and make the recipe by using indirect heat. Indirect heat is important, so that not only you don't burn the sauce, but you do not scramble the eggs. a double boiler for some, is a metal bowl that can fit over a saucepan, that boils water. Place the stick of butter in the bowl, and let it melt from the indirect heat of the boiling water. After the butter has melted, add the lemon juice. Mix these together by using a balloon whisk. Carefully add the three egg yolks, as you are adding the yolks, vigorously whisk the sauce, causing an emulsion. Emulsion is when you take a fat, and a non fat, and mix until the two ingredients are separated to the molecular level. This applies to the principle of making Mayonaise. Whisk the eggs, and keep on medium heat, until the sauce thickens. Turn off and take off of the double boiler, and serve on eggs, asparagus, anything you like hollandaise sauce! Again! Have a happy holiday! Tom Dec 19
Salsa, The Way I make it!
Ok, give that store bought salsa a rest. On the third part of our lovely series, Freedom from the Taco Kit, I will unleash the salsa recipe: Now there are plenty of variations that you could do with salsa. you could use tomatoes, corn, Mangoes, Different fruits and vegetables. Salsa, unlike some sauces, have the limits that only imagination could bring it... today though, we are going to work on a basic salsa recipe. I will make a chunky tomato salsa. Recipe: 2 long hot/habanero/serrano/any pepper of your preference. Can be substituted with hot sauce. 4 plum tomatoes 1oz. cilantro finely chopped/food processed 1/2 diced medium onion finely chopped/food processed two cloves of garlic 1. Cut the two tomatoes and scoop out the pulp, using a spoon. Slice down the side of the one pepper you chose, Scrap the stem portion, and take out the seeds, as they would make the pepper hot as hell. Put both pepper and the meat of the tomatoes in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Note that if you use hot sauce in place of the peppers, just place the tomato pulp in the oven. 2. Let the peppers cool down. In the meanwhile, you can food process, the garlic, onion, cilantro, and tomato pulp. Not all at once, but pure the tomato pulp, finely process or chop the garlic, onion, and cilantro. 3. Skin, then food process the peppers to a puree. Now I am warning you, that you should only put as much peppers as you can tolerate. A little bit goes a long way, and the pepper's spice will absorb themselves into the salsa. 4. Take the meat of the tomato (the outside, not the pulp) and finely dice it to 1/8 inch dice. Mix everything together and let chill. Of course do not forget to do salt and pepper to taste! Letting the salsa chill will let the ingredients incorporate, especially the garlic, pepper, cilantro, and tomatoes. 5. Tomorrow, I will go over how to make your own Rice! Enjoy and have an awesome night! Dec 18
Seasoning Some Taco Beef
Recipe 2 in the Freedom from the Taco Kit series! Seasoning Beef for tacos: 1 pounds of Ground Beef, preferrably 80/20 lean to fat ratio, browned. 1/2 cup of water 2 tblspoons of salt 1 tblspoon of paprika 1 tblspoon of cayenne pepper 1 tblspoon of garlic powder Take the water and spices and mix them up. After you brown and crumble the ground beef, stir in the water/spice mixture and simmer down at medium heat. Enjoy! Salsa Recipe tomorrow! Dec 17
Make Your Own Tortillas
Folks. over the next few days, we are going to unleash a few recipes that will give you freedom over the "Taco Kits" that families have been subjected to over the years. Today, we are going to cover Flour tortillas. and the next few days will be more recipes to cover the ultimate homemade tex-mex meal! The recipe: 2 cups of flour 1/2 cup of water 1/2 stick of butter (softened) or half a cup of oil tblspn of salt to taste. Mix all of these ingredients together! Cut down the dough to 10 pieces, and then roll them out until they are very thin. On a low heat pan, without using butter or grease. Put each tortilla shell on for 30 seconds on each side, or until desired doneness. The tortilla shells might seem a bit hard at first, but after you stack all of the cooked tortilla shells together, the steam will loosen the shell, and make them more pliable. Stay tuned for tomorrow, where I cover how to make your own taco seasoning! Tom EL Paso and Taco Bell have nothing on your food! Dec 12
Finally, a new recipe! Crepes!
Who would love to have some crepes in the morning? or perhaps make some crepes for Manicotti and other stuffed pasta type dishes? In any form, I do love crepes. Personally, I would love to make an apple compote, which is combining peeled, chopped apples with equal parts water and sugar, cooked down to a syrup. Here is the recipe: 1 cup all-purpose flour 2 eggs 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup water 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter or margarine -- melted mix all of the ingredients together to form a basic batter. the saute or crepe pan should be on a medium heat, so the crepe is not susceptible to burning. the dynamics of pouring crepe batter, flipping the crepe for even cooking on both sides, are similar to a pancake. Caution is always exercised due to the fact that crepes are thinner, and could break easier. Also considering the thinness of crepes, they only need about 30 seconds on each side, unless you like them burned! Serve with a fruit compote, stuff with ricotta cheese to make a blintze, or even stuff with a mix of ricotta/mozzarella/parmesan and bake in sauce to make manicotti! Have a great day! look for more recipes! Tom Dec 11
taking a small break, be right back soon!
Sorry about not posting any new recipes recently. I will be posting some new ones shortly. Dec 07
Perogies!
Ok, Here is an odd variation on Perogies. This takes the core recipe of the all famous perogie, but instead of using a thick dough pastry shell, we are going to use wonton wrappers, Shanghai style, Which are the white circle wonton wrappers, not the yellow hong kong style ones. The filling is going to consist of the traditional Potatoes, but we will also put in the filling, cream cheese, and finely chopped, caramelized onions. Here is the recipe... 4 large potatoes, peeled, and boiled. 1 8 ounce cream cheese package. 1 onion, finely chopped. 1 package of wonton skins, Shanghai Round style salt and pepper. Sautee for boiled perogies... 2 tablespoons of butter 1 shallot, finely chopped 1. Boil the peeled potatoes. meanwhile, take the finely chopped onion, and saute them in oil or butter until caramelized. 2. After the potatoes are done boiling, drain them. Drain excess oil from caramelized onions. Place caramelized onions, cream cheese, and boiled potatoes in a bowl, and take a hand mixer and mix ingredients. don't forget to add the salt and pepper to your taste. 3. Let the mixture cool down. The next step is going to involve filling the wonton skins with the perogie mix. Take a teaspoon and scoop out just enough perogie mix, not to over stuff the wonton skin. Seal the seams of the wonton skin with water, and the perogie should resemble a half moon shape. 4. Set these on a small tray and freeze them. When you freeze them, make sure they are not touching as it could be a problem separating them. When they are frozen, they could be put into a bag and stored for MONTHS! 5. When you are ready to serve perogies, all you need to do, is set up a pot with boiling water, and drop the perogies in for just a few minutes to warm them up and cook the wonton skin. Meanwhile, set up a saute pan, and caramelize shallots with a couple of tablespoons of butter. when the shallots are fully caramelized, add a bit more butter, and throw the boiled perogies in the saute pan, and saute with the shallots. Use tongs, and be careful not to burn them, as they will blow apart if you do! 6. Enjoy! More awesome recipes on the way! Dec 06
Pizza Dough
Tonight's recipe was a tossup. I only had an hour to come up with something original. Trying to stray away from the usual fried stuff, and maybe make a recipe which was a tad on the instructional side of things. Tonight I am going to discuss pizza dough. Ever since I learned my technique to make pizza dough, the local pizzerias noticed a sharp decline in business, lol. Yeah, as the recipe was that good! So, without further adieu, here is the recipe. yeast activation: 12 oz luke warm water, around 110 degrees F. 1 pack of dry yeast. 2 tblspoons of sugar. mix the hot water, yeast and sugar together. let stand for a few minutes. It is ready when the mix is foaming. 2 tblspoons of salt. 4 cups of flour. 1/4 cup of oil: olive, veggie, or canola works. Throw these ingredients in after the yeast water sugar mix foams. stir in salt, flour, and oil. Take the doughball, and knead it for five minutes. You should be able to roll it into a ball and not have any bumps or cracks in the dough. Coat dough ball with oil, cover up in a bowl, and let rise for 30-45 minutes, until the size of the dough has doubled. The best results happen when you put the dough on top of an oven that is heated to 2-300 degrees, as the nearby heat will help the yeast work more efficiently. Punch the doughball to get rid of any trapped air. cut dough according as much as you might need. This amount of dough should yield to at least 2 large pizzas. You could make panzoritti, calzones, and strombolis with this dough also. You are only limited to your imagination. Sample Pizza Routine: Set oven to 425 degrees. If you have a pizza stone, or just a nice piece of untreated stone from home depot, It will have more of a pizzeria texture. Roll out dough for pizza, and place toppings and sauce. Bake in oven for 12-15 minutes, or until desired doneness. Enjoy folks, and have a great day! Dec 05
Mozzarella Sticks - Beer Batter
Here is a recipe not for the faint of heart. a while back, I had a 40 ouncer of Miller Genuine Draft laying around. One of my friends had left it behind, and said I could drink it if I wanted to. I was going to drink most of it, but had better plans for the rest. Save for a cup of the beer, which is 8 ounces, which doing the math, gives me a litre of beer to drink while making these fine treats. Recipe: Block of Mozzarella. Best if you hit a restaurant supply shop or a wholesale club and get a large block instead of those one pounder jobbies at the supermarket. You will need a couple of pounds. 8 ounces of fresh, not flat beer(a cup), alternatively you could use seltzer, but beer gives it that kick. I would prefer a lager, as it offers the best beer batter taste. Sam Adams or Yuengling would be a couple of better options as well. 1 cup of flour for dipping 1 1/2 cups of flour for the batter 2 tblspoons of garlic, salt, and pepper 1. Cut the Mozzarella cheese in 1/2inch thick by 3 inch long sticks. Chill in the freezer for 30 minutes. 2. turn the fryer on to 325 degrees. 3. Mix the flour, beer, salt, pepper, and garlic. this will be the batter to fry the mozzarella with. 4. set up the bowl of flour for dredging the mozzarella sticks. 5. Take the mozzarella out of the freezer. Coat with the flour, then dip into the batter. 6. Fry for not even 2 minutes. You will know that the mozzarella sticks are done if there is a tiny bit of cheese leaking out. 7. Serve Immediately, with marinara sauce. 8. Enjoy! Take a minute and check out this great cookbook. It has recipes and secrets for those who want to know how to make authentic restaurant food! Dec 04
Happy Hanukkah! Potato Pancakes or Latkes
And to all of my Jewish Bretheren and Sisteren! Happy Hanukkah! I would love to share an awesome recipe, which has been passed from many generations, from my heritages in Germany, Poland, and Romania, to the modern day! This is not a glorified McDonalds Hash brown either! This is a legitimate Latkes Recipe. Recipe: 6 potatoes, peeled and grated. (To forgo all of the work, buy the shredded hash browns from ore-id or McCain, but defrost and squeeze the water out of them!) 2 eggs 1 heaping teaspoon of flour salt and pepper to taste. 1. in a large bowl, mix together ingredients. 2. In a frying pan, use a few tablespoons of oil, and bring the oil to medium high temperature. 3. make patties out of the potato mixture. Afterwards, pan fry on each side until golden brown. 4. Serve with Sour Cream and Apple Sauce! 5. Happy Hanukkah! From my family to yours* *note, that I am agnostic, and note that my mom is jewish and my father is lutheran. So yes, you will see both christmas and hanukkah recipes here! Dec 03
My very famous Hot Wings
Well folks, someone sent me an email from myspace a while ago asking me about my hot wings recipe. I told them that I have a few recipe ideas before I would like to get to the hot wings. Now though seems to be an appropiate time, with football playoffs coming soon in the states, and the holiday christmas party circuit. The Recipe 3 pounds of hot wings, cleaned and drumstick/wing seperated (it is best to go to a supermarket and buy the plain, wings that are frozen in a 3 pound bag, which have no seasoning or breading, ) **Wings must be thawed by time of prep and frying. shaker mix for wings 2 cups of flour 2 tblspoons of red pepper powder(not flakes) 2 tblspoons of black pepper powder 2 tblspoons of salt wing sauce 1 stick of butter 1/2 cup of hot sauce, any cheap hot sauce would do! 2 tblspoons of garlic 1 tblspoon of mustard 1. preheat deep fryer to 325 degrees. 2. in a large plastic ziplock bag or a paper bag, take all of the shaker ingredients and shake for about 30 seconds to ensure a good mix. 3. melt butter in saucepan. Throw the remaining sauce ingredients and whisk well. 4. take thawed chicken wings, 6 at a time, and shake in bag until fully coated with flour mixture. 5. fry wings in 325 degree fryer for 6-8 minutes, until desired doneness. 6. after wings are fully cooked, throw the wings into a metal bowl. pour just a bit of sauce over the wings, and toss them with tongs until they are coated with the wing sauce. 7. enjoy! Dec 02
The Real Chocolate Chip Cookie
Ok, who is sick of Pillsbury chocolate chip cookie logs besides me? They are like my brother's saving grace, because he doesn't know how to bake (very much cook actually! :P) Are you sick of looking for cookie recipes on the backs of chocolate chip bags? Are you sick of paying rediculous prices for mass produced supermarket fodder? Well Step on this way! Recipe: Creaming Ingredients: 2 sticks of butter, left at room temperature for a while to soften, so the butter creams better with the sugar. 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup brown sugar batter ingredients: 3 eggs 1 tblspn vanilla extract 1 tblspn salt 1 tblspn baking powder 3 cups of flour, unbleached or bleached, your preference 1 12oz bag of chocolate chips. Remember life is too damn short for bad chocolate chips, better make it ghiardelli or e Guittard. Heck, if Teuscher made chocolate chips, I'd consider it! heh 1. Preheat oven to 350. Usually alot of recipes call for 375 and sometimes 400. I am happy with 350, as it provides for a consistent bake. Cream the softened butter with both sugars. The end consistency should be even without any lumps. 2. Add eggs, vanilla, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Stir for a minute. I prefer using a spatula to stir, because they are easy to fold with and they can scrape the sides of a bowl nicely. 3. fold in the three cups of flour until even mixed and no signs of flour are left. Finally add the precious(no cheapo!) chocolate chips and fold in until the chips are evenly distributed. 4. Cookie sheets are awesome for making cookies, but there are a few great alternatives, such as parchment paper and sillicone mats for sheet pans. I prefer to use parchment paper, because the cookie bottoms never get burnt, and they are easy to move off of the pan into a cooling rack or metal table to cool. 5. Use a sheet of parchment on a sheet pan, and take two spoons to spoon out the cookie dough. Using two spoons make the job of dishing out dough to a sheet pan easier and leaves your hands clean. 6. Bake for 12-15 minutes, about the time when the tops of the cookies will start to slightly brown. They might not seem to be totally solid, but the cookies will be warm enough, if you put on a metal table or cooling rack, that they will solidfy as they cool down. 7. Enjoy, this should yield to between 4-5 dozen depending on cookie size. In my case, it yields to 2 dozen, because my folks usually eat them not even being out of the oven for 10 minutes. This is despite me reminding them that those chocolate chips are not cheap! lol Nov 30
Fettucine Alfredo
From the same place down the shore that I learned the Chicken Franchaise, I also learned how to make Fettucine Alfredo. Up to this point, I didn't know much about sauces, come five years later, i know a great deal of mother sauces. But today, you are going to learn Fettucine Alfredo! Now unlike some restaurants, which will make a bechamel and put parmesan cheese in it, we are making an alfredo, which uses egg yolks as the thickening agent, which in my opinion, tastes superior. Recipe per 2 servings 2 servings cooked fettucine, It would be a stretch, but homemade pasta would be awesome! Once you have eaten housemade pasta, you don't want to go back :-) 2 egg yolks half cup heavy cream parmesan cheese to taste half stick of butter 1. Simple! On a saute pan, combine yolks, cream, parmesan cheese, and butter over low-medium heat. Constantly whisk, to get the egg yolks fully incorporated into the suace, and do not overheat as the eggs could possibly scramble, and you would have a scrambled egg sauce instead. 2. Be paitent and give it a few minutes if it is not thickening up. When the sauce thickens up, just toss some fettucine, and serve! Great with most entrees, and the kids will love it! 3. Have a great day! Nov 29
Chicken Franchaise
Back in the day, I cooked for a great traditional italian restaurant in the Jersey Shore. This is where I learned my base on standard italian cuisine. I always wanted to learn something new everyday, and I constantly bugged my boss to teach me something new everyday. One day, I learned this dish, which had a sauce reminiscent of a scampi sauce, but the chicken looked like a mix between egg foo young and some weird omelet. My boss implored me to have a try, and it was awesome! now, you will learn how to make chicken franchaise. Recipe (serves two) Equipment: Deep Fryer Saute Pan tongs to move food around food: 2 large chicken breasts, sliced thin. 2 eggs 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese juice of one lemon half stick of butter two cloves of garlic, minced 1. preheat deep fryer to 350 degrees, 2. Mix the eggs and parmesan cheese, as this will be the batter. 3. slice the chicken breast thin if you already haven't done so. Then dredge the chicken in flour, and afterwards dip the chicken in the egg/parmesan cheese. 4. Deep fry the chicken until fully cooked. Now remember that the chicken is thinly sliced so it should take only a couple of minutes tops. Set chicken aside. 5. To make the sauce, melt the butter with garlic in the sauce pan. After the butter is melted, add the juice of a lemon, and reduce for a few minutes. salt and pepper to taste. 6. Put the fried chicken franchaise on a plate, pour the sauce, and serve! 7. Enjoy! Nov 28
Risotto
This great italian dish is not complex at all! I make it every once in a while, for when family and friends come around. This is awesome with any entree! The recipe I use: 2 cups arborio rice 1 onion, finely chopped 1 quart of chicken stock, fresh, canned, or made with bouillon 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese 3 cloves of garlic, heavily minced olive oil a. The process will seem similar to making rice a roni, which requires you first to 'brown' the rice, then pour the water and mix powder. here it goes! 1. First we take the chopped onion and the minced garlic, and then we would saute on medium heat using olive oil, until the onion & garlic is carmelized. 2. Take the 2 cups of arborio rice and pour into the onion garlic mix, and with a bit more olive oil, toast the rice until the grains are opaque. 3. With the chicken stock, pour one ladle at a time, and let each ladle full of chicken stock simmer down. keep doing this until you run out of chicken stock. The rice should be fully cooked. If not, just add a ladle of water until so. 4. Take the parmesan cheese, and mix into the risotto. Salt and Pepper to taste! 5. Enjoy! Want to know more about italian cuisine? The download guide only costs under FIVE DOLLARS. THAT's RIGHT! FIVE DOLLARS! Learn pizzas, pastas, AND MORE! Nov 27
Belgian Pommes Frites (You call them French Fries!)
Yeah, admit it! You are so used to the crappy fries at McDonalds, and Burger King, and have deep fried frozen fries at dive bars and the crap they sell at the supermarket. WOULD YOU LOVE TO LEARN HOW TO MAKE AWESOME FRIES? We got the recipe right here! All of those high end steakhouses won't have anything on us! Nor those wonderful boutique Fry stands from Manhatttan! You could use any potato for this recipe. I usually would like to do a mix of different types, my favorite mix being sweet potatoes and yukon golds. But for today's recipe we will use whatever you have handy in the house. We are going to use a technique where we fry potatoes Belgian Style, which is frying the potatoes twice, once at a lower temperature, then giving them a golden finish on the second fry. Recipe: Equipment Deep Fryer, any model that can get to 375-400 degrees tongs Chefs knife Food Potatoes, any which type you like! 1. Preheat deep fryer oil to 325 degrees. 2. Your preference if you want to peel the potatoes or leave the skin on. Either using a mandoline, or a chef's knife, to cut the potatoes down to lengthwise fries. 3. after you are done cutting the potatoes into fries, deep fry the potatoes until they are pliable, which means, they will easily break in half. this usually takes a couple of minutes. 4. Take the fries out of the oil, but not out of the fryer basket, they can rest there while the oil heats back up. 5. change the fryer temperature setting to 375-400 degrees. When the fryer is ready to go, fry the fries once more, but only fry until they have developed a golden brown color. Now you have an awesome authentic pomme frite! 6. there are plenty of ways to season them. some folks prefer just salt, or salt and pepper. For The Chickie's and Pete's crowd, who love crab fries, place a couple of teaspoons of old bay crab seasoning, and shake the fries along with the seasoning in a brown paper bag. I do sweet potato fries and yukon golds mixed together, shaken in a seasoning of salt, pepper, and garlic, and served with a side of sour cream(creme fraiche.) 7. Enjoy! I have a quick question for you. Have you ever considered starting your own Catering business? The great thing with catering is it's like an adventure, as no two catering jobs are the same. Click Here to check out this information product that will take you from a vision to reality! have fun! Tom Nov 27
To my fellow Restauranteurs - Need More Business?
Just a quick off-topic rant for my fellow restauranteurs that are checking out the blog and probably cursing themselves a storm at seeing some of these recipes. Don't worry, people always need to eat, and they will eat out a lot! Maybe you are not doing too well with business and maybe you could use some help? I might just have the program for you! There is this gentleman that goes by the name of Andreas Breitfuss. He has a wonderful suite of programs and books for restauranteurs that want to increase their business dramatically. Tired of hiring staff that are unproductive? Tired of having no business, and not knowing how to promote effectively? Are your numbers out of wack and cannot turn a decent profit? Is being the owner of your restaurant, more like a job? Check this out! For this suite of programs and literature, which you can write off, and use to make an impressive return on investment. The cost is under $100, which puts this priceless investment within reach for anybody, from a hot dog cart, to a 500 seat Chinese Buffet, to a 100 seat Trattoria! Looking out as always! Tom Nov 26
My Favorite Plain Cheesecake!
ok folks! Friends and family LOVE my cheesecake! Everybody who loves a great dessert, loves cheesecake! Here is the recipe for my cheesecake! Was a secret recipe. Well GUESS WHAT! not a secret anymore, lol. I will go through this step-by-step! equipment used: mixing bowl, electric mixer(makes the job way easier! 10 bux at Walmart!) 8"-9" Springform Pan, which you can get anywhere, I get mine from a restaurant supply store. Large roasting pan or hotel pan, to put water in to create a bain marie. The ingredients: filling: 1 pound of creamcheese (2 8 ounce packages of cream cheese) 3/4 cup of granulated sugar tblspoon of vanilla 2 eggs 1/2 cup of sour cream crust: 2/3 box of graham crackers, crushed to a sand-like consistency half a stick of butter or margarine. 1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. melt the half stick of butter/margarine in microwave for 40 seconds. 2. after melting the butter, pour butter and smashed graham crackers into springform pan, mix with hands. then press the crust around the bottom and sides of the springform pan. 3. cream the cream cheese and sugar. beat until soft. beat in eggs, then vanilla and sour cream. the cheesecake mix should be pourable. 4. Pour mix into the springform pan. place pan in a roasting pan or hotel pan, and place in the oven. Pour water into the hotel pan, which will ensure the cheesecake will set, and the less likely problem of the cheesecake cracking. 5. It should take nearly 40 minutes to an hour, depending on elevation. The cheesecake should be set, which means that the cheesecake batter shouldn't be of a liquid state. Chill in fridge. Do not remove the ring of the springform pan yet! let the cheesecake chill for a couple of hours, then remove the springform ring! 6. Enjoy. If you love baking, or you want to experiment with a few new ideas here and there, check out these guys.Baking Hugs Your folks will think that you are a professional chef after reading this book! Nov 25
crab rangoons!
Ever been to a chinese buffet, or some takeout joint, and love those fried wontons filled with crab and cream cheese? Want to know how to make them? Just follow this recipe! The Recipe: Wonton skins, square shape 1 pound special crabmeat(can with the label special, not lump) 1 pound of cream cheese 1 tblspoon of sesame oil 1 red bell pepper, finely diced 1. Mix together the crabmeat, cream cheese, sesame oil, and finely chopped red bell pepper. Using a kitchen aid mixer or a hand mixer is ok and it actually saves you time. 2. lay out wonton skins on table, then take a spoonful of the mixture and drop on each wonton skin. slightly wet the edges of wonton, and fold one corner over to form a triangle. Then take the two points on the bottom of the triangle and slightly wet them, and pinch the edges together. 3. Deep fry until golden brown, on a 375 degree fryer. Shouldn't take more than 30 seconds. Serve with duck sauce or a spicy chillie sauce! 4. Enjoy! Take a minute to check out these sponsors. they have a book on superfoods! If you want to know more about foods that boost your health, maybe you should check these folks out! Tom Check out some really cool superfoods! Foods that help you live that optimal lifestyle! Nov 23
Creme Brulee
Today, I decided to put a great recipe of one of my favorite desserts, creme brulee! Just about every fancy restaurant has it, and even some diners too I am sure! The first time I had creme brulee, was at Ruth Chris Steakhouse. I loved taking my spoon to break through a molten sugar shell, and beneath reveals a custard that is nothing short of spectacular. I am going to show you how to make this. There are a couple things though that you should know: 1. This is going to involve a great deal of prep. We can though cut down on the prep, by using an electric beater rather than a balloon whisk. The balloon whisk aerates the egg yolks and incorporates the sugar, turning to a light color, and getting to a thicker texture. 2. You will be warming up heavy cream also. You will have to be careful to heat the cream up just enough to scald it, and not curdle the cream. 3. We will have to make a bain-marie (water bath). Not the bain-marie that stores deli condiments on a kitchen line, but a deep hotel or roasting pan with water. This will help in getting the perfect set on the custard when it is baking in the oven. 4. Turbinado, or more commonly known as sugar in the raw, is a crystal sugar, which has a slightly brownish hue. A few coffee drinkers and several recipes call for it. Look for sugar in the raw in your local supermarket! 5. Tempering is when you take a substance, such as egg, and mix it with a warmer liquid. The method is to temper, or make the egg mixture properly mix with a hotter liquid without cooking the egg. in the creme brulee recipe, We would ladle the cooled heavy cream one ladle at a time while whisking the egg mixture. Recipe: makes 6 creme brulees! 6 egg yolks 1/2 cup of sugar 1 quart of heavy cream, 36% 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract Sugar in the raw(Turbinado) hotel or deep roasting pan to hold a water bath and the brulees 6 souffle cups(ramekins) 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Heat up the heavy cream in a 2 qt. saucepan until it reaches 190 degrees, which will scald the cream. After the cream reaches temperature, set aside and let cool for 15 minutes. 2. In the meanwhile, in a bowl, take the sugar and egg yolks, and use the electric mixer and beat until the egg color reaches a very light yellow color. You know the mixture is ready, when you take a spoon, dipping into the egg-sugar mixture, and mixture does a ribbon drop, where the mixture falls in an even, thick ribbon like look. 3. When the cream is given the 15 minutes to cool, Then you will take a whisk, and temper the cream into the egg-sugar mixture. This is done, so that the cream doesn't scramble the mixture. Pour the cream into the egg-sugar mix, one ladle at a time, and as you are pouring, whisk the mixture to properly temper the mix. 4. When this is completed, whisk in the vanilla, then get ready for the next step. 5. Set up the ramekins in the hotel pan. Evenly pour or ladle the custard mixture into the ramekins. Pour hot water in the pan, filling it up 2/3rds of ramekin's height. carefully place the pan in the oven, and bake for 40 minutes or until set. The custards will be set, when the mixture inside the ramekins are solid. Take out of oven, and let cool in the fridge. 6. When serving, put a nice amount of sugar in the raw on top of the creme brulees, and you can either broil them for a minute, or if you are handy with a torch, then you can melt the sugar. Be careful with hot sugar, as I have gotten burnt by hot sugar, and it doesn't feel good at all! It only takes a few minutes for the sugar to cool. Serve immediately afterwards. 7. ENJOY! If you enjoy making desserts as much as I do, you should check out Dessert University! Check out Dessert University. They have this great program, for those who want to learn more about desserts and how to make them. I had learned through years of experience in the kitchen, and working from different restaurants. Save yourself the years of work, and join Dessert University! Nov 20
Macaroni and Cheese, Not from a Kraft Box!
Today, I want to share with you, my recipe for Macaroni and Cheese. I grew up eating all of that pathetic powdered cheese stuff they called Kraft shells and cheddar. When I started to really learn all different types of cooking, this is one of the first things that I had picked up right off of the bat. We are going to be making a few different preps as we go along in the process of making the perfect macaroni and cheese: 1. We are going to make a roux. A roux is when you combine flour and a fat, equal parts. The roux's purpose is thicken a sauce or a liquid that is has been mixed into. 2. A bechamel is then next. After we make the roux, we are going to put milk(whole or skim works, but whole gives the best effect) and mix it into the roux. I will get more into this in the recipe. but the roux and milk are whisked together in a low/medium heat to prevent curdling. as you will notice, the roux will fully incorporate into the milk and become a thick saucelike consistency. Well, with these two vital pieces understood, let's head right over into the recipe. Macaroni and Cheese: 1 box of Macaroni or shell pasta 1 quart of milk 1 stick of butter 1 pound of any cheese you want, I prefer Ny or Vermont sharp cheddar. Shred or finely chop. 1 cup of flour salt and pepper to taste. 1. Boil macaroni or shell pasta to desired doneness. 2. Create a roux, by melting the stick of butter in a 2 quart saucepan over medium heat, preventing any burning of the buttter. When the butter is melted, whisk in the one cup of flour. whisk the roux mixture and heat until it turns a few shades darker. 3. Lower the heat, and add the milk. Whisk the mixture and keep on heat until it becomes thicker, creating the bechamel. 4. Add the cheese, and whisk until all of the cheese has melted. Salt and pepper to taste. 5. Add the cooked shell/macaroni and mix with a wooden spoon. From this point you can serve it, or put some shredded cheese on top in a casserole dish and bake for a crusty top. Enjoy! Tom Nov 20
Welcome to My Recipe a day site!
Welcome everybody! Your new experience in food is here! My name is Tom, and I am going to give you a daily recipe on my website! And this site will have an RSS feed, so you will be able to check on your reader for new and exciting recipes. I will go in depth with each recipe, explaining how everything is done, from prep to table. I will also promote a few different products that you might even like, from cookbooks, to kitchen products, and the like! Again, thank you for checking out my recipe site! Tom |
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