Wood Cutting Boards

Picking a Wood Cutting Board: As the old adage goes, "You get what you pay for..." With most quality items in the kitchen, you have to spend money on quality.  I've listed a couple of links for various wood cutting boards. 


End grain hard maple boards will last generations when cared for properly. 

Care:  Never wash cutting board in a dishwasher, or soak in sink.  Wood expands and contracts naturally, and this will eventually lead to splitting.  To wash, use soapy water and a rag or sponge and wash, rinse, and dry. 

After washing, sanitize with white distilled vinegar.  Vinegar contanes acetic acid, which kills harmful bacteria.  Wipe full strength using a paper towel and let dry.

After washing, Food grade Mineral Oil will help keep your board looking great and fill the exposed grain.  Once again, just wipe on with a paper towel and let the wood absorb the oil.  Wipe off any excess after a few minutes.  Bees-wax can be applied as well to form a more glossy finish. 

Do this regularly to keep your board good as new. 


What can you cut on a wood cutting board?   Anything!  Food safety is important though, so a few reminders to keep everyone safe. 

First, never cut raw meat on a board before ready to eat food without washing and sanitizing in between.  It is a good habit to cut all ready to eat vegetables BEFORE you cut any meat.  This way, you don't have to clean the board twice. 

Second, wash and sanitize cutting boards right away.  Don't let raw meat dry on the cutting board, or it will make it harder to remove. 

Another solution is to have two cutting boards... One for meat and one for everything else.  Either way, the care instructions above will sanitize a wood cutting boards from any potentially harmful bacteria. 


http://www.theboardsmith.com/catalog.htm

http://www.butcherblockco.com/johnboos.html?gclid=COLu7O-Vp6wCFQLj7QodqUvrBw

Maple-Apple Cider Vinaigrette

This vinaigrette is great on salads, but just about any roasted or grilled meat.  Try basting some on pork, chicken, even robust fish such as salmon. 

Start by putting all ingredients except the canola oil in a blender and blend until smooth.  Once smooth, slowly add the canola oil while the blender is running to emulsify (thicken) the vinaigrette.  Store under refrigeration. 

2C Apple Cider Vinegar

3T Dijon
1.5 T s&p
1 Shallot
3/4C Maple syrup
2.25C Apple juice
1t Fresh garlic
6 Fresh Basil leaves
6 Tarragon sprigs
1 Qt Canola Oil

Breaking Down a Chicken

Crabcakes with Remoulade

Rémoulade

1C Mayo

2T stone-ground mustard
2T ketchup
1T paprika
½ C minced scallions
1t minced garlic
1T minced celery
1T minced shallot
2T minced parsley
1t hot sauce
S+P
 

            -Combine ingredients in a bowl until smooth

Crab Cakes

2 Pounds Jumbo Lump Blue Crab

½ Red Bell Pepper Minced
2T Minced chives
½ C Mayo
1T Stone ground mustard
1t Worcestershire
Pinch cayenne pepper
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and White pepper

Panko breadcrumbs
Butter

-Lightly combine all ingredients until everything just comes together to keep some large crab chunks

-Form into crabcakes and press into panko bread crumbs to coat the cakes

-Brown in a small amount of butter over medium heat

-Flip and finish in a 400 degree oven for five minutes

-Serve with remoulade...Enjoy

Fruit & Cheese Display

Fruit & Cheese Display @ LGPAInternational

Wensleydale with Cranberries

Port Wine Derby

Aged Cheddar

Smoked Gouda

Provolone

Gold Pineapple

Honeydew

Cantaloupe

Berries

Easy Caesar Dressing

Store-bought Caesar dressing always tastes odd to me.  This recipe is very simple to make and all you need that you might not already have are the anchovies.  Anchovy paste can also be used. 

Caesar Dressing

4 Garlic Cloves

3Tbl. Lemon juice
2 Anchovies
2 Cups Mayonnaise
1 Tbl Worcestershire
3/4 teaspoon Ground Black pepper
2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

             -Blend garlic, lemon, and anchovies until smooth, and mix into remaining ingredients.

Caesar salad- Toss romaine hearts, freshly grated parmesan, croutons, and dressing in a bowl until coated.  Serve immediately. 

The Urban Gatherer: Dry Your Own Herbs

The Urban Gatherer: Dry Your Own Herbs

Clean a Cast Iron Skillet- How To

Here is a simple step by step process for keeping your work horse pan clean and ready to go for the next meal.  First, don’t ever use soap!  Grandma should have taught you this…  Soap takes away the layer of “seasoning” that helps a cast iron skillet cook so well.  The seasoning is a layer of oil that penetrates the cooking surface of the cast iron and keeps food from sticking to the surface, while transferring heat evenly. 

                You will need:  paper towels, kosher salt, canola oil and water.

 Once you are done using your skillet, let it cool somewhat and fill with a thin layer of water from the tap.  Use a flat edge spatula and scrape the large bits from the bottom of the pan.  Rinse out the pan at this point with more water.  It should come pretty clean just by doing this, but there is a trick to getting the inside coating glossy clean again. 

                Kosher salt is added to act as an abrasive.  Take a paper towel and scour the inside bottom and sides of the pan with the salt.  Add a tablespoon of canola oil to the salt and keep scouring until the inside surface is clean, and smooth with no residue.  Once the pan is rinsed at this point, the inside should rinse clean like water on a waxed car. 

                Dry the pan with another paper towel inside and out and lightly add a small amount of canola oil to the inside of the pan again.  Use one last paper towel, and wipe the protective layer of canola oil to the entire inside of the pan and sides. 

                Do this every time you use your pan, and it will stay good as new…even better than new as time goes on. 

Prime Rib - How To

A rib roast ...AKA prime rib, can satisfy any carnivore.  When done correctly, the results are wonderful.  When we cook prime rib at the restaurant, we keep it simple.  We use only the highest quality Certified Angus Beef and do a small amount of trimming.  First, the fat cap is pulled back to reveal the slightest layer of fat on the top of the roast.  Then the "lip" is trimmed off down the length of the roast.  These trimmings will be used to make the jus.  They are roasted off to develop some caramelization and combined with beef stock, garlic, red wine, thyme, bay leaf, salt & pepper.

     Once the roast is trimmed we season with kosher salt and cracked black pepper.  This is where you need to be very generous with the seasoning.  Sprinkle on very heavily becasue the seasoning has a lot of meat to penetrate.  Once the roast is seasoned, we use roasted garlic puree (roasted garlic, milk to thin) to spread over the top to flavor.  Finally, fresh thyme sprigs are placed on top of roast to flavor as the roast cooks. 

     We cook at 340F for about an hour and a half or until the internal temperature is about 100F. Once this temperature is reached, we turn the oven down to 200F until the internal temperature is 125-130F.  (medium rare) This usually takes an hour or so more. 

     Most importantly, let the meat rest adequately before slicing.  Serve Au Jus, or "with juice" made from the caramelized trimmings and any juice left in the pan from roasting.  Enjoy

Prime Rib & Pork Shanks

The night begins...............

Sea Scallops

W/Smoked red pepper coulis

Grow your own Veggies!

These were all grown from our garden at work.  We have a small plot, about 10'x15' and successfully grew heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, cubanelle peppers, spaghetti squash, fennel, bibb lettuce, and aurora peppers.  We found that a simple drip irrigation system kept everything watered in the hot Florida sun.  We also have a small herb garden.  It is very satisfying to grow fresh produce.

Classic Shrimp Scampi

Shrimp Scampi

1-2 Lbs Just Cooked Pasta (linguine, fettuccini, penne, angel hair, etc…)

¼ stick butter
1T extra virgin olive oil
½ sweet yellow onion minced
1-2 cloves garlic sliced thin
Small pinch crushed red pepper
½ C white wine
2 Lbs. peeled & deveined white shrimp
1 Tbl. Italian flat leaf parsley minced
Remaining ¾ stick butter cubed
Zest of one lemon
Salt and Pepper
Juice of ½ Lemon

-add ¼ stick butter and olive oil to pan over medium heat

-add onion, garlic, and crushed red pepper and cook until just translucent, about 3-4 minutes
-deglaze pan with white wine and cook down for 1 minute
-add shrimp, parsley, remaining butter, and zest, and cook until shrimp are just cooked 2-3 minutes
-season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon
-tosswith pasta and enjoy! ...can be served with grated parmesan and Crusty Bread

Citrus Tarragon Vinaigrette

This simple vinaigrette can be made in a blender.  First, combine all ingredients (except the canola oil) in a blender and turn on medium speed.  Once everything is blended, slowly drizzle the canola oil in while the blender is still running.  The oil will emulsify the vinaigrette.  The end result is not a thick vinaigrette, but a very light refreshing flavorful vinaigrette.  We use this at the restaurant as a dressing, marinade, or basting on cooked foods to give it a sheen.  It goes great with poultry, seafood, and pork. 


Citrus Tarragon Vin.
1C Packed Tarragon
1C Orange Juice
1/2 C Orange Blossom Honey
1/2C plus 2 Tbl  White Vinegar
1Tbl Dijon Mustard
1/2 Tbl Salt & Pepper
1 Minced Shallot
1 Cup Canola Oil

Watermelon Carving "Roses"

I started doing these melons after seeing a few examples from cruise ship buffet displays.  It looks a little tricky, but once you visualize what you have to do, they come together pretty quickly.  Carvings similar to these can be done from cucumbers and other melons.  Happy Carving :)  

Tools of the Trade

     The first thing I purchased when I got into cooking was a full knife set.  I spent a LOT of money on a knife set that I really didn't utilize completely.  I found myself only using one knife most of the time.  After many years of cutting, slicing, carving...I can recomend that you really only need two maybe three knives to do anything!  The knife I use for most everything is a 10" slicer.  I can fine mince a shallot, carve a watermelon carving, fillet a whole fish, de-bone a chicken, or pretty much anything else that requires a knife.  Sometimes though a paring knife or a serrated knife can come in handy for certain tasks.  A pairing knife is great for small tasks, while a serrated knife is great for crusty bread.  In the end, whatever your "go to" knife is, needs to feel comfortable to you.  Anything between 8" and 12" will do most anything you need. 

     All your cutting should be on a surface that is softer than the edge of your knife.  Don't ever cut directly on glass, or marble cutting boards.  Although they may be less porous, they will round over and dull your knives very quickly.  End grain hardwood cutting boards are the most forgiving for the edges of sharp knives.  They look nice as well.  Maintenance on wood cutting boards consists of a rub-down with mineral oil every once in a while. 

     Another "go to" item in the kitchen is a properly seasoned large cast iron skillet.  There are so many uses for this workhorse item.  Its biggest advantage for me is the ability to hold heat and cook evenly.  On a standard stovetop, you will never have to go over medium heat to get a cast iron pan screaming hot.  After years of seasoning and use (oiling, and NEVER using soap) it just gets better. 

     For other cookwear, I recommend thick stainless steel such as All-Clad.  Stainless is durable, non-reactive to acids, and no specialty utensils are required.  The same logic for purchasing knives applies here...  Do you really need a 15 pc. set?  Get what you know you will use. 

     The most commonly used utentils to actually move HOT food are stainless steel tongs, and a thin flexible slotted turner, or "fish spatula".  Tongs offer an extension to your hands while providing very strong grip, while the slotted turner is great for more finesse. RYTQYK9VN2EC