Shorter is sometimes better!

Lengthy is not always the best when it comes to great recipes. I’ve seen recipes that have three ingredients and some that have 20 and more. There are some recipes with directions as few as four and some lasting two pages.

Which would you think would be the best recipes? The shorter ones or the longer ones? Well, I have to say I have some really good recipes that take just a few minutes to cook and some really good ones that take hours to prepare.

I personally like the recipes that take fewer ingredients and take less time to cook. You would be surprised that some of the fanciest restaurants in town will use the simplest of recipes. If the food is plated properly, you would never know the difference.

I tried an experiment on my hubby. I made two dishes, one with just a few ingredients and directions and the other with 17 ingredients and almost two full pages if directions. It took only forty-five minutes to make the easier dish and almost four hours to make the other one. I put both dishes in front of my hubby and had him taste both and try to guess which one took the longest to prepare and which one was the best to him.

By the looks of both dishes, he could not pick the quickest to prepare, but decided that the one I made in forty-five minutes was the best. I also agreed with his taste buds. The forty-five minutes dish tasted so much better. They both were chicken and pasta dishes, but the lengthier dish just didn’t make the cut. It looked good, but didn’t taste as well.

So, when you need that special recipe for a super special meal, hit the internet and give some of the simpler ones a try.

Now What?

Now that thanksgiving is over, what in the world will you do with all those left overs? Most families have turkey for dinner, and we usually do, but this year we had a ham. Something different, but now I have a whole pan of sliced ham. I know I will have ham sandwiches for lunch everyday for a while, that won't no where near use up all that ham. I have to come up with some different recipes to use it up, as I don't want to waste it, it cost too much money.

I thought about ham salad, mac and cheese with ham casserole, creamed ham and peas, ham and potato casserole, split pea soup with ham, and even eggs benedict using ham. But the recipe that looked the best was:

Ham Tortillas

* 4 large flour tortillas
* 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
* 8 oz thinly sliced ham, or smoked turkey
* 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
* 2 tablespoons chopped green onion (optional)
* pepper to taste
* vegetable oil for brushing tops

Preparation:

Lightly spray a cookie sheet with vegetable cooking spray. Arrange 2 tortillas on the cookie sheet, then evenly top with 1/4 cup of the cheese. Top the cheese with the sliced ham or turkey, the diced tomatoes, green onion, then the other 1/4 cup of cheese. Sprinkle each with a little pepper, then cover each with another tortilla. Brush tops with vegetable oil and bake in a 425° oven for about 10 to 12 minutes, until browned. Cut quesadillas into wedges and serve with mustard or mayonnaise.

This is what I am going to try today for lunch!

Do you cook to impress?

How many times a week to you cook? How elaborate to you make your meals? Do you serve several courses or just one main dish? Do you like serving appetizers and desserts? Do you make your dishes from scratch, or do you use a mix here and there? Are your herbs and spices freshly ground or are them from a jar?

Come visit my kitchen and you’ll be amazed at the meals. I will put before you. I like starting with an appetizer and ending with coffee and a dessert. With everything in-between made from the freshest of ingredients.

One of my favorite appetizers is stuffed jalapenos. You split and clean the pepper under cold running water. Mix some fresh crab meat with cream cheese and bread crumbs. Stuff the peppers with the mixture; roll in your favorite batter mix and deep fry, oh how good they are.

Next, I like to cook some fresh tilapia filets in fresh squeezed lemon juice. You can cover the filets with lemon juice in a glass dish and bake in the microwave for just a few minutes, until the tilapia is tender and flaky. Serve on a bed of wild rice with some steamed veggies. You can also add a little sautéed minced garlic to the rice for an extra punch.

For dessert you can go simple with some fresh in season fruit. Cut up the fruit a few hours ahead of time. Please in a zip lock back with a little sugar sprinkled over the fruit. Seal the bag and place in the fridge. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and a mint leaf.

Your guest will be impressed and think you spent hours in the kitchen.

Are you ready to cook that Turkey?

With the holidays right around the corner, you should be deciding what you would like to have for dinner. Most people love turkey for thanksgiving, but are getting bored with the same old way to cook it.

How about checking out the different ways a turkey can be cooked? You know there is the traditional way of baking in the oven, with or without stuffing, putting in a smoker or deep frying it in peanut oil. You can also grill it, microwave it, and even bake it in an oven safe bag or covered with aluminum foil.

The traditional way is to bake it in the oven. You can add stuffing or not, your choice. But to insure a moist turkey, it must be basted very often. The turkey must maintain 165 degrees for a whole turkey and for turkey parts, as measured with a meat thermometer. You can cover the entire top of the pan with aluminum foil to help keep the juices in the turkey or put the turkey in an oven safe bag, so that the turkey will cook in it’s own juices. The juice in the pan makes a great addition to dressing and to gravy.

Another popular way is to deep-fry your turkey. You must have a turkey fryer and lots of peanut oil. The key to not setting anything on fire though is to not fill the fryer up too full. There is a line to add oil to, so don’t go past it. When the oil reaches the right tempter, you lower the turkey in and let it cook to a golden, crispy brown.

Your turkey can also be cooked in a microwave. This is a less traditional way and you must have a large microwave to cook that big whole bird. If you were cooking just a turkey breast, this would be perfect. A small whole turkey will cook 7 – 9 minutes per pound and should be checked when finished to make sure the inner most part of the turkey is 165 degrees. When it reaches that temperature, it is done.

A smoker is a neat way to cook a turkey. They meat comes out with a slight pink color and a slightly smoky taste, my favorite. A smoker cost about $50.00 or less and uses charcoal. You put the charcoal in the bottom pan, water in the top pan, then there are two racks for food. While your turkey is smoking on the top rack, you might want to cook a ham on the bottom rack or put the turkey on the bottom and some ribs on the top. You much keep adding charcoal and water through a side door, about every two hours or so, to keep the smoker at the best temperature. You will be very pleased with the taste of whatever you cook in a smoker.

Whichever way you cook your turkey please be careful not to dry out the white meat and have a great holiday.

Life as a Chef!

If you are already a chef, you know what it took to get there and how hectic your day and nights can be. If you are not a chef, and want to be one, be prepared for work, work, and more work.

You think I have it hard as a writer, think again. I get to sit behind a computer all day and type in thousands and thousands of words. No sitting for a chef! A chef is on their feet all day and most of the night.

During school, you get to sit, as some of the courses are classroom taught, but most are done right there in the kitchen, with hands on demonstrations and lessons. Trust me, its no piece of cake…no pun intended for those wishing to be a pastry chef. As well as classroom and kitchen work, there is an externship to be completed before you can graduate.

Before you graduate too, you need to know what kind of chef you want to be. You can specialize in being the pastry chef, the executive chef, the sous chef, an expeditor, Chef de Partie, or even the head chef. Lots of choices, so you may want to start out a little lower on the chain and work your way up. If you are really good, go for the gold.

Once in the work-a-day world, you will be faced with lots of challenges. Depending on your position, you may be required to purchase fresh ingredients on a daily basis. A lot of restaurants do this to ensure that the dishes that are prepared are made with the freshest ingredients possible. You will be responsible for such things as cooking and plating dishes. It’s up to you to make sure the dish looks it’s best before being put in front of a customer. If the food doesn’t look appetizing, you customers probably won’t be back and you want your customers back and to spread the word that you serve some of the best dishes in town.

So if you want to be a chef, plan on working hard, but also plan on reaping in the wonderful rewards of seeing the happy and satisfied faces and well as the reviews of your customers and peers.

So, you want to be a caterer?

It's not that hard, you already know how to cook, right? Well just think a little bigger, upgrade your cooking utensils, have some business cards made and you're almost set. Of course, depending on where you live, you will need to contact you county or city government, to see what regulations and rules if any there are to follow. If you do the cooking in your kitchen, you will have to go through an inspection and obtain a business license. There will be a fee for the license.

Next, sit down and decide what kind of food you would enjoy cooking, and then be prepared to experiment with all kinds of dishes. Why you ask, because everyone has different taste and what you like, someone else may turn their nose up at. You can put together sever menus for each meal of the day, for tea parties, birthdays, and for dessert get togethers.

You can start small, by printing your own flyers, leaving them on mail boxes and bulletin boards. Then as business builds, hopefully from word of mouth since I know you will do good, you can place ads in the printed newspapers, magazines, as well as online. Remember though, don’t get in over your head, and schedule your engagements correctly by giving yourself enough time to prepare those wonderful dishes, so your business will boom.

Now, let’s talk about those utensils in your cabinet. Of course, you will need to upgrade them to a nicer quality, if you don’t already have them. You will need extra muffin pans, cookie sheets, serving platters, tea cups, serving utensils and lots of linens. Yes, real linens, customers love that fabric and hate the paper and plastic. Your fridge may need to be a little larger or have a spare in the basement or garage. I personally like having an extra just to hold completed dishes waiting to be delivered. Speaking of delivering, think about your vehicle too. It’s a little hard to cater a wedding for 600 with a VW….just a thought.

When it’s time to go shopping for ingredients, buy in bulk, it’s cheaper and besides, you are going to need the larger quantities. The wholesale clubs are a great place to get everything you need, food wise, but you might want to check out the farmer’s markets for those hard to find ingredients. Oh, and yes, please use as many fresh ingredients as possible, your dishes with taste heavenly. In just about every major city, you will find a restaurant supplier, check them out for you linens and utensils. You can usually get in with your business license.

Ok, you’ve got the basics, think about it some more and take that step to becoming a super star of a caterer! All of the things mentioned here are things your can research online for help.