December 26, 2008 I’m heading out of town, so no posting for five days or so. I made a Christmas feast though, so I’ll leave you with a few pictures of what’s to come:
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December 21, 2008 This post is part of a series called Cooking 101, which introduces the basics of cooking. The series follows the book Culinary Fundamentals, with supplements from The Professional Chef by the Culinary Institute of America. Check out the previous posts here.
As I write this, my second batch of chicken stock is simmering on the stove and I have four pounds of veal bones in the freezer for later. I don’t know why, but making stock is fun for me. Here are three more techniques to alter your stock flavors.
Blanching your bones creates a ‘white’ stock. It prevents any browning and gives the stock a lighter color. I’ve read conflicting reports on whether it neutralizes any flavor. Culinary Fundamentals claims that the stock takes on a more neutral flavor. Yet someone pointed out on a website that Tom Colicchio (in his book) suggests blanching to remove impurities, and that you do not lose any substantial flavor. I tried blanching for the stock I am working on right now, so I’ll update this when it’s finished and give my opinion. Has anyone else used this technique? Thoughts?
To blanch your bones, begin like normal by rinsing them under cold water, adding them to the stockpot, and filling it to a couple inches higher than the bones with cold water. Bring the water to a boil, then pour off the liquid and rinse the bones again. You can then refill your pot and follow a normal stock recipe.
This technique, unsurprisingly, creates a ‘brown’ stock. You brown your bones and vegetables before making the stock, and this creates a darker color and richer flavor. The general procedure calls for a preheating a roasting pan with a few tablespoons of oil, adding your bones, and roasting them until browned on all sides (turning occasionally). You then add the bones to the stockpot, deglaze the pan with some water, and pour that liquid into the pot as well. Normal stock procedure is subsequently followed.
For the mirepoix, you heat a large pan over medium-high heat and sauté the onions, carrots and celery until the onions are golden brown (around 15 minutes). Then you actually add a can of tomato paste and cook it for another couple minutes, or until it is a “rusty brown color and gives off a sweet aroma.” The mirepoix is added as normal at the time the recipe calls for it.
This technique is used primarily for fish and vegetable stocks, which have shorter cooking times and lighter flavors. To try this, preheat your stockpot over medium heat with a couple tablespoons of oil, stir in the bones and vegetables, and cover. Let them cook until the release some juices. The goal is to enhance the flavor of the stock by pre-releasing the juices in the vegetables and bones. My vegetable soup recipe actually called for smothering the aromatic vegetables before adding the liquid (though I didn’t know this was called smothering at the time).
Posted in Cooking 101, Techniques | 1 Comment » |
December 19, 2008 If all goes according to my master plan, I’ll be making another batch of chicken stock later today. My first try was a huge success, and led to some great soups such as vegetable. One problem that I encountered, however, was cooling the stock. I don’t have an ice maker and only three trays for cubes, making it difficult to cool the stock in an ice bath as suggested.
I was glancing through an issue of Cook’s Illustrated today and saw a potential solution: stir the stock with a plastic bottle filled with water and frozen. I serendipitously already have a couple frozen bottles in my freezer, so I’m all set. This is what it will look like:
Fascinating picture, I know. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to try it this afternoon. I’ll update the post when I have results.
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December 17, 2008 I was in the grocery store a couple weeks ago with my girlfriend when a lady asked us if we could help her find Swiss chard. Unfortunately, I’ve never cooked with it and had no idea what it looked like besides being something leafy and green. And staring at the supermarket shelves, there are quite a few leafy green vegetables.
Eventually my girlfriend found the Swiss chard, and I decided it was something that I needed to look into. Looking into…commencing…now:
Swiss chard is a cooking green, related to beets (though with no edible root) and similar to spinach. It has dark green, ruffled/wrinkled leaves (usually - baby chard leaves are less so) and its firm stem can range from bright white to red, orange, or yellow in color. Be careful though - its color is water soluble and can leach into whatever you are cooking. Apparently the ‘Swiss’ part of the name was added in the 19th century to differentiate it from French spinach.
Swiss chard has a mild bitter flavor, similar to that of Spinach, due to the oxalic acid.
You want the chard to have a firm, undamaged stem, and unwilted, deeply colored leaves. It will last for a few days in the refrigerator, wrapped loosely in plastic.
To prepare, simply wash it and chop or tear it apart. It is probably a good idea to chop the stem separately so it can be cooked a couple minutes longer than the leaves.
The most common cooking methods for chard are steaming, sautéeing, or braising. It can also be used in soups. It is done cooking when tender.
You can generally swap it with beet greens, and less so turnip greens or spinach.
Posted in Food Profiles | 1 Comment » |
December 16, 2008 
This is a simple, delicious vegetable soup recipe that I made a couple weeks ago. As a meal by itself it probably serves four to six.
You need a couple tablespoons of oil, an onion, two celery ribs, two carrots, two cloves of garlic, five cups of chicken stock/broth or vegetable broth, two medium russet potatoes (I used two yellow waxy potatoes and it was fine), one 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes, a cup of frozen corn, salt, and pepper. A note: the recipe calls for frozen peas, but corn was substituted with no problem, and I ended up adding some shredded chicken at the very end.
Begin by preparing your mise en place: the onion and garlic should be minced, the celery and carrot (peeled first) diced, the potatoes scrubbed, rinsed, and chopped medium, the tomatoes drained, and the corn thawed.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add your onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Stir it together and cover the pot with a lid. Let this mixture cook for a good 20 minutes, stirring every five, until the veggies are soft.
Next, add the broth, potatoes, and tomatoes. You want to cook these at a simmer until the potatoes are cooked through. The recipe recommends 15 minutes, but mine took slightly longer. Also, you may need to raise the heat to get a good simmer going.
When your potatoes are cooked through, turn off the heat, stir in the corn, season with salt and pepper, and serve. I garnished mine with some Parmesan, which was excellent.
Ingredients:
Recipe:
Posted in Food Profiles, Recipes | 1 Comment » |
December 15, 2008 I just wanted to give everyone a quick update on what’s going on at The New Cook. I’ve been fairly quiet with posting the last few weeks because I was busy with final exams, projects, etc. Also, I’ve working on a new business with a friend of mine which is pretty exciting (although it has nothing to do with food).
Don’t worry though - posting is going to pick up again, starting with a vegetable soup recipe tomorrow. Also, since I am on my Christmas break (student breaks are glorious), I will hopefully be able to do some great cooking. So, thanks for sticking around these past couple weeks. I will have some good new stuff soon.
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