Dwindling Supplies

Apologies to everyone for being a bit M.I.A. for the last few weeks. I'm having surgery next week and I've been trying to get lots of things done before I'm on crutches for a few weeks. Don't worry, I'm going to be fine, and this is going to fix what has been causing me pain for months so...I'm actually looking forward to it, as much as one can look forward to extra pain. Knowing that the pain will subside is what is keeping me going right now!

I've been cleaning the house, doing all the laundry, changing the sheets, and preparing for a week on the couch...but I've also been trying to use up what I've got in the kitchen. I haven't gone food shopping in a few weeks, trying to clean the freezer out of all the collected meats, and pairing that with randomness found in the pantry! There's too much stuff in there! I've actually purchased some cute little glass bottles, which should arrive in the next few days, in order to combine duplicates of spice jars in the hopes of making more space in there! I've got bottles and bags, jars and cans...and I need to use this stuff up. Otherwise, there's no room for new and exciting ingredients that I find in the future!

Last night, for instance, I made a risotto using things I had on hand. Like I've said in the past, risotto can be a great catch-all for leftover ingredients, and this was no exception. I even had some homemade chicken stock left over that I defrosted for the occasion. I'm not going to share the intricacies of my creation, because I'm thinking that this is one for the books - and a cookbook, I will write, one day. I'm taking notes, and collecting pictures. This one was an interesting pairing of ingredients that turned out really well so I was very excited!

What types of ingredients do you have lying around in your pantry? We've all gotten that jar of seasoned salt, that bottle of tarragon vinegar, that container of homemade jam that sits around, waiting for the perfect recipe. They take a long time to use up, but taste so good - we need to utilize these wonderful ingredients more often! That's the my goal!

Crafting a Menu

This weekend, I worked on a menu for the coming weeks, and decided that I wanted to do something a little different this time around. We're going to go on a little trip around the world, with each menu item hailing from a different corner of the globe. Sounds fun, right?! Different cuisines, and different ingredients, and along the way, we'll learn about the traditions of each nationality as well. Obviously, I won't even hit on a small percentage of the different kinds of cuisines out there, but it's a start! I really enjoy learning about new places, and eating the local food is one of the best ways to do it because you learn about local ingredients, the reasons for certain traditions, and more!

from Flickr - by Ben Bunch

We didn't go grocery shopping this weekend, because we'll be leaving for our annual camping trip in a few days! It's us...and 15 of our closest friends, and it's always a great time! I had to come up with a small menu for our trip as well, since I prepare in advance for the first night's meal...a giant potluck where everyone brings different dishes and we all dig in as we set up our tents and crack the first beers of the long weekend! These are friends from near and far, and getting together on this weekend each year is very special to me! This year, I tucked into a magazine that "The Best of Fine Cooking" produced, all about Tailgating, for my menu.

Shrimp Salad Rolls with Tarragon & Chives

Grilled Steak Kebab Pitas with Ginger & Garlic Dressing

Roasted Potato Salad with Shaved Fennel & Salsa Verde

Buttermilk & Herb Cole Slaw

I think this little menu will make for a nice assortment of things to add to the table during the first night of our camping extravaganza. We'll pair the menu with some nice cold, frosty brews from the cooler and that sounds like my kinda night! 

from Flickr - by sew~amy

Check out the Current Menu tab for the trip around the world that will take place when we return from our camping trip! 

The Weekend is Upon Us!

Originally, I planned on writing about the final item on the current menu, an Osso Bucco from the Food Network Favorites cookbook. However, I just wasn't all that inspired by the final result. It could have been that I was missing the gremolata accompaniment for the Osso Bucco ( a cut of veal that is on-the-bone, and cooked slowly to maintain its tenderness) but I ran out of parsley, and really didn't feel like toasting pinenuts. I also should have made a rice, or a couscous to go along with it - the laziness of summer weekends is setting in, I know!

I got a phone call today, letting me know that my Harvest Delivery would be arriving on Sunday. Remember, a few weeks back when I let you all know about that special deal I found on Bloomspot? If not, check it out here. I don't know what I will be receiving until it shows up, but I know I will be getting a full share of fruits, vegetables, some farm-fresh eggs, and a special surprise. They also include a booklet of customized recipes for the share being delivered.

from Flickr - by ChickenThistleFarm

It's also time to make a new shopping list since I've finally finished the current menu, but I don't want to start a list until I know what fresh produce I have to work with, so this menu might be a little different than usual. I also have some fresh herbs from my friend's garden that I'm trying to use as well, and my pantry is overflowing with half-full bottles and jars of wonderful ingredients just waiting to be used! I'm thinking I might get a bit creative this time around and work through some of the things I already have lying around, picking up proteins as I need them.

Have you all been visiting the farmers' markets? I love to walk around the booths and think about what I could make with all the different ingredients these local vendors have to offer...and now is certainly the season for it! Let's make this a culinary adventure we can all appreciate - as I find wonderful ingredients I will share them with you, and if all of you out there in the blogosphere find things you want to know more about, send me a comment or an email - I will do my best to include those items in posts! It'd be a waste if we didn't take advantage of all the things offered to us in these lovely summer months!

from Flickr - by muddbutter

Stay tuned for some pictures of the bounty I'll be receiving on Sunday! I know I'm looking forward to it!

I've got an idea!

I've got a crazy idea! It's time to make a new menu so we can go food shopping on Friday evening - our new night of choice for this task since the stores are empty! I started browsing through my recipes, preparing to start my list when I thought, wait a minute! Maybe my readers can help!

So, here's what I'm proposing...

• Is there an ingredient that you would like to learn more about in the coming weeks?
• Have you seen a cookbook that you'd like to hear more about?
• Do you have a recipe that you've been dying to try...but you're still just a little intimidated?
• Interested in learning a specific technique?

I would love to help! Comment on this post to leave me your ideas and I will try to incorporate them into my menu this time around. If it works out well, we'll do this from now on, and if I get too many requests (ooo, I hope that happens!!) then whatever I don't get to this time around will certainly roll over into the next list, I promise. And, I will definitely mention you in my post if it was your suggestion - I'm all about giving credit where credit is due. 

If you feel strange commenting on the post to let me know what you'd like to see on the menu, feel free to shoot me an email, instead. 

Contact me.

Eyeball it!

First, let me apologize for not writing yesterday! I didn't get home until really late last night because I spent my evening listening to Bon Jovi croon his greatest hits! There are few things that could keep me from writing, but Bon Jovi...he's one of them! :)

And now, on to the culinary wanderings for today!

There's something to be said for following a recipe to the letter, especially if you are still getting your "kitchen-legs." Measuring spices and oils to the exact amount can prove helpful if you don't have a lot of experience, but once you get a slight grasp of the concepts, try branching out, and put that 1/2 teaspoon measurement spoon away. You can usually see, as you pour, when you've used the correct amount.

From Flickr - by chef@isimmer

A lot of people get scared that they are going to over-season, or mess up the balance of flavors in a dish by eyeballing the measurements. If you have that concern, start off with a timid pour. You can ALWAYS add more, but it's a lot more difficult to take away, so pour a little of all the spices necessary for a dish, and then taste it. Add some more and taste it again! The key is to always taste your food, at every step of the way. If you taste the flavors as they are melding, you can certainly tell when you need to add more.

If you watch any of those cooking competition shows, you know that people are always getting burned for not tasting their food, and that's not just on tv! I wouldn't want to eat a meal in a restaurant, knowing that no one tasted it along the way. And the same goes for your kitchen - don't send anything out of it without tasting it, and adjusting the flavors to your liking. The more you use certain spices and herbs, you'll learn the specific tastes and will be able to recognize when your dish is missing one thing, or has too much of another.

From Flickr - by TiGeRwInGs

If you still feel hesitant to try the eyeballing method, try this. Take a recipe you want to try and make it to the letter. Measure every single ingredient. Enjoy your meal but concentrate on remembering the tastes. In the coming weeks, try making the recipe again, using the eyeball method. Can you recreate the dish, or even, make it better!?

Making a Delicious Meal, Making it Healthier

Sometimes, we come across that recipe...it sounds amazing, the picture makes it look delicious, and then - we start reading the ingredients. Odds are, the recipe that calls for 8 tablespoons of butter doesn't REALLY need all 8 tablespoons, although it really will taste phenomenal! I try to cut that unhealthy stuff whenever I can, and the rule of thumb is pretty easy - trust your instinct.

Mmm...butter makes things taste so good, but we don't need a lot of it!

Now, I've told you before that I'm not a huge baker, and this is one of the reasons why. You canNOT alter ingredients when baking. There is a lot more chemistry involved in the measurements of certain ingredients when baking so this rule of thumb goes for cooking, NOT baking.

If it calls for cream, most times you can use 2% or skim milk in its place. If it calls for eight tablespoons of butter, start with three or four. If it calls for 1/2 a cup of sour cream, get the low-fat variety. Lots of stuffed pasta recipes call for full-fat ricotta cheese, but the low-fat kind works JUST as well. Cut where you can! Also, as a rule, brown is better than white - go with brown rice, wheat bread, wheat flour and wheat pasta...see what I mean?

Milk

The key is to keep tasting your food while cooking, and if you walk into any restaurant kitchen, you'll see it happening. Chefs and cooks always taste their food as they're making it, adjusting the seasonings, adding a little this, a little that, until it's just right. You have an advantage over them as well...all the time in the world! So, take your time, adjust your measurements to your tastes, and go with the healthier option when you can...unless you're just in the mood for an all-out decadent feast...which is fun to have sometimes, but everything in moderation, right?

Take a break! Have some coffee!

Happy National Coffee Break day, everyone! In honor of this special day, I would like to pay homage coffee, as an ingredient!



Coffee, in all its forms, is a wonderful addition to chilis, rubs, marinades and of course, desserts. Recipes call for beans, grounds, instant, and brewed...but no matter how you start, coffee adds quite a punch to dishes. It has a natural acidity that makes coffee good for tenderizing meat as well. Marinating the meat in something with acidity will cause the meat to break down and be moist and succulent once cooked.  Incorporating ground coffee into a dry rub for burgers, steak and short ribs brings a lot of smokiness to a dish, and you'll instantly find the difference between using it and not. You can also brew coffee to use in a wet marinade. Try Short Ribs Braised in Coffee Ancho Chile Sauce for an example of spice and the smoky flavor of coffee combining in this southwestern-inspired dish. Plan ahead, you need to cook short ribs for a good 3-4 hours to get the meat really soft and falling off the bone.

Many chili recipes use brewed coffee as an ingredient. Coffee goes well with spice, as we've already seen, and adds smokiness to a dish that's well, supposed to be smoky and spicy! :) Here's a recipe for a Chocolate Stout Chili. Chocolate and coffee go well together as well, and chocolate is one of my favorite things to throw in chili, it adds a richness without even knowing that it's chocolate that you're eating!



Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the BEST coffee dessert ever. Affogato (Italian for "drowned") is an italian dessert made with scoops of gelato, or ice cream. Hot coffee, or espresso, is then poured over the ice cream, and it is DELICIOUS! The ice cream melts a bit, the coffee cools down a bit, the flavors mix, and it's like a very sophisticated version of an ice cream float! Here, Giada De Laurentiis shows us one way to make Affogato.

I hope this posting left your mouth watering with a craving to try coffee in ways other than in a cup first thing in the morning! Expand your horizons, and put those ingredients to use in unexpected ways!

Top 10 : Pantry Items You Should Always Have on Hand

Happy Friday, my culinary cuties! I would like to take a moment to thank everyone that's reading this blog. The response has been tremendous thus far, and I'm extremely excited to see where this takes me. It's so encouraging to see that there are so many readers, and that you are leaving comments and asking questions. Keep it coming, and I promise I will too!



Today, I wanted to touch base on some ingredients that should ALWAYS be in your pantry. If I run out of one of these things, it immediately goes on my shopping list for next time.

1. Olive Oil is used in almost every recipe. If you don't have olive oil, don't start cooking.

2. Balsamic Vinegar can be used in a lot of ways. If you have this and olive oil, you've got salad dressing! Additionally, you can reduce balsamic vinegar to make a glaze for meats or vegetables.

3. Soy Sauce is a staple in any Asian-inspired meal. If you have stuff to throw in a stir-fry, you better have soy sauce. I recommend the low-sodium variety, as its a bit less salty, and also a little better for you.

4. Red/White Wine Vinegar is a handy condiment for salad dressings as well as marinades. Many recipes call for it and it's good to have on hand in the event of a last minute dinner choice.

5. Arborio Rice is what we use to make risotto, along with the chicken stock below. A dinner made of leftover veggies thrown into a risotto dish is an instant success. 

6. Chicken Stock is an essential part of soups, sauces, and as I just mentioned, risotto! Keep it on hand for all of the above! (Again, if you can find low-sodium varieties, I recommend them.)

7. Canned Tomatoes (diced, crushed, whole, and paste) are a must-have! I keep a few cans of each of these in the pantry at all times. They make great sauces for a quick pasta, as well as a wonderful base for stews and chilis. 

8. Flour ... what is there to say about flour. You can make cookies with it, you can bread chicken with it, you can fry stuff coated in it, along with eggs you've got fresh pasta...always have flour in your house.

9. Breadcrumbs (or Panko) have many uses. If you are making burgers, you need breadcrumbs to hold the meat together, if you are making chicken or pork, you can coat it in breadcrumbs before baking, broiling or sautéing it, and they also make a great topping for a baked pasta dish. Panko is a Japanese bread crumb that adds a little bit more of a crunch than generic breadcrumbs. I prefer them.

10. Kosher Salt is a wonderful way to season your food. It's a bit less harsh than table salt and because it comes in a large box, is easier to measure amounts with as well. If you find that you're not getting the whole seasoning aspect of cooking, and want to follow a recipe TO-THE-LETTER, this is a good way to measure your salt before putting it into a dish.



This should get you started on building a pantry full of usable ingredients. I'll try and provide more of these top-ten type lists to give you hints into what you should be buying when you go to the grocery store. If you have a stocked pantry, you'll actually end up spending less each week at the grocery store because half of the ingredients will already be in your possession. That prepared feeling you'll get is priceless!

The Beginning

Well, here we are. I'm going to try my hand at this thing called "blogging." I want to share my wisdom, but that sounds cocky, I don't mean it that way. I've picked up so many things along the way, and taught myself so many little time-saving tips, I feel like I should pass all those nuggets of wisdom along to those at home who think they have to go to a fancy restaurant to get a good meal. You don't have to spend a fortune to eat well...although, I'm not going to lie, I love a good fancy meal once in awhile...or more often! ::wink wink::

I cook almost every night...and I always make something different. We enjoy a good meal at the end of a hard-worked day. All it takes is a bit of diligence, some great techniques up your sleeve, and fresh ingredients ... and maybe a few recipes. I talk to friends, and they can't believe that I cook every night, they can't understand where I find the time, or the patience...but really, it's just part of my routine, and it can be part of yours too.

Let's start at the beginning, shall we? The reason for the title of this blog...Mise en place. It literally means "putting in place," in French. It's what we do before we start cooking. When we look at a recipe, there's a list of ingredients, with measurements of how much we'll need. It's important to prep all this stuff before we start throwing things in a pan. How can we follow a recipe's instructions if we're trying to cut stuff up, stir, sear, broil and mash all at the same time? I think that mise en place is an appropriate name for a blog that's going to put people on the right track to cooking at home...and enjoying it. It may take some time upfront, prepping all those ingredients, but in the long run, it's one of the best ways to assure a well-cooked, well-seasoned meal. I usually end up filling up a bunch of little bowls with ingredients...it may make more dishes for later, but then again, if you're cooking, the one eating your food should be doing those dishes! :)

Come with me on this journey through the world of food. I'm going to try new techniques, recipes, and ingredients. I'll go into tried and true methods, and answer questions that readers want more information about...even if it means doing some research myself to find the accurate answer. I'll provide videos, reviews, and commentary on television shows (who's watching Top Chef?)...I'd love to get to know you guys along the way!