Share the Health! Popchips Holiday Giveaway

Think of a chip…that hasn’t been fried. Okay, got it? Now, think of a chip…that hasn’t been baked either. Can you think of any?

Enter…Popchips! A healthier, more delicious alternative to chips, and snacking as a whole! The process starts with potatoes, just plain potatoes, which are then added to a little heat and pressure…this makes each potato slice, well, “Pop!” There is no fake anything, this product is all-natural, and tasty to boot!

Popchips have no trans fat, no saturated fat, fewer calories and more chips per serving than other products on the market. And, believe it or not, they are even improving the product as we speak! By August 2012, Popchips will have an average of 30% less sodium than they have now (280mg). I love a company that is constantly improving upon a good thing, to make it even better for their consumers! These chips are even kosher and vegan-friendly!

That’s why I think this is a perfect time of year to talk to you about them! Now is the time of year when we go to parties, and host parties, and snack on all sorts of delicious treats made by friends and co-workers…but, to what end? We only realize after the holidays are over that there are a few extra pounds we now have to shed at the gym. But, what if there was a snack that you could bring to a party, that was delicious, and fun…but also, guilt-free?! No one has to KNOW they are guilt-free, because they don’t taste it, but you’ll feel better about snacking at a party with these on the table. Choose between Original, BBQ, Sour Cream & Onion, Cheddar, Sea Salt & Vinegar, Salt & Pepper, Parmesan & Garlic, Jalapeno and Chili Lime. Yum!

Thankfully, I’ve made a few friends over at Popchips and they’ve offered to host a giveaway to one of my lucky readers, for a case of Popchips, in the flavor of their choice! All you have to do is comment on this post, telling us where you’ll be bringing Popchips this holiday season. Once I’ve chosen a winner (at random), I will post that here, and also send an email to the winner to get their full name and shipping address. (Unfortunately, this contest is limited to residents of the United States. Apologies to all of my international readers…I’ll organize something for you guys as soon as possible!)

There can only be one winner of this giveaway, but I am working hard to bring more and more contests to the site, and I’m really excited to get them going. So, leave your comment, and let us all know how you’ll use your case of Popchips this holiday season! One lucky reader will be enjoying them clear through to the new year! And the rest of you, you can all get them at your local grocery store chains. For specific locations, check here.

Pick up your Popchips, and … SHARE THE HEALTH!!!

Part One : Chapter Two : Menus and Recipes (A Lesson Learned)

I haven't been grocery shopping in a long time. I keep finding things to use in both my freezer, and my pantry, but we're really scraping the bottom of the fridge, that's a fact. I think the ravioli dish from the other night used the rest of any ingredients I had left in the fridge, and now we're running on vapors. Last night, I defrosted a package of chicken legs, emptied a bag of sticky rice, and used half a bag of leftover haricots verts to make a really nice Japanese meal of teriyaki chicken (along with the rice and haricots verts).

Doesn't that look good!? It really was, and I didn't have to go to the store for a single ingredient! Tonight, I defrosted a couple of steaks. With those steaks (from Omaha Steaks), I received some frozen stuffed loaded baked potatoes. I'm not one to purchase something like that because I'd much rather make it myself, from scratch, but they came with the package, and we had two left, so I threw those in the oven, and also blanched the other half of that bag of haricots verts. Another dinner without a need for a trip to the market!

I took some frozen sauce (of some sort - I really should start labeling) out of the freezer, along with a few chicken breasts for tomorrow's meal, too. I'm determined to use everything, before I go out and buy more. It may be a sort of winter cleaning - I've definitely been on that sort of kick lately. All this using leftovers brings me to today's lesson at "culinary school."

In Menus and Recipes, I expected to learn about planning dishes, and adapting them to a professional kitchen format, and I certainly did learn about that. However, who would have thought the the majority of this chapter would be math equations!? I am not a math person, I've never BEEN a math person, and I never intended to BE a math person, but surprisingly, the equations learned in this chapter actually made a bit of sense to me. I had to read them a few times, and the examples definitely helped, but I think I am starting to understand how a restaurant or catering company can calculate prices based on portions and weights. I won't bore you with every equation I learned (unless of course, you'd like to know more - comment on this post and let me know - I can always write another post) but I would like to talk about one that I found especially interesting.

The calculation for usable trim equation helps determine how much money will be saved and put to use if the trimmings from one mise en place ingredient is used in another place in the kitchen. For instance, when a carrot is peeled, trimmed and diced, there are leftovers - the peelings, any scraps that don't fit the shape and size of the dice needed, etc. Well, is that just thrown out? In my kitchen, until now, most likely. What I didn't think about until now is that these trimmings are valuable product to a restaurant kitchen, and can be used in another place, to save money and time. The trimmings of a carrot can be used in a stock, since all the ingredients used to flavor that stock are strained out before use. What's the difference whether you use scraps of carrots, or a whole new carrot, when no one's going to be eating it anyway. Another example, which can be much pricier than a carrot, is meat. When meat is trimmed in order to get a great cut to serve, what happens to those trimmings? Well, they could be used in place of ground meat in certain situations, and could also be used to flavor a stock.

Example:

$0.106 (As purchased cost of carrots per ounce)

= $0.119 (value of usable carrot trim for soup per ounce)

0.89 (Yield percent for chopped carrots)

I'm determined to apply a version of this idea in my own kitchen. If I peel a carrot, I'm going to save those peelings for stock. Looking ahead in the book, I'm going to be making quite a few stocks and soups in the near future, so it'll be good to start stockpiling. I would like to minimize waste and maximize output, even in a kitchen that only feeds the two of us (and all my friends, most of the time!) When I make menus, I will try to maximize the use of each ingredient that I have to purchase, spreading it among a few different recipes on the same menu. If I can do it in my own kitchen, I can certainly do it in a professional kitchen of my own one day... 

Some day!

Part One : Chapter One : Introduction to the Profession

I opened my textbook this evening, in order to start my promise to you, and to myself that I would take myself to "culinary school." Of course, the first part of this book is an introduction to the culinary arts as a whole, but that doesn't mean we can't learn anything from it. In fact, I highlighted a lot of important information as I read the first chapter, something I haven't done since my college days!

I learned a small amount about many different jobs in the culinary industry, and even checked off a few as possibilities for my future! For instance, starting off in a kitchen for me would mean taking a job as the commis, or apprentice, who works for a station chef, in order to learn how that specific station operates. The Kitchen Brigade system is an interesting operation, consisting of different levels of management along the stations of the line in a kitchen. There's a chef for everything in a large operation, while one person could take on the job of five in a smaller operation. It's a well-oiled machine, it seems.

I also learned that all chefs need to be business people in their own right, possessing the skills to manage, administer and execute all the functions of a restaurant, or other food-related business. Much more than cooking goes into the job, including the ability to order supplies, determine gains and losses, and communicate with a staff, whether it be large or small.

My favorite line in this chapter falls under the heading, The Attributes of a Culinary Professional. "Those who have made the greatest impression know that the cardinal virtues of the culinary profession are an open and inquiring mind, an appreciation of and dedication to quality wherever it is found, and a sense of responsibility." "It requires stamina, drive, and creative influence." 

My mind's in the game...now on to Chapter 2: Menus and Recipes!

A Foodie Social and Some Other Announcements

I just got home from the Boston Foodie Social, an event that I heard about through a deal on Bloomspot, and decided to take advantage of. As we walked into the venue, I was a bit underwhelmed, at first glance, to the amount of vendors in the room, but I ended up meeting a bunch of really great people, with amazing products to offer. I treated my visit as a networking opportunity and spoke with vendors about blogging opportunities, and I was greeted with a wonderful response. I'm happy to report that I've gotten quite a few business cards, been introduced to many new products, and hope to offer reviews of these products in the very near future.

I learned of some healthy new products on the market, met some innovative chefs, new to the Boston scene, and even spoke with a 12-year old girl from the area who has released a cookbook to raise money for the charity, FutureChefs. Impressive, right!? I'm excited to get in touch with all of these new friends, and hopefully partner with them to bring you information on the latest and greatest on the market! So, stay tuned!

As another annoucement, I've made a decision. I'm going to culinary school! Okay, well, not in the literal sense. I have a version of the Culinary Institute of America's textbook, and I've decided that, as a project, I'm going to read it, from front to back, chapter to chapter, and take myself through the curriculum that a culinary student would face. Be on the lookout for posts from each lesson that I learn, and join me on my journey through my own version of "culinary school." It's going to be an exciting ride!

This One's for the Book!

Squash...check. Artichoke hearts...check. Ingredients to make pasta dough...check!

Ready, set...create! Okay, I didn't go shopping, I didn't have a plan, but I went into my kitchen tonight to prepare something delicious! What I created was a lovely ravioli, filled with acorn squash, onion, bacon and sage. As a sauce, I made a lemon-artichoke pesto sauce, and topped it all off with a savory artichoke and tomato salad for a bit of brightness and color. This one's goin' into the book!

I took ideas from a bunch of different recipes to pull this one together, and the flavors were really spot on! My first goal was to get the pasta dough made, since I would need to let it sit for 30 minutes. I used my favorite recipe for pasta dough, from Stir by Barbara Lynch. All it requires is 2 cups of flour (I use the Perfect Pasta blend, from King Arthur Flour), 2 large eggs, 4 large egg yolks and a teaspoon of kosher salt. Once that was made, and resting, I cut up another one of my acorn squash, and set it to boil on the stove in some water.

Once the squash was cooked, I pureed it in my food processor, and then poured the puree into a bowl with softened onions, bacon and sage, seasoned with some salt and pepper, and...Voila, our ravioli filling is done!

While these things were cooking and resting, I also prepared my pesto. I had some marinated artichoke hearts from the antipasto bar at Whole Foods, as well as some Parmesan, pine nuts, and lemon. I also used the oil that the artichokes were marinating in to emulsify the mixture. What I got was a bright, tasty pesto sauce with no basil whatsoever! Now that's what I call imagination!

As I rolled out my pasta dough, I made my raviolis by scooping a bit of "stuffing" onto each strip of dough, and folding it over. I have this amazing Ravioli Stamp that made the job much easier too! It definitely took less time than I thought it would, and fresh pasta dough is better than wonton wrappers any day! (However, in a pinch, wonton wrappers work well for quick ravioli.)

Do you see those little red dots? Each ravioli is brushed with a bit of egg yolk mixed with paprika, as well. Once I cooked the ravioli, and drained it, I added them back to the pot and tossed them with the Lemon-Artichoke pesto. I topped the dish with some extra artichokes and Kumato tomato for color and freshness. 

This was a really heartwarming meal full of delicate flavors that melded together nicely for a very hearty dish! I'm keeping this one in my back pocket, for sure!

Acorn Squash: 2 down, 7 to go!

Last night, I used ingredients I had in my pantry and freezer to make a great stuffed acorn squash recipe that I happened upon while browsing the Internet. While it's a Martha Stewart recipe originally, it was reproduced on a blog, called The Bitten Word. I thought I'd give credit to the blog, as I appreciate when readers do for me, but also a nod to Martha, herself! I gathered the ingredients together in the order in which I'd be using them, so first things first: get the squash in the oven. I cut the two squashes in half, cleaned the insides of seeds and gook (yup, gook - that's what I called it!) and also sliced a bit off the bottoms in order to allow them to sit flat in my casserole dish.

After preheating the oven to 400 degrees, I placed the squashes in a casserole dish, cut side down and allowed them to cook for 35 to 40 minutes. Meanwhile, I gathered the spices that would be used to season the ground beef that I cooked in a dutch oven on the stove. Some cinnamon, some nutmeg and some coarse salt added great Moroccan flavors to the meat.

While the beef browned, I minced 4 cloves of garlic, and diced an onion. Once the beef had been cooking for about 7 minutes, and no more pink was visible, I removed it from the pot, reserving as much liquid as possible. The onions were added to the pot for about 7 minutes, allowing them to cook until translucent. During the last 30 seconds, add the garlic and allow it to become fragrant.

At this point, I added the Bulgar wheat, and some more coarse salt to the pot, along with 2 cups of water, and brought it all to a boil. Once boiling, I brought the heat down to medium low, covered the pot, and allowed the mixture to simmer for 15 minutes. It should then be removed from the heat and allowed to rest for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork. While this simmered, I gathered my last three ingredients - pine nuts, parsley, and some currants. The original recipe calls for golden raisins, but as a substitute, I used currants because I had those on hand.

Once I had fluffed the Bulgar wheat mixture with a fork, I added the above ingredients along with the ground beef, and some of the squash scooped out of the halves that have been cooking in the oven. Once everything is all mixed together, it's time to fill our acorn squash cups with filling. I scooped a few tablespoons of the mixture into each half, until they were all overflowing with stuffing.

After another 15 minutes or so in the oven, the squash should be ready to eat! Look for a bit of browning over the top of the stuffing. Be careful, the center is hotter than the top sometimes but this is a very hearty way to eat squash. It was very tasty. If I did it again, I would rub some nutmeg and cinnamon on the inside of the squash before cooking them, and add a bit more seasoning to the stuffing mixture. It was a bit on the bland side for my palate, but I would love to experiment with some extra spices to give it a bit more bite! The leftovers will make a great lunch for work, though!

Five Horses Tavern

Last night, I spent a few hours with some of my very best girlfriends, for a much needed night of catching up and enjoying each other's company. We make it a point to try new places when we meet up, and so it was only natural that we try a new place this time around. I had suggested the Five Horses Tavern, a bar new to the Davis Square area in Somerville. We met, we got a table, and started to drool over the menu.

While the menu boasts many beers on tap, I was in the mood for a cocktail, so I decided to order the "formulaforsuccess." This drink consists of Tito's Vodka, Rosewater, Agave Nectar, Ginger Beer and fresh lemongrass. It was very refreshing, and while sweet, not too sweet. The ginger beer evened out the sweetness of the agave nectar, and the rosewater added a lovely scent to the drink. (Let me apologize for the quality of the photos - it was dark, and my flash didn't do enough justice to the delicious things put in front of us!)

While waiting for the fourth in our party, we decided to order a small plate, of which the menu has many to choose from, to tide us over. We opted for the "Papas Fritas," crispy triple-fried fingerling potatoes, served with a red pepper-garlic mayo. This was a new take on fries, for me, but they were really tasty. The fingerling potatoes had been halved, and because they had been triple-fried, they were tender, but crispy. The mayo really took this dish from generic to unique. It was so flavorful, and we really couldn't get enough.

Once we were all together, we decided to order another appetizer while we decided on our entrees. The menu has a section of differently flavored wings, so we decided to try the "drunken wings" first, beer marinated with tequila, chile, lime and salt. The wings are served in little cast iron skillets, and they are crispy, juicy, and delicious. Each flavor that is mentioned in the description is noticable as you take each bite. I love it when you can pick out each flavor, but also realize that as a whole, they make for an incredible dish. 

When placing our entree order, we decided to order another flavor of wings as well, since the first batch were so good. We opted for the "Sticky Wings," sticky, sweet and marinated in a slightly spicy BBQ sauce. As the next little skillet was brought to the table, I got the scent of tangy BBQ and saw the sticky pile of wings. The flavors were so different from the "Drunken Wings," but still so delicious. They complemented each other quite well, but I think I liked the "drunken" ones better. Something about tequila, lime, and chile on chicken...yum!

For my entree, I decided to try one of each of the four tacos that they offer. The tacos are sold per piece, but if you bunch a couple of them, the price goes down, so it made sense to try this as my entree. The "Pork Belly Taco" is a flour tortilla with crisped confit pork belly, pickled red onions, and dragon lady sauce, which is SPI-CY! The pork belly was so crunchy and crispy, and pickled red onions just add something to an otherwise spicy taco, a refreshing relief from the heat. The "Tuna Taco" had Shichimi dusted rare seared tuna, greens, jicama, avocado, and a blood-orange chile glaze, all served on a flour tortilla. Again, Shichimi is spicy, but the avocado and jicama balanced the flavors quite well. As for the glaze, the citrus of the blood orange cut the spice of the chile as well. The "Toro Furioso Taco," is the probably the spiciest of the four...with chili marinated short rib, banana peppers, pickled Thai peppers, red dragon sauce and micro cilantro, again on a flour tortilla. This sure was a "furious" taco, with the red dragon sauce, AND the pickled thai peppers, AND the chili marinade, but since I only had one of them, I braved it. The short ribs were tender and easy to bite into, and the flavors melded so well together! 

But wait, that's only three, you say? You're right! I got a fourth taco. The "Potato Taco," and the only of the four that were vegetarian, was a flour tortilla, served with crispy oven roasted potatoes, bean puree, avocado, herb vinegar and sea salt. While there was no meat, and no chili included, I found this to be the most refreshing of the four tacos. The potatoes were crispy, rather than mushy, which added a nice crunch to each bite, and the flavors were very bright. The sea salt and herb vinegar brought out the flavors very nicely, and I was actually happy to finish my meal with this as my last taco.

With more catching up to do, we all ordered one more drink, so I decided to try the other cocktail that had struck my fancy. Called the "Midnight Interlude," Grey Goose Poire was mixed with a Blackberry Balsamic by the Boston Olive Oil Company, and topped off with Prosecco. It was a very interesting flavor combination, and the first time I'd ever had balsamic in a cocktail. I liked the tartness that it brought to the drink, and was a nice way to end the meal!

Five Horses Tavern is located at 400 Highland Avenue, in Somerville, MA. It's a great scene, a great menu, and a great staff, so if you are in the area, definitely go check it out!