If You Can't Stand The Heat...

... There is an old political metaphor attributed to Harry Truman... "If you can't stand the heat then stay out of the kitchen"... but updated by Hillary Clinton recently...

But for our purposes this week I'm going to confine my discussion to the kitchen...

I wrote previously about a couple of turning points for me in terms of cooking and baking in this segment...(Click On "Home Cookin" to read) ...

... but I think the real turning points for me on my culinary path have been...

1. Growing up I just loved the sights and sounds and smell in the kitchen and marveled at turning basic ingredients into a mouth watering treat.
2. When I had my own apartment in school and had to deal with three meals a day... (and I wanted them to be as delicious as what I grew up eating...but they usually were not.
3. I lived in Milan briefly and my first apartment was near a restaurant and I became friendly with the owners and stopped in at the end of the day to have a glass of wine and visit and have a bite to eat and eventually started helping them do the prep for the next days meals.
4. I once worked in the Special Events department of a pretty swell store and Cordon Bleu was offering a 12 week cooking course after the store closed... and because I stayed to supervise and lock up with store security I was allowed to take the class at no charge.
5. I worked for a few years or so with a caterer... and for the first time was helping with the setup, preparation and presentation of meals for parties from 8 to 800 (you have not cooked until you have done it  for 800 people!)
6. ... and finally I suppose I reached a turning point where I really fine tuned everything I learned previously and could not only prepare any recipe from any cookbook, restaurant or bakery but I could fix any mistake or misstep and create new recipes.

I'm going to pass along some of the tricks and lessons I've learned along the way...

The 12 week cooking school classes really gave a good basic introduction to tools and basic skills in how to use them... by that I mean they really explained knives and cook wear and how to use them properly while we learned to prepare the basics and  eventually a simple but sumptuous  eight course meal enjoyed by the class and the instructors ...

You really only need five knives that will do most of your cutting and slicing work etc... ( I just counted and I have 14)

• Serrated Knife with a jagged tooth blade to cut bread and tomatoes
• Boning Knife to remove meat from the bone 
• Paring Knife for fruits and vegetables
• Fillet Knife for for filleting fish and cleaning shrimp
• Chef's Knife is  the most versatile and most used in my kitchen for  chopping, slicing, dicing and mincing

Like most other things in life you get what you pay for... it's better to have a few higher quality knives than many that are less expensive. Most knife blades are either forged or stamped out using a template to cut out the metal. A forged knife  is tempered and handmade using heat... you will find using a good forged knife is that it is heavier and easier to handle and maneuver  and overall the blades maintain their sharpness much better... The knives that are made of carbon steel are easier to sharpen but discolor easily; stainless steel does not corrode or discolor but does not have a good sharp edge usually and finally my choice is high carbon & stainless steel  is a mixture of both and they will not corrode or discolor and are easy to sharpen... I should also mention ceramic knives because they are extremely sharp and rustproof and easy to maintain and are completely non reactive to acidic properties.

One of the other important things I learned early was don't buy a set of  cookware... in that no single material is suited for all cooking uses...

Cast Iron it's heavy and durable and heats evenly and performs excellently at high temperatures... but is reactive to acids and needs regular seasoning... however enameled cast iron is coated with a porcelain layer and will eliminate the need to season the pan. (my cast iron skillet is so wonderfully seasoned after years of use it performs like a non-stick pan)

Aluminum is lightweight and inexpensive and very reactive to acids and is easily dented... Anodized Aluminum is less reactive and  more durable.

Carbon Steel is durable and heats quickly and performs at high temperatures but requires regular seasoning... your wok (if you have one) is probably carbon steel.

Copper has the best heat conductivity and reacts quickly to temperature changes... it is best for making sauces and sauteing but is reactive to acid but it is expensive and requires regular polishing.

Stainless Steel ... I finally broke down and and piece by piece bought a combination of the All Clad stainless steel and copper core pans that I use the most because they look great , they cook great and they can go in the dishwasher.

I once had a set of non-stick pans and they really served their purpose at the time... but they can't be used with high heat and damage very easily (even if you use the special utensils designed for non-stick cookware)... I still have a skillet and a pot but rarely use them and I tried once using a non-stick madeleine pan and found it did not perform as well as the old fashioned aluminum kind... I do have a non-stick Brioche pan and a couple of cake pans and they are just swell. 

If you are just getting started you can most likely accomplish any meal with a saute pan, a skillet, a sauce pan, a stock post or dutch oven a grill and a griddle... and what I was so slow to purchase was a saucier for preparing sauces, custards, risotto and anything creamy it's so much easier to manage than trying to use a sauce pan because it has a tapered cross section and rounded bottom that is more accommodating to whisking.

Here are a few things that are good to know...

When buying meat... beef is aged to allow the animals own enzymes to break down the connective tissue which will give it a better flavor and texture and ultimately better taste... Dry aging beef takes between 11- 30 days where meat is hung and exposed to climate controlled air and loses about 20% of it's weight from water evaporation (Dry aged beef is rarely found in the supermarket) you usually see Dry Aged beef at a speciality butcher. Wet aging takes about 7 days and is less expensive and the flavor is much milder... the beef is sealed in plastic in it's own juices.

I can't stress highly enough if you are marinating anything to infuse flavor or generate tenderness please don't do it at room temperature... the colder temperatures in your refrigerator will inhibit the growth of bacteria... and never make a sauce out of the liquid you have used as a marinade as it's loaded from the bacteria of the uncooked meat.

Here is how beef is graded...

(marbling is the flecks or streaks of fat in the meat)  Flavor and texture is best in the meat of cattle between 18-24 months old.

• USDA Prime this is only awarded to the only about 2% of all graded beef and is mostly sold to restaurants and has 8-11% marbling.
• USDA Choice and more than half of the beef is labeled choice and has 4-7% marbling.
• USDA Select is about 1/3 of all graded meat and has 3-4% marbling... it's popular for leanness... but the lowest grade of steak in a restaurant.

In terms of seafood... if it smells fishy it's bad. Fresh fish smells like fresh clean sea water, with no slime, cuts or bruises... the scales should not be loose, there should be some tightness or resistance when you poke it slightly... the eyes should be clean and clear and the gills should be pink or maroon-ish not a deep dark red... if there is something that looks like a burn or bloodstain on the skin then there is bacteria growth... Oh and one more thing... the freshest shrimp is probably frozen shrimp... because nearly all shrimp are flash frozen at sea because they have a short shelf-life (when non-frozen shrimp are for sale they were probably previously frozen and thawed)... for me buying frozen shrimp is safer, cheaper and much more convenient.

What I am most often asked is... What is Keeping Kosher?

It's really very simple (however I don't do it unless I'm cooking for someone who does)

It allows the preparation and consumption of:

• Animals that have split hooves and chew their cud (cattle, sheep, goat, deer, antelope and bison), and any products derived from them including fat, milk and organs (except for the fat around vital organs)
• Birds except scavengers and birds of prey. All slaughter of birds and animals must abide by Jewish law and all blood must be drained or broiled out of it.
• Fish that have both scales and fins.
• Fruits and vegetables that have been inspected for bugs. Wines and grape products are allowed if prepared by a Jewish person.

The following is not allowed

• Pigs, rabbits, dogs and horses including their flesh, organs and milk.
• Shellfish, including lobsters, crabs, shrimp, clams and oysters.
• The blood of any animal.

Meat and dairy can not be eaten together. Cookware,  plates, utensils used with hot foods that have come into contact with non-kosher foods may not be used with kosher food, and vise versa.

Measuring spoons and cups are great but there are always slight inaccuracies from one recipe to the other... consider this... a cup of unsifted flour measures a  cup and is 4.94 oz... a cup of sifted flour also measures a cup but is 3.95 oz... but a cup of flour sifted measures about 1 1/3 cups but still weighs 3.95 oz.... I've had fewer mistakes with flour  measurements since I made the investment in a kitchen scale... it also comes in handy when you need 11 oz of chocolate or 2.5 pounds of apples rather than guessing.

Here are a few things I learned working for a catering company...

1. Dental floss is great for cutting cheese cakes. layer cakes in half crosswise, as well as cutting cookie dough and dividing pastry and pie dough.
2. Tweezers are the best tool fro removing eggs shell fragments.
3. Always... always wear a hairnet or pull your hair back under a toque or bandana when you are working with food... I'm sure I really don't need to explain this.
4. If you are whipping cream for a dessert topping using confectioners sugar will help it stand up longer if not being served immediately.
5. When you are melting chocolate always lightly grease the pan you are melting it in.
6. An apple cut in half and placed in a cake box or bread box will help keep it fresher for a couple of days.
7. If you hate something and a recipe calls for it... make a substitution (practically everything in life can be substituted for something else... except true love).... for example one of the few things I loathe most are Brussels sprouts... I substitute an equal amount of Savoy or Chinese cabbage... also with cabbage 1 pound is 4 cups raw and 2 cups cooked.
8. If you over cook green vegetables put them immediately under cold water and set them on ice cubes and drizzle  with lemon juice.
9. If you undercook a baked good cover it with aluminum foil and return it to the oven.
10. To test the viability of baking powder put a little in  a cup of hot water... if it bubbles it's still fresh.
11. If you want to remove the fat from the surface of a stew or soup put ice cubes in about four layers of paper towels and run it over the surface quickly and the fat will stick to the paper towel.
12. If you over salt something put a peeled potato in the mixture to absorb some of it.

I guess one of the biggest turning points for me in the kitchen was when I stopped following  a recipe to the letter (I still do if it's the first time I'm making it)... but I started using my head and my heart when I cook because finally I have better understanding of ingredients and how they work in tandem with others and of overall technique... but also one the greatest compliments I ever received (in terms of cooking skill) came from the caterer I was working with when asked me to be his partner and start a new catering company and a restaurant with our names together...(I declined for very specific and personal reasons)... but he like all the other people who have had a hand in helping me learn to master cooking are always at my side when I'm in a kitchen... and most importantly with life and your turning points you need to anticipate and work toward your next one... because the only thing after the final turning point is... the end.

Here is one of my favorite things to cook and eat...

Crab Cakes

5 slices firm (slightly stale) white bread with crusts removed

1 cup milk

1 pound crab meat

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

1/3 cup finely chopped fresh dill

1/3 cup finely chopped fresh flat parsley

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper

1 small red onion finely chopped

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 large eggs whisked

3/4 cup dry toasted bread crumbs

In a medium bowl soak the bread slices in the milk for 10 minutes., put the bread in a kitchen towel and squeeze out the milk. Crumble the bread and return it to the bowl and add the crab meat, mayo,  herbs, lemon juice and onion, mix and salt and pepper to taste and chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.. Shape into 6  four inch patties and place them on a platter lined with paper towels and let them rest for  for a few minutes  while the oil is heating in your frying pan.

In a large heavy bottom frying pan pour in enough vegetable oil to be about 1/4" deep and heat the  oil to 300 degrees... place the flour, bread crumbs and beaten eggs in three bowls. Dip each patty in the flour, then the egg and then the bread crumbs. Fry for about 3 minutes on each side and then drain on paper towels and serve immediately.  I like to serve with a small salad and fresh fruit and melon. I think they are great with just a drizzle of lemon juice but if you want to doll them up mix a little mayonnaise, dijon mustard and honey and fresh cilantro to make a dandy little sauce.

See you next week when I'll be talking about some of the things to do in life... just for the fun of it!