Friday, August 13, 2010

Hi, everyone!

It occurred to me (as I was posting on another blog, actually!), that I've been telling you how to cook this, that and the other thing, without sharing my "kitchen stuff" list with you! Omigosh! I'm so sorry! Here it is, with my compliments:


WHAT YOU NEED IN YOUR KITCHEN:

For the Beginner” (I have a "For the experienced cook" list, too)

Pots and Pans:

1 Dutch Oven
1 large (11”) skillet
1 small (7-8”) skillet
1 (1-qt) saucepan (also called a ‘saute pan’)
1 (2-qt) saucepan
1 (3-qt) saucepan
1 (4-qt) saucepan
1 4-qt) pressure cooker
1 set (4, 8, 12-qt) stock pots
1 small (12”) colander

1 set mixing bowls:

1 (1-pint)
1 (1-quart)
1 (1-gallon)

1 pasta server
1 wire cheese cutter
1 cheese knife and board
1 corkscrew
1 box grater
1 rasp

1 (2 cup) Pyrex or aluminum measuring cup
1 set of Measures (1/4c, 1/3c, 1/2c, 1c)
1 sifter
3 (8-9”) aluminum cake pans
3 (8-9”) aluminum pie pans
1 (9”x2”x13”) aluminum rectangular pan
(aka “lasagna pan”)
2 cookie sheets
2 muffin pans (2-1/2” cups)
2 round aluminum pizza pans



Utensils:
3 lg cooking spoons, metal
(solid, pierced, slotted)
1 ladle, metal
3 wooden spoons
1-2 wire whisks (“whips”)
1 (3”) wire mesh strainer
1 (6”) wire mesh strainer
1 potato masher
1 rolling pin
1 pancake turner (solid)
1 egg turner (slotted)
1 set measuring spoons (1/4tsp—1 Tbsp)
1 metal spatula (for frosting cakes)
2-4 plastic or rubber spatulas
(preferably heat-resistant)
1 pair kitchen shears
12 (14”) metal skewers
2-3 metal tongs
2 (1-1/2”) brushes for greasing pans, brushing on
B barbecue sauce, etc.
1 (6”) funnel
1 (10-12”) funnel
1 salad set, wooden or plastic (fork and spoon)

Cutlery:
1 (9”) French Cooks knife
2-3 paring knives
1 (11”) serrated slicer
1 large butcher’s knife
1 (8-9”) utility knife
1 knife sharpener (manual)

Oddments:
I kitchen string holder and sturdy string
Bamboo skewers (1 pkg)
1 sugar sifter
Sugar bowl and creamer
1 bottle opener with triangular tip
(aka “a churchkey”)
1 nutcracker-and-picks set
Plastic decorating bags and tips


Since you won’t have enough knives for a proper knife holder, why not take a medium-sized new flowerpot, decorate it with acrylic paints to match your décor, and fill it with cheap wooden chopsticks.

Once it’s full of clean chopsticks, it’s a simple matter to store your knives,
blade downward in this flowerpot for easy access and handy storage.

Your decorating bag will come in handy for piping a pretty edging of roasted
garlic mashed potatoes around the edges of a hot Shepherd’s Pie, and will be
helpful in “prettying up” your muffins and layer cakes. It’s a big help, too, in
filling devilled eggs and topping desserts with home-whipped cream or one of
those blocks of cream cheese, mixed with minced pineapple. Mmmm…

What You Need in Your Kitchen

Hi, again, everyone!

It occurred to me (as I was posting on another blog, actually), that here I was, telling you how to cook this, that, and the other, and I had never sat down and told you what you would need to do all of that.

I'm awfully sorry; sometimes you think people "just know" (I don't know why!), and forget to write it down for them. So, here's the list of what I think is absolutely indespensible in a kitchen:

WHAT YOU NEED IN YOUR KITCHEN:

FOR STARTERS:


Pots and Pans:

1 Dutch Oven
1 large (11”) skillet
1 small (7-8”) skillet
1 (1-qt) saucepan (also called a ‘saute pan’)
1 (2-qt) saucepan
1 (3-qt) saucepan
1 (4-qt) saucepan
1 4-qt) pressure cooker
1 set (4, 8, 12-qt) stock pots
1 small (12”) colander

1 set mixing bowls:
1 (1-pint)
1 (1-quart)
1 (1-gallon)

1 pasta server
1 wire cheese cutter
1 cheese knife and board
1 corkscrew
1 box grater
1 rasp

1 (2 cup) Pyrex or aluminum measuring cup
1 set of Measures (1/4c, 1/3c, 1/2c, 1c)
1 sifter
3 (8-9”) aluminum cake pans
3 (8-9”) aluminum pie pans
1 (9”x2”x13”) aluminum rectangular pan
(aka “lasagna pan”)
2 cookie sheets
2 muffin pans (2-1/2” cups)
2 round aluminum pizza pans

Utensils:
3 lg cooking spoons, metal:
(solid, pierced, slotted)
1 ladle, metal
3 wooden spoons
1-2 wire whisks (“whips”)
1 (3”) wire mesh strainer
1 (6”) wire mesh strainer
1 potato masher
1 rolling pin
1 pancake turner (solid)
1 egg turner (slotted)
1 set measuring spoons (1/4tsp—1 Tbsp)
1 metal spatula (for frosting cakes)
2-4 plastic or rubber spatulas
(preferably heat-resistant)
1 pair kitchen shears
12 (14”) metal skewers
2-3 metal tongs
2 (1-1/2”) brushes for greasing pans, brushing on
barbecue sauce, etc.
1 (6”) funnel
1 (10-12”) funnel
1 salad set, wooden or plastic (fork and spoon)

Cutlery:
1 (9”) French Cooks knife
2-3 paring knives
1 (11”) serrated slicer
1 large butcher’s knife
1 (8-9”) utility knife
1 knife sharpener (manual)

Oddments:
I kitchen string holder and sturdy string
Bamboo skewers (1 pkg)
1 powdered sugar sifter (the metal kind with a handle and pierced top)
Cookie cutters, various
Sugar bowl and creamer
1 bottle opener with triangular tip
(aka “a churchkey”)
1 nutcracker-and-picks set
Plastic decorating bags and various tips


Since you won’t have enough knives for a proper knife holder at first, why not take a new medium-sized clay flowerpot, sterilizeit by pouring boiling water into it, drying it well (air drying is best after wiping with a clean dishtowel) decorate it with acrylic paints to match your décor, and fill it with cheap wooden chopsticks.

Once it’s full of clean chopsticks, it’s a simple matter to store your knives,
blade downward, in this flowerpot for easy access and handy storage.

Your decorating bag will come in handy for piping a pretty edging of roasted
garlic mashed potatoes around the edges of a hot Shepherd’s Pie, and will be
helpful in “prettying up” your muffins and layer cakes. It’s a big help, too, in
filling devilled eggs and topping desserts with home-whipped cream or one of
those blocks of cream cheese, mixed with minced pineapple. Mmmm…

I'm sure these items will be of great help to you in your cooking and baking (even if you only cook at holiday time) and that you will enjoy using them as much as I have done.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Okay for Okra!

OKAY FOR OKRA!


I’ve been seeing some strange recipes lately that suggest the way to cook okra is to (ugh!) boil it. Well, maybe that’s how some people like it. I can’t understand why, but to each his own, right?

Ohhh—kay!

Let’s talk about okra for a minute. The Swahili word for okra is “gumbo.” I kid you not. So when we say, “Chicken gumbo,” we’re really saying, “Chicken-and-okra.” Shrimp gumbo is the same, and so on and so on. I’m not sure how okra—or gumbo—got here; perhaps some enterprising ship’s captain--or some homesick African, boarding a boat for a trip he never wanted to take--must have hidden a few of the BB-shaped cream-colored seeds in braided hair, in a fold of clothing or a pocket, and nurtured them here.

Sad as the story must have been, I’m so glad they brought those seeds, for generations of Americans of all colors have enjoyed okra for centuries.

Okra likes hot, dry weather (of course, it needs some water) and practically takes care of itself. .Plant them at the back of the garden bed (they grow between 2 ½’ -4’ tall, after all danger of frost is past, and then stand back. They are very enthusiastic growers.

It’s an interesting-looking plant, with pretty yellow flowers, so you can grow it pretty much anywhere but in the living room. Well, practically

Pick the pods when they are three or four inches long. They are most tender then, and will cook quickly. Longer pods, or old pods, will be stringy, tough and unappetizing. Also, you can’t really chew or eat them when they’re dry and stringy, so stick to the small ones for the “best eatin’.”

There are lots of good New Orleans and Louisiana recipes that deal with okra, so many we’d have trouble listing them all here. Here’s a good one that’s quick, easy, great with barbecue, and appeals most particularly well to the menfolk:


AUNT KATIE”s OKRA ‘n TOMATOES

About 1-1 ½ # fresh small okra OR
1 (12 oz) pkg. frozen okra
I large onion
I (16 oz) can diced tomatoes
1-2 garlic cloves
½ tsp oregano
¼ tsp thyme
Olive oil
¼ tsp red pepper flakes* OR
1 small pinch of cayenne powder
¼ tsp black pepper, ground*
½ tsp salt*

*Use as much or as little as you wish; just remember, you can’t make this dish without some pepper(s) and salt; and that you can always add more, but once it’s in, you can’t take any out. Walk softly when sprinkling stuff.


Prep:

Peel and finely dice the onion. Reserve. Crush, peel and finely dice garlic. Reserve that, too. Open the tomatoes. If you are using fresh okra, rinse, top, and tip them (cut off the tops and tips), cut into ¾” slices and reserve in a separate bowl.


Cook:
In a heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and oregano, thyme and black and red peppers. Sweat them, then add the okra and stir for five Hail Marys if you are Catholic, and about 3 ½ minutes if you are anything else. What you are looking for is a tender but crisp okra slice. You may have to say another Hail Mary. Whatever.

Add the can of diced tomatoes, juice and all. Keep stirring all the time. This is very important. You must not let the okra scorch. Not even a little bit. If it does, toss it in the compost and start over. When all or almost all of the juice is gone, the okra is crisp-tender, and the okra mix is getting dryer-but-not dry, add the salt and black pepper, and take it off the heat. It’s done.

Serve with whole lot of fried shrimp or catfish+, boiled, mashed or fried potatoes, and a great green salad, and enjoy. Or with anything else you like to eat.


+Recipe to be found in “The Big Family Cookbook”, also by this author, at www.youpublish.com/TheBigFamilyCookbook/.