Archive for the ‘Knives/Cutlery’ Category
Tip #8 for Weight Loss without diet: Veggie Pizza
If you choose vegetable toppings for your pizza instead of meat you’ll automatically shave 100 calories from your meal. Just slice up your fresh veggies with your appropriate cutlery knife from your kitchen cutlery set. On other low calorie tricks go light on the cheese or use reduced fat cheese and choose a thing, bread like crust made with a light brushing of olive oil. Great ideas, Enjoy!
Always remember cook low fat like with Waterless cookware techniques and eat lots of vegetables and fruits. Baking your own pizza allows your imagination to go to town and also you know your ingredients. Right?
Carving a Standing Rib Roast
To carve a standing rib roast, have the roast upright with ribs vertical to the carving plate. Take a carving set two pronged fork and an appropriate (always sharpened) meat carving knife from your kitchen cutlery set. Place the fork between the top two ribs. Then slice from the fat side across to the rib bone with the carving knife. Then cut along the rib bone with the cutlery knife to loosen each slice, keeping the knife close to the bone. Enjoy!
Cooking your Rib Roast
I love a good roast prime rib meal. (We can always splurge occasionally can’t we?) Roasting/cooking A standing rib roast with oven browned potatoes along with fresh cooked vegetables, green salad,nice dry red wine like a Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Zinfandel, or Petite Sarah(optional of course), and French bread makes a wonderful special meal.
Ingredients:
4-6 pound beef rib roast
salt and pepper to taste
dried Rosemary and thyme crushed
5 medium potatoes peeled and quartered, or red or white boiling potatoes halved or quartered depending on size
Place the meat fat side up in a 15 1/2×10 1/2 x2 inch roasting pan with a wire rack. Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste and I like to also take dried rosemary and thyme and crush it then sprinkle to taste over the roast as well. Insert a meat thermometer, place in an oven preheated to 325 degrees F, and cook 1 3/4 to 3 hours for rare(140 degrees F), 2 1/4 to 3 3/4 for medium (160 degrees F) or 2 3/4 to 4 1/4 hours for rell done (170 degrees F). Of course this is huge guideline from a cooking chart and remember to check the meat thermometer after 1 3/4 hours to see where you are.
For oven browned potatoes, peel and quarter the baking potatoes or half or quarter the red or white boiling potatoes(I like them better). Cook in boiling salted water for about 10 minutes. Drain them and set aside. About 30 to 40 minutes before the roast is done cooking add 1/2 cup water to the pand and arrange the potatoes aroung the roast, turning them to coat them.
When all is done, remove the potatoes to a serving bowl and the roast to a carving plate. Choose the appropriate carving knife from your kitchen cutlery and prepare to carve when ready to serve.
Pour off excess oils from your roasting pan saving the juices. Take 1-2 TBS. all purpose flour and add to a small glass of cold water and mix to make a paste. (I will use Wondra prepared flour which doesn’t clump and often skip the paste step). Add the paste or Wondra to the beef juices in your Roast pan from your Cookware set and stir the paste and juices over a medium heat on your stove smoothing it out with spoon and or spatula from your kitchen accessories. Slowly add water to the gravy and cook until the thinned gravy thickens by reduction and browns. Salt and pepper to taste but not too much salt. Enjoy a great meal.
Submarine Sandwich My Style
In line with tip #7 on skip the bacon, healthy fixins (with some compromise) a good healthy Sub, also called Hoagie where I’m from is a great alternative. Use your appropriate cutlery for slicing and chopping from your cutlery set and go to town.
Ingredients:
French style rolls or baguettes
olive oil and vinegar (sprinkled on bread(out here in CA they use mayonnaise but never in Philly)
lettuce leaves
sliced salami, pepperoni, prosciutto and maybe summer sausage
sliced provolone, Swiss, or mozzarella cheese (if dieting can skip, go light or use low cal cheese)
tomatoes sliced
sliced olives
can add Italian sweet peppers, or possibly Jalapeño, Soreno, or peperoncitos to taste
if doing a Muffeletta option(combine chopped pickled mixed vegetables and 1/2 cup chopped pimiento-stuffed olives put over the lettuce)
With your stainless steel cutlery knife split the rolls or loaves in half horizontally. Sprinkle the oil and vinegar on the bread, lightly salt and pepper(salt optional), On the bottom layer lettuce, meats and cheese and tomatoes, peppers, olives etc. place the top and hold together with tooth picks and cut to serving portions. Enjoy!
Cutting up Poultry
Using a French Cutlery knife, cleaver, or santoku styly knife from your stainless steel cutlery set. First cut the skin between the body and one thigh. Pull the thigh out and down until the bone pops out of the hip joint. Cut through the broken hip joint as close to the backbone as possible. Repeat on the other side. Cut through the skin at the joint between the thigh and drumstick, bend the joint backwards and cut through the joint with your cutlery knife and of course repeat on the other side. The cut through the skin on the inside of each wing at the joint. Pull the wing out and down until the joint breaks and cut through the joint.
Now to divide the body lay the bird on its side and cut with an appropriate kitchen cultery knife between the breast ribs and lower part of the body and you can cut through the back bone with a good cleaver or French cutlery knife or bend the back in half after cutting down from both sides if desired(of course talking about chicken, game hens and maybe duckling, not turkey). Divide the breast by cutting in half lengthwise along the breastbone. I have been carving birds for a long time. Enjoy!
Vegetable Beef Soup
Here’s a great one stainless steel pot recipe. Soups like vegetable beef soup are great on a cold winter day or as a great starter for a nice multi-course dinner. It fills you up but is relatively low in calories.
Ingredients:
1 package of beef short-ribs
2 quarts of water in a large pan(or beef stock or low salt beef broth, or combination of water and broth)
1 medium onion chopped
1 tsp salt(or 1/2 tsp if desired)
2 cups canned tomatoes
6 sprigs parsley
2 cups chopped cabbage
5-6 carrots sliced
2 cups cut green beans
1 cup diced potatoes
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cups corn
Chop and slice vegetables with your french cutlery knife from your stainless steel cutlery set. Then cut the meat from the bones with the appropriate cutlery knife (french cutlery or medium carving knife) and brown in the appropriate 4-6 quart stainless steel pot in small amount of oil (olive or corn). If using multi-element stainless steel cookware, including waterless cookware, grease will not be necessary. Add the chopped onion and cook. Add cold water to the ingredients and cook with vegetables and other ingredients for 1-2 hours.Enjoy with a nice red wine and French or Italian bread. You could have smaller portion as the appetizer for a main meal as well.
Sesame Chicken Wings
This is a great appetizer or finger food for your gatherings.
Ingredients:
12 Chicken wings
1TBS lightly salted black beans
1TBS water
2 cloves garlic minced or crushed
2 slices fresh ginger minced finely
3 TBS low sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 TBS dry sherry or rice wine
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 TBS sesame seeds
1 green onion chopped finely
Cut and discard the wing tips with a sharp cutlery knife from your cutlery set. In a small bowl crush the beans and add the water and set aside. Heat a medium stainless steel waterless skillet over medium-high heat; add chicken wings, garlic and ginger and lightly brown the chicken. Then add soy sauce and sherry and stir for 30 seconds. Add the soaked black beans and pepper. Cover the Waterless cookware frying pan and reduce heat to medium or low and simmer 8-10 minutes. Uncover and increase heat to medium high, while stirring the wings occassionally and cook until liquid is almost evaporated and wings are glazed with the sauce. Remove from heat and sprinkle wings with the sesame seeds and stir to coat. Garnish with the green onion and serve. Enjoy! (adapted from Better Health Cookbook)
Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo
Chicken and Andouille Gumbo is prepared in a 2 gallon stockpot from your stainless steel cookware. The roux can be prepared and stored ahead of time. Always use a sharp knife from your cutlery set to bone chicken. Whether a cleaver, or french cultery kife.
Prep Time: 2 Hours
Yields: 8-10 Servings
Ingredients:
1 (5-pound) stewing hen
1 pound andouille sausage
1 cup oil
1½ cups flour
2 cups diced onions
2 cups diced celery
1 cup diced bell peppers
¼ cup minced garlic
3 quarts chicken stock
2 cups sliced green onions
1 bay leaf
sprig of thyme
1 tbsp chopped basil
salt and cracked pepper to taste
Louisiana hot sauce to taste
½ cup chopped parsley
4 cups cooked white rice
Method:
Using a sharp boning knife from your stainless steel cutlery set, cut the stewing hen into 8-10 serving pieces. Remove as much of the fat from the chicken as possible. Cut andouille into ½-inch slices and set aside. In a 2-gallon stainless steel stockpot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Whisk in flour, stirring constantly until golden brown roux is achieved. Do not scorch. Should black specks appear, discard and begin again. you can prepare roux before and store in freezer. Add onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic. Sauté 3-5 minutes or until vegetables are wilted. Blend in chicken and andouille. Sauté approximately 15 minutes. Add chicken stock, one ladle at a time, stirring constantly until all is incorporated. Bring to a rolling boil, reduce to simmer and cook approximately 1 hour. Skim any fat or oil that rises to the top of the stainless steel pot. Add green onions, bay leaf, thyme and basil. Season to taste using salt, pepper and hot sauce. Cook an additional 30 minutes or longer if necessary, until chicken is tender and falling apart. Add parsley and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve over hot, steamed white rice.
NOTE: You may wish to boil the chicken 1-2 hours prior to beginning the gumbo to tenderize the meat. Reserve this stock, bone the chicken and use the meat and stock in the gumbo.
recipe taken from jfolse.com
The Forgotten Piece of Cutlery
When most people think of kitchen cutlery, they immediately conjure up images of finely honed knives and intricately serrated edges. And while these implements are ideal for most culinary endeavors, they do fall short in many areas. For example, you wouldn’t want to use a knife for opening packages, cutting kitchen twine or other peripheral cooking tasks.
Cutlery makers are well aware of this fact, which is why most cutlery sets will include a set of kitchen shears. Not only are the shears ideal for opening packages and similar tasks, they have manifold culinary uses as well. For example, cutting through chicken skin and other squishy or yielding substances is infinitely easier with the two blades of kitchen shears.
How to Sharpen a Knife
Ultimately, you will lose your edge. We recommend using an oil stone, Japanese whetstone or diamond stone when it comes time for sharpening. While these do require learning the technique, they can be easily mastered and enable you to control the quality and the sharpness of the edge you create.
~ Follow the manufacturer’s recommended instructions for preparing your stone. A damp cloth under the stone protects the work surface. Start with the medium grit. (Use the coarse grit if your Maxam knives are particularly dull.
~ While holding the knife in your right hand with the cutting edge facing left, place the heel of the knife in the bottom right hand corner of the stone with the blade vertical in front of you. Raise the spine of the knife about 1/16″ off the stone, keeping the knife’s edge flush with the surface. Place your left hand on the face of the blade, applying just enough pressure to keep the blade edge in contact with the stone.
~ Move the blade in an arching motion from right to left, heel to tip, vertical to horizontal, covering as much of the stone’s surface as possible to allow the stone to wear evenly. Sharpen in one direction only.
~ Do this 10 times, or as many draws at it takes to form a burr (a slightly curled metal, the beginnings of your newly sharpened edge) on the opposite edge side.
~ To test for burrs: NEVER run thumb directly against sharp edge. Place your thumb at the center of the side of the blade near the heel, perpendicular to the edge. Run your thumb lightly from the center of the blade’s side, toward and off the sharpened edge, detecting any raised burrs. Repeat at the center and tip of the blade.
~ Switch the knife-edge to face right and repeat the steps, starting with the heel in the bottom left hand corner of the stone. If necessary, slant the stone towards the right for comfort. To keep the edge consistent, draw the blade the same number of times you drew the blade on the other side, and with equal pressure.
~ Repeat the above steps, using fewer draws of the blade each time, until no burrs remain. Once you can no longer detect burrs, sharpen the knife on the finer side of the stone with the same technique as above. The finer the stone, the sharper the resulting edge.
~ When complete, stroke the new edge on steel, wipe the knife clean and dry before using.