Who doesn’t love garlic besides the guy who is kissing you? What I didn’t realize is that once a head of garlic is broken, it should be used within several days. Otherwise it is good for a month. Here are 3 great ways to use garlic I found in the March issue of Better Homes and Gardens.
#1) Rubbed On Bread
Brush both sides of thick slice of bread with olive oil. Toast in a fry pan. Remove and set aside. Once cooled rub one side of the bread with a clove of garlic that has been cut in half. Rub with a ripe, juicy tomato that has been cut in half. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Yum!!!!
#2)Mashed Into Butter
Wrap a whole head of garlic in foil. Roast in 425 degree oven for 35 minutes. Let cool, then remove garlic cloves from their skins. Transfer to a bowl and mash with the back of a spoon. Add softened butter, honey, red pepper flakes, and sea salt. Mix to combine. Transfer minture to a piece of waxed paper. Shape into a log and freeze. Serve on grilled chicken or fish, swirl into soup, or just smear on warm biscuits.
#3)Whirled Into A Spread
In a food processor combine white beans, garlic, and coarse salt. Cover and process until smooth. With the machine running, drizzle in olive oil until desired consistency. Stir in chopped fresh basil. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper and drizzle with additional olive oil. Serve as spread for sandwiches or whirl with additional olive oil and serve as a dip with crackers.
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Time after time I find myself peeling twenty minute egg shells off a hard boiled egg, wondering if there were an easier way. According to allrecipes new magazine, here is how you do it.
Here is an interesting tip for boiling eggs:
- Bring water to a boil then reduce heat to a bubble-less simmer.
- Gently add eggs and cook for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Lift out eggs and transfer to a bowl of ice and cold water.
- If the shells tend to stick to your eggs when you hard-cook them, they might actually be too fresh. Try using egs that have been in your fridge for several days. Lightly cracking the shell before putting a hot egg in an ice water bath, will also make it easier to peel .
Why do egg yolks sometimes get an ugly greenish gray patina?
That is ferrous sulfide, formed by a a chemical reaction between the sulfur in the egg white and the iron in the yolk. It’s harmless, but you can minimize by reducing cooking time to the bare minimum and by submerging eggs in cold water or an ice bath right out of the pot.
Do not leave outside of refrigeration for more than 2 hours!
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FYI, the famous food website allrecipes is now coming out with a monthly magazine. It looks great however I’m not sure why I would need to get more paper delivered to my house when I can just look up recipes online. What it does is give you ideas on what to cook. So the next time you didn’t realize you were craving Lemon Squares, here is their recipe:
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 Cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1/2 cup Lemon Juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Mix 2 cups of flour and confectioners’ sugar together. Cut in the butter or margarine. Mix well until the dough resembles pie dough consistency. Press the dough into a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
- Bake 15 t 20 minutes or until golden brown.
- Beat together eggs, sugar, 4 tablespoons flour, lemon juice, and lemon rind for at least 1 minute. Pour the mixture over the baked crust.
- Bake the bars another 20 minutes or until the lemon topping has set. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar when cooled.
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Womensforum.
- 8 Oranges Peeled and Chopped
- 1/4 cup Orange Juice
- 1 Package of Fresh Cranberries 12 ounce
- 1 3/4 cup of Sugar
- 1 Large Golden Delicious Apple (peeled and chopped)
- 1/2 cup Golden Raisins
- 1/4 cup pecans (chopped)
- 1T Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan.Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer stirring occasionally for 5 to 8 minutes or until cranberries are bursting. Chill until dinner time.
I always thought when I grew up I would be like my parents. My mom cooked inside with the stove and my father was the brave one who attempted to light the grill without it blowing up in his face. My mother cleaned the inside of the house, and my father did the yard work. My mother went to the grocery store and my father went to the hardware store.
Guess what? I am a Mom and I grill and I take out the trash, I go to the hardware store and I am working on the yard work. Initially when I started grilling, I didn’t mind making the sauces and the marinades. What I didn’t want to do was a lot of work and burn the meat. However, I was never quite sure how to cook something on a grill to perfection. For all of the other Moms out there wondering the same, here is a little summer guide to help you with the summer barbecue.
Summer Grilling Guide
- Hamburgers- 3-5 minutes per side. Don’t press down on the patties during cooking or you will squeeze out the juices.
- Hot Dogs- Uncovered 5 to 7 minutes, turning occasionally.
- Steaks- 3/4 to 1 inch thick (flank and New York strip). Direct uncovered medium-high heat, 3 to 5 minutes per side.
- Steaks- 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick (rib eye and porterhouse)
- Direct medium high heat uncovered
- Indirect covered medium-high heat
- Direct for 3 to 5 minus per side and then indirect for 4 to 6 minutes. For steaks 2 inches thick or more, increase indirect cooking time to 8 to 10 minutes.
- Kebabs-beef, pork and poultry . Heat: Direct (uncovered medium-high for 4 to 6 minutes, turning occasionally
- Lamb- chops 1/2 to 1 inch thick. Direct (uncovered) high for 3 to 5 minutes per side
- Pork- ribs
- indirect (covered) medium-high, then direct (uncovered, medium-high
- Indiect for 25 to 30 minutes, then direct for 4 to 5 minutes per side. Apply bbq sauce only during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
- Pork- chops 1/2 to 1 inch thick . Direct (uncovered) medium high 3 to 5 minutes per side for bone-in, 2 to 5 minutes per side for boneless
***Tip- once meat and poultry are off the grill, don’t forget to let them rest for at least 5 minutes to redistribute juices.
****Tip- How Hot Is IT?
- High- 450 to 500 F. Holdyour open palm about 3 inches above the grill grate and count how many seconds you can keep it there before pulling away.
- High- 1 to 2 seconds.
- Medium High 2 to 4 seconds.
- Medium 4 to 5 seconds.
- Medium-Low 6 to 7 seconds.
- Low- 7 to 9 seconds.
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Today I went to my friend Shelagh’s house in the UK for a cooking class. When I duplicated the dish for my family they went crazy for it so I thought I would share.
Lemon and Garlic Chicken with a Yogurt and Garlic Sauce
#1) Pick an organic chicken. What I didn’t realize was that chickens take on flavors based on what they were fed, so if they were fed seafood they would taste a bit fishy. Spending the money was well worth it.
#2) Rinse chicken and put in a roasting pan. Squeeze large lemon over the top of the chicken and put the lemon in the cavity of the bird.
#3) Take about 5 or 6 garlic cloves and crush them on a cutting board. Take fresh Rosemary, 1 large twig, and remove the leaves from the branch fanning backward on the stalk so leaves come off easily. (I found out that you cannot use the branch with fresh rosemary however you can with other herbs like coriander or parsley. It depends upon how thick the “branch” is.)
#4) Take about half a stick of butter which ideally has been softened and a sprinkle (about 2 teaspoons) of Kosher Sea Salt (Malden is best if you can get it.) Take your knife and chop all ingredients together and then using the side of your knife smear all ingredients across the cutting board to make a paste.
#5) Lift the skin off the chicken and gently insert the butter/garlic paste underneath the skin while keeping the skin in tact.
#6) Drizzle olive oil (2 tablespoons)over the chicken.
#7) Put 2 stalks celery chopped into 1 inch pieces inside cavity of chicken with one peeled onion, cut in half.
#8) Take additional cloves of whole garlic and stuff 3 or 4 into the cavity with skin removed and then take 3 or 4 more and tuck them under the legs and wherever else you can on the bird.
#9) Sprinkle dried rosemary, and some more salt and pepper over the top of the bird.
#10) Put the chicken into a hot oven (220 in the UK or 400 in states) for 10 minutes which crisps the chicken and locks in the juices.
#11) Turn the heat down to 180 in UK or 350 in State and cook an additional 40 minutes or until juices run clear.
#12) Take one cup of Greek yogurt and mix with 4 cloves crushed garlic.
#13) Cut chicken arrange on plate and spoon juices from the chicken over the meat and then cover with the yogurt and garlic sauce.
[pullquote]Summer means drinking long, tall strawberry daiquiris by the pool, hanging out with close friends into long hours of the day, and barbecuing with herbs and sauces. [/pullquote]I find myself going over my recipes again and again, wondering what I should cook next. Will it be barbecue pork ribs, beans, fresh fruit salads, burgers, chicken cooked in packets with vegetables, steaks, or stuffed potatoes wrapped in foil, and cooked on the grill? It means the best fruits, and the freshest vegetables, and I want to take make each and every recipe before this short season comes to an end.
Some people collect trinkets. I collect recipes. Clipping away at all my magazines, I am stimulated by the colors and the creativity of each page. In the past, I would place them into laminated pouches and store them in three ring binders by category, i.e.; appetizers, breakfast foods, barbecue, dessert, meats, vegetables, salads, etc. In each binder lives a recipe collection composed of those I love, in addition to those I think I will love once I’ve tried them. When I open the book, I am entertained by an array of pictures that help me to visualize each enticing meal.
Recently, I started cutting out the recipes and filing them into a folder that I use in my weekly meal planning. It takes less time, and seems to make more sense. At the same time, I am starting to sort through years of collected material in my binders to question whether or not I will ever manage to make these new recipes. As a result, I now have enough recipes to wallpaper my entire kitchen.
This is a perfect project to get input from our friend the professional organizer, Kristin Mastromarino. Kristin, what is the most efficient way to organize all the recipes that have been passed down and treasured as well as those new ones I’ve clipped? Cooking for a family of six is hard enough never mind having to go through files to organize first. Should I sit down one time to meal plan for the entire week? Should I go back to my old-fashioned recipe box? I would love to hear your thoughts.
Here is a great follow-up recipe from this afternoon’s Luau ready tips!
Grilled Pork with Macadamia Rice
Serves: 8 Prep time: 20 mins. Grill: 1.5 hours
Ingredients Needed:
1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and stems
3 cloves of garlic
1 pork loin roast, chine bone removed and rib bones frenced
1 tbsp. EVOO
2 cups of Jasmine rice
1 bunch of scallions, thinly sliced
2/3 cup shredded coconut, toasted
2/3 cup salted, roasted, macadamia nuts, chopped.
Directions:
1. Using a small food processor, grind the cilantro, garlic, and 1 tsp. salt into a coarse paste. Place the pork fat side up and cut 1-inch-deep slits in the fat, 1 inch apart. Rub the cilantro paste on the pork and into the slits; season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with the EVOO and let stand at room temperature.
2. Preheat a grill to medium. Place a drip pan beneath the grate. Place the pork in the center over the drip pan, close the lid and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 135 degrees, about 1.5 hours (off the heat, the temperature will continue to rise). Transfer to a cutting board, tent with foil and let stand for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, cover the rice with water and stir until the water becomes cloudy; drain and repeat twice. Return the rice to the saucepan and add 2cups of cold water and 1 tsp. of salt. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer until tender, 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, fluff with a fork and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Stir in the scallions, coconut and macadamia nuts; season with salt and pepper.
4. Cut the roast into chops and serve with the rice.
For more information, and a picture of how this recipe looks, go to www.rachelraymag.com! Happy cooking!
You have always wanted to have a Luau party, but just never had the time to sit and plan. Well, Rachel Ray Magazine’s June/July issue has great tips on how to make your party the best! Here are some “Do’s and Don’ts” for your upcoming Luau party.
1. Don’t use a grill in your grass skirt! Instead go for an island-theme printed apron. Half aprons are the best choice.
2. Don’t plop your finger foods on platters decorated with grass trimmings. However, line serving platters with large leaves, such as palm leaves. Use pineapple tops, slices of citrus and edible flowers to decorate your food table.
3. Don’t just put “Mr. Pineapple” in the middle of your table. What you should do is whip up a tasteful floral combo that mixes island blooms, fruits and foliage. (For Rachel Ray’s sample center piece, go to rachelraymag.com)
4. Don’t do the traditional Limbo! If you have any talented hula hooping friends, ask them to give a lesson. Or you can always resort to a huge conga line!
Hope these tips get you and your family in tip-top shape for your upcoming festivities!!!