Fennel is wonderful in clam chowder.
by Karen Frazier
I love making soups because it’s just so darn difficult to go wrong, and with a simple base, you can change the ingredients around and have something completely different. Soup is also inexpensive, satisfying, and you can make large batches to freeze for use on days when you don’t have time to cook. Soups are also a great way to sneak veggies to picky eaters, and you can make them light or heavy.
Right now, I’ve got a big pot of clam chowder simmering on my stove. Chowders are incredibly easy to make, and to adapt for personal taste. For instance, if you don’t like clams you could turn it into a shrimp, lobster, shellfish, or even corn chowder. With a clean and neutral flavor base, you can also change up the herbs and seasonings you use. Tonight’s chowder has a non-traditional mirepoix. Instead of using carrots, celery, and onions for it, I used carrots, onions, and fennel – which is a terrific replacement for celery. It has a licorice like flavor that I really love.
My clam chowder is pretty easy.
- I start with several slices of pepper bacon – and saute it in my soup pot until it is crispy.
- Next, I add chopped onion, fennel, and carrots, and saute them until they are soft.
- I turn my bacon and veggies into a roux, adding about 1/4 cup of flour for every 3 cups of stock I will add. I let the raw flour flavor cook off, stirring, for about two minutes.
- Then, I add stock. As I add the stock, I scrape my pan with my spoon to get all of the flavor that is sitting in the bottom in the form of browning on the pan.
- As the broth thickens and starts to simmer, I add cubed red potatoes (skin on) and give it a good stir.
- I add a little fresh cracked pepper and some thyme.
- I let the broth simmer until the potatoes are soft – about 10-15 minutes depending on the size.
- I add clams – either canned or fresh and stir them until they are cooked through – about five minutes for raw, or just a minute or two for cooked clams.
- I taste and add seasoning (salt, additional pepper if needed).
- I swirl in a little bit of cream.
That’s it. Ten easy steps. You can change up veggies and herbs to your preference. You can add more vegetables for a chunky chowder, or less for a thinner one.
by Karen Frazier
Ever since I was a kid, I have loved avocados. My favorite way to eat them is naked in all their glory, sliced. They are creamy, sweet, and a little grassy with a soft, smooth texture. This past weekend, I mixed up a batch of my second favorite way to eat avocados for a Super Bowl party.
Learning to make great guacamole is not difficult. Many people have turned to premade seasoning packets, but to quote my son, “Those are no good.”
While it seems like opening a spice packet and mixing it in to a bunch of smooshed avocados is, indeed, easier than making it homemade, it really isn’t so much less time consuming that it makes up for the vast difference in flavor between what Tanner calls, “the homemade stuff and the fake stuff.”
Before I give you my guacamole recipe, here are some tips:
- Hass avocados make the best guacamole. Those are the ones with the dark green, pebbly skin.
- Avocados should be heavy, but when you place a gentle pressure with the thumb, the flesh underneath should yield but not sink.
- The skin should be dark green – almost black, but not wrinkled or shrunken. This chart shows you the differences between unripe, perfect, and overripe.
- I include jalapenos or Anaheim peppers in my guacamole. Anaheim are slightly milder than jalapeno, and both can be made milder by carefully removing the inner ribs and seeds.
- I like to roast my peppers before putting them in the guacamole, which makes them milder and adds complexity. Roasting is easy. Brush the outside of the peppers with a little olive oil and place under a broiler. As skin browns, turn the peppers a quarter turn and then another and another until the entire pepper is browned. Cool, and then peel the skin and remove seeds and ribs.
- For a smokier guacamole, replace your peppers with minced chipotle chile.
- Carefully clean and dry the cilantro. Wet cilantro can make your finished product watery. Remove as many of the stems as possible before chopping.
- Mix up the guacamole a few hours ahead and let rest in the refrigerator to allow flavors to blend. To keep the guacamole bright green, place plastic wrap directly on its surface, and then cover the entire bowl with plastic.
- I like to leave my guacamole a little chunky. It makes it far more interesting with chunks of veggies and avocado. I semi-mash about half to 3/4 of the avocados, leaving a few lumps, and then I cube the rest and toss them in at the end.
- Many people like tomatoes in their guacamole. I don’t add them. I think it makes the guacamole too watery, and I only like tomatoes when they are in season. If you want to add them, go for it, but remove the inner juice and seeds before adding to avoid watering down your finished product.
Here’s the recipe.
Guacamole
- 2 Hass avocados, peeled and pitted
- 1/4 of a red onion, finely minced
- 1/2 of a bunch of cilantro, washed with stems removed, and finely chopped
- 1-2 peppers (jalapeno or Anaheim), seeds removed and finely minced
- 1 clove garlic, pressed through a garlic press
- Juice of 1 lime
- Sea salt to taste
- Place avocados, onion, cilantro, peppers and garlic in a bowl and mix to combine, lightly mashing with a fork to the desired consistency.
- Squeeze lime juice over the top and mix in thoroughly.
- Add a little salt and taste for seasoning. Continue to add salt a little at a time, tasting after each addition until you reach the desired level.
by Karen Frazier
One of the reason I love the farmer’s market so much is the gorgeous appearance of the produce. If you visit the farmer’s market year-round like I do, you can see the colors and textures change with the seasons. For me, meandering through the market is as big of a pleasure as cooking and eating the treasures it yields.
One of the most gorgeous vegetables becomes available as the days grow cooler. Romanesco broccoli has an almost alien appearance. The florets yield a texture and flavor that is similar to cauliflower (the heads break apart in the same manner), although it tastes more delicate than cauliflower with nutty overtones.
Serving Romanesco
If you spot this gorgeous vegetable and can’t help but pick up a head, it’s easy to cook and serve. To use it as a vegetable side dish, break apart the florets, steam them until tender, and serve with a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil. If you’d like to add Romanesco to pasta much like you would broccolini or broccoli rabe, you can parboil the flortes until they are tender, saute them with garlic, pancetta, and olive oil, and then top with grated asiago.
If you’re feeling adventurous, pick up some Romanesco broccoli and give it a try.
Romanesco Facts
What is it? Despite it’s name (Romanesco broccoli), it’s a type of cauliflower,
How to choose: Find heavy heads with firm florets, crisp leaves, and a grassy, vegetal scent.
How to store: Wrap it tightly and refrigerate it for up to one week.
How does it taste? It tastes like a delicate, nutty cauliflower.
How to serve: You can serve it raw (try it with a little vinaigrette), steamed, boiled, or sauteed. If you saute it, parboil it until it is tender and then shock it in ice water. Break the Romanesco into florets before cooking.
Colors: Dark green, light green, purple, white
Season: September through November
Country of origin: Italy
Other names: Romanesco cauliflower, fractal cauliflower, Romanesco
by Karen Frazier
I’m going to let you in on a little secret about cooking. It’s one that people always discount when I say it, but it is true nonetheless.
When you have really good ingredients, you don’t need to be that great of a cook to make fabulous food.
One day a few summers ago when my parents were visiting, my father and I visited a local farmers’ market where I picked up some incredibly fresh produce and seafood that I used to make a simple meal when we got home. My father declared it “restaurant good.”
“It’s all the fresh foods we just picked up at the market,” I told him.
“No,” he said. “You have to know what to do with them – that’s what makes them good.
My father was both right and wrong at the same time. Ingredients can, indeed, make a meal shine all by themselves. As a cook, you simply have to know when to leave them the heck alone.
I’ll give you a few examples. If you pick up some fresh, fragrant, tender basil at the market, all you need to do is chiffonade it, sprinkle it over some fresh tomatoes, and drizzle it with olive oil. That’s all that basil requires, and to do anything else to it would actually diminish what makes the basil wonderful: it’s minty fragrance, tender bite, bright flavors, and brilliant green coloring. Simmer that fresh basil in spaghetti sauce and you’ll lose all of those elements. If, on the other hand, you have a jar of dried basil there’s no way you’re going to feature it by sprinkling it over tomatoes. It isn’t going to taste good or look good, and you’ll wind up with green stuff in your teeth. You could simmer it in spaghetti sauce, however, and it will wind up better than if it sat in the jar alone . The same thing goes for fresh sage – it’s wonderful when you saute fresh sage leaves in brown butter for a quick easy sauce to pour over some gnocchi. Try that with dried sage – it’s not the same.
Crab is another really good example. If you have King crab straight from the Bering Sea caught by Sig Hansen himself just that morning, it’s going to be an absolute crime if you do anything other than steam the crab and serve it with a little drawn butter. You do not need to do another single thing to that crab. A can of lump crab meat, however? Don’t serve it plain with butter. You’ll regret it. But when you mix it up with some herbs and spices, it could make a pretty good crab cake or seafood chowder.
If it’s the height of berry season, just serve the berries plain. If you have frozen berries, put them in muffins. If you have a well marbled piece of prime rib-eye, grill it up with a little salt and pepper, and it won’t need another thing to be fabulous. If you’ve got a chuck roast, it’s going to take some manipulation (and braising) to taste very good.
I believe that one of the main skills that comes with being a good cook is knowing when to leave an ingredient alone – and when to mess with it. Sea scallops fresh from the sea that morning? Pan sear them with a little salt and pepper. Frozen sea scallops? Go ahead and sear them, but add some sauce for flavor.
Simple cooking selects the best ingredients you can find and then highlights those ingredients with minimal intervention. Simple cooking is taking a tomato ripened on the vine in the sun, slicing it, and placing it on whole grain bread with a few slices of artisan bacon and some garden-fresh lettuce. Try that with a canned tomato – or even a mealy out of season tomato, and it’s not going to be even close to the same sandwich.
One of my main cooking “tricks” is this. I find a single ingredient that is so wonderful on it’s own, I don’t need to do anything to it. Then I respect that ingredient by serving it in the simplest way possible with a little seasoning. When you have an ingredient that is so spectacular your mouth waters just looking at it, that’s all you really need to do.
by Karen Frazier
One day I walked into the kitchen and found my teenaged son, Tanner, rooting through the cupboards. This isn’t unusual, since he eats about every 20 minutes and often checks cupboards and the refrigerator just to see if anything has miraculously appeared in the five minutes since he last looked, but since we both happened to be in the kitchen at the same time, I thought I’d ask.
“What are you looking for?” I asked as the toast popped up from the toaster.
“Truffle oil.”
“Why on earth do you need truffle oil so early in the morning?”
“Mom! Have you ever had it on toast? It’s amazing.”
As a mom, a foodie, and a dedicated cook, hearing this gave me mixed emotions. I was thrilled my son had developed a palate that extended beyond Ding Dongs and jalapeno Cheetos. I was a little concerned about his expectations of what food would taste like in the “real world” of college dorms, girlfriends, his own cooking, and other people’s homes. I was miffed to discover where all my truffle oil had been going.
I have not, in fact, had truffle oil on toast. I’ve had it on many other things in very small amounts, because at 20 bucks for a small bottle, I’d like to make it last. Fortunately, a little truffle oil does go a long way, and it can elevate the level of just about anything you cook – even toast!
Truffle oil carries the essence of truffles, usually in an olive oil base. When done right, it is richly textured with the sharp, earthy flavor of truffles, adding the essence of this very special ingredient to the foods you cook. I’ve used fresh truffles, jarred truffles and truffle oil in my cooking, and I’ve decided that truffle oil is a (comparatively) economic way to bring the essence of truffles to foods. It can elevate the mundane to the sublime – consider scrambled eggs with a drizzle of truffle oil, or truffle mayonnaise (just add a little truffle oil as you make your mayo) for shrimp salad. I also really like my mushroom risotto drizzled with truffle oil, but you could use it in cream soups, pasta, bisque, or even roasted chicken or steak. Just drizzle a tiny amount onto the finished product (don’t heat it in the food – you’ll destroy the taste of the truffles.)
The applications are endless, and if you love the flavor of truffles as I do, using a tiny bit of this delicious ingredient can elevate a simple meal into a sublime one. Just ask my son. It even works on toast.
My dog, Spike, is often a casualty of my messy cooking.
by Karen Frazier
I am a notoriously messy cook. When I cook or bake, my kitchen ultimately winds up looking as if a bomb went off in a bag of flour. If I have guests coming, I can clean up as I go, but mostly when I cook, I’m in full-on creative mode and cleaning does not enter my mind. Since my dog, Spike, believes it is his role in life to insert himself between me and the counter every time I cook, he often winds up a flour-covered casualty of my time spent in the kitchen.
My great-uncle, Harold Wahl, was a painter. When I was a little kid, I used to love to go to his house and root around in his studio. In fact, some of my most vivid memories of childhood are the times I spent in Uncle Harold’s studio. To me, it was a wonderland because it was a chaotic explosion of colorful paint. Brightly-colored drips, streaks, and smears were everywhere – on the walls, floors, benches, easels. You could tell just by being in there that serious creativity took place in that space, which smelled of oil paint and mineral spirits. In mind mind, I would picture Uncle Harold at work, fully immersed in the process and oblivious to the mess he was making. I could see him joyfully tossing paint onto the canvas as it flew off his brush and splattered his studio. Creative soul that I was then and continue to be, it made a huge impression.
When I am in the midst of some creative process, I am much like I pictured Uncle Harold to be – fully immersed and unaware of the mess I’m making. I get lost in what I am creating, more excited about the process than the end product. I do it with my writing, cooking, music, and other artistic endeavors. I even dabbled in painting for a while (I was really bad at it), and one upstairs room still bears evidence of my utter lack of concern about anything but the creative process. For me, immersion in creativity pulls me fully into the moment, and everything falls away. Creative expression in all of its wonder is my Zen. It brings me endless joy, especially when I’ve had a really bad day. I can spend countless hours puttering in the kitchen, writing at my computer, playing the piano – and time slips away from me.
What does all of this have to do with Ove Gloves? I had two Ove Gloves. They are as amazing as advertised. Still, I noticed recently they were incredibly, terribly trashed. I assumed that they were a casualty of my very messy cooking process, and attempted multiple times to wash away their now disgusting color, but to no avail. Finally, I realized I was such a messy cook, I’d trashed the Ove Gloves and needed to buy some new ones.
Two disgusting Ove Gloves, one clean one.
Yesterday, Jim, Tanner, and I stopped by the kitchen store to pick up a food scale so I could bake using weight measurements rather than volume, because that way I can bake without recipes. I’m like a kid in a candy store when I go into the local kitchen store. My eyes get as wide as saucers and I run from one shiny item to another, wishing I could take it all home with me. Tanner had his eye on a shiny object, as well – a chocolate fountain. I think he pictures it sitting on his desk in his bedroom, where it runs constantly so he can just scoop a mug of chocolate whenever he feels like it. That one, I resisted. Instead, I gathered my kitchen scale and a few extras – a new rolling pin (mine is warped), some colorful measuring cups, and a bright shiny new Ove Glove. When I set my purchases on the counter, I saw Jim eyeing them and assumed he was wondering why I’d need a new Ove Glove since I already had two.
“I have to replace them,” I told him. “Ours are disgusting.”
“Well sure they are,” he replied. “I use them to change the oil.”
I had no clue.
It turns out that I thought I’d gradually made my Ove Gloves gross with my lack of attention to anything but cooking. Instead, they instantly get dirty when he changes the oil on the car. The good news is he washes them after using them. The bad news is they never come clean.
So now, we have two sets of Ove Gloves in our house. Jim has his oil filter Ove Gloves. I have my cooking Ove Gloves. As long as they remain separate, I should be able to clean them up just as I can clean up my kitchen when a bout of creative energy grabs me and I send flour flying. And, on some small level, I’m glad to know. I may be a messy cook, but I’m not nearly as gross as the Ove Gloves indicated. It may sound silly to you, but to me, it’s a relief.
by Karen Frazier
This past week, a friend of mine posted a picture of Haselnuss-Kranz on her Facebook page and it looked delicious. It’s a German dessert made of a sweet shortcrust rolled around a sweetened hazelnut filling and rolled into a ring. Living as close to Oregon as we do, we’re huge hazelnut fans, so I sought to find the recipe. What I found is that it is so German, English language recipes are difficult to find. Finally, I found a recipe by Nigella Lawson, which I began to fiddle with. Nigella’s recipe is written in grams – easy with a kitchen scale but a little more difficult if you you don’t have one. I used my kitchen scale for exact measurements, but I’ve converted here for your ease (and Americanized the recipe slightly).
German Hazelnut Ring
Crust
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 cups sugar
- 1 tbsp. vanilla
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp. milk
- 1 stick butter, very cold and cut into cubes
Filling
- 1-1/2 cups hazelnuts, finely ground
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 4 tbsp. evaporated milk
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg white
Glaze
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tbsp. evaporated milk
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Sift flour, sugar, and baking powder into the bowl of a food processor.
- Add butter and liquids, sprinkling evenly over the top of the ingredients.
- Pulse the food processor for 10 one-second pulses until mixture resembles wet sand
- Pour mixture onto a clean surface (I use a Silpat) and pull it together in a ball, kneading a few times to make sure mixture is smooth.
- Refrigerate the dough wrapped in plastic for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, grind hazelnuts finely in the food processor with ten one second pulses.
- Pour hazelnuts in a bowl with remaining filling ingredients and mix well.
- Roll short crust into a rectangular shape that is about 11″ x 15″.
- Spread filling over pastry and roll the pastry length-wise.
- Shape pastry into a ring and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
- Mix together glaze and spread over top of ring.
- Using a knife, score the pastry with X or star shapes in several spots.
- Bake for 45 minutes until golden brown.
Tanner, trekking through the snow towards our terrifying hill in the early morning on Wednesday.
by Karen Frazier
We live in the Pacific Northwest, a place not accustomed to copious amounts of snow. I tell you this for the simple reason that today was my first major venture outside my house in about a week – and our pantry was nearly bare. Where we live, we had about a foot and a half of snow, and there is no getting down our terrifying driveway. Still, I was ready (I thought). My pantry is always pretty full so if I feel like baking or cooking something, I usually have the major ingredients I need to do so, as well as acceptable substitutions.
The first day we were snowed in, I decided to get into the kitchen and bake. I’ve been messing around with pate a choux lately, and decided I’d make some eclairs with chocolate filling. That’s when I discovered that though I had a tiny bit of flour, sugar, butter, and plenty of fresh eggs, my pantry was otherwise bare because I’d been baking so much lately. Instead of making the chocolate filling I’d planned to, I discovered we were woefully short on milk, which meant I had to improvise. Spotting a bottle of Starbuck’s Frappuccino in the refrigerator, I quickly adjusted to the idea of making a mocha filling. That’s right – in my baking desperation, I made a pudding style filling out of a Frappuccino. It wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever made, but it could have been better if I’d followed my own rule of keeping certain ingredients around the house and replacing them as soon as I ran out.
A well-stocked pantry (and fridge) allows you to cook without having to always run to the grocery store. Typically, I keep pantry items around and just add fresh meat or other ingredients as needed. That way, when I go to the grocery store, I don’t need to buy every single ingredient for something I’m planning to cook, just the perishable ones. And if I wind up stuck at home, I can happily spend a day in the kitchen.
What’s In the Well Stocked Pantry?
Here are the items I believe you absolutely should keep around the house.
Baking
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Dark and light brown sugar
- Confectioner’s sugar
- Molasses
- Corn syrup
- Vanilla extract
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Cornstarch
- Evaporated milk
- Condensed milk
- Unsalted butter
- Yeast
Dried Seasonings
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg (I like to buy it whole and grate it)
- Allspice
- Ground ginger
- Cloves (whole and ground)
- Kosher salt
- Sea salt
- Table salt
- Black peppercorns (and a grinder)
- Turmeric
- Coriander
- Fennel
- Garlic powder (and garlic bulbs)
- Onion powder
- Chili powder
- Cayenne pepper
- Sweet paprika
- Smoked paprika
- White pepper
- Tarragon
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Oregano
- Bay leaf
- Cream of tartar
- Dry mustard
- Chinese five spice
Canned Goods & Condiments
- Chicken stock, frozen or in aseptic packaging
- Beef stock
- Tomato paste (I like to buy mine in a tube rather than a can because measuring is easier)
- Canned tomatoes (I love the Muir Glen – they have great flavor)
- Low sodium kidney beans
- Low sodium black beans
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Light olive oil
- Grapeseed oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- Red wine vinegar
- White wine vinegar
- White vinegar
- Apple cider vinegar
- Mustard
- Horseradish
- Red wine
- White wine
Produce
- Onions
- Shallots
- Garlic
- Potatoes
- Celery
- Carrots
Dried Goods
- Pasta in various shapes
- Brown rice
- White rice
- Lentils
- Kidney beans
- Corn meal
- An assortment of nuts
Refrigerated and Frozen
- Whole milk
- Organic eggs
- Bacon
- Pancetta
- Parmigiano reggiano
I’ve probably left a lot out – but if you can’t get to the store you can make all kinds of tasty meals and baked goods with just the items I’ve listed above. Keep a list, and whenever you use up one of your pantry staples put it on the list so you remember to buy it! Feel free to add your essentials in the comments section below, since I’m relatively certain in my addled state I forgot some!
by Karen Frazier
What equipment is really necessary for great cooking? I tend to be somewhat of a kitchen traditionalist. That is, I enjoy the occasional gadget (my crème brûlée mini blowtorch is flipping awesome and totally fun to use but unnecessary – although I do enjoy the overkill of lighting candles with it), but for the most part I rely on more traditional equipment to get the job done. Here’s my list of what I think a well stocked kitchen should have, as well as any recommendations I have for great products.
Knives
I’m a firm believer that your knives are your most important tool in the kitchen. Knives need to be sturdy, sharp, and comfortable in the hand. I have both a knife set and knives I’ve picked out individually over the years to meet special needs. The knife in my house that gets the most use is my chef’s knife. I have several including a Kyocera ceramic chef’s knife, a Henckels 7″ santoku knife, and a Henckels 8″ chef’s knife.
Knives can be an investment, but in this case quality absolutely matters. Here’s what you should look for in a quality chef’s knife.
- A well-balanced knife
- A full tang that extends through the handle (the tang is the forged metal part extending from the bottom of the blade, and it should be one piece with the rest of the blade)
- An ergonomic handle that feels good in your hand
- The ability to maintain an edge
- Blade made from a single piece of material (usually steel or ceramic, although I also have a titanium knife)
If you wish to build your knife collection slowly, a piece at a time, then make sure you buy the essentials first. These include:
- Chef’s knife
- Paring knife
- Serrated knife
Later you may wish to add others. I have several sized chef’s and butcher knives, a couple different serrated knives, several sized paring knives, a boning knife, a meat cleaver, an herb chopper, and kitchen shears.
Knives should be kept very sharp. Many people mistakenly believe a dull knife is less likely to cut you than a sharp one, but the opposite is true. Sharp blades slip easily through whatever you are cutting without you having to force it, making accidents far less likely to occur. To that end, you will also need a high-quality sharpening steel, and a knife sharpener. We use a Chef’s Choice Diamond sharpener, which puts a great edge on all of our knives.
Pots and Pans
I am not a teflon fan, because it damages easily and can release harmful chemicals into your food and air. Not only that, but teflon-lined pans aren’t great for building flavors. I did, however, find a brand of non-sticks that allow you to build great flavor and work really well. They are the Calphalon Hard Anodized pans, and they’ve been a mainstay in my kitchen for quite some time. I’ve also heard really good things about the Calphalon Unison Nonstick cookware.
I am also a huge fan of enamel-coated cast iron, which are great for braises that will go from stovetop to oven. I just have one – a Le Crueset 4.5 Quart Round French oven. Le Crueset is a great brand, but it can be pretty expensive. Several less expensive brands are earning great reviews, but I advise caution with these. One brand, Macy’s Martha Stewart brand, was forced to recall nearly 1 million units because the enamel coating was cracking during baking, resulting in a hazard in which pieces could fly off and cause injuries.
Essential pots and pans you will need in the kitchen:
- Stock pot
- Oven safe dutch (or French) oven
- Large sauce pan
- Small sauce pan
- Oven-safe 12″ stainless steel saute pan
- Small saute pan
- Several cookie sheets
- 9 x 13 baking dish – I have Le Crueset because it’s pretty, but you can’t beat Corell for price and functionality
- 9 x 9 square baking dish
- Various sized spring form pans
- Deep dish pie plate
- Regular pie pan
- Various casserole pans
- Assorted ramekins
Spoons, Whisks, and Other Gadgets
Here’s a quick rundown of some small, affordable kitchen gadgets you’ll need.
- Corkscrew (I like the Metrokane Rabbit for its ease of use)
- Several wooden spoons
- Several silicone/rubber scrapers
- Silicone basting brushes
- Several whisks – I prefer the old fashioned metal kind over the silicon version
- Garlic press – I love the Zyliss Susi press
- Heat proof spatulas
- Bench/pastry scraper
- Meat thermometer
- General purpose thermometer
- Metal measuring cups for dry goods
- Liquid measuring cups – I love the Oxo Good Grips liquid measure, which is cleverly angled so you can measure from above
- Metal measuring spoons
- An electronic kitchen scale
- Kitchen tongs – I have several sets of these and use them all of the time for pan searing meat
- Heat-proof slotted spoon
- Mixing bowls – I love the Oxo Good grips plastic bowls with rubber non-skid bottoms
- Silpat baking mat
- Rolling pin (I like the French-style for better control)
- Bread and muffin pans
- Parchment paper
- Pepper grinder
- Sifter or small colander
- Chionise strainer (for straining cream soups, custards, and other sauces to add silkiness)
- Potato ricer (for making the best, fluffy, lump free mashed potatoes)
- Cheese grater
- Small cheese and spice grater – I love my Microplane rasp-style grater. It grates hard cheeses, as well as hard spices like nutmeg. You can also use it to get beautiful citrus zest.
- Wire cooling racks
- Several colanders. I have one I love that is a collapsible, over the sink colander.
- A small, wire colander for sifting small amounts of powdered sugar, etc.
- Vegetable peeler
Gadgets that Make Life Easier
The following is a list of gadgets that, while not essential, can make your life much easier in the kitchen.
- Immersion blender
- Blender (mine is KitchenAid, but if you’re looking for the best blender out there and have money to spend, get a Vitamix)
- Food processor (I have a KitchenAid food processor, which I love. Get the largest capacity you can afford.)
- Electric mixer (stand mixer or another kind – I actually don’t use these because I like working by hand, but they will speed up many things like whipped cream and mixing dough)
- Pasta roller – Avoid the electric models of these babies like the plague. I like the CucinaPro Imperia roller. It’s solid, easy to clean, and a real workhorse. Of course, if you won’t be making pasta, you won’t need a pasta roller.
- Pizza cutter
- Mandoline
- Apple peeler-corer
- Pizza stone and peel
- Mortar and pestle
- Coffee grinder (for grinding whole spices)
- Indoor grill or grilling pan
- Electric skillet
- Waffle iron
- Sandwich press
- Rotisserie oven – great for countertop meat cooking
- Crockpot (I have three!)
I’m sure I’ve left a bunch of stuff out, but in my mental kitchen walk-through, that’s all I can come up with. Coming up next: The well-stocked kitchen and pantry.
by Karen Frazier
Want to elevate your cooking? If you’re mostly a basic cook but want to find simple ways to make your cooking even better, then I’ve got a single word for you: sauce. Sauces are great ways to add flavors to your foods.
If you were all budding chefs studying cooking in depth, I’d go into detail here about the mother sauces: there are five (or six – depending on who you ask) including:
- Velouté – A stock-based white sauce.
- Béchamel – A flour, milk, and butter white sauce.
- Espagnole – A rich brown sauce
- Hollandaise/Mayonnaise – An egg yolk and fat emulsion
- Vinaigrette – 1 part vinegar, 3 parts oil, and other herbs/spices
- Tomato
From these sauces, many others are born. For example, if you add tarragon to hollandaise, you get béarnaise. If you add some gruyere to béchamel, you’ve got a great topping for mac n cheese or scalloped potatoes.
That’s really all I am going to say about the mother sauces today. Instead, I’m going to talk about some simple sauces you can make to add flavor to cooked meats. So, instead of having a plain steak, you could have steak with a wonderful port wine sauce. Instead of a plain piece of fish, you could have halibut topped with a delicate beurre blanc.
Pan Sauces
What we’re really talking about are pan sauces, and here’s what I like about them. Once you’ve cooked your protein in a pan, you can use the drippings in the pan to make a really fantastic pan sauce. To make a pan sauce.
- Remove the meat from the pan and set it aside, tented with foil. I like to cook many of my proteins in an ovenproof saute pan just so I can then use it to make a fabulous sauce.
- Put the pan over medium high heat on the stove top. If you’ve cooked some really fatty piece of meat, you may want to remove some of the clear fat from the pan before you do so.
- Add some aromatics such as shallots, onions or garlic and saute in a little oil leftover from cooking.
- Add an acidic liquid or alcohol to the pan such as vinegar, lemon juice, white or red wine, etc. As you add this to the pan, scrape up all of those amazingly flavored brown bits to incorporate them in the sauce.
- Toss in some chopped herbs. Let the sauce simmer on the stove for a bit to reduce by about 50 to 75 percent.
- Once the liquid has reduced, add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of very cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces. I add the butter a piece at a time, whisking it to emulsify. This will thicken your sauce and add richness.
- Taste your sauce and adjust seasoning as necessary.
- Serve immediately over your protein.
Beurre Blanc
This is one of my favorite sauces for seafood. I particularly like it over seared sea scallops. It has a delicate yet delicious flavor that really enhances the sweetness of the scallops.
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup white wine vinegar (or champagne vinegar, sherry vinegar)
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1″ pieces and chilled until very cold
- Salt and white pepper to taste
- Simmer shallots, wine, and vinegar in a saute pan, cooking until liquid has reduced by about 80 percent.
- Remove the pan from the heat momentarily, whisking two pieces of butter (one at a time) into the pan.
- Return the pan to low heat and continue whisking butter in a piece or two at a time until it is completely incorporated.
- Taste and season. Serve immediately.
You can change the flavors in this by adding herbs such as basil or by adding a little citrus zest.
