Recipies, and why we have a love hate relationship with them...
...today on The Foodist!
Seriously though, Recipies are both a blessing and a curse. Now Im not a baker, though i do make a mean mousse, and I understand that recipies are crucial for both cost control and portion control. But honestly other then basic ratios associated with recipies how often do we follow them?
as a home cook, which I know some of you are, recipies can be a great way to know your limits and control the outcome of your product with a set yield. But I think that this country has a serious love affair with recipies. You hear "But the recipe says.." or "can I have the recipe to that?" far too often.
I think it would be a great idea then to enlighten the general public of the professional use of recipies. so here goes:
Here are some basic guidelines to basic cooking:
1- Use your own judgement. Cant stress that enough, just because the recipe calls for 2 tsp of salt doesnt mean if you add more the whole thing will blow up (Again, be careful with baking because the same rules do not apply). Your sense of taste is your greatest asset in the kitchen. use it, and train it. If you taste the item your making and you think it could use more salt, then go for it.. more pepper, then go for it. Just remember that not everyone may like things as peppery or spicey as you. What I like to do is take the food to a seasoning point JUST below my level of perfect, then let someone else taste it and get their opinion. Depending on thier reaction i may keep the seasoning the same, or adjust to thier response.
2- Lets talk meat. Look, yes we all hear scary stories of food poisoning (myself a victim of such a case) and diseases we can get from undercooked mishandled meat, but the fact of the matter is if your smart you know how to treat meat. DO NOT thaw meat under running hot water, not only are you killing the flavor your also allowing pathogens to grow at a sicking rate. If you have to "quick thaw" something run it under cold water while still in the package. Also do not store raw chicken on a plate above anything else in your fridge.. your asking for trouble. Most cases of Salmenela in this country are from raw meat being stored above produce into which the juices dip, the product is then served raw (as most of you salad eaters know) and your at a much higher risk for getting sick. But most importantly is how you cook the meat your serving a few quick tips:
-Chicken- if a cooked pieces juice is clear its done cooking, it may seem a little underdone to you but thats because were all used to overcooked dried out chicken that certain chains sell us.
-Red meat- were talking steaks here, yes you can get sick from undercooked meat but if youve eaten rare steak your whole life chances are you dont have to stop now. Your body has grown an immunity factor to the raw meat your injesting. Though I personaly dont care for my meat to still MOO at me the meat must MUST MUST still be handled properly to be 100% safe for you even with the increased immunity.
-Pork- Ok heres the deal and I want you all to pay attention. PINK PORK IS NOT GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!! ok i said it. A little bit of pink in pork is O K. as long as the meat has been cooked to the proper temperature. If you get a slighty pink piece of pork dont freak out, heres a tip. Place your finger on the pinkest part.. if its cold send it back to the kitchen ASAP and ask for a whole new plate. If its hot then your ok, enjoy the heck out of that wonderful juicy meat!
3-still slightly on the subject of meat, lets talk succulence. Have you ever gone somewhere and gotten the juiciest, most flavorful piece of chicken? then you got home and cant figure out how to do it? well ladies and germs let me give you the secret.
Its called the oven.
"But it was a grilled chicken breast" you say? yeah thats right, an oven. Were talking two different kinds of heat here folks. On one side you have the grill. A single direction high heat source leading meats to dry out and burn quickly. On the other end you have a slow constant heat source that surrounds the product. "But how do you get grilled chicken from the oven?" your probably asking yourself. Im probably going to break your heart here but Grilling is partially only for visual stimulation. You heat your grill mark your meat with those perfect 40 degree angle diamonds we love to see so much then you place the meat on a pan into the oven at 350 till done. Trust me, it might be the juiciest piece of meat youve ever cooked at home. Well, I do have to be honest, the ovens only part of it... the rest Ill save for another day!
4- Read more then one recipe and ask more then one cook. Knowledge and experience far surpasses any Betty Crocker-reading-Martha Steward-looking-Food Network-watching Recipe Nazi any day of the week. Some of the best tasting dishes on the planet are ones that have been honed by mistake after mistake after mistake, and no one will tell you more then a professional cook/chef that the best thing you can use a recipe for is mearly a guideline. Thats it, only a guideline. The written word is not NOT N O T set in stone when it comes to cooking. You have so very many factors to include. Humidity, elevation, toughness/marbling of meat, freshness of produce, time to prepare and cook. There are short cuts yes, but you have to ask yourself "Do I want to sacrifice Quality for speed/quanity?". Sometimes the answer can be yes, but if you making a special dinner for someone, or your just trying to be a better cook the simple fact remains that if you put garbage in, youll get garbage out. Sharing and hearing ideas used by others is a great way to see a new angle on a dish that just isnt coming out the way you wanted.
Be willing to break away from the recipe prison shackles and run free through the open field that is culinary experimentation!!, but please no more foam or food towers for dinner.. theres only so much one man can take!
*****
Anyone Interested in doing a guest entry for this blog about any culinary subject can email me at Searchingchef@gmail.com
Seriously though, Recipies are both a blessing and a curse. Now Im not a baker, though i do make a mean mousse, and I understand that recipies are crucial for both cost control and portion control. But honestly other then basic ratios associated with recipies how often do we follow them?
as a home cook, which I know some of you are, recipies can be a great way to know your limits and control the outcome of your product with a set yield. But I think that this country has a serious love affair with recipies. You hear "But the recipe says.." or "can I have the recipe to that?" far too often.
I think it would be a great idea then to enlighten the general public of the professional use of recipies. so here goes:
Here are some basic guidelines to basic cooking:
1- Use your own judgement. Cant stress that enough, just because the recipe calls for 2 tsp of salt doesnt mean if you add more the whole thing will blow up (Again, be careful with baking because the same rules do not apply). Your sense of taste is your greatest asset in the kitchen. use it, and train it. If you taste the item your making and you think it could use more salt, then go for it.. more pepper, then go for it. Just remember that not everyone may like things as peppery or spicey as you. What I like to do is take the food to a seasoning point JUST below my level of perfect, then let someone else taste it and get their opinion. Depending on thier reaction i may keep the seasoning the same, or adjust to thier response.
2- Lets talk meat. Look, yes we all hear scary stories of food poisoning (myself a victim of such a case) and diseases we can get from undercooked mishandled meat, but the fact of the matter is if your smart you know how to treat meat. DO NOT thaw meat under running hot water, not only are you killing the flavor your also allowing pathogens to grow at a sicking rate. If you have to "quick thaw" something run it under cold water while still in the package. Also do not store raw chicken on a plate above anything else in your fridge.. your asking for trouble. Most cases of Salmenela in this country are from raw meat being stored above produce into which the juices dip, the product is then served raw (as most of you salad eaters know) and your at a much higher risk for getting sick. But most importantly is how you cook the meat your serving a few quick tips:
-Chicken- if a cooked pieces juice is clear its done cooking, it may seem a little underdone to you but thats because were all used to overcooked dried out chicken that certain chains sell us.
-Red meat- were talking steaks here, yes you can get sick from undercooked meat but if youve eaten rare steak your whole life chances are you dont have to stop now. Your body has grown an immunity factor to the raw meat your injesting. Though I personaly dont care for my meat to still MOO at me the meat must MUST MUST still be handled properly to be 100% safe for you even with the increased immunity.
-Pork- Ok heres the deal and I want you all to pay attention. PINK PORK IS NOT GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!! ok i said it. A little bit of pink in pork is O K. as long as the meat has been cooked to the proper temperature. If you get a slighty pink piece of pork dont freak out, heres a tip. Place your finger on the pinkest part.. if its cold send it back to the kitchen ASAP and ask for a whole new plate. If its hot then your ok, enjoy the heck out of that wonderful juicy meat!
3-still slightly on the subject of meat, lets talk succulence. Have you ever gone somewhere and gotten the juiciest, most flavorful piece of chicken? then you got home and cant figure out how to do it? well ladies and germs let me give you the secret.
Its called the oven.
"But it was a grilled chicken breast" you say? yeah thats right, an oven. Were talking two different kinds of heat here folks. On one side you have the grill. A single direction high heat source leading meats to dry out and burn quickly. On the other end you have a slow constant heat source that surrounds the product. "But how do you get grilled chicken from the oven?" your probably asking yourself. Im probably going to break your heart here but Grilling is partially only for visual stimulation. You heat your grill mark your meat with those perfect 40 degree angle diamonds we love to see so much then you place the meat on a pan into the oven at 350 till done. Trust me, it might be the juiciest piece of meat youve ever cooked at home. Well, I do have to be honest, the ovens only part of it... the rest Ill save for another day!
4- Read more then one recipe and ask more then one cook. Knowledge and experience far surpasses any Betty Crocker-reading-Martha Steward-looking-Food Network-watching Recipe Nazi any day of the week. Some of the best tasting dishes on the planet are ones that have been honed by mistake after mistake after mistake, and no one will tell you more then a professional cook/chef that the best thing you can use a recipe for is mearly a guideline. Thats it, only a guideline. The written word is not NOT N O T set in stone when it comes to cooking. You have so very many factors to include. Humidity, elevation, toughness/marbling of meat, freshness of produce, time to prepare and cook. There are short cuts yes, but you have to ask yourself "Do I want to sacrifice Quality for speed/quanity?". Sometimes the answer can be yes, but if you making a special dinner for someone, or your just trying to be a better cook the simple fact remains that if you put garbage in, youll get garbage out. Sharing and hearing ideas used by others is a great way to see a new angle on a dish that just isnt coming out the way you wanted.
Be willing to break away from the recipe prison shackles and run free through the open field that is culinary experimentation!!, but please no more foam or food towers for dinner.. theres only so much one man can take!
*****
Anyone Interested in doing a guest entry for this blog about any culinary subject can email me at Searchingchef@gmail.com