06.30.07

Arming Your Kitchen With Basic Cooking Utensils

Posted in Cooking Articles at 4:43 pm by henri

There’s no doubt that having the right tools for the job makes any task easier, and there’s no better place to illustrate this than in the kitchen, where having the right cooking utensils can be the difference between creating good meals and great meals.

Many cooks think about major appliances such as the stove and refrigerator when planning to equip their kitchens, but to be a success in the kitchen, you need to have a good selection of cooking utensils in addition to the bigger items. And don’t forget, cooking utensils means more than just spoons; there’s a host of small cooking utensils ranging from cutting devices, juicers, graters and more.

Think about what you do in a kitchen and about how different cooking utensils come into play for each task:

? Washing and drying fresh produce ? always easy to accomplish with a strainer and salad spinner. A vegetable peeler is also an important addition to your cooking utensils closet.

? Slicing, chopping and dicing all kinds of food and garnishes , a food processor makes short work of vegetables, but mandolins, knives and graters are also helpful cooking utensils to have on hand.

? Measuring , cooking and baking can be a form of art and recipes should be followed as precisely as possible so measuring dishes, cups (both wet and dry measures) and measuring spoons are invaluable cooking utensils.

? Weighing , depending on what you like to cook, you may want to add a food scale to your shopping list of cooking utensils. Such a tool can be excellent for portioning meat and other products that have cooking times affected by weight.

? Temperature , as important as measures are temperatures, which can affect the success of your kitchen endeavors. An oven or meat thermometer is key to having properly cooked meat that is safe to eat, and should be included in your pantry of cooking utensils.

? Mixing , no kitchen would be complete without a cadre of mixing bowls in its cooking utensils cupboard. Having a selection of bowls in assorted sizes is essential to fast, efficient cooking.

? Manipulating, poking, prodding, lifting and stirring ,perhaps what most often comes to mind when you think of cooking utensils are implements used to move food: spoons, forks, knives, spatulas, wire whisks, pastry blenders, tongs, salad lifters, slotted spoons, wooden spoons, serving spoons and more.

By imagining the tasks you do every day in the kitchen, you will get a better idea of the cooking utensils you should consider purchasing. Think about every stage of the food preparation process, from storage and cleaning, to cooking and presenting.

Other useful cooking utensils: pastry brush, kitchen shears, rolling pin, salt shaker, pepper mill, cutting board, ramekins, flour sifter, rotary beater, ladles, juicer and a can opener. Cooking utensils come in a range of prices, quality and materials such as wood, metal, rubber and silicone. Regardless of how much you pay, always make sure any cooking utensils that have multiple pieces, fit together securely.

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06.29.07

Cooking with Wild Game: Black Pepper and Juniper Venison Sauce

Posted in Cooking Articles at 8:10 pm by henri

When cooking meats of any kind, there is no sauce like a sauce made from the meat trimmings and bones of the animal itself. Here’s one suggestion for a great venison sauce; use it with any roast or pan-roasted venison, such as leg, rack or loin - the black pepper and juniper lends itself well to the caramelized flavor of the roasted meat.

Yield: 1 cup

½ cup canola oil
2 ¼ lbs. venison bones, chopped into 1" pieces (or, 2 lbs bones, ¼ pound meat trimmings)
1 quarts water
1 quarts light chicken stock
2 quarts veal demi-glace (best: make it yourself; more than gourmet?s ready made is not bad)
½ lbs. carrots, cut into ½" pieces
½ lbs. onions, ½"
5 ounces celery, cut into ½"
3 peppercorns, crushed
2 juniper berries, crushed

Heat canola oil over high heat in a heavy pan large enough to hold bones in one layer, until just before smoking. Add bones and cook until well-browned and caramelized , do not turn before a good crust develops, and once turning, do not stir bones. You want a good, deep, rich caramelizing layer. The last few minutes, add the meat trimming, if you are using it. You want a good russet color to the bones, not black , watch for this and discard any blackened bones. Pour off fat from pan.

Add a little of your water, enough to deglaze the pan, reserving the rest for later. Using a wooden (ideally, flat) spoon, scrape the bones free and scrape up and loosen any browned bits. In my kitchen, I use to tell my chefs the pan should look, on the bottom, as if it had been washed. Add a little more water and allow to work ,listen for the crackle to die down to a gentle bubbling, then, as the water evaporates, the gelatin will extract from the bones and it will begin to crackle again. Add ¾ cups of the light chicken stock and deglaze/reglaze as before. Add vegetables and stir to deglaze/reglaze. Add remaining water, chicken stock, and veal stock. Deglaze fully and transfer to stock pot.

Bring to a simmer over medium heat, with pot offset to one side to set up a convection for skimming ,throughout the process, you don’t want to allow accumulated scum and impurities to be reincorporated into the sauce, so skim the surface regularly. Skim and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until stock is at level of bones. If you have a fine mesh sieve, first strain the sauce through a coarse strainer then through the fine mesh sieve. If not, a coarse sieve with a layer of cheesecloth will do. The important thing is to strain with the coarse strainer first, then pass through the fine strainer. Pour strained stock into pot. Simmer until reduced to sauce consistency. Last ten minutes of reduction, add your crushed peppercorns and juniper berries, and reduce to 1 cups. Double strain again and serve.

Hunting can bring good food to the table. As a chef, I always sought to marry what I knew with what hunters and farmers always knew - the best food comes from the season and the land one knows. I hope you enjoy this recipe.

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