Roast Tomato Soup with Mussels & Fennel / Vegetable Stock / Marinated & Broiled Sardines

Blog Post & Recipe: Simple Lessons in Roast Tomato Soup with Mussels & Fennel

So when a Sicilian cook's fishmonger was unable to supply her with all the fish she wanted for her brodu di pisci, or the family's budget didn't allow for an elaborate array of fresh fish, she had a trick. She'd use a combination of garlic, parsley, chilies, and salt pounded into a rough paste and then fried in local olive oil.

Blog Post & Recipe: How to Make Vegetable Stock

It helps to brown the veggies first, so the stock gets infused with some of the flavors from caramelization. Unlike chicken or beef stock, which needs time to extract all the goodness from the bones, with vegetable stock, you cook the stock for only an hour to an hour and half. Beyond that, the flavors begin to disintegrate.

Blog Post & Recipe: The Nasty Bits: How to Make Sardine Lovers out of Sardine Skeptics

If you can get sardines that are very fresh, the easiest thing to do is to grill or broil them so the skin chars a little. Sprinkle with salt, freshly ground pepper, and lemon or vinegar. If, however, you find that fresh sardines are still too fishy for your taste, consider a simple marinade. I use ginger to combat the fishiness, a little wine for depth, soy sauce, and a dash of salt and sugar.

Marinated and Broiled Sardines

Seaweed Salad (Miyuk Muchim) / Chai / Boiled Bone Stock

Recipe: Seaweed Salad (Miyuk Muchim)

This seaweed salad is a great little appetizer or side dish for when you want to eat light.

Blog Post & Recipe: Perfect Chai

When I’m brewing from scratch, this here is my ideal recipe. It’s got plenty of cardamom, which (I think) is the only ingredient other than tea in traditional chai. But it’s also got cloves, which add an undercurrent of spice to the drink.

Blog Post & Recipe: The Nasty Bits: Boiled Bones

If you do not want your stock to look cloudy and taste fatty, then simmer your bones. If you have a lot of good meat that's still on the bone, and you want to eat the meat, then simmer your bones ... If, on the other hand, you happen to have a pile of bones leftover from a roast, and there is nothing palatable about them, then boil the heck out of your bones.

Boiled Stock

Celeriac Gratin with Caramelised Onions / Salt Crusted Burgers with Mashy Peas / Turkey Stock For Gravy

Blog Post & Recipe: Celeriac Gratin with Caramelised Onions

Serve the gratin with a spoonful of caramelised onions and a crisp green salad lightly dressed with sherry vinegar and cold pressed rapeseed oil.

Blog Post & Recipe: could you feed yourself for $5 a day?

The secret is using the salt layer to cook the burgers. So as the juices drip out, the salt helps them congeal and form an instant crust which makes for a moist, full flavoured burger. I actually find that more fatty (and cheaper) beef makes for a more moist and tasty burger.

salt crusted burgers with mashy peas

Blog Post & Recipe: Turkey Stock For Gravy: Start Soon

I don’t know where we got the idea that a roasting turkey results enough juices to make gravy. It doesn’t ... Donna picked up two full turkey wings and four turkey necks, about 4.5 pounds/2 kilos. I roasted them in a hot hot oven till they were good enough to eat (Donna and I made a meal of the meaty parts that night, with brown-butter-sage pasta). I also cut up two big onions ...

Concept: salt-crusted hamburger patties: "as the juices drip out, the salt helps them congeal and form an instant crust which makes for a moist, full flavoured burger." Worth trying, M.?

What to Save & Freeze for Stocks / Roast Butternut Squash & Chickpeas / Gnocchi di Pane e Prugne (Bread Gnocchi with Prunes)

Blog Post: Stockpiling Your Scraps: What to Save & Freeze for Stocks

• Bones and carcasses ... Vegetable & herb scraps ... Seafood shells & bones ... Cheese rinds

Blog Post & Recipe: Roasted Butternut Squash & Chickpeas

This recipe is reminiscent of chana masala, a savory dish of stewed chickpeas with spices and tomatoes. For a fall version, butternut squash has been added, pre-cooked by roasting pieces in the oven with spices.

Blog Post & Recipe: Gnocchi di Pane e Prugne (bread gnocchi w/ prunes)

This recipe is from the far north of Italy in the region of Trentino-Alto Ridge where the influence of Austro-Tyrolean food is prevalent. Some staples in their diet are wurst, cabbage, potatoes, apples, butter, polenta & dumplings. Yes this is Italy! These little bread gnocchi are called Knodeln which is a German word referring to a bread dumpling.

Japanese Curry Pot Pie / Asian Stock / Cook Trepang

Blog Post & Recipe: Japanese Curry Pot Pie: Asian Comfort Food

I started to think of my favorite curries and what could possibly make for a good filling — Indonesian beef rendang and Singaporean chicken curry top the list. But I also have a great love for slightly sweet Japanese curries.

Blog Post & Recipe: Asian Stock, the broth that keeps on giving

You can add a cup of this particular recipe to your stir-frys, you can substitute it for water in cooking rice (do this, pop the rice into your fridge & use it the following morning for a garlic-fried rice topped with a poached egg & a side of breakfast meat- delish), really the possibilities are endless.

Blog Post & Recipe: Slugs from the Sea

In Asia, trepang is an enormously important food, and has been so since ancient times. A large part of its success is due to the fact that the flesh lends itself very well to preservation by drying. The following instructions, from The Animal Food Resources of Different Nations (1885), by Peter Lund Smith, explain what the cook then does with the dried product

Naan Bread / Spicy Chilled Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato Soup / Vegetable Stock

Blog Post & Recipe: Naan bread

This is not exactly a true naan recipe, I wish we had a naan oven ... Many people have been asking us for it lately, maybe because it’s quite easy to make and you don’t need to turn on the oven and it’s really delicious!

Blog Post & Recipe: Spicy Chilled BLT Soup

The soup is basically a quick and easy gazpacho-type number, which is thickened up a little by adding some torn up breads before you puree it. And then just before you serve it, you garnish it with however much B, L and T you would like.

Blog Post & Recipe: homemade vegetable stock

I keep my vegetable scraps in the freezer rather than my fridge. The freezer allows me to make the stock on my own time rather than being forced to because the bucket of scraps have a very limited lifespan. Fennel fronds, onion skins, carrot nubs, celery leaves, and whatever vegetable scrap that isn’t mildewy, rotten or badly blemished goes into a bucket in my freezer. When the bucket is full, it’s stock time!

Queen Elizabeth's Drop Scones / Panch Phoran Pork Belly / Ramen

Blog Post & Recipe: Queen Elizabeth's Drop Scones

Drop scones are thicker than American pancakes, and a little smaller.

Blog Post & Recipe: let's get to the meat: panch phoran pork belly

In short, it's pork belly, confited and infused with a wonderful blend of subcontinental flavours - cumin, fenugreek, mustard, fennel, and kalonji seeds - that makes up panch phoran. And then roasted.

Blog Post & Recipe: Musings on the zen of ramen-making

The most time-consuming part of course is the broth. I cooked mine for six hours. In case you are wondering why you can’t just throw everything in the pot together and simmer, some ingredients like the konbu has a temperature where it releases maximum flavor and any extended steeping might introduce a bitter taste. The bacon, for example, is taken out after 45 minutes, maybe so it doesn’t become the dominant flavor or aroma. Spent shiitake mushrooms can be pickled afterwards.

Spinach Feta Pie / Little Quinoa Patties / Easy Chicken Stock

Blog Post & Recipe: Spinach Feta Pie

The original recipe was basically white rice, spinach, feta and eggs, topped with cheddar cheese but for this post I wanted to mix it up a bit.

Blog Post & Recipe: Heidi, well done

One dish that I think serves as great example to Heidi's style is her Little Quinoa Patties. A seemingly humble collection of ingredients, quinoa, eggs, and breadcrumbs, are punctuated by fresh onion, chives, garlic and a grating of cheese. Pan-fried until crusted and golden the cakes get unexpectedly gutsy

Little Quinoa Patties

Blog Post: Stock Convictions

People are unnecessarily afraid of bacteria. Once your stock is cooked, it’s safe to eat. If there was bad bacteria in it, you’d have killed it. Let it cool uncovered (the faster the better; don’t fear bacteria but don’t give them the upper hand). Leave the pot out on the stove top (covered or uncovered once it’s cooled, doesn’t really matter). Bring it up to heat the next day and any bacteria that landed there and began to mulitply (and they multiply with astonishing speed at 90 to 110 degrees F.) will be dispatched well before the stock hits a simmer.

Easy Chicken Stock

Cod & White Bean Stew / Chicken Stock / Duck Charcuterie 5 Ways

Blog Post & Recipe: stew & snow

and it's versatile - throw in whatever combinations of vegetables, beans, grains and fish you have on hand.

Cod & White Bean Stew

Blog Post & Recipe: homemade chicken stock

Sometimes I do it with odds and ends from a chicken: wings, neck, gizzards, other random bits. But most often, and by far my favorite way to make stock – is to use 2 carcasses of roasted chickens

Article & Recipes & Video: Duck Charcuterie 5 Ways (and Recipes).

The tender "center cuts" (breast, tenderloin, etc.) are not the only parts worth eating; in fact they are often not even the best. In the case of duck, it's a great gateway cooking experience to full on nose-to-tail: all of the parts are delicious and easy to prepare, it just takes a little time. Watch this video to see ducks turned into sausage, pate, rillette, stock, prosciutto, and confit and check out the Ruhlman/Henderson/Keller influenced recipes.

How to Cook Dried Beans / Baked Spinach / Chicken Dinner

Blog Post & Recipe: How to Cook Dried Beans

One thing that is demonstrably true is that you don’t have to soak your beans overnight; if you want beans for dinner, put them in water and cook them till they’re tender or at least edible, no soaking, no blanching, just put them in a pot and cook them.

Ruhlman's Beans & Bacon

Blog Post & Recipe: the best baked spinach

... she went on a tangent about a French “system” for spinach which she found “terribly good” and went on to describe a gentle cooking of spinach, stewing it in a very small amount of roux for a little binding and broth before stirring in a small amount of cheese and baking it in a dish topped with breadcrumbs.

Article & Recipes & Video: Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

The main part of the cooking is essentially an oven braise with a twist. You brown the thighs and breasts in the rendered fat, then cook the thighs with a load of vegetables and the quickly made stock. Later, you lay the breasts on top of the vegetables and roast until they’re browned and just cooked through.

How to Butcher a Chicken ... Quick Chicken Stock ... Chicken-Skin Croutons ... Braised and Roasted Chicken With Vegetables

Sichuan Chilli Oil / Making Stock / Mexican Hot Chocolate

Blog Post & Recipe: Sichuan Chilli Oil

Heat the peanut oil in a small saucepan until shimmering, then CAREFULLY add the peppercorns. They will spit a lot - wear long sleeves.

Blog Post & Recipe: How to make stock the right way, the wrong way, and when it matters [via]

So here, I'll show you the classicist's way of making stock, but then I'll let you in on all the ways you can cheat.

Classic meat stock

Blog Post & Recipe: Mexican Hot Chocolate

I have to admit that I like my hot chocolate a little stronger than that, and less sweet. But there’s something endearing about that crumbly Mexican chocolate that crinkles with sugar when you snap pieces off. So I upped the proportion of Mexican chocolate and added some unsweetened cocoa powder, which brought up the chocolate flavor and richness to where I like it.

Barbecue Marinade / Vegetable Stock / Caramelized Plantains

Blog Post & Recipe: What's the best barbecue marinade?

Most marinades work by using an acid base (vinegar, wine or lemon juice, for example) to weaken muscle tissue, making the meat feel softer and juicier in the mouth.

Felicity's perfect marinade

Blog Post & Recipes: 7 tips for full-flavoured vegetable stock

i. chop fine ... ii. lightly brown your aromatics ... iii. be generous with the mushrooms ... iv. go for tomato ... v. start with cold water ... vi. let it simmer ... vii. taste as you go

basic vegetable stock ... simple soba noodle soup

Blog Post &c Recipe: Caramelized Plantains

Less sweet and more starchy than a banana, the plantains cooked up golden and crusty on the outside but tender and almost creamy on the inside ... When you buy a plantain at the store, don't buy one that is nearly black for the flesh will be too soft and won't cook up properly. You want one mainly yellow, with some black.

Roast Chicken Risotto / Clean Burnt Stains off Stainless Steel Cookware / Blood Orange Tart

Blog Post & Recipes: Chicken Out

The risotto that results from the roast chicken is deeply satisfying and brings new meaning to leftovers.

Chicken Stock ... Roast Chicken Risotto with Sweet Corn

Blog Post: How To Clean Tough Burnt Stains Off Stainless Cookware

Materials

Stainless steel cookware blackened with burned on food from months and months of heavy use
Vinegar
Water
Baking soda
Mesh dish cloth

Blog Post: Blood Orange Tart

The flaky pastry crust is just the right base for the slightly bitter blood oranges which manage to taste remarkably fresh and vibrant despite spending over an hour in a hot oven. This is due, in part, to the fact that you freeze the assembled tart until it is solid which buys you some extra baking time for the crust.

Ham Stock / Lamb Braised in Milk with Fennel / What Freezes Well?

Blog Post & Recipes: How to Make Ham Stock and Recipe Ideas Using Ham Stock

Making stock starts with saving scraps. I have containers in my freezer where I save ham, chicken, turkey, or beef scraps and bones until I have enough to make stock.

Blog Post & Recipe: Lamb Braised in Milk with Fennel

Lamb braised in milk. Huh? Okay, yes, I know it sounds weird (at least it did to me at first) but hear me out. It's just a spin on a traditional Italian recipe of pork braised in milk, in which the milk reduces down to a rich and creamy white sauce.

Blog Post: What Sorts of Recipes and Meals Freeze Well?

A few foods that freeze well, and that would make great meals for a new parent, are most soups, stews, chili, curry, meaty braises, and lasagna. You can also make dumplings or ravioli and then freeze them. Also, you can make your own version of mix and match bagged meals. Also try this thread for some ideas ...

Stock. Curried sweet potato soup. 90 Minute Beans.

Recipe: Curried sweet potato soup

KeenBaker added this comment at 12:36am Thu 4th June, 2009

Made a bit of a mess using the hand mixer and would recommend this as a weekend rather than mid-week recipe

Blog Post & Recipe: 90 Minute, No-Soak Beans

Via Serious Eats

The beans were cooked ... It had taken 15 minutes on top of the oven to bring to a boil, and then 75 minutes inside a 250 degree oven. I had not soaked the beans before hand. I didn't even bother to rinse them or sort through to see if any rocks had been hidden inside.

Article: The ultimate ingredient

The link below the heading goes to a post at the Guardian food blog. "Here then, are my top 10 stock tips, but I'd really love to hear yours," the blogger writes.

Put the leftover meat and bones into a large pot, cover with cold water and bring gently up to the faintest simmer. After half an hour or so, add any and preferably all of the following: carrots, onions, leeks, turnips and celery, chopped roughly. Here you can be really thrifty because the trimmings you will generate are almost as valuable in stock as the vegetables themselves. Leaves, stems, trimmed-off ends, rooty stumps, skins and peelings can all be kept in the fridge or freezer until your next stock-making session. (A vegetable stock can be made in the same way, but will be richer if you roast the veg first.)

Tom Ka Gai. Ham and Potato Hash. Stock.

Recipe: Ham and Potato Hash

... easy to cook, and a great way to use up leftover ham.

Blog Post & Recipe: Thai Chicken Coconut Soup (Tom Ka Gai).

Scroll down, past "How to use Kaffir Lime Leaves."

If you don’t have access to fresh Kaffir Lime Leaves, you can find them at the Asian markets frozen or dried whole. You can also substitute Kaffir Lime Leaves with thick strips of lime peel.

Blog Post: When to feel guilty about not making stocks

There are 3 types of cooks in this world:

1) Those who use store bought stocks without a smidgen of remorse ...

2) Those who have made their own stock at least once in their life and realize that the store bought stuff is not up to snuff. But let's face it -- who has the time to make their own on regular basis ...

3) Those who think that the stock is the foundation of cuisine ...

Today, I'd like to address the second group.

Wilted Vegetables. Kid Kedgeree. Keep Meals Interesting.

Blog Post: Kitchen Cure Tip: Save Wilted Vegetables For Stock

Are you finding a few sad carrots, a wet noodle bunch of celery, brown and dusty parsley? Well, don't throw them out yet. Here are two ways to make good use of even the saddest vegetables ...

Article & Recipe: Kids in the kitchen: tuna and pea kedgeree

I’ve never believed that expression of flavours being too ‘adult’ for a child’s palate ... A gentle introduction to highly flavoured food is the key. This classic Anglo-Indian breakfast of kedgeree, a spiced rice, fish and egg dish that is a doddle to make is a great place to start.

Article: The art of home cooking

Although a certain amount of routine can be a good thing, too much of it can quickly turn shopping and cooking into a joyless exercise ... how can you stop yourself getting stuck in a rut?

I find that a certain amount of pre-planning helps ...

Beef Stock. The Minimalist Kitchen. Food Blogs again.

Article: 50 of the world's best food blogs

Another list of food blogs from the Times.

This list comprises 50 of our favourite food blogs but is by no means exhaustive. Times Online invites users to submit their favourites for a follow-up article using the comment box below.

Article: Stocking the Minimalist Kitchen

Posters at the end disagree with some of the writer's choices.

Sometimes we’re in the mood to buy every expensive gadget we see; other times we want to whisk everything off the counter and keep only the necessities. In the spirit of early spring cleaning, we’ve put together a list of the 10 kitchen tools you need to whip up (almost) anything.

Recipe: How to Make Beef Stock

... the trick with stock is to roast the bones first to get some caramelized flavor going, then to slowly heat them in water until a bare simmer, and then let them cook that way, gently, for a good long time. With beef stock, it helps to include some beef scraps or stew meat, as well as aromatic vegetables and herbs. Also a few veal bones will help provide gelatin to the stock.

Lavender. Margaret Fulton.

Recipe: Essence of Fulton.

Recipes for tomato saffron soup, chicken stock, vegetable stock, chocolate souffles and French roast chicken dinner (with instructions on trussing chickens and making gravies).

The woman who taught Australia how to cook in the 1960s is giving us a little reminder. In her latest book - her 25th - Margaret Fulton has chosen her most cherished recipes ...

Article/Recipe: Cooking with Lavender.

Comes with fifteen recipes, some savoury ("Grilled pork chops with lavender flowers"), and some sweet ("Lavender merengue cookies").

NOTE: Do not eat flowers from florists, nurseries or garden centers. In many cases these flowers have been treated with pesticides not labeled for food crops.

Stock

Webpage: Make Stock.
Under the Open Directory link you'll find a list of recipes for stock and broth.


Article/Recipe: It's easy and fun to make stock.

* Beef stock
* Chicken stock
* Crab stock
* Crawfish stock
* Fish stock, or fumet
* Ham stock
* Shrimp stock
* Turkey stock
* Veal stock
* Vegetable stock

.