A digital thermometer is food insurance!

I couldn't begin to list how many items I've overcooked or undercooked in my life. You put something on the wrong spot on the grill, you think a piece of meat is completely defrosted when it's not, the oven didn't maintain the same temp, etc., etc., etc.   And how many times has your Thanksgiving turkey come out really dry because the tender timer didn't pop?  I HATE tender timers!  They rarely work right.  Sometimes they won't pop no matter how hot the bird gets.  All those crappy pieces of plastic do is turn your kitchen into a den of LIES!!!  Anyway, trust me, it's really easy to miscook meat without taking out a little bit of insurance.

And you do that by getting yourself a good cooking thermometer.  Having this one small piece of equipment will save you a ton of grief and actually make you a better cook.  As you use the thermometer, you'll start gauging how long it really takes to cook things with the cookware, grill and oven you have.  No matter how hard the manufacturers try, no two pieces of cooking equipment is identical, or perfectly calibrated.  Your oven can vary 15-20 degrees in temperature from what it says on the gauges.  And when it comes to barbecuing, you know that your grill has definite hot spots.  So when you dry out your turkey or undercook that burger, it may not be your fault. 

There are a number of different digital thermometers and each have their advantages and disadvantages. I'll show you a few and then show you my favorite.

Thermometer Comparison

Laser Thermometer
A very high tech way to take the temperature of any surface.  Just point it at the surface you want to test, pull the trigger and you can get the temperature of that surface immediately.  Good:  Fast way to check the surface temperature without touching the meat, pan or liquid.  Bad:  You're testing the SURFACE of the item.  If you haven't been stirring the liquid, the surface can be colder than the liquid beneath.  And just because the surface of the meat is hot, the inside could still be chilly.  And they can be PRICEY!  You can find inexpensive models for around $25, but the good ones are around $90.  Best for: Checking the surface temp of a cooking surface or grill, or a liquid that has been stirred or is rolling, or a quick test of cooking candy.

Candy Thermometer

 A special thermometer that is submerged in a liquid to constantly test the temperature.  Good:  They are very accurate and are extremely useful for monitoring candy temps, since a few degree difference can change the texture of the sugar. Also good for measuring fry oil temperature.  Bad:  Only really works for these two purposes.  Best for:  Candy making and Frying





Meat and Barbecue Thermometers

These are your classic spring-based thermometers.  The thermometer is inserted into the meat and left there to monitor the internal temperature throughout the cooking process.  Good:  They can be good ways to monitor meat temperatures over a period of time, definitely better than a tender timer.  Bad:  They are not instant, and they only measure temperatures up to about 220 degrees.  They cannot be used for frying or candy making.  Best for:  Long term meat cooking.



Quick Read Digital Thermometer

A digital read thermometer that will read the temperature of any food quickly and accurately.  Just place the sensor in the meat, oil or liquid, give it a couple seconds and you have a fast and accurate temperature.  Good:  They're fast, just a couple of seconds for an accurate read.  Thanks to the electronics and the configuration, the temperatures are extremely accurate.  Most models are inexpensive, less than $20.  Finally, they can usually read temperatures up to 400+ degrees, which means you can use it for frying and candy making.  Bad:  Not much.  Some are not built to be clipped to the side of the pan to constantly test the temperature.  Some are not built to stay in the over over the long cooking time of a roast or turkey.  And each time you poke the meat and pull out the thermometer, you create an alleyway for all the meat juices to leak out, leaving it dry.   Good for: Almost everything.

And my personal favorite...

Digital Thermometer (with clip)

So why is this my favorite?  Well, it has the best features of many of the thermometers all in one economical package.  It can read temperatures almost instantly.  It usually will show temperatures up to 400+ degrees.  They are built to be stuck inside of a cut or meat, a roast, or a turkey throughout the cooking times, so no leaking juices.  The unit's display is large, easy to read, and the whole base is usually magnetic.  So it can stick to the side of the fridge or the front of the oven while it cooks.  It usually has a clip on the thermometer, so you can clip it to the side of a pan and constantly monitor the temperature of oil or candy without having to hold it in place. (Tip: Stir the oil occasionally, just to make sure the oil stays about the same temperature throughout) And best of all... it has an alert!  I'm inherently lazy and hate getting off the couch to check the temp of the bird every 10 minutes near the end of cooking.  So I just set the alert to go off when it hits my desired temperature and sit my lazy butt in front of a Mythbuster Marathon until the food is done. And the price is inexpensive, about $25. The one downfall is that there is a cord that can get in your way. But if you can stand the cable, and you only have enough cash to get one, this is your huckleberry.

Now if you have LOTS of money, buy as many different thermometers as you want.  You could even get this wonderful little number, which combines the laser and quick read thermometers into one.  It'll set you back over $100, but it's really cool.  But for us po' folk, I'd still go with the digital thermometer with the clip and alarm.

So spend $25 to prevent dry birds, scorched steaks and taffy accidentally turning into burned hard-tack candy.  Get yourself a high quality thermometer today!

Non "Taco Seasoning" Tacos... or how to lower your blood pressure.

As some of you know, I have low level high blood pressure.  It's partially geneitc, since a good deal of my mom's side of the family have some sort of the heart condition.  But it's probably because I like food too much and don't have a lot of willpower.  I take meds to keep it under control, but the doctor says to stay away from excess salt.  Too much of it and my heart gets the nice, tight, warm hug of excess water retention.  You'll notice in most of my recipes that I don't add excessive amounts of salt, and if I do call for salt, it's just enough to bring out the other flavors.  It's why I use garlic powder and not garlic salt, onion powder and not onion salt.  In most cases, it's extra salt that's just not necessary.

Now I'm not perfect.  There are times I just need something salty like pretzels or one of those giant kosher dill pickles.  But I try to counteract it by drinking a quart or two of water to flush out the salt.  And I'll do my best to avoid excess salt when I can. You really want to scare yourself, read a few of the labels of the instant noodle dinners in the asian aisle.  Almost an entire day's worth of salt in one small lunch portion.  Does it really need that much salt just to taste good?  And don't look at most of the pre-prepared items in the frozen food section.  Sodium as far as the eye can see.

Another group of perpetrators are the seasoning packets in the spices aisle at the store.  While the seasonings are perfectly porportions, take a look at the nutrition labels next time.  The basic taco seasoning in most stores has at least 450mg of salt in there, 1/4 of your recommended daily intake.  You're bound to find salt as the first, second or third  item on the list.  Some even throw sugar in there as well.  Now 450mg does sound like much for a taco, but add the salt in the cheese, the salsa, the tortilla, and any other condiments (olives, canned chiles or jalepeno, etc) and a single taco is way over half your salt intake for the entire day.  Oh, and that doesn't include the salt in the chips and salsa or the rice and beans you may serve as well.

I love tacos.  I could eat tacos all day.  But with the extra salt form the seasoning packets, I'd swell up to the point where people would tie strings to my arms and legs and enter me in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! So in an effort to still eat a lot of mexican food and not gain 2 pounds of water weight, I reversed engineered a few taco seasonings down to what I like.  Someone asked me if that was more expensive to make your own than to buy the packets.  If you're buying the big bottles of regular spices in the grocery stores, then yes, it may be in the short term.  But I've found that there are few groceries stores (Winco, Sunflower Market and others depending on where you live) that sell spices per pound.  For example, 4 ounces of chili powder in a bottle can be as much as $5.00.  If you buy it in bulk at Winco, it's 75 cents.  So buy your spices in bulk and use them to refill your old bottles.

This recipe works well with beef or chicken and should only dirty one pan in the process.   

Tacos

Serves 4

1 to 1 1/2 pounds ground beef or cubed chicken breast
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons dried onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce (Cholulu, Tapatia, or whatever you like)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup water

Brown the ground beef or completely cook all of the chicken in a large pan over medium to medium high heat.  In a small glass or container, add all of the spices to the water and stir until well blended.  Pour the
spice mixture over the meat and fild in until it has covered all the meet evenly.  Continue to cook, allowing the liquid to evaporate.  When the majority of the liquid is gone, remove the meat from the heat and serve immediately. Garnish with whatever you like; lettuce, cheese, onions, tomatoes, jalepenos, olives, taco sauce, salsa, and for the weird ones, ketchup (ewwww).

As I've stated in the other Mexican recipes, if you can get fresh tortillas from a Latin market, they'll taste great.  If not, go for the uncooked variety and cook them yourself.  It's worth the work. And add a side dish or two, like the Spanish Rice I have posted previously.

So try to create your own spice mixture and avoid the salt-ridden spice packets.  Your heart will thank you for it.

Quick Curry Chicken for people who don't like Curry

Everyone's palette is different.  Some people think that a filet mignon smothered in sauteed mushrooms is a godsend.  Others think an anchovy pizza is manna from Heaven  Some people love Indian food, some people don't.  The combinations of the Asian spices with the occasional heat is one of my favorite things.  I could eat Indian or Thai food every day.  But the taste can be very foreign, scary or intimidating.  Some people are downright scared to try it.

And when you're trying to convince someone to try, and possibly like, a new style of food, the last thing you want is a bad experience.  I took a few of my Seattle coworkers to the wonderful world of Indian food.  Everything tasted great, but the problem was the heat sensitivity of that day's cook.  I think he could have eaten a habenero pepper raw because the curry he served could have stripped paint off a ship's hull.  Needless to say, the coworkers decided that Indian was not for them and I didn't have any willing lunch partners for a while.

So now I use this recipe to introduce people to curry.  It's a little tamer than most, but it still has a large amount of flavor.  The only heat comes from the curry spice and the creaminess can make any level of natural heat tamer.  And it has enough liquid leftover that when you pour it over rice, it will soak into the grains... yum...  Now if you want to heat this up a bit, you can do it a couple different ways.  Basic red pepper flakes added with the other spices will add just heat.  If you want a better taste, add either sambal oolek or srirachi.  Sambal oolek is the chunkier crushed pepper paste that come in the clear containers with the green twist-on lids in the asian section of your grocery store. It's a combination of peppers, garlic, ginger, lime, and a little lemongrass.  I prefer this option myself.  Srirachi is that tall squeezable bottle of asian red hot sauce.  The most popular brand has a rooster on the front. It's mostly pureed peppers, garlic, and vinegar and I'll occasionally drizzle this over Teriyaki Chicken (recipe coming soon).  One other note, you really want to use a high quality chicken broth for the base.  I have used generic before and the flavor just flattens out.

If you're serving rice with this, get the rice to a boil and then start the Curry.  The 20 minutes it'll take the rice to cook will be just long enough to prepare the curry.  And everything cooks in one pan, so there's not many dishes to do.

Creamy Curry Chicken

Serves 4

14 oz chicken broth

8 ounces whipping cream

6 ounces plain greek style yogurt

2 1/2 tablespoons curry powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon tumeric

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups julienned carrots

1/2 onion, sliced into moon shapes
Any other veggie you would like, like red or green peppers, asparagus, small bits of potatoes, etc.

1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized chunks
Red pepper flakes, srirachi or sambal oolek to taste (if you want some heat)

In a large saute pan, combine the chicken broth, whipping cream, yogurt and spices and cook over medium high heat until almost boiling.  Add the sliced carrots, onions, and any other hearty veggies you want and cook for 6-7 minutes, allowing it to get to a light boil.  Add the chicken and any tender vegetables you want and cook for another 6-7 minutes.  Remove from heat and serve over rice.

What I like best is the smell left in the kitchen when everything is done.  That sweet spicy aroma will linger for a couple hours.  And when you're done, hopefully you have a few more converts to Indian food. 

Sunday Pot Roast stewing in it's own gravy.... Yuuuuuuuuummm

Sunday... Ahhhhhh

The day to sleep in.  The day to sit on the couch and watch football.  The day to do fun things with the kiddlings, like play on the swing set, go on a hike, have a picnic in the park... and usually a day that I try to spend at least an hour in the kitchen.  I'll experiment with a few recipes or just make a few snacks or lunches for the week.

Now Sunday's also the customary day to have a BIG meal.  It's the day my Mom always made a huge spread and we'd all eat until we were stuffed.  But she always had time to do a number of other things that day too.   I found out her secret, the crock pot.  By tossing everything in there the night before or early in the morning, the food would be ready whenever she was.  So we could have a big, satisfying pot roast and she could spend all of 30 minutes prepping it and the sides.

This recipe is similar to what she used, but is also influenced by some family members who own a ranch in Montana.  It's extremely easy.  When you're done, you'll have a roast that literally falls apart  and enough gravy to coat everything on the plate. Where possible, try to use low sodium items, because this can get a little salty.

Sunday Pot Roast

Serves 6 - Time to cook = 4 hours or overnight

2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
2 cans French Onion Soup
1 can Beef Broth or Beef Consumme
1 package dry onion soup mix
1 cup white wine
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 teaspoons thyme
3 to 4 pound beef roast, your choice of cut

Pour the soups/broths, onion soup mix, wine, garlic, and thyme into the crock pot and mix until blended together.  Gently place the roast into the crock pot.  If it isn't completely submerged, scoop a little of the sauce over the roast.  Place the lid on the crock pot.  There are two ways to cook the roast

4-6 hour method
Turn the crock pot to high.  If the roast is not completely submerged, two hours into the process, use a fork to flip the roast.  It will still cook completely if this step is not done, but the exposed area may not be as moist

Overnight Method
Turn the crock pot to low. If the roast is not completely submerged, when you wake up in the morning, use a fork to flip the roast.  It will still cook completely if this step is not done, but the exposed area may not be as moist.

The longer it cooks, the more tender the meat will be.  I try to use the overnight method whenever I can.  After you remove the roast from the crock pot, ladle all of the leftover juices into a container.  It's turned itself in a great gravy to pour over the meat or a side of potatoes.

Also, for those of you worried about the alcohol in the wine...  Alcohol vaporizes into steam at 178 degrees.  No matter which method you choose, the soups will reach at least the boiling point as you cook it, 212 degrees.  That means that all of the alcohol should cook out during the process, leaving you with the yummy taste in your gravy.  You can use cooking wine if you want, but I prefer to use the real stuff.  A Reisling from Chateau Ste. Michele or Chateau Ste. Chapelle are my choices and after you add the required amounts, you should still have a few glasses worth in the bottle to consume after you prepare the roast.

So use this recipe to have a nice Sunday dinner, but still have most of your Sunday free to enjoy yourself and your family.