In keeping with the true spirit of the harvest look what I received from one of our members:

Robert and Lynn in Alabama write:
“We had about five dozen Satsumas on one little tree. The other tree didn’t make any this year…guess it is too small. We canned four pints of fruit sections, and we still had plenty to eat.”

Check this out: Just found another great video using the pressure cooker. This one is from Gourmet Magazine. They make a lamb shank Tuscan style with white beans and vegetables in a tomato broth. I get hungry just thinking about it!

Because we are all so busy I am going to try the Chicken Stew and maybe if I have time the cheesecake. Below are the recipes Fagor suggests. I did not include the one for the lobster risotto. Let me know if you are interested and I will put it in another blog. This video shows you how to make the Chicken Stew and Lobster Risotto -

Would love to know how yours turns out!

Chicken Stew
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Whole Chicken cut into pieces
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 Onion, diced
1 Carrot, diced
1 large or 2 medium potatoes, cut into 1” cubes
1 clove garlic, minced
1 handful of peanuts
1 cup low sodium chicken broth

Directions
1. 1. Heat olive oil in the pressure cooker over high heat. Sprinkle salt and pepper over both sides of chicken pieces.
2. Add chicken to pressure cooker and sauté on both sides, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add onion, carrot, potatoes, garlic and peanuts. Cook and stir about 3 minutes. Add Chicken broth.
3. Close lid, bring to high pressure, then lower heat and cook for 25 minutes. Remove from heat and release the pressure with the cold-water release method.
4. Serve in large soup or pasta bowls.

Cheesecake
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons flour
Cookie crumbs
6 tablespoons sour cream
2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
1. Butter a pressure cooker baking dish. Sprinkle with cookie crumbs and set aside.
2. In a food processor, blend the cream cheese, sugar, cream, vanilla, lemon zest, flour, and sour cream. Beat in the eggs and egg yolks, pour into baking dish and cover with aluminum foil.
3. Pour 2 cups of water into the Pressure Cooker. Place the cheesecake in the Cooker Basket and lower into Cooker on top of a trivet. Close lid, bring to high pressure and cook for 30 minutes. Let the pressure drop naturally, remove the lid and take out the cheese cake. Loosen the foil, cool, then chill, preferably overnight. Spread fruit preserves in a thin layer over the cheesecake and serve.

It’s freezing outside and rainy and cold and I’m in Dallas!  “Tis the season” no one has time for anything, but we all need nutritious meals to keep up our energy and avoid getting the flu. Just learning how to cook I took a poll around the office to see what we were all craving. Chicken Stew was high on the list and everyone agreed the Fagor Pressure Cooker was our must have this week. It can cut your cooking time up to 70% and you can do everything in one pot!!!

I have been afraid of Pressure Cookers since way back when I saw an I Love Lucy episode, but after watching this short video and reading an article from Cook’s Illustrated I’m going to pick one up today!
 
Our buyers recommend the Fagor 6-qt. Duo Pressure Cooker.  Look what Cook’s Illustrated wrote about it:
Our recommended model was the Fagor Duo, which had all of the qualities we were looking for–except for a clear indicator that high pressure has been reached. [This article is from a few years ago and Fagor has now put a button on the cooker that tells you when high pressure has been reached.]
However, this cooker’s quick-release valve is larger than the Magefesa’s, and the steam is more carefully directed away from the cook. We also liked the Fagor Duo’s wide base (wider than that of most other pots), which allows for easier browning and sautéing.
Pressure Cookers: While none of the models we tested met all of our specifications, we felt we could recommend the Fagor Duo without reservations.

Don’t forget to check out our blog tomorrow for the “Meal of the week.” What do you think about Chicken Stew, Dinner Rolls and Cheesecake for dessert?

Find a place to buy this Fagor Pressure Cooker.

Knowledge is Great Food!! TD

I just watched a video on the most amazing food processor from Cuisinart. Its almost as good as an iPod! It has 2 features that are such an improvement over any other processor you will want to get rid of your old ones and get this one. First it has (3) different bowl sizes. You can do anything from mashed potatoes to pie crust in the large bowl to celery or carrots in the medium bowl to herbs and basil pesto in the small one, and the top has a rubber seal. There is no need to ever worry about overflow. The second is the blades lock into place! Now when you’re pouring you don’t have to take the blade off, dripping sauce all over you and the countertop, and it won’t fall into the bowl. Watch the video at the link below to see it in action.

With all these improvements, it will definitely win a permanent spot on your kitchen countertop, and you will be able to eliminate a few of your old small appliances. What a great holiday gift or bridal registry item for the person that has everything or nothing in the kitchen! Click on this link to find one at your local kitchen wares store.

Check out the video here.

I have two Myers Lemon trees on my balcony in Uptown Dallas. Yesterday I had my second harvest. Last year I only had two lemons, but this year I had six (I ate one before I took the picture)! Click Here to find a place to buy the beautiful bowl. It’s the 12” Bermuda Bowl by Pacific Merchants. Happy Harvesting. Be green and don’t forget to compost!

It’s gonna make you hungry — here you go, visual learners:

It happens. Sometimes you can’t cook something fancy … or, well, you really would rather not cook at all. On those nights, “cooking” really ends up meaning “arguing over which menu to order from.”

Tonight could be one of those nights. It’s almost Thanksgiving, and it’s the time of year when big changes happen for a lot of businesses and individuals. Moving, beginning the end-of-the-year wind-up… it’s time for all those last minute, “I’ll do it do tomorrow” things to start piling up at work and at home.

Dinner can seem like one more chore after an especially busy day of work.

Of course, it can also seem like a pleasant, relaxing oasis of creativity after a long day of doing things someone else’s way. On most nights, we want to encourage you to think like that.

But it doesn’t always work out that way. So let’s say tonight is one of those nights. How should we handle it? Do we just get out the takeout menu? Do we buy a bucket of pre-fried chicken-product on the way home?

No way.

Tonight, at our house, we are having roast beef sandwiches. We cheated on the roast beef and bought it at the store, but this is better than that bucket ‘o’ chicken we mentioned for a couple of reasons. First off, anything roasted is almost always a better option than anything fried. Second, getting something prepared from the grocery store that is sealed and then incorporating it into a meal is  lot safer bet than getting something pre-prepared that’s been sitting, unsealed, under a heat lamp since before dawn.

On one of those future days when you’re feeling creative, you can prepare your own roast beef and freeze it for just such a meal. You know, just if you feel like it… When that day comes, (and it will, my friend, it will) be sure to let your roast rest, just like you would if you were serving it for dinner right away. When it’s ready to slice, go ahead and cut it into to pieces with sandwiches in mind. Ask yourself if you like the kind of roast beef sandwiches that have big slices or small, soft chunks, and slice accordingly. Put the slices into large freezer bags, and add in some juices — you’ll want them when you heat the roast up at a later date.

The plan is just to gently heat the roast beef, then add to some nice soft buns and, ta-da!, sandwiches. That you kind of made yourself. If you prefer the roast beef sandwiches with soft, gravy-soaked chucks, heat your roast in a small sauce pan with some brown gravy. If you prefer the kind of roast beef sandwiches that feature thin slices with a barbecue or juice-based sauce, you can place the slices in pan with a spoonful or two of water and reheat in the oven until they are the desired temperature.

To go with our roast beef sandwiches, we are doing oven baked french fries. Here, again, there are two ways to go. You can get the frozen fries at the store when you pick up your roast beef. Again, this is a much better option than fast food fries, because your  fries are really going to be “bakes.” And, not to beat up on the heat-lamp thing… but it’s a risk you take when you go the fast-food route.

For the “not quite cheating option,” you can pick up some nice, long potatoes instead. Peel them, slice them into beautiful, thick (but not too thick) “fries,” and then place them on an ungreased cookie sheet or shallow baking pan. Sprinkle them lightly but evenly with salt and pepper, then bake on 450 for about 30 or 40 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crispy on the edges. For extra flavor, try sprinkling them with seasoned salt or lemon pepper instead.

When cooking pasta, remember to salt your water, but only add the salt after the water has come to a boil. 

Adding salt to the water your pasta is cooking in allows the pasta to absorb some of the salt as it plumps, so that it’s not bland when it’s done. This seasons your pasta from the inside out, in a way that can’t really be accomplished after it’s finished cooking. A good rule of thumb is to add 1 to 2 tablespoons of salt to a large pot of rapidly boiling water.

Salt, however, does not keep pasta from sticking together. For that, give your pasta a stir or two in the first few minutes after you’ve gently placed it in the pot of already boiling water. (Some people advocate adding in a spoonful of olive oil for this purpose, while others say doing that also makes it harder for the sauce to stick to your pasta. We think this is personal preference.)

Salt also won’t keep your pot from boiling over (a common rumor). Though salt does raise the boiling point of water, allowing it get hotter before it boils, it will still get back to a rolling boil fairly quickly. (This is one reason why you want to let your water get to a boil before adding your salt.) Once your pasta is in the pot, turn the stove down to medium or medium high, keeping the water at a boil, but not boiling it over.

A note on knowing when pasta is done: A lot of people think al dente, because it means “to the tooth” means pasta that’s cooked “authentically” should be very firm. This is not the case. It means pasta should still be somewhat firm, not fall apart like mush. It should be pliable but just firm enough to need to be chewed.

A good rule of thumb for knowing when pasta is done: Cut a piece in half and look at the cross section. If the center of the pasta is a different color than the outside, it’s not done yet. If the pasta is one color and texture all the way through, it’s done.

We talked yesterday about polenta and its special preparation needs.

If you are a visual learner and want to see polenta done right, check this out:

Or if you want some hands-on learning, take a look at these cooking classes — they all offer a learning experience involving polenta :

Cooks, Pots & Tabletops – Eugene, OR
In Good Taste — Portland, OR
In Good Taste — Lake Oswego, OR
Kitchen Window — Minneapolis, MN