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Cooking Tips

Here are some baking substitutions when you're making great dessert recipes you might find helpful: 1 cup Cake Flour : Put 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into a 1 cup measuring cup and fill it the rest of the way with All-Purpose Flour. Blend. Presto! You have cake flour. 1 cup Self-Rising Flour 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. 1/2 teaspoon Cream of Tartar : 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice. 1 cup Buttermilk : Add a tablespoon of white vinegar (or lemon juice)to a cup of milk and let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes. 1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk : 1 cup nonfat dry milk, 2/3 cup granulated white sugar, 1/2 cup boiling water, 3 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter (mix in a blender or food processor until smooth). Sour Cream : just use plain yogurt. 1 teaspoon Lemon zest : use orange or lime zest or substitute 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract. 1 cup Honey : 3/4 cup maple syrup plus 1/2 cup granulated white sugar or 3/4 cup light or dark corn syrup plus 1/2 cup granulated white sugar or 3/4 cup light molasses plus 1/2 cup granulated white sugar. 1 ounce Unsweetened Chocolate : 3 tablespoons cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon butter, vegetable oil or shortening 1 ounce Milk Chocolate : 1 ounce bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate and 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar. 1 teaspoon Baking Powder : 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar and 1/4 teaspoon corn starch. 1 tablespoon cornstarch : 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour. 1 cup Powdered Sugar 1 cup granulated sugar plus 1/8 teaspoon cornstarch processed in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. 1 cup Shortening : 1 cup butter or margarine for regular or butter-flavored shortening. *DO NOT use vegetable oil for shortening when recipe calls for melted shortening. 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger : 1 teaspoon ground allspice. 1 teaspoon Ground Allspice : 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg. 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice : 1/2 teaspoon of white vinegar.

Fried Apples

5:07 PM Reporter: EMMANUEL JOSEPH 0 Responses

Ingredients
3 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced thick
1/2 (1 stick) cup of butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup of brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 to 1/2 cup of hot water

Here's what you need to do:

Melt the butter in a large heavy bottom skillet.

Stir in the salt and brown sugar. Cook while continuing to stir for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the apples. You can use pretty much any kind of apple you want except maybe a soft apple like a MacIntosh. MacIntosh would probably become mushy. My personal favorites for this recipe are honeycrisp, gala and golden or red delicious.

Continue cooking over medium heat until the apples give up their juice and then the juice thickens and the apples become tender. Depending upon the type of apple you use, this could take a little while.

Add the cinnamon, nutmeg and enough water to make it the desired consistency. I like mine the consistency of pure maple syrup. Not too thick and not too thin. Stir and continue cooking another 3 to 4 minutes. If for some reason you get it too thin, you can always make a little slurry of 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 1 Tablespoon of cold water and add it to your apples to thicken it back up a little.

I think you're gonna love this fried apples recipe!

Chicken and mashed potato casserole

5:03 PM Reporter: EMMANUEL JOSEPH 0 Responses

This easy chicken and mashed potato casserole will not only use up those leftover potatoes but will leave you whole family wanting more.

Here's what you are going to need:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons of poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon of dried sage
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1 pound of frozen California Blend Vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower and carrots)
4 cups of leftover mashed potatoes
Paprika for sprinkling on top of the casserole

Here's what you need to do:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large skillet, mix together the 2 cans of soup, sour cream and poultry seasoning. Bring to a simmer over medium low heat.

Cut the chicken breasts into bite sized cubes.

Stir in the chicken and onions.

Add the frozen vegetables and mix well. Bring back up to a simmer. Cover and simmer on low 15 minutes.

Pour into a 2-quart casserole dish.

Spoon the mashed potatoes on top of the gravy mixture in several mounds around the dish.

Carefully spread the potatoes over the entire top of the casserole all the way to the edges.

Sprinkle with paprika.

Bake at 375 F for an hour. If the potatoes are not browned enough, place the dish under the broiler for a few minutes to brown.

Green Beans casserole

5:01 PM Reporter: EMMANUEL JOSEPH 0 Responses

You know what they say....a picture is worth a thousand words! If you don't like cream of mushroom soup or you just want something a little different, try using cream of chicken soup!

green bean casserole recipe

Ingredients:

2 (14.5 ounce) cans of cut green beans, drained
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can of condensed cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup of milk
1/8 teaspoon of pepper
1 1/3 cups of French Fried Onions

Here's what you need to do:

Preheat oven to 350 F

In a bowl combine the cream of mushroom soup with the milk, pepper, and 2/3 cup of french fried onions. Stir in the drained green beans.

Pour into a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Sprinkle with the remaining french fried onions and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Southern style Fried Chicken

4:58 PM Reporter: EMMANUEL JOSEPH 0 Responses

Here's what you'll need:

1 Whole Fryer, cut-up (I like to cut each chicken breast in half so that they will cook all the way through without burning.

For the brine:
2 cups of buttermilk
2 Tablespoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For dipping the chicken:

2 eggs
1/4 cup Texas Pete Hot Sauce (this will not add heat to the chicken, only flavor, the heat will cook out)

For coating the chicken

2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground thyme
1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 gallon size Ziploc freezer bag
Peanut Oil for frying

Here's what you need to do:

Combine the buttermilk, 2 Tablespoons salt and the pepper.

Place the chicken parts in a glass baking dish.

Pour the buttermilk mixture over the chicken. Turn to make sure that each piece of chicken is thoroughly coated.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours but preferably overnight.

After the chicken has finished marinating, pour the chicken and buttermilk brine into a colander to drain off the buttermilk. Allow to sit for about 15-20 minutes to drain and warm up a bit.

In a large (gallon size) plastic Ziploc bag, combine all of the coating ingredients (flour, salt, accent, pepper, cayenne pepper, sage, paprika, coriander, thyme and garlic powder).

Mix well.

In a shallow dish, mix together the eggs and the hot sauce, set aside.

Drop the chicken pieces, one or two pieces at a time, directly into the flour mixture (don't put it in the egg mixture just yet, that will come in a minute). Shake off excess and place on a baking sheet or plate until all pieces have been coated with flour.

Next, dip each piece of flour coated chicken into the egg mixture.

Return to the flour mixture and shake ( no more than 2-3 pieces at a time) to coat well. Allow to sit on a plate or shallow baking dish for about 15 minutes so that the "crust" will stick to the chicken.

Heat peanut oil to 350 F.

* If using an electric deep fryer, follow the manufacturers' directions.

* If using a dutch oven, fill with 6 to 12 cups but no more than 2/3 full of peanut oil.

* If pan-frying, you'll need a heavy bottom skillet (I recommend cast iron) with about an inch of oil.

Slowly drop the chicken in the HOT oil starting with the dark meat first. Don't get in a big hurry putting in the chicken because you don't want to lower the temperature of the oil too quickly as this will cause your chicken to soak up the oil and be greasy (not a good thing). The temperature of the oil is going to drop to about 300° or so once you put your chicken in. This is the temperature that you want to try to maintain while the chicken cooks.

Fry 3 to 4 pieces of the chicken at a time for 12 to 15 minutes, or until each one is golden brown. Be sure to turn the chicken halfway through the cooking time so that each piece cooks evenly.

Remove the chicken to a rack, paper towels or brown paper bags to drain for about 5 minutes. Put the finished chicken onto a shallow baking sheet and put in a preheated 225°F oven to keep warm while the other pieces are frying.

The cooking times will vary but as a general rule:
(These times are for bone in chicken. Boneless will take only about half the time depending upon the thickness.)

*13-14 minutes for dark meat
*10-12 minutes for white meat

Deviled Eggs

4:55 PM Reporter: EMMANUEL JOSEPH 0 Responses

No holiday, picnic or party at my house would be complete without deviled eggs. My family just expects them to be on the table for every holiday and every picnic. Just like anything else with mayonnaise in it though, you need to make sure that you keep them cold.

Here's what you are going to need:

7 large eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Spicy Brown Mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
paprika

Here's what you need to do:

Put eggs in a pot with enough cold water to completely cover the eggs. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, cover and let stand in hot water for 20 minutes. Drain the eggs, shake them around in the pot to crack them and then cover the eggs with ice water and let them sit for a few more minutes. This will shrink the eggs away from the shell and make them easier to peel.

Cut 6 of the eggs in half lengthwise. Remove the yolks and put them into a mixing bowl along with the other whole egg. Mash with a fork, add the mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper.

Fill egg whites with yolk mixture. (I like to cut the corner out of a baggie and place a cake decorating tip into the whole, fill the baggie with the egg mixture and fill the egg whites). Sprinkle with paprika.

I hope you enjoy this deviled egg recipe!

Buttermilk Biscuits

4:52 PM Reporter: EMMANUEL JOSEPH 0 Responses

Learning how to make great biscuits isn't hard, just follow the recipe! Now, if you don't have or can't find self-rising flour, you can use All-purpose flour but you will need to add 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1 tsp. salt to 2 cups of all-purpose flour. I recommend you use self-rising flour if you can though for best results.

Here's what you'll need:

2 cups self-rising flour (the key to great biscuits is the flour. If at all possible, chose a soft winter wheat flour like White Lily or Martha White)
1/4 cup All-Vegetable Shortening or Lard
1 cup buttermilk, or you can use whole milk
flour for kneading
melted butter for brushing on top of the biscuits

Here's what you need to do:

**In the pictures below, I doubled the recipe**

Gather together everything you will need. Preheat your oven to 500° F.

Combine the self-rising flour and shortening.

Cut the shortening into the Self-Rising Flour with a pastry blender or fork or your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Add the buttermilk.

Mix dough with a fork just until incorporated. Do not mix it any more than necessary. The dough will be sticky.

Turn dough out onto a heavily floured surface.

Knead by gently by folding the dough over onto itself 6 to 8 times.

Press or roll with a rolling pin into a circle that's 1 inch thick.

Cut out the biscuits using a 2 or 3-inch cutter (I have a special glass that I like to use).

Be sure to push straight down through the dough. Do not twist the cutter until the dough has been cut all the way through. Twisting the cutter will cause the biscuits not to rise straight up.

Re-form scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting out biscuits until all of the dough has been used.

Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just barely touch.

Using your index and middle finger, make a slight indentation into the center of each biscuit.

Bake in the preheated 500° F oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Brush with melted butter and ENJOY!

**For something a little extra special, try mixing a little honey in with the melted butter before brushing on the biscuits!

If you like cheddar cheese biscuits, try adding 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, 1 Tablespoon of fresh chives and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder to the flour mixture just before adding the buttermilk and continue following the directions above.

Cinnamon Rolls

4:49 PM Reporter: EMMANUEL JOSEPH 0 Responses

These cinnamon rolls make take a little effort but once you taste them, you won't regret the time that it took to make them! They make a great gift.

Here’s what you’re going to need:

For the dough:

1 cup of warm milk (110 degree F)
2 eggs
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup of sugar
4 1/2 cups of bread flour
2 1/2 teaspoons of bread machine yeast, or 1 package of rapid rise yeast

For the filling:

1 cup of brown sugar
2 ½ tablespoons of cinnamon
1/2 cup of butter, softened

For the icing:

1 (3-ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup of butter
1 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Here’s what you need to do:

Load dough ingredients into the bread machine.

If you are using a bread machine, follow the manufacturers directions for the order to add the dough ingredients. Turn the machine on the dough cycle.

If you are not using a machine, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk mixed with the sugar in a large bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes until the mixture becomes foamy. Add the margarine, salt, and eggs. Add the flour and mix well. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 5 to 10 minutes. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let the dough rest for about 10 minutes.

While the dough is rising, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

Roll the dough out into a rectangle measuring about 16 x 21 inches.

Spread with the 1/2 cup of softened butter.

Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Beginning on the short end...

Roll the dough up into a log trying to keep it fairly tight.

Cut into 12 rolls.

Place in a 9 x 12 glass baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.

Cover and allow to rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.

In a small bowl, mix together the softened cream cheese, softened butter and vanilla. Add the confectioner’s sugar. Mix well. Pour over the hot rolls when the come out of the oven.

You can make these the night before and then let the dough sit on the counter for an hour before baking. The unbaked rolls also freeze well.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Fried Apples

Ingredients
3 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced thick
1/2 (1 stick) cup of butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup of brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 to 1/2 cup of hot water

Here's what you need to do:

Melt the butter in a large heavy bottom skillet.

I think you're gonna love this fried apples recipe!