6 qt. Bain Marie Perfect for Brining

I always prefer to brine pork or poultry before cooking. The brining process not only breaks down proteins and tenderizes the meat, but also adds moisture (through osmosis), making the meat “juicier” and also less likely to dry out when cooking.

I usually try to brine the meat as soon as I get it home from the supermarket. After brining, I wrap the parts in plastic wrap and freeze what I’m not going to use immediately. When I’m ready to use it in a recipe,  I simply defrost it, and since it’s pre-brined, it’s ready to go. Follow the jump for exactly how to do it.

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Ready for the Oven

Nothing better then homemade pizza and this crust is simple and delicious. If you need sourdough starter, check out my bread post from last week. I prefer thin crust pizzas (being from the New York area…where we make REAL pizza), but if you prefer a thicker crust, it’s all here in the printable recipe. This is one of those recipes that appears to be a little vague at first, but once you try it and get the feel for how the dough should come together, it’s simple and quick to replicate whenever you get the urge…which for me, seems to happen about 3-4 times a week lately. And since the recipe makes 3 crusts which freeze incredibly well,  you actually don’t have it make it that often. Just take one out of the freezer, and in about 3 hours, it’s ready to roll. The crust is also vary versatile and can be used in dozens of different ways. Just the other day, I topped one with just caramelized onions, crumbled goat cheese and drizzled some olive oil on it and it was amazing. It also makes a great calzone!

Please click here for the printable recipe.

Just wanted to post a shot of the pizza I made tonight…it tasted as good as it looks. This was, of course, made from scratch and I’ll  get around to posting the recipe and technique soon. One of the most important tricks to making a great pizza is using a pizza stone…you just can’t bake a great crust without it. A pizza stone has a greater thermal mass then either a glass or metal pan and therefore holds and distributes heat better. It’s also porous, so it absorbs moisture from the dough as it cooks, all of which contributes to an amazing, crisp, uniformly browned crust.

Pizza stones are available just about everywhere, and come in a variety of sizes and shapes (and prices). They should be put in a cold oven, then preheated for at least 30 minutes before using. Because they are porous and absorb liquid, the stone should never be washed with soap…just a dry brush or some plain, warm water if needed. They are also ideal for baking bread.

I have been experimenting lately with recipes for a simple no-knead whole wheat bread and I think I’ve come up with a one that seems to be pretty foolproof and gives consistently great results. Some sourdough purists might object to the use of instant rise yeast in addition to the sourdough starter, but I think for the novice sourdough baker, it insures that you’ll  get a good initial rise and excellent oven spring with an amazing sourdough taste. I’m currently using Carl Griffith’s sourdough starter, a strain of starter that is over 160 years old that can be obtained for a FREE at this address. This recipe is adapted from one on the amazingly informative Breadtopia website and solves the common problem of a too “wet” no-knead dough.  I recommend watching this excellent video at Breadtopia.com before making this bread…it  does a great job of demonstrating the techniques needed to make an incredible no-knead bread. Please click the links below for my recipe.

Click here for a printable text only version of the recipe.

Click here for the recipe with photos.

This Danish dough whisk is an indispensable tool for mixing dough by hand prior to kneading. It’s long, thick wooden handle provides a great ergonomic grip, which gives you the leverage you knead for easily blending a stiff bread dough. Because of it’s funky shape, it’s much more practical and efficient then a wooden spoon for mixing heavy sticky doughs, and as an added benefit, it’s way easier to clean!

This is one of the kitchen tools that I can’t live without…the OXO Good Grips Food Scale. It has large, backlit, easy to read numbers and, with one click,  switches from metric to U.S. (avoirdupois) weight. When you press the zero button (tare weight) to set the scale back to zero, you can continue to add ingredients and then zero it out again, so all your mixing and measuring can be done in one bowl. One of the best features is that the display can be separated from the base (it’s attached by a long wire) so even if you weighing a huge bowl or plate, you can still easily see the readout. If you bake, you know how important weights and proportions are to achieve a great result…this is the  real deal!

The bananas on the trees are ripening quickly and we are awash in a plethora of fruit, so we’re scrambling to come up with great banana recipes. Ripened bananas in their skin, wrapped in saran wrap, will keep in the freezer for up to six months for use in breads, cakes and smoothies, but it’s more fun to try and keep up with the rapidly ripening crop (it’s a race we can’t possibly win). Tonight, not only did we dehydrate them for banana chips, but also made this killer Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, a simple recipe that yields a moist, tasty, chocolatey loaf.  You can also add a little cinnamon, rum or vanilla if you like, but there really isn’t any reason to since it is delicious (and addictive…we can’t stop eating it) as is.

Please click here for the printable recipe.

Now that I showed you the best tool to sharpen your knives, let me tell you about a really great knife that has the added benefit of being very inexpensive. I love my Henkel and Wüstof knives, but for real value and exceptional quality, I recommend the Victoronix Fibrox 8″ Chef’s Knife. It has a stamped, high-carbon stainless steel blade and, although it doesn’t have quite the weight of a forged blade, it feels good in your hand, has nice balance and excellent edge retention. You can’t go wrong with this knife…it’s really a pleasure to use.

One of the great ways to force yourself out of the rut of always cooking the same thing is to let your shopping dictate your menus. This technique accomplishes two things…it not only expands your horizons food-wise and adds variety to your meals, it also saves you a lot of money…a win-win situation.

Here’s the way this works…it’s simple. First, you get your weekly flyer from the local supermarket and see what’s on sale. It doesn’t matter that you never cooked a picnic pork shoulder (or even heard of one)…if it’s 49 cents a pound, you’re buying it. The next thing you do is get on the internet (I know you know how to do that…you’re here, aren’t you?) and search for recipes for whatever is on sale that week. You’ll be amazed to find that no matter what you buy there are about a zillion recipes for it, at least one of which I guarantee you’ll want to try. After awhile, you’ll start start seeing which sites and blogs have great recipes that suit your tastes…bookmark them and make them your go-to sites. Remember that pork shoulder you bought for 49 cents a pound…well, here you go…see, it really works!

One of the great joys of cooking is experimenting and trying something new…give it a shot. The worst thing that could happen is you’ll save a little money and add some much needed diversity to your dining.

I love my knives and, as incongruous as it might sound, a sharp knife is a safe knife. When a knife is dull, more pressure  is needed when using it and that increases the chance that the knife will slip and do some damage…a sharp knife is not only much easier to control, but it really adds to the joy of food preparation.

Sharpening a knife using a sharpening stone is best left to professionals. It’s a great skill to learn, but it takes a lot of practice as it’s tough to get the proper angles. The Accusharp Knife and Tool Sharpener is an inexpensive, safe and easy to use tool that makes knife sharpening a pleasure. It has diamond honed Tungsten Carbide sharpening blades set at the proper angle so you can’t make a mistake, and in about 10 seconds, you have a nice, sharp edge.

The are a lot of myths and facts about knife sharpening, but if you use the right knife for the job and you keep it sharp, you’ll find food prep to be a pleasure.

No need to go crazy buying knifes. I recommend starting out with a good quality 8″ chef’s knife (the workhorse!), a 3″ paring knife, a 5 1/2″ boning knife, 5″ Tomato/Utility Knife, an 8″-10″ serrated bread knife and a honing (sharpening) steel. Just make sure you store them properly (I love my magnetic knife holder) and you should be ready to tackle any kitchen cutting job with ease.