Perfectly Poached Salmon

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Admittedly, I’ve struggled with cooking salmon for years now. Coooking salmon seems like such a basic skill.  A little too much heat and salmon can get very dry, still edible but a far cry from that perfectly moist, tender, and cooked result you expected. Justin Chapple at Food & Wine’s Mad Genius kitchen solves our salmon woes.

The answer to perfectly poached salmon after the jump!

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How to Peel a Kiwi

Kiwis have amazing health benefits and yet they’re difficult to incorporate into your normal eating habits, probably because the peel is so tricky to remove.  You just end up with a lot of kiwi fur on your knife and no one wants that!  Food & Wine has a great trick for peeling kiwi to avoid catching the fur while saving as much of the fruit as possible.

See the video after the jump!

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Bella Bruschetta

Broo-sket-tah, Italian for fabulous appetizer, is my go to dish for dinner parties and potlucks.  It requires minimal effort and you can bring something dazzling, flavorful, and healthy to the table.  A small batch of bruschetta goes a long way.  I made a small dish and it served 5, easily.

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Consuming tomatoes provides an array of benefits to your health, including reducing bad cholesterol, improving skin, making stronger bones, fighting cancer, regulating blood sugar, making hair shinier and stronger, and preventing kidney stones and gallstones.  To avoid using white bread, I served bruschetta with whole grain wheat toast for a healthier take on the traditional recipe.

In terms of taste, they say the uglier the tomato, the tastier it is.  Here, I used 10 ounces of mini heirloom tomatoes from Trader Joe’s.

Recipe after the jump!

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All You Need for Peanut Sauce: Peanut Butter, Hoisin Sauce, and Water

Most recipes for peanut sauce for satay or dipping sauce for spring rolls call for a handful of ingredients.  The big secret is that you only need 3 ingredients!

Chunky Peanut Butter + Hoisin Sauce + Water, that’s it!  More specifically, you need 3 parts peanut butter to 1 part hoisin sauce.  Add water to yield desired consistency.  Microwave for 15 seconds to help the sauce mix.  Mix slowly with a spoon or whisk.  Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time, mix, then add more water if the sauce is still too thick.  Garnish with fresh chopped peanuts.

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Recipe after the jump for chicken thighs.

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Oysters Magic Sauce

Oysters don’t have to be reserved for a special occasion or only enjoyed in a fine restaurant.  They’re quite easy to prepare at home whether served raw or cooked.  I’d also like to share with you a delectable, magical, fantastical sauce made from Hog Island’s hogwash recipe and my own little sumthin sumtthin on top.  This preparation is absolutely the best way I’ve had oysters.
IMG_1236Recipe and how to shuck video after the jump.  I hope I’ve demystified making oysters at home for some 🙂

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5 Ways to Extend The Shelf Life of Herbs

We all know that buying fresh herbs can get expensive and they tend to spoil fairly quickly.  Whomp whomp.  Here are 4 ways to extend the shelf life of your herbs.

1. Turn Fresh Herbs to Dry Herbs by Microwaving

Food & Wine’s Mad Genius video series on YouTube demos how to dry herbs by microwave. Genius indeed!

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