If you haven’t signed up to join ChefSteps.com, I highly recommend it. They also have a great YouTube channel. ChefSteps provides an array of recipes ranging from easy to advanced, and when they say advanced, the complexity is up there with Iron Chef gods.
This chicken noodle soup recipe blew my mind. At first glance, it doesn’t look like anything special. However, the chicken IS the noodles, making this instructional video far from mundane.
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.
Recipe after the jump for chicken thighs.
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.
Recipe and how to shuck video after the jump. I hope I’ve demystified making oysters at home for some 🙂
While passing through Gilroy on my move to San Francisco, I stopped by a produce stand and bought a bulb of elephant garlic. My only regret was not buying more. Elephant garlic is actually a variant of the leek species. It’s more mild than regular garlic, thus preferred when used raw. I love the convenience in size. I usually only need 1 clove when cooking. I do a rough chop by knife then I finish dicing in a food processor.
Elephant garlic can be bought online. The cheapest option is to purchase seeds or bulbs for planting. Here is one store in Gilroy that ships harvested elephant garlic – http://store.garlicdude.com.
Macheesmo.com posted this method for fail-proof, perfect soft-boiled eggs. This is truly a game changer. No more overcooked or undercooked eggs, ever. The instructions involve boiling eggs in 1/2 inch of water, covered for 6 minutes and 30 seconds. America’s Test Kitchen also validated this method after experimenting with thousands of eggs.
Here is the result of my replication:
Adding a teaspoon of baking soda to the boiling water is supposed to help with separating the egg-shell when peeling.
Culinary Cadet 