Wednesday, 9. September 2009
Corn chowder versus clam chowder…which do you prefer? When I think of chowder, I automatically think of corn chowder, not clam chowder. Am I alone in thinking of corn chowder instead of clam chowder? Am I the only one that likes corn chowder more than clam chowder? There is something about the taste of corn and cream that I absolutely love. I really love the subtle sweet taste of corn and when you add it to a creamy soup, it’s absolutely delicious. If you disagree with me, try this corn chowder recipe out.
Ingredients: 6 Red Potatoes, Peeled and Cubed, 2 (11 oz) Corn – Whole Kernel (Canned), 1/2 Cup Bell Pepper – Green, Chopped, 1/2 Cup Onions, Chopped, 1 Tablespoon Seasoning – Red Pepper Flakes, To Taste Seasoning – Salt, 2 Cups Vegetable Broth, 1 (12 oz) Package Tofu. Yes, tofu!
Directions:
1. Place the red potatoes in a large pot of salted boiling water. Cook until the red potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes; drain.
2. Add corn to the potatoes, bell pepper, onion, red pepper flakes and vegetable broth. Boil for about 15 minutes and remove from heat.
3. In a food processor puree all but 1 1/2 cups of the vegetable and broth mixture with the tofu. Next, combine the pureed mixture with the remaining 1 1/2 cups vegetable and broth mixture, and cook over low heat for 5 minutes; do not boil. Season with salt, to taste.
This recipe is so simple and once they taste it, they’ll be begging you to make it again. Just be sure not to tell them how easy it is.
Here is my number 1 tip for making chowders: Always start out with a slice or two of salt-pork. Render it in the soup pot by adding a little water and then browning slowly. When you add your onion and celery with some stock it will deglaze and add tremendous flavor. Keep it in the pot throughout the cooking and remove before serving. It is a MUST, and keeping your remaining salt pork in the freezer will put it at your fingertips throughout the soup season.
Try this awesome corn chowder recipe and eat it with this great chicken marsala recipe.
Posted in Cooking by Mike Smith -
Tuesday, 8. September 2009
When you go to Japan, you look forward to the delicious ways they make fish and seafood. From fresh fish to grilled fish, you really enjoy all these types of dishes. It’s exotic and nothing like what you will find back in the United States. Slowly, however, American food is creeping into Japanese cuisine. From, hamburgers to pizza, you will find American food all over Japan.
Strange, because when you think of Japanese food you automatically think of sushi and fish, but who knew the Japanese could make delicious fried chicken legs. It’s true…and it’s really simple. Everybody loves fried chicken, but hardly anybody makes it at home. I’m not exactly sure why this is. It’s very simple to do and if you have a huge family to feed (especially kids), it’s quite economical…cheap.
Here are the basic ingredients you will need to make this simple, but delicious, Japanese Fried Chicken Legs: 12 Chicken Legs, 2 Tablespoons Milk, 1 Teaspoon Salt, 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder, 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour, Vegetable Oil for frying and that’s it.
Once you’ve done this it’s time to cook and the cooking directions are very simple. Cooking Directions: Put salt and garlic powder on chicken legs and leave them for 10 minutes in a bowl. Put milk on the chicken. Spread flour on dried chicken legs. Heat oil in a deep frying pan to 350 degrees and fry the chicken legs for 10 minutes. Simple, right?
Once you give this dish a try, you’ll end up making it weekly. It’s delicious and cheap, so it’s perfect for a family that is on a food budget. After you make this you’ll have to admit that the Japanese can make some good fried chicken legs. Next time in Japan, check out their fried food places…they are awesome.
Be sure to try other types of fried or grilled Japanese food, like grilled chicken or fried vegetables, also known as tempura in Japanese. Good luck grilling and frying.
Amazing fried chicken legs and combine it with this awesome shrimp salad recipe
Posted in Cooking by Mike Smith -
Monday, 7. September 2009
It’s been said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. With this, it is as only as important as what we decide to eat for breakfast. You need to eat something healthy so that you will not be hungry half way through the morning. Eat something filling enough that will last you till lunch time.
The most common breakfast food has to be cold cereal. When choosing a cereal, be sure not to get one that has a lot of sugar and is high in fat.
You can add some fruit and low fat milk to your cold cereal to add some more flavors to it. A popular choice is to put bananas in your cereal. Adding some other protein to your meal, like toast and peanut butter or eggs, is also a healthy choice.
Eggs cooked without a lot of fat can also be healthy breakfast foods. You should combine them with something that has fiber, like whole grain toast, and you should add some fruit or vegetables and some dairy.
Adding some veggies to you eggs is also a healthy choice and can spice up the eggs. Because of the protein in the eggs are very filling. Boil up some eggs and keep them in the fridge for days where you don’t have a lot of time.
Some people don’t like to eat a big breakfast right when they get up. You can save your meal for brunch time and just eat something small to tide you over.
A smart thing to do is get some instant oatmeal that you can pack to work and then just add water and heat it up when you get to the office. Bring along some fruit and maybe some nut and your set for a delicious, office made breakfast.
There are also a lot of grab and go options on the market these days. These include cereal bars and prepared smoothies. Just be sure that you choose an option that doesn’t have a ton of sugar and that isn’t very full of fat. You want to make sure it has plenty of fiber and protein so that it will be filling and keep you from getting hungry again right away.
Dicovering the right breakfast foods can be difficult, in particular when your looking for a healthy breakfast. Here are some simple guidlines to follow to get a complete, reasonable breakfast.
Posted in Cooking by Pablo Escobar -
Saturday, 5. September 2009
If you are going to end up with a great steak, you have to start with one, but determining what makes a great steak can be pretty difficulty. A trip to your local supermarket or meat market will show you a long row of steaks, but if you don’t know what to look for, you’ll have trouble finding the best one. Fortunately, there are a few things you can look for when you go to buy a steak that will help you end up with one that is delicious.
The first thing you will need to pay attention to is the grade of the meat. Grading is performed by a government agency or third party organization, and is determined by fat marbling and the age of the animal. Remember that the carcass is graded whole, and then the individual cuts are made, so there may be some variance across different cuts. In the US, the major grades are prime, choice, and select. Prime is the best and select is the lowest grade available to most consumers.
You will not find a lot of prime steaks, since they are sold mostly to restaurants, or sent abroad. That means that most of us will be eating choice or select meat, according to our budgets. Try both to see if you can tell the difference between them.
Marbling is a factor traditionally used to determine the quality of a steak. Leaner meat will have little fat and be more tender, but much less flavorful. Streaks of fat generally produce steaks that have more taste to them. However, many people are discovering that other factors influence taste as much or more than marbling. For instance, raising the cattle on grass instead of grain, and finishing them on grass alone, or a mixture of grass and grain seems to result in a steak with more taste, even though it has less attractive marbling. You may have to try a few different kinds to discover what the best option is.
There are lots of different cuts of meat on the market, and some produce much better steaks. They come from three major sections of the animal – the sirloin, short loin, and rib, and each cooks up differently. Rib meats are less tender and must be cooked longer and more carefully than short loin or tenderloin. Think about this when you are asking questions such as how long does it take to cook a steak in the oven?
The short loin is the area responsible for producing the tenderloin, top loin, Porterhouse and T-bones we are all familiar with, and sirloin produces the top sirloin and sirloin steaks. Chuck, round steak and flank steak all come from the areas with those names, but they’re not likely to be as high quality as meat found elsewhere, and are often tough. Choose the best steak to start with, and then look for the best method of cooking. You will be a lot happier with the results, since no marinade can fix a bad steak. However, a good marinade can make a good steak even better.
When you are looking for the best steak marinade recipe for your big dinner party, you want one that will deliver as promised. Your steak should be full of flavor and melt in your mouth. At EasySteakMarinades.net, we strive to provide only the best steak marinade recipes for your enjoyment.
Posted in Cooking by Kc Kudra -
Thursday, 3. September 2009
Everybody loves crab cakes and why not?! They are so tasty when made right. There are just a couple key things you have to pay attention to. Here are some tips on making delicious crab cakes:
1. Choose the finest quality crab meat you can. This is absolutely the most important thing you can do to make awesome crab cakes. If you start off with premium crab meat, your crab cake is bound to taste delicious. Crab meat should have a seawater smell and be moist.
Be sure to pick the grade that matches up with your budget and the general style of the rest of your menu. There is no need to buy awesome and expensive meat when you don’t need to. For example, if your crab cakes are for a special party or dinner, using jumbo lump will give you an impressive plate presentation. If you`re making a crab cake for a casual picnic or lunch, however, you can utilize claw meat or special, allowing you to cut costs while still keeping that great flavor. Be smart about your ingredients.
2. Handle the meat gently when incorporating it into your recipe to ensure that the large lumps and flakes are retained ” crab meat is very delicate and breaks apart easily.
Step 3: Just like any recipe, the better the ingredients that you put in, the better your end product will be. To get the best crab cake, use the best quality ingredients ” fresh parlsey instead of dried, fresh lemon juice instead of bottled. Go fresh when you can…you will be happy you did.
When shaping your crab mixture into crab cakes, again be gentle and use your hands to gently press and shape the cakes. One trick is to add the largest lumps of meat last so you don’t break the lumps.
Once you have portioned out your crab cakes, it is best to allow them to “set” in the refrigerator (covered with plastic wrap) for at least an hour. This will really bring all the excellent flavors together and allow the ingredients to “set” and bind together. This will also help keep your crab cakes from breaking apart while frying or baking. That’s the last thing you want is to have the crab cake break apart after frying. If presentation is important to you, follow this step.
Eat this awesome crab cake recipe.
Posted in Cooking by Mike Smith -
Wednesday, 2. September 2009
So, you’ve received an invitation to attend a potluck, but what are you going to make? Whatever you make, it better be good…and this is when the pressure begins. You recall that you’ve made something delicious in the past that everybody loved and wish you could remember what it was. You are in luck because with the internet, there are now hundreds of recipe/cooking websites that will help you with your potluck dish and millions of recipes to choose from.
Here are the steps to help you find a recipe on the internet:
Step 1: Determine what type of potluck party you will be attending. If it’s a hawaiian theme, you can choose a hawaiian dish. If it’s a barbecue theme, you would select a barbecue dish. Easy enough, right? Once you determine the type of potluck party you will be attending, you can jump on to the internet to search for the perfect recipe. Within minutes you will find the perfect recipe.
Step 2: Your internet search begins here. If you’re looking for a hawaiian dish and you want to bring a salad, you could search “hawaiian salad recipe” in google. Your search will return 884,000 results. Surely, you can find a dish from these results to take to your potluck. Let’s say you choose “Hawaiian Macaroni Salad”, which happens to be one of my favorites to bring to a potluck. Trust me, everybody loves this dish. Simply, click on the link to the recipe and check it out. You can even do another google search for hawaiian macaroni salad, which will return 144,000 recipes, all for hawaiian macaroni salad.
The key is to find a recipe and recipe site that looks legit. Here are some recipe sites you can trust (and most of these recipes will have reviews so you know which are good and which are bad): All Recipes, Food Network, Recipezaar and Simple Recipes.
Once you find the recipe, you can pretty much figure out the rest of what you have to do…just make the recipe. Be sure to return to the recipe and rate it in order to help others that may be in the same situation you are in.
If you want to eat delicious recipes or chicken wings recipe check out RecipeMatcher
Posted in Cooking by Mike Jones -