Slashfood

Happy National Canning Day!

Alexa Weibel — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 13:15:00 EST

Canning tomatoes. Photo: TheBittenWord.com, Flickr

Happy National Canning Day!

Canning is a simple method in order to preserve various fresh food products from deteriorating or spoiling over time, which is a great way to preserve produce at the height of its ripeness and flavor. For best results, the National Center for Home Food Preservation recommends canning fruits and vegetables within 6 to 12 hours after harvest. Because of the elevated water content in most produce, they tend to spoil easily as a result of moisture loss, microorganism growth, oxygen reactions or the sparked activity of food enyzmes, but properly canning will eliminate such dangers.

For detailed information, tips and recommendations on how to can a variety of food products, check out the website of The National Center for Home Food Preservation -- they provide all the info you'll need to enjoy your favorite foods year-round, from suggested boiling times to recommended equipment.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot at having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

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New Year's Resolution #2 - Roast Chicken to Perfection

Amy McDaniel — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:55:00 EST

Filed under: Ingredients, Holidays, Methods

A few responses to my post yesterday anticipated the spirit of my second resolution, to perfect that classic of classics, Roast Chicken. My fellow slashfoodie Kat Kinsman plans to master The Biscuit, while a reader named Michael has set his sights on Bouillabaisse. Both worthy goals.

Roast chicken has always flummoxed me. Various recipes pull me in every direction. Do I butter? Rub with some kind of spice concoction? Do I truss? What about basting? Chicken stock at the bottom of the pan, or poured over the bird, or none at all? What, if anything, ought I stuff into the cavity? At what temperature shall I roast it? Pan sauce? Au jus? Somehow, my Thanksgiving turkey has always turned out quite nicely no matter which way I go, but I've never roasted a chicken--never--that I've been terribly proud of.

Am I cursed? This year, I will find out. I plan to try every variation and, perhaps more importantly, take notes. Periodically throughout the year, I'll share those notes, and accompanying photos, so we can all roast chickens to crispy golden tender moist perfection. Then again, you probably already do that, so please don't hesitate to share your tips. I might try your method first! Oh, and to keep the experiment semi-constant, I plan to use high quality but readily available Bell and Evans chickens every time. I'd also welcome suggestions for creative uses for leftover roast chicken. Or, if chicken's not your thing, what will you perfect this year?

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Troubleshoot a Cookie Mishap

Monika Bartyzel — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 16:03:00 EST

Filed under: Methods

Say hello to flatty and softy. Both come from the same batch of cookies, yet one is flat as all hell, and one is nicely shaped, and doesn't reveal the wonderful sea of butterscotch inside.

I've made many cookies over the years. Some I've loved; some I've hated. Sometimes something goes wrong. But I've never had a batch pull out two different results. I was trying out Accidental Hedonist's Butterscotch Cookies, taking out the nuts (hello, allergies) and adding in some extra chips. The dough looked delicious -- the perfect cold dough for the adult mouth with its sugar sweetness cut by wonderful dark rum flavor.

Then they went in the oven, and bled into hard, flat discs. The flavor was excellent, but the shape was not. So, I tried firming up the batter in the fridge for round two. They turned out exactly the same. I began to consider rejigging the recipe for next time. However, I had four cookies left over, so I put those on a piece of old parchment, waited for the other round to finish, and baked them last. Voila! Perfect cookies.

Can silicone baking mats really wreak havoc on a cookie? That's the only difference between the three batches. Share your thoughts below!

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Christmas Day Candy Cane Cookies

Monika Bartyzel — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 12:02:00 EST

Filed under: Methods

Most candy cane cookie recipes turn tasty sugar into candy cane shapes, but why do that when you can put your piles of real candy canes to good use and make some Christmas Day cookies?

This recipe for Candy Cane Cookies isn't your normal cookie treat, but it's delicious, and easy to prepare. Even better, it'll make use of your pile of candy, and allow the kids to wield a hammer and smash things. Trust me -- they'll love it, and it's perfectly safe with supervision. Just put the candy canes in a zip lock bag and get to work!

Unlike most recipes, these cookies call for powdered sugar, and that helps to give a nice, powdery inside to contrast the hard, slightly melted candy canes coating it. This is also a great way to use jars of peppermint snow. The recipe calls for finely crushed canes, but coarse chunks work just fine.

Happy Baking and Merry Christmas!

Find more Christmas cookie ideas and Christmas recipes on KitchenDaily.

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Tip of the Day - Warming Butter and Eggs Quickly

Sarah Christine — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Tip of the Day, Ingredients, How To, Methods

If you can't wait an hour for butter and eggs to come to room temperature on their own, here's what you can do.

Continue reading Tip of the Day - Warming Butter and Eggs Quickly

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Stollen and Other Holiday Fruit Cakes

Max Shrem — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Ingredients, Holidays, Methods

When I think of this time of the year, I think about delicious sweet and fruity Stollen, a traditional German cake made with chopped candied fruit and dried fruit, nuts and spices. For the past 4 years now, I have been savoring this bread on Christmas.

Ah, the variety of fruit cakes one can eat this time of the year! There is also the classic Italian panettone and panforte. Perhaps, less cake-like and bread-like than Stollen, panforte is made by dissolving suger in honey in a shallow pan with various nuts, fruits, spices, flour, and cocoa.

Below are some festive fruity recipes:

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Bacon Bourbon Brownies

Kat Kinsman — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Guilty Pleasures, Ingredients, Drink Recipes, Methods

Sure, many folks go to an Alice B. Toklas place when creative brownie making is mentioned, but for a goody two-shoes like me (with a cop pal as my afternoon's company to boot!), there's much swoony satisfaction in a recipe that highlights some of my favorite legal vices. I'm hardly the first to alight at bacon brownies, but I decided to borrow a step from the bourbon balls I'm often rolling up 'round this time of year for holiday party purposes. A double-soak -- once pre and once mid-toasting of a half cup of pecans in bourbon, and a swap-in of the nut-infused bourbon for the traditional vanilla brings a slightly tipsy edge to a deeply fudgy brownie. A grind of fresh black pepper (inspired by a Chanterelle Staff Meals brownie recipe, which credited the technique to Maida Heatter) strums the palate to life; a subtle note of smoked salt lets the bolder bacon sing.

Had there not been half a foot of snow atop my grill cover, I'd have seen what came of an attempt to tobacco-smoke the pecans and chocolate, but for now, these are more than sufficiently wicked.

Recipe for Legal Vice Brownies is after the jump.

Continue reading Bacon Bourbon Brownies

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Forefathers' Day Succotash

Kat Kinsman — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Retro cookery, Ingredients, Methods

Scanned from Cooking and Traveling the Cape Cod Way (1953)

Forefather's Day isn't celebrated until tomorrow, but I'm posting this in anticipation of the East Coast's wintry mix blowing up the collective skirt of many folks' salt pork acquisition schedules. I'm a huge sucker for dishes made expressly in observance of regionally significant holidays and events -- especially so when the tenor of the recipe matches the spirit of the occasion. In New Orleans at Mardi Gras, it's all wild-hued, cream-slathered King Cake. On a chilly Christmas Eve in North Carolina, there is sweet, hot Moravian Love Feast coffee, and light potatoey buns, made to be split and shared.

It seems appropriate that a feast in commemoration of the Pilgrims' arrival in a bitter and bleak new terrain would involve some rather hardscrabble fare -- sustenance and utility, rather than sybaritic excess. Then again, I could be projecting 'cause I've never met a succotash I've really liked. Should I be able to get my frozen paws on some pea beans within the next 24 hours, I'll give this one a go.

If you should decide to do the same, please let us all know how it goes in the comments below. All I ask is that you remember to pay for the corn.

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Is Slow-Cooking the Latest Craze?

Monika Bartyzel — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:57:00 EST

Filed under: Ingredients, Methods

It's funny how the push for new scientific foods is running alongside some truly old-school techniques. Now we just have to wait for the day that the delicate, intricate tiny food is teamed alongside a large and steamy serving of mac and cheese. Now that would be divine.

But I digress. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has posted an article dipping into what they call this season's prized treasure -- time. Now it doesn't start off particularly strong premise (I could never say truffle oil has overstayed its welcome), but there are some interesting bits of information inside.

Basically, the piece isn't so much about slow-cookers, but dry or wet roasting in your own oven. 14-Hour Brisket, 7-Hour Leg of Lamb ... it all looks good!

Do you partake in slow-cooking?

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Milwaukee Sausage Cake

Kat Kinsman — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Food Oddities, Retro cookery, Guilty Pleasures, Ingredients, Methods

Scanned from Be Milwaukee's Guest, Recipes Collected and Tested by the Junior League of Milwaukee - 1959

I could scarcely be crankier at myself for muffing the opportunity to present this comb-bound recipe gem on a particularly Wisconsin-centric holiday, such as the recently passed St. Nick's Day, but hey -- any day is a great day for pork cake!

I'm a big fan of the melding of meat and sweet (mmm...bacon candy...), and surely have been known to savor a sumptuously larded crust, but I can't swear that I've ever seen a baked good quite so aggressively piggy as this. Pinwheel rolls studded with flecks of seasoned ground beef, yes, but those were generally presented as a savory, hand-wielded Wellington sort of course rather than spiced, as this seems to be, in the manner of a dessert or breakfast sweet. I'm pleading woeful ignorance about the pastries of the Badger State here, so might someone be so kind as to enlighten me -- is this a traditional Wisconsin breakfast or dessert treat, or a relic of the cookbook's era? If the former, I'm booking a trip on Midwest Airlines posthaste. If the latter -- who's up for a bake-along this weekend?

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Fabulously festive cakes for the holidays - Slashfood Ate (8)

Max Shrem — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Slashfood Ate, Holidays, Methods

I'll never forget the numerous pastry shop windows I'd walk past while living in Paris that had Bûche de Noël, a traditional Christmas cake served during the holidays in France and several christian-populated francophone countries, such as Canada (Quebec). "Bûche" in English means "log;" hence, the shape of the cake. It's often a sponge cake filled with chocolate buttercream.

After living in Paris, I became fascinated by the different takes not just on the Bûche de Noël, but on the Christmas cake. It seems to me that nearly every family has their own traditional cake that they bake for the holidays.

Below are 8 fabulously festive cakes for this holiday season:

What kind of cake will you be eating this season?

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Tip of the Day - A Perfect Cheesecake

Sarah Christine — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Tip of the Day, How To, Methods

A cheesecake is done when the center just barely jiggles. Since this can be difficult to judge, try this tip.

Continue reading Tip of the Day - A Perfect Cheesecake

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Sugary Perfect Butterscotch Cookies

Monika Bartyzel — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Methods

Usually when I'm itching for a dose of butterscotch, I'll whip up my favorite chocolate chip recipe and substitute butterscotch chips for the chocolate. But last night I was in the mood to try something different. Accidental Hedonist's recent Butterscotch Sundae Cookie post came to mind, but I couldn't remember which blog I saw it on. Google blog searching finally led me to it, as well as Double Butterscotch Cookies (The Taste of Home Cookbook) over at Baking Blonde. Which to do first?

I tackled the double butterscotch, which you can see above. Whether baked light or dark, these cookies are delicious. I made a few substitutions -- all butter rather than half butter/half shortening, I left out the nuts, and I used butterscotch chips rather than toffee bits. They're firm, but soft and chewy with great sugary flavor that's rich, but won't give you that stomach-churning rotted gut if you have two or three.

I didn't roll and slice the dough since I prefer the puffier texture, like the recipe suggests, but I might next time. I'm scheming up a way to have creamy waves of butterscotch in the cookies, rather than chips, to perfectly match the creamy cookie. If you've got a butterscotch cookie to rival this, please share it below! Some people want the perfect chocolate chip cookie, but some of us prefer that irresistible butterscotch.

Find more Christmas cookie ideas and Christmas recipes on KitchenDaily.

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Nordic Popcorn Genius

Annie Scott — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:04:00 EST

Filed under: Food Gadgets, Ingredients, Methods

Great news! Here's a kitchen gadget everyone can afford. Your popcorn just got way more awesome.

The Nordic Ware Microwave Corn Popper comes highly recommended by my very practical friend Shannon, who reports that it's really fast, doesn't need oil, and is a snap to clean. Sounds good to me!

This thing is $8.99 from The Kitchen Store, and microwave and dishwasher safe. You just put in the corn, put it in the microwave, and perfect, fluffy popcorn comes out. It's a stroke of Nordic genius.

I only wish it were pretty, so I could pass it off as a holiday gift. Guess I'll just have to get one for myself!

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Making a Virginia Ham

Bruce Watson — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fall Flavors, Ingredients, Holidays, How To, Methods

When I was growing up in Virginia, my babysitter often referred to my family as "the carpetbaggers." This wasn't all that surprising; my parents were from New England, and the folkways of rural Virginia were somewhat bizarre to them. Even so, they quickly adapted and even learned to embrace the culture of the area. Because of their zealous adoption of all things Virginia, many of our major holidays were celebrated with a huge, salty Virginia ham.

When I undertook the reverse migration from Virginia to New York, I worried that I would not be able to get hold of real Smithfield hams. Luckily, however, one of my local butchers carries them; it seems that they are a standard Italian dish on the feast day of Saint Nicholas. As the butcher rang up my sixteen pound chunk of pork, he and I had an interesting conversation about the art of cooking Virginia ham. Interestingly, many of his customers are actually scared of Smithfield ham.

In truth, this isn't really all that surprising. After all, Smithfield hams are exceedingly salty, very ugly, and take a long time to prepare. However, they are also amazingly delicious, and constitute one of the most truly American of dishes. Luckily, they are also fairly simple to cook, freeze beautifully, and pretty much all of the leftovers are delicious.

Gallery: Country Ham

Continue reading Making a Virginia Ham

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Traditional Mincemeat Pie and Suet Substitution

Kat Kinsman — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Retro cookery, Festive Family Feasts, Ingredients, Holidays, Methods

Lo these many years ago, a UK-born boss of mine attempted to wheedle me into swifter production by offering me a small mincemeat pie if I finished a pressing task by 4 p.m. I begged to be allowed to take only half if I knocked it out by 3, and remain fully un-minced if I had everything squared away by 2.

In theory, I should love traditional mincemeat. I'm a huge fan of a meat 'n sweet one-two punch -- especially when there's cookin' booze involved -- but I've never been able to wrap my head around the flavor of suet. It's the hard fat from around the loins and kidneys of sheep and cows, isn't especially full and meaty like lard, and is possessed of a particularly high melting point, making it the perfect base fat for many classic British steamed puddings. It seems to be the definitive flavoring agent in all the mincemeat I've had, but I've not been able to convince myself to care for it. I tend to be a stickler when it comes to ingredient lists for traditional dishes from my vintage cookbooks, but I'm wondering if there's a fat I can sub in that would render a texture that would cleave closely to the original. Most suet-centric recipes I've come across warn that the use of butter, margarine, lard, shortening et al leaves the whole dish overly greasy and flat, but if any of y'all have met with a successful swap, I'm all ears. There may even be a bit of Spotted Dick in it for you.

Other Cooking and Traveling the Cape Cod Way highlights include Forefather's Day Succotash (look for that recipe on December 21st), Beach Plum Jelly, Irish Moss Pudding, Scootin'-Long-The-Shore, Skully Joe and a wicked lot of mouthwatering Portuguese cookery. I'm more than happy to share if there's any interest.

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Crock Pot Conundrum and a Pulled Pork Recipe

Kat Kinsman — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Ingredients, Methods

There's an extra-stabby brand of self-recrimination that comes about when one comes home, mouth slavering for the vegetable stew, several-bean chili or pulled pork shoulder that's occupied one's thoughts all day, only to come home to an air redolent of exactly nothing. No warm waft, no indicator light all a-wink with the tease, nay, promise of a hearty, slow-cooked dinner because (shudder....sob...sigh...) one neglected to actually engage the Crock Pot's "ON" button.

Is there a term for this happenstance and/or the all-day nagging feeling that one's forgotten to flip it on, but is too far from home to remedy the situation? If not, howzabout we put it to a vote? Cast it below, or suggest a better one in the comments.

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And lest anyone fret, Jeff later reported that he in fact came home to a lovely, fully-cooked chicken cacciatore.

UPDATE: Commenter Jenna has suggested "crock blocked," which I'm entirely jealous I failed to coin.

My personal favorite cold weather, no barrel smoker, slow-cooker pulled pork recipe is after the jump.

Continue reading Crock Pot Conundrum and a Pulled Pork Recipe

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Freshly Killed Turkey II - The Aftermath

Bruce Watson — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Food Oddities, Food Quest, Retro cookery, Ingredients, Holidays, Methods

A few days ago, I documented my first visit to a Pollo Vivero, or live-kill poultry place. Well, having now had the joy of dressing and eating a freshly-killed turkey, I can absolutely state the following points:

Cutting off Heads Isn't That Hard: I thought that removing the bird's feet and head would be really difficult, but it was actually easy. I used a sturdy, German-style chef's knife, located the respective joints, and sliced away. While the legs came off in one piece (each), I had to take the neck off in two pieces. I used a paring knife and reached inside the carcass to cut it closer to the torso.

Live Turkeys Don't Look Quite the Same: My turkey's torso was longer and slightly sleeker than the Butterballs that I was used to. That having been said, it was still quite meaty, and the actual process of cooking it was very much the same (minus the pop-up timer, of course).

Live Turkeys Are Yummy: The turkey tasted more or less the same as a grocery store turkey. It was slightly more succulent, but I also chalk that up to the fact that I brined it.

Live Turkeys Dry Out Easily: Unlike store-bought turkeys, which soak in a broth solution until you unwrap them, live turkeys need to be protected from drying out. I wrapped mine in moist paper towels before brining it.

Turkey Heads Are Fun: Being somewhat perverse, I held on to the turkey head and feet so I could show them to select people. Two of my sisters got in a little bit of a tiff over who got to keep them (I'm not the only weirdo in my family), until my youngest sister claimed the artist card, stating that she wanted to draw the various parts.

I have decided that I'm definitely going to go with live poultry for Christmas. Does anybody have a good recipe for pheasant?

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Crowdsourcing First Aid for a Sugar Burn

Kat Kinsman — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Health & Medical, Ingredients, Methods

Yeeeeoowwwch! My pal Kathleen is an avid and talented baker, and in the midst of a late night apple tartlet frenzy, managed to wound herself severely with a lashing of molten sugar. If you've never suffered a sugar burn, consider yourself among the blessed. Professional bakers refer to boiled sugar as "edible napalm," as it's blisteringly hot and adheres to skin in a way that make it almost impossible to wash or scrape off in the frenzy of the moment.

Yes, a hospital trip would have been a logical solution, but a New York City emergency room on a Friday night seemed like neither an efficient nor inexpensive bet. Kathleen took to the internet to research the appropriate first aid for a sugar burn, and made a quick stop by Facebook to announce her plight. The sympathy and suggestions from friends began pouring in: "package of frozen edamame," "If hot sugar or water burns skin, place skin in cold water (not ice)." "Pure aloe squeezed from a leaf will promote healing, you should be able to obtain it from the greengrocer or garden shop." "Wrap lightly in gauze."

She settled for a combo of the latter two and is in much better shape today, but Monday (or, uh, Sunday) morning quarterbacking it -- what is in fact the best way to deal with a sugar burn? Even for veteran web researchers like those rallying around Kathleen, it proved incredibly difficult to pin down an definitive answer. If we can collectively share some wisdom here in the comments, perhaps it might serve as a starting point for someone in a similar situation in the future. Links or advice, anyone?

Oh -- and I'm getting her an elbow-length silicone oven mitt for Christmas. Shhhh!

Slashfood

Happy National Canning Day!

New Year's Resolution #2 - Roast Chicken to Perfection

Troubleshoot a Cookie Mishap

Christmas Day Candy Cane Cookies

Tip of the Day - Warming Butter and Eggs Quickly

Stollen and Other Holiday Fruit Cakes

Bacon Bourbon Brownies

Forefathers' Day Succotash

Is Slow-Cooking the Latest Craze?

Milwaukee Sausage Cake

Fabulously festive cakes for the holidays - Slashfood Ate (8)

Tip of the Day - A Perfect Cheesecake

Sugary Perfect Butterscotch Cookies

Nordic Popcorn Genius

Making a Virginia Ham

Traditional Mincemeat Pie and Suet Substitution

Crock Pot Conundrum and a Pulled Pork Recipe

Freshly Killed Turkey II - The Aftermath

Crowdsourcing First Aid for a Sugar Burn

Makin' Bacon! - Tip of the Day