Our Blog: What's Cookin' At Potash Bros.
Category: Chef Notes
July 23, 2010 | Permanent Link
Summer is here and its hot! Time to eat light, cool meals. Salad fills that bill nicely. A good balsamic vinaigrette is a flavorful, light way to top a salad.
Balsamic vinegar is made from white Trebbiano grape juice. It gets its dark color and pungent sweetness from aging in barrels of various woods and in graduating sizes. It is ages over a period of years.
You can make balsamic vinaigrette in a manner of minutes. It is also wonderful on spinach salad with mandarin oranges, almonds, red onion and cucumber. Or, try it on asparagus or grilled vegetables.
Filed Under: Cooking Tips, Chef Notes, Fruit & Vegetables, Seasonings
February 25, 2010 | Permanent Link
Pepper comes in more colors than just black. There is also white, green, and pink peppercorns. They all come from the same plant, except for the pink ones, which are actually not related to the others.
To produce black peppercorns, clusters of berries are picked when they begin to ripen. The berries shrivel and turn dark as they dry in the sun. White peppercorns are just the core of the ripe peppercorn berries. They are soaked in water so the outer skin can be rubbed off, then the smooth, gray, inner peppercorns are dried until they turn creamy white. Green peppercorns are picked when still green and immature, then freeze-dried to retain color and flavor. Sometimes they are brined, which produces an entirely different product.
Always store your pepper in cool, dark, dry place. Whole peppercorns have a 3 year shelf life; ground pepper one year. However, I like to buy my pepper in small fresh batches and grind it fresh each time I use it.
I live to make pepper swiss bread. Defrost one loaf bread dough. Flatten it and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with fresh ground pepper and swiss cheese. Roll it up, shape itnto a loaf, brush top with olive oil and black pepper, let rise, bake and enjoy!
Spice up your life! Chef Pearl
Filed Under: Cooking Tips, Chef Notes, Seasonings
January 13, 2010 | Permanent Link
Did you know that “hard” boil is a misnomer when it comes to eggs? You should not “boil” eggs at all, as this will toughen your eggs and turn your yolks green.
The best way to hard cook eggs is to place them in a pan of cold water in one layer. Bring this just to the boiling point, shut off the heat and cover the pot. Set the timer for 13 minutes. When it rings, chill your eggs immediately by putting them in ice water.
Filed Under: Cooking Tips, Chef Notes
January 13, 2010 | Permanent Link
The egg is nature’s perfect shape. It is an elegant container holding a small treasure of balanced nutrients—protiens, fats, vitamins, and minerals.
Eggs are at their best cooked gently and carefully timed, with the exception of making omelets, in which the heat should be high and brief.
Eggs must always be refridgerated. Store them in the carton they come in, large end up. Do not store them near strong smelling foods, as eggs easily absorb odors.
The flavor and quality of eggs is best if used in one week, but they can be refrigerated up to a month, provided the shells are intact. Hard cooked eggs may be stored up to a week.
See “How to Boil an Egg” or “Easy Baked Egg” recipe.
Filed Under: All Natural, Chef Notes
October 09, 2009 | Permanent Link
1 12 oz. bag fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup water or juice
Zest from 1 orange
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Place all ingredients in a saucepan, bring to boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to low & simmer until most of the cranberries “pop”, stirring occasionally, approximately 10 minutes. Transfer sauce to a bowl. Cool, cover refigerate. This can be made up to a week ahead!
I like to use apple juice in mine and add apples to it also.
Try it today!
Chef Pearl
Filed Under: Chef Notes, Seasonal
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