“Naked” Cherry Tomato Salad – Sans Skin for the Win

“Naked” Cherry Tomato Salad – Sans Skin for the Win

Appetizer Tips and Techniques Vegetables

I’ve wanted to show this “naked” cherry tomato technique for a while now, and after having something very similar at a Japanese restaurant recently, I decided the time was right. The tomatoes this time of year in Northern California are spectacularly sweet, and there is literally no better way to enjoy them, and that includes eaten raw.

You really don’t have any idea how tough a cherry tomato skin really is, until it’s not there anymore. With this we get that same sweet/tart explosion of juicy flavor, as the fruit pops in your mouth, but with no skin to distract us. We’re talking pure tomato pleasure.

I used sherry vinegar, since my tomatoes were like candy, but if yours are less stellar, you may want to go with a sweeter vinegar, like rice or balsamic. By the way, I usually go with basil for this, but the shiso they used at the restaurant worked so perfectly, that I decided to go with mint, which has a similar fragrance and sweetness.

I realize that peeling cherry tomatoes may seem tedious, or even ridiculous, and I’m sure there was a time when I felt the exactly same way; but then you try these, and it all makes complete sense. I really hope you give these naked cherry tomatoes a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 "Amuse Bouche" sized portions:

24 perfect cherry tomatoes (3 per portion, plus extra for “quality control”)

a little fresh mint, basil, or shiso

1 tablespoon vinegar

2 tablespoon olive oil

pinch of salt and pepper

course sea salt to finish, optional

Ditulis soni agus Pada 18.44 Komentar

Paper Pork Shoulder – It’s a Wrap

Paper Pork Shoulder – It’s a Wrap

Barbecue Pork Tips and Techniques

This “paper pork” was inspired by a technique for smoking beef brisket that involves wrapping the meat in parchment paper after a certain point in the cooking process, in an effort to keep the meat moist, and succulent. Turns out it works great for pork shoulder.

I decided to try it for an oven-roasted pork shoulder, wrapping it from the beginning, and it came out so perfectly tender, and juicy, I’ve been doing it that way ever since. Like I said in video, I’m not exactly sure how much better this comes out with the paper, verses just wrapping tightly in foil, but it seems to stay moister, and more importantly, it looks cool on the table.

We don’t get any kind of crust using this method, but it doesn’t lack for flavor, and if you’re going to use this for pulled pork sandwiches, along with your favorite bbq sauce, I don’t see how that’s going to be any kind of a problem.

Speaking of barbecue sauce, I’m going to show you an unusual one next week, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, I really hope you give this paper pork a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

7 pound bone-in pork shoulder roast

for the rub:

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp smoked paprika

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon cayenne

- Wrap and roast at 225 F. for 1.75 hours per pound

Ditulis soni agus Pada 23.23 Komentar

Baking Bacon for the Perfect BLT

Baking Bacon for the Perfect BLT

Pork Sandwiches Tips and Techniques

If I had a dollar for every request I've received for a BLT video, I'd have enough money to buy a lot of bacon. I’ve never gotten around to doing one, mostly because do you really need a video to make a BLT? 

However, I have wanted to show this little trick for making bacon by baking; and it gave me the perfect opportunity to show off my vision of what the perfect bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich looks like.

I recommend using heavy-duty foil for this, as it’s a little easier to work with, but regular foil will do the job. Like I said in the video, as long as you create some kind of valleys for the fat to flow into, the technique will work as shown. The result is perfectly flat, perfectly crisp, yet still succulent strips.

Your cooking time is going to vary depending on how thick the bacon is, so I’d start peeking at about 15-20 minutes, and go from there. You can crowd the bacon more that I did, and it’s okay if it’s very slightly overlapping, since it will shrink as it cooks. Just check after about 10-15 minutes, and re-space the pieces if needed. I really hope you give this great bacon technique a try soon. Enjoy!

Bake bacon at 375 F. for 25-30 minutes, or until you reach your desired level of doneness.

Ditulis soni agus Pada 17.16 Komentar

Soft Hard Boiled Eggs – Cooking with Steam

Soft Hard Boiled Eggs – Cooking with Steam

Eggs Tips and Techniques

As vaguely promised in the grilled shrimp Louie video, here is my foolproof method for doing hard-boiled eggs, when we want softer, creamier yolks. This style works very nicely for salads, and above and beyond the texture, we get pure egg flavor, without the sulfuric bitterness that over-boiled eggs suffer from.

Of course, there are variables. Large egg sizes can vary, as does the temperature of refrigerators, so your time to hard boiled egg nirvana may vary. For me, 6 to 7 minutes gives me a perfect runny yolk; 9 to 10 minutes gives me what you see in the video, or a “soft hard boiled egg,” if you prefer; and 11-12 gets you closer to the fully-cooked, classic yolk.

My suggestion is to get a dozen eggs, and do some tests. This steaming method is very precise, and repeatable, once you lock it in. By the way, there doesn’t seem to be a big difference whether you cook one egg or six, but I’ve never actually tried this with a whole dozen, so if you do, let me know the results. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 quart saucepan with lid

1 1/4 cup water

6 large eggs, straight from the refrigerator

Ditulis soni agus Pada 19.23 Komentar

How to Make Sushi Rice That Even Works for Sushi

How to Make Sushi Rice That Even Works for Sushi

Appetizer Asian Cuisine Rice Side Dish Tips and Techniques

I don’t make sushi at home very often, or ever, since we’re surrounded by top-notch sushi chefs here in San Francisco, but that doesn’t mean I don’t make sushi rice. I think sushi rice makes a perfect side dish for just about any grilled meat, and since it’s perfectly fine at room temperature, it’s great for picnics.

You can even turn it into some quick tortilla-less tacos using nori seaweed wraps, as seen in the video. They make for such a unique summer meal – the perfect delivery system for any and all leftovers. I even seen it rolled into balls, and tossed in toasted sesame seeds, or seaweed, and served like truffles.

What I’m trying to say is, you can do a lot with this stuff. Including sushi. There are thousands of videos on YouTube showing how to make literally every type of sushi in existence, so check those out if you’re so inclined. Maybe one of these days I’ll even give it a go, if only for the “constructive criticism.”  I really hope you give this sushi rice technique a try soon.  Enjoy!

2 cups sushi rice, rinsed well, and left to dry for one hour

2 1/4 cups water

1/4 to 1/3 cup seasoned *rice vinegar, or to taste

* I buy mine already seasoned, but to make your own seasoned rice vinegar; combine:

1 cup rice vinegar, or cider vinegar

1/2 cup white sugar

4 teaspoons kosher salt

Ditulis soni agus Pada 11.30 Komentar