Home Made Chicken Stock

Hello again all, hope everyone had a great holiday season! Over the last couple of weeks of cooking, teaching, catering, found myself using a lot more stock than usual and thought about how often people just buy a simple stock from the grocery store. For those that haven't had the pleasure of using a freshly prepared stock, I suggest trying the following recipe for a simple chicken stock. The flavour will be immense and using a quality bird will enhance it even more so. Enjoy!

1. To make basic chicken stock, we used the bones from two organic chickens, water, 2 medium onions, 2 medium carrots, 2 stalks celery and 1/4 of celery leaves, 15 whole black peppercorns, and a bay leaf. This yields about 2 quarts of stock.
2. Remove as much fat from the chicken bones as possible. Don't worry about getting it all; you'll skim off the remaining fat before the stock is finished.

3. Place the bones in a large stockpot and add water to cover. Bring the water to a near-boil, and immediately reduce the heat to low. (Boiling causes impurities to churn in the pot rather than rise to the top where you can skim off any foam.) Cooking at a low simmer ensures a clear golden stock.

4. While the water is heating, chop the vegetables. Since they'll be discarded after flavoring the stock, they don't need to be bite-sized: quarter the onions or cut them in large chunks.
5. Peel and trim the ends off the carrots. Cut them in thirds or coarsely chop.
6. You can add the entire celery stalk, leaves and all--just be sure to clean the leaves thoroughly. Cut the celery into chunks.
7. Combine the chopped veggies, peppercorns, and bay leaf in a bowl.
8. Check the simmering stock: a layer of fat will have risen to the surface.
9. Use a ladle or skimmer to strain off the fat.
10. After the stock has simmered for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, add the vegetables to the pot. Bring the stock back to a simmer and cook for an additional 45 minutes, skimming occasionally if fat rises to the surface.
11. Strain the stock through a fine colander.
12. The finished stock should be a clear, light tan color and have little or no fat floating on the surface. The stock is now ready to use. If you don't need the full amount for soup, pour it into ice cube trays and freeze them, so you'll have small amounts ready to use.
After making this a few times, start adding a few simple herbs to change the flavor, some garlic or ginger for a nice twist.

The Greatest Cranberry Sauce EVER!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello All,
So chatting with a few clients some of whom are using Kitchen Inspired to prepare their Christmas Dinner, and a few that have asked for pointers and tips/tricks for doing it themselves. Whether catered or done yourself there is nothing like a proper Christmas meal done from SCRATCH, that means no pre stuffed butterball, no jarred cranberry sauce, or powdered gravy. Nothing beats a pre brined turkey, pan drippings used for gravy, perfectly whipped potatoes or perhaps a potato gratin with pounds of swiss emental, a stuffing done with corn bread mmmmmmmm, getting hungry just thinking about it. With the holidays fast approaching I thought I would share with you a recipe I found online a while back on an amazing cranberry sauce. Cannot take credit for it, but oh man is it ever good. I will go on record and say for me this is the best cranberry sauce I have ever had.

With nothing more to say other than enjoy, here it is:

Spicy Cranberry Sauce with Pinot Noir Recipe
Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (about 8 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 2 cups Pinot Noir or other dry red wine
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon each of tumeric powder and cumin powder
• Large pinch of Chinese five-spice powder

Method
1 Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add cranberries and fresh ginger; stir until cranberries begin to burst, 3-5 minutes.

2 Add wine and sugar; boil until mixture is reduced to 2 1/2 cups, about 15 minutes.
3 Add crystallized ginger, cumin, tumeric and five-spice powder.

Serve sauce cold or warm. Makes 2 1/2 cups.

Sambuca Shrimp

Hey All,

As the holiday season is approaching, have had many many many many many requests for ideas on apps to make for guests. Something different is what is always asked, something they are not used to. These days it is getting harder and harder to find things people have never heard of, but cooking something properly is an item that may elude your guests, so I always recommend keeping it simple but doing it well. Case in point the recipe listed below is a simple Sambuca Shrimp, the difference is making the sauce using the best ingredients, finding the best quality of shrimp possible, and giving it just the right amount of kick to help warm your guests from the cold.

Hope you all enjoy!


4 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion diced
3 cloves of garlic cloves, minced
1tsp dried basil
pepper flakes to taste
salt and pepper to taste
2 cans San Marizano Tomatoes (only use the real kind stamped from San Marizano region) if trouble finding, email me and I will tell you where to look for them
10 leaves of Basil thinly sliced

1lb peeled deveined raw shrimp (not from grocery store, in Ottawa go to Whalesbone Oyster Sustainable Fish market...get best quality you can find and the freshest)

4 ounces of Sambucca

3 tbs fresh parsley, minced

Preparation:

In large deep skillet, heat oil over medium heat; cook onion, 2 cloves of garlic, dried basil, salt, pepper and hot pepper flakes, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes, breaking up with back of spoon; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until sauce is thickened enough to mound on spoon finish with fresh basil
To a pan add 1tbs butter and a bit of olive oil to stop it from burning over medium heat. Once butter begins to bubble, add last clove of minced garlic and add shrimp to pan, after one minute add sambuca to pan and flambe, wait one minute for the alcohol to burn off and then add your tomato sauce (about 2 to 3 ladels) to the pan. Cook just until shrimp begin to turn pink, about 1 minute more. Remove from heat; cover and let stand until shrimp are pink. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with good crusty bread

Holy Crap Cereal from Dragon's Den

For anyone watching Dragon's Den on CBC this past Wednesday, you may have seen a husband and wife present what they called the healthiest thing you will put into your body, a cereal so amazing that once eaten you too will say Holy Crap that is the best breakfast cereal I have ever tasted.

I had received a couple of emails this morning asking if I have had the chance to taste this yet. It is advertised as being Vegan, Wheat Free, Gluten Free, Lactose Free, and 100% natural and raw. The Dragon's did enjoy what they tasted and Jim Treliving of Boston Pizza fame said he wanted to deal and gave Holy Crap exactly the investment they were looking for. As of a few minutes ago, I too have purchased this from their website. I am going to be doing a review of this cereal as soon as I get it and will post my thoughts hopefully within the next week or so on how it turned out.

Here is a link to their website for those that don't want to wait for the review. Enjoy

Holy Crap, The Worlds Best Breakfast Cereal

Cheese Please

Sorry to all for the lack of posts lately, things have been quite hectic with catering and October and November brought with it a number of family and community events.

Today I received an email from Kim, who asked about the etiquette and method of having a cheese plate as the main event for a small dinner party. For those not well versed in cheese, now is the time to step away from the marble and kraft mozzarella that have plagued your fridge and learn about the textures and flavors of cheeses from around the world.

First thing to do is find a proper place to purchase your cheese, and that rarely means your superstore grocery store where the cheese is next to the diapers which is next to the linens which is next to the carrots. In Ottawa there are a few places to visit: Farm Boy, La Bottega, The Farmers Market, The House of Cheese (in the market) and Serious Cheese (on Bank St.). These are places that carry a variety of cheese with experts well versed in the language of cheese. If you are a novice in the cheese department, I highly recommend Serious Cheese on Bank Street. Just walk in there, ask someone to introduce you to some different types of cheese and let them do their work. They will take the time to explain the cheese, its region and the tastes, everything from salty to creamy and nutty. Once you become familar with a few cheeses, and are ready to build your first cheese plate for either an appetizer or as your main meal, ensure you do not choose too many, the general recommendation is 4 to 6 cheeses. Three ounces per person if it’s an appetizer, 6 ounces per person if it’s the main event and choose cheeses with a variety of milks, regions, and textures. For example:

• A medium-aged Manchego (Spain, semifirm, sheep)
• Redwood Hill Bucheret (California, semisoft, goat)
• Prima Donna (Netherlands, hard, cow)
• Gorgonzola dolce (Italy, soft, cow)
• Mimolette (semi-hard – cow – France)
• Le 1608 (semi soft – unpasteurized cow - Quebec)

When plating your cheeses, if you do not have a cheese board, a simple wooden cutting board works just fine, and try to arrange your cheeses from mildest to strongest in terms of of flavor so that when you introduce your cheeses to your guests they can start there sampling in an organized fashion and get a taste of everything before moving around to their favorites.

A proper cheese knife will help with the cutting and if you can get your hands on small cheese knives for each of your guests so much the better, but if this is your first time and  you do not have a cheese slicer, use a fillet knife which can actually work very nicely for your cheeses

Lastly, what to serve with your cheeses. Stick to plain simple baguettes, water crackers nothing with too much flavor like a sourdough or garlic crackers as they can drown out the taste of cheese. Next to add to your cheeses are accompaniments such as apples, pears, figs, dates, grapes and berries. Stay away from citrus, which is too acidic and will overwhelm your cheeses. Try chutneys, fruit pastes, jams, and honey.

As you progress with your cheese plates, you can change it up from a variety of cheeses from different regions to sticking to cheeses from one region and changing the accompaniments. For example doing a cheese plate from Italy, and have a gorgonzola, ricotta salata, bel paise and real parmigiano reggiano and pair with that some honey or dates, or even have some antipasto with it like marrinated artichokes or spicy marrinated eggplant. FYI, when I wrote real parmigian in that last sentence I meant the real stuff, if you use the kraft simulated stuff hang your head in shame, I have no clue what that crap is, but it isnt parm no  matter what the label says. Real parm is stamped with a date, has a rind and you must shred it, it is a hard salty cheese that is amazing, that pre shredded simulated cheese you can also find at pizzerias is a disgrace.

Oh before I forget, what drinks go well with cheeses? Well you can't go wrong with having some different wines both red and white, as well as dessert or fortifed wines such as sherry to go with your cheeses. The best way is to discuss this when purchasing your cheeses with the cheese monger. Also ensure that you have on hand a few bottles of sparkling or still water on hand for guests to get the flavor of the last cheese out of their mouth before hitting the next cheese.

Happy Cheeses Everyone

Perfect Scrambled Eggs

Recently saw a video of Gordon Ramsay where he discusses the perfect scrambled eggs breakfast. It is a technique and method used by many chefs today, and truly does make an excellent scrambled egg. Keep in mind the recipe does not allow the eggs to get hard and rubbery, if that is your thing then cook them as much as you like, but please don't share it with others. Sorry to sound like a snob, actually not sorry; rubbery eggs are disgusting, soft moist scrambled eggs are sublime.  Also adding chives is not your only option, as in the video, try adding oregano or feta cheese to them. Perhaps even trying to add some chinese five spice powder and grated ginger. But before trying different ways, ensure that you have perfected the art of making moist, buttery scrambled eggs.

If all you have ever known about scrambled eggs was the rubbery semi hard/hard kind then you are in for a treat, and if you don't like it then well sucks to be you lol.

Interesting fact about scrambled eggs, James Bond creator Ian Fleming's favorite food was scrambled eggs and he also made his famous characted love them as well and prefer them fairly the way as described in the video below.

Chiffonade

Was recently at a cooking demonstration, where one of the guests asked what a chiffonade was. As soon as she asked, almost everyone else nodded and was also wondering as they had heard the term before. I quickly explained the cutting process for a chiffonade and many knew it once they saw it, or have done it often but just did not know the official term for it. So for any others out there curious here is the definition along with a pic depicting it

The French term "Chiffinade" means "made of rags". In cooking, it is a technique for slicing herbs and leafy vegetables into long thin strips.

To chiffonade something, stack and roll a small pile of leaves and then slice or snip them into thin ribbons.

See pic below.