Archive for January, 2009

How To Write A Recipe

Saturday, January 31st, 2009
Barbecue Smoker Recipe Man


It amazes me how many great chefs can cook fantastic dishes yet fail to be able to write recipes in a clear and concise way that makes for easy reading and understanding. Many could do with working in manufacturing industry for a number of weeks and learn the skill involved in preparing a bill of materials for a product because in this way they would get to understand how certain ingredients can be grouped together to make a “sub assembly” before the preparation into the final assembly.

Some top chefs have mastered this of course and they truly produce excellent food, freshly prepared and in a short space of time. It simply boils down to storing the food in it’s sub assembly state until you’re ready to serve then throw everything together and give it a blast.

I’m a barbecue and smoker enthusiast and I love to experiment with different marinades, rubs and mops as well as making some really tasty accompaniments for my BBQ parties. It wasn’t until last year that a friend suggest I should “bottle” my knowledge and share it but my confidence wasn’t too great because first of all I’m not a professional chef and second I’ve never written a recipe.

I guess everybody has to start somewhere and when I thought about my day job it in manufacturing and also how some recipes really annoy me I found the way forward. All it took then was to think about how I prepared the meal and write it down.

One thing that really frustrates me is when there’s no clear information about how long the recipe is going to take, admittedly it’s not that important for barbecue recipes because the BBQ cooking is part of the fun and if you’re into smoking most people already know the rule of thumb that it take a minimum of 60 minutes per pound of meat and a thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the food. What’s really annoying is when you get half way through a recipe and then see the words “put the mix to one side and marinate overnight”.

So aside from ensuring that the method clearly states how to put the ingredients together in a manner that ensures the final assembly is as easy as possible, it’s essential to state clearly in the opening summary whether that are any time constraints with the recipe. For another example just a quick note at the top of the page to state preparation time and cooking time will work wonders.

There is a protocol when writing ingredients that the largest constituents go first running down to the inevitable pinch of salt and pepper at the bottom. For me it doesn’t make sense because I like to see the ingredients together that get mixed together. For example if we’re doing a rub then I would prefer to see all the rub ingredients listed separately, this way it’s clear to read and I don’t forget anything. That’s my way, you may have yours but if together it brings more great recipes to the internet then hopefully we’re onto a winner.



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Flavorwave’s Halogen light cooking vs Microwave cooking?

Saturday, January 31st, 2009
Jackson Y


Hello,
Recent studies found that microwave cooking or reheat or defrost is actually hazardous to our health, if used continuously for over a decade.

Years ago I bought a Flavorwave Halogen Light cooking oven. Although its easy to use and very convenience for suite my busy life style, but I am curious and concern if the Halogen Light cooking style, is the same as the microwave cooking style.

Does anyone has a solid answer?

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How much chicken breast would equal a whole chicken for a recipe I have?

Saturday, January 31st, 2009
JustLove82


I have a recipe I’m making tonight that calls for a whole chicken cut into pieces. (It’s a smothered chicken recipe!) But I only have a bag of tyson chicken tenderloins. How much chicken should I use??

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Favorite Chicken Recipe: Chicken and Bean Burritos

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
Annie Dubois


Having a simple meal for the entire family is easy, delicious, and healthy. Add into the equation Mexican food, and you will find you have a delicious meal for any occasion. Having a favorite chicken recipe on hand when mingled with Mexican food cuisine will obviously take you to explore this recipe.

Choosing the best solution for your needs means looking at a lot of Mexican food recipes. In addition, you will want to explore the differences between Tex-Mex food and Mexican food. This Chicken and Bean Burritos recipe incorporates a lot of healthy possibilities along with delicious Tex-Mex cuisine that is not always for the healthy conscious.

Chicken and Bean Burritos

Ingredients:

4-5 chicken breasts (or thighs or a mixture)

1 small onion chopped

1-2 bay leaves

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp red pepper

1/8 tsp white pepper

1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

chicken stock or broth

1 red onion chopped

1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced fine

1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

grated Colby-Jack cheese

fat free sour cream

2 cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed

salsa

lettuce, chopped

tomatoes, chopped

burrito-sized flour tortillas

Directions:

Place chicken, onion, bay leaves, spices in a pot and cover with chicken stock. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer until the chicken is done. Remove the chicken, let cool and shred. Strain the broth and save.

Drain and rinse the pinto beans. Place the pinto beans in a food processor and process until smooth, adding a couple of tablespoons of either salsa or chicken broth or sour cream if too thick.

In a bowl, combine the chicken and beans, again adding salsa or the chicken stock until the filling mixture is moist enough to stick together. (If you get it too wet, add more processed beans). Add the chopped red onion, the jalapeno pepper and the chopped cilantro and mix.

Take a large flour tortilla and spread with a little bit of the fat free sour cream and some grated cheese. Add a couple of tablespoons of the filling on one end and fold the sides over and then roll up. You can use a toothpick to keep it rolled up or place it end side down to keep it from unrolling.

Either bake in the oven at 450F until brown and crunchy or microwave until hot. Serve topped with lettuce, tomatoes and red onion, fat free sour cream, grated cheese, salsa and jalapenos.

Have you heard this one….

A Texan’s explanation (exaggerated and over simplified) of what is Tex-Mex food?

“Anything with jalapeno peppers in it or with it is Tex-Mex!”

“Anything that is chicken-fried is Texas cooking”.

“The basic food groups in Texas are: chili, barbecue, beans, jalapenos and Meskun food!”

Remember, if you are looking for an exception chicken recipe for your next meal, you may find just what you are looking for with the Mexican food recipe. Filled with delicious goodness, you will definitely make this a favorite in your household. In addition, you can easily cater this to meet your family’s needs and preferences.



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Working of Microwave Oven

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
Roberto Sedycias


Microwave radiations are the basic tool applied by microwave ovens or microwaves to cook or heat the desired food stuff. The scientific formula used to achieve this process is simple.

The microwave radiations usually are emitted by magnetrons. The polarized molecules such as oil, water, fat and etc., within the respective food stuff are excited to produce heat. The uniform excitation leads to the simultaneous and complete heating of the food stuff. Heating food quickly and efficiently has been epitomized by microwaves. The art of food preparation has been revolutionized by microwave ovens since their inception into the market in the 1970s.

First introduced to the world by Percy Spencer, while in the midst of building magnetrons for radar sets, microwave ovens have since then taken the world by storm. The microwave oven cooked its first food as popcorn and later came the egg.

Raytheon, the company for which Spencer had been working on with the radar sets and had discovered the microwave phenomenon, filed a patent on 8th October, 1945. They came out with the first official microwave oven, the Radarrange. It was huge, consuming almost 3000 watts and weighing almost 340 kg. Later on commercial models were introduced that consumed about 1600 watts and sold for around $2000 to $3000. The first popular and home model was produced by Raytheon again. The countertop Radarrange in 1967 was priced at $495 and was the initiators of the popular microwave oven models in use today.

By 1975, sales volumes for microwave ovens went up to 1 million, but were less than Japan. Here cheaper building methods led to extensive market penetration for the home models of microwave ovens. The rapid decline in the price of the microprocessors with the arrival of the technological revolution in the 1980s led to microwave ovens being a regular fixture in all US households as well as in the rest of the world. Today as 90% of the US households own a microwave oven, the Chinese firm Galanz is the biggest player in the microwave oven market, accounting for up to 40% of the global microwave oven market.

The microwave actually consists of these constituents: high voltage transformer, the source path of energy to the magnetron; cavity magnetron; magnetron-control circuit along with a microcontroller; waveguide; cooking chamber for the food stuff to be placed in.

Microwaves cook food from the outside itself, contrary to popular belief that food is cooked `inside out` here. Microwaves are absorbed by the food stuff as from any other conventional heat sources. The penetrative power of microwaves is the only differentiating factor here. They have several power levels to choose from that allow the depth and extent of heating that the food stuff is assumed to be supposed to undergo. Convection ovens have nowadays gained popularity. These are a mix of standard microwave and a convection oven, allowing food to be cooked yet be crispy and brown as in convection ovens.

Microwave ovens are usually used for time efficiency and yet quality cooking in households as well as industrial applications. Even though microwave radiations are not considered injurious to health and are better than conventionally cooked food, there are still security issues with the conventional microwave oven. At times, liquids and improper heating or faults with the magnetron tube may cause bursts and resultant burns. Some also have issues with being exposed to microwave radiations.



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