Kitchen Essentials for all y'all new graduates

Hey friends,

I saw off a wonderful friend just a short bit ago, and realized she's graduating university and venturing off into the real world. In honour of our wonderful friendship, I decided to make a post dedicated to the top five things you need in your kitchen in your new homes for epic chef-ery.

There's more, which I will detail at the end. But these are big deals. At least, I think so. And you're reading my blog, so I'd assume you trust my opinion somewhat at least.

... not even a little bit? Whatever. I'll write it anyways! As follows...

1. A high quality salt container with a lid, and a pepper mill. You want to put kosher or sea salt and whole peppercorns in these, as they have a much better tendency to grip to food and taste much better than the usual stuff. Not pricey either - a box of kosher salt is five bucks and has lasted me a year. And I'm addicted to the white stuff. You can get the salt mill at the dollar store, so long as the lid has a decent seal. The pepper one might be worth more expense, as they tend to fall apart/not work if you cheap out. Use your good judgement here, folks.

2. GOOD quality cookbooks. Yes, I realize these are essentially food porn, and some may be coffee table books with recipes. But don't skimp here. You can find great stuff online used or at book sales for really cheap, too.

Some recommends:

- Jaime Oliver's stuff - make what you will of him, his recipes are solid and he has a really great writing style, along with simple, delicious recipes

- "Mastering the Art of French Cooking"(Julia Child)/"How to Cook Everything" (Mark Bittman)/"The Joy of Cooking" (Becker, Becker, and Rombauer) - any of these books are massive tomes, but give you insight into plenty of different styles of cooking and techniques. GREAT for beginners and pros. and I know you'll all be pros

- A crazy expensive book based on a style you love - in my case, the Au Pied de Cochon book, by Martin Picard. I wanted to find a french-canadian cookbook, and I found an idol. More on that in a later post.

3. One good, solid chef's knife. I used to wonder what the big deal was, as I used the ones in sets. Then I got my hands on this puppy. Sturdy, great grip and balance, and it's my go-to (and generally only) knife I use in the kitchen. I like mine a bit heavier, but yours is your call. Go to a store, and test-drive the suckers.

Two notes - store properly! I keep mine all in a drawer on a tea towel so they don't get knocked around.

Note the second - if you don't have a lot of cash (and I know most of us don't), here's a hint. A lot of fancy knife makers will charge you like crazy for beautiful handles. Save money! Go to a restaurant supply store, and get one with these horrendous handles that look like they're made out of a cutting board. They are far sturdier, far cheaper, and much better. I worked in kitchens before and that's all we use, and they are fabulous. A comparable knife would cost you a hundred dollars, not forty like what's listed.

4. Good, solid pots and pans. I have one big saute, one small, two medium pots, and one massive pot for stock/soups, all with lids. Again, quality is key here. Nonstick is useful for most purposes, too. Restaurant supply shops are again a good bet for these, but I knicked these on sale at a kitchen warehouse for about fifty, and they're holding up well. I have some really garbage ones lying around that I don't use, and have warped because they're a waste of time and money. These will last me a while.

5. Finally, speaking of lasting a while, you're looking at a fifty or sixty year old cast iron pan that used to cook my grandparents and father eggs and bacon, and has seen a LOT in its life. I'm going to straight up call this one necessary, as it handles high heat, can go on the barbecue, go in the oven, handle any cooktop (except flat-tops, which it will scratch up. thanks Veronica for the tip!), and is just absolutely-completely made of win. Either get one from your grandparents, attic, garage sale, or buy a new one (Lodge is a nice brand) and season the hell out of it. Mine is absolutely my favorite tool in the kitchen, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. Do NOT drop it, as it will shatter and take out your floor (and inconvenient neighbor downstairs). Also, handle carefully with decent oven mitts, and don't wash with soap or I will be disappointed in you.

Now, for the rest!

That is a lot of nonsense that I have. But I experiment, and do this for a living! (I'm up to like, sixty cents on google adwords thanks to you guys. mwhaha). Really, you don't need all this crap, but you do need:

• an 11x13 deep baking tray (like a lasagna pan)


• a cookie sheet or two


• a muffin tin


• a dutch oven (don't laugh, goons)


• a good quality wire whisk (not plastic)


• a bread knife


• a paring knife


• wooden spoons!


• a ladle


• multiple cutting boards, as you just don't cut the salad on the same one you cut the chicken on


• aluminium foil


• parchment paper


• plastic wrap


• paper towels

and optionally:

• a rolling pin, to chase down mangiacakes


• an electric kettle


• a toaster oven (having two ovens is amazing)


• a casserole dish (with a lid is nice)

and a lot of stuff more. I'll try to specify any special equipment needed on here, but that all pretty much gets me by. I have a lot I don't use, which I regret, but it happens.

Thus concludes my longest blog post yet. Hope you enjoy, and please submit comments and feedback using the usual process.

For those of you graduating and going off to change the world, I will miss you all very much, but will see you sometime soon, I'm sure. Do good things!

SUPER SPECIAL GUEST BLOG: Sasha Sky! (!!!!)

So, as a result of current events in my life, I decided to go on a meat-fest with my wonderful friend Sasha (!!). We went and bought about 35$ worth of meat. And it's a stunner:

oooohnomomnomnomnomnom

We bought: sausage rounds (wtf?), steak, wings, ground beef, and peperrettes. deeelicious. Sasha decided to teach me a recipe:

INDIAN TACOS

As follows (Sasha in blue text):

First, you must make bannock. Sasha will take over for this. Sasha?

"I don't know, Marc. Don't do that."

"alright. 3 cups flour. 3 teaspoons baking powder. some salt. *pause* um. 1/3 cup of oil, 2/3 water. times two."

- so 2/3 cup of oil and about 1 and 1/2 of water (marc). back to sasha:

"i feel like this is a newscast. put all the dry stuff in the bowl first. mix it together. and then add the oil. actually, add half the oil and half the water, then add the rest and mix it in."

- she seems mildly annoyed. mix it so it's well integrated. no weird dry spots. (marc)

"you're funny. okay. grab a ballful, and flatten it. poke a hole in the middle. fry it up!"

- before you make the bannock, i'd suggest heating up about a half-inch of canola or other frying oil to medium heat. (marc)

And that's that! Drain on some paper towels, and ogle the goodness:

ogle it....

Next up: prepare your ground beef (about a pound) with taco seasoning. We made it in a pot, and that was weird. But it worked! (Suck it!).

"actually, that's the lazy way. usually we make chili, so there's like, beans and stuff"

Whatever Sasha.

Make 'em like tacos - serve with sour cream, cheese, salsa, lettuce, and vodka.

actually, it's just water. dicks.

Now. look at the tacos . identify the tacos. smell the tacos. and the best part: eat the tacos!

Thanks Sasha! (!!!)

"just because" steak and 'taters

Goooood evening friends, I am one full mofo right now.

Why? Deliciousness happened.

Want to replicate it? Well then, you'll need some goodies.

• one big, beautiful steak (ribeye is the best)
• half an onion, cut into small chunks
• two glasses of wine (red, I used white though, and it was fine)
• one good size white or yellow potato chopped into medium chunks
• italian seasoning (look elsewhere, fool)
• good kosher salt and fresh black pepper
• olive oil

First thing! Heat a good pan to medium with olive oil, and toss in your potatoes. Add a good pinch of salt and cracking of pepper, and your italian seasoning (about a pinch). Cover this, and cook about ten minutes a side. Add some bacon fat/duck fat/other rendered animal for added goodness. Health? Fuck that, it's the french way.

While this is happening, heat up a good, heavy-ass cast iron skillet to screaming hot.

Prepare your steak as follows:

Get a good one - don't be cheap.

Salt and pepper the fucker liberally, and rub in some olive oil. Wash those meaty hands, and let it sit.

By now, you've got about ten minutes down on the potatoes, so flip em. Pan should be inanely hot as well. Drop the steak in, and cook about 2 minutes a side, and get a good solid crust on it. NOT a char. A crust. This is called the maillard reaction, and sciencebsscience it's tasty.

See? awww yeah.

Remove your potatoes from the heat, and ogle their crunchy goodness

ogle them.. mm.

Now, here's the tricky part. Remove the steak to a plate, and tent it with tin foil. Don't be forceful, just a light cover.

no need to be brash. be gentle, grasshopper

Let it rest for about five minutes. In that time, add the onion, a bit of salt, and one glass of wine to the cast iron pan. This will sizzle, steam, and smell fantastic. Reduce it down.

Plate the sucker, and shed a tear for how good it's going to be.

so beautiful

and what do you do next?

drink the other glass of wine and eat that sucker!

(thanks to De Luca for the potato tips, and everyone else for... they know what.)

A surprise! (not if you were there)

I could say anything about this, but it would ruin the surprise, so here goes:

- Crisp up half a pound of bacon so it's not chewy at all. Take this, and crumble it up (or chop it), and reserve in a bowl.

- Now, simmer some water (about two inches) in a medium size sauce pan. Top this with a good, sturdy bowl that will handle and transfer the heat.

- Add chocolate chips into this, about half a pound. Melt these down.

- Add the bacon.

half shrouded in mystery, half shitty photo work.

- Spoon these in equal amounts to little paper muffin cups. When finished, remove the bowl (carefully! it is hot as hell) and eat the chocolate from it.

-Put on a baking tray into the freezer to set. Remove, and...

CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON

delicious, salty, creamy, smooth, beige (more brown, really)

Perfect for snacks, gifts, treats, and movies-about-crazy-people marathons

Sunday afternoon double-post!

So, this school thing. I've got a paper due Wednesday, and a finance midterm the next day. What to do? Procrastinate and cook, obviously.

Today, I bring you the COMFORT FOOD DOUBLE POST (post post post post..)

For starters, breakfast. Well, not really, but it's what I ate for breakfast today.

French onion soup

You'll need:

- one onion, sliced thinly

- some red or white wine

- 4 cups of stock (veggie, chicken, beef, whatever)

- two slices of bread

- mozzarella or gruyere (only had mozz on hand today)

- one big bowl, and a good size appetite

Heat your oven up to about 425.

Put an 11x13 baking tray on the burner, and heat it up. Drop some butter and/or olive oil in, and get it nice and warm (melted and foamy, possibly browned butter). When ready, drop the onion in, and try and get it in a nice layer. Pour in the wine (about 1/2 to 1 cup), and cook it a bit on the heat. Put it in your preheated oven, and cook for about 20-30 minutes.

As usual, your apartment will smell amazing, and those 4am piano players upstairs will be jealous. While this is in the oven, get your stock nice and simmering. When it's out, deglaze the pan, and combine this whole mixture with your stock. Scrape off all the good burnt bits, thems good eating.

Simmer this for about 20 minutes, which will start to dissolve and break down the burnt goodness. When ready:

Turn your broiler on full whack, and move a rack close to it. Put your soup in a good, oven proof bowl (I have a particularly intense set myself, i recommend going for sturdy and everything-proof over fanciness). Put two slices (toast if you want) of bread on the soup, cover with grated cheese, and broil it till the cheese is GBD. Take it out (use an oven mitt, doofus), and be awe inspired, then eat it.

Next up, lunch.

SWEET POTATO FRIES

some hate them, I love 'em. Also, easy.

You'll need:

- one big-ass sweet potato (mine was over a pound, I think)

- italian herbs mix (yeah, it's easy. want to fight about it?)

- kosher/sea salt

- olive oil

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Take that sweet potato, and peel the hell out of it. Don't even bother washing it. Also, regular potatoes you can skip on peeling (in fact, I recommend it, for nutritional goodness), but NOT sweet potatoes.

Slice off the ends, and do half-inch discs of it. Then, take these and chop them into fries (if you need help with this, that's unfortunate for you). Toss these with olive oil and a good couple pinches of seasoning and salt.

Spread out aluminum foil over a cookie sheet (optional, but you'll hate it if you don't), and spray with some kind of cooking spray (don't cheap out on this stuff, kids. believe me. I know). Lay out the fries in a single layer and bake for 15 minutes, turn over, and bake for another 10. This is a bit laborious, but necessary so they aren't just burnt mush.

Tasty goodness. Plate 'em, and eat them with something to dip in on the side, like so:

That, as you may recognize, is the hot sauce I love dearly. After this shot was taken, I mayormaynothavecombineditwithsomemayo. Delicious. Also, don't ask about the movie on the right.

Enjoy!

bread! oh snap.

Holy crap, I made bread! It is wonderful, and magical, and delicious, and oddly... easy.

Well, not that easy, but easy enough.

You will need:

• 1 pound hard bread flour


• plus more for dusting


• 1½ teaspoons salt


• 2 teaspoons yeast (7 grams)


• 13.5 ounces warm water (about 1 1/3 cup, but use your judgement)


• cornmeal


• 3 tablespoons olive oil


• Optional: a few cloves of garlic, minced

Note the flour is in weight, not measurements. It's a weird baking thing, and involves me going to the bake shop and buying several bags of carefully measured one-pounds of flour. Hard bread flour, too. For Guelphers/ites, the Flour Barrel on Wyndham downtown is great.

As follows:

Whisk the flour, yeast, and salt together in a big bowl. Mentally prepare yourself.

Slowly (and i mean slow) drizzle in your water, integrating it with a fork into the mix.

Flour your hands, workspace, and cat. Drop the doughey mess onto the workspace, and knead it (fold and squish, rotate, fold and squish, rotate) for about five minutes.

(at this point, you can fold in the minced garlic. it is delicious)

Clean the bowl, put it in the bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and put in your oven with the light on for an hour to rise. Put a little sticky note on the oven so someone doesn't inadvertently turn it on.

When risen (about double the size), oil up a 11 by 13 pan, and scatter some cornmeal. This will give it a nice crunch. Drop the dough in, watch it sink down, spread it out to fit as best as you can, and put little indents in with chopsticks. Not too deep, but a little bit. Let it rise again for about half an hour with the towel again. I put mine under a radiator this time. Works like a charm.

About now, you want to preheat your oven to 425. This sounds a bit early, but gets your oven (and apartment) nice and hot, but also consistently hot. Oven thermometers are... not your friend.

After rising, ever-so-gently brush it with olive oil. There are lots of air bubbles, and you don't want to disrupt them. Scatter some coarse salt (kosher or sea) over the top, and put in the oven for 25 minutes to an hour.

Take it out, and witness the glory:

oh wait, that was the 'past failure'. those things were basically rocks. try this:

Eat it hot, fresh, with lots of butter. it is all the ohnoms.

Thanks to paupered chef for saving me from bread-faildom.

super bowl food!

well, i could write a big long rant on this (and procrastinating later, i just might), but I'd rather turn your attention over to Lynda's wonderful documenting of our Super Bowl food stadium

also, my stomach hurts.