A Time of Thanks

aka, Turkey Day

Thanksgiving is fast-approaching. I want to spend some time discussing the holiday, its cuisine --- and, most importantly, how to produce a healthy, happy meal. Food safety tips, on their way!

Ask The Chef

This Thanksgiving season, consider me your virtual Thanksgiving sous chef.

I welcome any and all questions about cooking times, turkey prep, ingredient choices, etc. Simply contact me via my website, with any Thanksgiving, food-related question, and I will gladly provide an expert answer!

Mexican Chocolate - Holy Mole!

Randy Mayor; Melanie J. Clarke

There are many uses for a good mole sauce - however, it's primary function is as an accompaniment for poultry.

Below is a favorite healthy soup that features the mole sauce. Published years ago in Cooking Light, it pleasantly pairs mole with ground turkey to create a hearty meal for a fall evening.

Turkey Mole Soup

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 1/4 pounds ground turkey
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup bottled mole (such as La Costena)
• 2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 (19-ounce) can black beans, drained
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, undrained
• 3 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into 1/4-inch strips
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Serves 8

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add turkey; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add onion, bell pepper, chili powder, and garlic; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Combine mole and chicken broth, stirring with a whisk. Add broth mixture, raisins, salt and pepper, black beans, tomatoes and green chiles to turkey mixture, stirring to combine; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425°. Place tortilla strips on a baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 5 minutes or until golden brown.

Spoon soup into bowls. Divide tortilla strips evenly among servings. Top each with cilantro.

source: Cooking Light, 2002

Mexican Chocolate

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Chocolate --- who doesn't love it?!

Upwards of 2,000 years ago, the ancient inhabitants of Mexico and Central America developed a chocolate drink made from the seed of the cacao tree mixed with native seasonings.

The sweet, creamy chocolate that we are familiar with today is a far stretch from this original form --- conquering Spaniards can be blamed for the departure. That being said, hints of the authentic, more earthy, well-spiced chocolate can still be found in modern Mexican chocolate.

Today, Mexican chocolate is most frequently used in hot drinks such as champurrado. Generally spiced with cinnamon, champurrados are often enjoyed with breakfast or with tamales.

Punch it up another notch with some chili peppers and a little onion or garlic and you have a delicious mole poblano suace with Mexican chocolate being the featured ingredient. A far cry from its Mayan and Aztec origins, this mole sauce is now heralded as one of the gems of Mexican cuisine.

* (cacaolorenzo.com)

Ask the Chef....

Mexican Chocolate

This will be a fun one.

Stay tuned....

Pesto - A Spin on the Familiar

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Today I want to close our discussion on pesto with a variation on tradition: cilantro pesto. Last summer, the Los Angeles Times featured a recipe using this fun twist on a favorite staple.

Here you go, try it over pasta or get creative!

Cilantro pesto

1/2 cup unfiltered olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 large bunch cilantro
2 cloves garlic minced
1/8 cup pine nuts

In a blender, combine the oil, vinegar and nutritional yeast and blend well. (Of course, as we know, if you have a marble mortar use it instead of the blender!) Add the cilantro and garlic and blend as needed for desired thickness and texture. Add the pine nuts and blend quickly to coarsely chop, giving the pesto a thicker texture. Makes about 1 cup pesto. (Los Angeles Times, Food, June 10, 2009)

Post a comment and let me know what you think.

Enjoy!

Pesto - O Olive Oil

Olive Oil. What a broad topic! Today I will focus on the production of olive oil and also how it relates to the pesto sauce.

As we know from previous posts, the pesto sauce originates from the lovely Italian region, Liguria. The Western Riviera location is prime for olive production -- olive trees blanket the hills and coatlines.

The process of producing olive oil is complex and an interesting combination of traditional method and modern day efficiency. Very simply, the olive is crushed into a paste and that paste is kneaded to release the oil from the pulp. The oil is then extracted from the pulp. In yesteryear, this was accomplished by crushing the pulp in a press. Today, the oil is extracted using methods that take advantage of the different characteristics of water and oil. The oil is then clarified to remove impurities.

Liguria boasts a museum, Musee dell'Olivo, devoted to educating people like us about its divine kitchen staple, olive oil. Check it out if you want more information.

A Kitchen Tip: try to buy 100% extra virgin olive oil from a Mediterranean country to get the highest quality, first-pressed, and cold-pressed olive oil.

Pesto -My Way

I love to read reader comments, so don't be shy.

I also love making pesto. My favorite is a creamier pesto augmented with pearl onions. I serve it over a penne pasta, and it makes a beautiful meal. I like it so much, I offer a variation of this dish as a Long Beach Symphony POPS! Menu offering.

Pachelbel and Pesto.

Perfetto!

Pesto - The Basics on Basil

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Basil, that aromatic ingredient that gives a pesto sauce its distinctive green hue, is an herb worthy of our undivided attention.

A member of the mint family, basil comes in upwards of a 100 varieties. We are most familiar with sweet basil, the variety traditionally used in Italian cooking. Other more common varieties include lemon and Thai basil as well as the colorful purple and red leafed basils popping-up in salads.

The basil flavor resides in the natural oils in the herbs' wide, flat leaves. As discussed in my earlier post, the ideal method of releasing those flavors is grinding the leaves in a marble mortar with a pestle. Some things never change. However, according to the Cooks' Illustrated test kitchen, bruising the basil leaves, enclosed in a sealed bag, with a meat pounder or rolling pin is a quick, effective alternative.

Basil's flavor is powerful but fleeting. If you do not have fresh basil on hand, the next best option is frozen cubes, available at Trader Joe's and many grocery stores. For those of you with a summer basil plant, you may consider freezing your own. Dried basil, although readily available, lacks in flavor and has a very short shelf life.

Now a question for my readers: what is your favorite way to use basil in your own cooking?

Stay tuned for more Pesto chatter... coming next, Olive Oil.

* Image found here.

Pesto - The Humble Origins

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According to foodie lore, the pesto sauce originated in Liguria, an Italian province along the Mediterranean coastline, more specifically in Genoa, the Ligurian capital city. The region is renowned for the quality of its produce. Genoa's proximity to the Sea, mild temperatures, and topography combine to create an ideal environment for growing quality produce such as grapes for wine, olives for oil, and basil for, well, pesto.

An authentic Ligurian pesto sauce requires a marble mortar. The marble best releases the basil aroma and flavor. Basil, coarse salt, and garlic cloves are blended within the mortar to a puree using a circular technique. Gradually extra virgin olive oil, grated Parmesan cheese, and pine nuts are added to the emerging sauce.

Although more than three hundred years old, the pesto sauce, in its true form, remains largely unchanged. Simple technique and quality produce continues to yield a refreshing flavor.

Stay tuned for more on the key ingredients in a good pesto.... First up, basil.

* image found here

Ask The Chef... Pesto!

Fall has finally set in with slightly cooler weather and the holidays right around the corner.

I want to spend a little time on one of my favorite Italian staples: the pesto sauce. We will focus on the origins of the Mediterranean (hint) recipe as well as the blessings of its simple ingredients.

Stay tuned.... More on pesto very soon.

Iced Tea or Hot?

Do you prefer drinking your tea out of a glass with ice cubes (our Black Currant tea would be great!) instead of piping hot in a mug? Well if so, you may be doing your throat a favor! Research has shown that the temperature of your drinks can affect the health of your esophagus. Drinking steaming hot beverages may increase the risk of esophageal cancer.

Researchers have discovered that subjects who regularly drank extremely hot tea had a higher risk of the cancer...much higher than people who drank their tea just warm or lukewarm. The theory is that regularly drinking very hot drinks could chronically irritate and inflame the esophagus, making it susceptible to carcinogens. To help reduce your risk, all you may need to do is wait a few minutes for your tea to cool.

For those of you who enjoy your tea hot, don't fret! Simply wait 4 or more minutes after heating your beverage (or until it's <149*F) and your throat will thank you!

Bread and Butter Pudding....

So for a while now, I have been obsessed with bread puddings and bread and butter puddings. They really do make great desserts and my creativity with developing new recipes has been unbelievable...so since I'm on a roll....what is bread and butter pudding? Bread and butter pudding is typically made by buttering the bread slices before saturating them in the milk, sugar, and egg mixture. Just like traditional bread puddings, bread and butter puddings may be served hot or cold with a cream or dessert sauce.

Ask The Chef...Salad dressings? Emulsions?

Q. How do vinaigrettes get so creamy? And how do I get mine that way?

A. Vinaigrettes get that creamy, thick, satiny texture when they are emulsified and that is accomplished by slowly adding in the oil as the vinegar is being rapidly whisked. You can do this with salad dressings, mayonnaise, and hollandaise sauces to name a few. An emulsion is really nothing more than the mixture of one liquid with another which wouldn't normally combine such as oil and water (or vinegar in this case). You do it slowly as described above which disperses and suspends minute droplets of one liquid throughout the other.

Ask The Chef...

If you have a food question, recipe question or a tip you'd like to share please submit it to Ask The Chef and we will do our best to include it in our blog and/or newsletter! Happy Trails!

Ask The Chef...Elderberries??

Q. What is an elderberry?

A. An elderberry is a purple-black tart fruit that comes from the elder tree. Although they are quite sour, elderberries can be eaten raw but are better used for jams, pies and homemade wine. The creamy white elderberry flowers can be added to salads or batter dipped and fried like fritters.

Turkeys...Fresh or Frozen?

When it comes to buying turkey, there are so many options out there, we thought we should put together a guide to help you pick out the right one for your dinner.

Frozen: Turkeys labeled "frozen" are flash frozen down to 0°F right after processing. They're every bit as flavorful as fresh ones. If you purchase a frozen turkey, allow plenty of time for it to thaw, at least 3-4 days. The best and safest methods to thaw the bird are: in the refrigerator or for up to 12 hours in a sink in very cold water, making sure to replenish the cold water every 30 minutes. Never thaw your turkey at room temperature (like on the counter) to avoid harmful bacteria.
Fresh: Fresh turkeys are only chilled and thus have a shorter shelf life than frozen turkeys. Because you don't have to thaw them, they are a more convenient option and my personal favorite.
Self-basting: Turkeys labeled "self-basting" have been injected with a solution intended to make them more flavorful and tender, which ends up saving you time, since these turkeys have been salted or otherwise seasoned. This means you can skip brining or marinating that can take several hours — plus, you're virtually guaranteed a moist and flavorful bird.
Organic: Organic turkeys come frozen, fresh, and self-basting, and are raised on organic feeds and without antibiotics. (This is the type of turkey I buy every year...the flavor really can't be beat!)

No matter which type of bird you choose, figure that you need 1 to 1 ½ pounds of turkey per person. Once you've determined the type and weight range you need, find the roundest bird available. Then clear out the freezer or refrigerator to make room for the turkey! Have a great dinner!

Ask the Chef - Edamame

Q. What is edamame?
~Tim D.
A. Edamame [eh-dah-MAH-meh] is the Japanese name for green soybeans. These soybeans are picked when they're fully grown but before they are completely mature. Edamame is easy to digest and extremely high in protein and fiber.

Ask The Chef - Spirulina

And before you ask "what is spirulina?" I thought I would beat you to the punch and answer your questions...because I know when my mom reads this she's gonna ask!


"Spirulina is a type of blue-green algae found in most lakes and ponds. It has been consumed for thousands of years by Mexican (Aztecs, Mayans), African, and Asian peoples. Spirulina is considered a complete protein because well over half of it consists of amino acids -- the building blocks of protein. It is also a rich source of other nutrients including B complex vitamins, beta-carotene, vitamin E, carotenoids, manganese, zinc, copper, iron, selenium, and gamma linolenic acid (an essential fatty acid). In fact, at least one laboratory study has demonstrated that the iron level in spirulina is equivalent to that contained in beef. Because of its apparent ability to stimulate the immune system, spirulina may have antiviral and anticancer effects. Test tube and animal studies suggest that spirulina may also help protect against harmful allergic reactions. More research is needed to fully understand how spirulina truly benefits people."
~UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND MEDICAL CENTER~

Ask The Chef

Q. What is white tea? Cris, R.

A. White teas are harvested and picked before the buds have opened fully and still have a fine white hair on them, hence the name. And just like green tea, white tea undergoes very little processing and no fermentation. Sometimes the buds are even shielded from sunlight to prevent the formation of chlorophyll. It contains the least amount of caffeine than the other teas and some studies show that it also has more active cancer fighting antioxidants than green tea. Because it is scarcer than the other traditional teas, this tea can be quite a bit more expensive. To enjoy white tea it is best steeped in water that is just below boiling point.

Expiration Dates

As far as frozen dinners, vegetables, anything prepackaged goes, there should be an expiration date on either end of the bag close to where it's sealed. Even prepackaged meats, fish, etc. have an expiration date on the package. If you can’t seem to find a date then I would say no more than six months depending on the product. Now if you are buying fresh and then freezing, the shelf life is different. For best results it really is better to vacuum pack your foods – it could extend the shelf life as much as two years for some of your meats (especially if you like to buy in bulk). For a general list of food product shelf life click here and as you navigate your way on the page, at the bottom are hyperlinks to tables of refrigeration and frozen food storage timelines...I hope this information helps!