Gunter Wilhelm Knives... A Review by a Picky Bastard

Spending many years working in kitchens, I have learned the most important tool is your knife kit. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of gadgets out there sold by Pampered Chef and those mall gourmet cooking stores that just take up room in your drawers and you never use but on rare occasions. Almost all of these can easily be replaced by a comprehensive set of quality knives and some decent knife skills.

During my cooking education and career, I have used many different brands of knives; Wusthof, Henkels, F. Dick, Cutco, Cuisinart, and Chicago Cutlery to name a few. After learning what makes a good knife simply through experience, I have found that I am a huge fanboy of Wusthof; they use excellent steel, hold an edge, and take a beating. They are really great knives.

Recently, I was walking around Costco planning my Thanksgiving meal and noticed they had a booth set up with some guys peddling some brand of cutlery that I never heard of before, Gunter Wilhelm. From a distance they looked pretty neat so I decided to walk over and take a look. To be perfectly honest, the salesman pissed me off right off the bat. He began giving me a pitch about the balance of the knife and showed me he could balance it on one finger. Because, yea, that is what I do with my knives, I balance them on my finger. I smelled bullshit and I told him so, and I wanted to know immediately why this gentleman deserved taking up any more of my time. He then began talking about the steel they use, and showed me a knife sharpener, and how its different from a steel, and yadda yadda yadda. Finally I just said to him "Just give me a sharp knife and something to cut, and I will tell you if you have shit or not." So from under the table he produced a demo knife, an 8" chef's knife, a tomato, and a carrot. I effortlessly julienned the carrot. Then he dared me to slice the tomato as thin as possible, so I began slicing paper thin slices of tomato. I was impressed. The knives were solid. He then started on the balance thing again and about how the balance lets you cut a tomato that thin, and we commenced another argument about the role balance plays when cutting. I have to say, I admired his insistence..... So, while the used car salesman pitch was irritating, I was impressed by the knives. They were offering them for $40 a piece, and had some pretty good prices on sets, and being Costco with the awesome return policy I figured I couldn't go wrong. I walked out with a 12" slicer and an 8" chef's knife.

That night I got home and the wife brought the nieces over, so I decided to make a London broil on the grill. I usually use an electric carver for London broil because you can get nice thin pieces without much effort, but I was dying to try out my new knives. I pulled out the slicer and went to town on the steak, and it sliced through the meat as if it were butter. There was no tugging at all, it didn't catch on the crusty parts, and none of the slices stuck to the blade. I was definitely impressed. I was able to cut super thin or nice and thick with ease. I then proceeded to cut up some asparagus to grill with the chef's knife, again, an effortless affair. Asparagus is tough and when cutting even a couple of pounds can make a blade noticeably less sharp, particularly on a cheap knife. This one held its edge and I was still able to shave hair off of my arm with it after cutting the tough vegetable fibers.

The next day I had to go back to Costco for something I forgot, and the salesman saw me and called me over and asked about how I liked my knives. I told him I was impressed and really liked them. As we were talking, a lady and her daughter came up looking for a sushi knife. Of course, the salesman suggested the complete wrong knife for sushi, but I stepped in and told her what she would really need, and they ended up buying the big set with the knife block. The salesman gave me an offset slicer as payment for selling a whole block..... Not too shabby.....

Things I really like about these knives:

• They look great - The are a full tang of stainless steel with a high density plastic (Like Wusthof Trident handles) made to look like rosewood. Very classy looking. 
• They are solid - These knives have some weight to them. The blades are a bit wider than my Wusthofs, and the extra metal in the handles give the knives a very solid feel. 
• Large handles - These handles don't look terribly comfortable, but I found them to actually be quite comfortable to use. They are large enough where I can really grip it with my ogre hands for tough jobs, let still slim enough for use with fast chopping. 
• They are well balanced - While I know the guy was all hyped up on the balance, he was pitching it for all the wrong reasons. The balance makes tough cutting jobs easier, like cutting bunches of asparagus.
• The heel of the Chef's knife doesn't go all the way to the edge of the blade. While it can be argued it makes the edge more likely to break, it makes cutting bulky items easier, as you don't have that small dull patch at the back of the blade. Plus, it will take many more sharpenings before you have to send it back for a new blade. 
• It comes with a ballistic nylon sheath - Putting knives in drawers just ruins them. The blades get dinged up and lose their edge, and you are playing Russian roulette every time you reach into your drawer to find something. These really protect the knives, and even have a loop so you can put them on a belt if you need to. A nice touch for the pro's out there....
• 440 Stainless Steel Blades - This is the same type of steel used by Wusthof and Henkels. It is strong, holds a good edge, and stays looking nice. While its not Japanese steel capable of honing to a razor's edge, it requires much less special care and is perfect for most any situation. 
• Lifetime Warranty - I read up on this company after purchasing my two knives, and with any product as personal as a cooking knife, there are lovers and there are haters. But one thing I found universally was they had great customer service and responded quickly to customers. Henkels and Wusthof also have lifetime warranties on their high end knives, but you have to send your knife in and wait for them to send it back after it is fixed, which can take weeks or even months. 
• The blade is honed to a true "V" from the factory. Most knives from Wusthof, Henkels, and others come with an offset "V" or "y" shape to the blades edge, where one side of the blade is honed shorter than the other, which makes it difficult to get consistently straight cuts. Typically the first thing I do with new knives is resharpen them to a true "V" so I can always get straight, true cuts. 

Things I don't like about these knives:

• The handles get slippery when your hards are wet or greasy - honestly, the only knives I used where this wasn't an issue was with my Wusthof Grand Prix which have a bulbous, textured handle. 
• They are a bit bulky. The wider blades are nice for weight, but the extra 1/2 inch or so of width makes them a bit more difficult for precision work. 

All in all, these knives are really, really good, especially so for the price. For this quality, I would expect to pay $100 or more per knife. The price tag of $40 per knife at Costco, or even $69 on their website is a bargain for what you get. These will last a very long time and perform great. I look forward to them coming back to Costco so I can grab a couple more. 

Tis the season.... for PARTIES!!!! Party Planning 101

Greetings All,

So as the title says, 'tis the season for holiday parties. Ugly sweaters, boozed up egg nog in antler glasses, and pigs in a blanket are the staples of holiday parties... How many times have you been to one of the ho-hum holiday parties where the most exciting thing that happened was getting the yellow mustard on your Swiss cheese and realizing it is actually pretty good? Too many times for me, that is for sure.... SO the purpose of this blog entry is to talk a little bit about good party planning.. what it takes to turn the ho-hum holiday party to the event your friends cant wait for each year.

Invitations
Invitations are the one of the most important parts of any party, as they set the tone of what people expect. Invitations should be simple and to the point, yet somewhat elegant in how they say it. The invitation should include the details important to the party: Time, Place, Reason (birthday, holiday), Party Type, Contact Information, and a short note to your guests. The note is where to convey the overall atmosphere of the party.. Will it be a classy cocktail party with jazzy christmas classics, or will it be a booze soaked drinking and singing around the piano party? Hey, its your party, do what you like... Another option I generally include is a vague menu so people know what to expect. How often have you asked your significant other if it is a good idea to eat before going to a party? I like my guests to know so they come hungry.... Here is an example of an Evite (www.evite.com) invitation that I used for a Christmas party:

This invitation is very simple and elegant, and subtly conveys that this is an elegant holiday cocktail party. The wording of the note is simple, straightforward, and implies that this is not something you wear your UCSC Banana Slugs T-shirt and ripped jeans to. The menu reinforces that there will be light offerings and munchies, and wine and beer to drink. For the socially inept, it also tell you at the bottom NOT to wear your Banana Slugs T-shirt. In short, it gets the point across, and is not obnoxious or snobby.
This leads me into another point about invitations.... EVITE ROCKS! It is easy to set up, just pick a template, enter your info, enter your guests list, and you are off to the races.... best of all, its free. It gives you guests a place to RSVP, contact you, and see who else is coming. The first one you do is a little bit of a pain, but once you do one, your guest list is already done so its just checking off who you want to invite.

Food
Food is the one part of a party that is almost always screwed up because people ALWAYS try to overdo it. They either make way too many things, or they try to do really complex things that they dont have the time or skill to do. With food, it is OK to make things that are just good, they don't always have to be fancy. For instance, a typical cocktail party menu for me consists of a small fruit tray, a small vegetable tray, olives, a big bowl of cocktail shrimp, a cheese cube tray, and and nicely laid out tray of gourmet cheeses. I will also have one or two "specialty" items that I put together for the theme of the event. For a holiday party, smoked salmon or Gravlax (cured salmon) is a terrific item to add into the menu; it is super easy to deal with and everyone LOVES it. Just get a nice of smoked salmon, or make your own gravlax (There is a terrific recipe in the Silver Palate Cookbook), throw it on a nice tray, garnish with mixed greens, capers, diced hard cooked egg, diced red onion, and cream cheese and you have a *WOW* dish that everyone will talk about.

The important thing to remember about the food is do things that you can make and put together ahead of time. If you want to do something to turn out during the party, keep it simple and make sure it can be prepped ahead of time, such as bruschetta or baguette slices with brie and dates; you throw them together, pop them in the oven, and in minutes you are back with your guests.

You will want to avoid things that get gross if they are kept hot, such as pigs in a blanket, fried or baked cheese, or hot sandwich meats (turkey, ham, roasted beef) unless you will have the time to have several small batches ready to go. Also, if you choose to do something like pigs in a blanket or fried cheese, make sure you use a vented covering so they don't get soggy.

For desserts, remember to fit them to the occasion. Sheet cakes are great for things like birthdays where everyone will have a slice of cake, but for holiday parties you will see them go to waste. Items such as parfaits, cupcakes, chocolate dipped cookies, and chocolates are great, as guests can pick them up and continue to move about the party with little fear of staining their reindeer sweater or Christmas tree tie.

Beverages
This is another area where people screw up alot. I can't tell you how many times I have been at a party and had to drink warm beer for the first hour because the host didn't put it in the ice correctly. For those of you that don't know how to ice a cooler, here is how to do it.... First, put 2 inches of ice in the bottom. Add beers, but dont pack them too closely, give them about an inch apart. Add ice to cover to just below the caps. Do it about an hour before, and you will be good. If you are putting it in a refrigerator, put it in about two hours before the party. My personal preference is the iced cooler, because you can get more beer colder much faster making it easier to keep the party going.

Coffee is something that hosts often get caught with. Either one person wants a cup and you have to make a whole pot, or you have that one person that HAS to have decaf. If you choose to offer coffee, I recommend purchasing a Keurig machine or something similar, that way guests can easily have some choices and you aren't wasting whole pots of coffee.

And now for the wines... Reds should be served at room temperature or slightly cooler, Blushes or Rose should be served chilled, and Whites MUST be served chilled. Again, you can chill your wine in the refrigerator, just make sure you put it in at least 2 hours ahead of time, and remember to have several extras in as well. If you are going to ice your wine, the best way to do it is to use a ratio of 3 parts ice to one part cold water, and submerge the wine halfway up the neck. A 750ml bottle will be chilled in less than 20 minutes. Typically, you can expect 3-4 glasses of wine from a 750ml bottle, and most guests will drink 2-4 glasses of wine. It is a good idea to have at least half to 3/4 of your wine chilled before the party because it usually goes fast and takes a little while to chill.

Last.... Liquors.... Liquors and parties are generally NOT a good idea. The reason for this statement is that it is much easier to overindulge at a party drinking liquor than wines or beer. In many states you can be held liable if someone leaves your house drunk and gets into an accident, so its a good idea to avoid the hard stuff. Usually, I keep a few choice liquors on hand for those who really prefer it, but I only offer mixed drinks and keep the bottle away so they don't start pouring on their own. This lets me have a good idea of how much someone is drinking, and what shape they are in when it is time to leave. If you still want to do liquors, I would recommend making a big bowl of rum punch or whisky sours.

Also, ALWAYS have a few bottles of soda or other types of non-alcoholic beverages on hand, so designated drivers can still have fun without feeling left out. Good choices include Izze, San Pelegrino, and Perrier.

Entertainment
For a well planned party, the entertainment will generally take care of itself. The best part of any party is the conversation, getting people talking, sharing stories, and telling jokes. The best way to get it going is to make sure you introduce everyone if they don't know each other already, and keep the drinks flowing the first hour. Personally, I just pour without asking the first hour, as it loosens everyone up. I also make the rounds to each group of people and help along the conversation; in many cases you are the only link between guests at your party, and can often give a conversation a kick start to get them talking. One thing to avoid for parties is TV/Movies (unless its a superbowl or media event party), as it gives people a reason to sit around and not be part of your party, thus making all of your hard work pointless. Another thing is make sure you have music, but make sure it is not too loud and it fits the event. You don't want Dropkick Murphys or 50 Cent blaring at classy cocktail party. iPods are awesome for this because you can make a playlist, load it with stuff for your party, and let it play. If you want, games like Wii Bowling and Rock Band are great for parties as well, but only if you have the space to dedicate to it.

Size of the Party
One thing that people often do is invite too many people for the space that they have. It is hard to have fun at a party and converse with people if you cannot move. Remove pieces of furniture that take up a lot of room or that can be easily knocked over.

Seating is another to think about; if people are not comfortable, they won't want to stay. It is important to make sure you have enough places for people to sit and relax. A good rule of thumb is have seats for at least 3/4s of the number of people you invite. In most cases, people will walk around a bit, grab a drink or a bite to eat, talk, then take a break, then get up and do it all over again. If it is a formal dinner party, ensure places are set beforehand so you are not scrambling to find chairs at the last minute.

Another thing to consider is what you are going to do with coats. Most of us are not Andrew Carnegie and have a hat check girl at the door, and a coat tree or closet gets packed pretty quickly. Typically I take a guests coat and put it in an extra bedroom. When the guest is ready to leave, I go and get it. This seems like a pain, but it allows you to see what condition your guests are in before they leave the house, and gives you a chance to have them stick around awhile longer to have a glass of water and sober up if needed.

Think About The Flow
Most parties end up breaking up into smaller groups of people who find each other entertaining or know each other beforehand. Keeping this in mind, arrange your space to accommodate that. Arrange seating so that small groups can form yet still have access to refreshments. This is easy to accomplish if you have a modern open floor plan home, simply have your food and beverages in a central location, such as a kitchen island or table centrally located. If you have an older home with a few smaller rooms, don't fret; small tables (like coffee tables and end tables) can be used to set up smaller refreshment tables in each room. Remember to keep traffic areas clear so people can still move freely.


Throwing a party can be a stressful affair, but it really doesn't have to be. A little bit of forethought and planning goes a long way to make sure you and your guests have a good time and enjoy the party. So plan your menu a few days before, make food ahead of time, and get that wine chilling early so you don't have to be a harrowed host.

Feel free to ask me specific questions on your upcoming party or holiday feast, I will be glad to assist!

Sausage, in a Bird, in a Bird, in a Bird, in a Bird.... Layered with Sausage.....

Sausage, in a Bird, in a Bird, in a Bird, in a Bird.... Layered with Sausage.....

OK, so we have all either saw the infamous Turduckhen displayed in specialty foods catalogs ( http://www.cabelas.com/entrees-cabelas-tur-duc-hen.shtml ) around the holidays, or saw Epic Meal Time's Turbaconepic ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xc5wIpUenQ ) ..... either way it has caused lust amongst us food lovers.... So, for this Thanksgiving I have decided to forego my traditional Smoked Turkey for something a little more adventurous. I decided to take two different types of animals and a few species and meld them in a deliciously unholy way that will only cement my room in the depths of hell...

I decided to take delicious sausage, and stuff a delicious cornish game hen with it. Then stuff the corning game hen into a chicken. Then stuff the chicken into a duck. Then stuff the duck into the turkey. Then smoke it with wood chips made from the casks that they age Jim Beam bourbon in.  
( http://www.amazon.com/Beam-BTJB48-Smoking-Bisquettes-Count/dp/B001HZXYCI/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1353296649&sr=8-10&keywords=bradley+smoker+bisquettes )

Up to no good.......

Before I go any further, let it be known that this project will take a few hours to prep before you even get it to the smoker, and you have to have some serious knife skills to pull this off. I would recommend if you do not have the aforementioned knife skills either have the butcher debone your birds for you, order a Turduckhen from Cabela's, have an ambulance waiting in your driveway for the inevitable (and unenviable) trip to the hospital to have your forearm reattached, or just skip this project altogether. I am a guy who has a degree in culinary arts and ran some big ass kitchens in my day, and this was a pain in the ass challenging task. 

I would plan on par cooking the bird a few days before your meal, then reheating and glazing in the oven the day of the meal. Because of all of the layers involved, this one will be a difficult one to time with the rest of your meal, and you don't want anyone to get sick from undercooked poultry.  

So, what you will need for this:

2 lbs Sage Pork Sausage (or some other non-breakfast sausage that you like. I would imagine chorizo, andouille, or even kielbasa would be good in this.... or bacon if you are into Internet memes)
1 - Partially Deboned Turkey (12 lbs, leg bones and wings left intact, innner bones and backbone removed)
1 - Fully Deboned Duck (5-6 lbs, no bones at all, leg meat intact)
1 - Fully Deboned Chicken (4-5 lbs, no bones at all, leg meat intact)
1 - Fully Deboned Cornish Game Hen (1-2 lbs typically, again, no bones)
1 lb Bread Stuffing Mix (homemade or store bought, whatever you like)
2-3 oz. Cabela's Roasted Garlic and Beer Seasoning
2 - 4 cups of chicken stock
2 - Jumbo Eggs

Tools:

1 -SHARP 6" Boning Knife
1- Large Skillet
1 - Large Cutting Board with something to keep it from sliding (wet towel laid under it works fine)
Butcher's Twine
3 Half Bakers Sheets (or 3 large cookie trays)
Calibrated Stick Thermometer

Method:

How NOT to do this.....

1. Thaw and debone your birds. You can do this by brining it for a couple of days in the fridge, buying them fresh or thawed, or just letting your frozen birds sit in the fridge for a few days. You can choose to remove the skin from everything except the Turkey. I took the skin off of the game hen and chicken, and trimmed the duck fat liberally. IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO DEBONE A BIRD, DON'T ATTEMPT THIS PART!!!! HAVE A BUTCHER DO IT FOR YOU!!!!

2. Once your birds are thawed, seasoned, and boneless, start making your stuffing. Cook off your two pounds of sausage in a large skillet. Once browned, add 2 cups of your chicken stock to deglaze the pan. Add in your dry stuffing mix. Stir until all of the moisture is absorbed. The stuffing mix needs to be rather moist and sticky, yet retain a ball shape. Add more chicken stock or cook a little bit uncovered to adjust the stickiness. Think Sushi Rice..... Let it cook off a bit until warm, but not too hot to touch. 

3. Add your eggs, ONE AT A TIME, to you warm stuffing stirring as you go. This will help stiffen your stuffing once it is cooked to make for a nice presentation. 

4. Take two long pieces (about 2-3 feet depending on your knotting skills) across the center of one of your baking sheets in an X shape.

5. Take a baseball sized bit of stuffing and roll it into a tight ball and place it in the middle of your tray with the butchers twine laid across it, right on top of the twine. 

6. Take your boneless Cornish Game Hen, and lay it over top of the stuffing ball, being careful to tuck in the edges. 

7. Layer about 1/4 inch of stuffing on top of the Cornish Game Hen. Smooth it out so it covers the bird entirely. 

8. Place your Chicken over top of the Cornish Game Hen being careful to tuck in the edges. Layer it with 1/4 inch of stuffing.

9. Place your Duck over your Chicken being careful to tuck in the edges. Layer it with 1/4 inch of stuffing.

10. Place your Turkey over your Duck being careful to tuck in the edges. Take your butchers twine and tie them firmly in an X shape. Don't tie it so tight it squeezes your stuffed birds out. This is a temporary tie and will be removed in the coming steps.

11. Place another baking sheet on top of your birds and gingerly flip it so it is breast side down. 

12. Commence tying a butcher's the length of the bird. I found it best to have 4 segments, on in the front in front of the wings, two in the middle, and one in the back, using the tails to truss the legs together. To maximize my easily sliced portion, I tied it in such a way that it looks like a long turkey. 

12a. Paula Deen has an alternative method for this that uses several metal skewers run through the bottom of the turkey, parallel to one another, perpendicular to the backbone, then lacing it up like a sneaker. I attempted this, but found the Turkey skin too weak for this to work effectively. 

13. Flip the bird gingerly back over onto either your smoker rack or the sheet you will bake it on. 

14. Generously season your bird with the Cabela's spice (or whatever you like)

Baking:

If baking, place the bird into an oven preheated to 500 degrees. Allow it to roast for 15 - 20 minutes. Turn the oven down to about 275 degrees and let it finish low and slow. If you get impatient and cook at too high a temperature, the eggs in your stuffing will leaven and force the whole thing apart. Take your time. Expect to roast it 3-5 hours depending on final weight.

Awww Yea.... The Bradley Smoker...

Smoking:

Smoke the bird until the internal temp reaches 155 degrees, which will take about 5-8 hours at 200 degrees. Hickory, Cherry, and Mesquite work well for poultry. If you have a Bradley smoker, I would recommend the Jim Beam smoking pucks. 

Once Par Cooked, place the bird on a cooling rack on top of a bakers sheet. Allow it to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes or so, then transfer to the fridge once it is cool to the touch. Cover it loosely with foil to allow air to circulate. 

Reheating:

To reheat this bird, place in a roasting pan with a rack. Put about 2-3 cups of Chicken Stock in the bottom, cover loosely, and place into the oven. Baste often with butter or garlic oil. Once the internal temp get to about 130, take it out of the oven, pour off the chicken stock, and turn the oven to 375 degrees. Baste with Butter or Garlic Oil and the skin should become golden brown. If the temperature gets to 145 degrees or higher and the skin has not crisped up, put the bird on the middle low rack and use the broiler. MAKE SURE YOU WATCH IT CAREFULLY!!! FAT IS FLAMMABLE!!!

Once the skin looks the way you want it to, remove it from the oven and allow it to rest for about 20 minutes. Slice and eat with gravy or the Roasted Shallot Sauce mentioned in an earlier post.

Turkey Day Epiphany......Grill Roasted Turkey and Roasted Shallot-Red Wine Sauce

Greetings All,

So, Thanksgiving 2010 has come and gone, and I hope all 2 of you regular readers out there had a wonderful and culinarily successful holiday. For me, I decided to go out on a limb and deviate from my tried and true, perfect EVERY TIME turkey recipe and rather than roast by bird in the oven, I decided to break out the Weber Genesis and give it a whirl on there. Bolstered by my past successes with Prime Rib, Pork Tenderloins, and other big ass chunks of mammal, I thought it a great idea to try it with some avian fare for a change. After pondering it for a few days, I thought I had a good plan; stick with my usual turkey routine and just put it on the grill instead of in the oven. So, at 10:00 am on Thanksgiving, I pulled the grill out of the garage, gave her a good once over with the wire brush and started her up. She got nice and hot, I threw the bird and the giblets on the grill, backed it off to medium heat, and smugly went inside relishing in my culinary brilliance. I began crafting my gravy, preparing it for the neck and giblets lovingly roasting on the grill, added the wine to simmer and decided to go grab the gravy goodies from the grill.

Never in my life would I have ever imagined an ENTIRE 25 pound turkey.... ON FIRE....... Yup, the whole damn thing looked like a torch from an Indiana Jones movie. Luckily, having just removed it from the brine not 20 minutes before, I still had my bucketful of brine near the grill, so I quickly dunked it into the salty water and heard a satisfying hiss as my turkey stopped trying to roast itself. Realizing my error through my bourbon induced haze (not always smart to start drinking when you get up on a holiday simply because you CAN), I left the center burner on (a no no when roasting on the grill) and also neglected to put foil under the bird (another no no with high fat items). So I corrected my mistakes, turned the center burner off and got me some foil. I somehow managed to get the turkey out of the brine without looking at it, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the bird was not in the least bit black; the super salty brine lifted almost all the carbon from skin of the bird, just like I pushed the factory reset button in the turkey's cavity. So, I began anew with the grill set correctly and some foil to catch the excess fat, and life was once again on track. I had my doubts the first hour or so of roasting, but glad I had the fortitude to stay the course, as the bird turned out more beautifully than ever before, and was easily the best one I have EVER made. The meat was a little bit smokey, well seasoned from the brine, and very juicy. SO, should you decide to do your turkey on the grill, remember a little foil will save your ass, and not to get it too hot... I kept mine steadily between 300 and 350 degrees, and the 25 lb bird took about 3.5 hours to cook thoroughly, basting every 30 minutes with my usual garlic oil.

My second adventure for the holiday was to deviate from the standard pan-dripping gravy that everyone does for the holidays, since I didn't have a pan in which to catch said drippings with my bird being on the grill and all. SO, I decided to scrounge around and see what I had laying around the house and come up with something from that. I had about 10 shallots, a 2 year old bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau, some beef stock and some chicken stock, as well as the grilled neck and giblets from the turkey. So, I decided with these ingredients I was going to make a masterpiece. I peeled my shallots and tossed them whole in the oven with a little oil, made a sauce base with a little garlic and 2 cups of the wine, and started a nice reduction while the shallots roasted. Once golden brown and sweet, I chopped up the shallots and tossed them in the reduction along with the neck and giblets, and let it simmer for another hour. On a whim, I tossed in a few leaves of fresh savory from the herb garden, thickened it up, and mounted with with 4 tablespoons of butter (it was a big batch of sauce) and seasoned it up with salt and pepper.

The sauce was AMAZING! It had a nice toasty sweet flavor balanced nicely with full body of the wine and concentrated stock, accentuated by the smoothness of the butter that was stirred in at the end. The sauce went perfectly with the turkey, playing off of the smokiness and garlic of the turkey just enough to make your taste buds sing. OK, I lose a man card for that description, but it was awesome nonetheless.

Since it was a sauce on a whim, I didn't really write anything down, but I will estimate below as well as I can. Post up if you have specific questions. Oh, and if you like what you read and cook, please follow my blog, as there will be much more to come!

Roasted Shallot - Red Wine Sauce


2 Tablespoons Fresh Garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 cups Beaujolais Nouveau wine (or any red wine you like)
4 cups Chicken Stock
4 cups Beef Stock
1 Tbsp Chicken Base or Bouillon
Turkey neck and giblets
10 shallots, whole roasted then rough chopped (medium to large size pieces)
10 leaves of fresh Savory, chopped
2 Tbsp whole butter (used for mounting the sauce after thickening)

Basically for this recipe I just went by gut. I sauteed the garlic a bit, then added the wine. Added the neck and giblets. Reduced the wine by one half (half the wine was left), added the stock, reduced by half again. I stirred in the bouillon, and let it simmer. After about 45 minutes, I added the shallots and savory and let it cook for another 45 minutes to 1 hour. I brought the sauce back to a boil, thickened it with corn starch and water, and let it cook another 15 minutes to let the cornstarch cook. I shut it off and let it cool for about 10 minutes, then stirred the butter into the warm sauce. The butter should melt slowly as you stir, which adds richness to the sauce. Once the butter is melted and stirred in, the sauce is ready to serve.

A Little Piece of Heaven..... Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding

Greetings All, 

So, it has been a little longer than I had hoped since I last wrote, but it has been a crazy few weeks. Running around like a madman always makes me yearn for comfort food, and I have had this delectable concoction rolling around in my head for days now. This is an interesting little twist on a typical "Grandma's" style comfort food; I remember going to my Grammy's house on chilly fall days and getting warmed up with a hunk of her nice warm Bread Pudding with raisins, cinnamon, and caramel. It was a terrific treat that always made me look forward to crisp fall Saturday mornings. This version, however, is NOT my Grammy's... it is a lot creamier, more sophisticated, but equally as desirable. Croissants make an excellent base for this pudding, as they "meld" much nicer with the custard than your typical rolls or bread used for pudding. This creamy sweetness paired with the rich, sweet, and slightly bitter Belgian chocolate makes the perfect ending to any meal, the perfect start to any day, AND the perfect sweet morsel for an afternoon pick-me-up. 

This is a very versatile pudding; can be served hot or cold, in large bowls with Vanilla ice cream or chilled and cut up into bite size morsels; can be a dessert or a part of a holiday breakfast or bunch with a richly roasted coffee. The nice thing about this is that it can be made several days in advance, then eaten chilled or just popped in the microwave for 45 seconds to warm it up. 

The chocolate for this recipe is very important, as you need something that can stand up to being in the oven for a long while. I HIGHLY recommend a high quality chocolate, such as Callebaut or Ghirardelli(available in most grocery stores), but if you can find the big chunks of block chocolate found in bins at a candy store or candy aisle at the grocery store that will work well too. Avoid chocolate chips, as they are too small and won't do well in the oven. I hate to be a stickler on this, but in this case you will REALLY see a difference. I tried many types and sizes of chocolate, but only the chunks really worked well. Chips tend to melt and dissolve into the custard, making a chocolate custard with no delicious contrast.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings.... On to the recipe!!!

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding

Tools-

1 - Large Mixing Bowl

1 - Balloon Whisk

1 - 12 X 20 X 2" Hotel Pan (or 2 9 X 13" pans)

1 - Cutting Board

1 - 8" (or larger) Chef's Knife

1 - Sauce Pan

1 - Wooden Spoon

 Custard-

 Milk - 2 qts

 Heavy Cream - 2 cups

 Sugar - 3 cups

 Whole Eggs (large) 10 each

 Egg Yolks 8 each    (you can save the whites for meringue if you want a sticky sweet topping :) )

 Pure Vanilla Extract -  2TBSP (or as much as you like)

 Croissants - This really depends on the size of them... I just cut them up

 into big chunks, enough to fill a hotel pan about 2/3 of the way.... You can

 buy frozen ones, its okay :)

 Belgian Chocolate (Callebaut brand is the best... Needs to be a harder

 chocolate, hersheys doesn't cut it) - I would say about 1.5 - 2 lbs, but

 really as much as you like... Cut it into random big chunks the size of a

 quarter using a big chef's knife....

 1. Heat 1/2 of the milk just enough to dissolve the sugar (scalded is

 perfect)

 2. Beat the Eggs and the Yolks together just enough to incorporate them

 together, then add the cold milk and heavy cream

 3. Add the warm milk to the mixture and mix well.

 ** This mixture can be made and kept on hand for a few days, so if you

 are having a party, make the mix ahead of time

 To Bake:

 1. Preheat oven to 250* (convection) or 275* (standard)

 2. Put the croissants into a full hotel pan, pour custard over the top.

 It

 should mostly cover the croissants but not so they are swimming....

 3. Let stand 30 minutes ( this breaks down the croissants a bit and

 makes it

 creamier)

 4. Add the chocolate to the top, just drop it all over the place.... Get

 that chocolate dust from cutting it on there too... It only makes it

 better

 5. Bake until the custard sets, about 30 minutes to 1 hour (depending on

 how

 thick the pudding is)

 6. Let it chill (you can eat it hot if you want, but I am a firm

 believer in

 letting a custard cool to remove excess water to concentrate the

 flavors. If

 you want it warm you can always pop it in the microwave for a couple

 seconds)

 7. Cut. Eat. Smile. Fall Asleep knowing your life is now perfect.....

Holiday Feasting Continued.... Orange Glazed Grilled Carrots

The Carrots of Awesomeness!!

Greetings All,
This side dish came about to help me combat that age old problem of holiday feasts at home.... OVEN SPACE!!! Anyone who has made a Thanksgiving dinner can attest that oven space is at a premium, with the bread stuffing, the potato stuffing, the green bean casserole, the turkey, the pumpkin pie, and on and on and on..... Now, with a little bit of planning, you can avoid stacking your oven to the hilt to make sure everything is hot at the same time, and this side dish is a direct result of that planning. These carrots can be blanched (boiled for a couple of minutes, then dunked in ice water) a day or two before and left to soak in the marinade/glaze. So when it comes to getting the food done, you just toss these guys on the grill a few minutes before dinner, and BAM! An awesome side dish that everyone will rave about.

The idea originally came from the Weber Grills Holiday Recipe emails that their corporate chef, Jamie Purviance, lovingly crafts and send out around the holidays. Even if you don't have a Weber grill, go to their site and sign up for their recipes; Chef Purviance is an undisputed master of the grill, and his recipes are always simple, tasty, and easy to prepare. These Orange Glazed Carrots combine the flavors of honey and orange with the zing of a splash of balsamic vinegar, and after a few minutes on the grill the glaze thickens a bit and becomes a little gooey, much like a good barbecue sauce would.

So, on to the recipe!

This recipe will serve 4 to 6 people a healthy portion, and it multiplies easily in case you have the whole family over. It takes about 20 minutes to prepare beforehand, and takes less than 10 minutes on the grill.

Tools:
Vegetable Peeler
Large Bowl or Stock Pot (8 quart works nicely)
Balloon Whisk
Metal Tongs (to take the carrots out of the water)
Zester
Pot for boiling water (8 quart stock pot works nicely)
1 Big Zip Loc bag, big enough to hold your carrots OR a cake pan large enough to lay them in.

You will need:
Ice
Water
 Kosher Salt
12 medium carrots (6-8 inches long, about 1 inch across at the stem), peeled
3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted
2 Tablespoons Honey
2 teaspoons Orange Zest (that is the orange part of the rind, more about this later)
2 teaspoons Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tablespoons chopped Parsley

To begin:
1. Put a pot of water on to boil with 2 Tablespoons of Kosher Salt, enough to cover 6 of the carrots at a time.
2. Prepare an ice bath (1 part water to 1 part ice) in a large bowl or stock pot. It is a good idea to have extra ice on hand to add if you are multiplying this recipe for more guests.
3. Once the water is at a rolling boil, place 6 of the carrots into the water. Cook the carrots for 2 - 4 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. You should be able to bend them a little bit without them breaking. Remember that we are going to cook them again, so we would rather UNDERCOOK them at this point than overcook them.
4. IMMEDIATELY plunge the carrots into the ice water. This will stop the cooking process so they stay at the doneness you like. Also, it will activate the pigments in the carrots, turning them bright orange, making them very fresh looking.
5. Once the carrots are cold, remove them from the ice bath and pat them dry. Place them into your Zip Loc
6. Repeat steps 3, 4, and 5 for the other half of the carrots.

Making the Glaze:
1. Combine 1/4 teaspoon of salt, honey, orange zest, and vinegar in a bowl. Gently whisk until well combined.
2. Make sure the butter is melted completely, and whisking the first mixture vigorously, add the butter SLOWLY to the mix. As you whisk, the butter will emulsify with the other mix, slightly thickening it. There should be little or no separation when you are done whisking.
3. Pour the mixture into the bag with the carrots, rolling them around gently to ensure they get evenly coated. (you will want to repeat this every so often until its time to grill them so the carrots absorb as much of that flavor as possible)
4. Place the bag into the fridge until it is time to cook them. As they cool, the butter will separate a bit from the mixture, but don't worry about it. This can be done the day before and left until right before serving.

Turning out:
1. Preheat your grill to about 400 degrees (medium heat, all burners set about halfway)
2. About 10 minutes before you are ready to eat, place the carrots on the grill perpendicular to the grates (this keeps them from falling through or sticking too hard on the surface)
3. Grill the carrots for about 5 minutes, or until they reach the doneness you prefer (personally, I like 'em a little crunchier)
4. Place on serving plate, pour the remaining glaze out of the bag onto the carrots, and garnish with the parsley. If you are feeling spunky, the orange that you removed the zest from could be segmented and diced and sprinkled on top as well.
5. NOM NOM NOM NOM

A few other things.........


Using a zester:
A zester is a tool that is made to remove only the very thin outer layer of skin from citrus fruits, where the color is. This thin layer holds much of the fruits volatile oils and thus provides an intense flavor. The white portion of the rind is very bitter, even more so when it is cooked, so avoid the white as much as possible. A zester looks like this:


Or, like this:


Personally, I use a microplane grater/zester for this because honestly, hand zesters are a pain in the butt. You have to hold the fruit tightly and forge the rounded ends into the zest and drag it away, and you can cut yourself if you are not careful. The Microplane works just like a grater; a few zips of the fruit down the side of this thing, and you are off to the races!

How To Roast a Perfect Turkey

The Perfect Bird

How to Cook the Perfect Holiday Turkey

Greetings All!


This is a blog about food.... simple, perfect, and delicious. My inspiration to begin blogging came from something near and dear to almost every American, that hallowed centerpiece of holiday gatherings, the turkey. How often have you been at a family holiday sitting at the table quaffing beverages to get the dry, overcooked turkey down, or been the bewildered cook staring questionably at a frozen bird? All too often at my own holiday gatherings I have fallen victim to awful turkey; a pale skin, dry breasts, and legs cooked to death... It is this experience which has led me tap into my wealth of food knowledge to help the every day cooks at home to prepare wonderful, perfect feasts with the least amount of hassle.

"Who IS this pompous ass?" you may ask yourself as you read. Well, let me tell you! I am an ex-chef, who after 15 or so years in the business of running big kitchens, decided to change careers a few years back. Now, I am an engineer with a 9-5 job who LOVES to come home and cook for my family and friends. I guess you can always take the chef out of the kitchen, but can never take the kitchen out of the chef.... During my cooking career, I have run several large restaurants with the premise that quality should never take a back seat, because it is just as easy to make something great as it is to make something horrible.... it is just a matter of how much you know.

My short term goal for this blog is to help all of you survive the holidays with beautiful, delicious food that can be easily prepared and turned out when your family is eagerly awaiting their feast. I would like to help you make YOUR house the place your friends and relatives can't wait to get to for supper. Additionally, I hope to be able to give some pointers for entertaining, to help make your event special while helping you keep your sanity. After we tackle the holidays (with at least a few nice fall/winter dishes sprinkled in there) we will set our sights on weeknight meals and weekend feasts.

So, without further adieu, here is how to roast a perfect turkey.....

The perfect bird should be golden brown, moist, and delicious, and should be pretty painless to do. As with anything worth doing, the most work is in the preparation, before you get down to the brass tacks of actually roasting the turkey.

Preparing the turkey:

1. Thawing – Most of us will be getting a frozen turkey through work or from the grocery store. In order to avoid food poisoning, it is critical to thaw it correctly in the refrigerator. Just place it on a tray still in its original wrapper, and let it sit in the fridge for 3-4 days.
1. Another technique is to brine the turkey during the thawing process. It is still done in the fridge, except you will soak the turkey in salt water. Brining will help to speed up the thawing process while concentrating the flavors of your bird while seasoning it. A 20 lb turkey thawed in 5 gallons of brine will take about 24 hours to thaw.  A proper brine solution should be about 2 pounds of salt to 5 gallons of water. Simply start off with tap water, (cold, but not ice cold) add the salt, and stir it until the salt is dissolved. Place the turkey into the solution and put it in the fridge. It is that simple. Once thawed, dry the turkey inside and out with paper towels.
2. Once thawed, the first thing to do is find the pop up timer in the breast of the turkey. Once you found it, THROW IT OUT. Using these will almost guarantee your bird will be overcooked and will most likely suck. The reason is that these timers are based upon temperature, and pop when the temperature of the breast reaches 160 – 170 degrees, well past tasty and into the “Why Am I So Thirsty Turkey Zone.” To cook a good bird, invest in a good stick thermometer. You can get one here for under $10:

3. After removing the timer, reach into the cavity in between the legs and remove the neck. Go to the front of the turkey near the wings and remove the organ bag. Save these parts for your gravy, they will make it amazing.


4. Seasoning – This is the part of the process that is open to interpretation. Season your turkey with things you like. However, no matter what spices you use, you will need a decent quality Olive Oil. Typically I use the “Pure Olive Oil” which is a third pressing of the olives, and thus is not as rich (or as expensive) as Extra Virgin. For my turkey, I use freshly cracked pepper, sea salt, and garlic. I take about 2 cups of oil and a few tablespoons of garlic and run it through the blender to make a smooth garlic oil (do this a day ahead so the flavors have time to marry) Sprinkle the salt and pepper all over your bird, inside and out, carefully minding the “armpits” under the legs and wings. Then brush or pour some of the oil over the bird, taking care to evenly distribute the oil and garlic. Make sure to get some in the cavity as well. Once seasoned, let it sit for an hour or so before you plan to cook it. You can also do this the night before if you plan to eat early.

1. If you are feeling frisky, get some of that oil, salt, and pepper UNDER the skin to season the meat directly. While not critical, it will make it taste a little better. However, you run the risk of your skin shrinking and your turkey looking like a leper… your call…..

5. Stuffing The Bird- Over the past few years, stuffing the bird has been considered blasé or even dangerous. The problem is, when grandma made her stuffing, she usually did it the day before so it was nice and cool to handle when she stuffed the bird. I ALWAYS stuff my turkey; it makes the stuffing better and evens out the cooking of the bird. The secret is to stuff your bird while the stuffing is still HOT. Just use a spoon, then you don’t get burned. Using the hot stuffing will not add significantly to the cooking time of the turkey, and will keep it out of the “temperature danger zone” during roasting when the nasty little buggies try to poison you. 

6. The Roasting Pan – This is probably the most important consideration to make when making your bird. Personally, I have a nice Caphalon roasting pan with a rack that I use. However, since this is something that most people will only use once or twice a year, it may be better for you to use a disposable pan. Just make sure that the sides are not too high (2-3 inches is perfect) so the heat can reach all of the bird evenly. If your pan is too deep, it will not heat the bird evenly. It doesn’t really matter what you prefer to do, just make sure you do something to get the turkey off the floor of the pan above the juices. You can put a few stalks of whole celery and a few whole carrots in the bottom to do this. The reason for getting the turkey in the air a bit is to get the juices (the water that comes out of the turkey) to evaporate rather than have the bird sit in it. If you have the bird on the floor of the pan, you lose critical surface area to get those juices evaporating, and it will just cause your turkey to cook unevenly and taste boiled on the bottom portions, which you don’t want. So, in short, get that bird out of the juice! Below is a link to the kind of pan you should look for if you don't have one.

1. ***** UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU COVER THE TURKEY WITH A LID OR FOIL****** covering the bird turns your roaster into a steamer, and your turkey will be pale and nasty looking, and probably will be dry as well. 

Now, onto the roasting of the bird!

Roasting The Turkey

1. OK, so you have your prepped turkey all seasoned, stuffed, racked, and ready to go into the oven. So now what?!?!?! OK, remember that oil we put on the turkey? We need to get that oil hot enough so that it can crisp the skin. So, to do that, preheat your oven to 450 degrees (if you have a convection oven, reduce temp by 15-20 degrees). Let your oven reach the temperature before you put the bird in, otherwise you may as well just go to Chinese Buffet. Preheating the oven is key to cooking with it, but many people simply DON’T.
2. Once your oven is hot, put your turkey in. You will cook the bird at 450 until the skin begins browning, which will take about an hour or so depending on how big it is.
3. After the skin begins browning, back the oven off to 325. No, you don’t have to take the turkey out. This is where the art of roasting begins. Typically a stuffed 20 lb bird will take about 4 hours. (This is a guideline, your turkey will be done when it is done, sometimes 3.5 hours, sometimes longer, just depends)
4. Basting- Basting the turkey is a must. I usually baste mine every 30-45 minutes with the oil and garlic mixture until it is gone, then I switch to melted butter. Use a pastry or grilling brush to baste, and be quick about it. An open oven door loses about 1 degree of temperature every 7 seconds, so don’t lollygag. Get in there, baste, and get out, otherwise your oven will cool off and your bird will cook unevenly.
1. *** Don’t use the juices in the bottom of the pan, as they will contain water. If you want crisp skin, you don’t put water on it. Water makes things soggy.
5. When is it done?- OK, remember that thermometer I told you to buy? Make sure you read the directions and calibrate it correctly. Assuming you did that, simply stick the thermometer into the breast of the turkey until it gets close to the bone, but not touching bone. You want to stick it in the breast and again in the leg area. You are shooting for 150 -155 degrees, no more…. Typically I pull my turkey out of the oven at 150, then let it sit for 30 minutes. It is hot enough, and it will keep on cooking to finish itself with the residual heat.
1. Light meat and dark meat are different densities and moisture content, so they will cook differently, which is why you need to check the temperature of both. Usually they will stay fairly close to each other if you use hot stuffing, but you may have a problem where the breast is done, but the legs are not. If you have this case, you have a couple of options.

                                               i.     Invert the turkey – If your bird is cooking unevenly, flip it so the breast is on the bottom. If your skin is crisp enough, it wont hurt anything, and will get your dark meat into the direct heat of the oven.

                                             ii.     Turkey en Salmis – OK fancy French term for cutting the breast off when it is done, and then finishing the dark meat on it’s own terms. Since I slice my turkey before I take it to the table, this works well. Using tongs and a boning knife, simply slide the knife along the breast cage until the breast comes off. Cut the skin by the leg and the breast should come off. Set aside, and place the carcass with the dark meat back into the over. Lay some foil over the breasts and let them sit, they will be fine.

6. Carving the Turkey -  This is a subject that I can speak reams about, but since some people are so particular about it, I am going to make a basic recommendation and just leave it at that. Usually, I take the breasts off the carcass and slice then about ¼” thick. You will get a higher yield from your turkey if you do this, and you don’t have to worry as much about giving grandma a Harry Potter scar at the table. I lay the sliced breast (Keeping it all together when I move it) on a serving tray, and then place the legs, thighs, and other dark meat in between the two breasts. But, do what you like. There are plenty of ways to do it, look online for videos on the subject.