Remember how fireworks were both exciting and completely terrifying as a kid? I was always convinced the droopy ones would fall from the sky and land on me. We saw some from our neighborhood last night, and Etta went to bed biting her nails, poor thing, but I hope she fell asleep having awesome, magical dreams about them. Here are some treat ideas for your happy weekends!
I'm not the best at following directions. If I feel like I can do something on my own, I will try before really thinking it through, or looking at an instruction manual. Why must there be so many words? So many steps? So many, before you begin's? I don't want to before I begin! I wanna begin!
I'm a child. This impatience can get me in trouble in the kitchen. I see a photo on pinterest and think, I can do that! I'm going to do that! And then I attempt without really thinking it through. This Bacon American Flag Pizza is case in point. I saw this photo, started jumping up and down (no really), and grabbing things in my fridge. I happened to have pizza dough in the freezer, fresh mozzarella cheese, purple potatoes (surprising), bacon (less surprising) and pizza sauce. Who needs directions!?
Well, had I looked at the ACTUAL recipe (found here), I would have realized I needed to bake the bacon first to get it crispy. And I would have realized that using alfredo sauce instead of a tomato-based sauce would have kept the cheese whiter. And if/when I make this again, I will use shredded mozzarella cheese. Oh well, you can still tell that it's a flag, right? It tasted good!
Now I want to make a patriotic dessert. Any ideas?
Sometimes, when I think I have absolutely NOTHING in the house to cook for dinner, I remember that I have tomatoes and I have pasta, therefore I have a meal. By slowly cooking cherry tomatoes until they blister and pop, you create a delicious sauce, and it couldn't be easier. I just heat up one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat, add the tomatoes, season them with salt and pepper, and cook them for however long I want. Sometimes as little as 10 minutes, sometimes for as long as 30. Sometimes I add minced garlic or shallots. Sometimes fresh basil at the end (and a dash of cream?!). But I always add them to cooked pasta, and I always top it with lots of Parmesan cheese.
I hope you're all getting ready to enjoy your holiday weekends! I wrote another article for the Today Show Parenting Team about summer... and how I'm TRYING to keep it simple and fun (and messy... I keep chanting "let kids be messy, let kids be messy" - it helps with the OCD).
These colors don’t run, but they do stain, so I recommend eating this delicious, red, white and blueberry chicken outdoors, preferably at some type of 4th of July barbecue. While the Independence Day wordplay was very much intentional, this grilled chicken is no gimmick.
Smoky, spicy meats have been paired with sweet-and-sour, fruit-based sauces since we’ve had cooks, so that this combo works beautifully is no big surprise. And yes, other juicy fruit like peaches, or other berries will work nicely.
Like I said in the video, I made my spice rub extra hot, so I could really take advantage of the cooling effects of the sweetness in the sauce. Sweet cancels out heat on your palette, so you can kind of push things a bit if you want. The measurements below are what I used, but you should, and must adjust.
As far as chicken doneness goes, I recommend checking with a thermometer. If you cook a lot of chicken, it’s fairly easy to tell by feel, but why take a chance? I usually go to 150 F, which left to rest for a minute, should be safe, and very juicy. So, if you’re looking for a very tasty, slightly unusual, appropriately named chicken recipe, I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 portions:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp kosher salt 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp ground dry chipotle
1/2 tsp cayenne 2 cloves minced garlic
For the blueberry gastrique:
2 cups blueberries
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
*splash of water as needed to adjust thickness (after the blueberries start cooking)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
*If you make the sauce ahead, your sauce will thicken, and you will probably need to thin it out with some water. When tasting for seasoning, remember this is going to go on highly seasoned meat.
If you want to be a food writer, I highly recommend that you read Will Write for Food by Dianne Jacob, but if writing a cookbook is your goal, you’ll also want to check out The Joy of Writing a Great Cookbook by Kimberly Yoirio. This no nonsense book takes you through every step of the process with tons of examples. Yorio has been a cookbook publicist, agent and co-authored several books, so she speaks from personal experience. From building your platform to proposals to social media this book really covers it all.
Ready to go? Use the book as your guide, then enter to win a cookbook contract, sponsored by Page Street Publishing Co. Contest ends 8/1/15
I spoke with Kim about cookbook publishing and here’s what she had to say:
Is it just my imagination, or is cookbook publishing experiencing a boom right now?
It’s not your imagination at all. Cookbooks are selling really well right now and more and more publishers want to get into the business of making them. Cookbooks are one of the few categories (like illustrated children’s books) that aren’t impacted by digital books. Although there have been some brilliant e-cookbooks produced (I like Nancy Silverton and Tyler Florence’s), most people still want to buy and own (and occasionally cook from) real books, hard or soft-cover. Also, cookbooks can sell for years—so they make a good business for publishers.
What trends do you see in cookbook publishing at the moment?
Oh you mean outside of the zillion or so Paleo cookbooks on the New York Times bestsellers' list?Celebrity chef cookbooks continue to sell well, baking books are a safe bet, as are cookbooks written by bloggers with big followings.
What is the best advice you can give to first time wannabe cookbook authors?
Work hard to develop your unique voice. What makes you and your cooking different and special? Just because you take pretty pictures and your friends like your recipes, doesn’t mean you will be a best-selling cookbook author. In addition to your voice, you need to develop a platform to prove your marketability.
How long does an author typically have to turn in a manuscript once the contract is signed?
Delivery times TOTALLY vary depending on the author. An average is one year, but it can be as short as three months if you are a hot commodity and the publisher wants to get your book into the marketplace as soon as possible.
What are the best reasons to write cookbooks?
They can be validation of a life’s work, a snapshot of a great moment in culinary time or even a historical record. They can be highly personal or highly academic. Folksy or scientific. At the very least they should be a fantastic collection of recipes that work time and time again, in every kitchen around the country. Disclaimer: I received this book as a review copy and this post includes affiliate links. I was not compensated monetarily for this or any other post on Cooking with Amy.
I've always loved McDonalds Big Mac burger. It's the sauce - that combo of sharpness and the crunch.. yeah. It's definitely my favorite hamburger dressing. Apparently they've kept the exact recipe a secret for many years but now decided to release it - I was asked by their PR agency to try it out and I was eager to do so!
Is my version exactly the same? Well, I'm not sure. I think it's more yellow, even though I actually toned down the mustard. But it tastes pretty darn close! Give it a try - it's really perfect for those summer barbecues.
Big Mac-Sauce
100 ml mayonnaise 2 tbsp finely chopped pickled cucumber (bostongurka in Sweden) 2 tbsp yellow mustard (I used a little bit less) 1,5 tsp white wine vinegar 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp paprika
Not only does adding sweet potatoes to a burger bun make it more nutritious, delicious, and significantly more beautiful, but it also presents the perfect opportunity to get pass your flour amount phobia, and finally be able to make dough by feel.
Every once in a while, I’ll get an email from someone whose dough was way too wet, or dry, and I always think the same thing; why would you stop? Some actually tell me they had to throw out the whole batch, which is insane. Your dough’s too wet? Add some flour. Too dry? Add some water.
No matter how exact a recipe is written, you simply can’t go by measurements, volume or weight, and expect perfection. There are too many variables that effect how much flour is needed – like a cup of mashed sweet potatoes, for example.
The best strategy is to not add all the flour at once, and only add enough to achieve the soft, slightly tacky dough seen herein. One of the great advantages of video is being able to see what the dough should look and feel like.
Once you get comfortable with not worrying about exact amounts, but rather exact results, the world of bread opens up to you and your new-found powers. Now, you just need to practice, so with that in mind, I really hope you give these amazing sweet potato buns a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 8 large, 16 medium, or 32 slider-sized rolls:
For sponge:
1 package (2 1/2 tsp) dry active yeast (I used Fleischmann's “RapidRise” Yeast)
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup AP flour
Then add:
1 cup mashed orange sweet potato (also sold as yams)
2 tsp honey
1 1/4 teaspoons fine salt
1 large egg
3 tablespoons melted butter
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour AP flour, as needed to form the right texture dough (see blog post)
- Bake at 400 F. for 15 minutes, or until browned. Large buns may take an extra few minutes, and the sliders-sized may take a minute or two less.
There's nothing more frustrating than the dinnertime rut... that familiar tug and pull between making the same old thing, trying something new (but what??) and calling the delivery guy. This is the main reason I've been dying to try Blue Apron,they take the guessing game out of your nightly routine! If you don't know about Blue Apron, it's a pretty fabulous service that sends out weekly recipes with pre-portioned, fresh ingredients in one convenient box. The meals are simple, yet unique, so you'll most likely try something you hadn't thought of making! You still get to do the cooking, but they make your prep very easy, and the recipes are extremely easy to follow with step-by-step photos as you go along. Carson and I tried out the 2-person meal plan for one week, and the other night I made the Miso Roasted Chicken with Spring Peas and Jasmine Rice.
As a fan of miso, I LOVED this. The chicken was roasted perfectly in the oven, and the spring peas brightened everything up. I had never worked with pea shoots before, so that was fun to try, and the chopped nuts sprinkled on top gave the meal a wonderful texture. Some comments on the site say the dish is too salty, but I didn't really think so (I should mention, however, that I LOVE salt). I give this dish a two thumbs up, and I give Blue Apron three thumbs up! (I have three thumbs, it's amazing the things you learn about me on this site.)
Your classic teriyaki burger is usually nothing more than a plain patty, which has been glazed in teriyaki sauce; and by “teriyaki sauce,” I mean a thick, one-dimensional syrup made from sugar, soy, and MSG. If you’re enjoying your third pint at a sports bar, these work out just fine, but good luck adapting them for your next cookout.
Here we’re using a different, drier approach, and adding the key teriyaki flavorings to the ground meat. This gives us a burger or slider with the taste of teriyaki, without having to deal with a sauce. This recipe should work no matter the cooking method, although a medium-hot charcoal grill would be my preference, weather permitting.
No matter how you grill these, I highly recommend they end up on a homemade sweet potato slider bun. Besides another way to tweak the humble hamburger, this clip was intended to be a sneak preview for some rather amazing buns. We’ll post that sometime Monday, just in case you want to add it to your 4th of July menu. So stay tuned, and as always, enjoy!
I am just back from the 34th annual Kapalua Wine & Food Festival which is the longest running food and wine festival of its kind not just in Maui, but in the country.
It started out as a wine only event but morphed over the years. Today food is a big part of it with celebrity chefs, classes and tasting events. I got a chance to attend a lunch cooking demo class with Chef and restaurateur Michael Mina and was pleased to see RN74 Executive Chef Adam Sobel acting as right hand man.
Michael Mina and Adam Sobel
Here are some learnings from the event--
- Mina said the biggest mistake home cooks make is not tasting or not knowing what you’re tasting for. Following a recipe is not enough, you must taste. Ingredients are not consistent, they are different all the time and you need to adjust your recipes.
- The four elements he considers most important? Acidity, spice, sweetness and richness, but not all dishes have all four.
- When plating he said, put the pot down! You are going for control. If the pot is on the counter you will have more control of the spoon in your hand.
Chilled Thai spicy lime vinaigrette with purple basil
- When it comes to cooking squid, he recommends that you cut squid then poach it for more tenderness than poaching whole.
- When making a vinaigrette, he lets it sit for a day before using, so the flavors meld better.
Tomato and cocoa powder dusted seared ahi with fried cauliflower, uni aioli and calabrian chiles.
- This dish had caponata an Italian vegetable dish that Mina said goes with everything--fish, chicken, seafood, etc.
- When crusting fish or chicken, be sure to season on all sides before crusting, and season the crusting too.
Brioche banana custard brûlée
- For the French toast style dessert, the brioche was soaked a minimum of 30 minutes to an hour to allow the custard to fully hydrate the bread, then cooked in plenty of butter.
- Toasted flavors of caramel, nuts and brûlée banana complement the richness of the custard.
Thanks for the tips chef!
Disclaimer: My thanks to the Outrigger Kapalua for hosting me at this wonderful event. I was not compensated monetarily for this or any other post on Cooking with Amy.
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If you want to be a food writer, I highly recommend that you read Will Write for Food by Dianne Jacob, but if writing a cookbook is your goal, you’ll also want to check out The Joy of Writing a Great Cookbook by Kimberly Yoirio. This no nonsense book takes you through every step of the process with tons of examples. Yorio has been a cookbook publicist, agent and co-authored several books, so she speaks from personal experience. From building your platform to proposals to social media this book really covers it all. 
