.png)
Next Up: Something with Smoked Trout
How to Make Your Own Prepared Horseradish – Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot
Worthwhile, and somewhat painful, if you’re not careful. As I mention in the video, the fumes produced by this process are very intense, and will cause burning eyes and runny noses, if you’re not in a well-ventilated space. Having said that, using a little common sense, it’s really not that bad, and so totally worth it.
This really is quite easy if you have a food processor, but if you don’t, a heavy-duty blender will work, although you may have to add more water in the first step, to get the mixture fine enough. You can also grate this very fine on a microplane, but that would probably only be practical if you’re making a smaller amount.
And while this looks like something from the grocery store, the flavor is incomparable. Intensely hot, and aromatic; this is the real deal. So, whether you’re one of these people, who lives in a place where they don’t have jarred horseradish, like apparently New York City, or you always wanted to try and make some yourself, I really hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for about 3 cups: you read this please in here
1 pound peeled, cubed fresh horseradish root
cold water as needed (about 3/4 cup total)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/3 cup white distilled vinegar
All about Hatch chiles
A few weekends ago I went to a Hatch chile roast.Hatch chiles are a very prized New Mexican variety. They are available fresh from August through September and once roasted, they can be kept in the freezer for up to 2 years. They are very high in vitamin C—one medium chile has as much as 6 oranges.
There are 5 or 6 different chiles that are marketed with the name “Hatch” and they are each named for the valley they are grown in. The most common Hatch chile is the NuMex 6-4 Heritage, which was bred for flavor, heat level and size at New Mexico State University. They are fleshy, long and narrow. Not generally eaten raw, roasting really brings out their flavor—they are smoky but also have citrus, herbal and vegetal flavors but with distinct heat. You can get mild, medium, hot or extra hot Hatch chiles.
A year ago I was sent some hot chiles from The Hatch Chile Store and it has taken me a year to use them. They are really, really hot so a little goes a long way. You might think I had learned my lesson and would get medium heat chiles this time but I did not. In fact the chiles I got from Mollie Stone’s Market supplied by Melissa’s were fresh off the grill and I made yet another mistake, not peeling them with gloves. Ouch! I didn’t feel the sting and burn until hours later. Fortunately it does go away, eventually.
You can still attend a 2015 Hatch chile roast at a Bay Area Mollie Stone's Market in September on the 12th in Sausalito, 13th in Burlingame, 19th in San Mateo or 20th in Palo Alto. Preorder them if you like. If you prefer having them peeled for you, you can order them from The Hatch Chile Store. They arrive frozen in a flat package and are easy to remove, one at a time.
So what do you do with Hatch chiles? You can use them in dishes that feature them as a primary flavor such as chile verde or in chile rellenos, but there are countless other ways to enjoy them too. Here are just a few ways to use them:
* Stirred into polenta or grits
* In scrambled eggs, frittata or quiche
* Mixed into macaroni and cheese
* As a topping for burgers or cheese burgers
* In a quesadilla
* In chili con carne or vegetarian chili
* Added to corn chowder
* In enchilada sauce or filling
* Added to cornbread or corn muffins
* To spice up spinach artichoke dip
Disclaimer: I received Hatch chiles from The Chile Store and from Mollie Stone's Market. I was not monetarily compensated to write this or any other post on Cooking with Amy.
Next Up: Homemade Prepared Horseradish
Due to the Labor Day holiday, today's regularly scheduled video will air tomorrow instead. We'll be showing you how to make your very own prepared horseradish, using the fresh root. Spoiler alert: It's hot. Very hot.
Back-to-school on Rachael Ray
Back-to-school for the kids, back-to-work for mama! I had a blast on The Rachael Ray Show this morning testing out 3 adorable snacks for the kiddos: edible crayons, rainbow pasta and homemade fruit leather. They were extremely easy and Rach and I gave them four thumbs up, because we each have four thumbs (you know what I mean). If you missed the segment, you can check it out here!
Pink Ombre Cake
When I asked my daughter what kind of cake she wanted for her third birthday, her reply was simple: "pink!" So I went a little overboard, and made the inside of the cake three shades of pink, with pink frosting, pink edible glitter and pink heart sprinkles. Were there pink candles? Um, duh. And I splurged a bit on this cake topper from Etsy because an all-pink cake deserves a little bling.
To make the cake ombre, all you need is a little food coloring! Simply bake as many layers as you'd like, evenly distribute the batter into different bowls, and use varied amounts of food dye to create different shades. I made 4 different layers, but the cake started to look absurdly tall so I ditched one of them. I used boxed white cake (two boxes) with neon pink food coloring, and followed this recipe for the Vanilla Buttercream. It was a hit amongst the pink-loving crowd.
Now if someone could just help me figure out how to explain to a three-year-old that her next birthday is an entire year away...
Alabama-Style White BBQ Sauce – An Almost Labor-Free Sauce for Your Labor Day Grill
I’ve been to two bbq “boot camps,” run by champion pitmaster Chris Lilly, who trained under a guy, who trained under Big Bob Gibson. Hey, that’s only three degrees of separation. Ironically, Chris never made, or used the white sauce on anything we cooked, but still, I know a guy, who knew a guy, who knew THE guy.
Some people find this concoction quite strange, but not me. It’s eerily similar to the Cornell chicken marinade, which I love. In fact, Mr. Robert C. Baker, the creator of the aforementioned recipe, may have borrowed the idea from Big Bob. I would investigate further, but I have real crimes to solve.
I brush on two or three applications to each side, over more indirect heat, and as you see in the video, it sears on nicely. As a table sauce, it’s great on any of the traditional barbecued meats, but since it’s really just a salad dressing, it’s also wonderful for making potato salad, coleslaw, and grilled vegetables. I hope you give this white barbecue sauce a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for about 3 cups of sauce:
2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup prepared extra-hot horseradish
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tsp yellow mustard
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
Black Kale Salad from L&S
On one of our recent trips to Los Angeles, we went to the restaurant Love & Salt and fell in love (as seen in this post). They have the type of menu that makes you want to go back every day to try something new. Nothing disappoints, and I mean NOTHING. Like their salad that's made up of black kale, soppressata, olives, pickled peppers, breadcrumbs and ricotta salata. Everything about this salad is perfect, especially the way they julienne the ingredients so they are perfectly uniform. When everything is the same size it's just easier to eat! That's my jam. And then let's talk about the breadcrumbs which, if I had to guess, are toasted in olive oil or butter until they reach a crisp, golden perfection. The crunch they offer the salad is beyond... and such a nice change from biting into a big crouton. The pickled peppers and olives give off the perfect, salty bite. I can't imagine a better protein than the soppressata or a lovelier, creamier cheese than the ricotta salata and the black kale is the perfect vessel for this salad... a sturdy, earthy green that holds everything together.
My son would say, why don't you marry this salad??
Maybe I will, son, maybe I will.
As you can see, I tried to recreate it at home using a red-wine vinaigrette and it was pretty damn close to the restaurant version. Excuse me while I pat myself on the back. If you decide to try this combination... make sure to julienne your ingredients and do NOT forget to toast your bread crumbs. In fact, I took leftover focaccia bread from our pizza delivery, put it in the food processor and THEN toasted it in the best olive oil I had! I made a ton and now I put it on every salad. The End.
Tuna Melts: Big and Small
When we were visiting The Voice set over vacation, I discovered something FANTASTIC. My almost-three-year-old PICKY eater will eat tuna salad! You see, television sets are a dangerous, dangerous place for little kids. There are scattered jars of M&M's and jelly beans and gum (so much gum!) and then trays of cookies and bars and sometimes they bring out something called Cookie Pie and serve it with ice cream and I die. Like I said, television sets are dangerous places for grown women who write food blogs. Anyway, I was bribing Etta to eat SOMETHING healthy before she dove into the candy jar, and tuna salad it was. We had tried it at home before, but after eating "The Voice" tuna (weird) I realized what I had done wrong. Mine was too chunky. This was whipped, and fluffy... a spread-like consistency. So when I got home, I decided to put my tuna in the food processor. It was delicious! Some mayo, some garlic salt, fresh lemon juice and salt and pepper...
Now we make Tiny Tuna Melts for the kids on crackers with white cheddar, and grown up versions on sourdough bread with sliced tomato and avocado. I pop both versions under the broiler and watch until the cheese gets bubbly and slightly golden (adding the avocado for the adult sandwiches at the end). You should definitely try the food processor trick for your tuna if you haven't already!
Tuna Salad
(Serves 4-6)
12 oz. tuna (I like solid albacore in water)
1/2 cup light mayo
Juice of half a lemon
Garlic salt
Salt and Pepper
Drain tuna, and place in food processor or blender. Pulse until smooth. Place in bowl, and add mayo and lemon juice. Stir until smooth. Add garlic salt, salt and pepper and taste until desired consistency is reached!
Also, Tuna Avocado Toast and Tuna Casserole
Pork Chili Verde (Green Pork Chili) – Green and Sometimes Browned
Whether it was pork, chicken, or beef, he simply cut up the meat, threw it in a pot with the rest of the ingredients, and simmered everything until tender. By the way, he claimed that he had learned how to cook these recipes while traveling through Mexico. I remember sheepishly asking about this, and his response was something like, “Well, that's how they did it, and it tastes good to me.” He was right, it did.
In fact, it tasted great. It was then I realized that this whole cooking thing might be a little more complicated than I had imagined. So, which is really the best method? There’s no answer for that question, which is frustrating. Having said that, I do think browned meat is always going to add extra flavor, so I usually do it. The point is, everybody’s right.
They’re wonderful with everything from salads, to charcuterie, to cheeseburgers; but my real hope is that you enjoy them on a bowl of this delicious green pork chili. I really hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 large portions:
2 tbsp vegetable oil (heat to almost smoking before browning meat)
2 pounds boneless pork shoulder (aka pork butt), cut into 2-inch cubes
1 yellow onion, diced
2 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 to 3 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
about 10-12 tomatillos (about 4 cups once quartered)
3 jalapenos, seeded
1 poblano chili, seeded
6 cloves peeled garlic
1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves
2 1/2 cups chicken stock, or as needed
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 pound Yukon gold potatoes, quartered
freshly ground black pepper
freshly ground black pepper
sour cream and pickled red onions to garnish
- Simmer pork and sauce for an hour, add potatoes, and simmer until everything is tender.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Featured Post
Ginger Peach Preserves Recipe
I am happy to be a "canbassador" for SweetPreservation.com , a community site of the Northwest cherry growers and soft frui...
