Kate's Cuisine » Reviews

Mario’s Spicy Chicken Wings with Alabama White Barbecue Sauce: Review

kate — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:45:25 +0000

These are some of Mario Batali’s most famous chicken wings, although I just recently saw him make them for the first time on “The Chew.” I have to admit that when I made them for my family, I did not make the white sauce that actually makes so famous. After watching guests and co-hosts burn their mouths off after eating Mario’s, I decided it would most likely be too hot for my young daughters. And even though hubby likes hot stuff, he doesn’t like any of the things in that sauce. I imagine it would be good and the next time I make them (because I will be making them again,) I might try the sauce – even if I am the only one eating it.

As for the wings, they were very good, although they too were a bit spicy. There’s something about making them on a grill that’s especially fantastic and makes them super moist. If I wasn’t a fan of Mario’s before, he’s won me over just a tiny bit with these wings!

Kate’s Roasted Cauliflower: Review

kate — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:28:33 +0000

With everyone seeming to get on the healthy bandwagon with the turn of the New Year, I thought I’d jump on for a stop or two and start off the blog for the New Year with a healthy side dish. Side dishes are usually my favourite at the table, any time of the year; and roasted cauliflower really does have a ton of flavour, without a ton of fat or calories. But why is such a healthy dish cooked in lard?

According to Daphne Oz, Dr. Oz’s super health-conscious daughter, lard is one of the healthiest oils you can use to cook in because it has a super high smoking point and so, doesn’t turn into trans fat as quickly as other types of fat do. Lard is actually second only to avocado oil, which is the healthiest of all the cooking fats – but unlike lard, it will cost you a pretty penny.

Roast Turkey: Review

kate — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 01:09:57 +0000

This is the way I’ve seen my mom make turkey ever since I was little; and you can put all the glazes and exotic spices that you want on a turkey and I’ll think it’s delicious (because I really love turkey a lot!) But it still won’t be as good as just slathering some butter and salt on it and letting that natural roast flavour come through! Roast turkey is a super easy meal to make; it’s usually the sides that are so intimidating. But, keeping a few things in mind definitely makes it that much easier, and tastier!

You have to brine! No one wants to eat dry turkey, and everyone dreads it. Turkeys are simply so big now, and are raised to their absolute fullest that there’s no longer any way that you can completely cook it without drying it out if you don’t brine it. Michael Simon, one of my favourite new chefs but still one of my faves overall, is dead-set against brining because he thinks it changes the texture. But he does still cover the turkey in salt overnight, to keep it moist and add some flavour.
Make sure your oven will fit the turkey before you buy it. Trust me, I almost made this mistake last Thanksgiving when I bought a massive turkey and nearly had to squish it in. Ditto for your brining pot. I’m sure people are still cursing me over the dry turkey I served last year because I hadn’t heard of the cooler tip yet, and I didn’t have a pot big enough for my massive bird.
Let the turkey rest – for a long time – after you pull it out of the oven. Those juices all need to go back to where they’re supposed to be and besides, you need your oven free to put the dressing in and cook all the other sides.
Don’t ever put stuffing inside your bird. By the time the stuffing is cooked through, you’ve overcooked and dried out the breast – even if you’ve brined it beforehand!

Simply Sauteed Salmon: Review

kate — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 00:39:20 +0000

Why is cooking fish so intimidating? Is it because such bad things can happen if you don’t cook it all the way through? Or is it because it’s so easy to overcook? Maybe it’s because so often we simply don’t know what to do with it! Sometimes, you don’t have to do anything at all – as proven with this Simply Sauteed Salmon recipe!

The trick to cooking salmon (I find) is to always buy salmon with the skin on it. If you don’t like the look of it, you can always take it off once it’s finished cooking, but it’s so much easier to cook it when the skin is on, especially if you’re sauteing it. This is because you can (and should!) cook the salmon, skin-side down, for the majority of its cooking time. This way you can let the salmon cook mostly through, without worrying about overcooking it or burning the flesh. Once it’s mostly done, you can then just flip it over to get that nice browning on the other side.

So don’t be intimidated. Cooking salmon is easy, so good for you, and pretty inexpensive too!

Martha’s Blackberry Swirl Pound Cake: Review

kate — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 02:24:46 +0000

I’ve talked before about how I always have an abundance of blackberries thanks to my grandmother’s ever-plentiful crops every summer. It’s something for which I’m very thankful. Paige can’t get enough of them, and will eat them frozen right out of the bag (we do have to freeze them due to the amount we have,) and I have grown to have quite a fondness for them myself. Best of all, those bags looking up at me every time I open my freezer are always forcing me to find something new and fun to do with them, such as this pound cake from Martha Stewart.

It’s a Martha recipe, so you know it’s going to be good almost before you make it. However, Martha left out one very big step in this recipe – and that’s to strain the blackberries! I didn’t think to, and it’s not stated in the recipe. What was left was a very, very seedy cake – not something I want in my pound cake. I also found that I didn’t need near the amount of blackberries called for in the recipe. But maybe after straining them, I’d have a lot less to deal with. I’m not sure, but I’m definitely straining next time.

I do also wish she had mentioned not to overwork the blackberry puree when you’re swirling it. Mine went from looking very pretty to very homely with just one swirl, and if I had known to be on the lookout for that, I would have been. All in all, a recipe I will be making again (and you can’t beat that price!) – just with those two minor changes!

Southern Fried Chicken with Cream Gravy: Review

kate — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 01:17:26 +0000

I got this book from the “American Cooking” volume of the Time Life Classics series, a delicious encyclopedia resource covering cuisine from all different regions of the world – France, Germany, Italy, and yes, America. My mother-in-law gave me the books just a few weeks ago, and I’ve just been feeding my culinary passion every second I get to sit down and look at them.

The series is especially cool because for each region, there’s a large 200-page or so hardback book explaining the different dishes, the influences on the region, and the traditions and culture of the people as they relate to food. To go along with each of these in-depth looks at the different areas around the globe, there is a little pullout recipe book so you can then cook all the delicious delicacies that you just read about. What can I say? Actual recipes and an entire wealth of food knowledge, all at my fingertips? My MIL is a fellow foodie at heart and is one of the few people I’ve met that loves food just as much as I do. Only a true chef at heart could know just how great these books are, and I’m so thankful that my mother-in-law thought to give them to me.

In this particular book, the author talks about how he took his wife to the South once and she had never had authentic fried chicken before (poor thing!) After she devoured all of it, and then sucked whatever she could off the bones, he had to explain to her that that particular fried chicken had been made the correct way – the way outlined in this recipe. He then goes on to say that every cook in the South has a different way of preparing fried chicken – they batter it in beer, they batter it in flour, they dust it in flour, or they dust it in different seasonings, or they don’t dust it in anything at all. Every way is different, and you can tell each way apart just after you’ve tasted the chicken.

I have to say, I have to agree with him in that there are many different ways to prepare chicken and this is the only right way. I’ve tried it many different ways (almost all of the ways he outlined in the book) and this is by far the best. I’ve tried soaking the chicken in batter, even overnight, and it doesn’t seem to matter – the coating still always falls off. The key with preventing that from happening with this recipe is to let the flour sit on the chicken for at least 15 minutes at room temperature. Then just make sure your fat is piping hot and you’ll be fine. I’ve also heard that the paper bag is essential, but I’ve tried it with a plastic resealable bag and it seemed to turn out just fine.

One more thing about this recipe – the gravy reminded me of KFC’s chicken gravy, which I totally love, but is that bad that food from scratch reminds me of fast food?

Michael’s Fried Potatoes: Review

kate — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 02:26:47 +0000

I have to admit, I had never heard of Michael Symon before the daily show The Chew started, but I’ve since had the pleasure of spending one hour every afternoon with him. Since first seeing him on the show, I’ve found out that he’s an Iron Chef, owns several restaurants, is a huge family guy, and seems like just about one of the sweetest and funniest people you could ever meet. What I first noticed about him was also that I liked everything he cooked – everything! And he has my same philosophy about cooking – he loves lard, he loves fat, he loves pork, and as long as you’re still making real food, he’s not afraid of it. That being said, on with his recipe for Fried Potatoes.

Chef Symon made this on Fry-Day or Lard Day, or some themed day on The Chew promoting fat and unhealthy cooking in just about every way. Michael made this dish to prove that cooking in lard is ideal for deep-frying and that it’s not as terribly bad for you as people think. I didn’t have any lard on-hand (or else I totally would have used it!) but this recipe for fried potatoes is fantastic – one more winner from Michael Symon! He did include Parmesan with his, although his is sliced, which looks a little nicer on top of the potatoes; and he didn’t include bacon with his recipe. I figured that since he is the self-declared Prince of Pork, he wouldn’t have a problem with it. Also having to make do with the fresh herbs that I had in my fridge (which differed from his rosemary and oregano,) I can still say that this is an incredibly tasty dish that I will happily be making again!

Dinner Rolls: Review

kate — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 14:26:53 +0000

I love any bread recipe, but I especially love bread recipes that don’t require bread flour (because I run out of it so quickly whenever I buy it!) I have made this one using bread flour, thinking that would make them even flakier and lighter, but I was wrong – they actually came out worse when I used bread flour instead.

This recipe’s super easy, and the fact that the dough can be made ahead of time and stored for three days is just a bonus to boot! I’ve stored them for as long as 8 hours and as little as 2 hours. I think the dough definitely needs more than a couple of hours in the fridge. I now try to make the dough first thing in the morning the day I’m making them, and then pull them out to form the rolls just before I start cooking supper.

I got this recipe from food.com and they’re right when they say that they’re truly homemade rolls – absolutely scrumptious, everyone around the table loved them!

Spinach and Tomato Quiche: Review

kate — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 16:04:02 +0000

When I made this quiche recipe I had a bunch of spinach that I wanted to use up, and I thought that a quiche would be a good way to do it. Maddie really likes scrambled eggs, which a quiche sort of resembles; and we’re all big fans of spinach (minus hubby, who wasn’t home this night.) My biggest question was: can you make quiche without cheese? It was the one ingredient I was missing, and the one ingredient that shows up in most quiche recipes.

I went ahead and threw all my goodies in there and when it went into the oven, I hoped for the best. Turns out, you don’t need cheese in order to make quiche! I imagine adding some Parmigiano-Reggiano would quick it up a notch (as Emeril would say,) but if you don’t have it, don’t sweat it.

I can’t promise how this one will go over with the kids – quiche isn’t what I generally think of when I think ‘kid-friendly meals.’ Maddie, the scrambled egg lover, liked everything about it but the eggs and picked all the bits out of it. Paige on the other hand, who only likes her eggs over-easy, loved every bit of this quiche. Even if it won’t go over with kids, at less than $1 per slice, you can’t beat the price on this one no matter who you’re cooking it for!

Alton’s Who-Loves-Ya Baby Back Ribs: Review

kate — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 01:02:26 +0000

I really like Alton Brown. I think he’s got an incredible knowledge of food and he has a way of teaching you about it in a way that’s usually a little off the wall, and pretty fun. I was excited when I found this recipe of his for Baby Back Ribs, partly because I do like him so much; but also because I’ve never seen (or heard of) ribs being prepared this way before. Once I read the recipe, I knew this was the one I had to try.

While preparing it (with two huge lengths of aluminum foil spread across my counter – you need a lot of space!) I wondered how such little braising liquid was going to cook the ribs until they were falling off the bone. I was pretty sure that in order to braise, you had to at least 1/2 cover the meat, if not 3/4 of the way. But this, isn’t it really just steaming the ribs for over two hours at a really low heat?

It seems that would be the case. These ribs, sadly, were very dry – and falling off the bone was a long way off, I’m afraid. I did also try the glaze the Alton suggests, because that was also part of the recipe that intrigued me. I have to say, if you can manage to get that little bit of liquid out of those humongous foil packs and get it right into the saucepan, more power to you. I couldn’t, and I ended up with some in the saucepan, and a whole lot on and around my oven. Disappointing. I then did boil what was in the saucepan, but it never became thicker – definitely never like a syrup consistency. I ended up just pulling out some barbecue sauce I had in my fridge and using that under the broiler.

And that mess that you saw in the middle of the ribs? Refried beans. I think I lost the recipe for that one and, I don’t think I’ll be hunting another down any time too soon. Very disappointing dinner.