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Submit your burning culinary questions in the comments form below or by email to irwinstreetcooks@gmail.com.
We will answer your questions and post here on our page.
Here are some recent questions and answers
Question from Marjie:
Dear Chef Christy,
Have you used saffron in sugar cookies? If so, can you recommend a recipe? We’ve had some saffron for a while and the holidays are a perfect excuse to use it.
Answer from Chef Christy:
Saffron in sugar cookies? What a wonderful way to feature such a subtle flavor! Generally when I use saffron I ignore the “just a pinch” advice, if I’m going to use it, I want to TASTE it! While that works for things like rice and stews, a little really does go a long way in something as simple as a sugar cookie, so go with the ‘less is more’ theory until you’ve tested them out a few times.
Here is a blogger’s recipe that includes white chocolate chips, how can you go wrong there?http://www.pieknits.com/blog/2008/04/saffron_cookies.html
And another I found for gluten-free Orange Saffron Cookies mixed with another of my favorite flavors, Chinese 5 Spice(ok, now I’m drooling):http://cookmarked.com/recipe.aspx?eID=Vz3IPV3o0DjCUugMxei9leV4ZGBhFy6kNB5F8zAqKiwe
Do let me know how yours turn out!
Chef Christy
Question from: Kathy
Dear chef Christy,
I love your cranberry chutney. I have to bring a Secret Santa gift to a Red Hat gathering next week. I was thinking of making the chutney as a gift, since our gifts must be red or purple. How long does it keep? Also, since I do not know who will get it and I know my mother-in-law, Katrina(who will be there), loves my dried fruit compote (prunes, apricots and raisins w/the same spices) I was thinking about dropping the walnuts and adding prunes and apricots. Do you think the flavors would work together?
Answer from Chef Christy: Absolutely! The cranberries and apples give the chutney enough pectin to hold it together, dropping the walnuts and adding other stone fruits like apricots and prunes should be fine. If you choose to add citrus fruits the result will be runnier, although not to say it still wouldn’t taste good.
Standard rule of thumb for cooked food under refrigeration is 7 days, but I’ve had this chutney last for weeks/months when a small portion was overlooked and let sit in the back of the fridge. Usually it all gets eaten up and an expiration date is irrelevant If you make it up the week before your Red Hat function, put a label on it that says “Keep Refrigerated and Eat Me Up Before Christmas!”, you should be assured that it will be enjoyed at its best!
For those following along at home saying “Where’s the recipe already!” never fear, here it is:
CRANBERRY CHUTNEY
Ingredients:
1 orange, peeled, tough membrane removed, chopped
1/4 cup orange juice
1 package (12 ounces) fresh cranberries
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 large Golden Delicious apple, peeled, cored, chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 8 minutes, or until cranberries are bursting. Chill until serving time; freeze surplus in small containers. Makes about 4 cups of chutney.
Chef Christy
Dear Chef Christy,
My husband’s taken an interest in making cheese. Do you have any book recommendations for an amateur cheese-maker?
My cheesemaking experience has all been with fresh cheese – adding a coagulant like vinegar to fresh milk on the boil and then straining out the whey, hanging the curds in a cheesecloth bag and letting it set. I’ve never played around with vegetable or animal rennets or made any aged cheeses myself.
I don’t know if you’ve ever poked around on the site “Stefan’s Florilegium” http://www.florilegium.org/ , but there are tons of articles and recipes in the Cheesemaking section (look on the left hand column, click on Food – Dairy, and go from there). Lots of historical information as well as links for cheesemaking supplies and other helpful hints.
Last year our one of our local goat farmers held a cheesemaking class at their farm, you might look around your local area and see if there is someone relatively close by that offers classes. Hands-on instruction for this sort of ‘simple’ craft is often far superior to books and written instructions.
Start with those, and I’ll keep my ears open for more book recommendations.
Cheese!
Chef Christy
I would like to add that we will be hosting cheesmaking classes at The Cooking School at Irwin Street in 2012. Also Home Cheese Making: 75 Delicious Cheeses is a great reference book on cheesemaking :
More info: Youtube has an amazing collection of how to videos.
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/CHEESE.HTML
A great how to page by a Professor of Biology and Chemistry at University of Cinncinnati. Recipes, step-by-step procedures, a whole cheese making course from Yogurt to hard cheeses, and good information
Dear Chef Christy,
Have you used saffron in sugar cookies? If so, can you recommend a recipe? We’ve had some saffron for a while and the holidays are a perfect excuse to use it.
Saffron in sugar cookies? What a wonderful way to feature such a subtle flavor! Generally when I use saffron I ignore the “just a pinch” advice, if I’m going to use it, I want to TASTE it! While that works for things like rice and stews, a little really does go a long way in something as simple as a sugar cookie, so go with the ‘less is more’ theory until you’ve tested them out a few times.
Here is a blogger’s recipe that includes white chocolate chips, how can you go wrong there? http://www.pieknits.com/blog/2008/04/saffron_cookies.html
And another I found for gluten-free Orange Saffron Cookies mixed with another of my favorite flavors, Chinese 5 Spice(ok, now I’m drooling): http://cookmarked.com/recipe.aspx?eID=Vz3IPV3o0DjCUugMxei9leV4ZGBhFy6kNB5F8zAqKiwe
Do let me know how yours turn out!
Chef Christy
I made the chutney today for the party on Thursday. It came out as yummy as usual. I made some for my Thanksgiving in Vermont and have been eating the left overs on toast every day since. I was thinking of getting a ready made dinner roll pastry from the supermarket (the “poppin fresh” variety – only because I am lazy) and rolling out the dough, slapping on some chutney, rolling it up and slicing like it refridgerator cookies and baking them… canberry pinwheel rolls. I wonder how that will work out….
Dear chef Christy,
I love your cranberry chutney. I have to bring a Secret Santa gift to a Red Hat gathering next week. I was thinking of making the chutney as a gift, since our gifts must be red or purple. How long does it keep? Also, since I do not know who will get it and I know my mother-in-law, Katrina(who will be there), loves my dried fruit compote (prunes, apricots and raisins w/the same spices) I was thinking about dropping the walnuts and adding prunes and apricots. Do you think the flavors would work together?
Absolutely! The cranberries and apples give the chutney enough pectin to hold it together, dropping the walnuts and adding other stone fruits like apricots and prunes should be fine. If you choose to add citrus fruits the result will be runnier, although not to say it still wouldn’t taste good.
If you make it up the week before your Red Hat function, put a label on it that says “Keep Refrigerated and Eat Me Up Before Christmas!”, you should be assured that it will be enjoyed at its best!
Standard rule of thumb for cooked food under refrigeration is 7 days, but I’ve had this chutney last for weeks/months when a small portion was overlooked and let sit in the back of the fridge. Usually it all gets eaten up and an expiration date is irrelevant
For those following along at home saying “Where’s the recipe already!” never fear, here it is:
CRANBERRY CHUTNEY
Ingredients:
1 orange, peeled, tough membrane removed, chopped
1/4 cup orange juice
1 package (12 ounces) fresh cranberries
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 large Golden Delicious apple, peeled, cored, chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 8 minutes, or until cranberries are bursting. Chill until serving time; freeze surplus in small containers. Makes about 4 cups of chutney.
Chef Christy
Tis the season for roasted Turkey. My husband was sick over Thanksgiving and did not get to share our family meal together. So I have decided to do a roasted turkey for Christmas dinner. There are loads of opinions out there for how to cook the perfect juicy oven roasted turkey. What do you recommend? I use a rotisserie for roasting chicken with great success, but my rotisserie is not big enough to do a turkey.
Dear Kathy,
There are so many possible answers to your turkey questions! For traditional roasted turkey tips, it is hard to beat the Butterball hotline or their on-line tips website:
http://www.butterball.com/tips-how-tos/turkey-experts/overview
When I roast a whole turkey, I like to start it breast side down, then turn it over half way through the cooking process to let the top skin brown and crisp to keep more moisture in the breast meat. Personally, I prefer dark meat. Since I went to visit others for both of my Thanksgiving dinners this year (one on Thursday and a second one on Friday – burp!) I bought some bone-in turkey thighs, skinned them and covered them with bacon before roasting them. When they cooled I sliced them and ate them as my “leftovers” for several days.
I have never been a fan of deep fried turkeys, the set up alone is so dangerous as to seem totally impractical, but we Americans do like a little danger mixed with our holidays, so I suppose the tradition is here to stay. Having said that, my second Thanksgiving dinner featured a deep fried turkey that was moist and delicious. The set up used an electric turkey frier which had a digital timer, no open flame, and a perforated basket with a bail handle to lower it safely into the grease. All in all a much safer set-up. My hosts had purchased it on sale at the grocery store right before the holiday. This was the brand: http://www.cajuninjector.com/cajun-injector-hardgoods.html
The last thing I’m going to suggest is going to sound like heresy, but there is no reason you can’t cut your bird up before cooking it. By breaking it down into drumsticks, thighs, and breasts (and probably cutting those in half or quarter slices) you eliminate the problem of having overcooked breasts and undercooked dark meat. With those pieces you can roast or poach, but what you really want to do with them is GRILL them. Oh yes, fire up the grill on Christmas day and put some marinated turkey parts on it and you will never roast a Norman Rockwell bird again!
Whatever you decide to do I’m sure it will be delicious, and your husband will love it!
Chef Christy
I was once told that the secret to a good turkey was to start it out on a hot oven – 450 degrees for about a half hour to seal in the juices then lower the temp to 350 for the remainder of the roasting.
Yup, I’ve used that method, and it worked well. This past spring when I was working out at Stone Mountain’s Frontier Days Festival, we ended up with turkeys we needed to cook, but no time left out there to do it. We brought them home, put them in a covered roasting pan and in a 250 degree oven overnight – oh, holy cow, were those good!
As I said before, there are loads of answers to your turkey questions, and no “one” way to get a delicious bird.
I love quiche, but when I try to make it at home I find that the cheese and egg have separated into two layers with the cheese on top. What is the secret to blending the cheese and egg? I asked a local chef, who told me to bake it at 250 degrees for an hour. I tried that, but they still separated. Am I not using the right cheese?
Generally, I fill the pie shell with the grated cheese (I have tried different kinds) and what ever veggies and meat, then pour the whisked egg mixture on top and bake.
Dear Kathy,
I love quiche too, and have been using the same recipe for the custard since I worked at a fern bar restaurant in the 80′s. It calls for 3 eggs, 1 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of sour cream, a dash of fresh-ground nutmeg and s&p. That mix works for any filling you like. Since I’ve gone dairy free, I have experimented with various milk substitutes, and I like the coconut milk available in the boxes in the refrigerator section (not the coconut cream found in cans, although that might make a good substitute for some of the sour cream).
When I fill my quiches, I start with the veggies and/or meats. Then I sprinkle on the cheese and use my fingers to distribute it throughout the other filling. I suppose you could even toss your filling and cheese together in a bowl before putting it into the crust so that the cheese is thoroughly distributed and there isn’t a distinct ‘layer’ of cheese. Once all of that is in the crust, I pour my custard in and around the other ingredients, taking care to cover the top of the filling as it pours in, even if some sticks out above the custard. (For example, if I’m using broccoli, I make sure each florette gets custard poured over it so the tops won’t burn if they stick up above the level of the custard.)
I always bake my quiches at 325 – 350 degrees. I can’t see where cooking it at 250 will do much for you other than delay your quiche gratification! I hope that helps, and I wish you many a fine quiche this winter!
Chef Christy
Dear Marjie,
Cardamom has a delicate flavor and is distinctive when used by itself, or it can be combined with other sweet spices or even curries. It is in the same basic flavor family as cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, so substituting any of those (or a combination of them) would work just fine for your cookies, although it won’t be the same, you’ll be in the neighborhood.
You could go the medieval route and make up your own spice blend. Various sources have recipes for “Fine Powdre”, “Powder Douce” and “Powdre Forte”. As the names suggest, they could be fine, sweet, or strong (peppery). Here is a wonderful article on several sources and the spice powders they mention, along with the author’s interpretations: http://home.earthlink.net/~al-tabbakhah/misc/FineSpicePowders.html
Here is one of her translated recipes for a Sweet Spice blend. Good luck with your cookies!
Sweet Spice for Pastry Cooks
Take two parts of ginger, for example, two ounces, and one part, that is to say, one ounce of pepper beaten into powder, mix them together, add therein of beaten clove, of nutmeg finely grated, and of beaten cinnamon, of each one ounce or there about, for a pound of pepper, more or less, as it will please you, and conserve all these things mixed together in a box.
Chef Christy
Dear Chef Christy,
What can I put in my Spritz Cookie dough as a substitute for 1/2 tsp. cardamom?
Here’s the recipe that came with the cookie press:
Vanilla Cookies (Spritz Cookies)
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. salt
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
A touch of cardamom adds an unusual accent to what is essentially a vanilla cookie. Be sure to use only a large egg for this recipe, to achieve a dough consistency that will extrude properly with the desired disk.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat until light and fluffy.
Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, cardamom and salt. Using a spoon, stir in the flour until well mixed.
Pack the dough into the cookie press. Fit with the desired disk design. Press the dough out onto ungreased baking sheet spacing the cookies 1 inch apart.
Bake until lightly golden, about 10-12 minutes. Gently transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool. Sprinkle with vanilla sugar, if desired or decorate with colored sugars. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
Dear Chef Christy,
I think it would be wonderful to make an espresso and bacon rubbed cheese. How long will bacon or bacon grease grease remain good before it goes rancid?
Of the many types of flavored cheeses, espresso rind cheese is getting the best reviews lately. Sartori Cheese has their Espresso Bella Vitano that has made some waves:
http://www.sartoricheese.com/products/reserve-cheese/espresso-bellavitano/
As for the bacon grease going rancid, there are a few factors that will affect that. One is the amount of salt. I would suggest not using a nitrate-free bacon for this unless the cheese will be kept under constant refrigeration. Grease rendered from regular bacon will stay good roughly forever at room temperature as long as it isn’t contaminated with something else like moisture or other food bits.
The other factor to consider is the amount of water in the cheese. A wetter cheese will cause the bacon grease to mold, which is obviously undesirable. If you start with an aged cheese that has already lost some of its moisture you will probably have better success. In any case, I would keep your experiment refrigerated until you have a combination you like, and then try a room temp or controlled temp version (I have a friend that uses a small wine safe for a cheese keeper) to see how it does.
Do let us know how it turns out!
Chef Christy
Dear Chef Christy,
Annie is looking forward to the Roman Banquet in history class tomorrow. She wants to know where she can find snails to cook? She is in the backyard looking now…
Amy
Dear Amy,
Please tell Annie that she can’t harvest snails from the backyard today and serve them tomorrow. In ancient Rome, they would have fed them for at least 2 weeks on milk and honey before they were ready to eat.
However, you can eat the snails from your back yard if you purge them properly. Here is a funky video from Ms. Snail Pail, explaining how to collect, purge, and eat snails and slugs from your garden!
http://misssnailpail.org/preparation.htm
Chef Christy