Chili 1.0
Idea Behind Recipe My cousin came over the other day for family dinner, which happened to be corned beef and cabbage (I would do a blog on corned beef, but it’s honestly simple enough that there is not enough content to even fill a blog …
Recent Posts
Chori Pollo 1.0
Idea Behind Recipe Living in Middletown, DE there are a surprising amount of great restaurants in the area. Surprisingly some of these restaurants make some pretty awesome Mexican food, some being more authentic than others. Most of them sell a dish called Chori Pollo. It …
Yet Another Top Ten Kitchen Must-Have List
I know this is a topic that is beaten up constantly, but I wanted to switch up my posts and write about the tools that I believe are most important in the kitchen. Especially since I’m tired of seeing avocado slicers, garlic mincers, herb scissors, and strawberry hullers (all incredibly stupid and unnecessary tools). This is my list of tools and gadgets that I constantly use, and I believe at least they make the quality of life for a home cook that much better. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Stand Mixer
The stand mixer is in itself is something you could build your whole kitchen around. Especially if you stick with the KitchenAid stand mixer, which has a ton of easy to use attachments that hold up very well. I currently have the pasta maker and the meat grinder with all of the accompanying accessories. The grinder works very well, and I’ve even used it to grind up tougher game meat with no issues. With a good mixer, it makes mixing up bread or pasta dough extremely easy. I have even recently used it to quickly whip up a batch of mayonnaise, which saves you a lot of manual whipping. Of all the things on this list, a stand mixer might be the one item that everyone should have. I have linked the stand mixer that I personally have, but you can’t go wrong with any of the KitchenAid stand mixers.
Pasta Attachment for Stand Mixer
The pasta attachment for the stand mixer allows you to take the dough that you make in the stand mixer using the dough hook and roll it out into either pasta sheets or further cut the sheets into pasta noodles. The pasta sheet maker allows you to change the thickness of the sheets if instead of pasta noodles you might want to make sheets for lasagna. I have also used the pasta maker to make ramen noodles since the process is much the same. There is also a pasta maker attachment that allows you to make hollow noodles like penne and the like. If you find yourself making lots of plates of ravioli there is even an attachment for that. I linked below the pasta attachment that I have. I have noticed there are even some off-brand attachments, but I can’t speak for those.
Knife Set
I’m currently typing this with a bandaged up middle finger because I can’t seem to go at least a month without nearly slicing off one of my fingers. The middle finger is especially annoying to try to type with a bandage on it. Ironically a good knife set would prevent this, but I wasn’t using my personal set. A sharp knife prevents slipping off of what you are attempting to cut. Also using the right type of knife for the right job helps as well. Knife sets come in all manner of combinations whether its in a block or in a bag. I recommend at least finding a set with a chef’s knife, paring knife, serrated knife, and a bread knife to cover all of your bases. I linked below the set I have, and actually just received it for Christmas from my in-laws.
Silicone Spatulas
With spatulas, there are all types of materials you can go with but I believe silicon to be a much superior material. Silicon is more durable than plastic and it holds up to much higher heat. When looking for a spatula set make sure you find one that it one piece instead of two. The two-piece spatulas don’t seem to hold up as well. I recommend having multiple kitchen tools made of silicone. I linked below a decent set that should hold up well.
Silicone Presentation Spoon
Along with a silicone spatula, I also recommend a silicone plating/presentation spoon. This is a spoon that you would use to spoon a sauce or glaze over something that you are plating. I bought a set with two angled presentation spoons. Again I choose silicone because it is super durable. I linked a set below that is similar to what I have. I couldn’t find exactly what I have because I have yet to find anything like them.
Instant Pot
I might have to put the instant pot up at the same importance level as the stand mixer. This is another kitchen gadget that is extremely versatile and honestly replaced multiple appliances on its own. With the instant pot, you can pretty much donate your old rice cooker, and you won’t have any need for a slow cooker since the instant pot can also cook food at ambient pressure. I have cooked multiple meals with multiple elements using the instant pot. In fact, one of my next posts will be a short rib and mashed potato experiment that I attempted to cook the whole meal using my instant pot. For multiple meals in the instant pot, it helps to have multiple inserts. I have the standard stainless steel insert along with the non-stick insert. I typically use the stainless insert for searing and pressure cooking meat, and the non-stick insert for everything else. I linked below both the instant pot and the non-stick insert.
Wooden Spatula
Now while it is nice to have a silicone spatula they aren’t always the best for scraping bits off the bottom of the pan while deglazing a pan. For this, I use a wooden or bamboo spatula. Wooden spatulas are strong enough to scrape the bottom of the pan without marring the metal itself. These are cheap, and when they get too worn out it’s not a problem to just replace them. I have linked below a decent wood spatula.
Cast Iron Pan
I think before I really got into cooking my pan of choice was the standard non-stick pan. A non-stick pan is effortless to use, and it makes for easy cleanup due to the fact that as its name says food doesn’t stick to it. The problem with nonstick is that because it doesn’t allow food to stick it is nearly impossible to sear a steak on it. For this, I recommend a cast iron pan. Cooking on a cast iron pan is extremely easy and not intimidating at all. After a simple seasoning of oil and ensuring to clean only with hot water after scraping it is incredibly easy to maintain and use a cast iron pan. The best way in my opinion to cook a steak is in a cast-iron skillet with a bit of grass-fed butter and seasoned only with salt and pepper. If the steak cooked in the skillet is of the thicker variety you can then after searing for a few minutes each side stick it in the oven to finish it off. Just make sure after cleaning the pan to always coat the surface with a layer of oil to prevent rust. I have linked a pan similar to the one I use.
Stainless Steel Pan
Now let us say while I am using my cast iron pan to sear some steaks I might want to carmelize some onions and mushrooms to accompany them. In my opinion, this is best done with a stainless steel pan. I like to my stainless pan if I am cooking chicken or pork chops, and I will be using the pan to use the drippings in pan gravy. Using my wooden spoon and a bit of beer or wine I can then scrape up some of the bits of chicken or pork to add to my stock or broth. My favorite thing to make in my stainless steel pan is smothered chicken or pork. I have linked a well-reviewed stainless steel pan below.
Cutting Board
Last but not least is something I could probably never have enough of. I have probably at least five cutting boards and I prefer all of them for different things. If I am salting some beef, pork, or chicken ahead of time I like using my large bamboo cutting board. If I cutting up vegetables I prefer one of my plastic cutting boards. If I have a large piece of meat that I need to rest or when finished slice up I have a very thick butcher block cutting board that I actually use on a portable cart due to its large size. I’m a big fan of bamboo/wood cutting boards as well as their plastic counterparts. They both have their uses and it’s up to preference to decide which ones you like. For wood cutting boards you can’t go wrong with the John Boos brand. I have linked a few different examples below.
Meatballs 1.0
Idea Behind the Recipe My inspiration for meatballs was from a Youtube channel that I have recently been spending a lot of time catching up on. The channel is called Alex “french guy cooking”, and you can find it here. His channel blends everything that …
Sushi 1.0
The Idea
First off I completely screwed up taking pictures for this post. I even took out my nice DSLR camera, but due to extreme user error, all the pictures I took are unusable. I promise on the next post to have some really nice pictures to share.
So this turned out to be both fun and I think a good first attempt at making a sushi roll. My inspiration behind this comes from recently watching Jiro Dreams of Sushi again. If you haven’t seen it I highly recommend it, and I believe it’s currently on Netflix. It was done by the same creator of Chef’s Table, which is also on Netflix. The documentary talks about how the owner Jiro became an artisan and created a sushi joint that has three Michelin stars. It’s inspiring to see someone with a small ten-seat sushi shop in a subway in Tokyo have the most prestigious sushi restaurant in the world. His passion for what he does is inspiring as well.
Now I’ve tried many times to attempt sushi, but finding sushi-grade fish isn’t the easiest. Sushi grade fish is typically flash-frozen, per FDA standards to kill any parasites, and then usually a grade 1 fish. I also try to cook sustainably when I can, so using unfarmed tuna or salmon when I’m experimenting probably isn’t the best solution. I decided to go a different route and make a sort of cheesesteak roll. Now you’ll notice I actually didn’t use any cheese, but I have an idea of what to do next time that will include cheese. My main goal was to learn how to roll sushi and to perfect the sushi rice itself.
The Process
For the rice, I used a recipe that I’ve used multiple times and has been well received by my family. I am a big fan of the Nishiki Medium Grain that I have linked below. Normally a short grain is used, but this rice came highly recommended when I was researching rice. This recipe is very easy especially if you are using an Instantpot. The recipe has you use equal amounts of rice vinegar and white wine vinegar. I was lazy and just used rice vinegar, and next time I actually think I will use both but eliminate half of the sugar. It was a little sweeter than I’d like it to be. The consistency of the rice was perfect, however, and was sticky enough that it was super easy to work with.
After the rice, I prepped the ingredients I would be using in the rolls themselves. I had a package of chip steak that was left from the last cow purchase we made, so I decided to go with that. The only other ingredients that I needed to prep was to fry up some green peppers and onions. My original idea was to use a can of Cheez Whiz, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t find it in the grocery store until weeks later when I wasn’t actively looking for it. I then decided to skip the cheese and instead made a mixture of ketchup and mayonnaise AKA fancy sauce if you’re a fan of Stepbrothers.
All that was left was to actually make the rolls. I had purchased a roller probably a year ago that I had yet to use. It consists of a mat, a stand for the mat, a template to ensure that the rice is uniform and leaves enough blank space on the nori sheet, and a rice paddle. It’s extremely easy to use, and I will link the kit below. There are other options including the sushi cannon, but I don’t know how well they work not to mention I’m trying to actually learn how to roll. To roll the sushi you essentially lay down a sheet of nori (dried edible seaweed), using the paddle or wet fingers lay down a thin layer of rice ensuring you leave approximately a half-inch of unused nori at the top of the roll, lay down your ingredients ensuring now to overdo it, and then finally using the matt roll up your sushi roll. The first roll I did actually turned out perfect, but the second roll I used too much rice so it wasn’t as tight as I would have liked it. Overall it was a pretty easy practice. The only thing that is left is to slice up the roll evenly. I recommend using the thinnest knife that you have and make sure that the knife is wet in between slices. Traditionally sushi chefs will use a single bevel Japanese knife. This means the knife has only one sharpened edge instead of two like most western knives, which allows the blade to be thinner. A Japanese knife also is just slightly concave so food sticks less as you slice.
“I wish I had been less of an airhead with my camera because they turned out quite nicely.”
After slicing I then applied a stripe of my “fancy sauce”, and for a little flourish, I then drew both parts of a ying-yang on both sides of the roll. I wish I had been less of an airhead with my camera because they turned out quite nicely. This just means I’ll have to do it again, but next time I plan to use actual fish.
The Recipes
Ingredients
Lessons Learned
I think besides the obvious screwup of not operating my camera correctly this was a good attempt at making a sushi roll. I’m glad I decided to go without fish because when I actually use fish I want to be able to create perfect rolls worthy of good fish. I will definitely make adjustments to the rice as well next time. My family liked it, but I would like to tone down the rice so the roll ingredients aren’t overpowered. I also learned that a nice tight roll means I need to use less rice. Essentially the layer of rice shouldn’t be much higher than an individual grain of rice.
Useful Gadgets
For this recipe, the main must-haves are some type of rice cooker and a rolling mat. I have included my Amazon Associate links for everything below. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
For the rice cooker, this could be a traditional rice cooker or I highly recommend an instant pot. It’s easy to use and is probably one of the most versatile kitchen gadgets that a person could have.
While you’re buying an instant pot save yourself the time and get the non-stick insert as well. I typically use this insert unless I’m using the instant pot to sear. It’s not only nice to have two inserts to eliminate the need for washing in between cooking multiple components of a dish, but it prevents sticking for obvious reasons. For rice, the insert is super necessary because rice loves to stick to the stock stainless insert.
For the roller, I recommend the SushiQuik rolling kit. It comes with everything that I described above and really makes the process easy. After a couple of rolls, I felt confident that I could do it without the guide. Otherwise, a simple rolling mat will definitely do the trick, but for $25 it’s a pretty decent deal.
When it comes to slicing it’s really up to personal preference on what knife to use. As I said earlier traditionally you should use a thin filet style knife. I ended up using my large chef’s knife, but in the future, I’d like to have a nice Japanese knife. Looking on Amazon there are a ton of well-reviewed options. I included a decent option below.
