Turkey Burgers: Test Kitchen

 

Tuna Casserole

Recipe List

Roasted Bone-in Chicken Breasts on America's Test Kitchen

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo on America's Test Kitchen

New England Baked Beans on America's Test Kitchen

Beef Stew Recipes

Oven-Baked French Fries

Cabbage Rolls

Chef John Hamburger Buns

Vietnamese or Filipino Spring Rolls aka Lumpia

Pork Stir-fry

Sam the Cooking Guy

Tuna Casserole

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo: America's Test Kitchen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxV4k76UawU

Pork Stir-fry

YouTuber channel: Souped-up Recipes

INGREDIENTS

300 grams of pork

1/4 tsp of salt

1/4 tsp of baking soda

1 tbsp of soy sauce [Pearl River Bridge Natural Brewed Light Soy Sauce: https://amzn.to/2TdlvOB]

2 tsp of Chinese cooking wine [Shaohsing Rice Cooking Winehttps://amzn.to/2RW4KWG]

2 tsp of cornstarch

A bunch of Chinese celery (you can use regular celery)

Some chilies (You can use bell pepper if you don’t eat spicy food)

Five cloves of garlic

Some salt to taste (Add when stir-frying the celery)

Oil to stir fry

Homemade Lumpia - Filipino Spring Rolls, Several Different Versions

Ingredients:

Meat: 1 kg ground pork

Veggies: Garlic, Chopped Onions, Shredded Carrot, Shredded Cabbage, Green Onions

Salt, Pepper, Soy Sauce, Packaged Spring Roll Pastry

Brown and drain the meat; Sweat the veggies until cabbage is limp; Mix together; Add 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1 tbsp soy sauce. Make flour paste to seal the pastries, or use egg wash.

Fry in 1 inch of med-hot oil, or deep fry until brown on both sides. Dry on paper towel. 

This version from Natasha's Kitchen includes noodles. She recommends frozen egg roll pastry because it is thinner than refrigerator type. Correction from comments: Egg roll pastry is thicker than Spring Roll pastry. She uses Spring Roll pastry.

This version uses shrimp and other fresh vegetables in a rice paper wrapper and is not fried. The rolls are served cold. The sauce recipe is pretty easy.

This version is from YouTube channel Souped-up Recipes. She mixes pork and shrimp together with cabbage, shredded carrot, bean sprouts, leeks, chives, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, black pepper, and then flavours with onion powder, garlic powder, sugar, binds with two eggs. 

THE FILLING

- 7 ounces (200 grams) of ground pork

- 5.5 ounces (155 grams) of peeled shrimps, uncooked

- 1 cup of shredded cabbage (not Vietnamese tradition)

- 1 cup of shredded carrot

- 1 cup of leek

- 1 cup of chives (or substitute finely chopped shallots)

- 2 cups of glass noodles (aka mung bean noodles, bean vermicelli)

- 1 cup of bean sprouts

- 2 medium size eggs (this binds the ingredients together)

- salt, white pepper if you have it, fish sauce

This version explains very well about the rice paper wraps and the glass noodles. She also instructs how to minimize moisture content to prevent bursts while cooking. She gives a good basic recipe for the dipping sauce. Many of the comments are good advice on different variations, for example it is possible to add slices of taro root for a more traditional Vietnamese flavour.

And finally, this version is completely a different take. I am amazed at the variety of egg roll recipes! This one uses only cabbage and shrimp. The shrimp is chopped and fried with extensive add-ons such sesame oil, salt, oyster sauce, "five spice powder", black pepper, and smooth peanut butter, and then after removal from the heat, white sugar is added. The cabbage is cooked soft and wrung out. 

Roasted Bone-in Chicken Breasts with Jalapeño Sauce

Trim the extra fat.

Peel back the skin to make a pocket.

Salt under the skin and on the bottom

Replace skin and poke holes in fatty areas. Add a bit more salt (pepper optional)

Into oven at 325 for 40 minutes. Chicken will be pale brown.

Move into a lightly oiled frying pan. Start on low and raise to medium-high once chicken is in, to avoid splatter. Move chicken on edge to brown non-skinned areas.

Sauce: 1 cup Finely chopped peppers. 1 cup Cilantro (stems included) or parsley (no stems). All into blender with garlic. Add lime or lemon juice. Add 1 tbsp of mayonnaise. Blend.

Add 2 tbsp olive oil at the end. Sauce is done!

Let chicken stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Shoutout to Sam the Cooking Guy

Channel link https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbRj3Tcy1Zoz3rcf83nW5kw

Delicious Beef Stew Recipe

Delicious Beef Stew Recipe 

This recipe is largely based on a few recipes: 

 Chef Jean Pierre

   

 Anthony Bourdain

 

 Tatyana Nesturuk

 

Ingredients: 

• 1kg Beef: The beef should be from the shoulder area. I used pre-cut stewing beef which comes from who knows where... Cut into chunks whatever size you like (doesn’t matter because it will be fall-apart tender when done). 
• 1/2 cup red wine (optional) 
• 1 big onion 
• 3 cloves garlic or 2 tbsp garlic paste 
• 1 tin tomato paste 
• 2 carrots 2 celery stalks 2 cups sliced/chopped mushrooms 
• possible herbs: thyme, basil, rosemary, cilantro, parsley 
• 1 litre beef stock (minimum) 
• 2 bay leaves paprika 
• Worcestershire sauce 
• 1/2 cup flour 
• salt pepper 

Preparations: 

• Chop up the veggies to whatever size you like. 
• Prepare the beef: Make sure the beef is room temperature. Optional salt at this time. Braise the beef chunks in olive oil at a high frying pan temperature so the beef will brown; turn to brown all sides. Keep spaces between the chunks. 

Make the stew: 

1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil. Sauteé the chopped onion for 3 or 4 minutes, add the garlic. 
2. Add the tomato paste and all the herbs, paprika and Worcestershire sauce. 
3. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper, continue the sauteé to reduce the mushrooms, 3 or 4 minutes. 
4. Add the flour, stir to coat everything and begin cooking the flour, 2 minutes. 
5. Add the beef. 
6. Add all the beef stock. 
7. Add 2 bay leaves, salt and pepper. 
8. Once boiling, bring back down to low simmer for a minimum of 2 hours. 
9. Check the beef for tenderness; it should break apart with a nudge of a spoon. If thickening is needed at the end, mix some corn starch with some of the pot stock and add the slurry back to the stew. 

Makes 6 big servings or 10 small servings.

Oven Baked French Fries

 That Dude Can Cook - Russet potatoes rinsed, then blanched for 10 min in brine, leave to air dry for a couple minutes. Pre-heat roasting pan, add oil, pre-heat with oil. Then bake at 400 C flipping to brown all sides.

New England Baked Beans

From America's Test Kitchen with input from Chef John too!

Brining the beans overnight helped jump-start hydration and also softened their skins so they cooked up tender in the oven, with few blowouts. Uncovering the pot for the last hour of cooking ensured that the liquid reduced sufficiently to coat the beans in a thick sauce. Flavorings such as molasses, brown sugar, dry mustard, bay leaf, onion, and salt pork, plus one nontraditional ingredient (soy sauce), gave the beans rich flavor.

Notes for 2.5 lbs (big batch!) of beans, which is 3 cups of dry beans.

• soak in brine overnight to make skins softer
• cover in water, add a tsp of baking soda, bring to a boil for 10 mins.
• drain cooking water but keep handy
• add 2 halved onions, bay leaf, 1 tbsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 3/4 cup molasses, 2 tsp dry mustard powder, 3/4 cup brown sugar (optional maple syrup)
• add meat
• cover with cook water and bake covered for 1 hr at 300 F
• check for water coverage, add more if needed, bake for another hour
• when soft enough, remove lid, bake for another hour (max) at 350 to brown and condense.
• re-lid to steam off fondant on side of pot and scrape into beans

Cabbage Rolls

Chef John Hamburger Buns

Ingredients for 8 large hamburger buns:
1 package (2 1/2 tsp) dry active yeast (I used Fleischmann's “RapidRise” Yeast)
1 cup very warm water
1 large egg
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 pound all-purpose flour (about 3 1/2 cups)
Note: add a 1/2 cup of the flour to the yeast and water, and then the remainder before kneading

for the tops:
1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp milk
sesame seeds
*bake at 375 degrees F. for 15-17 minutes

Bread Hydration

Bread bakers often talk about the percent hydration of dough or water Baker's %; that is the weight of the liquids relative to the weight of the flour. Hydration is one of the most important factors in mixing, and in the final appearance of the product since the hydration level helps the baker predict the texture of the crumb. NOTE: Liquid ingredients also include water, milk, alcohol, and juice. It is also important to take into consideration the type of flour used in the formula. Different millers have different gluten levels in their flour, and if a different type of flour is used, the water baker’s % will likely change. For example, most dry dough such as bagels and pretzels are 50-57 baker’s % water, while most bread is 58-65 baker’s % water.

To calculate the hydration level of a conventional recipe, first weigh the flour and water or other liquid. Divide the weight of the water by the weight of the flour and then multiply the result by 100. For example, a recipe containing 1 1/4 cups of water (10 ounces) and 3 cups of all-purpose flour (15 ounces) will have a 67 percent (10/15 x 100 = 67) hydration level, indicating a moderately airy crumb.

The percent hydration of dough can also be calculated according to its Baker's Percentage.

Hydration affects the process of bread building and the nature of the final result. Generally speaking, the more water in the dough, the more open the final bread's crumb. Bread can also be classified according to three categories based on hydration: stiff, standard or rustic.

DOUGH TEXTURE	% HYDRATION	BREAD TYPE AND CRUMB
Stiff: Very firm, dry and satiny; not tacky	50 to 57	Yields dense crumb in breads such as bagels, pretzels Bagels (50 to 57% hydration) are one of the least hydrated doughs and are extremely stiff. This means that they need a ton of kneading to get all the flour incorporated and gluten developed; it also means that they are not sticky at all in dough form.
Standard: Tacky but not sticky; supple	58 to 65	Yields a denser, closed crumb, in breads such as sandwich bread, rolls, French and other European breads Many formulas, such as white sandwich bread, French bread, and challah, use around 57 to 65% hydration. The dough starts to be a bit more tacky, but also more extensible. These doughs can hold their shape well, but also allow for a greater volume in proofing (rising).
Rustic: Wet, sticky	65 to 80 or more	Yields an airy crumb and large, irregular holes, in breads such as ciabatta, focaccia, pizza On the higher end of the spectrum you have breads like focaccia and ciabatta, which could be 65 to 80% or more hydrated. These doughs are extremely sticky. Kneading does not usually work on these doughs, and instead techniques used are turning (folding) or just letting the dough develop the gluten over a long period of time on its own (no kneading). We use this technique with the Parmesan, Bacon and Walnut Topped Whole Wheat Focaccia Bread Recipe. These doughs need careful shaping. They might need a bit more bake time than usual prevent the inside from being gummy.

NOTE: Different types of flour absorb water differently because of their gluten protein percents. You may need to adjust dough consistencies; hydration with one flour at 75% may need to be adjusted to 73% or 77% when using a different brand or type.

Sourdough Bread #1

Another experiment in my self-directed home-based course in bread-making.

Ingredients

6 cups flour - in this case, 4 cups white and 2 cups whole wheat
4 cups water straight out of the tap
3 or 4 tbsp of ripe (active) sourdough starter - to test if active enough put a bit in a bowl of water and see if it's bubbly enough to float. If it floats you're good to go!
1 tbsp salt

Directions

Autolysis: "In biology, autolysis, more commonly known as self-digestion, refers to the destruction of a cell through the action of its own enzymes. It may also refer to the digestion of an enzyme by another molecule of the same enzyme."
The term derives from the Greek words αὐτο- ("self") and λύσις ("splitting"). Do not be tempted to knead. Simply cover the bowl and leave it in a warm place for anything from 20 minutes to up to 3 hours. During this resting stage, gluten development begins and simple sugars start to form as starch is broken down. Although it may look like nothing is happening, you will notice the difference as soon as you handle the dough because during the autolyse it will have become smoother and elastic.

1. Put flour and water into a big mixing bowl.
2. Mix it up by hand, getting the fingers covered in sticky mix and scraping it off with a spoon.
3. Leave to rest for about 2 hours to autolyse, covered just to keep it from getting crusty.
4. Add starter and salt.
5. Keeping it in the bowl, use your hand to fold the dough over itself to mix the dough thoroughly and stretch it.
6. Leave to rest 15 minutes or so. 
7. Repeat the stretch, fold, and rest process two more times.
8. Remove the dough onto the counter.
9. Stretch and fold the dough for ten minutes. An alternative would be to throw the dough at the work surface repeatedly. Use a scraper to help lift the dough off the surface. Add flour in small amounts if the dough is too liquid.
10. Line a mixing bowl with a kitchen towel. Sprinkle flour over the cloth.
11. Shape the dough ball by stretching and tucking so that there is a "spring" and stretch on the outside of the dough ball. 
12. Place the dough in the bowl, top down. Cover with flour carefully. Fold the towel over top.
13. Place in fridge overnight.
14. Invert the bowl to remove the dough and land it upright on a parchment sheet on a baking sheet.
15. After dough has come to room temperature, make a slice in the top of the dough with a sharp knife. You can make a pattern of choice with the knife slices.
16. Bake in oven at 450 degrees for 20 minutes. Place a baking sheet or shallow pan with water in the oven to provide some steam to the baking process. You could also use a water sprayer to actually spray mist into the oven at the start of baking. This helps form the crust. 
17. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake until crust darkens further.
18. Remove and let stand to cool for at least an hour.
19. To store the bread, stand with cut side down on a plate. Don't plastic bag it because the crust will soften.
20. Amazing!

November 2018 - Things Are Cooking

Over the past few months my hankering for building things has taken new direction into the world of cooking and baking.

My Instagram account, known as Hamilton Music Guy, is now taking on a food slant. I'm posting snaps of some of my creations there.

View this post on Instagram

It’s an apple pie kind of day. #cinnamon #apples #baking #applepie #homebaking #comfortfood

A post shared by Glen Brown (@hamilton_music_guy) on Nov 22, 2018 at 9:30am PST

View this post on Instagram

Hamburger buns now calling out for patties! Bread now calling out for butter! @foodwishes #constantimprovement #flour #breadmaking #dough

A post shared by Glen Brown (@hamilton_music_guy) on Nov 12, 2018 at 3:57am PST

View this post on Instagram

Chicken time !! #chicken #poultry

A post shared by Glen Brown (@hamilton_music_guy) on Oct 16, 2018 at 12:28pm PDT

View this post on Instagram

Chicken part two #food #stew #chickenrecipes #leftovers

A post shared by Glen Brown (@hamilton_music_guy) on Jun 22, 2018 at 11:29am PDT