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Chef2Chef Recipe Club - Volume 2 Issue 81 - April 22, 2002 Automatic system commands and instructions: End of Message Chef2Chef Recipe Club Member Forum: http://forums.chef2chef.net -------------------------------------------------- Good Day Recipe Club. Does a cow eat grass because she likes it? Does she have a favorite grass? I'm not sure! Do the deer eat my tulips and columbines because they like them? YES! I'm sure of that! My point is that while animals eat to survive, most people eat because they enjoy the flavors of the foods they are accustomed to. When you go to a fancy restaurant the food comes out all beautifully prepared, but if it doesn't taste good, who cares how it looks! Getting the flavor right is the biggest challenge for any cook. We've all been to a BBQ where the cook has abused his spice cabinet and we couldn't really even find the chicken or pork flavor in the dish. A little common sense and some basic knowledge will please your palate for a lifetime. That's my mission this week, to share the basics with you. And I'll try to give you some fun recipes to follow each day's topics. Here is the schedule of topics: 101 Monday Define Seasoning and Flavoring Basic Rules of Seasoning and Flavoring Foods 102 Tuesday Common Seasonings and Flavorings 103 Wednesday Herbs and Spices Defined Basic Buying and Storage Tips for Herbs and Spices 104 Thursday Using Seasoning Blends, Rubs and Marinades 105 Friday Using Condiments, Sauces and Jellies Ok, let's get started! -------------------------------------------------- Seasoning and Flavoring Is there a difference? Oh Yes! Seasoning is what you do to enhance the real flavor of the food you are eating. When you put salt on a steak or grilled asparagus you are seasoning the food without masking it's basic flavor. Flavoring a food means you are changing its basic true flavor. When you coat a piece of fish with Cajun spices and blacken it a searing hot pan, you have definitely flavored the fish! Same with ground beef for Tacos or Chili. Do you see the difference? It's pretty simple, but it can be a little confusing too. While salt may be your basic and most common Seasoning, what happens when it is used in beef jerky or popcorn? Oops, now it a Flavoring! So like I said earlier, just use common sense. Basic Rules: Just remember that for the most part your main ingredient, the meat, starch or vegetable are your primary flavor. Your goal is to cook them properly and enhance their original flavors to make them more pleasing to your palate. Dumping in a whole can of your favorite spice can't save poorly prepared food! The best time to season your food is towards the end of the cooking time. That is the time when you decide if you have acquired the flavor you were looking for. This is very true especially with liquids. Soups and Sauces that have too much seasoning (like salt) in the beginning of a recipe will reduce during the cooking period and have too strong of a flavor. Fine-tune it at the end. Flavoring foods can take place throughout the cooking time, as most flavorings require heat to bring out the flavor. Some flavorings like fresh herbs, flamed wines, prepared mustards, cracked peppercorns can be added at the end as they will add instant flavor. Remember whole spices take longer to add flavor than ground spices. On the other side of the coin, some flavors can be lost or diminished during cooking through evaporation. That's why your house smells so good when you are making your favorite spaghetti sauce. Don't overcook! -------------------------------------------------- Rosemary and Garlic Flavored Steak. Serves 4 4 10-12 ounce Ribeye Steaks, or you favorite cut 4 ounces of Olive Oil 4 cloves of garlic, minced 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, whole Salt and Pepper One half hour before you are ready to grill your steak, combine the garlic, rosemary sprigs and Olive Oil in a shallow bowl to incorporate the flavors. Just before the steak go on the grill, brush them with the oil using the sprigs of rosemary as the brushes. Brush during the cooking time on the grill with the sprigs. Set the sprigs on the steaks while they are cooking, when not brushing. Add a little more flavor with the salt and pepper right before serving. -------------------------------------------------- Tenderloin Steak au Poivre Serves 2 2 Two inch Tenderloin Steaks Freshly cracked peppercorns to coat Sea Salt or coarse salt 1/4cup unsalted butter 1/4cup Olive Oil 1/3 cup dry white wine 1/3 cup veal stock 1/4cup cognac, brandy Press the cracked peppercorns into the meat on both sides and season lightly with the salt. In a heavy skillet, I use a cast iron pan, heat the butter and olive oil over high heat and sear the steaks for about 5 minutes on each side. Longer if you like your meat more well done. Remove the meat from the skillet and add the wine and veal stock with the pan juices. Scrape the little bits stuck to the pan up with a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil. Add the cognac carefully as it will flame up. Allow the flame to burn off and cook for another few moments. Serve sauce over the steaks. -------------------------------------------------- These are two very different ways to prepare a steak. One is has mild seasoned accents and one has a pronounced flavor added to it. But the meat flavor still comes through on both. Obviously be careful not to grind too much of the cracked peppercorns into the meat in the Au Poivre recipe. In the Au Poivre recipe it calls for veal stock. You could use a rich beef broth or buy some fantastic veal stock or demi-glace from the vendor listed right below. He has a deal going for Chef2Chef members only. -------------------------------------------------- You can find all the great stocks, demi-glaces, condiments, seasonings and sauces at http://www.clubsauce.com Here is the bonus, and this goes for anyone out there. Chefs, Personal Chefs and Home Gourmets can get a 15 - 20% discount on their purchases from ClubSauce.com by sending an email to saucemaster@clubsauce.com and put the code "PPC" into the subject line. The SauceMaster will write you back with the simple steps you need to take to get your discount. And once you've registered the discount is yours every time you go back -------------------------------------------------- Grilled Asparagus Serves 4 1 pound of fresh asparagus 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil Garlic Salt Fresh cracked pepper Brush the asparagus with the Olive Oil and lightly season with the garlic salt and pepper. Grill for 4-5 minutes and serve immediately. -------------------------------------------------- Chilled Marinated Asparagus Serves 4 1 pound of asparagus 4 ounces of chilled Italian dressing In a pot, bring just enough water to a boil to cover the asparagus. Add the asparagus and cook for just about 4 minutes for medium spears. Remove the asparagus to a flat baking dish and immediately pour the cold dressing over the spears, covering completely. Allow the asparagus to cool for 20-30 minutes. Remove the asparagus from the dish and discard the dressing. Chill the asparagus in the refrigerator. A wonderful vegetable side dish on a hot day or serve over a bed of greens and top with a little dressing and fresh grated Parmesan cheese. -------------------------------------------------- Shopping Lists: 4 10-12 ounce Ribeye Steaks, or you favorite cut Olive Oil 4 cloves of garlic 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary Salt and Pepper 2 Two inch Tenderloin Steaks Freshly cracked peppercorns to coat Sea Salt or coarse salt Unsalted butter Olive Oil Dry white wine 1/3 cup veal stock cognac, brandy 1 pound of fresh asparagus Olive Oil Garlic Salt Fresh cracked pepper 1 pound of asparagus Chilled Italian dressing -------------------------------------------------- We have a new sponsor at Chef2Chef.Net called Kitchens-Today.com and I thought you should know about them. They have over 30,000 kitchen-related items available by Brand, Category, Price Range and even a clearance room. You can also use their fantastic Wedding Registry or register to WIN a free Honeymoon! 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