A Great Garlic Press

My garlic press died. I guess it was time…I’ve had it since my first year out of college, and I had used it a lot. I decided to ask Nancy Pollard, the owner of La Cuisine, for a recommendation. In case you’ve never been to this shop in Old Town, it’s worth a trip.

Here's some info from their website:

For 29 years La Cuisine—The Cooks Resource has offered the finest cookware, carbon and stainless cutlery and top quality kitchen gear for the amateur and professional chef. Nancy chooses brands that offer exceptional quality as well as classic design. However, there is another ingredient to La Cuisine’s impressive inventory. Nancy calls it “innovative traditionalism”—the ability to balance the timeless and proven with the best that technology has to offer. La Cuisine’s selection of hard-to-find brands includes superior American and European manufacturers. They test the products that they sell, on the premises!

Located on one of the prettiest and quietest blocks in Old Town (behind City Hall) and housed in an old grain warehouse that dates to 1810, La Cuisine has become a destination in the Washington area. Food and Wine magazine recommends La Cuisine in their December 1999 edition. It is a beautiful store that gleams with copper, stainless and good taste. 

La Cuisine is not the prototypical kitchen/ cookware/ appliance store. This is a high end cookware experience. It is focused on quality cookware and interesting cookbooks. You won’t find a lot of knickknacks that you don’t need.

You will find a extensive selection of the finest dry goods such as Cassoulet’s Beans and Fortnum and Mason teas. Panel Chocolates are a specialty at La Cuisine. If you haven’t tried these chocolates, you simply don’t know what you are missing. Ask about the chocolate war, it’s an interesting little competition that you can get in on yourself, if you have the talent. Visit them on-line at http://www.lacuisineus.com/.

But I digress. Nancy recommended the Zyliss Susi Garlic Press. There are two sizes. The smaller one, Susi 2, is the one I bought. It holds 2–3 garlic cloves, and the best part: you can mince the garlic without peeling the cloves! It does not come with a separate cleaning device, but I have had no problem cleaning it up after use. It is also much easier to squeeze than my old one! 

This garlic press is available elsewhere, but if you're in Old Town, La Cuisine would be a fun place to visit. 323 Cameron Street.

Charleston ... city of fabulous architecture and food

We travelled to Charleston for a long weekend with friends in early October. What a great city!!  We had a jam-packed weekend:  Taking a horse-drawn carriage tour for a historic overview of the city. Shopping on King Street for antiques and clothing. Scoping out three different beaches (Isle of Palms was my favorite). Researching cool real estate opportunities in Mount Pleasant...here are photos of I'on, a planned community in Mount Pleasant, across the Cooper River via the Ravenel Bridge:

Ravenel Bridge

Two images from I'on in Mount Pleasant

Nathanial Russell House

We also toured the historic Boone Hall Plantation, the Nathanial Russell House with its graceful floating staircase, as well as the Edmunston-Alston House overlooking the Charleston Harbor.

In addition to its beautiful architecture, Charleston is known for its food. And we did our best to sample as much as we possibly could!  Here are a few of the places we dined:

Basil

A cool, fun Thai restaurant with great food.  Beautiful presentation. Don’t miss the Tom Kha Gai (a soup made of sliced chicken breast in coconut milk with galangal roots, lime leaves, lemon grass, mushrooms, cilantro and scallions). Enough for two. Also try the Fresh Basil Rolls…shrimp, rice noodles, bean sprouts and lettuce, wrapped in a transparent rice paper wrapper with a basil leaf showing through the wrapper, served with a special sauce.  Numerous mains to choose from, too.  We had the Basil Duck. Yum.

Magnolia’s Uptown/Downsouth

Memorable Southern cooking.  Our lunch menu favorites:  

• Fried Green Tomato BLT with Lump Crab Sandwich 

• Shellfish Over Grits...sautéed shrimp, sea scallops and lobster over creamy white grits with lobster butter sauce and fried spinach 

Cypress

Cypress

Comtemporary Southern cuisine with an Asian edge. Flying saucer shaped lighting in the ceiling changed colors throughout the evening.

Husk (NOT!!)

We managed to score reservations for this restaurant voted Number One New Restaurant in 2011 by Bon Appetite magazine.  In my opinion, they try way too hard to be trendy and hip.  Deep-fried chicken skins… fried pig ears… Come ON!!!   Main Courses equally strange…and not very good to boot. But we paid dearly for that meal.  Never again.  A black eye for Charleston.  I’ve included it on my list here solely to save you the pain.

Some of best food we had was at some of the most casual of venues.

Poe’s Tavern

We ate outside on the patio at this cute little café on Sullivan’s Island. The Island inspired Edgar Allan Poe to write “The Gold Bug” while he was stationed there during his time in the army. Amazing burgers—eleven different kinds!!!  An absolute must if you go to Charleston.  Make sure you order a side of the onion straws. The most thinly sliced onions, dipped in a light batter and deep fried.  I am a huge onion ring fan and these were by far the best I have ever had.

The Hominy Grill

A great place for breakfast. Get there when they open, or you will be waiting in line.  The weather was sunny and clear, so we ate on the patio.

I had the Shrimp and Cheese Grits.  So great, I asked if they had a cookbook with the recipe…and they did.  Here is the recipe from my signed copy by Chef Robert Stehling.  He’s been making this recipe for more than 20 years.  I will probably make it for another 20.

Shrimp and Grits

Cheese Grits

(serves 6)

Ingredients

4-1/2 cups water

1 cup stone ground grits

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

3 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 tsp Tabasco

Preparation

Bring water to boil in medium saucepan over high heat. Whisk in grits and salt. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until grits are thickened, approximately 35–40 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cheeses, butter, pepper and Tabasco. Adjust seasoning as desired.

Shrimp 

(serves 2–4)

High heat will keep this dish from getting mushy, but be careful not to overcook the shrimp (they cook fast)!

Ingredients

3 slices bacon, chopped

1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined

2 tablespoons flour

1-1/4 cups sliced mushrooms

1 large garlic clove, minced in garlic press

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Tabasco

1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions

Preparation

1. In medium skillet cook bacon over low heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Reserve 1-1/2 tbsp fat in skillet…adding peanut oil if needed.

2. Toss shrimp in flour. Shake off excess.

3. Cook shrimp in fat over medium-high heat until them begin to turn pink…one minute or less.

4. Add mushrooms and bacon.  Cook another minute.

5. Add garlic, but do not let it brown.

6. Finish with Tabasco, lemon juice and onions. Remove from heat.

7. Serve immediately so the shrimp do not overcook. This is a very fast sauté — only about 3 minutes cooking time total.

WOW!

What to do with all those recipe clippings

I have been clipping recipes since I was 12 years old. I loved to go through my mother's Better Homes and Gardens magazines and save the recipes that looked good.  I even made many of them for my family.  

As an adult, I subscribed to lots of cooking magazines. The photos always looked so appealing. But I rarely used the recipes ... primarily because I forgot about them, once I stored them in a box or folder.  Somewhere along the way, I decided to organize them. At one point, I had one huge binder, where I pasted all the recipes. But it was really cumbersome: it was really thick and heavy, there were too many recipes, and there was no easy way to add recipes as I found them, or delete recipes I didn't like.  

That's when I developed this system.  It's not the most creative idea I've ever had, but it works.

Here's what  you will need:

Binders and dividers

I bought a bunch of one-inch three-ring binders. You can buy bigger ones, but they get heavy. The ones I like used to be available at Staples, but they don't carry the one-inch size anymore. You can order them online from OfficeMax.com. They are called Storex Duratech Binders 1" Round Ring. These are attractive and really light-weight. You can use whatever you like, but the important thing is that you can label the outside with the categories inside; i.e., chicken, salads, Thanksgiving, desserts, outdoor cooking, breakfast eggs & cheese,  casseroles & quiche ... whatever works for you. The things you like will take up more room.  I tried to group things together within a binder that made sense to me. But that did not work out so neatly. For example, I put meats and fish in another, but I had too many poultry dishes to fit in with the other main courses, so I put those in a binder with vegetables. The thing is to keep the size of the binders manageable. I put dividers in the notebooks to mark the various sections.

Clear sheet protectors and white paper

Use Standard Sheet Protectors—the lightweight ones come in a box of 100. Some come with black paper inside each one, but I like white...it's cleaner looking and I can write notes on the pages. An added benefit: you can take the whole page out when you are cooking, and the sheet protectors protect the page.

Glue Sticks

These are important. I used to use Elmer's glue. But that is so permanent and you can't pull the recipes out without ripping up the pages. I now use a glue stick instead. All you need is a dab or two to anchor the recipe to the page. The sheet protectors will keep the recipes in place. If you make a recipe and it is not absolutely wonderful, tear it out and throw it away. No need to save recipes you'll never make again.

Try to organize the recipes in a way that makes sense. For example, in my fish section, I will put all the salmon recipes together on a page or more, all the tuna recipes together, shrimp, crab, etc. It will make it much easier for you to find a recipe if you take the time to do that up front.

When you are done, you will have something that looks like this:

I admit, I am pretty nutty when it comes to organization. But I have had so many friends admire my homemade cookbooks that I thought I would share this. You will love yours, too. I promise.

I have to say, when I browse through the recipes, I find myself saying to myself, "Oh, this recipe looks good. So does this one. And this one. This one, too." 

(One more little thing: notice the paper clip at the top. I bought these clips at Staples. They are so cool. The paper clip has a paper tag at the top. They come in a package of assorted colors. I mark the recipes I want to try soon by placing the clips on the tops of the pages of my cookbooks. I can see the tags sticking up when the books are on the shelf, which makes it easier for me to find the recipes when I want them.) 

My desert island cookbook collection

Okay, this is a ridiculous title. First of all, on a desert island, you would not have a range. And you certainly wouldn’t have grocery stores where you can shop for gourmet ingredients. But the exercise of what I would select if I had to pare down my enormous cookbook collection to a handful is an interesting question.

I have to say, I LOVE Ina Garten. I actually stood in the POURING rain for two hours at Sur La Table to get her signature on her latest cookbook…. I wouldn’t have done it alone, but my good friend and neighbor is a huge fan, and he wanted to meet her, too, so we did.  She was really nice, BTW.

I love every single one of Ina’s cookbooks. The ingredients are fairly readily available and they are pretty easy to make. There are photos of every single one. And the recipes are GREAT!  Truly, I could get along without any other cookbooks, if I had to. But I do have some other favorites that I will post at a later time.

I rate all of my recipes on a one-to-four-star basis…and when I try a recipe, I write the rating in my cookbook along with the date I made it, and any alterations I would make in the future. My cookbooks are not art books. They are working notebooks.  They are filled with splatters and notes.  For a recipe to get 4 stars, it can’t use every pan in the kitchen, even if it’s the best thing I have eaten in months. I wouldn’t go through the bother again.

But Ina rarely disappoints. There are MANY recipes that have made it to my favorites list.  I have just scratched the surface, but I plan on making most of them.

You should consider buying every single book. TIP: buy them used on Amazon.  The books don’t have to be perfect…they are going to get messed up in no time. And you can buy them at a fraction of what they would cost retail.

One more tip.  Ina has an index on her website. I have it printed out and stored in a three-prong folder. I use a highlighter to mark the recipes I have made. I use it all the time so I can easily find recipes I am looking for.  If I had more time, I would make a new recipe every day...maybe more than one.  (I can send you a pdf of the index if you contact me: koncept@comcast.net)

Here is a book-by-book list of some of my favorite cookbooks with a few of the 4-star recipes. Be forewarned, though, that she is a bit of a salt fiend. I always cut her salt in half. Sometimes more.

I don’t make dessert often, but there are dozens here that look really, REALLY tempting that I have not listed.

The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook   

Sun-dried Tomato Dip. A great party dip.

Filet of Beef Bourguignon. Made this for a dinner party. One of my guests practically moaned all through dinner with every bite. Expensive but worth it for a special occasion.

Indonesian Ginger Chicken

Parmesan Smashed Potatoes.  Parmesan cheese. Potatoes. Need I say more?

Spinach Pie.  A lower fat, healthier version of Spanokopita.  Wonderful!!!

Outrageous Brownies. This recipe will make you throw away your other brownie recipes. Now!

Ina Garten Family Style

Arugula with Parmesan

Parmesan Roasted Asparagus. The only way I make asparagus now.

Lobster Cobb Salad. My FAVORITE salad of all time.

Curried Chicken Salad. Great!

Parmesan Chicken.  A go-to recipe when I want an amazing, easy chicken dish!!!  Must serve with the salad with Lemon Vinaigrette dressing on page 40.

Tequila Chicken

Mashed Butternut Squash. Yummm.

Fresh Fruit with Honey Vanilla Yogurt.

Barefoot in Paris

Rosemary Cashews. Spicy and delicious. She says serve warm, but they are also great at room temp.

Mussels in White Wine. To die for.  Serve with good bread to sop up the sauce.

Cauliflower Gratin. Technically, I gave this 3-1/2 stars because of some extra pots, but this was REALLY GOOD!

Sautéed Wild Mushrooms. Made this using wild mushrooms from the Baltimore Farmer’s Market, mixed in with some white mushrooms. Everyone was asking for more servings!

Barefoot Contessa Parties

Panzanella

Sautéed Fresh Corn

Strawberry Country Cake. I have made this MANY times. EASY and always a hit!

Spaghetti Al Pesto (used less garlic)

Lobster Rolls (you must use the fresh dill in the recipe)

Salad with Warm Goat Cheese

Barefoot Contessa At Home

California BLT’s

Tomato, Mozzarella & Pesto Panini

Chicken Salad Veronique

Pesto Pea Salad

Old-Fashioned Potato Salad.  So good!

Chicken Picatta. Another chicken dish I can’t get tired of. Love it!

Mustard-roasted Potatoes

Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Roasted Potato Leek Soup with Crispy Shallots (I used substitutes for the heavy cream and crème fraiche. Still great.

White Pizzas with Arugula — AMAZING!!!

Coq au Vin

Baked Shrimp Scampi

Easy Sole Meunière

Confetti Corn

Orange Pecan Wild Rice. Great with lamb.

Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?

Ultimate Grilled Cheese

Mustard Chicken Salad

Lemon Chicken Breads

Couscous with Toasted Pine Nuts

Bangers & Mustard Mash

Steakhouse Steaks with Roquefort Chive Sauce. OMG. Made this for my husband and son. OMG. Did I say that? I don’t even like beef that much, but this was the best beef I ever tasted.  It didn’t taste like meat…it was a whole new food form.

Roasted Shrimp with Feta

Caesar Roasted Swordfish.  The crispy capers were a fabulous touch.

Looking through these books makes me realize how many great-looking and sounding recipes I have left to try! I'm hungry.

Six gadgets that belong in every cook’s kitchen

Here are some things that I can’t live without. (Okay, maybe this is an exaggeration, but they sure make cooking easier.) Make note of them as great gift ideas for yourself or another cook.

Trudreau Easy Grind® Pepper Mill

The pepper mill I had for years finally stopped working—the gears were stripped. I looked all over for a replacement. I settled on this one because it had all the features I was looking for. 

1.      You can grind pepper simply by cranking the handle on the top. The little black knob rotates so you don’t have to use your wrist. I don’t have carpal tunnel yet, but those who do will appreciate that. 

2.     The coarseness of the pepper is easily adjustable just by turning the knob on the top.

3.      The mill holds enough pepper that you don’t have to fill it up every few weeks.

4.     It is 7 inches tall. This is much bigger than the one I used to own, but I can still easily fit it on a cabinet shelf.

Here’s what the manufacturer says:

The Trudeau Easy Grind Unique four-to-one grinding system gives this mill four times more power than most grinders, and adjusting from fine to coarse grinds is as easy as turning the top knob.  Features a carbon steel grinder that always stays sharp. Lifetime warranty.

My only complaints: the crank was a little squeaky at first, and the knob on the handle was stiff. Both problems have gone away with use.

$34.99 from Sur La Table or same price at Amazon with free shipping

Terraillon BA-22 5-Pound Kitchen Scale

I had a Terraillon Scale that I bought 30 years ago. I wanted a new one because the plastic covering the numbers had become so scratched and foggy, it was hard to see.  I found this one, which has a sleek design and silver color, which works with my stainless appliances. The bowl on the top can be used two ways. You can have a flat surface, or you can flip it over to make a bowl. The bowl is also dishwasher safe.

This scale measures up to five pounds. I also use it as a postage scale, and it is fairly accurate enough for me to determine how much postage to use.

There are also different models in red or white.

$17.91 Amazon

Melamine Reamer

I had a device that I got from Sunkist when I was a teenage, but sending in Sunkist labels. It was a reamer that was part of a strainer, which fit over a bowl.  It was yellow plastic. I loved it. But the force needed to ream a lemon eventually broke the plastic.  I bought a wood reamer, which worked fine, but you can’t put it in the dishwasher if you don’t want it to pick up a chemical smell.

I found this one at Crate and Barrel. It’s great. You can really dig it into a lemon or lime and get out all of the juice. Melamine won’t pick up any food stains. And it is dishwasher safe. Only negative is that you have to pick the seeds out of the juice. I solve this by juicing the fruit over a bowl. The seeds are easily removed with a spoon.

$3.95 Crate and Barrel

Swing-A-Way Jar Opener

I grew up with one of these in my mother’s kitchen drawer, so when I started living on my own, I bought one, of course. They used to be available at grocery stores and anyplace that sold kitchen gadgets.

It is THE best tool for opening jars with no effort.  Recently, my mother misplaced hers. I was shocked to find out how difficult they are to find. I think they are discontinued. The only place you can find them is on eBay—somewhat expensive for what it is. The cheapest price I could find was $13. One seller sold a three-pack for $39 (buy them as gifts!)  Track one down before they are gone.

Microplane Zester/Grater

Microplane manufactures this tool in several sizes. The one I have is called the Classic Zester/Grater. It I meant for citrus zest, chocolate, hard cheese, coconut, ginger, and garlic. I use it a lot for zesting lemons, limes and oranges.

I used to hate zesting, but this tool makes it so easy!  It has surgical-grade stainless steel blades. It’s dishwasher safe. And it comes with a plastic cover to protect it in the drawer. I have though about the other sizes, but don’t know that I really need them. But this one is a must.


Widely available...Target; Bed, Bath & Beyond; Crate and Barrel, etc.  About $13-16

Small Stacking Glass Prep Bowls

These bowls are great for prepping for a recipe that requires you to add ingredients at different times. I have both sizes: 12 ounce and 5.5 ounce.

Williams-Sonoma sells them for $24.95 for a set of 8 (4 of each size.) I bought some at a dollar store (Dollar Tree) for 4/$1.00!

Amazing Chicken Picatta

I made this the other night and can't stop thinking about it. It was soooo good. I never used to be a caper fan, but have changed my mine. The capers in this sauce become very mild. The last step of this recipe where you simmer the chicken in the sauce adds an incredible flavor to the chicken. ( I like Ina Garten's recipe just as much, but it is totally different.)

Chicken Picatta
by Giada de Laurentiis with a few tweaks by me

Ingredients
2 skinless and boneless large chicken breast halves, pounded until about 1/2 inch thick. Cut each in two pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging

4 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup capers, rinsed with water
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the chicken and just until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Remove and transfer to plate.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Whisk remaining 2 tablespoons butter into sauce. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.