Tag Archives: cooking

beef

What are the best seasoning to use with Beef

We all know salt and pepper is all a good steak really needs. Have you ever wondered what other spices are good for cooking beef? Here are some of my favorite seasoning for beef. So lets take a simple grilled steak to the next level and get you a printable cheat sheet for your kitchen!

Bay leaf

Bay leaf is an aromatic leaf commonly used in cooking. It can be whole or ground dried pieces of the plant. It comes from several plants such as: Bay laurel. Fresh or dried bay leaves are used in cooking for their distinctive flavor and fragrance.

Cayenne seasoning

The cayenne pepper is a type of Capsicum annuum. It is usually a moderately hot chili pepper used to flavor dishes.

Chili

Chili powder (also powdered chili, chile powder or chilli powder) is the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties of chili pepper, sometimes with the addition of other spices (also sometimes known as chili powder blend). It is used as a spice to add pungency or piquancy and flavor to dishes.

Curry

The main spices found in most curry powders of the Indian subcontinent are coriander, cumin, and turmeric. A wide range of additional spices may be included depending on the geographic region and the foods being included (fish, lentils, red or white meat, rice, and vegetables).

Dill

Dill is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is the only species in the genus Anethum. Dill is widely grown in Eurasia where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food.

Ginger

Ginger is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems about a meter tall bearing narrow leaf blades.

Mustard

Mustard Powder by OliveNation is crafted by grinding the seeds of the mustard plant. This fine yellow powder has a tangy, mildly hot flavor and is also known as dry mustard or ground mustard.

Paprika

Paprika is a ground spice made from dried red fruits of the larger and sweeter varieties of the plant Capsicum annuum, called bell pepper or sweet pepper. The most common variety used for making paprika is tomato pepper, sometimes with the addition of more pungent varieties, called chili peppers, and cayenne pepper.

Marjoram seasoning

Marjoram is a somewhat cold-sensitive perennial herb or undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavors. In some Middle Eastern countries, marjoram is synonymous with oregano, and there the names sweet marjoram and knotted marjoram are used to distinguish it from other plants of the genus Origanum.

Oregano

Oregano is a flowering plant in the mint family. It is native to temperate Western and Southwestern Eurasia and the Mediterranean region. Oregano is a perennial herb, growing from 20–80 cm tall, with opposite leaves 1–4 cm long. The flowers are purple, 3–4 mm long, produced in erect spikes.

Parsley

Parsley or garden parsley is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to the central Mediterranean region, naturalized elsewhere in Europe, and widely cultivated as a herb, a spice, and a vegetable.

Rosemary

Rosmarinus officinalis, commonly known as rosemary, is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other herbs.


Thyme

Thyme is an aromatic perennial evergreen herb with culinary, medicinal, and ornamental uses. The most common variety is Thymus vulgaris. Thyme is of the genus Thymus of the mint family, and a relative of the oregano genus Origanum.

Tips for cooking with butter

Cooking with Butter: Any good cook know that butting is a key ingredient in any meal. So, I have decided to put together a couple of tips for all you aspiring cooks to help you master the art of butter.

1) ​ Before sautéing wait for butter to stop foaming.

Sautéing is best done in hot fat. When foaming subsides, it’s an easy visual cue that the melted butter is hot enough for cooking.

​2) For pastry use cold not softened butter.

​Good, light pastry and biscuits depend on distinct pieces of cold, solid butter distributed throughout the dough that melt during baking and leave behind pockets of air.

​3) Add cold butter to pan sauces.

​Swirling a tablespoon or two of cold butter into a pan sauce right before serving adds both richness and body. pull the pan off the heat and add at least one tablespoon of cold butter. To make sure your sauce is thick and glossy, you need to create an emulsion. Swirl or whisk in the butter, returning the pan briefly to the heat if necessary, to help it melt. If you want to thicken and enrich the sauce even more, add more butter, one tablespoon at a time, letting it melt and emulsify between each addition; this gradual process of adding the butter is called mounting.

​4) Slip butter under the skin of chicken breasts.

Start by sliding your fingers between the meat and the skin, entering at either end of the chicken. Working slowly, separate as much of the skin from the meat as you can reach

Grab a few tablespoons of the softened -butter and use your fingers to push it beneath the loosened skin. Rub it directly into the meat as evenly as possible. You can massage the outside of the bird to distribute the softened -butter to the areas that you can’t reach directly.

​5) For creamy mashed potatoes add butter before dairy in.

​If the dairy is stirred into the hot cooked potatoes before the butter, the water in the dairy will combine with the potatoes’ starch, making them gummy. The result? Smoother, more velvety mashed potatoes.

​6) Add butter bits to uncooked eggs for omelets.

​Whisking a tablespoon of cold, diced butter into the eggs before cooking is the secret to a soft, creamy omelet.

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Oven-Fried Pulled Pork street Taquitos

Taquitos are a traditional Mexican dish consisting of rolled-up tortillas filled with meat, cheese, or veggies. They are then fried until crunchy. Here, we fill flour tortillas with pulled pork and then oven-fry them to get that satisfying crunch in each bite. The Taquitos are served with tomatoey-taco spiced dipping sauce, sour cream, and fresh cilantro.

Before you start the meal let’s talk about the ingredients. The best thing about this meal is that it’s simple. The most typical cut for making pulled pork is the pork shoulder.

The pork shoulder is the entire front leg and shoulder of a Pig. When shopping I would buy the Jack Daniel’s Pulled Pork with Jack Daniel’s BBQ Sauce, 16 oz. You can get a nice amount at $8 a pound.

Key to this meal:

The key to this meal is the filling. First you heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium-high. Add peppers and about 90% of the onions. Let it cook for a little bit. Don’t forget to keep stirring. Should take about 5 minutes or until there softened and golden brown. Add pulled pork and half of the chopped garlic; cook, breaking up pork with a spoon. We don’t want dry pork so stir in ½ cup water; simmer, scraping up browned bits, 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Brief History of the Taquitos

We can thank wikipedia for this history lesson. ‘Two Southern California restaurants are often given credit for their roles in the early development of the taquito. Cielito Lindo was founded by Aurora Guerrero in 1934 and located on Olvera Street in Los Angeles. Guerrero’s daughter used her taquito recipe in opening chain restaurants in Los Angeles, and soon competitors were selling similar dishes. In San Diego, what would become El Indio Mexican Restaurant began selling taquitos during World War II, when tortilla factory owner Ralph Pesqueria, Sr., was asked by workers at the Consolidated Aircraft Company factory across the street for a portable lunch item.”

https://lifetimevibes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/TAQUITOs.mp4

WINE PAIRING

GRENACHE

Pork is a tough wine to pair. Grenache isn’t considered a full-bodied wine, while pork has less umami than beef. These two medium flavors go extremely well together. Garnacha is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditions such as those found in Spain. Grenache has red fruit characteristics that will boost the flavor of the pork. 

TIPS FOR COOKING PORK

Lightly coat pork with vegetable oil to keep it from drying out during cooking.

Before roasting pork, sear all sides to create a flavorful crust on the surface of the meat.

Do not overcrowd pork cuts when cooking. Leaving space between them will allow them to brown and cook more evenly.

Oven-Fried Pulled Pork Taquito with Taco Sauce & Cheddar

Here, we fill flour tortillas with pulled pork and then oven-fry them to get that satisfying crunch in each bite.

  • 2 pkts sour cream
  • ¼ oz fresh cilantro
  • 8 oz can tomato sauce
  • taco seasoning (use 2¼ tsp)
  • 6 6-inch flour tortillas
  • ½ lb pulled pork
  • garlic (use 2 large cloves)
  • 2 pieces sharp cheddar
  • 1 poblano pepper
  • 1 medium red onion
  • kosher salt & ground pepper
  • neutral oil
  1. Prep ingredients: Preheat oven to 425°F with a rack in the upper third. Finely chop onion. Halve poblano pepper, discard stem and seeds, then finely chop. Finely chop all of the cheddar. Finely chop 2 teaspoons garlic. Generously oil a rimmed baking sheet. Using your fingers, break pulled pork up into bite-size pieces.
  2. Cook filling: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium-high. Add peppers and all but 2 tablespoons of the onions; cook, stirring, until softened and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add pulled pork and half of the chopped garlic; cook, breaking up pork with a spoon. Stir in ½ cup water; simmer, scraping up browned bits, 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  3. Assemble flautas: Place tortillas on a work surface; spoon about ⅓ cup of the pork filling onto one half of each tortilla, and spread to a 4- x1-inch rectangle. Top with some of the cheese, then roll tightly, starting at the filled side of the tortilla. Place flautas on prepared baking sheet, seam side down. Wipe out skillet and reserve for step 5.
  4. Bake flautas: Generously brush tops and sides of flautas with oil. Bake on upper oven rack until golden brown and crispy, 15–20 minutes (watch closely as ovens vary).
  5. Make taco sauce: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in reserved skillet over medium-high. Add 2¼ teaspoons taco seasoning and remaining chopped garlic; cook, stirring, until garlic is sizzling, about 1 minute. Stir in tomato sauce and ½ cup water, and bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat until sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  6. Finish & serve: Coarsely chop cilantro leaves and stems together. In a small bowl, thin all of the sour cream by adding 1 teaspoon water as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve flautas topped with some of the taco sauce, sour cream, remaining chopped onions, and cilantro. Serve remaining taco sauce on the side, for dipping.

NUTRITION PER SERVING
Calories 960kcal, Fat 55.0g, Proteins 42.0g, Carbs 74.0g
ALLERGENS
Milk and Wheat. May contain traces of other allergens. Packaged in a facility that packages gluten containing products.