251,306 visits to this blog.

Not bad at all.

I should write more ;)

One easy solution is to lower the temperature.  However, that does not always produce the desired results.  There are two solutions I usually use, and both are pretty simple to do:

1.  Add a teaspoon of oil for every 2 tablespoons of butter.  This immediately raises the burn and smoke points to an acceptable non-burning temp.  The most common high burn temp (Over 400F) oils are:  canola, olive, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, rapeseed, peanut, sunflower, sesame.

2.  Make Clarified Butter or what is also known as Ghee.  Two different methods below:

Method One:

In a sauce pan, melt butter slowly.  without stirring at all.  Allow to cool and separate.   The milk solid foam will stay at the top, and milk solids will form at the bottom.  What is in the middle is the clarified butter.   Once the butter has cooled enough (it will begin to thicken), skim this foam off the top. Pour off the butter, leaving the milk solids in the pan.  Discard the milk solids, and store the clarified butter in a cool place.

Method Two (Alton Brown’s method) is just as simple:

Place butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring butter to boil. This takes approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium. The butter will form a foam which will disappear. Ghee is done when a second foam forms on top of butter, and the butter turns golden. Approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Brown milk solids will be in bottom of pan. Gently pour into heatproof container through fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth. Store in airtight container being sure to keep free from moisture. Ghee does not need refrigeration and will keep in airtight container for up to 1 month.

**Although using clarified butter does raise the burn point, butter will eventually burn if too high of a temp is used

Not all of the pots and pans I have are the same make — I bought the best I could find, the best pan for the job, as I found them on sale.  For example, the list price on the Calphalon Everyday Pan is $169.00.  !!!!  No way is that even near something I can afford.  However, Amazon (link) sells this regularly on sale for somewhere between $29 and $40.  Much more in line with my budget.

I recommend getting every pot and pan with a lid.  You won’t always want it, but when you do, it’ll be there.

• 1 8 Quart Pot, with steamer
• 1 Saucier, with lid
• 1 12 inch Everyday Pan, with lid
• 1 3 or 4 Quart sauce pan, with lid
• 1 10 or 12 inch Non-stick fying pan, with lid

By far, the pan I use most is the Calphalon Everyday Pan.  I can saute, fry, braise, broil, bake, roast just about anything in it.  It most litterally is used every time I cook.

The Everyday pan is made of heavy-guage hard anodized aluminum, heat safe up to 450F; it’s not officially non-stick, but “less” stick. Included with the pan is a dome shaped lit, also made of anodized aluminum. As with all of Calfalon’s products, it has a lifetime warranty.

About the only thing that I dislike is that, with a lot of use, it discolors.  Other than that one complaint, I would make this my first purchase when buying.

The pluses to this pan are numerous — Use it to make risotto, fried chicken, delicately cooked cream sauces, pancakes, omelette’s, stir fry, or roast a chicken in the oven.  Just anything.

Clara is a 94 year old woman, who shows how to create some frugal recipes, dating back to the Great Depression.   Her clips show her cooking, and of course how to create the recipe, but are also a great way to hear some of the history of that time.  A bag of potatoes for 1.00; growing a vegetable garden; life lessons ….. having to stop going to school because there wasn’t anything to wear; and of course, how to cook with very little.

This show has two seasons, with about ten 5-7 minute clips.  Take some time and watch.. you might be surprised at how much you learn, even outside of the recipe itself.  She has also put out a book, as well as a DVD — I’m just so impressed at the idea of her doing all these things, and feel the need to get up off my own tush and do something, too.. she is an inspiration.

[youtube yREFkmrrYiw]

• Measurement Conversion Table, which includes Temp Conversion
• I have a quick converstion tool here: Measurement Equivilent Chart & Converter
• Ingredient Replacement List
• Scale, Half and Double Quantity Amounts in a Recipe (Chart)
• pH Values of Common Items
• Fruits and Vegetables in Season – Month by Month
• Fruits and Vegetables in Season – Season by Season

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, everyone :)

Quickly, and without much more information, I cook a 13-15 pound turkey at 500F for 30 minutes, then lower the heat to 375F for 9 minutes per pound.  See Alton Brown’s version of the video below…

• Food Network: Alton’s Browns 4 Part Series on Turkey (The best!!)
• 5Min: How to Cook a Turkey – Dorm Edition
• Google Video: How To Cook A Turkey
• Xomba: How To Cook A Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey
• From YouTube: How to Cook Turkey: Part 1 – Prep and Roasting
• From YouTube: How to Cook Turkey: Part 2 – All About the Gravy
• DIY’s How To Cook A Turkey
• HowCasts: How To Cook a Quick and Easy Perfect Turkey

Want more videos:  Click here for Google Results

Have fun!!  And let me know if you learned any thing that made a difference :)

DONATE!!!

Food Pantry links:

• Food Pantries – A directory of Food Pantries and Soup Kitchens across America
• Feeding America
• WHY – World Hunger Year
• Food Bank For New York City
• Open Directory of Food Banks, listed by State
• Find a food pantry

These are several of the food pantries and agencies that are serving Thanksgiving meals over the next week locally in Westchester County, New York, including contact information for anyone wishing to donate.

SUNDAY – November 23, 2008

New Rochelle: 1 p.m. Free. St. Catherine AME Zion Church, 19 Lincoln Ave. 914-633-5234.

MONDAY – November 24, 2008

Mount Vernon: 6 p.m. Free. First Reformed Church Food Pantry/Kitchen, 135 S. Sixth Ave. 914-664-3846.

TUESDAY – November 25, 2008

White Plains: 4 p.m. Free. YWCA of White Plains (Shelter & Food Pantry), 69 N. Broadway. 914-428-1130.
Yonkers: 3 p.m. Free. Food Pantry/Kitchen at Bethany AME Church, 21 Ludlow St. 914-562-6902.

WEDNESDAY – November 26, 2008

Mount Vernon: 5 p.m. Free. Community Service Associates Project Family Soup Kitchen, 115 Sharpe Blvd. S. 914-668-1428.
Port Chester: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Free. St. Frances AME Zion Church, 18 Smith St. 914-939-1056.

THURSDAY – November 27, 2008

Haverstraw: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Sponsor: Haverstraw Committee for Thanksgiving and Christmas Dinner. Quisqueya Sports Club, 25-27 Broadway. 845-947-8532.
Mount Vernon: 1 p.m. Free. Grace Baptist Church, 52 S. Sixth Ave. 914-664-2676.
New Rochelle: Noon-3 p.m. Free. The Salvation Army, 22 Church St. 914-632-0381.
New Rochelle: 1 p.m. Free. First Assembly of God, 165 Union Ave. 914-632-0031.
Peekskill: 11:30 a.m. Free. United Methodist Church, 1040 Main St. 914-737-8544
Suffern: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. Food Pantry of Christ Episcopal Church, 65 Washington Avenue. 845-357-1615.
Valhalla: 1 p.m. Free. Grasslands Homeless Shelter (Volunteers of America), 25 Operation Drive. 914-231-4201.
White Plains: Noon. Free. Grace Church Community Center, 33 Church St. 914-949-3098, Ext. 100.
White Plains: 1:30 p.m. Free. The Salvation Army, 16 Sterling Ave. 914-949-2908.
Yonkers: Noon-2 p.m. Free. Sharing Community, 1 Hudson St. 914-963-2626, Ext. 222.

FRIDAY – November 28, 2008

White Plains: 11 a.m. Free. Mount Hope AME Zion Church, 65 Lake St. 914-948-6372.

From BoingBoing:

A zygomatic bone glommed together from old sauce pots; a mandible constructed from rusty whisks; a maxilla ossified from dinner plates and moustachioed with unwashed spoons. This gloriously sepulchral skull constructed entirely from old cookware and crockery was on display in London’s Regent Park a couple weeks ago as part of the Frieze Art Fair.