Sunday, 25 October 2015

Affordable Gourmet-style Recipes

(ARA) - Looking for recipe ideas that are easy to follow, inexpensive and relatively guilt-free too? Try incorporating an America
n household favorite -- canned tuna!

For something a little different that promises to please guests and family, Bumble Bee provides some delightful, recipe ideas made with canned tuna’s new gold label Prime Fillet. Keep this gourmet quality solid white albacore tuna ready in the pantry for parties, unexpected guests or family get-togethers. Then, whip up an affordable gourmet-style meal that will have your guests convinced you’ve prepared something truly elaborate and extravagant. As an added bonus, they will enjoy canapés or entrées that are delectable, but without those serious calories.

Specially developed by two of California’s leading chefs, here are recipes that demonstrate how canned tuna is no ordinary ingredient.

Mediterranean-Style Rigatoni Pasta with Prime Fillet Albacore


Recipe by Chef de Cuisine Fabrice Poigin, Bertrand at Mister A’s, San Diego

This simple and flavorful pasta dish with a Mediterranean flair is ideal whether sitting down to dinner with the family or celebrating with guests. Chef Fabrice suggests complementing this with a glass of 2001 Spottswood Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. Serves 4.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil 
  • 4 ounces unsalted butter 
  • 1 large sweet onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice 
  • 2 red bell peppers, deseeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice 
  • 1 vine ripe tomato, diced 
  • 5 cloves of garlic, minced 
  • A sprig of rosemary 
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine 
  • 1 small jar of Spanish olives (green olives stuffed with pimientos), drained 
  • 2 6-ounce cans of Bumble Bee Prime Fillet Solid White Albacore, drained 
  • 1/2 pound rigatoni pasta 
  • 1 tablespoon thinly sliced chives 
  • Dry aged parmesan, grated 
  • Pinch of crushed red hot pepper flakes (optional) 

Directions: Bring water to boil in a large pot according to package directions in preparation for cooking the rigatoni pasta. Heat 2/3 of the olive oil and 4 ounces of unsalted butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat until nearly hot but not smoking. Add diced onions and cook for approximately 5 minutes until soft. Add diced red bell peppers, reducing to low-medium heat and cook until peppers are soft. Add diced tomato, minced garlic and 1/3 teaspoon of rosemary sprig leaves. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Cover and cook over low heat for another 10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of dry white wine and simmer for 5 minutes. Then, add drained whole olives and Bumble Bee Prime Fillet tuna in solid pieces to sautéed mixture. Cover and cook until tuna is heated through (approximately 3 to 5 minutes).

Cook the rigatoni pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water according to the package directions or until al dente. Drain the pasta in a colander, leaving behind a little moisture. Toss the pasta, tuna sauce and water, then place in a serving dish or on individual plates. Drizzle remaining olive oil over the top and garnish with thinly sliced chives and grated dry aged parmesan. Top with a pinch of crushed red hot pepper flakes, if you prefer a little more bite.

* Delicate, Festive Albacore Tuna Canape

Recipe by Chef de Cuisine Fabrice Poigin, Bertrand at Mister A’s, San Diego

An easy-to-follow, elegant-style canapé for entertaining guests or just treating yourself to a unique way of serving up albacore tuna! Serves 6 to 8.

Ingredients:
  • 1 6-ounce can of Bumble Bee Prime Fillet Solid White Albacore, drained 
  • 2 finely diced shallots 
  • 1 tablespoon chives, thinly sliced 
  • 1 soup spoon crème fraiche 
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 
  • Sourdough bread (optional) 
  • 3 ounces of comté cheese or aged white cheddar, sliced thinly 
  • Extra crème fraiche for garnish (optional) 
  • 1/2 ounce domestic caviar (optional) 
  • Chervil sprigs (optional) 

Directions: Mix together Prime Fillet tuna, shallots, chives, crème fraiche, and salt and pepper. Spoon mixture onto toasted triangles of sourdough bread or into Chinese ceramic serving spoons. Top each serving mixture with a slice of cheese and place in a pre-heated oven (300 degrees) until cheese begins to melt -- approximately 3 minutes. Remove toasties or Chinese spoons from the oven and top individually with a dot of crème fraiche, and then a dot of caviar (optional). Finish with a sprig of chervil to garnish.

* Prime Fillet Albacore Tuna and Potato Casserole

Recipe by Chef Gerald Hirigoyen, owner and executive chef, Piperade and Fringale Restaurants, San Francisco

Recognized in Food & Wine magazine’s 2003 Top Ten Best New Wine Lists, Chef Gerald suggests complementing this entrée with a glass of 2001 Turnbull Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup olive oil 
  • 2 large onions, thinly sliced 
  • 4 medium Anaheim chilies, seeded and thinly sliced 
  • 2 bay leaves 
  • 8 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced 
  • 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered 
  • 1 cup dry white wine 
  • 3 cups vegetable stock or canned vegetable broth 
  • 6 to 8 saffron threads 
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt 
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper 
  • 1 mild dried chili pepper 
  • 4 6-ounce cans of Bumble Bee Prime Fillet Solid White Albacore, drained 
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 
  • Pinch of piment d’Espelette (Basque chili pepper) or mild cayenne powder 

Directions: Warm 1/2 cup olive oil in a large casserole over high heat. Add onions, Anaheim chilies, bay leaves, and garlic and sauté for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes, wine, vegetable stock, and saffron. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium. Add salt, pepper, and dried chili pepper, and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Add the tuna and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, or until warmed through. Stir only occasionally to avoid breaking apart the fish. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Discard the bay leaves before serving. Serve in shallow soup bowls, and sprinkle with the parsley and piment d’Espelette.  

Wednesday, 21 October 2015

A description of the new and exciting types of peppercorns & ways to use them

New and exciting varieties of peppercorns are becoming available to chefs everywhere. Pre-ground pepper out of the tin no longer provides the complex flavors and versatility that great cooks everywhere are looking for. A small collection of different types of peppercorns provides fine cooks with just the right pepper flavors and colors to create perfect culinary creations. Peppercorns crusts, rubs, marinades, dressings, and sauces are just a few of the creative ways these unique flavors and colors can be utilized.


Peppercorn sauces are a great way to present distinct and unique flavors to the pallet while providing a splash of brilliant colors. A rainbow of spicy flavors such as white, green, and pink can easily create an impressive dish.

Green peppercorns are a lively green color with a sharp, fresh flavor. These immature peppercorns are hard to find but well worth the search. Their fresh flavor is a perfect for making meat sauces for pork and beef. Green peppercorns are also a good match with salad dressings and vegetables.

Pink peppercorns are the rarest of the peppercorn varieties but provide an exquisitely unique flavor. These exotic peppercorns have a delicate, fragrant, sweet, and spicy flavor. Pink peppercorns also add a lovely dash of color to all kinds of cuisine. They go especially well in fruit sauces, vinaigrettes, and desserts.

White peppercorns are preferred in much of the world because freshly ground white pepper doesn’t leave dark, unappealing specks in food. It’s white color is especially important in light colored sauces and foods such as mashed potatoes.

Black peppercorns are the high quality equivalent of the stuff you used to get out of those little tin cans. Black pepper starts loosing its potency as soon as it is ground, and its flavor is significantly degraded after only a few months. Whole peppercorns retain their flavor for several years as long as they remain un-ground.

A blend of all these colors makes a beautiful and flavorful mix of pepper perfect for any pepper mill or stunning enough to place on display.

A Crock Pot Recipe!

I can always use another crock pot recipe! I work full time, and come home each evening to my husband and four children, and dinner is waiting on the table, all made up from some nice crock pot recipe. Talk about a lifesaver! I would love to spend time in the kitchen whipping up a traditional meal. I still do that on some weekends, but the rest of the week I rely heavily on crock pot recipes. Even the busiest people can find time somewhere. Finding time to prepare dinner right at the dinner hour can be close to impossible, though. Crock pot recipes allow me to pick the time that’s best for me. When I happen to think about it the night before, I can start getting everything ready then, defrosting meat and gathering ingredients. Some of the simpler crock pot recipes can be thrown together in a few minutes in the morning. I get up, throw this and that in the pot, head out the door, and know that in the evening dinner will be ready on time.

Very busy lifestyles can mean a lower quality of meals. Fast food is convenient in a pinch, and children are drawn to it, but studies prove that fast food falls way short in nutritional requirements. Frozen dinners aren’t much better. Compared to those, a crock pot recipe is bursting at the seams with nutrition, not to mention the great homemade taste! Working parents have to make a particular effort to ensure nutritional value for their families.

A Chicken Recipe for Every Occasion

It taste just like chicken.

That line’s become a part of our culture to describe meat dishes that aren’t made with chicken, but none the less, taste almost exactly like our favorite poultry meat. And why do we think that many of these alternative white meats (including tofu substitutes) taste like chicken?

Because most of us have grown up eating chicken in every conceivable way, shape, and form. Chicken is by far the most versatile meat used in recipes and will continue to be so as long as it remains relatively inexpensive and easy to prepare.

To give you an idea of the vast variety of chicken recipes, I’ve dug up a few favorites that folks are often looking for online:

Garlic lemon chicken, beer can chicken, chicken marsala, chicken and dumplings, baked chicken, chicken parmesan, chicken pot pie, bourbon chicken, chicken noodle soup, chicken salad, chicken and dumplings, chicken breast, white chicken chili, fried chicken, chicken tortilla soup, chicken cordon blue or bleu, chicken parmesan, chicken divan, chicken wings, chicken cacciatore, chicken enchiladas, orange chicken, chicken casserole, chicken stew, curry chicken, fried chicken.

And that’s just a small sample of the wonderful chicken recipes you can find online. It doesn’t matter if you’re not the greatest cook in the world or if you love to cook but short on time. You’re bound to find several chicken recipes that fit your budget, schedule, and level of cooking expertise.

You can bet your sweet chicken noodle that somewhere right now there’s a cook putting a chicken in a pot, oven, pan, or casserole dish getting ready to create another delicious chicken inspired dish.

4 Reasons To Grocery Shop Online

Convenient
  • It’s convenient for people who may find it time consuming to do a weekly grocery shop or for people who have difficulty in making it to the grocery store.
  • The following groups of people may fall into these categories; working parents, busy singles, seniors, students, the disabled, people without transportation.
 
Fast and easy
  • With many of the online grocery stores you are able to schedule your deliveries to work with your schedule.
  • You’re able to order groceries anywhere you have access to the internet whether that be home, school or work.
  • To make it even easier your shopping history is recorded on your account to make your reordering a breeze.

Cheaper
  • Save time & money on gas and wear and tear on your car, not to mention checkout line ups, trying to find parking and traffic to and from the store.
  • Take advantage of extra savings with online promotions and coupons.
  • Your club card discounts are still in affect when shopping online.
  • You’ll find they offer very reasonable delivery costs, if not free.
 
Safe and secure
  • Feel comfortable ordering from well established grocery stores knowing you’ll have the guarantee of groceries delivered with care.
  • Privacy and security precautions are taken when ordering from well established grocery stores.
  • Helpful and courteous customer service is generally available through toll free numbers.
  • Groceries are delivered to your door step by friendly and reliable drivers

3 Non-Traditional Ways to Prepare Your Holiday Turkey

Deep-Fryed Turkey

  • 3 gallons peanut oil for frying, or as needed
  • 1 (12 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
  • 1/4 cup Creole seasoning
  • 1 white onion

In a large stockpot or turkey fryer, heat oil to 400 degrees F. Be sure to leave room for the turkey, or the oil will spill
over.


How to determine the amount of oil you need:

The easiest way I've found to determine the amount of oil you need is to place the turkey into the fryer and fill with water until the turkey is just covered. Remove turkey and allow to drain, pat dry with paper towels as well. Make note of the level of water in the fryer. Discard water and dry throughly. Fill frying vessel with oil to the level as noted above. This should help in preventing hot oil spill overs.

Layer a large platter with food-safe paper bags. Rinse turkey, and thoroughly pat dry with paper towels. Rub Creole seasoning over turkey inside and out. Make sure the hole at the neck is open at least 2 inches so the oil can flow freely through the bird. Place the whole onion and turkey in drain basket. The turkey should be placed in basket neck end first. Slowly lower basket into hot oil to completely cover turkey. Maintain the temperature of the oil at 350 degrees F, and cook turkey for 3 1/2 minutes per pound, about 45 minutes. Carefully remove basket from oil, and drain turkey. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh; the internal temperature must be 180 degrees F.

Finish draining turkey on the prepared platter.

Grilled Whole Turkey
  • 12 pounds whole turkey
  • 2 cups water
  • 3 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped parsley
  • 1 teaspoon paprika

Prepare an outdoor grill for indirect medium heat, and lightly oil grate. Rinse turkey, and pat dry. Place turkey breast side down on the prepared grill. Sear turkey on both sides until skin is golden to dark brown. In a large roasting pan, mix together the water, bouillon powder, garlic powder, onion powder, poultry seasoning, parsley, and paprika. Place turkey breast side down in the roasting pan. Scoop the pan mixture over the turkey. Cover tightly with foil and place on grill. Grill 3 to 4 hours, until the internal temperature of the thigh reaches 180F. Remove turkey from grill and let stand 15 minutes before carving.

Smoked Turkey
  • 1 turkey 8 to 22 lbs., fresh or completely thawed
  • Sweet Pickle Brine (recipe to follow)
  • Maple syrup

Sweet Pickle Brine
  • 1 gal. water
  • 2 1/2 cups salt, rock, pickling or canning salts are recommened
  • 1/3 cup of light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Lquid garlic
  • 1 oz. pickling spices

Mix well. You may need to adjust the amounts depending on the size of your bird. This recipe should suit you fine for an 8 to 12 lb. turkey.

Rinse turkey thoroughly with cold water, drain and pat dry. Prepare sweet pickle brine. Brine turkey according to the following schedule,
8 to 12 lb. bird 3 days, 13 to 16 lb. bird 4 days, 17 to 22 lb. bird 5 days. Remove from brine; rinse thoroughly in cold water and pat dry. Allow to dry in refrigerator for 24 hours.

Lock wings behind back and tie legs and tail together. Baste turkey with maple syrup before putting in smoker and every 2 hours while smoking. Position turkey on cooking grill. Smoke cook until done.

The best way to determine doneness is to insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the turkey (the breast) the internal temperature should read 180 degrees F.

Smoking food is more an art than a science; this recipe is not intended for the novice. Allot of factors go into determining the cooking time for a particular food when smoking.

Cool turkey in the refrigerator for 24 hours before serving to enhance the smoked flavor. You may serve the turkey right away if you wish.