For a girl who does most of her grocery shopping at Whole Foods, the idea of buying the requisite can of Crisco to fry chicken was a little out of my comfort zone. But once I scooped the frosting-like white fluff out of the can and heated it in my big Le Creuset, it bubbled up and cooked the chicken to golden brown perfection.
I recently visited with the always imaginative Chef Tre Ghoshal who prepared a few of his new creations, heavily influenced by modern cuisine and molecular gastronomy.
Watch the video to see Chef Tre's tuna carpaccio with spherical dressing, a "deep sea wind", and an incredibly thrilling preparation of cranberry sorbet made with liquid nitrogen.
Last week the Meatball King of New Jersey, Johnny "Meatballs" vistied the Kettle Kitchen to teach us the secret to his famous Meatballs.
Between you, me and the blogosphere, the secret is: carmelized onions.
I didn't grow up with caramelized onions in my meatballs, but after enjoying a couple, it's a pretty good idea.
If you're in the mood for some meatballs, you could pick up a six pack of Johnny's Meatballs in Sunday Gravy at Corrado's. Or, if you'd like to make them yourself, watch the video to see how Johnny does it and follow the recipe below. Salute!
Last month Hot From The Kettle visited Allin Tallmadge at Tallmadge Cheese Market in Montclair, where Allin taught me and my brood how to make homemade butter.
I fell in love with the simplicity of the process and the quality of the product. If you want to do it yourself, it's as easy as purchasing Heavy Cream, I recommend Organic Valley, Pasteurized, not Homogenized, available at Whole Foods, and adding to it a tablespoon or two of culture, I use Fage Greek Yogurt. Then you simply leave the cream and yogurt on the counter overnight and whip it up the next day.
Watch the video to see how I make my own butter at home:
This moist, buttery, cinnamon and sugar laced, American classic is an old favorite of my grandmother's and something of a staple at every big party. As Grandma says, "it's very impressive," and it goes a very long way.
This morning I had the pleasure of enjoying a divine breakfast courtesy of Dr. Naomi Grobstein and her Aga Oven!
Naomi prepared a full breakfast! Steel cut oatmeal, broccoli quiche, cranberry scones, roasted asparagas, onions and tomatoes, zucchini bread, and toasted almonds and cashews.
And delicious it was! The quiche was moist, yet perfectly browned, the scones were fluffy, the vegetables carmelized, and the toasted nuts were rich and full of flavor.
Naomi is very passionate about her three oven, cast-iron Aga. She humbly insists that her expertly executed fare is little to do with her, and more to do with her beloved Aga. I tend to think it's a little bit of both.
If you're unfamiliar with an Aga, here's how it works:
For a girl who does most of her grocery shopping at Whole Foods, the idea of buying the requisite can of Crisco to fry chicken was a little out of my comfort zone. But once I scooped the frosting-like white fluff out of the can and heated it in my big Le Creuset, it bubbled up and cooked the chicken to golden brown perfection.
