cooking 101

My Kitchen Essential

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Since I began my culinary adventure many many moons ago, I have a mast quite the collection of pots, pans and gizmos and to be completely honest, it borders on hoarding tendencies with regards to kitchen gadgets. My kitchen drawers, cupboards and counters are cluttered with these trinkets some from late-night infomercials.

Other than my set of great well made Knives | Zwilling J.A.Henckels consisting of a chef, a serrated (bread), a boning and a paring knife. 

There’s one piece of kitchen equipment that I use more than any other.

That would be A Cast Iron Skillet

Reasons Why I Love My Cast Iron Skillet

One of the most important reasons I love my cast iron, it does such an amazing job of evenly distributing heat that you’ll never have a really bad hot spot on it so half of your food is burned and the other half raw. That is a cook’s nightmare.

But wait, there is more

St. Patrick’s Day Lighter Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

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One of my favourite shows on daytime TV is “The Chew”. The ABC Daytime’s lifestyle series “The Chew”, centres on food related and lifestyle topics. It is a hosted by Mario Batali, one of the most recognized and respected chefs in America today, alongside fellow restaurateur and “Iron Chef America” star Michael Symon, “Top Chef” alum Carla Hall, entertaining expert Clinton Kelly and health and wellness enthusiast Daphne Oz. 

The show consistently inspires me for my daily dinner solutions. On St. Patrick’s Day this year, Mario Batali composed a shepherd’s pie in one pot cast iron skillet with piped mashed potatoes. Brilliant! One pot and cast iron to boot.

A cast iron skillet/pan Lodge Logic Cast Iron Skillet – 12 Inch – Consiglio’s Kitchenware and Gift is like the LBD (little black dress) of the kitchen. It is my most used kitchen “gadget”, next to my chef knife.

Since I had all the components for this recipe either in my fridge/freezer, I ventured to make my version. I didn’t have to make the mashed potatoes; sweet or Yukon so dinner came together relatively quick.

Tip: Whenever you make mashed potatoes for large holiday events double the amount, and flat pack the extra/leftovers in Ziploc bags, labeled and freeze. Once thaw the potatoes will be a little watery so add some milk and whip up until the right consistency.

St. Patrick’s Day Lighter Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

 Adapted from Shepherd’s Pie Recipe | Michael Symon – The Chew
St. Patrick's Turkey Shepherd's Pie

St. Patrick’s Turkey Shepherd’s Pie

 

Shepherd’s Pie Ingredients:

Browning the ground turkey and vegetables

Browning the ground turkey and vegetables

  • 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1 pkg. of ground turkey
  • 2 carrots, peeled and cut in 1/2 moons
  • 2-3 ribs of celery, chopped
  • 2 cloves of minced garlic
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 can of beer, any brand preferably full flavoured
  • 3 tablespoons Flour
  • 1 cup Chicken Stock
  • 1 cup Peas (fresh or frozen)
  • Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
  • 3 Yukon gold potatoes (peeled)
  • 3 sweet potatoes (peeled)
  • 1 1/2 cups of grated cheddar cheese
  • fresh chopped italian parsley
  • 1 cup Olive Oil

In a cast iron skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil and ground turkey and cook until brown. Add the minced garlic, celery and onions.

Add the carrots, cooking until the vegetables have softened. Deglaze the pan with beer.
Add the flour and cook until the flour has integrated and a wet sand texture. Add the peas and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the sauce comes together and thickens, about 10 minutes.
Simmer for 10 Minutes

Simmer for 10 Minutes

Pipe alternating between mashed sweet potatoes and the mashed potatoes over the top of the filling. Sprinkle the grated cheddar cheese evenly over the top. Place on a baking pan and transfer to the oven.
Pipe sweet and yukon mashed potatoes on top

Piped Sweet and Yukon Mashed Potatoes on top

Broil for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.
Let cool and sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.
Let Cool

Broiled Goodness!

For Both Sweet and Yukon Mashed Potatoes: Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water by 3 inches. (Cook the 2 kinds of potatoes in separate pots) Bring to a boil and season with salt. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until fork tender. Drain and set aside until cool enough to handle.
Press the potatoes through a ricer. Whisk in about 1 cup of olive oil. Transfer to a piping bag.

The Recipe for a Butternut Squash Risotto

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Butternut Squash Risotto garnished with saute cremini mushrooms, toasted pinenuts and finely chopped sage leaves.

Butternut Squash Risotto garnished with saute cremini mushrooms, toasted pinenuts and finely chopped sage leaves.

Risotto is a dish that is easy to prepare and it really is about developing the technique.  The rice is cooked briefly in a soffritto of onion and olive oil this is to coat each grain in fat. I added finely chopped fennel or finocchio , garlic and shallots to my soffritto.  Once the onions are translucent and the rice is toasted add a cup or more of white wine to be absorbed by the rice.  You can turned the heat up to a medium high heat and gradually add a couple ladles of very hot stock. I used a low sodium vegetable stock. The process of making risotto is to gradually add the stock in small amounts while stirring gently, almost constantly. This develops the starch and creates that smooth creamy textured liquid. I account that the completed risotto should be 18-20 minutes.  So in the remaining minutes, I added the roasted butternut squash then it is finished with a finely grated cheese either Parmesan or a Pecorino Romano. I prefer the Romano. Some cooks will add small pats of cubed butter but I feel that if you have cooked the risotto properly you will not need this to create creamy texture. Make sure adjust the flavour with salt and pepper.  The risotto will be rich and creamy but still with some resistance or bite: al dente, and with separate grains.  I garnished my finished Butternut Squash Risotto with saute cremini mushrooms, toasted pinenuts and finely chopped sage.

Soffritto of onions and garlic in olive oil
Translucent onions and garlic then toast the rice
Adding in white wine for flavour
Gradually adding vegetable stock
Adding in the Butternut Squash
Finished Risotto with addition of Romano cheese and sage

3 cups of roasted butternut squash, cubed

3 tbsp. of olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1/4 cup of fennel, finely chopped

1 shallot, finely minced

1 clove of garlic, finely minced

1 1/2 cups of Arborio rice

1 cup of white wine

7 1/2 – 8 cups of low sodium vegetable stock

1/4 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese, grated

season with salt and white pepper

garnish with saute cremini mushrooms, toasted pinenuts and finely chopped sage

Makes approx. 6 servings

Enjoy! 🙂

Pan Roasted Turkey Breast with Sweet Potato and Steamed Baby Spinach

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Preheat the oven to 400℉. Wash, pierce and roast the sweet potatoes on a foil lined pan in the oven for approx. 45 min.

I seasoned the turkey breast liberally with kosher salt and Rickard Ultimate Chicken Seasoning. My cast iron was smoking hot with a tablespoon of canola oil. Place the turkey breast in the pan. Season the other side of the breast. Be patient before your flip it over, once the breast no longer “sticks” flip it over. Place the pan in a 400 degree oven. The turkey breast I had purchased was very large (no bone or filet attached). I checked and flipped it again at 10-12 minutes. An internal cooking temperature of 165 ℉ (74 ℃). Remember that it will continue to cook as the breast rests. 

While the turkey breast is roasting, place washed baby spinach in a large frying pan on high. It is not necessary to add any liquid to the pan for spinach, there is plenty naturally. Steam cover until “almost” cooked and shut off to finish. Don’t over cook.

Rested and Sliced

Once the turkey breast is done and has rested slice and serve with drained buttered spinach and roasted sweet potato.

Pan Roasted Turkey Breast with sweet potato and steamed baby spinach

Pan Roasted Turkey Breast with sweet potato and steamed baby spinach

Soup is On!

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Homemade Turkey Broth Soup

Homemade Turkey Broth Soup

My mom sent me home from the holidays with a new Paderno pot and her homemade turkey broth.

I put both to good use for dinner tonight.

While the “peperini” pasta was cooking I sautéed some leeks and carrots then added some chopped leftover Christmas turkey.

Once the turkey broth was heated thru added fresh parsley and dill.

Always topped with grated fresh Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

Delicious on a chilly night.