Tag: room temperature

Minimal Monday: 30 Second Mayonnaise

This is the perfect storm of recipes. Just 2 ingredients, 30 seconds, and you have one of the great sauces in culinary history…you make it in the same jar you store it in…and it’s all in time for the summer salad season. Just think about it—the freshest, creamiest, purest mayonnaise
possible, in 30 seconds. That’s way less time than it takes to grab a jar at the supermarket and wait on the checkout line.

I think I’m so excited about this because
the last time
I made homemade mayonnaise the result was great, but I stood by the food
processor for many minutes sloooooowly drizzling the oil according to
the classic method for making mayo. Actually the French chefs use a
whisk, which is even more laborious. My arm literally ached the next
morning. If you’ve made your own mayonnaise the old fashioned way and loved it, you owe it to yourself to try this.

There are lots of youtube videos demonstrating how to make this, but they are all a little different, and I went through several attempts at this before figuring it out. From my experience, it’s the egg being at room temperature that makes the difference. I made it several times, with safflower oil, and then pure olive oil. You can also make it with virgin olive oil, but it will be richer, more yellow, and have a stronger taste. That can be a p;us in some recipes. You can flavor your mayonnaise with a little lemon juice and mustard, and salt, but it isn’t necessary.

Yes you need an immersion blender to make this, but you should have one anyway, they aren’t expensive and there’s a lot you can do with them from pureeing soups right in the pot to making smoothies. I have to say this was the most fun I’ve had in the kitchen in a long time.

30 Second Mayonnaise
1 whole egg (use pasteurized for safety) at room temperature
1 cup mild oil, like safflower, canola, or pure olive oil
1 canning jar or other narrow jar that will fit your blender (I used a Kerr Wide Mouth Pint Jar)

Make sure your egg and oil are at room temperature, this is important. Put your egg and oil in the bottom of a glass jar that fits your immersion blender. It should just fit. I used a wide mouth pint canning jar.
Put the immersion blender down into the cup and rest it at the bottom. Turn it on and blend, keeping it at the bottom until you start to see the mayo thicken. Then gently raise the blender head to blend the rest of the mayo. Stop the machine when you see that the entire jar has thickened. Don’t over-blend.
Give it a stir and then cap the jar and store in the fridge. Eat it up within the week.

Notes: If you want to flavor your mayo, you can add the juice of half a lemon and a teaspoon of mustard. That’s the classic seasoning, but of course you can do anything you want, it’s your mayonnaise 😉

Pasteurized eggs are safe to use raw, because they have been heated just enough to kill bacteria, but not enough to cook the eggs. Try to find them at your local store, but if you can’t, you can easily pasteurize your own eggs at home, directions here.

I’m already planning to make a simple old fashioned macaroni salad with my fresh mayonnaise. What will you make with yours?

I’m going to be posting recipes that make delicious use of homemade mayo all day on facebook—come and join me and post your favorites!

One year ago today—

Toasted Almond Granola with Cherries

Incoming search terms:

https://www gordon-ramsay-recipes com/tag/gordon-ramsay-mayonnaise-recipe

How to Grill a T-bone or Porterhouse Steak – A Tutorial

How to cook a t-bone steak seems to be a problem for a lot of people. Well here is an easy never fail method. You can be the “grill master” too and have an excellent grilled steak in 10 minutes every time.

The Meat

The grade of beef is critical to the final outcome. This is really fairly easy. U.S. Prime is the top 2%. It is upper end restaurant type stuff. Expensive and you probably will not pay the price. U.S. Choice is where you’re are buying. About half of all beef falls into the Choice category. U.S. Select (formerly Good) does sound OK and it is just that “OK”. It is the lowest grade commonly sold at retail and is less juicy and tender. I use Choice. I have a good “look” at it since choice covers most of the market and the marbling can be quit variable. Also, I want the market to trim it well. I don’t like paying $12+ a pound for a large piece of fat that should have been trimmed off.

Lets talk a little about t-bone vs. porterhouse steaks. Both cuts come from the short loin which is between the rib and the sirloin. The larger side is really a strip steak and the small side a tenderloin (filet). In a T-Bone the tenderloin
must measure a minimum of 1/2 in across the center and the porterhouse a minimum of 1 1/4 inches. So they are basically the same cut of meat except for more filet on the porterhouse. If they are the same price, get the porterhouse. My wife is a porterhouse hound…

A few last comments.

Thickness: all the “experts” want 1 1/2 inch… really that is a pound and a half of cow. Have your butcher cut it at 1 inch. You will find both 1 inch and 3/4 inch in the pre-cut. I think the 3/4 is too thin, I want some meaty center.
Fed type: “grass fed” seem to be the rage. NO NO NO. I grew up on grass fed. It tastes like grass to me.
Cow type: I find Angus a bit tastier.

The Grill

Any grill should work. I use natural gas. A charcoal grill will be fine also. You just need to get it hot…very hot. My grill has a surface temperature that is routinely at 600 degrees plus. You don’t really need quite that hot.

I should note that there is a reverse searing method of cooking that is somewhat the opposite of this method. You start with a low grill and get the meat to about the internal temperature you want and then crank it up to finish with a sear. Sounds a little fussy to me. I will try it some day.

The Method

This is so easy. Allow to rest to room temperature if possible. This is not ground meat so it is safe. If you don’t rest it, you will need to cook a little longer to get the internal temp you want. Read that as dry it out.

Trim the extra fat. You won’t eat it and it will cause flairs on the grill that will burn your expensive meat.

Salt. There is some debate about the timing here. Salt will pull the water out of meat but then the salt and the water will absorb back into the meat. That take 45 to 60 minutes. So if you salt at the start of the rest, it is really good. If you salt at the end it is good also but maybe not quite as good. Do not salt with less than an hour left in the rest unless it is the last 10 minutes. This may pull water out of the meat and it will not have time to reabsorb.

Seasoning. Pepper is a must and we like garlic so my 7:2:2 seasoning (see my post on making 7:2:2 HERE) is perfect here. Or just use salt and pepper. I put the pepper and garlic on with the salt. See above salt note.

Oil: not needed

The Grilling: The grates must be cleaned and oiled. The grate is going to be very hot and olive oil has a lower smoke point. Use a standard vegetable oil. Grill the first side for 5 minutes. Use a watch and do not just guess. If your are into cross grill marks, rotate 90 degrees at 2 1/2 minutes. After the 5 minutes then flip. Cook on the second side for about 3 minutes for rare, 4 for medium rare and 5 for medium. We generally like our meat at about 150. That is over cooked for many. You will read about a “touch” method of check if the steak is done. It probably works for pros or semi-pros but really for us normal people not so much. Get the thermometer out.

The Rest: DO NOT SKIP. During the cooking process, water comes out of the cells. If you cut the meat immediately, it will just drain on your plate. Let it rest uncut at least 5 minutes but 10 is better. The fluid will absorb back into the the meat.

Steak sauce: need I say this… just say NO.

Rating

Always 5

Rest the steaks at room temperature for 1-2 hours if possible allowing the steaks to come to room temperature.

Apply salt and pepper at the start of you resting period. At the end is OK if skipping the rest or you forgot. Use a course salt and pepper. I used my 7:2:2 which is kosher salt:pepper:garlic

Trim the beef of extra fat. This is important to prevent “flair ups” that will burn your expensive meat.

Preheat your grill to maximum. Yep, as hot as it will go. Clean and oil well. Do not just olive oil here due to low smoke point.

Place over direct heat.

In five minutes (by the clock) flip the meat. If your are into crossed grill marks, you should have rotated the meat 90 degrees at about 2 1/2 minutes.

Grill for approximately 3 more minutes for rare, 4 more minutes for medium-rare and 5 minutes for medium (150). Your timing will vary a little so as always, check the temperature. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

How to Grill a T-bone or Porterhouse Steak – A Tutorial

by DrDan at 101 Cooking for Two July-27-2013

Ingredients

T-Bone or Porterhouse Steaks
Salt and pepper to taste OR 7:2:2

Instructions

1) Rest the steaks at room temperature for 1-2 hours if possible allowing the steaks to come to room temperature. 2) Apply salt and pepper at the start of you resting period. At the end is OK if skipping the rest or you forgot. Use a course salt and pepper. I used my 7:2:2 which is kosher salt:pepper:garlic 3) Trim the beef of extra fat. This is important to prevent “flair ups” that will burn your expensive meat.4) Preheat your grill to maximum. Yep, as hot as it will go. Clean and oil well. Do not just olive oil here due to low smoke point.5) Place over direct heat. In five minutes (by the clock) flip the meat. If your are into crossed grill marks, you should have rotated the meat 90 degrees at about 2 1/2 minutes. 6) Grill for approximately 3 more minutes for rare, 4 more minutes for medium-rare and 5 minutes for medium (150). Your timing will vary a little so as always, check the temperature. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Details

Prep time: 1 hour Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 1 hour 10 mins Yield: 2 Steaks

Updated

July 27 2013

Dan Mikesell

Incoming search terms:

Spicy Tofu Pad Thai

As the weather gets hotter, our meals get lighter, and I can’t think of a better summer meal than pad thai. It’s healthy, fresh, and full of texture and flavor. It’s so accommodating, too…you can eat it hot, warm, at room temperature, or cold. And how easy are rice noodles? You just soak them in hot tap water for a few minutes — what a nice change from the huge vat of boiling water you need for pasta.

Normally pad thai isn’t spicy, but I like the added heat from the Serrano pepper, and I think it complements the mild silky tofu. I loosely based my recipe on the one on the box of rice noodles, and I like it because there are no hard to find ingredients. Don’t shy away from the fish sauce. Yes, it’s made from fermented fish, and yes, it smells a little funky right out of the bottle, but it mellows out and really ads a lot of character to the dish. It keeps forever in the fridge, so pick up a bottle next time you’re passing through the Asian section of your store.

Spicy Tofu Pad Thai
serves 4
8 oz pad thai rice noodles
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 large Serrano or jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced, seeds and all
12 oz firm tofu, but in bite sized cubes
1/2 large zucchini, grated
2 large eggs, beaten
a large handful freshly chopped cilantro (reserve extra for garnish)
2 cups bean sprouts
6 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped peanuts (for garnish)
sauce:
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
3 Tbsp fish sauce (find it in the Asian section)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp soy sauce

Immerse the noodles in a bowl of hot water and soak for 8 to 10 minutes until softened. (Check the directions on the package of your specific noodles, they may require slightly more time) Drain and set aside.
Mix the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large pan or wok, and saute the garlic, ginger and pepper for a minute or two. Add the tofu and zucchini and saute for another few minutes.
Make a space in the pan to scramble the eggs by pushing aside the tofu and zucchini mixture. Add a little more oil, and the beaten eggs. Cook, stirring, until the egg is cooked.
Add the sauce and the noodles into the pan and toss everything well. Make sure all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed together. Finally, toss in the cilantro, bean sprouts and scallions and heat everything through.
Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold, garnished with the peanuts, more cilantro, and lime wedges.

You can adapt this recipe by adding chicken, shrimp, or thinly sliced beef or pork. Stir fry the meat or fish along with the garlic, ginger, and pepper.

One year ago today—

Edible Flowers, Part One