Do you have a kitchen secret?
Cocoa in a steak rub? No doubt about it.
I’ve been working on a column this week about chefs’ secrets, but that doesn’t thoroughly explain the point of the exercise. Chefs have a lot of secrets; what I’m interested in is how they use normal ingredients in unusual ways.
For example, I have heard from chefs who use cornflakes to bread fish or pixie sticks to color meringues.
Of course, chefs aren’t the only ones who use typical ingredients in surprising ways. Home cooks might use grape jelly in a meatball sauce, for example, or salt on truffles, or cocoa powder in steak rub.
I’m no expert chef, but when I scoured my brain for an example from my own kitchen, I thought about a ramen noodle dish I make sometimes when I’m in a big hurry. I cook the noodles in low-sodium chicken broth, then add some fresh spinach, a handful of shrimp, some soy sauce, fish sauce, hot sauce and lime juice for a Thai-inspired supper in a flash. I’ve tossed chunks of frozen tilapia in there instead of shrimp before. I have also been known to pour some beer in the pan when I’m sauteeing cabbage or greens.
Stay tuned for some far better examples of chefs’ secrets in next week’s paper. And if you have a secret ingredient that you like to use in a creative way, I would LOVE to include it in next week’s column. Any chefs out there who have not heard from me? Please feel free to give me a call at (540) 981-3343, email me at lindsey.nair@roanoke.com or comment on this blog entry.
February 23, 2012 - 6:00 AM
RSS feed 
I make lasagna using shredded pressed tofu, drained cottage cheese, and white beans instead of ricotta. Toss in an egg and blend it all together with an immersion blender. Same herbs, same garlic, same creamy rich awesomeness, but healthy and rich in protein.
This is not a cooking thing but whenever I buy grapes, I wash them and then cut them in handful-sized bunches from the stems. That way kids can just grab them without having to pull them apart, setting a few rogue ones rolling, getting their grubby hands on the rest of them, etc.
When they start to go soft, I freeze them for smoothies or toss them in some balsamic vinegar and add them to salads.
Those are really good tips, Tass. Thank you very much.
In terms of beers – flaked oats go an extremely long way into a nice silky, creamier mouthfeel 5-10% of recipe. Pitch proper yeast amounts.
Bread/pizza dough, nothing with ingredients, but process. Starters (poolishes) are key along with an autolyze rest sans salt when initially folding the dough (proper kneading) with an overnight retarding of the dough. And bam. Worldclass bread and pizza dough at your fingertips.
I make a really simple cassarole with 1 can of Campbells Cheddar Cheese soup and 1 can of Condensed milk. The sauce stays nice and cheesy, but it cuts into the sodium “intensity” and smooths out the taste. (Just add a box of cooked noodles, some tuna, burger or chicken, shredded cheese and top with bread crumbs.) Quick and easy.
Uptheriver can you elaborate on starters? How do you get “started” with them?
Here is one of my Kitchen Secrets. Put all of your salad ingredients in a colander (lettuce, tomatoes, radishes,onions, etc.) and cover with a bowl. Shake, shake, shake!
The salad comes out perfect for eating!
I keep a jar of Hellman’s sandwich spread (known from my childhood as ‘relish’) in the fridge and use it as a quick sub for tartar sauce on fish. It’s grat!
Sure thing, from my experimenting with them, the purpose of the starter is to allow for a rapid multiplication of yeasts, which leads to an increase in the strength, flavor profile and rising ability of the subsequent dough. Many variations and philosophies about weights exist with each, but there is a noticeable impact on the final dough, texture and flavor.
Essentially it’s all about the fermentation (as a beer guy, this is right up my alley). I’m a big fan of the poolish, (sponges, bigas, soakers, etc. are other forms) which is more of a wet starter. I use 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 cup water, 1/4 tsp yeast and let it sit for 3 hours or until bubbles start forming. Then I either lay it in the fridge overnight (good for about 2 days) or use immediately.
Super simple. Greatly improves all doughs. For my pizzas, I will usually make a poolish one night , then make my full dough recipe the next night using about 40 degree water and place it in the fridge overnight again. Pull out at lunch the next day (let ferment fully) and have the dough ready to go by dinner. Restaurant quality crust as long as you’re baking as hot as it’ll go on a pizza stone or grill. The hotter the better.
Huge fan of Peter Rheinhart.
Here’s a reader’s tip from the new issue of Cuisine at Home magazine.
Instead of tossing out potato peels, soak them in ice water, then dry with paper towels, and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 350 until the peels are crispy. Remove from oven and enjoy.
Interesting!
When I trim up veggies for stew or salad, I save the scraps in a baggie in my freezer. When I make chicken broth, I dump the tail ends of carrots, onions, garlic, and parsley from the baggie into the water to make the broth better. And celery.
My family (and I) love that “country cookin’,” which means “seasoned with salt pork.” An acceptable substitute is liquid smoke-seasoning plus packaged bacon bits.
Thanks that’s very helpful. I remember sourdough starters being passed around in ziplocs from one person to another back in the day. As a beer consumer but not a beer producer, I didn’t realize it was so easy to make your own.
Connie have you heard of Bacon Salt? OMG yum, and vegetarian! We use liquid smoke too, and smoked chipotle/smoked paprika, but mmmbacon!
http://baconsalt.com/
Oh tass, beer is just as easy and simple to get started. A initial investment in some basic equipment, but to get started with extract beers is kind of like making soup in a sense. Boil some water, steep some grains (if desired) add some hops, chill, pitch yeast and you’re on your way to a good beer. Granted theres many more steps, but in essence it’s that simple.
If you’ve over salted a soup, cut up a potato and drop it in. The potato will soak up the excess salt. Also, to cut the acidity of a red sauce, use grated carrot to sweeten instead of refined sugar for a healthy sweetener.
My mom’s chicken salad recipe is phenomenal and the reason is the copious amounts of curry that she uses in it…
These are some really good tips! Thanks! I hope readers will continue to post on this thread. If they don’t, Lindsey, could you just ask the question again to start a new thread? How about every Tuesday?!
For really good scrambled eggs: Add some evaporated milk and a few shots of Louisiana-style hot sauce. (And to reserve dishwasher space, instead of beating in a large bowl with a wisk, use a small glass and a fork.) Most importantly, don’t overcook! Take them off as soon as the whites are set. To cook omelets faster and more evenly, fry any juicy veggies a tad, then pour in the egg mixture. Go ahead and scramble until it starts to set up. Then spread it out, put the cheese on top and let it finish.
Secret Ingredients? Pickle juice and Pork Rinds! Every time I make something spicy, like chili, my husband pours a dash of the brine liquid from a jar of dill pickles into the pot. It gives the spice a little twang! As for the pork rinds? When I went on a low carb diet, I needed something to bread my chicken and pork chops – so I mashed up a bag of pork rinds and seasoned them just like bread crumbs. Great flavor – no carbs!!
@Susie, wow those are really neat ideas! The pickle juice surely acts like an acid that accomplishes the same type of flavor enhancement as vinegar or citrus juice. How crunchy does the pork rind breading end up being?
I love the pork rinds idea.
When I make potato salad, after draining the cooked potatoes, I put them in a bowl with some pickle juice for about 20 minutes. The hot potatoes soak up the juice. You can add some mustard to the juice too.
Every morning I drink hot green tea with teaspoon of locally produced honey, and teaspoon of vinegar.
I have not tried this myself, but some award-winning chili chefs use a little bit of dark chocolate in their chili. I have tasted this chili and it really does add a certain dimension to the taste.
Bob @ 23, may I ask what type of vinegar you use? I was reading something about Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar, and one of the things I saw was folks drinking it in a similar fashion in the morning, saying it was an appetite suppressant.
I haven’t tried it, but I’ve read that instant potatoes make a good breading for fish.
Lori, I put Bragg’s in a cup with hot water, lemon juice, cayenne, and a little agave. It does serve as an appetite suppressant, probably because it smells so god-awful.