Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

It never ceases to amaze me how something so simple can end up being so hard. Snicker, snicker. At least, we hope that it ends up hard. There's nothing more frustrating to me than to go through the motions of hard boiling eggs and then crack one open and find it's still soft in the middle. Or how about the opposite problem? I've had that happen too. I'm not a big fan of eggs that are rubbery with yolks starting to green.

Previously, I always used this process: place eggs in cold water, place on stove, bring to a boil, boil for fifteen minutes, cool with ice water. Ninety-plus percent of the time, this technique worked great, but occasionally, I'd end up with overcooked eggs. In my attempts to correct this issue, I started trying myriad methods found online and in cookbooks. The attempts just went from bad to worse.

Fortunately, when doing my research on sous vide, I came across a graphic that showed the characteristics of eggs when cooked to various temperatures. This image, which I found in the massive tome, Modernist Cuisine, showed an ideal temperature of 176° F. So, here's the great thing about having this knowledge: if you keep the water at this temperature, you can never overcook your eggs! Every time, you can have perfect, hard boiled eggs.

Here's how: place your raw eggs into a pan and submerge with cool water. Place the pot on the stove and turn the heat on high. Rig a thermometer so that you can keep track of the water's temperature. Heat the water up to 176° and then adjust the burner to maintain that temperature. Cook the eggs for 20 minutes. Unless you are cooking extra-large eggs, they'll probably be done at 15 minutes, but you can cook them for 20 without any adverse affects as long as the temperatures stays at 176°. Cooking for a full 20 minutes insures they are cooked all the way through. Drain the hot water and fill the pan half with cold water and half with ice to chill the eggs.

By the way, if you are frustrated with hard to peel eggs, make sure you use eggs that have been around for a little bit. In fresh eggs, the shell can be very difficult to remove. I try to use eggs that have been in my refrigerator a couple weeks before hard boiling them. It sounds weird, but it makes all the difference in the world.

Classic Basil Pesto

Finally. Finally. FINALLY! Despite not having a garden this year and having to make do with a few late starters in pots on the deck, I finally had enough basil to make my first batch of pesto. And it's a darn good thing, too, because I was starting to go through withdrawal.

I can't remember when I last ran out of pesto. But I've been out now for months. Oh, the shame. See, the nice thing about pesto is that it keeps perfectly in the freezer. In the freezer, it stays the most glorious shade of green forever. I'm not kidding! I've had pesto in the freezer for over a year before with absolutely no degradation in its color or taste. And when it thaws, it tastes like you just picked the basil five minutes ago and whipped it up. You can't beat that!

But here's the problem. Basil, despite being an easy herb to grow, can be hard to come by in large quantities sometimes, and to make a lot of pesto you need a LOT of basil. I know where we live now, I could search until I fell off the edge of the earth and never find anything but those silly plastic containers of herbs you get in the grocery store. Yeah... great, I could make one tablespoon of pesto. In fact, the only time I actually had more basil than I could use was two years ago when I planted a forty foot row of it in my garden. Now that's what I'm talking about! .:sigh:.

Well, until I can get back to the wide spaces of dirt, a couple of basil plants will have to do. I'll just have to be a little stingy in my use of it.

Here's how I make traditional, classic basil pesto:

Take a pile of basil. I picked all that I could without hurting my plants. I got about four cups of loosely packed basil out of this bunch once the leaves were stripped from the stems.

Then I toasted a small handful of pine nuts in a dry skillet. This is my preferred method of toasting nuts. If I put them in the oven where they are out of site, I invariably forget about them (read: burn the heck out of them). I toast them over medium, medium-high heat until they are lightly browned. Let them cool before using in the pesto. You could use untoasted pine nuts, but I think I'd rather have my pesto without them rather than go the untoasted route. There's a huge difference in flavor.

I use my food processor here. Throw in the basil, garlic, cooled pine nuts, salt, and pepper and whir the heck out of it.

Stop when it gets to looking about like this:

Now for the best part. Add the cheese. I use Parmigiano-Reggiano, but you could go Wisconsin style if you choose. Lastly, while the processor is running, add the oil. Process until you get a loose paste. I like to keep my pesto a little on the thick side. I figure you can always add oil later if you want to thin it down, but it's kind of hard to take it out.

Either use fresh immediately or freeze. You can store it in the refrigerator for up to a week, but unless you pour a generous skim of oil across the top or add some kind of acid, you're going to end up with very unattractive, brown pesto. Darn that oxidation! Unless I'm using it right away, I just freeze the pesto into ice cube trays. When they are frozen, pop the cubes out and store in a zip top bag. Then, they are always at your beck and call. They thaw in the microwave in 20 seconds flat!

Classic Basil Pesto
Yield: one cup of pesto

4 cups of fresh basil leaves

3-5 garlic cloves

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

3 TBS toasted pine nuts

2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Process the basil, garlic, salt, pepper, and pine nuts until well ground together. Add the cheese and then add the oil while pulsing the mixture. Add oil until you get a loose paste. You can add more oil until it gets to the consistency you like. Freeze immediately into ice cube trays for long term storage or use fresh immediately. If you must store in the refrigerator for a bit, be sure to cover with a generous skim of olive oil or add some lemon juice to the pesto to prevent browning.

My favorite uses for basil pesto are on pasta (such a quick, easy, and tasty side dish) or broiled onto nearly cooked chicken breasts or pork chops. Oooo, and rolled up in a nice pork loin; that's good, too.

Whole Wheat Pie Crust

I fully believe in all purpose flour, but sometimes I get a hankering for food that's a little more rustic. That's when I start reaching for the whole wheat flour. Sometimes, I even grab the graham flour (basically just a more coarsely ground wheat flour). I like the added depth of flavor that it gives and it also affects the texture. In this case, with a pie crust, it can add an extra dimension to the flakiness. It's almost like the bran in the flour gets aligned with the pie flakes and makes the crust simply melt in your mouth. At least that's how it seems to me.

Here you can see that I used it to to make turnover pies. In this case it was with a beef pie filling. I will post the full recipe for the filling and making the pies tomorrow, but I wanted to post the crust separately since it can stand on its own and be used for other applications. It is made just like regular pie crust, you can see my pie crust making post here if you need a refresher. It includes a video showing how you can make pie crust in a food processor lickity-split.

One other important thing to mention is that because whole wheat flour includes the bran and the endosperm, which spoil faster, it is best to keep it in a sealed container in the refrigerator or freezer. Always smell your wheat flour before using. When it gets too old it gets a rancid smell that can also be tasted. Yucky.

Whole Wheat Pie Crust
Yield: enough for two single pie crusts

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp table salt
14 TBS chilled shortening
1/2 cup ice cold water

Mix flours and salt. Cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea sized chunks of shortening remaining. Add the water and process until it just comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes before rolling.

Yeast Bread Making 101

Making yeast bread from scratch is a very rewarding endeavor. Home-baked bread tastes nothing like store bought bread. It's not even in the same league. When you first start baking bread, good recipes are essential and you may want to stick with recipes that are recommended as specifically being a good beginning bread.

As you become more proficient, though, you may want to start experimenting. There are so many great bread recipes out there! If you start to move away from the simple, basic breads, it becomes more important for you to understand the whys of bread making. If you don't know why bread works, you can't troubleshoot when it doesn't. This post outlines the most basic principles of bread making; if you want a more in depth treatment, I will outline a list of my favorite bread making resources in tomorrow's post.

Yeast Bread Making 101

The first important thing to understand is that yeast is a living, single-celled organism. When you purchase yeast, it is in a dry form and the cells are not active. Liquid, especially warm liquid, "wakes" them up and causes them to become active again. Yeast are somewhat sensitive though; temperatures that are too warm will kill them. The ideal temperature is between 90 and 100 degrees, about the temperature of a baby bottle, but yeast can grow in much cooler temperatures. You may see recipes that talk about let dough rise in the refrigerator. Yeast dough rises when yeast cells convert sugars to the carbon dioxide that causes the air bubbles in bread.

There are two main types of yeast that home bakers use: active-dry and instant. Active-dry yeast is what you find in the little individual use packets at the grocery store. Both types can be used for home bread baking, but there are a few differences that need to be taken into account. Active-dry yeast, because of the way it is processed, requires a more specific "activation." This generally involves mixing the yeast with some warm liquid and a little sugar. Instant yeast, on the other hand, can be mixed directly with the dry ingredients. Instant yeast is also a little more concentrated. When interchanging the two, the proportions are 1 part instant yeast to 1.25 parts active-dry.

Besides yeast, there is another very important player in bread making, and this player is gluten. Gluten forms when the proteins in flour absorb liquid, forming elasticity in the dough. Different types of flours contain different amounts of gluten. Whole wheat flour, for instance, contains less of these proteins than white flour. This is because these proteins are found in the endosperm of the wheat grain; white flour is composed entirely of the endosperm whereas wheat flour contains all part of the grain. Besides hydration, kneading also helps to develop gluten.

Salt is also a key component in breads. Salt acts as a regulator for the yeast. For this reason, salt should not usually be mixed directly with the yeast and should be added after the flour as it buffers the yeast.

Kneading is a critical part of most yeast bread making. While there are some "knead-free" bread recipes out there, most yeast breads require some amount of kneading. This can be accomplished either by hand, in a stand mixer, or - sometimes - in a food processor. Each bread dough is different: some require a lot of kneading and form a very stiff, smooth dough while some do not need to be kneaded as long and are very soft and sticky. These soft and sticky doughs are particularly nice to make in a stand mixer. Kneading by hand is fairly easy but can be good exercise! To knead, put the dough on a floured surface. If you have a particularly high counter top, you may want to consider using a lower table. To make kneading easier, you want to knead from the waist, not just in your arms. The closest analogy I can come up with is to imagine you are giving the dough ball CPR. Between pumps, simply fold the dough over and rotate. Pump and then fold and rotate again.

After the dough is kneaded to the proper point, it is left to rise. This is usually in a warm place, but it varies. As I mentioned before, sometimes dough is raised in the refrigerator. The dough is left to rise until it has doubled in volume. Dough should be lightly oiled and the bowl covered with plastic wrap or a damp towel to keep the surface from drying out.

Most doughs go through two risings with the second rise being after the dough is shaped. "Punch" the dough down to degas it. A couple of quick kneads is all that is required. Let the dough "rest" for a few minutes to make it easier to handle; resting allows the gluten to relax a bit and makes it easier to shape the dough. Shape the dough as specified for your recipe and then spray and cover again to rise until double. It is critical at this point to not let the dough rise too much. Doughs that are over-risen can collapse in the oven, a disappointing end for a loaf of bread.

Preheat the oven and do not put the loaves into the oven until the oven is completely preheated. Putting the loaf in the oven gives the bread a final "lift," but if the oven temperature is not right, it can lift too much and collapse.

The best way to tell when a loaf of bread is properly baked is by using a thermometer. Most breads are done when the temperature reaches 200 degrees F internally. This temperature does vary though. For a lot of breads, you can test them by tapping on them with a knife handle or some such thing and listening for a hollow sound. Remove bread from the oven and remove loaves from their pan onto cooling racks. Let cool completely before slicing, if you can.

Most breads can be successfully frozen and then thawed for later use. Be sure bread is completely cool before wrapping or condensation may cause you grief.

While this posting outlines the basics of yeast bread making, there are many other factors to consider when you start trying to more fully understand bread making. In future posts I will address some of these more advanced concerns.

Crepes 101

Somehow, crepes have gotten a bum rap. I don't know why, they are really quite simple. I often whip out my crepe pan when I'm in the mood for a snack; I like them straight out of the pan. In fact, I like them so much, that I often find it difficult to amass enough completed crepes to be able to make anything with them! Which, incidentally, is the same reason there is not a photo of the crepes here... I ate them all before I could get a picture! Oops. Sometimes I just can't help myself. (I finally made crepes and remembered to take a photo to add to this post! -May 2012)

So, what is the trickiest part about making crepes? If there is anything, it must be putting the batter in the pan. Because the pan is already hot, the batter starts cooking immediately upon hitting it, so you need to shake that pan around to get the batter spread out. Oh, and that whole letting the batter sit thing, that's completely optional. While it does make a slight difference, I find the crepes are still fantastic when made right away. Who has time to wait for crepe batter?

This recipe can very easily be doubled or halved, depending on your needs. If you want to make sweet crepes, just add a tablespoon of sugar to the batter. Personally, even when using them for dessert applications, I still prefer to use a batter without sugar. In the future, I'll post some recipes using crepes.

Basic Crepes
Yield: 7-9 crepes

2 eggs
1 TBS melted butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup flour
2/3 cup lukewarm milk

Whisk all ingredients together. If it seems lumpy, you can always run it through a sieve to make a nice, smooth batter. While you can use milk right from the refrigerator, the butter tends to clump up with the cold milk. You can leave the batter to sit in a covered bowl for an hour before use or use right away.

Preheat an 8-10 inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Put a tiny amount of butter in the pan, maybe 1/4 tsp. Let the butter melt and then use a paper towel to wipe over entire pan surface. Use a small measuring cup to pour a measured amount of batter into the pan. With a 10 inch skillet, I use about 3 TBS of batter. This means using a 1/4 cup measure filled about 3/4 of the way full. Pour batter into pan and immediately start shaking pan around to get batter distributed (see video below). Place back on heat. Within a minute or so, the edges will start to brown and peel back from the side of the pan. This tells you the crepe is about done. Remove when crepe has reached desired shade of browning. With thin crepes, there is no need to flip the crepe and cook the other side. Remove crepe on to a paper towel. Crepes can be kept warm until use in a very low oven.

Canning 101

Preserving food is all about keeping any creepy crawlies in the food in check. There are a number of ways of stifling their growth, cold temperatures being one of the easiest. The ease with which we store perishable foods these days was only a fantasy in yesteryear. Refrigeration and freezing are by far the easiest way to retard bacterial and fungal growth in food.

What are some of the others? Well, it's all about making an inhospitable environment for the critters. An environment that it too dry, salty, fatty, sugary, acidic, anaerobic, or hot is considered hostile to most microbes. Canning commonly uses the last four. Jams and jellies, for instance, are preserved by the amount of sugar they contain (have you ever noticed how long an open jar of jelly lasts in the fridge?).

There are two main types of canning: water bath and pressure canning:

Water bath canning requires an acidity of 4.6 or lower to help keep microbes in check. This acidity means that the jars of food do not have to be processed to as high a temperature. Water bath canning involves canning both acid and acidified foods. Acid foods are naturally high in acid and include most fruits like peaches, pears, and apples. Acidified foods are foods that have to have acid added to them in order to make them safe. Pickled goods are all acidified. If you are new to canning, you want to be sure to always follow tested recipes. I have been canning for over 15 years now, so I have started making up my own recipes, but to be sure they are safe and under the 4.6 pH requirement, I use a pH meter (see my aStore).

Pressure canning involves using pressure to increase the boiling temperature within the kettle. When you want to can something that is not acidic, you have to process the jars to a higher temperature; a pressure canner provides this ability. All modern pressure canners have very good safety valves, so you don't have to worry about you canner exploding if you don't know what you are doing (always a good thing to know!).

There are a few general things you need to know about supplies. The major components include canning jars (don't use other types of jars as they may not hold up to the rigors of the hot pot...), canning lids and bands, jar tongs, and a canner (either a large kettle/stock pot or pressure canner depending on what type of canning you are doing).


The basic procedures for canning are pretty standardized. So that I don't have to write them over and over again whenever I post a canning recipe, I will give those instructions here:


Water Bath Canning

1. Prepare food as instructed.


2. Wash jars in hot, soapy water. They do not need to be sterilized.


3. Prepare canner. This means filling and starting to heat the water for a water bath canner (just bring to a simmer). Remember that your jars will displace a large amount of water. Take this into account when filling your pot up so that your jars will be covered by at least one inch of water.


4. Have jars set out along with your canning funnel and bands. Heat up enough water to soak the canning lids. This process softens up the wax rim and allows them to sit better on the jar, making a better seal.


5. Fill jars as instructed leaving the proper head space. This space should be defined in the recipe. Leaving the proper head space is important in obtaining a good seal. It typically varies between 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch for water bath canning.


6. Use a plastic knife or wooden skewer to poke down the sides of the jars to release any trapped air bubbles.


7. With a clean sponge or rag, wipe down the top rim of the jar so that the lids can form a clean seal.


8. Place seals onto jars and screw on with the bands. Bands only need to be hand tight. Do not over tighten!


9. Using your jar tongs, place jars in your canner. Turn the heat up once the jars are in the water. Bring the water to a slow boil. Do not start counting your processing time until the water boils. Then process for the time specified in the recipe. Some recipes use a "pasteurization" process that uses a lower temperature. If this is the case, use a thermometer to keep track of the temperature.


10. When the time is up, turn the heat off and let the jars sit in the water for five minutes before removing them. While this step is not always needed, for certain items, pulling them out of the canner right away can cause the filling to come oozing out of the jars. This can be very messy and can lead to bad seals. While you are usually safe to pull jams, jellies, pickles, and fruit in syrup out immediately, I always figure better safe than sorry.


11. Remove jars from the water and set on a towel lined counter. Let jars sit undisturbed to cool for 6-8 hours. As they cool, you should hear the tell-tale "pop" as the jars vacuum seal.


12. Once the jars are cool, carefully remove the bands and wash the jars, if necessary. It is usually best to store canned goods without the screw band. Keep jars in a cool, dark place. Always check the seals before you use the food. "If in doubt, throw it out!"

Pressure Canning

1. Prepare food as instructed.


2. Wash jars in hot, soapy water. They do not need to be sterilized.


3. Prepare canner. With a pressure canner, you will want to follow the instructions that come with your canner for its preparation. Because pressure canners use steam to heat the jars, you need to use the specific amount of water for your canner.


4. Have jars set out along with your canning funnel and bands. Heat up enough water to soak the canning lids. This process softens up the wax rim and allows them to sit better on the jar, making a better seal.


5. Fill jars as instructed leaving the proper head space. This space should be defined in the recipe. Leaving the proper head space is important in obtaining a good seal. When pressure canning, this head space is typically 1 inch.


6. Use a plastic knife or wooden skewer to poke down the sides of the jars to release any trapped air bubbles.


7. With a clean sponge or rag, wipe down the top rim of the jar so that the lids can form a clean seal.


8. Place seals onto jars and screw on with the bands. Bands only need to be hand tight. Do not over tighten!


9. Using your jar tongs, place jars in your canner. Close the canner and prepare it for the proper pressure. This procedure will vary depending on your canner, so follow the directions that came with your canner.


10. When the time is up, turn the heat off and let your canner cool down naturally. This can take a while. Do not try to speed the process up! Let the pressure dissipate naturally.


11. Remove jars from the canner and set on a towel lined counter. Let jars sit undisturbed to cool for 6-8 hours. As they cool, you should hear the tell-tale "pop" as the jars vacuum seal.


12. Once the jars are cool, carefully remove the bands and wash the jars, if necessary. It is usually best to store canned goods without the screw band. Keep jars in a cool, dark place. Always check the seals before you use the food. "If in doubt, throw it out!"

This is a very abbreviated set of instructions for canning. I highly recommend that you invest in The Ball Bluebook for a more detailed set of instructions (see my aStore). It is really necessary, I think, to have a good reference around. I've been canning for a long time, and I always seem to be checking some bit of information in mine. If you have any troubles or questions, just let me know!

Tempering Chocolate 101

I have added a second post on tempering which includes some additional thought and tips. You can click here to go to that post.

Tempering chocolate can be tricky. Even the pros don't get it right all the time. And those special chocolate tempering machines can still mess up from time to time. But it must be done! If not, chocolate can have some very unappealing characteristics, like the streaks seen in the photo here. It's still fine to eat, but it doesn't look as nice. If chocolate is really out of temper, it can become very chalky.

Why is this a problem? It has to do with the chemical properties of cocoa butter. Cocoa butter can form six different types of crystals, depending on how the chocolate cools. Unfortunately, only one of these six types has appealing characteristics for chocolate candies. The trick is to follow a procedure which allows only the most desirable crystalline structure to form.

How do we do that? Well, there are a couple of methods. The easiest - if you are starting with chocolate that has a good temper - is called the "seed" method. If the chocolate you are using is glossy and firm, snaps nicely, and does not have any streaks in it, you can use this method. If not, you will have to use the "seed-free" method I've outlined below.

"Seed" Method of Tempering

In a double boiler (same set up as for making ganache), place about 2/3 of the chocolate that you want to temper. Reserve the remaining third for later. Melt the chocolate slowly and use a thermometer to make sure you always know where you're at. Melt the chocolate until it reaches 105-110 degrees F. Remove from heat (be careful not to get any moisture in your chocolate from the condensed steam on the bottom of the bowl).

Keeping a careful eye on the thermometer, add about half of the reserved chocolate. Stir slowly but continuously, adding little bits of the remaining chocolate as it melts in. Stop adding any more chocolate when the temperature gets to 100 degrees or it may not melt. It's hard to work with when it's all lumpy! Continue stirring until the chocolate gets down to 87-92 degrees. Do NOT let it fall below 85 degrees or go over 95 degrees otherwise you will have to start all over.

Test your temper by smearing a bit of chocolate on a piece of wax paper. Put it in the fridge for about 2 minutes. Take it out and look at it. Is it shiny? Is it streak free? Does it break with a nice, clean snap? Does it refrain from immediately melting when you touch it with your finger? If the answer to all of these questions is "yes," your chocolate is good to go. If not, restart the process (you can use the same chocolate). If you do not have any more seed chocolate, use the "seed free" tempering method listed below.

Keep the chocolate within this 87-92 degree range while working with it. Stir regularly to keep the crystals in the chocolate from getting too large. To hold the temperature while I am working with the chocolate, I nest two bowls with a heating pad in between (see picture). My heating pad set on high is just right for keeping it at about 90 degrees. Be sure to have a towel to protect your heating pad from chocolate drips.

Let the finished chocolates harden either in a cool room or in the refrigerator.

"Seed-Free" Method of Tempering

This method is very similar to the one above, but instead of adding "seed" chocolate, you are simply using temperature control to provide seed crystals.

Heat all of the chocolate you want to temper in a double boiler. Heat it up to 115 degrees F. This melts all six of the cocoa butter crystal forms. Remove from heat, stir periodically while cooling down to 80 degrees. When chocolate reaches 80 degrees, give it a good stir and then return to the heat (I only need the heating pad here) and bring up to the working temperature range of 87-92 degrees.

Pie Crust 101

Making pie crust from scratch can be frustrating. And while store bought crusts are quicker, they just don't come close to the flavor or texture of a homemade crust.

There are two key things to keep in mind when making crust: 1) make sure you use cold ingredients, and 2) don't over work the dough. I used to make pie crust by hand, but even though I knew how to make pie crust, I always had trouble! Somehow, I could never work the water in by hand without over mixing it. However, once I started using my food processor, I haven't had a lick of trouble since! It mixes quickly and easily so you always end up with a perfectly flaky crust. Check out this picture! This is a cross section view of a cinnamon sugar pinwheel made from crust. Look at all the air pockets in that crust! Delicious.

Check out the video I made showing how easy it is to make pie crust with a food processor.

Basic Pie Crust

2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup chilled shortening
7-8 TBS ice cold water

Mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea sized chunks of shortening remaining. Add 7 tablespoons of water and process until just comes together. Add another tablespoon of water if necessary. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes before rolling.

While there are all kinds of variations on pie crust, adding vinegar, sugar, using different types of fats, etc., any rolled pie crust will be made in a similar fashion.

Gotta love that unflattering starting frame in the video!! Yes sir, that's a beaut.