Posts in the Resources Category

2009 Mens Health Best foods for Men

November 2, 2009 on 1:56 pm | In Blog, Press, Resources | 3 Comments

Essential Cooking Equipment

Brittany Risher; Chris Cosentino photo by Lisa Hamilton

Use this list to stock your kitchen, and you’ll have all the tools you need to prepare an impressive meal

chris-cosentino-credit-lisa-hamiltonSure, Iron Chef’s Kitchen Stadium is stocked with every pan, knife, and other food gadget ever made. But chances are you’ll never attempt a cookdown with Mario Batali. What you need are the essentials. To help ensure that you have the things you truly need, we talked to Chris Cosentino, chef partner at Incanto in San Francisco and partner and owner of Boccalone (boccalone.com), an artisan salumi business.

The first step, he says, is to determine what your cooking goal is. “”There are so many pieces of equipment,” Cosentino says, “but you don’t need to worry about them all. If you know what you want to do, you can set up your kitchen accordingly.”

Here are the things he recommends the average at-home chef should have on hand to make anything from a fast bite after work to an impressive dinner date.

1. A Cutting Board
boos-cutting-board“Having a proper wooden cutting is where everything is going to start from,” says Cosentino, who likes Boos cutting boards (johnboos.com). Go with wooden—although plastic is non-porous, you’re likely to put deeper knife marks into it, making it hard to clean and disinfect. And bacteria thrive in those scars.

Also, wood won’t dull your knives as quickly, and it draws bacteria below the surface—and therefore away from your food. In fact, a study by researchers at the University of California-Davis Food Safety Laboratory found that used, scarred wooden cutting boards had almost the same amount of bacteria on their surfaces as new wooden ones.

2. Knives
japanese-knivesAll you need are four: chef’s knife, paring knife, boning knife, and fillet knife. The paring knife is for smaller, precise work such as peeling, trimming, coring an apple, and sectioning an orange. The chef’s knife is your Jack-of-all-trades. Use it to chop, mince, and slice vegetables, fruit, herbs, and meat. The boning and fillet knives are self-explanatory.

Cosentino likes Japanese knives because they hold an edge better, he says. When you’re shopping, be sure to pick up the knife and hold it as you’d use it. “When you hold it, is it like an extension of your hand, or is it like having your shoe on the wrong foot?” Cosentino says. “You should like the way the handle feels and the weight of the knife.” If it feels right in your hands, it’s a good choice.

3. A Slow Cooker
slow-cooker“You want a cast-iron, enameled pot—what I call a braiser—to slow-cook items in,” says Cosentino, who has used his Calphalon slow cooker to do everything from make tomato sauce and jam to braise meat and cook a whole chicken. It’s extremely versatile (use it on the stovetop or in the oven) and easy to use: Just prep the ingredients the night before, put them into the pot before you leave for work in the morning, and when you come home, you have dinner. And, since the pot is heavy-bottomed, the heat is dispersed evenly, so you have less chance of burning your food.

4. Pans and Pots
pots-pansKeep things simple (and your cabinet uncluttered): again, four is the magic number. Start with a saucepot to cook soup in and a larger pot to cook pasta in. Then look for 8-inch and 10-inch sauté pans made out of a non-reactive material, such as cast iron or stainless steel. “Aluminum can react with acidity and change the flavor of foods like tomatoes and asparagus,” Cosentino says. He uses Calphalon in the restaurant kitchen and also recommends Demeyere cookware.

But you don’t necessarily need to buy your pans and pots individually—a set may be the best option. “If you want the basics to make beautiful meals, buy a set, and, boom, you have all the pans in the world you need,” Cosentino says. “As long as have a stove and electric or gas, you’re set.” They’re also cheaper and you’re more likely to find sales on sets than on separate items.

5. A Pepper Mill
peugeot-pepper-millIf you want your food to taste good, this overlooked item can make a big difference in flavor. Cosentino says to think about it this way: If you buy preground pepper at the store, who knows how long it’s been sitting there? And how long was it sitting prior arriving at your supermarket? He recommends grinding peppercorns with a Peugeot mill.

6. The Basics
Don’t overlook the obvious things such as a whisk, mixing bowl, spatula (Cosentino likes fish spatulas, which are good for both delicate and heavier foods), and the one thing no man can do without: a grill.

7. The Extras
Pass on the onion goggles, but if you have a few extra bucks, there are two nonessentials Cosentino thinks are worth it: a pizza stone and a Benriner mandolin (benriner.com).

pizza-stone- Buy a stone, and all you need to do is hit the grocery store for prepared dough and the toppings of your choice, and you’re ready to make a pie that tastes better—and has less grease and fewer calories—than delivery. “A pizza stone helps keep the oven temperature constant,” Cosentino says, and that results in a perfect crust.

- Use the mandolin for an easy way to julienne vegetables or cut them into matchsticks. You can quickly slice tons of vegetables and fruit with it, so you don’t need a knife, and they’ll all be uniform size, which can turn an ordinary salad into an impressive-looking course when you invite your girlfriend over for dinner.

Nduja the spicy spreadable meat treat

November 2, 2009 on 12:59 pm | In Blog, Recipes, Resources | No Comments

boccalone store

To some the idea of a spreadable salumi is a bit out there, to me it’s perfectly rich, spicy, porky goodness. Nduja is  a classical salumi from Calabria that has spread its way into my heart and others around the country. The most commonly asked question is what do I do with it? There are so many uses; pizza, crostini, bruschetta.  So, here are a few recipes to keep everyone busy for a while, one is from me and the other from the great pastry chef and italophile Gina Depalma.

Continue reading Nduja the spicy spreadable meat treat…

offally good decals

January 6, 2009 on 11:42 am | In Resources | 2 Comments

To start the new year I have been working on some things for offal good, and this is the first of a few new things to come this new year. A little less crude as some have put in requests for!

If these are a must for you go to the shop and pick yourself up a few.

Offal Good Q&A

February 2, 2008 on 5:25 pm | In Resources | 5 Comments

The Astor center in NYC is holding a Q&A with yours truly. You can get all the details here, at Astor Center NYC.

Honolulu Fish Auction at 5am

February 1, 2008 on 7:03 pm | In Resources | 4 Comments

I just came back from Hawaii and I had the opportunity to go to a 5am fish auction. This was a fast paced fish buying frenzy. I couldn’t keep up with the dollars until the fish was sold. The fish were laid out and had a slice of tail cut and a core punch so they could judge the quality of the fish. It was a beautiful range of super gorgeous fish, wish there was a sushi bar there, because there was only shitty coffee.

This is Cheap Meat !!!

January 31, 2008 on 2:31 pm | In Resources | 38 Comments

 

hamburger

Recently the article written by Mark Bittman, “Rethinking the meat guzzler”, in the New York Times last week and the article “Chefs new Goal: looking dinner in the eye”, also in the New York Times the week before have created a huge stir around the consumption of meat. There was an onslaught of people complaining, and writing letters to the Times, that no matter how the animal is raised killing it for food is still murder. A few months back I did a photo documentation of my experience of a humane animal practice and slaughter and I caught a bunch of shit when Ruhlman posted it on his site.

Here is a Washington post article that I received Wednesday morning from a friend in D.C. Just to top it all, the company that is treating these animals like this have the national school lunch program account. Trust me, my child won’t be eating this meat. This gives you a reason to find out where your animals are coming from. Well, for all of those who really don’t fucking get it, here is a very graphic video to open your blind eye to what we as chefs are trying to prevent.

I am no fucking saint. Yes, I slaughter animals, but I fully believe that the animal should be treated humanely, see the light of day and roam freely all the way to the end. Call me what you may but I would never treat any animal like this. At the restaurant we serve animals raised under Certified Humane standards.

Remember you asked for cheap meat this is how you are all getting to enjoy that fucking $1.00 hamburger, eat up and watch this.

Astor Center Dinner

January 31, 2008 on 12:08 am | In Resources | 2 Comments

Well folks I finally got convinced to take my Head to Tail dinner on the road. So here it is on march 4th in New York City I will be cooking at the Astor Center with moderator Michael Ruhlman. You can view the events here at Astor Center NYC. Cant wait to see you there.

FDA poised to approve cloned meat??

January 5, 2008 on 2:17 pm | In Resources | 12 Comments

cloned meat diagram

This image gives a whole new meaning to shagging sheep.

Well folks, I guess we have truly reached the pinnacle of fucking stupidity. I cannot believe that the public knows what they are getting themselves into with this cloned meat program. It reminds me of when I was in high school and had to read Aldous B. Huxley’s, Brave New World and how the genetic order was pre-chosen for each person. Do we really need to do this with our meat? What will be the long term effects of this, why are they overriding natural selection that happened for a reason. Who knows what will happen to humans after eating this meat for years. There isn’t enough info in my opinion to back the safety of this huge leap of scientific faith. Come on people, wake up and smell how rancid this is! Read this article that is linked here in the Wall Street Journal. Please voice your opinions now, speak and contact your congressional representatives or write the FDA. This is a scary path to be taking. Be sure to know where your meat and milk are coming from now.

The Art of having guts

December 18, 2007 on 11:56 pm | In Resources | 8 Comments

I have been receiving alot of questions from culinary students around the globe asking about offal, how to cook where to buy then what to do with it when they get it. But a few months back i got a call from a student who wasn’t studying culinary, this could be a refreshing change. A paper on the psychology of eating or not eating offal. As promised Lisa here is your paper on my site with total credit to you.

Continue reading The Art of having guts…

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