Calphalon - It's All That and Made in the USA.

Calphalon

Website: http://www.calphalon.com/

For the holiday season of 2011, Roy received a very nice bonus from the new company he was now working for.  While he went off to purchase new video games for his PC, I decided to finally buy new cookware that I have wanted for a long time...Calphalon.

The Calphalon company was founded in 1963 by Ronald Kasperzak in Perrysburg, Ohio.  He wanted to make a cookware product that was heavy duty, easy to handle and clean, up to the standards of any professional chef, but affordable by the public.  Calphalon is lightweight, nonstick and the handles stay cool to the touch; how many of us have burned ourselves on pot handles or needed a forklift to take a overly heavy skillet off the stovetop?  Recipes can be cooked at lower temperature settings as the heavy gauge metals used in the cookware distributes heat evenly and more quickly.  Not only does this save gas or electric, depending on your stove type, but it saves on cooking time.

No more using nonstick cooking sprays as they have a chemical within them that makes the cookware remain sticky and discolor.  Basically you do not need to use any oils or butter to keep food from sticking; they can be primarily used for flavor enhancement if needed.  Cleanup is hot, soapy water and a simple sponge; no scratchy pads, harsh cleansers or most certainly do NOT put the cookware into the dish washer.

Is Calphalon expensive?  Yes and no.  Most definitely yes if you're on a very tight budget, but sales and clearance sales can be found just about anywhere nowadays, especially online.  No if you want a product that will last for years and you're tired of throwing out pans that only last 6 months to a year because they were cheap to buy and made even more cheaply.  If you have a passion for cooking and want cookware that expresses that passion, choose Calphalon.

Above is a photo of my kitchen hanging rack with my new pans, and yes, I have a wishlist for further purchases.


Mary Cokenour

Snow on the Driveway, Chowder in my Bowl.

All week the weather here in Monticello had been quite steady; cold at night, but sunny, clear and comfortable during the day.  The weather forecast for the weekend initially called for snow showers, but changed to rain showers.  My friend Heidi and I had made plans for today; I was to come down to her home and finally meet her mother Trish and Heidi's brother.  Trish, Heidi and I are friends on Facebook and we can get quite silly at times.  I had just purchased two Calphalon skillets and I had promised Trish that I would let her touch them.  Like I said, we get quite silly at times.

That was the plan until the snow began; first light flurries which didn't worry me too much.  My car doesn't like wet roads, but a light flurry wouldn't hinder her, yes my car is a her, and me.  Then the snow flakes got thicker and fell more heavily; it was sticking to everything and accumulating.  As much as I would have still liked to go to Heidi's, finding myself down in a canyon was not on my game plan, so had to cancel out on her.

With the wind blowing the snow here and there, it looked, and felt if you ventured outside, like a typical day for soup.  Ah, but what kind; a brothy soup would be nice, but a thicker soup would be more comforting I think.  Looking through the pantry, I find cans of whole baby clams which would go great with the shrimp I had defrosted the night before.  I originally was going to make a Thai dish with shrimp for dinner, but the snow just about changed everything  for the day.  So, to make it all better, I ended up making a shrimp and clam chowder chock full of shrimp, clams, potatoes and other yummy ingredients.  I've already had a bowl, and another bowl seems to be calling to me, so let me finish up and answer that call.

Shrimp and Clam Chowder

Ingredients:

3 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
1Tbsp salt
2Tbsp butter
½ cup each diced onion and celery
½ cup shredded carrot
½ cup sliced mushrooms
¼ cup partially cooked, chopped bacon
1 tsp each fine sea salt, ground black pepper and paprika
½ cup flour
1 (10 oz) can whole baby clams; drain, but reserve juice
2 cups milk
1 cup half n’ half
1 Tbsp minced fresh thyme
1 lb medium sized, uncooked shrimp, tails removed

Preparation:

Place potatoes in large pot, cover with water, add one Tbsp salt and cook until fork tender; remove from heat. In another large pot, melt butter on medium-low heat, add onion, celery, and carrot; cook until just beginning to soften. Add mushrooms, bacon, sea salt, black pepper and paprika; cook additional 3 minutes. Add flour and mix until fully incorporated; raise heat to medium and add clam juice, milk and half n’half; cook until bubbles begin to form around edges of pot, about 10 minutes.

Drain potatoes and add with clams, thyme and shrimp to pot, cover and let cook for 10 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.

Garnishes: crumbled bacon, shredded white cheddar cheese or sliced green onions.

Mary Cokenour

The Delicatessen

Beginning in the 1840’s, Germans began immigrating to the United States; they brought with them many of their preserved, pickled and canned foods, and their family recipes. Delicatessen (also known as “deli”) is a combination of words which roughly translates into “delicacies to eat” or “to eat delicious things”. Within these palaces of eatery, authentic German and/or Americanized versions of foods were offered a variety of sausages (or “wieners”), beef frankfurters, sauerkraut, hamburgers, meat loaf, liverwurst, cold cuts, noodle dishes, dill pickles, herring in cream sauce, lager beer, seltzer water, pretzels (hard and crunchy or the big, doughy New York-style soft pretzels), potato salad, muenster cheese, rolls, pastries, rye and pumpernickel breads.

During the 1890’s to 1920’s, Eastern Europeans of Jewish descent started to flock to the United States, bringing not only their language (Yiddish) and religion, but their own foods and recipes. Kosher and kosher-style delicatessens were established and New Yorkers were introduced to bagels, bialys, smoked salmon and white fish, Matzo and Matzo ball soup, pastrami, corned beef, tongue, borscht, chopped liver, pickled herring and potato pancakes.

When it came to a smorgasbord, the delicatessen was the place to indulge. New York not only personified the concept of the “melting pot” with the variety of ethnic cultures and religions, but also with the food items available to the public. As the United States developed, these cultures moved across the states and introduced the concept of the deli to many an area. In the 1950’s, supermarkets were introduced around the country which offered many of the same items as found in the neighborhood deli. This caused many a deli to close its doors, since they could not compete with the lesser prices a supermarket could charge due to bulk purchasing; but not a complete death.

Growing up, and living in, New York for a good part of my life, I was fortunate enough to experience the neighborhood deli. I miss delis and their uniqueness; the familiarity of the workers behind the counter, the smells of meats and cheeses, the yeastiness of the breads and rolls; it was a complete feast for all the senses.

I can, however, make a mean deli sandwich of my own and here is one of my husband’s favorites.

Roy’s Fave Deli Sandwich

Ingredients:

2 slices rye bread
4 Tbsp Thousand Island salad dressing
2 slices Swiss cheese
¼ lb each sliced turkey breast, corned beef and pastrami
1/3 cup cole slaw
Pickle spear
½ cup each potato and macaroni salads

Preparation:

Spread 2 Tbsp of salad dressing on one side of each slice of bread; place one slice of cheese on each slice. Layer on the cold cuts, top with cole slaw, close up sandwich, cut in half; serve with pickle spear and salads.

Serves one.

Mary Cokenour

Stephanie's Sweet Treats.

Stephanie's Sweet Treats

Owner: Stephanie Hayes
Location: Monticello, Utah
Contact Number: 435-587-3381

Stephanie Hayes is a sweet lady who knows how to make a person smile with her sweet treats. All homemade with natural ingredients and loads of love and passion, Stephanie's stand at the local market is always a sold out spot. Her collection of products includes candies, fudge, brownies, cookies, jams and jellies; but she's not one to be afraid of attempting a new treat.

One of her newest items is the Buckeye candy pictured above; a center loaded with butter and peanut butter and covered in rich chocolate. Smooth and decadent; just one will have you in a complete candy high for the day.

A favorite of mine is her Peanut Brittle, also pictured above. Stephanie uses Spanish peanuts, so the Brittle has a deep peanut flavor which is not lost in the caramelized sugar. The Brittle is not as sweet as store bought, but has an overall satisfying flavor for any sweet tooth.  As you can see from the photo, the brittle is honeycombed, giving it a light, airy texture that doesn't, and here's the really great part, stick to your teeth.

Looking for a special treat to give for a special occasion; give Stephanie a call and get those sweets for your sweet.

Mary Cokenour

A Tale of Two Fish Sandwiches.

This is the tale of two seafood companies that provide frozen products to the public; the yellow box of the fisherman versus the blue box of the golden outlined fish.

Gorton's Fish Sandwich Fillets

Inside the yellow box of this fisherman you'll find eight frozen Alaskan Pollack squares (2 3/4" x 2 3/4") at 150 calories each. At 425F they will cook anywhere from 18-22 minutes (mine took 20 minutes) and reduce to a size of 2 1/2" x 2 1/2". The fish is moist and flaky with a mild flavor while the crunchy coating does not overwhelm. You can see the layers of the fish, so when the box says it is a cut fillet, you can see it.

While regular hamburger buns are 3 1/2" round and sandwich buns are 4" round, these little squares would fit better on slider buns which are 2" round. Looking at the picture on the box, a slider bun was most probably used to depict the fish fillet edges extending over the bread.

Van de Kamp's Fish Sandwich Fillets

Inside the blue box with the golden outlined fish at the top you'll find 6 frozen Alaskan Pollack rectangles (4" x 3") at 190 calories each. At 425F they will cook anywhere from 28-30 minutes (mine took 30 minutes) and reduce to a size of 3 3/4" x 2 3/4". Upon taking a bite, you can smell the fish, but it is not easily seen; no flaky layers, it looks minced, but the box states it is a cut fillet. The coating is crunchy, but has an oily sheen and tastes oily; not a pleasant eating experience.

Overall conclusion, while the Gorton's Fish Fillets are smaller than Van de Kamp's, it is greater in taste and value. Sail on with the Gorton's Fisherman, he knows what he's doing.

Mary Cokenour

Someone's Soup is Another's Stew.

Chili, is it a soup or a stew?  It all depends on geographical location, for the most part, and what recipe the cook grew up on.  I am used to chili which is thick and hearty; that's the way I make it, that's the way my family enjoys it. However, I have been many a place where the chili is thinner and called a soup.  Is the soup that different from the stew?  Yes and no, sometimes it is very brothy, sometimes it is thick like a stew, but still called a soup.  Confused?  Welcome to the crowd and enjoy the chili.  

Even though I have a standard recipe that I follow, I have played with it from time to time; substituting ground beef for the sirloin steak pieces, using a different mixture of beans, different chilies.  The absolute best chili so far was when I used ground New Mexico chilies instead of the regular ground chili powder which has six varieties of chilies.

So this is all leading to?  Taco Soup.  Taco Soup?  Yes, Taco Soup and yes, depending on your point of view, it can be considered chili, but it is purposely made brothy, so it is a soup.   For the first time I tried taco soup; it was absolutely fantastic!!  Now here's the funny part, just that day I was going through a Paula Deen cookbook and saw her recipe for taco soup.  I'm not one to believe in coincidence, so I got the message clear...another recipe to play with and it was for taco soup.

As I ate the soup, I consciously considered the ingredients and while I thought it was so close to chili, someone voiced the thought and there was a brief discussion on chili being a soup or not.  Anyway, the next day I read the recipe in Paula's book again and then went online to see what other recipes I could find.  What really amazed me most of all is how many recipe sites had taco soup listed and most of the "cooks" had Paula's recipe listed word for word; yet they listed the recipe as their own "original" recipe.   So I have "cooks" in quotes to show my sarcasm as they aren't real cooks, just copycats who don't have the manners to give credit where credit is due.  Back to the recipe...I didn't want to follow Paula's recipe word for word as the soup I had at the Credit Union was different than hers ingredient wise.  I also didn't see the point of adding a packet of dry ranch salad dressing mix and water; I wanted the soup to taste like tacos, not ranch dressing.  However, I did see it mentioned on some recipes that using dressing from the bottle could give the soup a mild, creamy texture without loading it down with heavy cream and not overpower the overall flavor.  That's an idea I could go with; so while my recipe is not an exact copycat of one particular recipe, it is a mixture of ideas and wouldn't call it a completely original concept.

Ok, enough droning...here's the recipe I came up with and it was perfect for the cold, windy weather that invaded our area over the weekend.

Taco Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (85%), browned, drain excess grease
1 (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1(14.5 oz) can beef broth
1 (15 oz) can great northern (white) beans
1 (15 oz) can whole black beans
1 (11 oz) can Mexican style whole kernel corn
1 (1.25 oz) packet taco seasoning mix
¼ cup bottled original ranch dressing, not buttermilk

Preparation:

Set 4 qt crock pot on low; spray with nonstick cooking spray. Put in all items from ingredients list; do not drain beans or corn. Cover and cook for 4 hours.

Makes 10 (2 cup) servings.

Mary Cokenour

Garnishes:

Chopped fresh cilantro
Avocado slices
Diced red onion
Sour cream
Shredded Mexican cheese blend
Crumbled Queso Fresco cheese
Tortilla chips or strips

Happy Blogaversary to Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

One year ago today, the movie "Julie and Julia" inspired me to create this food blog.  Funny to think how often I had had the desire to write a cookbook, but no publisher would consider my work as deserving.  Yet, with this blog, I have done exactly that, written a cookbook online and through a popular media format...the blog.  Within my "cookbook" I have shared many a recipe from my life and explored new cuisines to share with my readers.  The year itself, as with any life, was full of ups and downs, happiness and sadness, gains and losses; there are no regrets and happy memories overshadow any negativity which tried to invade my life.

I increased my own culinary knowledge and potential by adding restaurant and product reviews to my lineup of posts.  While many enjoyed, and found helpful, these reviews, I found that many a coward tried to bash me with anonymous comments.  These cowards, of course, caused me much laughter at their sheer stupidity, so I must thank them for their lack of manners and intelligence.

Another adventure I started a journey on was the world of baking.  I must admit that I have not ever truly enjoyed baking due to the strictness of measuring and preciseness required.  However, by daring to learn I have acquired a new talent.

All in all, I have loved this journey, this series of culinary adventures.  I must however give thanks to those who were my guinea pigs, the many people who were often called upon to try my experiments and were required to give critiques.  I give thanks to all those people who have been reading my blog and hope that they will eventually join the rank of "Follower".  I especially thank my husband Roy who has had to taste, eat and critique every recipe; who has had to duck and cover when complete chaos erupted in the kitchen.  I love you dear and my life is totally complete with you in it.

To celebrate this day, a fine feast was prepared of roast chicken, cornbread stuffing and a steamed vegetable medley; simple and oh so comforting.  I hope you will make it yourself and join in the celebration of "Food Adventures with a Comfort Cook".  Thank you and Bon Appetit'!!!

Roast Chicken with Corn Bread Stuffing

Ingredients:

1 (5 lb) chicken
1 Tbsp butter
¼ cup each diced onion, celery and carrots
¼ tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp fresh minced parsley
2 ½ cups coarsely crumbled corn bread
1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth, divided in half
¼ cup olive oil
1 tsp each coarse sea salt, ground black pepper, onion and garlic powders; mix together
2 cups water
1 Tbsp flour

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray roasting pan and rack with nonstick cooking spray.

Wash chicken with cold water and make sure to remove any organs stuffed inside; discard or use for gravy making. Tuck wings over neck opening and skewer skin flap over to close opening and keep wings from over browning; set chicken aside.

In a small skillet, medium-low heat, melt butter and sauté onion, celery and carrots until softened; mix in ¼ teaspoon pepper and the parsley. While vegetables are sautéing, combine corn bread and half can of chicken broth in large bowl; add in softened vegetables and mix thoroughly. Stuff chicken with corn bread mixture and seal opening with skewer; tie legs together with butcher twine. Rub olive oil over all of the chicken and sprinkle seasoning combination all over; place chicken on pan rack (breasts side up). Pour remaining broth and water into roasting pan; place pan in oven and roast chicken for 2 ½ to 3 hours, or until internal temperature reaches 165F and juices run clear.

Remove chicken to platter to rest; pour drippings from pan into small saucepan, set on high heat; whisk in flour and bring to boil. Carve chicken and serve with gravy.

Serves 4-6.

Mary Cokenour