Better to Create Than to Imitate.

 Influencer, what indeed is an influencer?  According to the Oxford Dictionary, in relation to marketing on social media, an influencer is, “a person with the ability to influence potential buyers of a product or service by promoting or recommending the items on social media.”  So, what does influence mean then? “The capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself.”  Let’s put that in simpler wording, “having the ability to make someone do, like, or change something just by talking about it, or leading by example.”  Well, that is my take on it.

When the internet first came into existence, better yet, when it first became available to everyone, everywhere, I lost count of how many times I heard, “It’s on the internet, so it must be true!”.  For some strange and unknown reasoning, people began to immediately “dumb down”, stop going beyond to find out “truth in advertising”, and just believe whatever it is they read, or saw.  With the 2000s, social media expanded with Instagram, Twitter, Tik-Tok and a myriad of social platforms.  Thousands of people became “influencers”, making recordings of themselves doing an activity or proselytizing a belief, to influence others to join in.  The minority being those who noticed that many of these influencers were just repeating what other influencers were saying or doing. 

So, when it comes to the internet, my advice is, “Take everything with a grain of salt, get out of the comfort zone, and do some actual research on the truth of it.”  (Gets off soap box before it breaks apart, they do not make them as sturdy as they used to.)

Now to relate influencing to cooking.  I happened upon this tasty looking photo/recipe for “Chocolate Covered Frozen Yogurt Bites”, only four ingredients, and easy to make.  Chocolate Covered?  Yes, that belongs up my alley.  I copied the recipe onto Word, to look at later on, and probably try out.  A few weeks later, I took a good, hard look at the recipe and was dumb founded.  The ingredient list had vague measurements, and the directions made very little sense.  Going back to the internet, I put the recipe name into the Search box, and up popped, at least, two dozen Instagram accounts with the exact same recipe; all with the poor ingredient list and directions.  Each account claimed the recipe was his/her own original recipe; not one linking to any other page as originator, or influenced by. 

Going to various food blogs, I did find similar recipes with definitive ingredient lists and directions.  So, with trial and error, I was able to take the Instagram debacle, and create my own recipe that worked out quite well.  The employees at the Monticello City Office were my guinea pigs, and they were very happy with my creation.

Oh, since I mentioned it, let me give you an accounting of what vague measurements are.  I grew up learning to cook with these measurements, and I am sure many of you did as well.  When it comes to measuring, your hands and eyes are major tools.  Then there is always that joke about, “How do you know how much spice or seasoning to put in?”  Answer: “When your ancestor tells you, “That is enough child.”

Vague Cooking Measurements

Large as a Fist = 1 cup

Cupped Hand = ½ cup

Palm of Hand = 3 ounces

 

Couple = 2

Few = 3 or 4

Several = 4 to 8

Dozen = 12

Baker’s Dozen = 13

 

Pinch = 1/16^th of a teaspoon

Dash = 1/8^th of a teaspoon

 

…and now for my creation.

 

Frozen Chocolate Covered Yogurt Treats

Ingredients:

1 and 1/3 cups plain or vanilla Greek yogurt*

2 bananas, diced

1 cup roasted peanuts (skins removed) **

1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet, milk chocolate or dark chocolate)

3 cups chocolate chips (additional), plus 3 Tbsps. coconut oil; melt together for dunking)

 

 

 

 

Preparation:

 

In medium sized bowl, mix together yogurt, bananas, peanuts, and 1-cup chocolate chips until everything is well coated. 

 Place parchment paper, or wax paper, on a jelly roll baking pan.  Spoon out one heaping tablespoon of the yogurt mixture, onto the paper.  Flatten down into half-inch thick discs. 

 

 

 

Place tray in freezer until discs are set (four hours, or overnight, dependent on when needed for completion).   

 

 

 

 

When ready for dunking, melt chocolate chips and coconut oil together, in microwave safe bowl, for 30 second increments; stir after each session until fully melted and smooth.  Dunk each frozen disc into the melted chocolate/coconut oil mixture, coating entire disc; place back on the paper, and set in freezer again for two hours. ***

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Store remaining yogurt treats in a plastic freezer bag, or other freezer-safe container. Let them thaw slightly before enjoying.

 

Makes 15 treats.

*Option: if using plain yogurt, add 1 Tbsp. honey for more sweetness and flavor.

**Option: replace roasted peanuts with two tablespoons of a creamy nut butter.

***Option: sprinkle coarse or flaked sea salt, lightly over top of chocolate coating, before placing in freezer.

This recipe is not the gospel of frozen yogurt treats.  Try using a fruit yogurt instead of plain or vanilla.  Bananas not to your liking?  Try firmer fruits like strawberries, apples, or cut up fruits that have already been frozen, like peaches or another type of berry.  So long as they remain frozen when going into the yogurt mixture, they will not add extra liquid.

For example, strawberry Greek yogurt, diced strawberries and honey; after freezing, coat in a white chocolate/coconut oil mixture, freeze and enjoy!

So, when it comes to cooking, or even life in general, allow yourself to be slightly influenced, but not completely taken over.

Mary Cokenour

 

 

Bitter Bertolli Face.

Did you ever see those beer commercials with the tag line of "Don't have bitter beer face!"?  When it comes to Bertolli's Rustico Bakes or Al Dente microwave pasta meals, I get bitter Bertolli face.  Even though I do not like Bertolli's Meal or Soup for Two (available in frozen section of supermarket), I had two $1.50 coupons for the new microwave meals, so decided to give them a try; one Rustico Bakes and one Al Dente.  I should have known, from not liking their frozen bagged meals, that these new ones wouldn't stand up to taste either, but I had to find out for myself.

Lets begin with Rustico Bakes - Ricotta and Spinach Cannelloni; the portion is generous (3 cannelloni); however the taste and texture are severely lacking.  The cannelloni pasta is undercooked; it is not al dente ("to the tooth"), but more like too starchy and sticking to the teeth.  The ricotta cheese filling is smooth and tasty,  but are those flakes spinach?  I could not tell as they are so small and flavorless; I could not tell the difference between them and the herbal flakes in the sauce.  The Alfredo sauce I do not understand for this dish; white on white sauce; cheese sauce flavoring a cheese filling, and very garlicky.  The petite diced tomatoes are what really killed the meal; they were so bitter that I couldn't help but make that "yuck!" face.

Bertolli Rustico Bakes - Ricotta and Spinach Cannelloni

Now comes Al Dente - Chicken Chardonnay and Penne; a generous portion of penne pasta cooked perfectly this time; sadly that is all that is right with this meal.  The chicken looks like two chicken nuggets that were cut in half, giving you four total pieces.  The breading was bland, the chicken meat was dry and stringyThe sauce was very bitter and tasted heavily of wine; again with the bitter tomatoes.   After giving it a good 3 forkfuls of testing, into the trash it went; so I may have saved with the coupons, but I still ended up wasting money on both meals.

Bertolli Al Dente - Chicken Chardonnay and Penne

 



















Bertolii might consider their products an example of fine and classic Italian cuisine, but they are way off the mark. Save yourself the money and either go to a real Italian restaurant or learn to make it from scratch.

Mary Cokenour

Strolling Down a White Castle Memory Lane.

White Castle

Locations: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

Website: http://www.whitecastle.com/

Back in the 1960's, my family lived in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York off the Fort Hamilton Parkway.  Typical homes in the neighborhood were brick townhouses and the major ancestry was Italian, with a mixture of Croatian and Norwegian here and there.  I wish I could say that I had an absolutely wonderful childhood in Brooklyn, but I didn't; most of my fond memories are of my maternal grandmother, museums and most especially of food. 

White Castle is one of those wonderful food memories; three mini-hamburgers for one whole whopping dollar.  The "meat patty" was a little square (2 and 1/2 " by 2 and 1/2 "), just about 1/8 inch thick with 5 holes punched into each; this allowed the steam to cook the patty thoroughly and quickly.  A soft square bun (three of those meat patties stacked would equal the height of half the bun) and tiny, diced onions; all prepared on a special steaming table.  The smell was awesome, but the taste sent you to heaven; four perfect little bites for each little hamburger or cheeseburger.  Sliders?  White Castle invented the original sliders!  Enjoyers of White Castle had nicknames for the food; the burgers were "belly bombers" and the thin cut fries were "suicide fries".  Why?   You have to eat them to understand, that's the only way; sorry, can't explain it to a novice, you just have to experience it all.

I've eaten White Castle in Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania; New York always tasted the best, but what do you expect a New Yorker to say, right?  Now down South, they have a similar fast food item called Krystal's; tried them in Florida and Georgia and in my personal opinion, they can stay down South.  They are not the same as White Castle!

White Castle introduced a frozen version of the hamburgers and cheeseburgers to supermarkets when the microwave became a popular home appliance.  Two burgers in a cellophane package steam when "nuked" for one minute; and yes, the onions are included.  I eat them when I crave that particular childhood memory, but they're not as good as the fresh made.  As soon as the heated cellophane is opened, you can see the bun begin to wrinkle up; don't eat it quickly and it becomes chewy.  The meat doesn't cook evenly; a section here overcooked, a section there undercooked.  The onions are, well they just don't look, smell or taste right.  So why buy them?  It's all about the memories; it's all about the memories!

While I'm going to put this blog post under the heading of "Product Review", it's really a trip down memory lane for me.  I hope you enjoyed this walk with me.

Mary Cokenour

Redemption of the Frozen and the Canned.

Recently on the Food Network show "Next Iron Chef: Redemption", the chefs had to transform a canned good into a five star dish.  After all the whining and complaining, many accomplished what they thought to be the impossible.  Honestly, I did not feel their pain, I did not have any sympathy for them; the average home cook doesn't get the privilege of five star ingredients.  Depending on the average financial budget and the goods available in the supermarkets, the average home cook works with many canned, boxed and/or frozen goods.

Now I have explained before that Utah is a landlocked state and fresh fish is near to impossible to be obtained.  The fish I have to work with is frozen or canned; no shame in that if you can make it into a great dish though.  So, if those potential Iron Chefs don't like that idea, then be generous and send me even half your yearly budget for fresh ingredients.  Thank you, thank you very much.  Anyway, I am going to go through how to make a seafood stock that you can use to make a rich seafood bisque which includes ravioli and shrimp.  I'll write up the recipe for Seafood Stock as if you can find the fresh shellfish, but then tell you what to do if you cannot.

Seafood Stock (fresh shellfish available)

Ingredients:

6 cups combination of shrimp, crab and lobster shells, broken up
1/2 cup white wine
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 large stalk celery, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 Tbsp fresh parsley leaves
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
water to cover

Preparation:

Place all ingredients in a large stock pot and cover with water until one inch over all ingredients.  Set heat on high and let cook until water just begins to bubble; reduce heat to medium and let cook for one hour.  During cooking, skim off any foam that may develop; do not let the liquid boil, reduce heat if necessary.

Use a cheesecloth to strain the stock into a large bowl; discard the ingredients.  The stock can be used immediately or up to 3 days later if stored in the refrigerator.  The stock can also be frozen for future use.

Makes 2 1/2 quarts.

Now if you can only find frozen shrimp which is most readily available, don't panic as you have two choices.  Simply make shrimp stock, or add clam juice which is available in cans or bottles.  For the clam juice, put 4 cups of juice into a large sauce pan; add 1 tsp fresh thyme and 1 tsp fresh chopped basil.   Start with high heat until bubbles begin to form; reduce to low and let simmer for 30 minutes.  Strain through cheesecloth and the clam stock is now ready to be added to your large stock pot with the water you need to add.

The seafood stock is now ready for creating an indulgent seafood bisque; rich, creamy and full of flavor.

Seafood Bisque

Ingredients:

2 cups seafood stock
2 Tbsp tomato paste
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
4 cups heavy cream
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a large sauce pan, heat the stock, tomato paste and butter on high heat until butter is melted; whisk in flour until completely incorporated.  Continue whisking as the heavy cream is slowly poured into the stock.  Bring liquid to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes.  Add salt and pepper if necessary.

Makes 6 servings.

Now lets add some ravioli and seafood to that bisque and make one heck of a meal.  I like spoiling my husband and myself, so instead of using plain cheese ravioli, I used Buitoni's Shrimp and Lobster Ravioli.  I cooked it according to package directions, but instead of using the garlic butter sauce it comes with, I add the drained pasta to soup bowls and spooned the bisque over it.  I had also purchased medium shrimp which I shelled, deveined, sauteed in butter until just turning pink; added diced tomatoes, diced celery, diced carrot (cooked before hand till just softened) and thyme leaves and finished the shrimp up.  Into the soup bowls this combo all went and wallah: Seafood Bisque with Ravioli and Shrimp.  If you don't want to add the vegetables, that's fine; remember, it's your creation in the long run.

So here's my meal using frozen and canned ingredients; maybe the potential Iron Chefs could do better, but I made mine with love.

Mary Cokenour