The Cranky Yankee October Newsletter
The Secret to Preparing the Perfect Paella
According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, paella is a saffron-flavored dish made with varying combinations of rice, vegetables, meat, chicken and seafood. The Dictionary also explains that in the Old French and Catalan languages, paella means frying pan or pot. The traditional paella pan is flat and of large diameter, it can also have handles on each side.
In fact, paella is one of the most versatile dishes to make. Paella also has the advantage of being great to clean out the fridge and use up leftover meats and vegetables. Any combination will eventually be great the secret is in the chemistry. Paella is a dish that is generally made to feed several people. Moreover, paella is quite flavorful the next day as the tastes have had time to mix together and become stronger.
This is not a recipe but rather an outline that describes the three basic steps to follow to make a wonderful paella while leaving the reader (the chef!) the latitude to be creative and to make the dish their own by customizing it to their taste.
First the rice.
Select a type of rice that you are comfortable using. Feel free to experiment but know that paella contains a lot of ingredients and if you are unhappy with the end result with a particular type of rice, you might end up with a lot of waste. Basmati, brown or a mix with wild rice can add great taste and texture. Follow the instructions on the package with regards to washing and cooking the rice. Finely chop some onion, garlic and tomato. Heat a saucepan and add olive oil once the saucepan is hot (make sure that the oil does not start smoking. Burnt olive oil is carcinogenic and quite unhealthy). Once the oil is hot, throw in the uncooked rice. Frying uncooked rice gives it a nutty taste. Let the rice fry in the saucepan for a minute or so. Add the chopped onion, garlic and tomato until they soften, mixing constantly. Spice with saffron, salt and pepper. Feel free to experiment. Cumin, Cayenne various fine herbs or even a bit cinnamon or cloves can easily be added for a flavoring of your own. This mixture should not be on the stove for more that three to five minutes. At high heat with constant mixing, none of the ingredients should stick but they should mix well together and soften. Once all the ingredients are combined, remove the saucepan from the burner and mix in some frozen peas. Add enough peas to make a well balanced mixture.
Second the meat.
In a frying pan at high heat, brown some pieces of chicken. Upper thighs, drumsticks, breasts...it's all good. Do not cook the meat completely but brown the outside. Once browned, set the meat aside. Lamb can also add great flavor to your paella.
Third combining it all.
Cover the bottom of the paella pan with the uncooked rice mixture. Add the browned chicken pieces on top. Add uncooked Merguez (spicy lamb sausages) and small fish filets rolled up and fastened with a toothpick or string. Use any type of fish but make sure that its flesh will hold well together. Pour some chicken broth on top (if the broth is warm the cooking time will reduce). Note that you can also add wine for more flavor. Cover the paella dish and cook for about 45 minutes at 350F or until the rice is cooked. At this point you can add raw shrimp or muscles and cook uncovered for another five minutes.
In short, the secret to preparing the perfect paella is to make it your own! Basmati rice and wild rice are both lower on the glycemic index than common white rice. Therefore, using one of these will slow down the body's glucose production as well as add flavor to the dish.
Is Fried a Bad Word?
KFC changed its image by retiring the slogan Kentucky FRIED Chicken. Instead, they became known as serving up Kitchen Fresh Chicken. Long are the days of Wesson Oil commercials that proudly encouraged yummy fried chicken for dinner. When was the last time you saw a splatter screen? How about a Fry Daddy? It must be a pretty big sin to eat fried foods these days. Or is it?
Look at the menu at Long John Silvers; nothing but fried foods. Look at any menu for that matter, deep fried beer battered shrimp, fried clams, french fries, fried potatoes, fried eggs. Outback restaurant has the Blooming Onion, that puppy is soaked in oil. Fried Fried Fried.
So perhaps no one is trying to say that fried foods are good for you, but nations sure are indulging in the grease laden foods, especially Americans. Perhaps this isn’t a good time to bring up the Obesity statistics. But here’s the kicker, “It tastes so good!” Granted, some fried foods are just too greasy, but a majority of them just taste delicious. That’s why loads of indulgers treat themselves to a so many artery-closing delicacies!
First there were the french fries, now there are deep fried dill pickles and deep fried Oreos? How did THAT leap happen? Don’t forget deep fried ice cream and deep fried peaches. Of course what menu isn’t complete without the deep fried mushrooms, deep friend cheese sticks, and deep friend cauliflower? Perhaps if you deep fry vegetables, it’s a little healthier? Is that how it works? Or if you deep fry already fattening nibbles, such as ice cream and Oreos, then it doesn’t really matter because you’re already cheating?
Nevertheless it continues. There’s deep fried strawberries, Snickers, potato salad, zucchini, tofu, cheesecake, rice balls, bananas, corn, shrimp, and even deep fried turkey. Product flyers claim the winged bird is “so much juicier when cooked in a deep fryer!” So we got rid of the little table top Fry Daddy and went for the floor model turkey fryer. Umm, ok.
Then there’s the big decision about what kind of oil to use? Olive, peanut, vegetable, canola, lard, butter, margarine or Valvoline 10-40? Certainly don’t forget to check out your saturated fats against your polyunsaturated fats versus the monounsaturated fats.
Maybe you should say fats. Did we ever decide if fried was a bad word? Perchance the better word is Sautéed. Indeed. Sautéed Oreos - much healthier!
Breakfast Recipes
Boiled Egg (from "One Million of the World's Best Recipes" copyright 1990)
The first thing you need is an egg, preferably one which has some relationship
to a chicken. Together with an egg, take some kind of a kettle or pan, and fill
it with water. Milk, coke and tomato juice all work, but they do nasty things to your kettle.
Pour enough water into the pan so it just about covers the egg, so you are not
tempted to reach in and pick up the egg with your newly scalded fingers. Once
the water begins to boil, the difficult part commences. Pay close attention to
this section of the recipe. If you live close to a stop light, you might consider using this as a guide. A good rule of thumb is three red lights and two greens
will boil your egg to perfection. That is unless you live in a place where the
light waits until a car comes along to change, you might then find your egg could become a pet rock instead of a meal. I would suggest from my vast experience that
a good strong three minutes is necessary for a soft boiled egg, especially if you keep a cover on the kettle or pan.
Five minutes would be about right for the medium hard boiled egg, and beyond that
for the hard, hard boiled egg. You are then ready for the crucial moment. Take
the kettle and pour cold water all over your poor egg, continue to do that until
you can pick it up with your finger, unless of course you are wearing rubber
gloves. Now that the egg is completed, you can use it in a variety of ways. The
egg will serve at least one person, unless that person doesn't like eggs, then
it would serve two. I would suggest you do not try to peel a soft boiled egg, but rather smash through it with your knife. Be sure you do this over a plate, because it can be runny. For the more hard boiled eggs you may peel it, unless you wish to paint it for Easter. This egg is especially good with either toast or just coffee, providing you like toast or drink coffee. One suggestion would be to mash it all up, add mayonnaise to it, and Velveeta cheese and then use it on toast. But there are countless ways to use your boiled egg, if only you use some of your creativity. If you follow the above steps, your efforts should be a complete success. Serves 1.
Cranky Yankee Bacon and Eggs:
Tools needed: large skillet, forks, spatula, large spoon.
Ingredients: 4 slices bacon, 2 raw eggs.
Directions: Place bacon in the skillet. If bacon slices separate easily, separate them and lay them out in the pan. If they don't separate easily, put the whole chunk in the pan. Place the pan on a large burner and turn stove to medium (arrow straight down on most electric stoves). If bacon is in one chunk, you can slide the slices apart as the bottom one starts to cook; first the bottom one, then working your way upward as each slice softens as it starts to cook. When the bottom of each slice starts to brown, turn the slice over to cook the other side. The bacon will wrinkle so that portions of the slice are not touching the pan. Press these areas down with your fork to get them to cook. Depending on taste, you can pull them out anytime after most of the fat has been lightly browned. If you want them WELL done, cook a little longer. If you aren't sure, pull out one slice, taste test, and decide from that whether or not to keep them cooking. When bacon is cooked, lay it out on a paper towel (a few layers thick) to drain the grease.
Now you're ready for the eggs. There should be a large amount of bacon grease in
the pan. Crack the eggs and drop one in each side of the pan (so they don't run
together into one big, 2 yolk egg.) As the eggs cook, spoon the hot bacon grease over
them. This cooks the top side of the egg without turning it over. For less grease,
drain the grease before adding the eggs, and cook them at a lower temperature to
keep from burning the bottoms.
Technique Tip: To pick up an egg with a spatula, slip the tip under the edge of
the egg, then wiggle the spatula back and forth while keeping a gentle forward
pressure on it, until the spatula slides completely under the egg. Also works on
pancakes and many other things.
Easy Oatmeal Single Serving
Tools needed: 2 cup microwaveable bowl, spoon
Ingredients: 1/2 cup Quaker Quick Oats, 1 cup water, dash of salt if desired.
Directions: Mix oats, water and salt in the bowl. Place bowl in microwave on HIGH for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Stir. If it's thickening, it's done. If not, give it another 1/2 minute. Microwaves vary enough in power that you'll have to learn by trial and error exactly how much time works best with your oven.
Stovetop method: Heat the water in a small saucepan. When water boils, stir in the
oats. Cook one minute, stirring 3-4 times while cooking. Cover the pan and take it
off the stove. Let it stand about a minute. If it's getting thick, it's done. If not, let it sit a little longer.
Feedback is welcome at: newsletter@crankyyankee.biz
Thanks for subscribing,
Cranky Yankee and Mrs. Cranky
P.S. Blogs available at:
http://crankyyankeesbiz.blogspot.com
http://mrscrankysblog.blogspot.com
http://crankyside.blogspot.com
http://proofreaderscorner.blogspot.com
All are RSS Feed enabled with "Add to MY Yahoo" buttons
According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, paella is a saffron-flavored dish made with varying combinations of rice, vegetables, meat, chicken and seafood. The Dictionary also explains that in the Old French and Catalan languages, paella means frying pan or pot. The traditional paella pan is flat and of large diameter, it can also have handles on each side.
In fact, paella is one of the most versatile dishes to make. Paella also has the advantage of being great to clean out the fridge and use up leftover meats and vegetables. Any combination will eventually be great the secret is in the chemistry. Paella is a dish that is generally made to feed several people. Moreover, paella is quite flavorful the next day as the tastes have had time to mix together and become stronger.
This is not a recipe but rather an outline that describes the three basic steps to follow to make a wonderful paella while leaving the reader (the chef!) the latitude to be creative and to make the dish their own by customizing it to their taste.
First the rice.
Select a type of rice that you are comfortable using. Feel free to experiment but know that paella contains a lot of ingredients and if you are unhappy with the end result with a particular type of rice, you might end up with a lot of waste. Basmati, brown or a mix with wild rice can add great taste and texture. Follow the instructions on the package with regards to washing and cooking the rice. Finely chop some onion, garlic and tomato. Heat a saucepan and add olive oil once the saucepan is hot (make sure that the oil does not start smoking. Burnt olive oil is carcinogenic and quite unhealthy). Once the oil is hot, throw in the uncooked rice. Frying uncooked rice gives it a nutty taste. Let the rice fry in the saucepan for a minute or so. Add the chopped onion, garlic and tomato until they soften, mixing constantly. Spice with saffron, salt and pepper. Feel free to experiment. Cumin, Cayenne various fine herbs or even a bit cinnamon or cloves can easily be added for a flavoring of your own. This mixture should not be on the stove for more that three to five minutes. At high heat with constant mixing, none of the ingredients should stick but they should mix well together and soften. Once all the ingredients are combined, remove the saucepan from the burner and mix in some frozen peas. Add enough peas to make a well balanced mixture.
Second the meat.
In a frying pan at high heat, brown some pieces of chicken. Upper thighs, drumsticks, breasts...it's all good. Do not cook the meat completely but brown the outside. Once browned, set the meat aside. Lamb can also add great flavor to your paella.
Third combining it all.
Cover the bottom of the paella pan with the uncooked rice mixture. Add the browned chicken pieces on top. Add uncooked Merguez (spicy lamb sausages) and small fish filets rolled up and fastened with a toothpick or string. Use any type of fish but make sure that its flesh will hold well together. Pour some chicken broth on top (if the broth is warm the cooking time will reduce). Note that you can also add wine for more flavor. Cover the paella dish and cook for about 45 minutes at 350F or until the rice is cooked. At this point you can add raw shrimp or muscles and cook uncovered for another five minutes.
In short, the secret to preparing the perfect paella is to make it your own! Basmati rice and wild rice are both lower on the glycemic index than common white rice. Therefore, using one of these will slow down the body's glucose production as well as add flavor to the dish.
Is Fried a Bad Word?
KFC changed its image by retiring the slogan Kentucky FRIED Chicken. Instead, they became known as serving up Kitchen Fresh Chicken. Long are the days of Wesson Oil commercials that proudly encouraged yummy fried chicken for dinner. When was the last time you saw a splatter screen? How about a Fry Daddy? It must be a pretty big sin to eat fried foods these days. Or is it?
Look at the menu at Long John Silvers; nothing but fried foods. Look at any menu for that matter, deep fried beer battered shrimp, fried clams, french fries, fried potatoes, fried eggs. Outback restaurant has the Blooming Onion, that puppy is soaked in oil. Fried Fried Fried.
So perhaps no one is trying to say that fried foods are good for you, but nations sure are indulging in the grease laden foods, especially Americans. Perhaps this isn’t a good time to bring up the Obesity statistics. But here’s the kicker, “It tastes so good!” Granted, some fried foods are just too greasy, but a majority of them just taste delicious. That’s why loads of indulgers treat themselves to a so many artery-closing delicacies!
First there were the french fries, now there are deep fried dill pickles and deep fried Oreos? How did THAT leap happen? Don’t forget deep fried ice cream and deep fried peaches. Of course what menu isn’t complete without the deep fried mushrooms, deep friend cheese sticks, and deep friend cauliflower? Perhaps if you deep fry vegetables, it’s a little healthier? Is that how it works? Or if you deep fry already fattening nibbles, such as ice cream and Oreos, then it doesn’t really matter because you’re already cheating?
Nevertheless it continues. There’s deep fried strawberries, Snickers, potato salad, zucchini, tofu, cheesecake, rice balls, bananas, corn, shrimp, and even deep fried turkey. Product flyers claim the winged bird is “so much juicier when cooked in a deep fryer!” So we got rid of the little table top Fry Daddy and went for the floor model turkey fryer. Umm, ok.
Then there’s the big decision about what kind of oil to use? Olive, peanut, vegetable, canola, lard, butter, margarine or Valvoline 10-40? Certainly don’t forget to check out your saturated fats against your polyunsaturated fats versus the monounsaturated fats.
Maybe you should say fats. Did we ever decide if fried was a bad word? Perchance the better word is Sautéed. Indeed. Sautéed Oreos - much healthier!
Breakfast Recipes
Boiled Egg (from "One Million of the World's Best Recipes" copyright 1990)
The first thing you need is an egg, preferably one which has some relationship
to a chicken. Together with an egg, take some kind of a kettle or pan, and fill
it with water. Milk, coke and tomato juice all work, but they do nasty things to your kettle.
Pour enough water into the pan so it just about covers the egg, so you are not
tempted to reach in and pick up the egg with your newly scalded fingers. Once
the water begins to boil, the difficult part commences. Pay close attention to
this section of the recipe. If you live close to a stop light, you might consider using this as a guide. A good rule of thumb is three red lights and two greens
will boil your egg to perfection. That is unless you live in a place where the
light waits until a car comes along to change, you might then find your egg could become a pet rock instead of a meal. I would suggest from my vast experience that
a good strong three minutes is necessary for a soft boiled egg, especially if you keep a cover on the kettle or pan.
Five minutes would be about right for the medium hard boiled egg, and beyond that
for the hard, hard boiled egg. You are then ready for the crucial moment. Take
the kettle and pour cold water all over your poor egg, continue to do that until
you can pick it up with your finger, unless of course you are wearing rubber
gloves. Now that the egg is completed, you can use it in a variety of ways. The
egg will serve at least one person, unless that person doesn't like eggs, then
it would serve two. I would suggest you do not try to peel a soft boiled egg, but rather smash through it with your knife. Be sure you do this over a plate, because it can be runny. For the more hard boiled eggs you may peel it, unless you wish to paint it for Easter. This egg is especially good with either toast or just coffee, providing you like toast or drink coffee. One suggestion would be to mash it all up, add mayonnaise to it, and Velveeta cheese and then use it on toast. But there are countless ways to use your boiled egg, if only you use some of your creativity. If you follow the above steps, your efforts should be a complete success. Serves 1.
Cranky Yankee Bacon and Eggs:
Tools needed: large skillet, forks, spatula, large spoon.
Ingredients: 4 slices bacon, 2 raw eggs.
Directions: Place bacon in the skillet. If bacon slices separate easily, separate them and lay them out in the pan. If they don't separate easily, put the whole chunk in the pan. Place the pan on a large burner and turn stove to medium (arrow straight down on most electric stoves). If bacon is in one chunk, you can slide the slices apart as the bottom one starts to cook; first the bottom one, then working your way upward as each slice softens as it starts to cook. When the bottom of each slice starts to brown, turn the slice over to cook the other side. The bacon will wrinkle so that portions of the slice are not touching the pan. Press these areas down with your fork to get them to cook. Depending on taste, you can pull them out anytime after most of the fat has been lightly browned. If you want them WELL done, cook a little longer. If you aren't sure, pull out one slice, taste test, and decide from that whether or not to keep them cooking. When bacon is cooked, lay it out on a paper towel (a few layers thick) to drain the grease.
Now you're ready for the eggs. There should be a large amount of bacon grease in
the pan. Crack the eggs and drop one in each side of the pan (so they don't run
together into one big, 2 yolk egg.) As the eggs cook, spoon the hot bacon grease over
them. This cooks the top side of the egg without turning it over. For less grease,
drain the grease before adding the eggs, and cook them at a lower temperature to
keep from burning the bottoms.
Technique Tip: To pick up an egg with a spatula, slip the tip under the edge of
the egg, then wiggle the spatula back and forth while keeping a gentle forward
pressure on it, until the spatula slides completely under the egg. Also works on
pancakes and many other things.
Easy Oatmeal Single Serving
Tools needed: 2 cup microwaveable bowl, spoon
Ingredients: 1/2 cup Quaker Quick Oats, 1 cup water, dash of salt if desired.
Directions: Mix oats, water and salt in the bowl. Place bowl in microwave on HIGH for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Stir. If it's thickening, it's done. If not, give it another 1/2 minute. Microwaves vary enough in power that you'll have to learn by trial and error exactly how much time works best with your oven.
Stovetop method: Heat the water in a small saucepan. When water boils, stir in the
oats. Cook one minute, stirring 3-4 times while cooking. Cover the pan and take it
off the stove. Let it stand about a minute. If it's getting thick, it's done. If not, let it sit a little longer.
Feedback is welcome at: newsletter@crankyyankee.biz
Thanks for subscribing,
Cranky Yankee and Mrs. Cranky
P.S. Blogs available at:
http://crankyyankeesbiz.blogspot.com
http://mrscrankysblog.blogspot.com
http://crankyside.blogspot.com
http://proofreaderscorner.blogspot.com
All are RSS Feed enabled with "Add to MY Yahoo" buttons
posted by Mrs.Cranky Yankee @ 10:50 AM
2 comments
