It’s no secret that we all spend a great deal of time in our kitchens, either by choice or necessity.

And that time can be either a pleasure or a curse depending on how much we enjoy cooking or how well our home kitchens are equipped.

Having said that, while it truly is a blessing to have a fantastic range or the state of the art kitchen appliances, making your kitchen a more enjoyable place to cook isn’t always about the expensive “metal boxes” that make things hot and keep things cold. Sometimes, rather inexpensive accessories and tools can add greatly to your enjoyment of cooking or minimally, make it less of a chore.

Not all of my suggestions can work for everyone or every space; certainly you have to be mindful of small children, pets and whatever size constraints you may have in your own kitchen.

Here are some suggestions:

Edit, discard or donate.

Tons of space may be taken up by things in your cupboards that you’ve never used and probably never will. From wedding gifts to impulsive QVC gizmo’s, get rid of stuff you’ve never or will never use. Donate it and you’ll win twice.

Consider hanging things up in clear view. Nothing is as aggravating as rummaging through a poorly lit, cluttered kitchen cabinet on your hands and knees to find a pot, pan or bowl. Hanging some of your most used pots, pans or devices in plain view can be a decorative and interesting addition to your kitchen.

Music in the kitchen. With today’s access to tunes and even wireless speaker technology (I love my Sonos ® wireless system) singing and dancing your way through a casserole recipe has never been more easily done.

Rugs or at least some anti-fatigue flooring can relieve the stress and put a spring in your step as you move about. Keeping your feet and back happy in the kitchen is an important key to enjoying your time there.

My “Secret” kitchen weapons for creating kitchen efficiency and beating the clock to dinner.

• A good quality, sharp knife (you hear this over and over again by the “pros” and there’s a reason why. It’s the most valuable investment you can make.
• Knife Magnet Strip. If you don’t have small kids or pets on the counter, a wall mounted magnetic knife strip is about as convenient as it gets. And it’s decorative.
• Large mixing bowls. Everyone seems to have small and medium size bowls and it’s aggravating when you’re tossing or mixing something of a larger size.
• More is better. It’s a waste of time to continually be washing and cleaning your only whisk, rubber spatula or ladle. Consider a crock with NOTHING but colorful spatulas and spoons of different sizes and colors and keep plenty of cooking tongs, ladles and whisks in another. Like a bouquet of flowers, they’ll brighten up your kitchen and your outlook on cooking.
• A BIG cutting board. It’s impossible to keep most chopping or cutting projects on the cutting boards most people keep in their kitchens. A board of at least 18” x 24” is a must! And if you buy a nice one, it can also be a decorative accessory to your kitchen counter.
• Have seasoning salt and a good peppermill out on the counter and adjacent to where you cook. It saves time and looks like you mean business!
• And as for clean-up and storage, I’m personally in favor of 18” wide commercial grade plastic film and foil. It’s a one step, never miss, always have enough coverage over nearly anything you need to wrap, wrap.
• Zip Loc containers. 1 Quart size. I love, love, love these containers and should have bought stock in the company years ago. No doubt, they’ve made money from me.
• Lastly, if you can afford it, treat yourself to some decent cookware but that’s for another time, and another blog.

What are your all time favorite home kitchen gadgets and time savings devices?

Summer is just around the corner, the kids will be out of school and for all you Moms that means you’ll have your hands full keeping your kids busy, well fed and entertained.

I’ve got a “cool” culinary trick that can do all three!

One of my Pastry Chef’s at the Culinary Institute taught me this “chef secret” and it has come in handy over and over again. It’s kind of a pseudo recipe and science experiment all rolled into one.

The “trick” is how you can make great sorbet / granité or popsicles without a recipe.

You do need one important “food” tool though and ironically, it isn’t even an ingredient in the recipe!

The tool is…..an egg.

An uncooked, in the shell egg, (Extra large is best.)

Start by taking any flavored liquid at room temperature. This could be orange juice, Hawaiian Punch, Grape Juice or even chocolate syrup in water. The first part is coming up with a good solid, strong flavor that you like. Don’t worry about the sweetness…that will come next.

One of the most important keys of a sorbet, granité (which is a coarser sorbet ice, almost like a combination snow and shaved ice), and a Popsicle is that it ISN’T an ice cube. If it’s a Popsicle, it has softness to the bite and if it’s s sorbet, it churns or rakes into a soft, scoop-able confection.

What does that is the percentage of sugar in the liquid. Too much and it doesn’t freeze firmly, too little and it turns into a rock like ice cube.

Just like Goldie Locks, it can’t be too firm or soft, but JUST right!

What’s just right??

Between 31 & 33% Brix….(warning….science ahead)

You may have heard of the word Brix, it’s used a lot in industries that have to measure the amount of sugar in liquids. Wine makers use a device called a Brix Hydrometer to measure the amount of sugar in grape juice to know JUST when to harvest them. Other industries use this same device for similar reasons.

What a Brix refractometer does is refract light coming in one side of the lens, onto a scale of numbers which indicates the density of the water’s sugar concentration. Technically, one degree Brix is equal to 1 gram of sucrose in 100 grams of solution….but you don’t really need to know that.

Anyway, as it turns out, 31 to 33 % Brix, is just perfect for our “sweet little project”.

Of course, you and I don’t have one of these devices in our kitchen….and I’d be amazed if you did.

So, we’ll use the “cool trick” to do the job instead.

Take your (room temperature) flavored liquid and pour it into a tall jar or vessel so that:

        a) It is at least 4” deep

b) You have at least another few inches to add more sugar if necessary.

c) You can fit a whisk into the container to stir the sugar into the liquid.

Next, take a raw egg, in the shell, and carefully place it into the liquid. More than likely, it will immediately drop to or casually float to the bottom of the container.

Remove the egg and begin to add granulated sugar while whisking it in. As you add more sugar, occasionally re-test the sweetness (density) of the liquid with the egg (being careful not to crack the shell).

Eventually, as you add sugar, the egg will begin to rise an eventually float wide end up.

Continue to add and adjust the sugar content of the liquid until the area of the egg exposed above the surface of the liquid is the size of a U.S. Quarter.

Ta Da!!!!!  You now have approximately 31 to 33 % Brix.

If you want to make Popsicles, just pour the mixture into small Dixie cups and place in the freezer. When the mixture begins to form a frozen crust on the top, insert a Popsicle stick and allow to fully freeze. If you want to make sorbet, just churn in an ice cream machine as if it were ice cream.

Making granité is probably the easiest. Just pour the mixture in a shallow casserole dish and place in the freezer. Every 10 to 15 minutes or so, open the freezer and rake the mixture with a dinner fork. Continue to do so until the mixture begins to be slushy then eventually like snow. Once finished, you can transfer the granité into a pre-frozen lidded freezer container and scoop as you would ice cream for a refreshing treat and one your kids will enjoy even more if they learned this “cool trick” and brag about it to their friends.

Back in the not too distant past, if someone in the kitchen said they had just gotten a new “App”…it was certain they meant Appliance, of course, now they mean “Application”.

And honestly, more and more, I’m beginning to wonder which is more important?

In my culinary school days, we learned our new recipes in books and techniques, at the foot of our chefs who we emulated with adoration (and sometimes fear). Many a recipe were hastily written by apprentices on anything you could get your hands on when the “Chef” was in his or her “creative mood”, cuz you never knew when the next “masterpiece” might emote. And once a chef got it right, had something really special, something that was sure to become standard fare, that was it. It you weren’t paying attention, taking copious notes from a distance, well? That was it, you had your chance. It’s likely the chef would either file it away in their heads or write it in a private journal that you were never going to see.

Back then, Chefs didn’t share. Many would even reluctantly give out a recipe to one of their own cooks who had to make the dish for a customer! And as a cook, you had to stay a LONG time in one place, to even scape the surface of your Chef’s knowledge bank.

And then came Julia Child, The Galloping Gourmet, Jacque Pepin, and finally, The Food Network. Chefs went from tolerated to respected, admired and then to celebrities almost overnight.

For almost 2 decades, there was a proliferation of cookbooks. Every Chef who donned an apron either did or wanted to write one.

Writing a cookbook was a status symbol. Part of the resume of any chef worth his “salt”.

And Chefs started parting with their “cherished” recipes in droves. Recipes could now make money “twice”. Besides, the creative ones could write recipes only “similar” to their restaurant counterparts. And they know, what I know, which is that few cookbook readers would ever take the time to make a recipe like they do in their professional realm.

Recipes requiring long reductions, hard to source ingredients, complicated techniques, multiple steps and mostly…time.

So for the most part, Chefs still share their recipes, but in most cases, they’re modified for the “masses”. I’ll call them “Recipe Lite”….Most of the flavor, ½ the work.

Now….now we have Apps and recipes are being recycled once more for a waiting audience of Culinauts, albeit a slightly younger crowd.

But more than recipes, the buyers of Android phones, Iphones and Ipads are a peculiar crowd. They might be more inclined to use a culinary oriented App more to know what’s in something, make a special “once in a while dish” or to settle the bet of who Caesar Salad is named after, than to find an every day recipe.

In fact, one of the most popular food oriented Apps is where to find a good restaurant! Or ANY restaurant for that matter.

Yep, the big GPS in the sky knows right where you are and how many feet you are away from a McDonalds, Applebees, Outback or any restaurant category from Asian to Vegetarian, and from fast food to haute food.

You’re never more than a “click” away from “Cuisinarama” or some other slick culinary App.

Some are indeed cookbook Apps, (you never know when you’ll need a 4^th new recipe for chili or decide that you REALLY are going to brine a turkey this year). Most of mine aren’t.

I’ve got my favorites and ALL are on my Iphone and Ipad. Most are free, but if you travel, enjoy cooking or just want to know where the nearest Taco Bell is at 3:00 am while you’re tooling home from the Casino, some of these Apps can really come in handy.

Don’t hold me to their usefulness but if you try and use any of these, I’d like to get your opinion? Or maybe you have one you’d like to share? Bring it on!!

Zagat                       Best Restaurant Guide on the Planet

Open Table              Restaurant locator + you can make reservations

Finder Restaurant    Says it all

MFG Lite                  Just a UK thing but when I travel to England, luv it!

Fast Food                Got the munchies?  Look no further

Where to Eat           Restaurant locator

Epicurious                Recipes, Videos and more.

CIA                          The Culinary Institute of America App.

Grocery IQ               Love this grocery list App, you might too!

Nino’s Deli 1,2,3      Nino’s deli meats and Sushi right from your phone!

Seafood Watch        Love fish? This is the Holy Grail of knowledge.

Recipe Grazer          A decent recipe

Pocket Chef             A totally stupid game….but what the??

Food Spotting          New one, still trying to figure this one out?

Again, there are literally hundreds if not thousands more, let me know what you think of these and share your stories!

Recently, I was cleaning out my office and came across an album of articles I once wrote for a small syndication of newspapers WAY back in the day….SO way back that many of the articles  were Canary  yellow and when I looked at my column’s by-line  picture I actually had hair on my head!

And that’s the way it was, Thursday, October 27^th, 1983 as Walter Cronkite might have said.

Back then, I was teaching Culinary Arts at Monroe Community College, 3 years before Opus One opened and more than a decade before my work at Epoch Restaurant Group.

Restaurants…phew!…now there’s a way to lose some hair.

The article was about En Papillote…(cooking “in Paper” pronounced N- poppy-yote,) which is an old cooking method very well suited to cooking fish, which with Lent fast approaching was I thought quite ironic.

So, I took the article out of its protective sleeve, read it and thought I’d share with you some of the high-lights…And forgive me if I plagiarize some of my own work here…I’m allowed.

Bottom line is, that we’ve all been so accustomed to cooking in fry pans, casserole dishes or earthenware pots, that cooking something in paper seems completely foreign….(and of course, you’d be right since it is really a French creation…)

But cooking in paper can be a very delicious and nutritious way to prepare and enjoy fish since the flavor, juices and nutrients are locked in the paper pouch. 

What you’re really doing is kind of “steam baking” in an enclosed container.

It’s also a pretty impressive presentation if you do it right because the steam created by the moisture and or vegetables in the paper pouch inflate the paper and create sort of a “Jiffy Pop’® like dome. You then present the pouch, on a serving plate, with the fish still inside. When the diner opens the package, the steam, aromas and the melded flavors are remarkable.

So, how do you pull off this “fish magic”?

Actually, it’s pretty easy, and kind of fun.

Follow me.

1. We’ll use salmon. It doesn’t matter whether it’s skin on or off, your choice, but select a boneless fillet of about 6 to 8 ounces (a panel that will be about 3” x 4” and an inch thick)
2. Next, choose some vegetables you like, cut them julienne and for every piece of salmon, you’ll need about a half cup.
3. Let’s also add a pat of butter and a small splash of white wine of lemon juice to each portion.
4. And of course salt and pepper. Any other seasonings, dill, garlic, etc. are up to you.
5. For the paper, you’ve got some choices. You can actually use an un-printed brown paper bag but I wouldn’t recommend it. When someone mentions that they Brown Bagged it, this isn’t what they meant. Instead, purchased some large sheets of Parchment Paper, the kind used for baking, alternatively, just so’sya know,  this recipe can be very successfully prepared using aluminum foil but I personally think the results look like cross between Jiffy Pop® and a TV dinner.
6. Ok, we’re ready to begin. Pre-heat your oven to 425 F and have a cookie sheet available to place your pouches on,
7. Here’s the easiest part to do but the hardest one to describe. In the end, you’ll want a LARGE, wide heart shape. The easiest way to do that is to take the fully opened parchment paper and fold it in half (like a newspaper) then cut a large semi-circle shape looking like half a heart. Open the paper up once again to reveal your heart shape.
8. Place the opened up heart on a flat surface and spray the entire surface with vegetable cooking spray.
9. For explanation purposes, orient the paper so that the point of the heart is facing toward you, Place a bed of the vegetables in the middle of right hand side “lobe” of the heart, then place the fish fillet, the pat of butter and any seasoning on top of that.
10. Finally, add a TBSP of wine or lemon juice.
11. Fold the left hand lobe of the paper over to the right hand side and as much as possible have the two lobes match up.
12. Starting at the top of the lobe, and working down toward the tip, pinch together both pieces of paper at the edge and fold them over (together) in a one inch flap facing upward (not under).
13. Holding that sealed flap in place, continue creating 1 inch flaps, one overlapping the other, to create a sealed edge. When you reach the bottom, tuck the last flap under. (You can even staple it if you want but keep track of that staple!
14. Prepare each portion the same way, placing each one on the cookie sheet.
15. Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until the pouches have popped (which indicates the steam has done its thing.
16. When you remove the pouches from the oven, plate each on its own service plate and be prepared to eat immediately!
17. When you open the pouch you’ll find that the juices from the fish combined with the vegetables, butter and wine or lemon juice as created a wonderful sauce!

There you have it!  It’s a classic, it’s fun and it’s delicious.  You can even use this same method for shellfish (Shrimp,  Scallops& Lobster).

And you can now “cook your way out of a paper bag”…

Alert…Alert…Whoop…Whoop…Attention, Attention…this is not a drill!  For those of you just arriving on the planet, Mayonnaise and Miracle Whip Dressing® are NOT the same thing…

Ok…perhaps I’m being a bit over dramatic…

Perhaps…

And let me also say that I’m certain you’re personally well informed about this topic. BUT….if you happen to run across anyone who looks completely confused in the salad dressing aisle please be courteous. No telling what they use on their planet….they need our help.

I’ll keep it simple so you can help them (…Aliens have a notoriously short attention span)…

Mayonnaise (by definition) is an UNCOOKED or lightly pasteurized egg emulsion with lots and lots of oil and a bit of lemon juice. Add a pinch of salt and seasonings and you’re done. Eggs and oil….that’s about it. If you like Hollandaise sauce, it’s pretty much the same thing, except Hollandaise is cooked.

Having said that, Hellman’s® brand mayonnaise is a bit more of a “commercial style” mayonnaise using soybean oil and adding water (water is its second most prevalent ingredient by weight) to the eggs which is why Hellman’s® mayonnaise is a light cream color while most homemade mayonnaises are a light golden color. Good news though…it’s gluten free!

Miracle Whip Dressing® on the other hand is, simply put, a COOKED pudding with lots of liquids (by the way, water is its 1^st ingredient by weight) with some oil, lots of sugar, cornstarch to thicken (like a pudding) a little bit of egg, and some salt and flavorings. The good news? Miracle Whip Dressing® (because of all the water) is half the calories of mayonnaise…(..I guess that’s good news??…Right??)

They look somewhat alike….oh, who am I kidding…, they look EXACTLY alike, are used in similar ways, but taste rather different and are made completely different from one another.

Both are technically “Salad Dressings”, Miracle Whip® is just their “unique version” of one.

I wouldn’t recommend you try and make your own version of Kraft’s Miracle Whip® dressing. I’ve tried. It’s hard to even come close. I think the original recipe is buried in a time capsule somewhere under N.O.R.A.D., along with Coca Cola’s and the Colonel’s spices. 

You can make your own mayonnaise however, and it’s not that hard.

Should you?? Well? That’s an interesting question.

My personal answer is yes…and no.

On the plus side is that if you make your own mayonnaise, you can control what’s in it. First, you can use a type of oil that suits your tastes or one with better “health” properties. You can also personally control the content of acidity, salt etc…Based on that alone, yes, if you have the time, and could promise yourself to use all that you make in less than a week, by all means, go for it!!

On the negative side (in my mind) are more trade-offs and possible issues than there are benefits on the plus side.

They are:

1. Mayonnaise requires RAW egg yolks so unless you are buying pasteurized ones, you may be providing bacteria THE perfect breeding ground. And the eggs should be very fresh….not ones that may have been in the fridge for weeks.

2. You MUST ensure a very sterile environment. That is, all utensils, the food processor AND the container you store it in all must be very well sanitized. Every time!

3. And as I mentioned above, are you prepared to use what may be a minimum of 1+ cup within a week? If you’re only going to use 2 tablespoons to spread on a sandwich twice a week it hardly makes sense to make a cup of it?

4. If you like the taste of let’s say Hellman’s®, don’t think that what you’ll make will taste that way, likely it won’t. Be prepared to embark on a new taste profile.

5. For health purposes, in my mind, the greater gain is in quality bread or the other 95% of this dish. A quality mayonnaise is still 85%+ fat no matter how you slice it. Fat is 9 calories per gram. Period!

But, if you like cooking, would enjoy the opportunity to make it at home, below is THE standard recipe. It can be tweaked to suit your tastes.

Homemade Mayonnaise

Make about 1 cup

Ingredients:

1 large             Egg Yolk, room temperature

1/8 tsp             Kosher Salt, plus more to taste

1 TBSP            Lemon Juice, plus more to taste

1/2 tsp             Dijon mustard

3/4 Cup            Vegetable Oil, I’d recommend Canola

Directions:

1.Place the egg yolk and salt in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the lemon juice and mustard; blend well. With the motor running, add the oil, drop by drop. This will take a few minutes. Don’t rush it or the mayonnaise may “break,” meaning the oil will separate from the egg. (Note: If your food processor has a small hole in the feed-tube pusher, pour the oil in there and let it drip through.)

2.Once you’ve added the oil, sample the mayo and add more salt or lemon juice to taste. Cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Stir before spreading.

Vanilla Beans

Vanilla gets a pretty bad wrap when it comes to getting its “props” for flavor and originality…

When someone’s ordinary, when nothing’s remarkable, if something lacks imagination or is completely predictable, it’s often called  ”vanilla”, or “that’s pretty vanilla”, “how vanilla!”….

Yet, Pure Vanilla gives us one of the most complex tastes in the world, having well over 250 organic components creating its unique flavor and aroma.

As a chef, I’m often asked what type of Vanilla I use in my baking? In reality, beyond my personal tastes (and budget) there are rhymes and reason to my final choices. Sometimes its intended use, sometimes taste and occasionally it’s a purely economic choice. They’re all valid.

For example, an imitation vanilla is perfectly acceptable when it’s in the recipe as a background flavor….Chocolate Brownies for instance. But, when the flavor of the recipe IS Vanilla, (Ice Cream, Panna Cotta, Crème Brulee) buy the best you can afford, and buy a flavor you like.

Originally, everyone used vanilla beans when baking. Actually, vanilla extract has been commercially available for a little more than a hundred years. The first extracts were made at drug store-like shops and were more like syrup. It was very strong, very sweet and often used to calm upset stomachs more than to bake cookies.

So, how do you decide which vanilla to buy? Your choices up until now may have been whatever the recipe says to use?

The following list explains more about the products on the shelf. You may want to experiment some to decide which appeals to you.

Pure Vanilla Extract

There are about 150 varieties of vanilla beans, though only two are used commercially–Bourbon and Tahitian. Vanilla extract is made by percolating or soaking chopped vanilla beans with ethyl alcohol and water…like making tea. The process is usually kept as cool as possible and usually takes anywhere from 2 days to a week before being filtered into a holding tank where the amber-colored liquid extract remains until being bottled. The Food and Drug Administration requires a minimum of 13.35 ounces of vanilla beans to a gallon liquid which must be a minimum of 35% alcohol to 65% water. It can have more than 35% alcohol but not less.

The extract may also contain sugar, corn syrup, caramel, colors, or stabilizers but all ingredients must be on the label even though their percentages need not be listed.

Vanilla extracts continue to develop additional flavor and character for a couple of years after bottling. Some manufacturers actually hold back their bottled extracts from the market for a year or so to ensure the flavor is well developed. Once purchased by you and me they will keep almost indefinitely as long as they’re stored in a cool dark place such as a pantry or cupboard that’s away from the stove or bright sun. Refrigeration is not recommended.

Comparing extract quality is a lot like comparing many carefully crafted and aged beverages. Like wines and some alcohols, there’s a big difference between “swill” and a quality product.

Part of the difference is starting with a quality raw product, then technically sound and experienced artisans using minimal additives and then, perhaps some aging.

Not all vanilla extracts are destined for recipe greatness.

Varieties of Pure Vanilla Extracts

Mexican Vanilla is a very smooth, creamy, spicy vanilla. It’s especially good in desserts made without heat or with a short cooking time. Dark chocolate, cream desserts, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, ethnic foods, wild game, poultry or meat, all benefit from Mexican vanilla.

Bourbon Vanilla originated in Mexico, vanilla’s birthplace, but cuttings were taken to other tropical countries beginning in the 1700s. In the 1800s, the French developed large plantations known then as the Ile de Bourbon, which is how the name Bourbon came into being. Although vanilla extract is high in alcohol content, it is not made from Bourbon whiskey. (We carry whole, Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans at Nino’s).

Bourbon and Mexican vanillas have the familiar natural vanillin flavor that we associate with vanilla ice cream and other vanilla-flavored desserts and beverages. Use Bourbon vanilla in baked goods, ice cream and anything where a traditional vanilla flavor is desired.

Indonesian Vanilla Depending on how Indonesian vanilla is cured and dried, it can be much like Bourbon vanilla, or it can have very distinctive differences.

Frequently Indonesian vanilla is blended with Bourbon vanilla to create a signature flavor. Indonesian vanilla tends to hold up well in high heat, so anything slow-baked or exposed to high heat (i.e. cookies), benefits from Indonesian vanilla. Indonesian vanilla is also quite good with chocolate as its flavor overrides the sweetness of chocolate and gives it a beneficial flavor-boost. Chocolate’s popularity is due, in part, from the sparkle it receives from other flavors as it tends to be somewhat dull on its own.

Tahitian Vanilla Comes from Mexican vanilla stock that was taken to Tahiti. Somehow it mutated, possibly in the wild. It is now classified as a separate species as it’s considerably different in appearance and flavor from Bourbon vanilla.

Tahitian vanilla is sweeter and fruitier and has less natural vanillin than Bourbon and Mexican vanilla. Instead, it contains a property unique to its species which gives it a more cherry-like, licorice, or raisiny taste. It has a very floral fragrance, the bean is fatter and moister than Bourbon vanilla, and contains fewer seeds inside its pod. Tahitian is especially nice in fruit compotes and desserts, as well as in sauces for poultry, seafood and wild game.

Because all vanilla beans are very labor-intensive to harvest, vanilla is expensive. In order of expense, Tahitian vanilla is nearly always at the top with Bourbon next and other generic Mexican vanillas toward the bottom.

Natural Vanilla Flavor

People who prefer not to use an alcohol-based extract can substitute natural vanilla flavor found in natural and specialty food stores and some supermarkets. It usually is made with a glycerin or a propylene glycol base. Although the flavor comes from vanilla beans, it doesn’t fit the FDA profile for extracts, so it must legally be called natural vanilla flavor.

Imitation Vanilla (We have it at Nino’s)

Imitation vanilla is a mixture made from synthetic substances, which imitate part of the natural vanilla smell and flavor. Imitation vanilla in the United States comes from synthetic vanillin, which mimics the flavor of natural vanillin, one of the components that give vanilla its extraordinary bouquet.

The two most common sources for synthetic vanillin have been Lignin Vanillin, a by-product of the paper industry, which has been chemically treated to resemble the taste of pure vanilla extract, and Ethyl Vanillin, which is a coal-tar derivative and frequently far stronger than either Lignin Vanillin or pure vanilla.

Ground Vanilla Beans (We have it at Nino’s)

Vanilla beans ground to a fine powder are sometimes confused with vanilla powder. Ground vanilla beans are sometimes used in commercial and industrial products. Ground vanilla is absolutely exquisite in food. Because it isn’t in an alcohol carrier, you won’t lose flavor when you cook or bake with it. As a result, you can use about half the amount of beans as extract.

Vanilla Powder (We have it at Nino’s)

There are several types of vanilla powders commercially available. Most are sugars that have been sprayed with vanilla extract; they’re good for putting into beverages and sprinkling on finished foods such as toast, cakes or desserts.

Vanilla Strengths

Vanilla flavor strength is measured and then indicated by the word “Fold”. Single Fold, Double Fold, etc. Single fold (written 1x) is the standard concentrate of pure vanilla extract. Double fold (2x) is twice as strong, and so forth. Concentrations can go up to 20-fold, but the extract isn’t real stable above four-fold.

Vanilla Paste (We have it at Nino’s)

Vanilla paste is a sweet concentrated vanilla extract that has the vanilla bean seeds included in the mix. It is very useful in cooking when you don’t want to add much additional liquid.

Vanilla Absolute

Vanilla absolute is the most concentrated form of vanilla. It is often used in perfumes and other aroma-based products. Because it’s so expensive, most candles, soaps, and other scented specialty merchandise, are made from synthetic vanillin. Vanilla Absolute is used in very high-end products in small quantities, often mixed with other fragrances in perfumes, for instance.

Want to make you own Vanilla Extract?? It’s simple!!

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Makes 2 Cups (for under $10.00!!)

2                                      Whole Vanilla Beans

1 ½ Cups                         Mild Brandy or Light Rum

½  Cup                             Water

1 Cup                               Granulated Sugar

1. In a 3-cup glass container with a tight-fitting lid, combine the vanilla beans with the brandy or rum.
2. Cap and allow to stand at room temperature 3 weeks.
3. Remove the beans and strain liquid through a double layer of cheesecloth into a bowl, if necessary.
4. In a medium saucepan, combine the water and sugar over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and cool. Stir into vanilla mixture. Pour mixture into a bottle; cap and allow to stand at room temperature 1 month.

Every so often, I think back to my younger days at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY.

MUCH younger….

Back in the fall of 1972, the newly relocated Hyde Park campus of the C.I.A. (as it is more often called), was still in the process of taking the wraps off the campus’ gleaming, state of the art kitchens and bakeries while the school’s first crop of fledgling chefs arrived.

It wouldn’t be long before the smell of newly paved asphalt drives, and freshly laid carpet and quarry tile floors would replaced by the heady perfume of roasted meats, savory soups and fresh baked breads prepared by legions of white hatted students armed with knives and steels.

In those first few days, even before the kitchen’s first stove was lit and sauce was made, there was business to attend to. And with almost military like precision, in a very orderly way, students lined up in long hallways, by groups and name, to receive their school supplies.

Text books, knife kits, 3 sets of uniforms and other essentials were systematically added to the growing tower of supplies as each student progressed down one hall and then another trying to balance their loads.

For those of us with 3rd floor dorm rooms, the task of returning to your room with all these supplies in tack was particularly daunting as the floors of what was once a Jesuit Monastery were creosote polished wood. And what wasn’t wood was well worn, well clefted slate.

But I did make it, and without an accident.

I remembered one book was particularly heavy. Actually, it was so big and so heavy it made a great platform to stack everything else on during the forced march.

It was called, and still is called, The Professional Chef.

The bible, (quite appropriate for the location) of the Culinary Institute of America.

I sat down on my tiny dorm room bed and opened it with all the anticipation of a present. And as I turned page after page of long recipes, colored pictures, charts and endless directions I distinctly remember my room mate saying…”yeah, we’ve got to memorize this thing”…

I thought he was joking…

…he wasn’t.

Today the Professional Chef…or “Pro Chef” as it is more commonly referred to as, is in its 9th Edition…I think my original text in 1972 is a 3rd Edition? What it contains is nearly everything. Or at least that’s what it seemed like when I was a student. From soups and sauces to well???…I could go on, and on, and on…

I toted that poor book around for years and it still has notes in the margin and dog eared pages. And as big as that book seemed then, it is less than half as thick as the 9th Edition is today.

And it’s better. A LOT better.

And it still is the Bible for Professional Chefs. I have one in my office and I’d guess that 75% of all Chefs in America have one too. And that number isn’t probably much less in Europe where some of the world’s most famous Chefs have been bred. For even French Chef Paul Bocuse, named the Chef of the Century sent his son to the Culinary Institute of America for his education.

I often recommend this book to aspiring amateur cooks. The recipes are larger than you’d likely use at home but a simple calculator can take care of that. The techniques are the same and the book gives you a true foundation of knowledge.

It’s not full of stories, antidotes or personal diatribe. It’s a clear, concise, no-nonsense professional resource that is available to anyone who truly enjoys cooking. And, good news! You can pick it up at any large book retailer or on line at:  www.ciaprochef.com 

If you do pick one up, let me know what you think? And I wish you great culinary adventures…

There WILL be a test afterwards….

For those of you unfamiliar with the Michigan Design Center, located at 1700 Stutz Drive nestled amidst the sprawling Troy Motor Mall campus, is a state of the art collection of home décor from furnishings to fabrics, fixtures and art from all over the world and in most any style you could imagine.

A maze of hallways leads you through a menagerie of colors, style and ideas for your current home or perhaps for one you intend to build, all with vignettes, displays and objects to see, touch and experience in person.

My presentation that morning was one I’m often giving impromptu in my own home, when I throw parties of my own, and that is, “how and the heck do you pull this off Pete??”, (maybe it’s even more impressive to some because I’m single and there’s fewer hands to help). 

But is it really THAT hard??  Actually it’s not that difficult with a little advanced planning AND with a strategy that makes it possible to start well in advance and have it all come together seamlessly at the end… without breaking a sweat.

Copies of the Michigan Design Center’s @home Magazine are at local news stands and of course, at Nino’s, but I’ll give you a sneak preview of a few of my time and money saving tips.

Tip # 1  Bland is boring… No one is likely to remember bland food. Don’t be afraid to use bold flavors and spices. Let your food make a statement!

Tip # 2  Pre-prepare as many dishes as you can in advance, and have things on pans, ready to pop into the oven when guests arrive so they can be cooking while you entertain. Don’t be afraid to use the microwave oven to re-heat sauces or side dishes you’ve freshly prepared earlier in the day.

Tip # 3  Go vertical.. Flat table displays are a bore. Create visual interest in your buffet composition by elevating platters and chafing dishes to varying heights. Also, use what you have to create interesting table decorations. Things like tree branches, colorful leaves and backyard flowers can really add interest to your display of foods.

Of course there are MANY more tips (17 in all) that are in the magazine article but safe to say, they’re all well worth considering the next time you entertain.

Have any tips YOU’VE found made your entertaining more enjoyable, more memorable, more fun? I’d love to hear from you.

Just this week, Nino’s Gourmet to Go Department quietly but proudly, introduced our new “Fresh” Corn Tortilla Chips at the Troy Store location. (…and soon to be at Clinton).

I suppose it was only natural, (and no surprise) that coming off the heels of our recent introduction of Nino’s fresh, homemade salsas that we’d partner them with these fantastic, new chips.

Ok….big deal, what’s so special??

Well, first, these corn tortillas are fresh!

Freshly made, freshly fried, freshly salted,… freshly bagged.

How fresh??

Like made right here in Detroit’s own Mexican Town at Hacienda Mexican Foods type fresh…

Like freshly fried in our own kitchens and bagged right here in the store…(I’ll bet you can just imagine….)

Who are Hacienda Mexican Foods??

Hacienda Mexican Foods has been producing authentic tortillas, taco shells, tortilla chips and tostadas for grocery stores, restaurants and foodservice establishments right here in town since the early ’90s. Their products were once sold only in the metro Detroit area, but are now available in more than 15 states and parts of Canada.

Lydia Gutierrez, Hacienda’s owner/operator, says the company was formed with only five employees in a 13,000 sq. ft. facility but presently employs more than 100 people in three facilities totaling more than 66,000 sq. ft. and just as quickly it became a leading manufacturer and distributor of authentic Mexican food products.

So much so that in 2009, Hacienda Mexican Foods LLC was recognized as one of 134 “Best of Michigan” companies by Corp! Magazine.

Of course, tasting, IS believing… which is why we invite you to try a bag the next time you’re visiting our store. You might even find out we’re sampling them when you stop by (Which we often do along with one of our 5 new freshly made salsas including: Traditional Mexican (in 2 heat levels, Medium and Hot), Salsa Verde, Mango Peach and Grilled Pineapple with Roasted Red Pepper).

Hasta pronto!