My Favorite Products Pt 2
Continuing from Part 1, which covered cookware and bakeware, I am going to list my favorite kitchen products. In this post I will be covering Tools and Cutlery. Most of my links will be to Williams Sonoma, because that is where I buy my products, but you can find the same or similar items at Sur La Table, Macy's, and even Amazon.
Cook's Tools
You will need an assortment of wooden spoons, whisks, spatulas, ladles, tongs, etc... I won't go into super detail on these except to remind you that if you are using nonstick pans you must use wooden or silicone tipped tools. Here are links to good whisks, tongs, and spatulas for that purpose.
My Favorite Products Pt 1
A good friend recently suggested that I make a post about all my favorite kitchen products - what a great idea! Between being an avid home cook and working at Williams Sonoma, I think that I have built up a pretty good repertoire of knowledge on kitchen items. I am going to split this into several parts (because otherwise it will get way too long). So here it is, a list of my favorite products:
Cookware
The basic pans that you will need are a small and large frying pan, a large saute pan, a small and large saucepan, and a large stockpot. Stainless steel is the best all purpose option - it creates a good sear and will last forever.
Beef, Sweet Potato, Spinach, and Cheddar Turnovers
These turnovers are super easy to make and perfect for weeknights. Spinach and sweet potato add bulk to the filling and make up (a little bit) for the cheese and puff pastry.
Seriously the Best Brunch Ever
I found this dish on Pinterest - a social networking site that creates virtual pin boards. The picture looked so delicious that I immediately decided to go out and buy some avocados so that I could make it as soon as possible.
Start by spreading avocados that have been mashed with lemon juice onto slices of sourdough toast.
Then, scramble eggs that have been mixed with a chives and a little creme fraiche.
Top the toast with the scrambled egg mixture, a slice of smoked salmon, and some more chives for garnish. Toasty bread; creamy, buttery avocado; creamy, melt-in your mouth eggs; and buttery smoked salmon - how could it get any better than that? I will tell you right now - it can't.
Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon and Avocado on Toast
adapted from Supermodels Bon Appetit **EDIT** 3-24-12 I found the original recipe source **EDIT**
Serves 2-4
3 tbsp minced fresh chives
2 tbsp crème fraîche
6 large eggs
2 tbsp unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 large or 8 small slices sourdough, toasted
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 oz thinly sliced smoked salmon
Whisk 2 tbsp chives (hold back 1 tbsp for garnish), crème fraîche, and eggs in a large bowl.
Melt the butter in a large heavy nonstick pan over medium-low heat. Add the egg mixture and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 3-4 mins until barely set, occasionally scraping bottom of the pan to form large, soft curds.
Mash the avocado with a fork in a bowl and season with lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Spread the avocado over each slice of toast then spoon the eggs over this, and place the salmon on top. Garnish with the rest of the chives, and season to taste with pepper.
Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Pot Pie
This is a great weeknight dinner option. It's creamy, filling, packed with veggies, and the best part is you can just throw everything in the slow cooker and forget about it. Using squares of puff pastry baked separately keeps it easy and worry free. Plus - you don't have to worry about the pastry getting soggy when reheated because you just bake it as needed.
Leftover Roast Beef Sandwiches
So you have made a delicious fancy holiday meal and you have left over roast beef - what do you do with it? Make roast beef sandwiches of course!
Slice that beef up really thinly, which is easier to do once it has been in the fridge overnight.
Throw it on the griddle with some butter and let it get nice and crispy on the edges. Pile it up on some fluffy toasted buns with some horseradish sauce and you are good to go!
Valentine’s Day 2012
I LOVE Valentine's Day, I really do. I didn't before I met Jasper, but now that I have someone to share it with I love to have a day to just appreciate and treat each other. We like to spend it at home so that we aren't distracted by other people/things, or feel like we have to act a certain way. So I spend all day cooking and setting up and we have a wonderful romantic dinner together.
Berry Trifle
Trifle is a British layered dessert involving cake, custard, fruit, whipped cream, and sometimes jello. There are many different ways to make it, but the following is my favorite.
Roasted Salmon with Grapefruit
In trying to stick to my resolution to cook more salmon I was looking for something a little different and fun. To my surprise, I stumbled across two different recipes involving salmon and grapefruit. "Is that a thing?" I wondered, "A common pairing?" I had never thought of it before. I decided to take elements from both recipes to make one complete meal.
Panjshir Afghan
A while back I tried afghan food for the first time and I LOVED it. I went to Faryab in Bethesda, which despite having no website and a hard to find location made it into the Washingtonian's top 100 restaurants. That was a fantastic place to try afghan food for the first time, but certainly a tough act to follow. A recent Washingtonian article mentioned Panjshir in Falls Church, which is much closer to me, so I was really excited to try it. I ordered a selection of dishes (for take-out), and while the food was not as good as the food at Faryab, it was still pretty decent and certainly much more convenient for me.