I cook — a lot — for the whole family. These are my notes as they come to me. It's a combination of culinary discoveries as well as tips that are typically applicable to a variety of dishes.
- 12/03/2024: Chicken Soup/Stock: Breast is best for flavour, feet/wings for texture. Don't overcook the breast, and take it out once it's fully cooked (low simmer). Then, cook the rest of the carcass for collagen extraction.
- 05/15/2024: I love chicken wings. My goto pantry mix that I almost always have on hand: For 700grams of wings, 2tsp cumin, 1tsp salt, pepper to taste, 20ml oyster sauce, 2tsp baking powder. Mix and marinate. Separately, mix 40ml honey, 40ml soy sauce, 1tsp each ginger, onion, and garlic powder. Baste onto wings before & during roasting or barbeque.
- 04/14/2024: Don't buy packet gravy: Fry onion and garlic, then add re-hydrated dry, or fresh mushrooms. Add salt, a good glug of soy sauce, lots of black pepper, and dried herbs of choice. Cook off excess moisture. Incorporate flour to gently coat mixture, and finally add stock or water+bouillon (both work) to desired consistency. This has more depth and takes only a few minutes to compile.
- 12/09/2023: Leftover mashed potatoes make a great reason to have kopytka. Of course, boiling potatoes purposely for the dish is just fine too. (There's a niceness to the texture when freshly boiled potatoes can be put through a ricer)
- 12/09/2023: Crepes were our flat bread growing up. My mother would make a large batch in the morning, we'd enjoy for breakfast, and a pile would sit throughout the day. Quick snack with a slice of ham after school, or my favourite: strawberry jam. They are fool-proof, despite their usual decadent presentation. 2 eggs, one heaping cup of flour, pinch salt/sugar, then whatever dairy's in the fridge — usually a mix of yogourt and kefir. Whisk until thick, let sit for a bit, then dilute with water, done! Not as hard as the world makes it out to be :)
- 11/08/2023: Katsu Curry is a wonderful confluence of my childhood and modern food interests in one. The fried pork loin takes me back, and the rich curry (with apple! key!) elevates everything to a place my current palate highly appreciates. My goto recipe is from a wonderful Japanese couple
- 09/26/2023: Never throw a chicken carcass away. Use it for stock or gravy, then rid of it. Also, I prefer to burn my onion (on the BBQ side burner) for additional unami in the stock.
- 09/26/2023: Making your own bread is one of life's greatest hacks.
- 09/07/2023: Always toast your spices.
- 09/05/2023: TikTok (specifically, @haileecatalano) changed how I make pizza sauce. Previously would cook pasata with spices, herbs, oil. Now, I dump a canned of Kirkland diced tomato into a bowl, add spices (salt, pepper, choice of dry herbs), and a drizzle of honey. Mash that up, done! Beautiful & bright pizza sauce.
- 09/05/2023: To make an excellent pomodoro, it can be as simple as butter, onion, and good (canned or fresh) tomatoes. The onion poaches in the tomato sauce and the butter adds a creamy flavour & texture. Once the onion is translucent it is removed, and the sauce is done (season to your liking)
- 09/05/2023: Used white pepper for the first time today, in a sesame chicken dish. It added a earthy, almost herby (bon appétit describes it as herbaceous). Will try with pork next!