How To Cook For Beginners

Chocolate covered strawberries are one of the highest in demand things for Valentines day. So, what are you going to be making for your honey on the big day? Here is a quick recipe that you can do that will allow you to have a wonderful, hand made show of love for that special someone.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries Recipe

Ingredients You will need for your Chocolate Covered Strawberries:

* 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
* 3 ounces white chocolate, chopped
* 1 pound strawberries with stems (about 20), washed and dried very well

Directions for Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Put the semisweet and white chocolates into 2 separate heatproof medium bowls. Fill 2 medium saucepans with a couple inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat; set the bowls of chocolate over the water to melt. Stir until smooth. (Alternatively, melt the chocolates in a microwave at half power, for 1 minute, stir and then heat for another minute or until melted. If doing in the microwave, you need to run it for 10 seconds at a time or you risk burning the chocolate.)

Once the chocolates are melted and smooth, remove from the heat. Line a sheet pan with parchment or waxed paper. Holding the strawberry by the stem, dip the fruit into the dark chocolate, lift and twist slightly, letting any excess chocolate fall back into the bowl. Set strawberries on the parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries. Dip a fork in the white chocolate and drizzle the white chocolate over the dipped strawberries.

Set the strawberries aside until the chocolate sets, about 30 minutes.

Special Notes About Chocolate:

Make sure you use good quality chocolate. Get chocolate brands like Ghiradelli, Valrhona, Noel. Nestle won’t work in this application because, while it is good for baking cookies, the chocolate has lots of other things in it, and is not couveture…Couverture Chocolate is a very high quality chocolate that contains extra cocoa butter (32-39%). The higher percentage of cocoa butter, combined with the processing, gives the chocolate more sheen, firmer “snap” when broken, and a creamy mellow flavor.

When you get ready to dip your strawberries, make sure the chocolate is melted, but not hot! It will hurt the berries. Take some chocolate and dab it to your bottom lip. If it feels just cool, under body temperature ( under 98 degrees farenheight ) then you are good to go.

My favorite berries to use are Driscoll brand strawberries. If you look you will find them. Usually Whole Foods Market always has them.

Happy Valentines Day and have fun…maybe you and your lover should do the choclate dipped strawberries together…Sound sexy and sensual?

Tags: chocolate, coverture chocolate, strawberries, valentines day

Seven Layer Dip Recipe

Seven Layed Dip Recipe

Another one of those all time party recipes that everyone needs to have is a 7 layer dip recipe. At the end of the day, we all love to get our fix of dips, and well, this is one you can make easy or complicated.

Let’s talk about the easy way, and then we can talk a little bit more about the harder way to make seven layered dip.

Things You’ll Need for your seven layer dip:

* Plastic Wrap
* Tortilla Chips
* Serving Platters
* Plastic Wrap
* 1/4 c. sliced green onions
* 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
* 1 6-oz. container guacamole dip (there is a difference between guacamole dip and guacamole.)
* 2/3 c. chopped, seeded tomatoes ( you can leave the seeds in if you like, they add flavor too)
* 1 8-oz. carton sour cream (low fat or fat free if you care)
* 1 9-oz. can bean dip ( or pureed pinto beans, or what ever you like from the mexican section)
* 2 tbsp. sliced, pitted olives
* 1/4 c. taco sauce or picante sauce ( basically salsa)

You can use your imagination, when creating this, but basically, all you need to do is start from the bottom and work your way up.

First, I place in the beans on the bottom. Here is a tip. sometimes the bean puree is too hard, so you can add some vegetable oil to thin it and make it spreadable so you don’t break chips.

next, layer on the guacamole, and then the sour cream.

Once that is done, you can evenly pour on the salsa, and then sprinkle with tomatoes, Cheese and then olives.

Finally garnish with the green onions.

There are just tons of ways you can take this and make it even better…

Start of by mixing different salsas when you do your seven layer dip. You can literally make hundreds of different varieties.

There are also lots of guacamole recipes to try. What you really should think about is using better ingredients. Instead of cheap cheddar, use something nice from Vermont. Use fresh avocados for your guacaomole. Try using vine ripe tomatoes in the salsa….

See where Im going from here?

Oh and the last thing…For me, three of the most important ingredients for great Southwestern cooking are lime juice, cumin and cilantro. Try sprucing up your seven layer dip with those items and you will see the difference.

Have fun at your next superbowl party, or tailgate event!

Tags: Appetizers, dips, mexican, seven layer, spreads, superbowl appetizer

Buffalo chicken dip recipe. Ready for Super Bowl? Looking for a cool and easy buffalo chicken dip recipe? Well, we have one here for you. There are lot’s of them on the net, but here are some of the ones that we think are great.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

At the end of the day, when we did our research, I find that I like to make regular buffalo wing sauce using Franks Red hot, so I decided to check out their website. They have a great recipe, and we are going to post it here for you.

Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe from Franks Red Hot:

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup blue cheese or ranch salad dressing

1/2 cup any flavor FRANK’S® REDHOT® Sauce

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese or shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cans (12.5 oz. each) SWANSON® White Premium Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained

DIRECTIONS:

HEAT oven to 350°F. Place cream cheese into deep baking dish. Stir until smooth.

MIX in salad dressing, Frank’s RedHot Sauce and cheese. Stir in chicken.

BAKE 20 min. or until mixture is heated through; stir. Garnish as desired. Serve with crackers or vegetables.

TIPS:
Microwave Directions: Prepare as above. Place in microwave-safe dish. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH 5 min. until hot, stirring halfway through cooking.

Tips: You may substitute 2 cups shredded cooked chicken.

Slow Cooker Method: Combine ingredients as directed above. Place mixture into small slow cooker. Cover pot. Heat on HIGH setting for 1 1/2 hours until hot and bubbly or on LOW setting for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Stir.

Tailgating Tip: Prepare dip ahead and place in heavy disposable foil pan. Place pan on grill and heat dip until hot and bubbly.

Franks Red Hot

Tags: buffalo chicken dip, super bowl, super bowl recipes

How to make a glazed ham is probably on the minds of many a new and seasoned home chef this Holiday time. When you are looking to glaze a ham, there are just tons of recipes to choose from. At the end of the day, what you are doing is making a glaze of sweet stuff that you are going to brush your ham with while you are baking it and allow the moisture to come of, and let the sugars caramelize too.

You getting hungry yet? I am Anyway, there are tons of best glazed ham recipes, and how to glaze hams..but I’ll give you a super easy way to make a great glaze and, I’ll post a bunch of great ones here as well.

Take about one cup of honey, and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Moisten it with orange juice so it looks like wet sand or cement. Then add in about 2-3 tablespoons of Dijon mustard, and 1 cup of orange marmalade. Stir this up into a nice sauce.

Place your ham into the oven, and then while you are baking it, say at 350 degrees, generously brush this on the ham every 15-20 minutes. You should see a nice glaze starting…Now, if the ham is heated through, and it doesn’t quite have the rich caramized color, turn on your broiler and let it brown from the top. BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU DO THIS! THERE IS SO MUCH SUGAR, THAT YOU NEED TO STAY THERE..OR YOU WILL BURN IT! Watch it as it browns, and then pull it when you get the color you want. Continue Reading »

Tags: best glazed ham, easy glazed ham, glazed ham, glazing a ham, honey glazed ham, how to glaze a ham

How do I make a ham? This another one of those questions that gets asked alot. And the real answer to how to bake a ham, or how to make a ham really depends on a few things. The thing you really need to understand is what kind of ham you have. If you are getting one of those cheap hams from the grocery store, you know the kind I mean, the one in the can, then there isn’t really alot you can do, since it is probably one of those that has tons fo brine in it and is pressed meat togetther.

Yes, they are cheap, but you get what you pay for , and that is crap.  So, what kind of ham should you get if you really want to have a good experience?

The kind of ham I recommend, if you don’t want to pay for the expensive honey glazed types of hams, or those ones that are dry curd or smoked, is at least gett a whole muscle ham and preferrably one with the bone in.

You can actually get a similar ham to a Farmer Johns Ham, the kind in the gold foil. Continue Reading »

Tags: baking ham, best baked ham, best ham recipe, cooking a ham, glazed ham, ham recipes, how to bake a ham, how to make a ham

Hi all, I just wanted to stop in real quick and let you all know of a great summer recipe that I think you will all love.

It takes advantage of all the best things of summer… That thing is Tomatoes!

This is a really refreshing soup, and it can be served with hot grilled cheese sandwiches, or even poached shrimp.

I enjoy it with lots of basil, and crostini.

Ingredients:

2 vine ripe or heirloom tomatoes

1/4 cup olive oil

1 dash extra virgin olive oil

1/2 garlic clove

salt/pepper

pinch of cayenne

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until very smooth.

The oil will thicken the soup and make it creamy.

The friction from the blending will lightly warm it, but not cook it.

Once done, put in fridge and let get really cold.

Service garnished with fresh basil!

Tags: chilled soups, tomato, tomato soup

How Do I Make Corned Beef With Cabbage? So you looking to make the traditional boiled dinner for St Patricks day? BTW this is also known as the New England Boiled Dinner. Well I’ll tell you what, this is actually one of my favorite meals of all time. I really like the flavor of the corned beef, and I love the braised cabbage and potatoes. When you make this dish, you need to serve with mustard, and horseradish cream sauce. Use the same one in the recipe I listed on how to make horseradish sauce.

Okay, so what goes into making corned beef and cabbage?

Here is what you need…

Ingredients for Corned Beef And Cabbage

4 lb corned brisket of beef
3 large carrots, cut into large chunks
6 to 8 small onions, peeled and quartered or halved
6 to 8 red bliss cut in half, soaked in cold water
1 cabbage
salt and freshly ground pepper

For service, colemans mustard that has been hydrated with water, and horseradish sauce.

Method:

Put the brisket into a saucepan and cover with water. Bring gently to a boil. Simmer, covered, for 3-3 1/2 hours. Once the beef is fork tender, remove it from the broth. Place in the carrots, onion, potatoes and cabbage that has been cleaned and quartered into the broth and cook until the vegetables are tender. About 15 minutes.

Serve the corned beef in slices, surrounded by the vegetables and cooking liquid. Serve with lots of sauce.

Tags: corned beef and cabbage, new england boiled dinner, st patricks day, traditional boiled dinner

I know that you are all looking for a great recipe to roast a prime rib, but I ask you, “what are you going to serve with your prime rib?”

Well, I have an answer for you. What I suggest you serve with your prime rib, is a nice simple horseradish sauce.

You may be looking for an easy horseradish sauce, or a simple horseradish sauce recipe, so here goes. I think you will like this recipe, especially cause this horse radish sauce recipe is fast, quick and easy.

Make this recipe and serve it on the side with your roast, and watch people go crazy! We make this all the time in the restaurant, and it is a must for any nice roasted beef dishes.  It is also good with smoked salmon.

Horse Radish Sauce Recipe:
Horseradish Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons freshly grated horseradish
• 8 ounces sour cream drained
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Salt
• Dash hot sauce

All you need to do is mix the ingredients together. Simple as can be. Now, go get some soft buns, and slice up your roast beef rib nice and thin, and you have every thing you need.

Enjoy….

If you liked this recipe, please help by referring this site to others, and leave a comment for more ideas.

Im looking to write for you!

Cheers

The Food Wiz

Tags: easy horseradish recipe, horseradish recipe, sauces

One of the other things that get asked alot here is how to make mashed potatoes. Alot of people are looking for a simple mashed potato recipe, and they are wanting one that tastes great. I am guessing that a lot of people out there are maybe used to potato buds, or the Idaho potato instant mashed potaotes. I can tell you that there is nothing like fresh mashed potatoes.

And guess what, a easy mashed potato recipe is no problem. You will find out once you read this, you will be so amazed. And, the thing is, there are really only a few ingredients.

Simple Easy Mashed Potatoes Recipe

Russet (Idaho Potatoes) peeled and cut into quarters 2 pounds

Hot scalded half and half milk 1 1/2 cups

Butter unsalted 1/2 stick

salt and pepper to taste.

Method:

place the potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Season the water with salt until the water tastes salty. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce immediately to a light simmer. Cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.

Once the potatoes are done, drain them and let stand for a minute to get the water completely drained.

At this point, you can mash the potatoes with a masher, or use a potato ricer for a smoother potato. Season with salt and pepper, break up the butter and drop it in the potatoes.

Gradually add in the hot half and half until you get the consistency you want. Add more butter if you want, and adjust seasoning.

Chefs notes: I like unsalted butter because it is fresher (salt is a preservative). and half and half makes the potaotes creamy. For richer potatoes, use cream, for less rich, use whole milk.

If you want, you can add in scallions, bacon bits, blue cheese…really what ever you mind can think up!

Hope you enjoy!

And…if you have a question, leave us a comment…I’ll know what people are looking for!

Tags: mashed potatoes, potato puree, potatoes, whipped potatoes

One of the questions that gets asked most often these days, especially as we move into the holiday season is how to cook a prime rib roast, or how long to cook a prime rib roast. When cooking prime rib, it is really a pretty simple thing to do, and the reality is that there are many many ways to roast prime rib.

There really are tons of right answers. So you can slow roast prime rib, or quick roast prime rib. You can also rotisserie prime rib. But for those of you who are getting started and want to really get something simple going, and look like a hero, there are some simple things you can do when learning to cook prime rib.

First of all, you should plan to have about 8 ounces of raw weight per person you are having over. The second thing you want to make sure you do is have the butcher or supermarket do most of the work.

Now, you can get a bone in rib, or a boneless rib. If you are new to this, get a boneless rib. Make sure you pick a rib that has a small eye of fat in the middle of the rib. Take a look at the side cut and look for the white areas in the cut. You want a rib that has nice white “marbeling” but not a big spot of white. When roasted, that will just be fat.

I recommend choosing USDA choice grade for your prime rib. Most supermarkets will offer this grade now. It is usually a bit more expensive, but much more worth it.

Ask the butcher to make the fat cap 1/4 in thick.

When you get home, all you need to do is prep and roast.

Pre heat your oven to 450 degrees.

Take your rib, and rub it liberally with salt and fresh cracked pepper. If you are feeling adventureous, you can rub it with cajun seasoning, or chopped rosemary and garlic. But salt and pepper will work just as well.

Place it with the fat side facing up onto a roasting pan. When the oven is at 450, place the rib in the oven.

Let it roast for 40 minutes, and then drop the temperature to 300 degrees. (Farenheight).

Let the roast cook in the oven until you reach an internal temperature of 120 degrees. Yes!!!!Buy a good meat thermometer. If you want good results. Make the purchase.

Once you reach 120, remove and let it rest for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

My estimation is that a 10 lbs rib will be done in somewhere around 1 hour. Once you check the temp at 40 minutes, you will be able to guage time. Keep in mind, that once the rib hits 100 degrees, it will take only 5-10 minutes to get close to being done. The cooking speeds up from there.

One thing I do often is rub the rib with dijon mustard. Yummy!

So that’s it. Easy simple roast prime rib of beef. What else you want to see on the Christmas menu?

Leave me a comment. Prime Rib Roast coming up!

Lastly make sure that what ever kitchen knife sets you use, they are sharp and ready to slice.

Tags: cooking prime rib, how long to cook a prime rib roast, prime rib, prime rib roast