Corduroy Orange

The first three: Using a roux

In Classical cooking, there are five sauces that get emphasized over all others because they serve as the basis for hundreds more. These are the Mother Sauces: Bechamel, Veloute, Brown Sauce, Hollandaise, and Tomato. Sure, there are sauces (such as alfredo, beurre blanc, or a simple reduction) that fall outside of the maternal five. But, as a starting point for an accompaniment to any meal from macaroni to mutton, if you know the basic five, you’ll always be able to have a sauce to match your meal.

Because the mother sauces are such a large part of any good chef’s sauce-making potential and I want to give each sauce its due, today I’m just going to cencentrate on the first three (Bechamel, Veloute, and Brown) because these are the sauces that require a roux.

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Hello Jesse,

I just stumbled upon your blog today through various clicks and it has been a real treat to read. I am currently living in rural China as part of World Teach, a volunteer program that sends willing participants to developing countries, teaching their little ones Spoken English. I have 23 classes a week, which translates to over 1000 students.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Chinese food is delicious, and I can guarantee you’ve never had real Chinese food (that stuff from the states is not!). I live in southern Hunan which is known for their spicy dishes, and let me you, they ain’t lyin. However, every once in a while you get sick, as a foreigner this is to be expected. Crops are grown wherever they can and are fertilized with the most natural of fertilizers (poop!) amongst other things. Who knows what it was? Either way, it only reinforced my plan to begin cooking more for myself. Stateside I’m an enthusiastic kitchen dweller with my own favorites. Yet, I’m homesick, and I can’t wait for the day when I can make a proper breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

So, my question, I’m looking for a little advice in terms of what to cook for myself. As for implements, I have a two burner gas stove, which seems to have 2 settings, afterburner and not-so-afterburner, and a microwave which I haven’t fully learned how to operate. I have a wok and a frying pan, and two pots, both pressure cookers, however, one does not have a lid. They are maybe 3 quarts? It’s possible to find bigger pots, however, most are incredibly thin pounded sheet metal.

As for ingredients: Of course, rice, lots and lots of rice. Rice noodles as well. I have absolutely no cheese to speak of. However, the kids all drink some “milk” that’s never refrigerated. Vegetables include garlic, ginger, tomatoes, potatoes, red onion, pumpkin, white gourd, cucumber, eggplant, carrot, celery, mushrooms, numerous greens, cabbage, some other unidentified root vegetables, and of course, peppers. Fruits include apples, oranges, bananas.

Meats include pork, beef, duck, chicken, dog, rabbit, cat, boar, goat, and a ton of fish, amphibians, snakes, and I’ve even seen a badger for sale. Now, most of these are sold whole, cleaned, but whole. The pork you can buy by the half kilo, and there is no such thing as a cut of meat. You get whatever you point to.

There’s a plethora of other stuff, dried spices, dried meats, eggs, but much I cannot identify.

Peace,
Derek

Derek–

Surprisingly, I have had real Chinese food, though nowhere near as much as you have, and from Beijing, where I spent a few days in 1999. More often than not, I didn’t know what I was eating. Though some of the foods I tried were quite tasty, each sampling of a new dish took a great deal of willpower (I swear one of the foods I sampled was jellyfish, but I have no way of knowing for certain). My main impression of eating in China was that each meal was an adventure. It sounds like you have a more balanced and positive view of the local cuisine than my short stay provided me, but in any case I can understand why you would like to do some more cooking for yourself.

Your available equipment, of course, puts some limitations on what you can make, the most notable being nothing roasted or baked. Still, with some creativity, there’s still a fairly wide range of what you can accomplish with two burners.

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This recipe generally makes enough for two people, though if I’m really hungry, I’ve been known to gobble down an entire batch by myself from time to time. It’s also easy to add fruit inclusions to this recipe. Suggestions include: a mushed up brown banana, a finely cut apple tossed with a little cinnamon and sugar, or some frozen blueberries.

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Big news: I got back in my kitchen yesterday for some low-impact cooking—yeast bread! Yeah, I needed Aurora to pull the mixer out for me, help me gather the ingredients, and put it into the oven; but, a single batch of bread is small enough and has few enough ingredients that I could assemble it on my own. Not only that, but I measured how much of the extraneous stuff I put in (read: herbs and spices), so if you want to make my bread, you’ll be able to.

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I would love if you posted your cast iron seasoning and storage tips!

And I am glad to hear about the dutch oven and popcorn. Not only does the term “dutch oven” crack me up, but I have one and don’t have a popcorn maker and now I feel like the world is my popcorny oyster.

–Kari

Seasoning cast iron pans is about as painless a process as it gets, but taking the little bit of time to do it will ensure that your cast iron lasts not only for your lifetime, but your grandkids’ as well. Here’s how:
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Jesse–
We got to a lot of pot-lucks, and I have trouble coming up with a good entree dish to bring that needs to be made the day before.

Ideas?

Really, as far as day-before potluck prep goes, I think it works better with desserts than it does with entrees. Cookies, brownies, and fruit crisps are all easy-to-make desserts that travel easily and keep well overnight.

If you’re sold on the idea of making entrees though, I’d have to recommend quiche as a simple solution. There is an endless variety of what type of quiche you can make because every time you switch the fillings and/or the cheeses, you’ve got a new dish. Not only that, but quiches are ridiculously easy to make. So, with some help from my father-in-law, Rob Luscher, and my wife, Aurora, here’s how you can make a dish to impress for nearly any occason:
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Dear Corduroy Orange:

I really enjoy fresh applesauce but I hate the effort of peeling and coring all of those apples. Is there any way I can avoid that?

Peter Rambo

Dear Mr. Rambo—

There sure is, though unfortunately, you didn’t ask me early enough in the season for you to take advantage of the technique with your namesake apple, which is tart enough to make a tasty sauce.

The secret to making effortless applesauce lies in having a food mill for your kitchen. It’s a handy device that allows you to press the cooked down apples through a sturdy stainless steel sieve. The “saucy” part makes it through the holes; the seeds, skin, and pulp stay behind. The result: smooth and tasty homemade applesauce without having had to peel a thing.

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A darned tasty sandwich makes everything okay

Most of the time, at work, the only way I’m able to get all of my prep work ready in time to cook everything that I need by the time customers start arriving is that I’ve got some prep left over to start with: basic ingredients that keep for a few days that carry over from one shift to the next. It’s a big help, because otherwise, there’s just too much to be done for one person to handle. I showed up at work this morning and there was practically nothing for me to start with: few enough roasted tomatoes and olives that I could count them individually; no spinach cooked, and none picked from the stem; no meats or cheeses for sandwiches; barely any onions; hardly any salmon portioned, ditto on the steaks; … and to top it all off, the inserts that fit into our refrigerated drawers were left so filthy, I had to pull them all out and wash them by hand before I could put any food in them. I have never entered a day so utterly underprepped. I’m the main guy on a two-man lunch line, and I didn’t expect anyone who could help me to get there before 10:45 — at the earliest (45 minutes before we open). It was so terrible that I very briefly considered throwing my hands up in the air and walking out the door.

Instead, I called the chef and the sous chef on their cell phones and told both that I was left in such piss poor shape that the only way the restaurant would be ready to open was if they got in there and helped me because I had so much to do it wasn’t even within the realm of possibility that I’d be able to get it all done by myself. Fortunately, both tend to be reasonable fellows and both came in a fair bit earlier than they otherwise would have and got me to where I needed to be. When people started lining up at 11:00 waiting for a table and the first four tables all ordered exclusively from me, I was glad I hit the panic button when I did.

Once we got that initial rush taken care of, I found the silver lining to my day in the form of a sandwich the likes of which I have not had in quite some time: chicken and bacon on toasted bread with applesauce. For some reason, it had never previously occurred to me that applesauce could be used as a spread for a sandwich. I don’t know why, because it was so darn good. The only thing that would have made it better would have been some cheddar cheese to finish the flavor sensation. I strongly encourage you to try this sandwich today. Or tomorrow. Or the day after that. But don’t wait any longer than that because by that time, the idea will have faded into the back of your mind and gotten lost among other concerns and you’ll never know the wonder of this amazing sandwich.

Beauties from the indispensable White House Cookbook

I rarely endorse cookbooks, but this one is a must for any gourmand’s shelf. I know I can trust the book to give me good advice because, as the publishers say in their preface, “Every recipe has been tried and tested, and can be relied upon as one of the best of its kind” (p. iii). This is the book I consult whenever I’m wondering how To Roast Beef Heart (”wash it carefully and open it sufficiently to remove the ventricles, then soak in water until the blood is discharged…”, p. 119) or if I’m in the mood to make Baked Calf’s Head (the secret is to boil it first, then split it in half and bake it. For ideal presentation, bake only the better-looking half; dice the meat from the other half and fry the pieces in lard to present around the edge of the platter, [p. 127]). (more…)

Bake your apples for a delicious treat.

One of my favorite autumn desserts is also one of the simplest I know of. A baked apple served fresh from the oven could bring a smile to the grouchiest of faces. If you go downstairs and start one right now, you could be eating it in 45 minutes. (more…)