MAUI- PAN FRYING CONTINUED

PAN FRYING cont. In  my last post I gave you some tips on pan frying, such as temperature of your oil, what kind of oil you should utillize, and what types of pans you sould use. In this post I'll talk about different cuts of protein you may be pan frying. First the ever so popular fried chicken is always on the pan frying topic when friends of mine ask for advice on pan frying chicken I give them this simple advice. "Make sure your oil is hot, your stove is clean because we don't want flames igniting, an oily burner can cause damage to your house and your body. Keep a few boxes of baking soda handy to douse any flames, or have a pertinent fire extinguisher near by just in case." I'm serious. But, let's get to the fun part without getting too scary.

Your pan should be large enough, so I do suggest a 12 inch stainless steel pan with a lid. Covering the chicken will enclose the heat ensuring a good cooking process. Actually there;s 2 different methods I'm going to throw at you. First it's all about the pan frying on the stove top.

So you get your pan over medium high heat, add in enough oil (canola) so that it will be deep enough to cover half of your chicken parts. I'd say about 2 inches of oil. Heat it up until it registers around 360 dg. F, you may need to turn up the heat to get it this hot. If you can't get this temperature read, get it as hot as you can. Toss in a small piece of bread, if it turns golden within a minute, your oil should be hot enough.

Season your chicken parts with salt and pepper and dredge them in simple all purpose flour, coat it well. Find a recipe that you like, and set your chicken parts to the side keep it at room temperature, you don't want cold pieces of protein going into hot oil, it may start to pop or explode. Once you get a nice temperture, add in the chicken parts one at a time, keep the pan from getting too crowded. Once it gets too crowded, the chicken or anything that you'll be pan frying will not turn nice and golden. What will happen is because the temperature of the oil will drop because of the overcrowding of the pan, the pieces of chicken in this case will be more than likely steamed and not pan fried.

Understanding this, when you put too many pieces of chicken in this case into the hot oil, the temperature will not be to its hottest point for pan frying, you'll have a disappointing pale looking chicken that won't cook through that well. To develop that golden looking crust, the pan should not be crowded, just keep lots of spaces in between the chicken pieces. A cold overcrowded pan will produce soggy chicken instead of cripsy, crunchy fried chicken.

So once you get the chicken in the pan, cover it with a lid, keep the temperature at medium high, let it sit for about 5-7 minutes, flip it, it should be golden, if not, let it cook a few more minutes. Once you flip it, cover it again, and let it cook for a few minutes more. Remove and let the chicken parts sit and rest, it will continue to cook. If you have an instant read thermometer try and get the temperature up to 160 deg. F. it should be good to go.

Another method to finishing off fried chicken is this, preheat your oven to about 400 dg. F. once you are done pan frying the first side of the chicken pieces, place the chicken pieces on a baking sheet, and place it in the oven, depending on how many pieces you have, it should take about maybe 20 minutes to finish off about 3-4 pounds of chicken pieces. The product should be golden brown and crunchy. Again use an instant read thermometer to get the right cooked temperature, 160 dg. F is good, if it's a little less that's ok too, because as the chicken rests, it will continue to cook.

Every stove is different in some way, sometimes the burners on one model has to be cranked up to Hi just to get to Med Hi etc. So with practice you'll understand the pan frying techniques, it is really simple, you just need to make it happen.

If you are interested, there are a lot of deep fryers that are electric that you can purchase in department stores, hardware stores, kitchen supply stores, or online.

This 1.1 liter model is electric from Cuisinart the CDF 100 is compact and great for couples or students at college, deep fries up to 1 pound of whatever you want. Sells for around $38.00

SAFEY: NEVER PUT ANY COLD OR WET ITEMS IN HOT OIL, IT MAY POP AND EXPLODE POSSIBLY INJURING YOU. KEEP CHILDREN AWAY FROM THE STOVE AT ALL TIMES.

MAUI- Techniques/Methods on Cooking

June will be all about techniques and methods on Cooking. This first lesson will be on PAN FRYING.

One of the most basic cooking methods in a home is pan frying, don't get me wrong, because I can see some of you cringing saying, "Ron! That's not healthy!" Well, no fear, this isn't a lesson on what to fry, but how correct pan frying is done in your home. Everytime I watch a home cook that invited me over to eat, and I'm sitting at the counter watching them frying up a fish or chicken in the pan I just cringe, the pan is either too hot, or too cold, and they are using the wrong equipment.

First of all here is what you should really have in your kitchen if you will be doing some pan frying.

A 10 or 12 inch stainless steel frying pan.

These pans are great, its heavy duty, and if you buy the ones without the plastic or rubber handles you can put these guys in the oven to finish off a dish, such as some fried chicken parts, by slipping it in the oven you can create a nice golden crust which is pleasing to the eyes and can make whatever you're cooking taste better. Imagine a crunchy piece of fried chicken?

Some kitchen supply stores offer lids for pans, usually it is a basic cover, it is sold in the sizes of your pans, such as 8, 10, 12 inch covers. (Foil works well too)

Also you can use different braisers with covers to pan fry, or even saute pans with covers. But I like a stainless steel frying pan like the one pictured, I really don't have covers, I just put another pan of the same size over it and it works, I guess I'm still part caveman.

As far as oils to use, I use Canola oil for frying it works great, and it does have a high smoke point. When chefs refer to smoke points, it means at what temperature an oil will start to break down and smoke, or produce smoke as when you want to call the fire department. So Canola oils will start smoking anywhere from 375 dg to 450 dg F. So Canola is great for pan frying.

Also have on hand an instant read thermometer, I can't stress this fact more so now than ever as I try in teach the newbies in the kitchen. You see experienced cooks can tell when to put in a piece of protein to be fried, they can just look at the oil in the pan and know exactly when to add it in.

The right temperature to pan fry is around 360 to 375 dg. F. If you don't have a thermometer, just place a small cube of bread into the hot oil, and if it turns golden within a minute or so, that's good to go. Again, over time you'll get the techniques down.

Here's another tip. Keep the proteins that you are going to pan fry at room temperature when all possible, the food will not spoil unless it's been out for over a few hours. The thing you don't want to do is put in cold proteins into the hot oil, it can cause the oil to pop and burn you because of some of the moisture clinging to the proteins. Hot and cold do not mix, be careful. So by bringing the cold proteins temperature up from a cold temperature to about 75 dg. F. is good, and the hot oil will have a lesser time to recover its temperature. Everytime you put something in the hot oil, the oil cools down and takes some time to re-heat itself.

As you progress into a fine home chef, you will no doubt understand what I am talking about. For instance, as I am frying some chicken wings, and then remove them, the oil is at an all time high in temperature, perfect for my wings. But as soon as I enter new wings to the hot oil, I'll notice that the oil has cooled down a bit, so this is what I mean by recovery, the temperature needs to recover to its perfect frying temperature.

Instant Read Thermometer for Kitchen uses, make sure the temperature can register up to 550 dg. F.

The price for an instant read thermometer is fairly inexpensive, you can purchase some of these or different models online or at your local kitchen supply store. Some hardware stores may carry these because of backyard cooks and grilling, but like I said, these are not expensive at all. Prices may go up if you are purchasing some computerized model, but having the dial models will suffice.


If you are beginnng your pan frying life at home, there's only one way to get better and that is to continue to cook. Do not be afraid of failing, we all need to fail to learn and succeed in anything in life. Cooking is a hobby for many people, you'd be surprised who can really cook like a gourmet chef. So take your hobby of cooking seriously enough to cook great meals, but at the same time have some fun. Remember if you aren't having fun in what you do why do it? I would suggest you take some cooking classes at your local culinary school, usually it's at a junior college or a county sponsored event, just go and take it, some are free. Even church events has cooking, maybe not a class, but I bet you anything, there's bound to be some really experienced cooks there frying up all kinds of meals or desserts. Go out and venture my foodies, go out and learn. If Colonel Sanders perfected fried chicken, what's wrong with you perfecting anything out of your own kitchen?

WARNING: KEEP LITTLE CHILDREN AWAY FROM A HOT STOVE WITH HOT OIL ON THE BURNERS, THEY ARE AT TIMES TALL ENOUGH TO REACH OVER AND TOUCH A PAN WITH OIL, IF THAT OIL EVER FALLS ON THEM THEY WILL BE BURNED CONSIDERABLY, PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS AT ALL TIMES NO MATTER WHO IS IN THE HOUSE, LET PEOPLE IN THE HOUSE KNOW THAT THE KITCHEN IS HOT, AND NO ONE SHOULD BE PLAYING IN THERE.

GRILLING SEASON

Tips for the upcoming grilling season, it's here!

1. Get that steel brush and clean the grill, brush off all that old gunk.
2. If you have a gas grill, make sure it is maintained, all of the fittings are operable, regulators are working well, knobs are in place etc.
3. Have all of your tongs, forks, spatulas, plates, and other utensils ready to go, if you need to replace them, now is the time to go through your drawers and find what's not working properly and head to your nearest hardware store to replace them. Can't fire up your grill only to find out that your tongs aren't working right.
4. Marinade ingredients should be all fresh, any bottles that look old toss them out and buy some new ones.
5. Coolers, make sure your coolers are clean and sanitized, make sure you have the cooler for your meats only, and don't mix it with your bottled drinks, you don't want blood in the ice and water that will go on top of drinking water bottles, or cans of pop or beer, you don't want anyone getting food poisoning before the food is even cooked.
6. Separate bowls for chicken, beef, pork, fish etc, again do not cross contaminate.
7. Lots of plastic wrap and tin foil on hand, find the good deals at your local market and stock up on them asap.
8. Freezing some meats when the deals are hot. Buy your beef ahead of time, and freeze them air tight with plastic wrap and butcher paper. Same for other foods, like pork and poultry and seafood, buy em early and save money.
9. Get your  apron ready the one that says, "Grilling King" or "Don't F with the Chef"
10. Watch Bobby Flay on the Food Network to get some grilling tips. Nah F Bobby Flay.

This portable Hibachi is great for couples cost about $23.00

WARNING: DO NOT USE GASOLINE TO LIGHT YOUR COALS. GAS IS TOO EXPENSIVE.

Newport Beach, CA Caliente Southwest Grille

Going to Southern Cal this Summer? Going to take the kids to the beach? Going to sample some sunshine, maybe an Angels or Dodgers game? Disneyland? Knottsberry Farm? Whatever the case if you are in OC, and close to the Huntington Beach area, friends of mine did props Caliente Southwest Grille for family eats.

Brother Dave from California stops by Caliente when he takes his kids to the beach, "They have a good breakfast the kids love." What does Brother Dave order for his family when he gets to Caliente? "I order some pancakes, French toast, and order a couple of breakfast burritos and we share it. The Chorizo and egg burrito is good, and drink some coffee, it's a nice place. Then we hit the freeway and head to the beach, it's easy to get to, just take the 55 South and hang a left on 17th street you'll see the sign."  (271 E. 17th Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92627)

* So I went on line and looked at the breakfast menu and here's what it looks like.

BREAKFAST

Football Slam 4.25
2 eggs any style, choice of bacon or sausage, hashbrowns & choice of toast or tortillas

Caliente Combo 5.25
2 pancakes, 2 eggs, 2 strips of bacon or sausage, and potatoes

French Toast Combo 5.25
2 pieces of French toast, 2 eggs and your choice of bacon or sausage

Breakfast Burrito 4.25
A flour tortilla filled with eggs, cheddar cheese, potatoes and salsa roja

Chorizo & Egg Burrito 5.25
Chorizo mixed with scrambled eggs, jack cheese and salsa roja, wrapped in flour tortilla

Steak & Egg Burrito 6.25
Marinated flank steak, scrambled eggs, jack cheese, homemade tomatillo salsa, wrapped in a flour tortilla

SIDES
Pancakes
Short Stack (2) 3.25
Full Stack (4) 5.25

Eggs 2.00
Bacon 3.00
Sausage 3.00
Potatoes 2.50
Tortillas, corn or flour 2.00

Phone: 949-515-0909  Hours M-F10A-9P SAT 9A-9P SUN 10A-9P
calientesouthwest.com

Okay so Dave gave me the scoops if I'm ever back in the OC area, it's going to be some time before I get there, plane tickets aren't cheap, and my Dodgers suck, so Cali is out of the question for some time. Though the last trip down there we did have a good time. I dig Southern Cal, lots of fun and good food, well, I'll have to check this place out and see for myself.

MAUI- A Request for Sari Sari

Sari Sari personally I've never ever made it, so one day I got an email from one of my dear fans, Aunty Mona from south side. In her email, she wanted a Sari Sari recipe, but what is that? I've never made it, nor do I think I ate it. So I start to ponder..."Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm." You know real long like that. "Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm." You get the pic? So I ask some friends, "Hey what's Sari Sari?" They respond with, "Who knows bra, but is the harbors breaking today?" So my friends, they're going surfing, they could care less about Sari Sari.


But Wait! Hey I'm employed at Barnes and Noble part-time. Okay, I bet Jean Hee has it. Jean Hee is my favorite local cookbook author second to none. And sure enough, I picked up her book called Jean Hee's Best of The Best Hawaii Recipes 14.95 smack right there on page 75 is a recipe for Sari Sari. Now since this is a copyrighted material, I am stating that right here right now. This material is copyrighted 2007 by Mutual Publishing, LLC ISBN 10 1 56647 842 1 ISBN 13 978 1 56647 842 7. So I am writing this only to share with you and not make any profits from this article. This is to share with you one of Jean's recipes from her book.


Sari Sari
Yeild: 4-5 servings


1/2 pound Chinese roast pork
1 Tablespoon oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 round onion wedged
1 tomato, wedged
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 cup water or chicken broth
2 long-type eggplants, halved lengthwise and cut in 1-inch slices
1/2 pound string beans, cut into thirds
1 long squash, peeled, cut into chunks (or 1/2 pumpkin)


Heat oil in a pot. Brown garlic, onion,  and tomato. Add pork, season with salt, and cook 5 minutes. Add water or chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add vegetables, cover and cook until vegetables are tender.


Variation: Substitute pork with 18 medium-size shrimp (31-40 count), peeled and cleaned. Add shrimp when squash is almost done.


Wow! That's seems simple, hope aunty on the south side can get this one.


So if you want some great local Hawaii recipes, Jean Hee's book is great, I flipped through the pages, and my mouth started to water!

Go to your nearest Barnes & Noble and get a copy, it's close to all of the Hawaiian regional cookbooks. If you want to possibly start a fund raiser and looking for recipes, this book can give you lots of ideas. Remember, cookbooks are great but try and tweaking some of the ingredients to make it your own. But if you follow this book to the T you won't be disappointed.


www.barnesandnoble.com

MAUI- What Pisses Off A Waiter/Waitress?

What Pisses Off Waiters/Waitresses? The number one pisser offer for men and women who serve for a living is? (Drum Roll).... It's the asswipe that doesn't tip at all, well, if you're a lousy waiter/waitress, you don't deserve a penny, and I mean it considerably. I myself have been stereotyped in a place called Kimo's in Lahaina a long time ago. Well, for one, I'm Filipino born here on Maui, and my date at the time was a cool blonde from California. The waiters? They were all tall in shape looking surfers, blonde to be exact, and the hostess was kind of rude, I mean we both were dressed for the occasion, we did not look like slobs. But to make this clear, you don't judge a book by its cover, and I guess those employees at the time thought I was some low income local that stole the clothes and the girl, and wouldn't tip them out after we ate. How wrong were they? Big time wrong because I had a lot of cash in my pocket, and was going to order the best for me and my chick friend. So to put it on fast-track, we split. And oh yeah, I did have a reservation, but for some God only knows reason, our 7 pm got to be 8pm and beyond, seriously, they said we could wait at the bar, so we waited, and waited until I finally said F this shit! I didn't even tip the bartender even though it wasn't his fault. I just felt a bit degraded, and above all disrespected in my own town, it was an embarrassment for myself after telling Debbie that Kimo's ruled and it was right on the water you know? How do you think I felt? Pretty lame I must say.


So this is how waiters/waitresses/hostesses and bartenders can't get a tip, if it's the customer is pissed to begin with. You want a tip, you have to give a hundred percent night in night out, whatever shifts you got. But a lot of waiters and waitresses do give it a hundred percent, and if the bozos eating at their tables don't bother leaving a dime, it can really get a staff member bloody peed. All of the professionals in the front of the house should understand that some people will just not tip, again, it's hard when they're trying to pay the bills, and the tips from credit cards are automatically logged down for the tax collectors.


What waiters/waitresses really want is cash tips, that way they have it right then and there, on the spot to divvy up with the bussers, and kitchen staff. But not getting a tip for doing an honest hard working job on some bozos is really the shits in a shitty way.


I've waited tables and there's no worse feeling than being left a zero tip. I figured this out, and if you are a waiter/waitress follow me on this. When dealing with bozos, just don't expect a tip, just let that go, maybe spit in the asswipe's water or something I don't know, I figure you can get creative on this. But here is where I made bank. You see, as a restaurant employee, I went to other restaurants to eat and drink and made friends that worked there, like other bartenders, waiters etc. When I go to their digs and if their service was great, I'd drop more than the measly 15%. So when they came to my section, I buffed them out real good, even paying for some of their drinks and appetizers, what I lost in that, I made up for in their gratuity. Seriously. Let's say there was 4 happy waitresses from another dig and they sat at my table. I'd buy their first round, that's about 12 bucks. Then I slide them some won tons and some shrimp for their pupus and that's another 12 bucks. So I'm down 24 bucks right there. But by the time they're all sauced and their bill is like 70 bucks with more drinks and food that they ordered. And waitresses on free fun time is the best because they know that my job is hard, and if I gave them the A game, guess what? My tip was gonna be huge! It wasn't uncommon for me to rake in at least 80 bucks cash, that's 20 each from that one table. So 80 less 24 is 56 bucks cash. I made my cost for the first round and two trays of appetizers and then some, you get the picture?


Here's another tip for you aspiring waiters/waitresses, always wipe something if it's slow, it shows cleanliness, it shows you're a professional, and that the flatware and glasses are spotless because of you. Seriously guys, if not getting big tips is pissin you off these days, you may try some of these tips. When you have an important looking customer, say he's a local businessman, he's in the newspapers, introduce yourself to him, usually these people understand hard work and profits, so when they see you giving it an ass kicking they'll notice you for sure. Offer them extra bread, pay for it. Offer them a glass of wine, and pay for it, say it's on the house, tell them, "Hey Mr. So and So, I saw you donate 10,000.00 dollars to the local school, man my kid goes there, thanks a lot, my name is Ron." He no doubt will feel appreciated, because business people are well, people too. Get to know them, call them by their last names first until they tell you not to. Mr. Jones or Mrs. Wong, never by their first names first. I tell you what if I was a businessman with lots of money, and saw a waiter be professional, and showed he recognized what I did, I'd leave that waiter a nice hefty tip, cash if I had it or more than the standard on the credit card tab.


Giving more of yourselves as a waiter/waitress will get you more in the long run, if you're always thinking "give me a tip" without really working hard for it, you'll never get a good tip. This guy I know is an old waiter, been around a long time. He always treats every table like they're VIPs, but he also gets pissed when bozos don't tip. Yeah it's like shooting craps, sometimes you just roll snake eyes and it hurts!


WARNING: MURDERING YOUR CUSTOMERS IN THE PARKING LOT CAN LAND YOU IN PRISON. PLEASE TAKE A DEEP BREATH BEFORE TAKING THE CHEF'S KNIFE AND START TO RUN AFTER A BOZO THAT DOESN'T TIP.

MAUI- Fresh Fish

I know that fresh fish tastes better than frozen or canned fish, that's automatic. Fresh fruits taste better than canned fruit or frozen fruits as well. So when it comes to fresh fish, what do you look for? When buying fish look into its eyes, if it's cloudy or merky the fish may be old, and also if it is slimy that is a good indicator that the fish is not so fresh.

Whenever fishermen have any kind of fresh catch, the fish is iced down immediately to preserve the texture of the meat, the clarity will deminish if it is warm, the cold of ice keeps the meat fresh and sweet. Markets open early in the morning, fresh catch are auctioned off, the bidders that win take their prize and try to make a handsome profit. Most restaurants on Maui sell frozen Mahi and frozen Ono, no joke, no lies, this is real. Most chefs are well trained to take that frozen Mahi from the South Pacific and turn it into a nice meal, and yes, that chalk board advertising Fresh Mahi is probably fiction to the max.

But some restaurants won't sell anything but fresh catch, if they don't have a particular species to sell fresh, then it's off of the boards. Some chefs have reputations that they don't want corrupted, I mean you cannot fool real fish afficionados. Like D.K. Kodama once told me, "You can't fool real sushi eaters, you try they'll kill you."

How can you be sure that the fine restaurant you'll take your wife to isn't selling frozen fish? The best thing to do is talk to people first, talk to foodies, they'll tell you right away that Joe's is selling frozen GMO fish. I mean, foodies take care of foodies, you want good quality fish that is Hawaiian fresh, do some research, because I'm telling you, even some excellent restaurants will try and slide you frozen fish. But if the chef made it into a work of art, what's the big deal?