MAINTAINING YOUR KITCHEN KNIVES

Knives are the tools we most use in our kitchens so we need to take proper care of them. But first, for those of you that need a few lessons on what knives to purchase, I'll go over some with you and then we'll get into maintaing them. And remember when ever you buy any knife, you want to hold it in your hand, and see if you like the feel. Such as the handle, the length of the blade as well as weight, to the way it looks. If you are a golfer you know what I'm talking about, you need to love the look of your knife first,if it doesn't look good? There's no chance you'll pick it up or oder it online.

CHEFS KINFE: This is your go to knife for slicing, chopping, mincing, in other words this is your main weapon. There are different styles of chef's knives, from stamped stainless steel, to forged stainless steel, from wooden handles, to rubber and other composite handles, it can get pretty confusing.

1. An 8" blade chef's knife is a good length for basic home kitchen use, a 10" even by professional chefs are a bit cumbersome, though longer blades is great for slicing through thick skinned pumpkins that are huge, or firm cheeses. A 6" blade is too short for general use, but works well as a veggie slicer or fruit knife, unless you're a true artist with food, don't waste time with buying one, I have one, but seldom ever use it.

2. A paring knife is a knife you'll use to peel carrots, or potatoes, or to use to cut out some smaller pieces out of an apple or the like, it really comes in handy when you misplace your vegetable peeler.

3. A 7" Fillet knife (also can be used as a boning knife), this knife is generally flexible and narrow with a pointed tip, it is used for removing meat from bones like chicken, fish etc.

4. A meat cleaver made for breaking through bones, like spare ribs, and short ribs. Some call it a hacker, generally on the heavy side. It does come in handy when you want to save money and buy meats with bone in. Butchers will charge more for the service and the packaging. 

5. A carving set with a fork, you'd probably use it during two dinners, one would be Thanksgiving, and the other Christmas when you got a rib roast or turkey to carve up. Don't spend an arm and a leg for this, Macy's or Walmart has good carving sets for a low price.

Below is the current prices for these knives I am talking about, as far as caring for your knives, keep them in a knife holder magnet attached to the wall, or in a wooden block, keep them out of reach of children, never point the knives at anyone, keep them sharp, clean them with warm anti bacterial soap when cutting or slicing raw or cooked meats. Some cooks will tell you "Don't use soap." I do, and I haven't had a problem yet, just rinse it well, and dry them immediately. Get some lessons on knives, watch Youtube videos on chefs handling knives, and good luck.

$34.56 Victorinox 8" Chef Knife from Amazon

$25.16 Victorinox 7" Fillet Knife from Amazon

$11.99 J.A. Henckels 3 pc. Paring Knife Set Amazon

$48.95 J.A. Henckels 6" Meat Cleaver Amazon

$20.16 J.A. Hencke's 8" Slicer & Fork Set Amazon

And you can purchase a sharpening rod from your local hardware store, just have the clerk demonstrate how to use it, it is a tool to maintain the edge of your knives. Your Chef's knife will need to be sharpened the most. Also once you can't get your knives sharp using the sharpening rod, you can call a professional knife sharpener to give a new edge to your blades, or you can learn from an expert on how to sharpen it yourself, you will need a sharpening stone to do this, and the technique is very important, inexperienced cooks ruin their blades by not taking lessons on sharpening their knives. 

In time you will learn how to slice, dice and chop efficiently, as well as to care for your knives. I've blogged on this subject many times, but it's always good to be updated on the basics of kitchen tools. And your knives are important to you as a home cook, without it you're like a cop without his pistol.

Until next time have a great life!

Ron Sambrano

     

© 2014

MAMA'S ONAGA (Red Snapper) SOUP PLANTATION STYLE

My mom made awesome meals, her dinners were just fantastic, my friends that stayed for dinner didn't want to go home. I mean there was this one time, a neighborhood kid was sitting in our garage one evening just smelling the food my mom was cooking, the kid was the neighborhood punk so my dad chased his ass out of the garage, he sprinted fast, but I could tell he wanted to eat. Poor kid, his mom was a shitty ass cook. :(

One of the soups my mom made was an Onaga soup, or Red Snapper. Now most chefs here on the island would cringe at the thought of making Onaga soup, because most of these chefs are full of shit! They are all culinary… "What? Mrs. Sambrano just wasted a good fish?" Well mom knew what the hell she was doing. If she were alive, she'd throw it down with Bobby the Shitfaced Flay.

Here's an Onaga Soup Recipe.

1 whole onaga, cleaned. about 3 lbs.KEEP HEAD
10 cups of water
1 cup apple cider vinegar
6 large tomatoes crushed
2 large onions diced
2 bay leaves
5 cloves garlic crushed
3 inch ginger chopped
Salt and Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. The fish should be sectioned in about 4 pieces head as well as the tail section. Keep this on the side until the water and veggies are boiling.

2. Bring the water, vinegar, crushed tomatoes, diced onions, bay leaves, garlic and ginger to a boil, then lower heat to simmer and cook for about 10-15 minutes.

3. Add in the fish pieces, and simmer the fish with the vegetable broth for about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

NOTE: The Onaga is a very delicate fish, but mom would cook it just right, and the fish would still be intact. She would serve it in a large soup bowl with the eyes of the Onaga staring at you. But guess what? That soup was very good, the flavor wasn't too strong, and it didn't make the house smell like fish, the ginger and onions mitigated that aroma.

Until next time have a great life!

Ron Sambrano

             

© 2014

PORK ADOBO STIR FRY WITH VEGGIES

Left overs make great tasting wok stir fries, why? Leftovers are aged foods, and of course if it's aged too long we foodies call it spoiled! However a day old plate of pork adobo has so much flavors packed into each cubed chunks of pork, it makes an incredible wok stir fry, all you'll need to do is go to a local diner that serves pork adobo, and you don't have to eat it, just take it home and save it for your wok cooking the next evening.

Here's the recipe for 4, and it's just wonderful.

1 tbsp. cooking oil
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 lbs. of cooked pork adobo, saved in the refrigerator, let it sit at room temperature so that it cooks really fast in your wok.
1/2 cup of sliced onions
1/2 cup of sliced bell peppers any color will do
1/2 cup sliced white mushrooms

Sauce:
1/2 cup of shoyu
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. sugar

1 cup of chopped chives for garnish

Directions:

1. Over medium high heat, Swirl cooking oil on the bottom and sides of a 14" wok.
2. Add in 1/2 tsp. garlic, cook for a few seconds, then add in 1/2 of the pork adobo, just sear it and heat through and remove. Return wok to heat, bring wok to the initial temperature, add in a little more oil, the rest of the garlic, and the rest of the pork adobo, cook in the same manner and place it on the side with the other cooked half.
3. Add a little more cooking oil to wok, return to heat, and stir fry the veggies until half way cooked, add the mushrooms last. Add in the sauce, cook for a couple of minutes, add in the cooked pork adobo, heat through, plate it. Garnish with chives and serve with rice, fried rice or other salads.

NOTE: Most homes have pretty weak heat for wok cooking, so remember to cook your food in batches so that you'll get a good sear on the veggies and the meats. Chinese chefs have very high BTU wok burners that can stir fry 2 pounds of sliced meat and veggies in less time than doing it in batches. Wok cooking is all about high heat, so you have to adjust the amount of ingredients that goes into your home wok cooking.

Until next time have a great life!

Ron Sambrano

          

© 2014

CHOCOLATE DOBASH CAKE RECIPE

            ©

Cakes, what can I say? I mean…you're at a family dinner, more like a potluck that wasn't supposed to be. Example, we Hawaiians (peeps that live here), will invite other peeps for dinner, and we are the chefs, servers, and janitor crew, however here in Hawaii, if you invite people for dinner, friends or family, and you tell them, "Hey just show up, me and the wife are making prime rib, stir fried rice, baked mahi mahi, and salad. Just show up, we'll have lots of food, we got 3 huge ass rib roasts, and it's Wagyu."

It doesn't  matter what you tell them they won't listen, because there's a good chance whoever you're inviting will bring something, be it wine, beer, raw fish, maybe some other designer box of cookies, or drum roll please…CAKE! Although the host and hostess may have a dessert, it seems there's always a chosen few that always show up with decent cake. Decent cakes are the ones that they'll bake, or the ones that they buy at a nice bakery, or for that matter supermarket quality cakes are not too shabby at all. One time, I went to a dinner, I just picked up a bottle of Chard, but there were like seven people bringing pastries and cake.  It was a convention to get diabetes no pun intended.

Cake always hits the spot after a filling dinner, for me, my favorite cake is a chocolate dobash just loved it since I was a kid, my mom worked in a bakery called Nashiwa's and they had the best pastries and cakes. I love chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream, I'm a sucker for that stuff. Just love it, and the dobash has that nice sweet frosting on top.

Here's a simple recipe for Chocolate Dobash 

Cake:

• 3 large eggs, separate the yolks from the whites in separate bowls
• 1 3/4 cup. white sugar
• 1 1/2 cup. all purpose flour
• 1 tsp.  baking soda
• 1/2 tsp.  salt
• 1/2 c.unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 c.vegetable oil
• 1 c. milk

Frosting:

• 1 1/2 cup. water
• 1 cup. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup.butter
• 1/2 cup. unsweetened cocoa
• 3/8 cup. cornstarch 
• 1/2 cup. water
• 1 14 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions to Bake: 

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Butter 2 - 8" round pans. Gradually beat egg whites until frothy. Add 1/2 c.of sugar. Continue beating until stiff. In a mixing bowl; sift dry ingredients, and then add the oil and half of the milk. Beat until blended well. Add remaining milk and egg yolks. Beat until smooth. After that, fold in stiff egg whites, and divide the cake batter into prepared pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool and set aside.

Frosting: In a saucepan over medium heat; whisk the water, sugar, salt, butter and cocoa. Bring to a boil. In a mixing bowl mix the cornstarch and water. Then whisk into the cocoa mixture; stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Stir in vanilla.

Spread frosting quickly on top of the bottom cake, then top it with the other cake and pour the frosting over the entire cake while still hot; spread evenly with a spatula. Work quickly as the frosting will  lose its texture and get too stiff for you to spread it as it cools.

Until next time, have a great life and enjoy the cake.

Ron Sambrano

BACK TO BASICS PORK RIBS

Time to get back to basics, and let's talk about some good old home cooking utilizing pork ribs. Pork ribs? Hey man I'm confused, I see all kinds of shit out there in the meat section, and they label it "pork ribs" but I don't' see no bones, I see different looking stuff man.

Yeah junior I know, I know. So let's go over some things shall we? Ok, pay attention. Pork like beef, or cattle, is basically the same. Yes, they look different but I meant they are both quadrupeds, they walk on all fours, and generally the rib sections are pretty much tender, I said generally. Okay I'll go over some of the rib cuts of the pig right here, and I'll borrow some pics from Google which is what my blog is powered by, and I am making this statement, "I am not making money off of this blog post, just sharing with my foodies."

Below is two slabs of baby back ribs, it is sold anywhere from 8 to 13 bones, or rib bones. Younger hogs are generally the ones used for baby backs, weighing around the mid 200 pounds class. The baby backs are also called loin ribs, back ribs, they are from the top of the rib cage between the spine and the spare ribs, below the loin muscle. The appearance of these ribs looks like they are wide at one end and it becomes narrower towards the other end, this is attributed to the way the hog was designed naturally, look at a hog, the animal does look wider at the front of its body and narrower towards the end. The meat in-between the bones are not really tender, so slow cooking them is the way to go, or any method that creates steam. 

One way to cook these is to slather them with your favorite BBQ sauce, and place them on a hot grill creating a crust, then on to a lower heated grill and slow cooked for a couple of hours. Or just slather them with a rub, and using foil, wrap them up tight, and roast it in the oven for a couple of hours, the meat just falls off of the bones.

This tip can help you in the kitchen, pork baby back ribs are great cuts, my mom actually made soup with them, that's right, some culinary t.v. star may frown on that, but shit, she knew how to cook em up, the meat fell off of the bone, and the broth was awesome, because of the bones, it was great! So try them out, ask questions at the butcher shop, get to know the hog.

Until next time, have a great life!

Ron Sambrano

               

© 2014

THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING A SALAD

                        

Salads sometimes aren't what we guys concentrate on, let's face it, it's the MLB Playoffs in a few weeks, NCCA Football is in full swing, and we can't forget the NFL Football schedule with everyone's Sundays is filled with cookouts or cookins. And just think, basketball season starts up in a couple of months too, so the men foodies are gonna be busy until the Final Four and the NBA Finals, of course any MMA on demand takes us dudes close to the grill or some pot right?

But let's get real, if we want to eat right a salad is something we need to focus on, a salad that's tasty and healthy, especially when there's others around, let's try and go the extra mile and not just man the grill, the wok, or stove.. let's try and be more well rounded.

Here's a simple salad that the men can make that's fairly easy, very basic that all you'll need is some greens, onions, cherry tomatoes, crispy bacon (yes you can have it), and some balsamic vinegar, honey, garlic, chives, olive oil, rosemary, thyme, and lemon juice.

SERVES 4-6

1 1/2 lbs. of romaine lettuce
1/2 lb. of kale
1 small sweet round onion
8 oz of sliced cherry tomatoes (stores sell them in plastic 8 oz containers) you slice em
1 lb. of apple wood smoked bacon

Dressing

2 cups of balsamic vinegar
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup or more of honey
5 crushed garlic cloves
1/2 cup of chopped chives
1/2 tsp of chopped rosemary
1/2 tsp of chopped thyme
Juice of 1 small lemon
Salt & Pepper to taste
* Place all ingredients in a blender of food processor and blend well, put it in a jar with lid and refrigerate for a few hours to get cold. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper or more honey for sweet etc.

1. Heat up your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with baking paper and spray nonstick on it, arrange the bacon on the sheet, and bake it for about 20 minutes or until the bacon gets crispy. Every oven works differently, keep an eye on it. When it's done, let it rest, and when cooked, chop it up into bits.

2. Cut the romaine and kale into bite size pieces, halve the onion and slice into thin strips. Put this and the sliced tomatoes and the bacon in a large mixing bowl, and toss well. Pour the entire bottle of dressing into the bowl and toss well, cover with foil and refrigerate until ready to serve.

THYME

ROSEMARY

CURLY KALE

ROMAINE LETTUCE

8 YEARS AGED BALSAMIC VINEGAR

(You can get inexpensive ones at the market)

Carry on my home chefs, and make your dishes rock with a salad that kicks ass!

Until next time, have a great life!

Ron Sambrano

            

© 2014

JAMIE'S DREAM SCHOOL, JAMIE OLIVER ON MEAT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EcF_dKHXHY

Another one of my favorite t.v. chefs, Jamie Oliver teaches his students the finer points on beef, and how he cooks a nice steak on the stovetop, watch and learn because I did. Very interesting video as his butcher friend talks about the different cuts from the cattle. Chef Oliver tells his students that there is no really best cut of beef because everyone's taste is different, which is true. Cooks can save money by purchasing the tougher cuts of beef and slow cook them instead of buying the finer cuts that take less time to cook but costs more. A very good video for any cook that's learning and wants to be a chef, or a great home cook. Enjoy this video.

Until next time

Ron Sambrano

© 2014