Is It Safe?

"Best by" and "sell by" dates are just a suggestion and a best guess. Don't throw away perfectly good foods because the label says so. The link below is a useful guide which can tell you what foods last forever and which ones you should err on the side of caution with. 


Still Tastie

How to Defrost Any Meat

The freezer is one of our favorite assets in the kitchen. We've constantly got ours stocked with frozen sausages, fish, ground beef, and other proteins that make quick weeknight meals in a pinch, all without having to run to the grocery store.
There's just one thing: Integrate a freezer pantry into your home cooking and you'll need to become a defrosting pro. Yes, cooking directly from frozen is technically an option, but doing can result in watery protein and an overall loss of quality.
Essentially, you've got three choices when it comes to safely thawing protein. Which one you choose comes down to how much time you have.

IDEAL: The Refrigerator

Say you've got all the time in the world and really planned ahead for tomorrow night's dinner. If that's the case, the absolute best and safest way to defrost your frozen meat is in the refrigerator—your meat will defrost at a consistent temperature that's below the USDA's magical safety mark of 40 °F.
Simply place your meat—either in its plastic packaging, or removed and covered with plastic wrap—on a plate in your fridge the night before you plan on cooking it. The plate ensures that any moisture produced during the thawing process doesn't end up all over your fridge. Check back the next night and you'll find perfectly thawed pieces of chicken, fish, or steak ready to get seasoned and cooked. If you're working with a larger piece of meat like a whole chicken or a roast-size cut of beef you'll want to allow more time to ensure the meat thaws all the way through.
Really want to get ahead? Ground meat, stew meat, poultry, and seafood will be safe in the fridge for an additional day or two after defrosting; beef, pork or lamb roasts, chops and steaks can keep for 3 to 5 days.

IN A PINCH: Cold Water

More often than not, this is the situation: We get home from work and need to get dinner on the table in less than an hour. In these cases, place your protein in a resealable bag and submerge it in a large bowl of cold tap water. Just as with the refrigerator method, thawing times depend on the size of the protein. Small items like sausage, boneless chicken breasts, and thin cuts of steak such as skirt will defrost within an hour. Thawing larger cuts will take 2 to 3 hours, and you'll need to change out the water every hour to ensure things stay cold.
If you have a change of plans and decide you don't want that chicken breast you've been defrosting in cold water for dinner, make sure you cook it through before putting it back in the fridge or refreezing.

Leftovers Are Actually Good For

Your Leftovers Are Actually Good For

Tossing things prematurely happens more often than you might think (the USDA says almost a pound of food is wasted per person per day). Are you jumping the gun?

Egg, Tuna or Chicken Salads

We were surprised to learn that homemade egg, tuna or chicken salad can last up to seven days in the refrigerator. Just remember that your fridge should be set to 40 degrees or colder, says Jen Tong, global managing director of integrity and process excellence for a division of the public health and safety organization NSF.

Cooked Meats

Poached chicken, grilled steak and roast pork tenderloin all keep well for three to four days in the fridge, says Tong. She recommends putting the items in the refrigerator within two hours, since the less time the food spends at room temperature, the better (and safer).

Pizza

Just as with cooked meats, pizza is usually good for three or four days in the refrigerator. (Wrap it tightly to keep it tasting fresh.)

Soups and Chilies

Whether you've made a pot of minestrone, chicken noodle or chili, when it comes to soups and chilies, there are almost always leftovers (and often, the meals taste even better after a day). You can keep enjoying them for three to four days once refrigerated, says Tong. The important thing is to get the temperature down quickly to keep the food in a safe temperature zone (below 40 degrees, or above 140).

Everything—and We Mean Everything—Else

While three to four days is a good rule of thumb for most leftovers, there are exceptions (for instance, leftover raw shellfish, such as ceviche or sushi, has a lifespan of just one to two days). For an easy way to determine whether to toss something, there are a number of free apps that can help; one is Is My Food Safe? (a collaboration between the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and ConAgra Foods), where you can scroll through by category, say, desserts, and go from cakes to puddings. Another is USDA's new FoodKeeper app; among other features, it lets you enter the date you made something and then receive notifications when the food is nearing the end of its recommended storage time.

How-to…Cook an Egg

You think it’s such a simple thing, but a perfectly cooked egg is actually kind of an achievement, particularly when you’re trying to get a specific result. Anyone who has served their share of rubbery scrambled eggs knows that well. That said, they’re also awesome. They’re cheap, they’re packed with protein and healthy fat, and throwing one on top of pretty much anything makes pretty much anything better. Here’s a goop tutorial, along with some really important information about buying eggs, including what those labels on the cartons actually mean.

Boiled

1 egg
water

Fill a small saucepan three-quarters full with water and bring to a boil.
Using a spoon, gently slide in the egg and set your timer.
Keep an eye on the water while the egg cooks, and try to maintain a soft boil.

• For a soft-boiled egg with set whites and a liquid yolk set for six minutes.
• For a perfectly hard-boiled egg with a slightly soft center set for nine minutes.
• For a completely cooked through yolk set for ten minutes.

When the timer goes off, remove the egg to an ice water bath for one minute to stop the cooking.
Crack, peel, and enjoy.

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Quick Conversion Chart

Here is a quick measurement conversion chart that every home cook needs.

Kosher Salt and Table Salt whats the difference

Kosher Salt and Table Salt whats the difference

There are significant similarities and only minor differences between everyday table salt and kosher salt. A misconception of kosher salt is that it is consumed by only those that follow the Jewish food laws (that allow only kosher foods to be eaten). In fact, kosher salt is not named after those guidelines, and practice and does not conform to those standards. Instead, it got this name because it is used to cure meat in order to make the meat kosher.

Kosher salt is comprised of larger and courser grains than table salt. Table salt is a more refined salt with very small grain size. Due to the larger grain size, kosher salt is easier to pinch and measuring with your fingers, which is why it is a favorite for many chefs.

Table salt and kosher salt taste fairly similar to one another. However, table salt has a slightly metallic flavor due to the iodine that is added. Kosher salt, which does not contain any iodine additives, therefore tastes lighter and cleaner than table salt. Kosher salt tends to be less salty overall than table salt.

Kosher salt, as opposed to table salt, has no additives. Table salt, or iodized salt, often contains additives. Some common additives in common table salt include potassium iodide, sodium iodide and sodium iodate. Also, sodium silicoaluminate or sodium ferrocyanide is commonly added to table salt as an anti-caking agent and occasionally added to kosher salt.

There are no major nutritional differences between table salt and kosher salt. Too much of either salt can cause problems in the body, such as high blood pressure. Not enough salt can also be detrimental, as the body needs salt in order to regulate the cell's electrolyte balance.

Table salt is the most common form of salt for everyday consumption and is what most people use to season their dishes. Table salt is commonly used to add flavor to many various dishes and foods. Kosher salt is sometimes used by cooks as a replacement for table salt because of its particular taste. Kosher salt is great for curing meat because of its large surface area which allows it to absorb more moisture than other salts. Kosher salt is wonderful for bringing out other food's natural flavor and is also sometimes used as salt around the rim of a margarita glass. However, kosher salt is not an ideal ingredient for baking because of its absorbency traits.

In order to substitute table salt for kosher salt in a recipe, you need to make sure there is enough liquid to do so. Because kosher salt absorbs more water as compared to table salt, you will likely need to add additional water or other liquid to the recipe if you substitute. Also, because different brands of kosher salt come in many different sizes of grains, it is often hard to pinpoint the exact amount, such as a teaspoon, for a recipe. However, you will begin to get a feel for the correct amount if you use one brand consistently through trial and error.

Margarine or butter whats the difference

Margarine or butter whats the difference

Both have the same amount of calories. 
Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams; compared to 5 grams for margarine.

Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study.

Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods.
Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few and only because they are added!

Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavours of other foods.

Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years .

And now, for Margarine..

Very High in Trans fatty acids.

Triples risk of coronary heart disease ...

Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)

Inceases the risk of cancers up to five times..

Lowers quality of breast milk

Decreases immune response.

Decreases insulin response.

And here's the most disturbing fact... HERE IS THE PART THAT IS VERY INTERESTING!

Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC... and shares 27 ingredients with PAINT.

These facts alone were enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added).

Country Gravey

Nothing taste better on a cold morning then biscuits with Country Gravy. With the gravy taking less then 15 minutes to make its easy for getting your morning started.



Country Gravey

Ingredients

1 can - Grands Biscuit (8 count)
1/2 lb - Ground sausage
1 tbs - Vegetable oil or butter
2 tbs - Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour  
1 cup - milk  
1/4 tsp - Salt   (to taste)
1/4 tsp - Pepper   (to taste)

 Directions

1 Cook sausage until done

2 After removing cooked meat from skillet or pan, add oil to drippings in skillet. Stir in flour, scraping up brown particles. Cook over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture is light golden brown.

3 Stir in milk. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is boiling and thickened. If gravy is too thick, stir in more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency. Stir in salt and pepper.


(to increase amount just double, triple amounts as needed)

Houston Barbecue Festival

Tickets to go on sale for third edition of Houston Barbecue Festival

Featuring a who's who of local pitmasters, the third annual Houston Barbecue Festival will be April 26 at NRG Park.

The event includes four barbecue joints featured in Alison Cook's Top 100 Restaurants. Among them: Brooks' Place, CorkScrew, Gatlin's and Killen's.

Other confirmed participants include Blake's BBQ, the Brisket House, El Burro & the Bull, Fainmous, Feges BBQ, Gerardo's, Lenox, Oak Leaf Smokehouse, Pappa Charlie's, Pizzitola's, Ray's BBQ Shack, Roegels Barbecue Co., Spring Creek and The Wooden Spoke.

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Party Portion

Here is simple chart that will help you know how much to serve