Dana McCauley's food blog

Have a stew-pendous weekend!

There's something wonderfully comforting about the aroma of a simmering pot of stew on the stove. Beyond the soothing psychological benefits of stewing, simmered dishes can be a lifesaver for busy people since they require very little last minute preparation, often use pantry staples and can be reheated when you need them most.

Almost every culture has a repertoire of stews and, no matter what these recipes contain, almost all of them follow the same blueprint for success. Visit www.toptentable for a basic stew recipe that epitomizes the classic stewing method as well as for a few of my other recipes you can try this weekend and freeze for later.)

Ready to give stewing a try? Use these tips to make your next stewing effort a delicious success:
1. Choose less tender cuts of beef such as shoulder, rump, sirloin tip, inside round or chuck.

2. Meat for stewing needs to be well-trimmed of gristle and fat before it's cut into evenly sized cubes no larger than 2-in (5-cm).

3. Puréed vegetables such as potato, tomato or celeriac can be added to the stew for thickness and to add nutrients and fibre.

4. You need enough liquid to cover the meat entirely but not so much that the meat is lost in the pan.

5. Pan juices should be thick and full-bodied in a good stew. If the meat becomes tender before this happens. Strain off some of the juices, thicken with a little extra flour and cook in a separate saucepan, stirring, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Return to stewing pan.


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Are men cooking more or less nowadays?

As frequent readers of this blog have likely gleaned, I watch a lot of TV. Although I try to justify it as part of my job, (once a food or food trend makes its way into pop culture I need to know about it, right?) the truth is, I just like sitting around.

Last week I was watching the pilot of Cashmere Mafia and I was struck not only by how boring it was, but by how the men were portrayed as the castrated, compromised subordinates to the hyper successful female main characters.

A little later that same evening I saw a preview for a show I don't watch called Big Shots. It featured a vaguely familiar, very dishy actor having a revelation: "We're the new women," he bemoaned to his equally dishy friends. All characters looked crestfallen. I guess the idea of cooking on a daily basis isn't every man's idea of bliss!

Both of these shows (which are presumably written for women viewers) underlined an interesting point. Although droves of women work and have busy lives, the number of men who cook dinner daily has increased only by a small amount. Yes, statistics show that more men are cooking but they aren't necessarily doing more weeknight meal preparation. From the research I've read, moms are still doing the day-to-day cooking while dads and single men are sauntering into the kitchen in their spare time to experiment with recipes for yeast breads, fresh pasta or slow-cooked roasts.

Men treat cooking like their other traditional hobbies such as carpentry and landscaping, spending considerably more on appliances, ingredients and tools than a woman typically spends. Bottom line: Men aren't the new women. They're just men who've discovered another room where they can relax.

A is your ninth and final letter for the mystery word. Go on, unscramble that word and enter it in the Homemakers Slow Cooker Mystery Word Contest. You have until midnight on March 3, 2008 to figure it out and enter to win a Hamilton Beach slow cooker plus a copy of my cookbook, Dana's Top Ten Table (HarperCollins, 2007). Good luck!


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The ultimate comfort food

Moms have been pleasing their families by making scratch mac and cheese for decades. And since the late 1930s when Kraft first started making packaged macaroni and cheese, many moms have served make-do versions on busy nights when they lacked the necessary time to make the real thing. With generations of us having grown up eating these cheesy pots of noodles, macaroni and cheese has become if not the singular dish that epitomizes comfort food, one of the top 10.

I think my version is one of the best -- B is your mystery letterfor today. Not only is it supremely cheesy and smooth, but this mac and cheese can be customized to suit your own definition of macaroni and cheese. For those who grew up on the packaged stuff, it can be served creamy and slightly fluid from the cooking pot. And, for those who crave the old school, Mom's kitchen variety, this version can be topped with buttery crumbs and baked until the sauce penetrates the noodles and a golden crust forms. Either way, this mac and cheese is sublimely delicious and iconically orange!

For more classic and inspiring pasta recipes, check out Ruth Daniel's Presto Pasta Night, a Friday feature in her Once Upon a Feast Blog.

Double Cheddar Mac and Cheese

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

3 cups (750 mL) dry macaroni noodles
2 tbsp (30 mL) butter
1/4 cup (50 mL) very finely chopped or coarsely grated onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp (2 m L) pepper
1/2 tsp (1 mL) nutmeg
1 tbsp (15 mL) all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups (375 mL) milk
1 pkg (250 g) cold pack Cheddar cheese
1 cup (250 mL) shredded aged Cheddar cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil Add the macaroni and cook according to package directions. Drain well.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a deep skillet set over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, pepper and nutmeg. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the onion mixture and blend well. Add a splash of the milk and blend until smooth.

Gradually add remaining milk, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Break up the cold pack cheese and add it a little at a time to the milk mixture until completely incorporated. Gradually add the grated cheese, stirring well between additions. When all the cheese is incorporated into the sauce, remove pan from heat.

Blend the macaroni into the sauce mixture, stirring until evenly coated. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Variation: For baked Mac & Cheese, transfer the macaroni mixture to to a buttered 8-cup (2L) casserole dish. Preheat the oven to 400F (200C). Toss 1 cup (250 mL) fresh bread crumbs with 2 tbsp (30 mL) each melted butter and chopped fresh parsley. Sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the casserole. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until bubbly and browned.

Cook once, eat twice: Double this recipe and freeze one half as a casserole for another time. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before baking, covered in foil, for about 40 minutes or until heated through. Broil until browned on top.

Text and recipe excerpted from Dana's Top Ten Table: 200 Fresh Takes on Family-Favorite Meals. Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. Copyright (c) 2007 by Dana McCauley. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.


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Knife shopping: size matters

Pictured above, from left: carving knife, chef's knife, serrated knife, boning knife, paring knife

I'm not the only one who has said that a good kitchen knife should be an extension of your hand. Likewise, in the same way that your hand only needs five fingers, a well-outfitted kitchen needs no more than five types of knife. To take the analogy even farther, you'll likely use two of your knives more often than you use the other three -- much the same way most people use their thumb and forefinger more than the other three digits.

1. The Thumb -- Chef's Knife: If you buy just one knife, this is the one to get. Also called a chopping knife, this style of knife has a heavy wide blade that tapers down to a thin point. Its shape makes it ideal for chopping vegetables, herbs and other ingredients. The side of a chef's knife is often used to flatten thinly sliced meats or to crush garlic cloves.

Although Cosmopolitan magazine may beg to differ, size really doesn't matter -- when it comes to chef's knives at least. If you feel uneasy brandishing a 10-inch (25 cm) chef's knife, try an 8-inch (20 cm) or even a 6-inch (15 cm) blade instead. Good knives of any size are made in proportion and most home cooks will be able to chop as much and as fast with any blade size if they use proper technique.

2. The Forefinger -- Paring Knife: A small knife for trimming and peeling vegetables and fruit is a kitchen essential you'll use many times a day. Some paring knives (called turning knives by professional cooks) have curved blades but most have straight blades from 2-inches (5 cm) to 4-inches (10 cm) long.

3. The Middle Finger -- Carving Knife: These knives with long, slender blades are excellent for cutting even slices from large pieces of cooked meat; however, carving knives aren't very useful for chopping since the thin, light weight blade doesn't facilitate the rocking action necessary for efficient chopping.

4. Ring Finger -- Serrated Knife: A is your mystery lettertoday and a large serrated knife is ideal for slicing breads, pastries, citrus and tomatoes. A serrated knife has an edge that is uneven and rippled on the side; its sharpness usually lasts indefinitely but serrated knives can be sharpened professionally if they become dull.

The Pinkie - Boning Knife: these elegant, thin blades are usually about 6-inches (15 cm) long and may be flexible or rigid. Since the tip of the knife is used most, a fine point is essential. When skinning fish or removing the fell from meat, the entire blade of the knife may be used (which is why a flexible blade can be desirable). Since most home cooks buy meat that is already clean and off the bone, this knife -- like your pinky -- is mostly for show in most home kitchens.


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Warm the house: Bake!

Although research shows that many people deem cooking a chore, baking falls into another category entirely. Since it isn't a necessary day-to-day task, it's viewed as a hobby. Canadians report that baking is a favourite wintertime activity (I once read that flour sales spike in January -- J is your mystery letter for today). While January days are often too harshly cold to enjoy outdoor activities, the bulky sweaters you wear at this time of year hide excess cookie pounds well.

I learned to bake from my grandmother, Mary Badiuk. She was a self-taught, wonderful baker. She didn't use written recipes and her tools were humble -- a faded flower-patterned teacup with a broken lug for measuring flour, a worn silver teaspoon for measuring pretty much everything else. Because Mary knew what the dough or batter was supposed to look and feel like, it wasn't important for her to use proper baking cups and spoons or even written recipes.

Hers was a large prairie farm family so, daily, she baked bread for sandwiches, pies and cakes for lunch and dinner, dessert, and then cookies or squares for evening snack time.

Today, very few of us scratch bake everyday so we don't develop my grandmother's intuitive baking skills. In fact, after telling her story, I feel like I should add the proviso: Don't try this at home!

For most of us, taking the time to measure exactly is essential to guarantee good results both when cooking and baking. So, to help you to get the best out of your baking efforts, check out my test kitchen tips:

-Read the recipe all the way through before beginning to ensure you have everything you'll need. Baked goods depend on specific chemical reactions to succeed so you need to use the exact amounts and the specific ingredients called for in the recipe.

-Measure dry ingredients such as flour and sugar into spoutless measuring cups by scooping the ingredient into the cup and then levelling it off with the flat edge of a knife. Don't shake or tap the measure on the counter to even out the ingredients.

-Always preheat the oven until it reaches the required temperature before adding filled pans.

-Make sure your oven temperature is accurate -- it's a good idea to invest in an inexpensive oven thermometer to double check even if your oven is new.

-Don't sift flour or cocoa unless specified in the recipe. Also, do not substitute an equal amount of one type of flour for another. Every type of flour has a unique gluten (protein) content, which will affect the texture of the finished baked goods.

-Pack brown sugar lightly into a dry measuring cup.

-Remember when reading recipes that a baking pan is metal while a baking dish is glass. Substitutions in baking pans can affect results and change baking times.


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