Happy Friday, friends… This week I thought I’d talk about five ingredients which home cooks might find intimidating, yet are actually really awesome to cook with. Enjoy!
- Truffles! I think that because truffles are so insanely expensive that the home cook may worry about misusing this gourmet ingredient and wasting their hard, earned money. The sneaky secret I’m going to impart to you is thus: Don’t buy whole truffles, leave those beauties to the pro-chefs. Instead infuse your food with truffle flavor by using either truffle salt or truffle infused oil in your cooking! Both these items cost just under $20, so it’s an affordable way to experience this coveted and prized ingredient. (Though if you are lucky enough to get your hands on some fresh or preserved truffles, please be sure to do some research on how to cook with truffles – though there is hardly a savory recipe which couldn’t benefit from the addition of the truffle flavor, there are specific things one needs to keep in mind when using truffles… like… cook them.)
- Anchovies – Can I tell you how sad I am that I’m violently allergic to anchovies? I am… so… sad. Anchovies are a rich, oily, tasty little fish that when used properly add a huge flavor to soups, dressings and sauces. In particular, they’re often used in Italian red sauces, antipastos and Caesar dressing… For dressings and sauces using anchovy paste is a tad easier than using whole anchovies. And, you should be aware when using the anchovy, if you’re feeding guests whose allergy history you’re unaware of, check first – many people (like me, *sobs*) are allergic to this little fish.
- Lobster- The real issue with cooking lobster is getting over the fact that you’re going to have to kill the lobster first. If you can do that, you can cook the lobster with no problem. Even if you’re a shellfish rights advocate (*rolls eyes*) you can still enjoy lobster in your cooking. Most good seafood counters will not only have live lobsters for sale, but will also have freshly steamed whole lobsters or recently shelled lobster meat for sale. (Though nothing is quite as tasty as a freshly steamed lobster, yo…)
- Artichokes – I’m not sure if it’s the hard-to-pair flavor or the intimidating packaging of the artichoke which makes it so intimidating to cook with… but, it’s all myth. The artichoke, provided you know not to eat the “choke,” is extremely easy to cook… Steam it and dip the leaves in butter or lemon-aioli or mayonaise… yum! Plus, canned artichokes make great additions to pastas and salads (one of the few ingredients I find as tasty canned as I do fresh.) While it is difficult to “perfectly pair” a wine with the artichoke flavor – white wines like Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and sparkling Brut work pretty well with artichokes. (Also keep in mind if you use cream, butter or cheese in your recipe with the artichokes it’ll be easier to find a wine which goes well with the dish.)
- Offal – The blood, guts, bones and organs of animals were once considered the “poor cuts” of meat. These days, only master chefs regularly attempt creating dishes using offal… which is just plain silly. Offal, when cooked correctly, tastes just as delicious as other meat. The key is knowing how to cook the offal… and, the most important factors to consider when using offal in a recipe are these: a. Make sure it is cleaned well! and b. Cook it a long, long time. What grosses me out about offal is when someone undercooks it and the tripe or whatever is rubbery and you become super aware you’re eating innards. Tripe, specifically, needs to be braised and stewed for a long time before it becomes tender… As does tongue (which tastes delicious pickled, like corned beef or pastrami.) Kidneys and liver have specific cooking techniques that you should follow to extract the best flavors from them. And, brain and sweatbreads -while intimidating, are fairly easy to cook well and taste DELISH. My number one tip, as the granddaughter of a butcher: If you haven’t cooked with offal before, try tripe and try using it in a stew or soup (like menudo.) You’ll get the best flavor that way. And, you’ll see it ain’t but a thang…
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Tags: Anchovies, Artichokes, Lobster, Offal, Truffles
Helpful notes on these ingredients. The truffle oil/salt suggestion is a fantastic way to get the essence of flavor at a fraction of the cost. Must admit, I’m still put-off by offal myself. But love all the other items on your list.
Honestly, even most of the professional chefs I know are put off by offal, it has a bad rap… I’d encourage you to give it a try. I bet ya I could make something with offal which you’d never guess in a million years contained guts n’ stuff.
I agree about the truffle oil/salt – it is a fantastic way to get the essence of the truffle into a dish w/out having to break the bank.
Artichokes are wonderful. They are good enough (and often big enough) to be an entire meal by themselves.
I think lobster gets more praise than it deserves. Crab on the other hand is amazingly good.
I’ll take your word on the other ingredients but don’t count on seeing offal in my cart any time soon.