Rachael Ray's Blog, page 72

Be A Gourmet Chef — In Your Hotel Room

Did you ever take a trip and congratulate yourself on getting cheap airfare and a low hotel rate, and then notice once you arrived that you were blowing your budget on eating out in restaurants?

That happened to me on a recent trip. I found that I was spending between $15-$20 on every meal, and one night when I went to a “nice” place I spent almost $40 - and that was without even a glass of wine to make the price go down easier! Part of the problem was that I was trying to eat healthy food, and let me tell you, leafy greens don’t come cheap!

One day while walking, I passed a market, and I had a revelation: I should buy some groceries and keep them in my hotel room! With that, I went shopping, and for about $30 I bought enough food to last almost a week. My stress about spending too much money disappeared, and I was able to relax and enjoy my trip - and splurge on dinner! After a week of “in room” cooking, here is my advice on becoming a master hotel room chef.

What you will need:

Electric kettle for heating water. Many hotel rooms have these, and if they don’t you might consider bringing your own.
Small refrigerator.
Pocket knife.
Spoon, plate, mug, bowl.

Rules to follow:

Keep your room clear of food garbage by taking the trash out every day.
Keep meals simple. Limit cooking to foods that you can simply add hot water to.
Always make your own breakfast. Splurge on dinner, but save on the first meal of the day by having cereal, fruit, bread, or hot oatmeal in your room.

Healthy foods that work well in a hotel room:

-Oatmeal. Place a serving of rolled oats into a mug or bowl, and pour hot water on top. Cover and let sit overnight. In the morning, the oats will be completely cooked. Stir in more hot water to heat them up.

-Leafy greens like kale or spinach. Add them raw to sandwiches, or place them in a bowl and pour hot water on top. Steep for a few minutes, then drain before eating. Trader Joe’s has bags of chopped and cleaned organic kale, which makes preparing it super easy.

-Rice noodles. Pour hot water over rice noodles and steep according to the package instructions, usually 5-10 minutes. Stir in Japanese miso paste, and you have noodle soup.

-Whole grain bread topped with anything from almond butter to mashed avocado to goat cheese.

-Tinned sardines in olive oil. They come in pop top tins, so there’s no need for a can opener, and they contain omega-3 fatty acids and calcium, both of which are important for maintaining good overall health. Great on bread, plain or with mustard.

-Cereal, milk, fruit, and nuts. A tasty and low-maintenance way to start the day, or a delicious late-night snack.

-Carrot sticks. Munch on them raw, dip them in almond butter or hummus, or cut them up with your pocket knife and add them to your rice noodle soup, above.

-Energy bars. Look for ones that have minimal sugar and no preservatives, there are lots of them these days. They’re great as a snack between meals. Buy these at the grocery store, not at deli counters or coffee shops where they can cost three times as much.

Have you ever had a picnic in your hotel room? What did you make? Please share your suggestions for haute cuisine in the hotel room, or other good ways to save money on a trip!

Preorder Louisa’s newest cookbook!

“If you want to learn more about Persian cuisine, check out my cookbook, The New Persian Kitchen. It’s available for pre-order, and in stores on April 16!”

7 Ways to Save Energy and Money in the Bathroom

In keeping with my last blog’s theme of ways to weather the cold indoors and save on our energy bills, and with this week’s dangerously cold temps in much of the country, I decided to share a few more energy and money saving tips from my book, THE ULTIMATE ACCIDENTAL HOUSEWIFE.  These are simple and all take place in our favorite sanctuary or at least most used and abused room in our homes:  Our bathrooms.  So read on and partake in mani-friendly ways that will help save you money and save our planet without stopping anyone in your household from showering, brushing, grooming or …well you know…

1. GET A NEW HEAD:  Clearly, there are days I wish I could, but I’m not referring to our noggins but our showerheads!  By installing a water-saving showerhead you can save moula on your water heating costs without spending much to replace it..  The down and dirty kind can cost you under 10 bucks (installation not included!) but if you’re like me you’ll probably opt for all the bells and whistles.  Hey, we deserve it at least we’re helping out the environment!

2.     CUT SHOWER TIME-Before I realized how much money my son’s never-ending showers were costing me, I was glad that I could actually get him to take one.  That was then, this is now:  By taking a five minute shower vs. twenty five (yes, he did look like a prune when he finally exited though a clean and cute one at that!) and my hubs and I doing the same as well we’re saving over $200 bucks a year-And if you’re a newlywed or living with a significant other think of the romance of showering together-not to mention how you’re helping save our planet!

3.      BAN BATHS-I suspect you don’t have the opportunity to take one very often so you’re ‘mindlessly’ doing your part!  But once the kiddies get beyond their need for rubber duckies and bubbles switch to the shower-a five minute one that is, since baths use about three times as much water.

4.     STOP THE DRIPS-If you’re a light sleeper like I am that drip in a bathroom faucet will keep you awake for hours so to preserve both our beauty sleep and our water, stop the drip!  Believe it or not one drippy drop per second can add up to over 2000 gallons of water in a year!  Wow!  To fix the drips check out my manicure-friendly fix from my book.

5.     A MATTER OF DEGREE:  Check to see if your water heater’s temp is 120 degrees-by keeping it there it saves energy and anyone from burning themselves-particularly your little ones!  On the flip side, you don’t go any lower in temp since it won’t stop bacteria from growing.

6.     WRAP IT UP!  According to the experts if your water tank is more then 15 years old you should ‘wrap it up’ in a fiberglass blankie that you can get for under $30 at your local hardware store, Lowe’s or Home Depot.  And, yes, even an accidental housewife can do this one should you be so inclined if you follow the easy to install instructions that comes with a kit.  Then, again, you might want to have your pre-teen son handle this one while you watch!

7.     BEAUTY UPLUGGED-Whenever you’re not using your curling iron, blow dryer or flatiron and once your shaver or toothbrush is charged according to your manual’s instructions unplug those suckers!  Even when you’re not using them they’re draining energy.  And, according to actor and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr., every time you use your curling iron it’s like leaving on a light bulb for a week-what can I say, it’s not easy being green-or was that Kermit!

For more tips from The Accidental Housewife visit Julie’s tips

Nana’s “Chinese Roast Pork” Should Have Been Bad. But It Was Great.

I’ve written about my grandmother before. I loved her deeply, and not least because of the fountain of starchy, fatty treats she provided me daily. What a woman! She used to make a full breakfast of eggs, sausage, and home fries for me on schoolday mornings - and then put them in a used TV dinner tray so I could eat them in the car - thus giving me an extra 15 minutes of sleep. What an awful man she turned me into! But I adored her and revere her memory. Especially when I think of her Chinese Roast Pork.

My grandmother was from Revere Beach, Massachusetts, and Chinese food to her meant shrimp with lobster sauce, won tons, roast pork, moo goo gai pan, and other such Cantonese classics. Of these, two entered her permanent repetoire: won tons and roast pork. To this day, I’ve never tried to do her won ton recipe; it feels sort of sacrilegious. (Plus, it’s easier just to buy pelmeni.) But for New Years Day, my aunt and I attempted to resurrect her roast pork recipe. The result is pictured above.

The source was a small, yellowed, spiral-bound codex of recipes shared by her fellow employees at the Oriental Parlor Beauty Salon where she worked part time as a manicurist. Everything about the recipe is bad; it seems calculated to make the worst pork roast possible. It calls for a loin roast, which especially at the time was the leanest, lamest, least flavorful eight inches on the entire pig. The marinade includes both honey and sugar, along with varying amounts of sherry, soy sauce, salt, water, and garlic. (I say “varying” because Nana, like most great home cooks, never bothered to measure anything in her life, depending entirely on the kind of tacit knowledge that you acquire through years of doing something, rather than from reading it in a book. I will tell you frankly that this is how Rachael cooks as well.) After marinating the roast for an hour in a big baggy, it would be given a liberal coat of Red Dye #2, and then cooked three-quarters of the way through and then freeze it, thawing it for finishing ony when the guests were standing around eating Tam Tam crackers in the Florida Room.

I realize that this recipe sounds terrible, but somehow, the pork roast was one of the most delicious things that came out of Nana’s now-legendary kitchen, and I’ve often wondered why. Here’s what I have come up with. The “marinade” did nothing but flavor the outside of the roast; how could it, given the shape of the meat and the short time of the exposure. But I believe that the salt in it worked as a kind of dry brine, making the dry cut slightly juicier. The sweet stuff on the outside caramelized to the point of candying, and the sherry cut the sweetness just enough. The freezing caused the water in the pork cells to expand, breaking them down and making the roast more tender. She cooked the roast on low heat, and took it out before it dried out. Finally, the food dye made the whole think look special, and festive, and unnaturally attractive, like the radioactive spider that bites Peter Parker. How things look affect how they taste. And you know what else affects taste? How much you love the person who is cooking for you, and how much they love you.

Adele Weiner’s Chinese Roast Pork

loosely adapted from The Oriental Garden Beauty Salon Cookbook, circa 1974

1 3 lb loin pork roast

3 garlic cloves

2 tbsp sherry wine

2 tbsp soy sauce

½ cup water

2 tbsp honey

2 tspb salt

Mix the marinade ingredients together well. Apply to the roast. Wrap it up in Saran wrap for one hour.
Apply cherry-red food coloring to the entire roast, not missing any spots.
Cook for thirty minutes in a 300-degree oven.
Let stand. Wrap. Freeze.
Remove and thaw before dinner. Finish cooking about 20 minutes in a 350-degree oven.
Let sit, slice and serve.

Laundry day

There comes a time eventually, and for me this day recently arrived, when the good ole washer or dryer you’ve had for 30 years gives out.  Truth is, it was so well-built, it probably could be fixed, but no one has the parts anymore!  For me it was the dryer that kicked the bucket, and I was kind of excited to get a new one, tempted to get a matching new washer too, but had to hold back from this totally unnecessary splurge (the dryer was expensive enough).  why do I get so excited about laundry?  Lord only knows!

One of the things the dryer changeover reminded me of, was dryer maintenance.  When I first noticed the dryer not working, I cleaned out the tube connecting the dryer to the outside, the one that spits out all of the hot air and tends to collect stray lint.  Not only is it important to clean this out regularly so the dryer works well (just like dumping a vacuum bag) but it is a safety measure too as that lint could one day catch on fire. 90% of the time, when you think the dyer is broken, this maintenance measure will fix the problem.

This bonding time between my laundry room and me also reminded me of a few organizational steps I take when doing my laundry.  For one, in the laundry room I keep bins where I sort the different types of laundry to be done-mostly by color.  Even if you think you’ve washed a dark a million times and it won’t bleed, enough little fuzz and bits of dye will dull a bright white so keep them separate!

I know you are supposed to use hot water for whites only, and it is an energy-saving step to use cold or warm water whenever possible (the clothes won’t mind!), but I tend to use hot ALL the time because I really want the clothes to be clean.  This does not go for items I don’t want to shrink!

Last tip-fold your laundry as soon as it is done to prevent wrinkles and frankly, to get it out of the way so the clean laundry doesn’t pile up!  It only takes a few minutes and the cycle can then begin again!

Three Ways to Wear 2013’s Color of the Year: Emerald

If you haven’t already heard, 2013’s color of the year is….wait for it….emerald! That’s right, the rich green color has beat out all the others to become Pantone’s color of the year, but how are you going to wear it? Lucky for you, I’ve got some suggestions on where (and how) to sport the hue.

1. On Your Eyes

If all out green shadow is just too scary, line your upper and lower lashes with emerald liner. It helps to make brown eyes pop and warms paler skin tones! Estée Lauder has some great options.

2. On Your Nails

Whether you splash a coat on your toes or your fingers, paint your nails with a deep, dark emerald. The hue is perfect for the colder months and already on trend. For some extra glitz, add a ruby red ring—you’ll love the color combo! Check out Essie for some great lacquers.

3. On yourself

Sport emerald in style by donning a green dress, green shirt, or even green pants! There are some fabulous jacquard choices (another big trend for fall) at Asos.com

Munchies For The Mommies: Spinach and Feta Quiche Bread

Now that I live in the burbs, I’m just getting used to this notion of a “playgroup”. Not that we didn’t have playdates in the big city, but they were definitely structured differently than they are here in our new town. The playgroup I am a part now requires each mom to take turns hosting at their house. Hosting also means that means you provide snacks. Generally the food has been snacky types of things like crackers, cookies and fruit, more kiddie finger foods style. It’s fine because the food is generally geared towards the kids who are always running around and barely eat anyway.

This week was my first time hosting so I thought I’d offer up something a little more enticing for the mommies. After all, we gotta eat too, right? Our playgroup meets at 10am so whatever I made I knew had to be simple. I made a spread of the usual fruit, cheese and crackers and decided to add my Spinach and Feta Quiche Bread to the mix as a surprise for the mommies. It takes 5 minutes to throw together and 30 minutes to bake. It’s one of my favorite brunch recipes to make so i figured it would be the perfect food for our 10am playgroup. I love the combination of feta and spinach because the saltiness of the cheese really pairs well with the mild earthiness of the spinach and the lemon zest just wakes it all up so beautifully with its bright and refreshing flavor. Baking the quiche filling inside a Cibata loaf not only looks gorgeous,  it means you don’t need utensils to eat it which means mommies can munch with one hand and hold their toddlers in the other. Genius, if I do say so myself!

Spinach and Feta Quiche Bread

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 large cibata bread (about 12-15 inches in length)

5 large eggs

1/2 cup milk or heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon  black pepper

1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled small

1/2 cup fresh baby spinach, chopped small

Zest of 1/2 of a lemon

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Slice only the very top of the Cibata bread off and scoop out the filling. Place bread onto a baking sheet and brush the inside with olive oil and toast in the oven for 8 minutes, just to crip up thje bread slightly.

3. While the bread is toasting, add the eggs, milk and salt and pepper into a large bowl and whisk until well combined. Stir in spinach, feta and lemon zest

4. Remove bread form the oven and allow it to cool slightly before filling with the egg mixture. place bread back into the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the eggs are just set. Do not over cook. Note: eggs will continue to cook slightly after you remove it from the oven. Cut into slices and serve warm.

Do you set specific “screen time” limits for your kids? Not me.

Do you set specific “screen time” (TV, computer, video games, iPads/Pods/Touches) limits for your kids? One hour per day? Two hours per day? Only on weekends? I don’t, and it has worked well for my three kids to date.

Now before you think I let my kids snuggle up to the TV or Wii and settle in for 6 hours at a time, let me clarify what I mean. I have never set screen time-specific days, times, or hours, or established a screen time as a reward system for my  kids. In our family, once the kids have completed everything that needs to be done for that day or time (homework, chores, etc.), my kids are allowed to entertain themselves without specific time limits. However, I definitely step in if necessary.  During exam week, there is no screen time allowed at all. I will often use no screen time as a punishment (ouch). If it’s a beautiful summer day, I tell them to go outside. If they have been watching TV for what seems like all day, I turn it off. If it’s been eerily quiet, I realize my son has been on the computer for quite a while, and I tell him it’s time for another activity. The interesting part of this arrangement is that they never complain when I do step in and turn off the TV, computer, video games, etc. They know it’s been long enough too.

I have many friends and family members who have various rules for screen time in their homes (this actually seems to be the norm), ranging from 1 hour per day, to video games allowed only on the weekend, to a points system with screen time rewards, to no TVs in the house at all (help). What I have found with a lot of these kids is that they are borderline obsessed with TV, computer games, etc. When they come over they are so mesmerized by the TV that they can’t do anything else, to the point that my kids pull me aside - “Mom, all Billy wants to do is watch TV - help.” Our cousins’ daughter, who has some pretty strict screen time rules, actually tried to smuggle an IPad to school (she’s 9 and tried to shove it in her pants. Mom found out during the morning hug goodbye - busted).

My kids love their TV, but so do I. They are no worse for the wear. They don’t play video games for 7 hours in a row. They choose to communicate with friends on the phone or in person, not via email or text, and in fact do not have email, Facebook or Instagram accounts - all by their own choice. They are very active, both in organized sports/activities, and during down time, they usually choose to play outside with friends or indoor games over the video variety. They typically choose board games over video. My kids do not have cell phones (they are 9, 10 and 12) but they do have I-Touches, they only have access to a family computer in our living room and there are no TVs in their bedrooms. They are pretty well adjusted, yet given a lot of freedom. I think by establishing rigid rules about screen time (or food for that matter -that’s a future blog), it only makes it that more attractive to kids.

Please share the screen time rules in your house here. Is it working?

A Mahraja and his recipe for Hunter’s Lamb Curry – Laal Maans

He gently intermingled at the Indian Food Festival party last November. So polite, so humble giving great honor to those he spoke with. I knew him as an artist in my adolescent years starring as a lead in some of Bollywood’s blockbuster hits. His name is Chandrachur Singh, actor and grandson of the Maharaja of Orissa.

Growing-up in his royal household in Rajasthan, Chandrachur shared with me how the royal families all over India distinguished themselves from one another through art, music and food. Particularly where food is concerned, royal men and women were passionate and hands-on with the ins and outs of kitchen life.

Photo by Navroop Semhi

Chandrachur is from Rajasthan , a state known as ‘the land of the kings’ and a pop-up card of palaces and forts. Growing up in his 200 year old Haveli – their stately home, his greatest moments were built around the kitchen. Or rather, kitchens. Most royal homes had at least 2 kitchens, one equipped with modern amenities used for international cuisine and the other, known as ‘rasoi’ and fitted with mud stoves that are fuelled by cow dung (a renewable source of energy and antiseptic).

Photo by Michael Foley

The men in his family had strong culinary skills, but the true custodian of family recipes was his grandmother. When it came to her family, she would prepare food from her own hands that were filled with love and blessings. The family would eat in the kitchen from a very large communal plate housing rotis (bread) and making their introduction like ventilated disks. Lentil soups and locally grown vegetables filled little bowls and an afternoon of hunting was shown-off in the form of roasted or curried game.

Whilst royal customs and traditions have been fading fast over the years, Chandrachur reinstates the richness of India’s history through his new T.V. show, Royal Rasoi. He takes the viewer to royal courts all over India to experience more than 600 years of culinary tradition. As we talked about typical dishes, it became clear that royal dishes were not lofty ordeals. Some of his favorites include chickpea curry and smoked-mashed eggplant, an entree that is eaten by the nobility and common folk alike.

Of course I cornered him for a recipe so here it is: Laal Maans – Lamb pieces (adapted from mutton)cooked in a tangy sauce of onions and yoghurt. Unlike many other Indian meat dishes, this recipe uses a conservative number of ingredients as the royals typically make it when they are out in the wilderness hunting. This recipe calls for a chili weathered palate, so if heat is not your thing, reduce the chili powder to ¼ tsp.

Laal Maans - Lamb Curry: Courtesy of Chandrachur Singh

LAAL MAANS

2 lbs. lamb, neck and shoulder

8 tbsp. garlic paste

8 tbsp. ginger paste

3 medium-sized onions, sliced thin

4 cloves

2 tsp. salt

½ tbsp. turmeric

1 tsp. chili powder

half a cup yoghurt

¼ cup of oil

Method

1) Heat the oil and toast the cloves for 20 seconds until there is a light aroma

2) Add onions and cook until golden brown. Add ginger and garlic and cook until oil separates. Add lamb and cook

3) Add the salt, turmeric, chili and lamb and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes. Add the yoghurt and cook until lamb is tender

Saira Malhotra, is of British–Indian descent and is a chef, food writer and cooking instructor based in New York City. Raised in Hounslow, U.K, or rather ‘Little India’, where the air is aromatic with roasted spices, little did Saira know these moments would follow her from being a student in France and Italy to residing in NYC with her husband and kids and parlay themselves unexpectedly in to a culinary career. She is a graduate of the International Culinary Center in New York City. Come visit her at her food blog: www.passportpantry.com where she shares approachable and international recipes

Best burger spreads and sauces?

Dear Cooks:

What is a good condiment to use in burgers and other sandwiches in place of mayo. I absolutely hate mayo but I get sick of bland dry sandwiches.

Thanks,

Desperately Seeking Special Sauce

Dear DScubed:

Here is one of Rach’s favorite sauces for burgers from her Double-Decker “Animal Style” Burger (In-N- Out Burger style) recipe:

1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons dill pickle relish
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
salt and pepper

Mix the first five ingredients, and season with salt and pepper.

Here is a California-style sauce from Rach’s Cobb Club Burger Sliders recipe:

1 ripe Hass avocado
1 cup sour cream
juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
handful of chopped herbs your choice - parsley, chives, dill, etc.
salt and pepper

Process first 4 ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Both of these sauces would be equally delicious on sandwiches. You can also prepare them ahead of time and store in the fridge to use later. Check out more of Rachael’s burger and sauce recipes here.

Safe toys for dogs?

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Dear Pet Lovers:

I am wondering about safe toys for dogs. My 4-year old lab mix loves fluffy stuffed animal toys with squeakers in them but rips out the squeakers within hours. She also likes raw hide but I recall a friend telling me they are unsafe. Can you recommend some safer toys for dogs?

Thanks,

Sadie’s Mom

Dear Sadie’s Mom:

The safest toys are hard rubber, Nylabone and Kong-type toys. Sturdy rope toys with knotted ends are generally safe but as with all toys, even the safest, supervise your dog. If he starts to pull out the separate pieces of rope, it’s time to toss the toy. As for raw hide, the issue is that these toys can become choking hazards as the dog starts to destroy the toy - check with your vet and supervise, supervise, supervise. When it comes to the stuffed toys and especially those with squeakers, know your dog. If your dog likes to carry around the soft toy and uses it more as a comfort toy, it should be fine. If your dog consistently rips apart the soft toys and could choke on the stuffing and the squeaker if the toy has one, skip them.

Some other notes on dog toys:

Always check with your vet on their toy recommendations for your breed of dog.

Always supervise your pet. For example, some dogs love tennis balls and chew on them with no problem, while there have been horror stores of dogs choking on tennis balls. Keep on eye on your pet. Also, toys should not be a substitute for interaction.

Rotate your dog’s toys to spark interest.

Use toys as a way to have fun with your dog. Play “hide and seek” with toys or fetch.