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Homemade Mozzarella Cheese

June 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Homemade Mozzarella Cheese

Homemade Mozzarella Cheese

Homemade Mozzarella

Recipe By, Kim Knox

Think 30 Minutes… to Mozzarella

I kid you not. My husband believes I possess super human, Goddess-like powers because I make cheese.
And for this power, I have to thank and credit Ricki Carroll, of New England Cheesemaking Supply Company.
Now, here detailed, and with permission, I give you…

30 Minutes to Mozzarella

Equipment:

Stainless steel pot

Stainless slotted spoon

Thermometer (I use a laser thermometer)

Stainless colander

Stainless steel long knife—long enough to reach to the bottom of the pan

Microwave safe bowl

Ingredients:

1 gallon fresh 2% milk

Rennet

Citric Acid

Water

Salt

Directions:

• Pour the milk into the pan.
• Stir 1 ½ tsp Citric Acid into 1 cup cool water and stir into the milk.
• Heat slowly to 90° F.
• Remove from the heat.
• Stir ¼ tsp Rennet into ¼ cup cool water and stir into the milk mixture for 30 seconds. Cover and leave for 5 minutes.
• Check the curd… it should feel like a custard. If not, give another minute or so.
• Cut the curd in the pan into a 1 inch square pattern with your knife.
• Heat to 105° F while stirring slowly
• Take off of the heat and continue stirring slowly for 2 – 5 minutes.
• Transfer the curd to your colander with the slotted spoon. Notice how the curd becomes firmer as the whey drains.
• Press the curd to aid the draining.
• Place into a microwave safe bowl and heat on high for 1 minute.
• Pour off the whey and begin kneading—the curd/cheese will be almost too hot to handle.
• Add salt to the kneading process, as you like.
• Continue kneading, reheating as needed.
At this point the cheese will become stretchable—stretch it and then form it into a smooth, shiny ball.
• It is ready to eat when it cools!

Instructional videos can be seen on the New England Cheesemaking website, along with many more recipes. They also supply all of the ingredients you may need to make their lovely products.

Truly, check them out! And develop your own super-human powers!

Kim Knox

Check out Kim’s website: betterthanyouimagined.com

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Vegan Brown Rice Pasta with Kale, Spinach, and Red Sauce

April 12, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Vegan Brown Rice Pasta with Kale, Spinach, and Red Sauce

Vegan Brown Rice Pasta with Kale, Spinach, and Red Sauce

Vegan Brown Rice Pasta with Kale, Spinach, and Red Sauce

In my never-ending quest to avoid refined carbohydrates, I’ve come across a few tasty, healthier alternatives- one of them is brown rice pasta. Brown rice pasta cooks differently than regular- it takes twice as long, and often produces excessive amounts of starch in the form of cloudy, bubbly water. This water often overflows from the pot, and is a mess to clean up. Tonight I experimented with cooking the pasta twice. I started with a pound of brown rice pasta. The pasta was placed in a large pot of salted, boiling water, cooked for 4 minutes, then drained. I then re-boiled the pasta in a fresh pot of water for 5 minutes. The end result was a less-starchy product. Try this procedure when cooking brown rice pasta- cooking times may vary depending on pasta shapes.

Vegan Brown Rice Pasta with Kale, Spinach, and Red Sauce

Serves 4-6

Prep-time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound of cooked brown rice pasta

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves of minced garlic

3 tablespoons of minced shallots

3 packed cups of baby spinach

3 cups packed baby kale

3 tablespoons rough chop Italian flat-leaf parsley

3 cups tomato sauce

2 tablespoons fresh cracked black pepper

1 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt

Directions:

Cook the brown rice pasta as described above, then set aside.

Place a large stainless steel skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil.

Once the olive oil has come to temperature, add the minced garlic and shallots. Cook the garlic and shallots until the veggies start to sweat, then begin to caramelize.

Add the baby spinach and baby kale- cook for 2 minutes.

Place the tomato sauce over the mixture, let it heat slightly, and add the pasta.

Gently toss the mixture with tongs gently, being careful not to tear the pasta.

Add the salt, pepper, and chopped parsley- mix thoroughly.

Garnish with chopped parsley- serve immediately!

Enjoy!

Chef Chuck Kerber

chefchuck@pittsburghhotplate.com

pittsburghhotplate.com

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Tapenade

March 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Tapenade

Tapenade

Tapenade

Tapenade is a Provencal dish that is made with chopped, or pureed olives, capers, anchovies, and olive oil. I’ve added a few additional ingredients to my recipe- it’s great served on crostini, or with fresh vegetables.

Tapenade

Serves 6-8

Prep time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup Nicoise Olives, pitted

1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted

½ cup black olives, pitted

½ cup green olives, pitted

½ cup hydrated, minced or pureed sun dried tomatoes

6 anchovy fillets

2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme

1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano

2 tablespoons fresh chopped Italian flat leaf parsley

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:

Place all of the above ingredients in a food processor. Pulse briefly until everything comes together and is incorporated.

Serve immediately on crostini, raw or cooked veggies, or fresh white fish.

Enjoy!

Chef Chuck Kerber

chefchuck@pittsburghhotplate.com

pittsburghhotplate.com

pic courtesy of: blog.fatfreevegan.com

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Thanksgiving Leftover Ideas

November 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Turkey Bread Pudding

Turkey Bread Pudding

Thanksgiving Leftover Ideas

Do you still have some left-overs from Thanksgiving? Here are a few ideas of what to do with them!

Turkey:

Instead of a standard sandwich, try using a layer of stuffing between two slices of bread, sliced turkey, gravy instead of mayo, and cranberry sauce!

Turkey casseroles are also delicious- just add veggies, thick noodles, canned mushroom soup or leftover gravy.

Turkey Pot Pie- If you like chicken pot pies, you’re really going to enjoy these!

Turkey Caesar Salad- If you like chicken Caesar salads, this is sure to please… it’s also a good choice of you’re trying to cut come calories.

Turkey Noodles Soup- Easy to make, especially if you have some turkey stock; just add turkey, veggies and noodles.

Turkey Burrito- Get a big flour tortilla and stuff it with turkey, beans, cheese, sour cream, guacamole and salsa.

Potatoes:

Potato Cakes- Add a few eggs, bread crumbs and seasoning to your left over mashed potatoes. Form them into patties and fry them in a little oil.
Serve with sour cream and apple sauce.

Potato Casserole- Use the potatoes as your base and add ground meat, chicken or turkey. Mix in some veggies, cheddar or jack cheese and bake in a casserole dish.

Potato Soup -one of my favorites. Start with some chicken base, add roasted garlic, parsley, cheddar cheese, bacon and heavy cream- perfect for a cold day.

Potato Bread- this may take some time, but the end product is worth the wait.

Shepard’s Pie- Brown some ground meat, add cream soup, peas, carrots celery and onions- top with leftover mashed potatoes and bake until the top become brown.

Pierogies- Mashed potatoes are the perfect filling for these traditional potato-filled pastas.

Gravy:

Gravy is a great soup base. Simply add a little water, vegetables, pasta, rice, dumplings, and salt and pepper.

Leftover gravy may also be frozen in a Ziploc bag and used for future meals.

Stuffing:

Leftover stuffing lends itself perfectly for turkey bread pudding. Simply mix together turkey, stuffing and gravy. Place in a greased casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes- delicious!

Cranberry Sauce:

Homemade cranberry sauce should never be thrown away. Try making cranberry bread, (it’s a great gift for the holidays), cranberry pancakes, or cranberry French toast.

I’ve also seen some interesting cranberry-pumpkin bread and cranberry muffin recipes floating around.

Try cranberry sauce on top of yogurt instead of fruit in the morning!

Cranberry butter- add equal parts of cranberry sauce and butter, refrigerate until set, then spread on your toast, pancakes, or muffins.

If you have any tips let me know- I will add them to the list!

Chef Chuck Kerber

chefchuck@pittsburghhotplate.com

pittsburghhotplate.com

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Thanksgiving Day Turkey Recipe

November 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Thanksgiving Turkey

Thanksgiving Turkey

Thanksgiving Day Turkey Recipe

Serves 8-10

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 4 hours

Pre- heat oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:

1 16 to 18 pound turkey

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped onions

¼ cup softened, salted butter

2 sprigs fresh sage

2 teaspoons dried sage

2 sprigs of fresh thyme

3 bay leaves

2 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons fresh cracked black pepper

2 tablespoon kosher salt

Directions:

Remove the turkey from the refrigerator, and let stand for 1 hour.

Remove the giblets and neck from the cavity of the turkey. Thoroughly rinse the bird then dry with a paper towel. Rub the entire bird (inside and out) with the softened butter. Next, apply the salt and pepper to the cavity and outside of the bird.

Stuff the cavity with the chopped celery, carrots, onions, fresh sage, thyme and 3 bay leaves. Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of dried sage on the outside of the turkey.

Tuck the wings in, and then tie the ends of the drumsticks together.

Place the turkey in a large, greased roasting pan breast-side-up then pour 2 cups of chicken stock around the bird.

Place the turkey in a pre-heated 350 degree oven.

After 1 hour, baste the bird with the juices from the bottom of the pan. Continue basting the turkey every 45 minutes until the bird is done, approximately 4 hours.

*Turkey cooking times will vary. Begin checking the turkey for doneness after three hours. The USDA recommends a minimum internal temperature of 165ºF as measured by a food thermometer in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. When the turkey is done the juices should run clear. If your turkey has a plastic thermometer, simply watch for it to pop up.

Remove the turkey from the roasting pan, and let sit for at least 10 minutes before carving.

Enjoy!

Chef Chuck Kerber

chefchuck@pittsburghhotplate.com

pittsburghhotplate.com

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