As I was grilling

I love to grill with charcoal (well charwood) and I was thinking as I was grilling baby back ribs just a few days ago, grilling is one reason I like summer.  ( slow cooking, yes you can cook slowly on a grill I talked about that on my site chefgeneman.com in the post Tips you should know when charcoal grilling by using indirect heat.)  Just something about cooking with fire, a little primitive I know, but think about it, is this what makes us human? well name any animals that cook with fire. Come to think of  it we are the only ones in the animal kingdom that cooks and flavors food. their is so much reasons I like to cook with fire. I want to know what you think about grilling out doors. also let us know what you like to cook on the grill!

I am on squidoo.com

Hay everyone I write articles for squidoo as well now. I am going to try two wright to this blog more often as well. I only have 2 articles on squidoo at this time.

My take on the delicious revolution a healthy cookbook
this is another review on the ebook The Delicious Revolution

chefgeneman
 this is about me for squidoo

I will write more articals there so keep a look out!

eBook review: “The Delicious Revolution cookbook: The healthy cookbook for busy people”

The “Delicious Revolution” is an amazing eBook if you are interested in healthy cooking. The author is Joy Houston, with photography by Travis Houston. This book has so many delicious recipes, and photography that makes everything look so tasty. This eBook is in full color, and it is very well written. There is so much great information provided in addition to the recipes, which is the main focus of this eBook. The author even includes a list of ingredients, which is a must for healthy cooking, and gives you links to where you can buy them.  There are recipes for breakfast, small plates & sides, salads, Entrees, desserts, and drinks.  I think that this eBook is by far the best one I have reviewed so far. I paid $27 plus tax and honestly I would have paid more and still be happy. If you have read this eBook please let us know what you think of it,  leave a comment below. 

Price: $27

To checkout this eBook:  Click Here!

New eBook review "My Organic Garden"

As you know, I love organic food, and there is nothing like having fresh ingredients to cook with.  This eBook has a lot of great information about having and maintaining an organic garden. Also, it is easy to read, and very informative. The author goes by his nick name “green thumb Jeff”. I think that My Organic Garden is well worth the money I paid, and though it is a little expensive, I think you would love this eBook too. If you have read this eBook, please let me know what you think.
Price: $39.97

to buy this eBook: Click Here!



beurre blanc sauce (butter sauce)

The other day I was asked for a great sauce that would be good on fish. I thought of a beurre blanc sauce (butter sauce). This is a French sauce and can be pretty tricky, but so good on any kind of fish. Here is what you need:

1/2 cup white wine

1 shallot

4 whole black pepper corn

1 bay leaf

about 1/2 stick of butter

First place wine, shallot, pepper corn, and bay leaf in a sauce pan and reduce the wine to half. When this is done take the pepper corn, shallot, and bay leaf out of the sauce. Next is the tricky part: cut the butter into cubes, and take the sauce off heat. Then whisk the butter into the sauce.  If the sauce gets too cold or too hot, it can make the butter separate from the wine. So if you need the sauce to warm then place back on the heat quickly, continue to whisk, and enjoy.

Test kitchen update: red enchilada sauce (5) “My version”

I am sorry, I haven't had time to post about my findings on my version of the red enchilada sauce. Well here it is:

12 dried ancho chilis

4 chili de arbol

3 Roma tomatoes

1 large onion

4 cloves garlic

2 teaspoon Mexican oregano

1/8 teaspoon cumin

1 Mango

1 lime

First, rinse the dried chilis with cold water, and pat dry. Then tear them open and take the seeds and vines out. Then toast the chilis, tomatoes, onions and garlic in a dry pan. Keep turning the mixture so that it dos not burn; this will take about 5 minutes.

Then bring 6 cups of water to a boil and lower to a simmer for 15 minutes.

Next, puree the mixture in a blender. This is where I added the mango and lime juice. Blend until very smooth. Force the mixture through a strainer back into the pan.

Then simmer the sauce for about 20 minutes and add salt to taste.

This recipe is a modified version of the recipe at http://mexicanfoodie.com/red-enchilada-sauce-recipe/. This is a great recipe in itself, but I wanted to see how I could make it a little different. I added the mango and lime juice thinking that the lime and mango would give a more dominant flavor to the sauce, but it didn't. I found that it just sweetened the sauce a little more, which is not bad, but it did not change the flavor like I had hoped. Please let me know what you think. I may try this recipe with more lime juice and mango. I am also thinking that I can change the type of chilis to change the flavor a little more.

Test Kitchen update : Red Enchilada Sauce (4) "My version"

Today, I am going to test my own version of the enchilada sauce. I had to think about what I was going to change, to make it different from the traditional recipes. First, I think that I will keep the cooking methods the same and the ingredient as well. The differences are that I will add more tomato, a large onion, 1 more clove of garlic, lime juice, and 1 mango. I do not know what will happen, but I suspect that the mango will balance out the sweet and spicy flavors nicely. This is truly a gamble but it is all part of the creation of new flavors. I love mangos! I have tasted mangos with spicy flavors before, and it balances well together so I figured it will be very tasty.  I will add the mango and lime juice at the blender stage to get the maximum flavor from the mango. This may change the dominant flavor from the dried ancho chilies to the mango, as mangoes have a strong flavor.  I will post my findings tonight.