How to Peel Garlic Like a Boss…Like an Actual Boss

People throw the term “like a boss” around very casually these days, but when I say this technique shows how to peel garlic like a boss, it’s meant literally. I was channel surfing a while back, and saw Martha Stewart demo this very cool trick, and she is, in every sense of the word, a boss.

Many people have inspired me along this entrepreneurial journey online, and Martha is definitely one of them. By the way, I hope she doesn’t take exception to my prison shank joke; but since we are friends (and by friends I mean we’ve never spoken, but do follow each other on Twitter), I’m sure she’ll be fine with it. All kidding aside, this trick is no joke.

The great thing about this method, besides the speed and ease, is that you are truly peeling the garlic, and not crushing it. A crushed garlic clove produces a stronger flavor than a peeled one, especially when used raw, and so this is perfect when you need to mince or slice whole, undamaged cloves. I hope you give this easy trick a try soon. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chunkin

Just in case our recently featured pumpkin cheesecake isn't your thing, here are some additional ideas as we head towards the Thanksgiving holiday. It's kind of a mystery why we only enjoy these recipes this time of year, since they're all made with available-anytime ingredients, but whatever it is, it's probably the same reason people don't make s'mores in the winter. 

Anyway, I hope you give some of these great pumpkin recipes a try soon, while there's still time. Just click on the recipe title links, and away you go. Enjoy!

	Pumpkin Pancakes It's a crime these aren't a regular item on diner menus.
	Pumpkin Scones There are some colors that only occur with food, and this is one of them. Look for "pumpkin scone" on a paint chip near you.
	Best Pumpkin Pie Ever Since no one can prove otherwise, my legal team is fine with this recipe's outrageous claim.
	Low Fat Pumpkin Flan There are some things that just shouldn't work, but they do, and sometimes those things are low-fat flans.
	Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls You can pretend these are healthier for you than regular cinnamon rolls, since they're made with nutritious pumpkin, but we know the truth.

Coquilles St-Jacques – Hey, Have You Tried That New Saint James Diet?

Coquilles St-Jacques is the kind of unapologetically rich shellfish dish that we used to be able to enjoy, before the book-writing dieticians and celebrity chefs ruined it for everybody. 

Fats of all sorts were demonized, and young cooks far and wide were told to never, ever, under any circumstances, cover-up the delicate flavors of seafood with heavy sauces, especially ones containing cheese.

So, an amazing recipe like this went from classic French treat to crime against nature, and it slowly but surely started disappearing from menus. You can still find it in a few of the braver bistros, but to enjoy on any kind of semi-regular basis, you’ll need to master it at home. The good news is that’s very easy to do.

By the way, this is a great recipe for entertaining larger groups during the holidays, since it can be prepped well ahead of time. For this reason, Coquilles St-Jacques has always been a favorite of caterers and banquet chefs, and below the ingredients list, I’ll give some instructions on how they do it.

You can use sea scallops like I did, or the smaller, sweeter bay scallops, which are really nice in this. Of course, if you use bay scallops, you’ll only need a minute in the simmering wine, so be careful. No matter what you use, be sure they haven’t been dipped in a preservative solution. If you buy them frozen, which you should, the label should only say, “Scallops.”

The shells can be easily found online, or at your local restaurant supply store. Otherwise, simply use some small, shallow gratin dishes, which will work exactly the same. Find something, and give this “scallop recipe that time forgot” a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup diced shallots
8 oz button mushrooms, sliced

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup white wine

1 pound sea scallops (about 3 scallops per person)

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 egg yolk

cayenne to taste
2 tsp minced tarragon

1 tsp lemon zest

1/4 cup grated Gruyère cheese

Broil on high, about 8-10 inches under the flame, until the scallops are hot, and the cheese is browned and bubbling. Because of the sugars in the wine and cream, the edges will brûlée or burn, but this is not a problem, and actually how it’s supposed to look.

NOTE: You can make these ahead, and refrigerate until needed. Since they will be cold, you’ll need to bring back to temperature before you broil them. Preheat oven to 350 F. and bake for about 12-15 minutes (will depend on how you constructed them), or until the centers are just warm. Switch oven to broil, and broil on high as shown. 

Farinata – Why Didn’t You Wish for This Sooner!

The third best part of this job, after the fame and fortune, is learning about unique, new foods; and this farinata video is a perfect example! Until it was requested by a Vlad Kiperman (if that is his real name), I had no idea this tasty, and dead simple recipe even existed. It’s so good, I’m kind of sad the discovery came so late in life.

Farinata is nothing more than a simple garbanzo bean flour batter, which is spiked with olive oil and salt, and baked in a very hot oven. The surface gets crusty, the edges get crispy, and yet the inside stays moist and sort of creamy. The texture is easy to explain, but the taste, not so much.

This is so simple and subtly flavored that it’s a kind of hard to describe. You may be familiar with the taste of garbanzo (aka chickpeas) in things like hummus and falafel, but here it’s not combined with other strongly flavored ingredients, and so you’re getting pure, un-cut bean. It’s going to be easier for me if you just make it and taste for yourself.

Like I said in the video, if you’ve never made this before, you should probably try a plain version to get an idea of what this stuff is all about, but after that, the sky's the limit. The options for add-ons to the batter, as well as potential toppings are virtually limitless. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Pan Note: I know many will ask, so I’ll just say it now; yes, you can use any oven-safe 10-inch pan to make this, but I have a tough time believing it will come out as wonderfully textured as it would if you use a cast-iron skillet. Putting the batter into a smoking hot pan seems to be one of the big keys here.

Ingredients for 6 portions (one 10-inch cast iron pan):

2 cups lukewarm water

1 1/2 cups garbanzo bean flour (aka chickpea flour)

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt (about 1 tsp fine table salt)

1/2 tsp finely minced rosemary leaves, optional

5 tbsp olive oil, divided (use 3 tablespoons for the batter, and 2 tablespoons for the pan)

freshly ground black pepper to taste

Gluten-Free and Loving It

By the way, since this is made from a legume-based flour, farinata is 100% gluten-free, which should make a small, but very passionate group of foodwishers happy. My usually modus operandi when it comes to such requests and questions is a referral to Allrecipe.com’s impressive, and extensive gluten-free recipe collection, or one of my many talented GF food blogger friends. 

Speaking of which, Shauna and Danny from Gluten-Free Girl (the Beyonce and Jay-Z of GF bloggers), have a new cookbook out called, Gluten-Free Girl Every Day. If you happen to swing that way, check it out. The recipes sound wonderful, the photos are gorgeous, and the book’s getting rave reviews.

Next Up: Farinata

Do Your Recipes Measure Up?

When a very positively reviewed cookie, cake, or other pastry recipe and gets an atypically bad appraisal, it can often be traced back to flour measuring technique, or lack there of. I did this video a few years ago to illustrate the point, and since we’re heading into holiday baking season, I thought it’d be a great time to review.

This isn’t to say that people don’t occasionally post recipes with ingredient errors [clears throat nervously], but if a cookie gets mostly rave reviews, and yet you thought it was a little dense, there’s a chance it could be this common culprit. Anyway, this clip shows you why weight is better, and also how to properly measure by volume. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cheesecake – Giving Thanks for Cheap and Easy to Use Kitchen Gadgets

I’d rather eat vegan for a week than write a blog post on why pumpkin cheesecakes crack, but I’m more than happy to explain how to get that perfect, creamy-custardy, probably-won’t-crack doneness you all deserve. Use a digital thermometer. Okay, that was a little anticlimactic, but it really is that simple.

If you turn off the heat when the cheesecake’s internal temp is between 155-160 F., and let it cool slowly in the warm oven, you should get exactly what you see here. The reason a thermometer is so key, is that going just by sight is hard to do. Even at 155 F., a cheesecake has a fairly jiggly middle, and really does look undercooked. Many cooks get scared and leave it in for a few more minutes, which can make all the difference.

This should take anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Many factors are involved, but a big one is the temperature of your cheese and eggs. Mine were cold, which not only makes mixing harder, but also will increase cooking time, as a room temp batter starts cooking sooner. So, to recap, use a thermometer.

That covers the cheesecake, but what about the ginger snap crust? It was okay. The flavor was great, but it got a little gritty and gummy, and I'm not sure which, if any, of the thirty-five ingredients in the cookies was responsible. Maybe a little pre-baking would help, but I can't pretend to be overly concerned. Feel free to improve, or just go graham cracker.

This recipe was adapted from one found on my friend Elise’s blog, Simply Recipes. She’s one of my all-time favorites (food bloggers and people), and I insist you head over there to check out her gorgeous version as well. I (we) hope you give this easy pumpkin cheesecake a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 1 Pumpkin Cheesecake (10 slices)
Note: This is not a classic, dense, NY-style cheesecake, and has more of a creamy, custardy texture.

For the crust:

2 cups gingersnap crumbs

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

1 large egg yolk

Filling

4 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, room temp

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 (15-oz) cans pure pumpkin puree

4 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoons bourbon whiskey

1/4 cup all purpose flour

*Bake at 325 degrees F. for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until internal temp is between 155-160 F. Let cool in warm oven, with door cracked.