Did you know that? …
 Turkeys cook faster in a darker pan.
 The depth of the pan can affect heat circulation. The deeper the pan, the longer it takes to heat.
 Putting a lid on the pan quickens cooking time, but you’ll lose the crispy skin.
 Oven bags shorten cooking time.
 Partially frozen turkeys will take a bit longer to roast.
 The use of a foil tent will slow cooking down.

Don’t forget ….
 The oven should never be lower than 325 degrees
 Always use a food thermometer to check turkey and stuffing.
 If the turkey is stuffed, it must reach 180 degrees internal temp and the stuffing must reach 165 degrees the stuffing.
 If the turkey is not stuffed turkey has to temp at 170 degrees.
o The turkey breast only must reach 170 internal temperature.

Tips on Thawing…
 For every 5 pounds of a frozen turkey, allow a full 24 hours to thaw in the refrigerator. For example: a 15-pound frozen turkey will take 3 days to thaw, a 20-pound turnkey will take 4 days, and so on.

Weight Days to that
4-12 pounds 1-3 days
12-16 pounds 3-4 days
16-20 pounds 4-5 days
20-24 pounds 5-6 days.

 For a quick thaw: Place the turkey in a pan and let the cold water drip in the pan with the turkey fully immersed. Then it has to be cooked immediately. For example:  If using the cold water method it takes about 30 minutes per pound of running water to thaw a frozen turkey. Here are the following times.

Weight Hours to thaw
4-12 pounds 4-6 hours
12-16 pounds 6-8 hours
20-24 pounds 10-12 hours

Tips on Cooking Times
 It is safe to cook a frozen turkey but it will take at least 50% longer time than recommended.

 It is recommended to tent or cover the turkey the first 1 ½ hours of roasting this allows maximum heat circulation and keeps the turkey moist.

Turkey with no stuffing
Cook at 325-350 degrees
Weight Cooking Time
4-6 pound turkey 1 ½-2 ¼ hours
6-8 pound 2 ¼-3 ¼ hours
8-12 pound 2 ¾-3 hours
12-14 3-3 ¾ hours
14-18 3 ¾-4 ¾ hours
18-20 4 ¼-4 ½ hours
20-24 4 ½-5 hours
24-28 5 ¼-6 ¼ hours

Turkey with stuffing Stuffed turkeys
Cook at 350 degrees
Weight Cooking Time
8-12 pound 3-3 ½ hours
12- 14 pound 3 ½-4 hours
14-18 pound 4- 4 ¾ hours
18-20 pound 4 ¾-5 ½ hours
20-24 pound 5 ½-6 ½ hours

Tips on Stuffing
 For every pound of turkey, use ½ - ¾ cups of finished stuffing.
 When cooking a stuffed turkey, the stuffing has to reach 165 degrees and the turkey 180 degrees.
 To check the temperature of the stuffing, make to insert the thermometer into the center of the stuffing as far as it will go. To check the meat on stuffed turkey, insert the thermometer through the inner most part of the thigh.

Serving portions
 Allow 1 pound of turkey per person.

Brining
 Place the turkey in a large container, large enough to cover the turkey.
 Add water just to cover the turkey, then remove the turkey and measure the water by quarts to determine how many gallons you will need in the brine recipe (see below) quarts (what does this mean!?).
 Make brine according to the amount of water needed to displace.

o Recipe for Brine
For one gallon measure add as needed.
1 gallon water
1 cup kosher salt not table salt
½ cup molasses or maple syrup
10 cinnamon sticks
1 tbsp whole cloves
1 tbsp whole allspice

Bring mixture to a boil. Cool completely and cover the turkey for 12-24 hours no longer. Drain, rinse in cold water, pat dry and process to roasting or stuffing. As always baste the last hour of roasting.

Carving Time
 Always let the turkey rest for 15 min after roasting it carves much easier.

It’s that time for the glorious turkey to adorn our dining room table for Thanksgiving. So how does one pick out the perfect bird and have it head up the show? First, plan ahead. If you can, seek out a farm-fresh, natural, outdoor-raised bird that has been fed a rich grain diet. A turkey that is free of antibiotics, hormones and animal proteins is that much tastier. The typical pre-injected or basted butterballs would not be my choice. Some producers say that Bell & Evans, Ashley Farms and D’Artagnan are some of the best on the market. For those who demand the best there are the heritage breeds you can preorder on the Internet. As you might expect, these come with higher prices so expect to pay more.

But if your only choice is the supermarket, and the turkey is rock hard, you’d better get it out of the freezer at least four days before Thanksgiving. After it is thawed (and it should be thawed only in the refrigerator), it must be rinsed very well then patted dry. Better yet, allow it to sit in the refrigerator uncovered to air-dry the skin. Always rub salt and pepper into the cavity, and toss in a handful of aromatic herbs like sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano and parsley. This will allow time to let the turkey absorb the natural herbs into its flesh. Another important tip is to let the turkey come up to room temperature before roasting. Let it sit out for at least one hour. Rub the turkey all over with softened butter and toss whatever is left over into the cavity along with the herbs.  You might also add a few cloves of garlic, a quartered onion, a couple of carrots and parsnips. This will provide an aroma and flavor which will fill the whole house.

Remember, one of the best parts about cooking a big bird is leftovers; the most famous sandwich is the leftover turkey sandwich, with dressing and cranberry sauce on top. In my opinion the best size bird is 22-24 pounds. It has more meat-to-bone ratio than any other bird. Small birds (those under 10-12 pounds) won’t have much meat so you won’t have many leftovers. So enjoy your tips on the perfect bird and remember this: “now that’s Cooking with Class “ 

They’re simple, they’re totally American. And when the fall comes, everybody saves room for them. They’re apple pies.  But the pies we know today are a fairly recent addition to a history that goes back as long as mankind. The originals did have dough; they also contained fillings. In medieval England they were called “pyes”, and instead of being sweet, they were filled with meat, lamb, beef, wild duck or pigeon along with spiced currents or dates. Historians trace pies back to the Greeks who were thought to be the originators of the pastry shell, which they made by combining flour and water. The Romans used many kinds of meats and even seafood in their pies. Meat pies were often part of Roman dessert courses.

In the United States there was no such thing as a pie—pumpkin, pecan or otherwise—until it was served at the first Thanksgiving Dinner in 1621 by the British. Actually, the pumpkin pie was nothing more than boiled squash that was spiced and eaten as is. The early colonists prepared all types of meat pies encasing them in crusts to preserve them. The meats were seasoned just like a pumpkin pie: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice and pepper were all included.

In England the first apples used were the crab apple variety: very bitter. And, on top of that, they made terrible pies! Did you know that there are no native American apples?  When the first settlers arrived on these shores in 1620, they brought along the first apple seeds to plant.  There were also some new plantings in New Jersey by 1632. Then a gentleman born in Leominster, Massachusetts named John Chapman became known as “Johnny Appleseed” because of the way he explored new territories and sowed apple seeds.

According to history, no one really knows where the first apple pie was made but most believe that the Pennsylvania Dutch totally perfected the balance of tart and sweet. Today, many people make apple pie. It’s the most sought-after and the most popular homemade dessert we know today. As I sit hear typing, I am waiting for a pie to cool! Living in New England (and especially living in Rhode Island) makes us blessed with so many wonderful varieties of apples. Most types are for just eating as they are; but there is always that one time when we need that apple pie fix. Would I order it in a restaurant? No! This is a dessert that symbolizes the typical American family; it must be homemade! It seems that most apple pies are made in the fall when the end of summer comes and the trees shed their apples, giving us those little, tender, mostly red, juicy, plump, tasty morsels of fruit. They can say whatever they want:  I think the term “as American as apple pie” will go on forever.

So, go to an apple orchard, pick up some of the zillion varieties of apples, and make a pie.  And if it doesn’t come out great, don’t fret. Eat it anyway because it was made with love,
and the process of making it came from the heart, not the stove. As always, that’s Cooking with Class. 

As the summer winds down, people suddenly come to the realization that they have planted too many zucchini plants and wonder why. Maybe it’s for the firm flesh of the ripened vegetable; or maybe it’s the pretty yellow flowers, loved by Italians, that are stuffed and fried. Whatever the reason, the veggies just keep growing and growing. Then it’s time to give them away to friends and family until they can’t take anymore. So let’s see how the rest of the world handles this little green vegetable.

In England zucchini is called a courgette, and it is one of the 10 most loved vegetables. Britons mostly cook it in soups or stews. In Mexico the flower is revered and called flor de calabaza and is usually served stuffed. In Italy zucchini are used in a variety of ways, the most common being breaded and pan fried and served with a shaving of Romano cheese.  In France, the zucchini is the key ingredient in ratatouille, known as the stew of the summer, which is slowly cooked in olive oil and sometimes served cold as an appetizer. In Turkey, the zucchini is the main ingredient in their popular dish called mucver or zucchini pancakes. It is made by shredding zucchini and adding flour and eggs. Lightly fry the pancake in olive oil and serve it with yogurt.

In Lebanon, zucchini is stuffed with minced meat and rice plus lots of herbs; it can also be steamed and may be used in stewed dishes. In Greece, zucchini is usually fried or boiled with other vegetables and served as a hors d’oeuvre. During fasting seasons it also is used as a main dish:  the flowers are stuffed with feta cheese with rice and herbs and then deep fried or baked with a tomato sauce.  In Egypt the zucchini is simply cooked with tomatoes, garlic and onions. In the United States most homes just simply sauté them in a little butter or grill them in thick slices

So, no matter how you cut it the zucchini is very good.  When I choose one, I pick out a small squash about 5”-6” long, and the dimension of it should be as round as quarter. If the zucchini is too big, the inner seeds and pulp become spongy and get very mushy during long cooking times leaving no flavor. One of the tastiest ways to prepare zucchini is to just flour and fry them and then serve with grated Romano cheese and a drizzle of olive oil. This is about the only way I can keep up with them! So no matter how you cut it, they just keep growing and growing. Hope you have lot of friends to give them away to! As always “That’s Cooking with Class”.

If you are looking for great pasta dishes, seafood and finally, pizza, look no further than Italy. Being in the food business for quite a few years and having eaten all around the USA, I finally found real Italian food. Not that we as Italian-Americans can’t do it, but the simplicity of food in Italy is what makes it so wonderful.  That, and the-top-of-the line products like the Semolina used for pasta and bread/pizza dough. The flour, by Italian standards, is 00, which means it is milled to the finest texture. It comes from the Molino Caputo region and has an 11.5% gluten content. It’s used in the making of their pastas and, of course, the famous Semolina di Grano Duro, which is the best semolina in all of Italy. But what makes these dishes outstanding is the additional products used.
My family and I recently spent a week in Capri. The seafood was like nothing I have ever had before. I catch my own fish a lot; the fish purchased here isn’t that fresh. The process by which it is prepared in Italy is wonderful. Take, for example, the simple fried calamari. Here in America, it’s a cut cross-section, which is then breaded and fried, and then for some reason it is served with vinegar hot peppers. This is, of course, to mask the calamari which could easily be a garden hose cut up, breaded and served! In Naples the squid is tender and just simply served with lemon or a simple tomato puree sauce; you could actually taste the squid! I also had a whole sea bream, which is a type of fish weighing about 2 pounds. They bring the whole fish to the table along with the others which are all daily catches. Just one look at the eyes was enough to see that it was caught only 3 hours earlier, right down the walkway in the Mediterranean Sea. It was grilled and served with lemon and olive oil on the side. By the way, the Italians are very, very territorial when it comes to food as I was constantly reminded: in Naples they have the best fish; in Almalfi the best lemons; the Tuscans have the best olive oil, and so on.
When you dine even in the simplest restaurant it’s all about the food. But what they are lacking in most restaurants is the professionalism of the service staff. The tables are set perfectly.  And as we found in many, many places on our two trips in Italy, one place is cleaner than the other, so that’s never an issue. But Americans have the guest check bounced on the table as soon as the last spoonful of dessert has been eaten. It’s just turn ‘em and burn ‘em, which means get them in and get them out.  On many occasions I had to look for the server because in Italy, one person services the same table all night, since the emphasis is on food/service. And then again, the view from the top of the Isle of Capri makes it all worthwhile. As Americans, we live to eat and it shows. In Europe they eat to live.
Okay, now for pizza. My friend, Mario, took us to a place in Italy where two famous food ideas were started.  First is the famous Napolitano pasty called sfogliatella. I have tried them everywhere from NY to Boston and even here in RI. The flavor is not even close here, so I will not eat them again unless we go back to Naples. The flavor can’t be described with its buttery, crisp NOT heavy crust, and they had a filling unlike the ones we get here. They use ricotta and lemon in the filling; it is certainly not mass produced. When they sell out, their attitude is “too bad; wait until the next day when we’ll have more”.
Then came the final treat in Naples: their famous pizza.  Mario took us to a place that has been family-run since 1870.  It seated only 35 people, with a waiting line of at least 100 people. We were the only Americans in the line! I was seated next to the wood oven; my face was hot because of the high heat coming out of the oven. They use 3 types of wood, as Luigi explained. The surface of the oven was 600C which is equal to 1,112F:  pretty hot. They only serve 2 pizzas in 3 sizes. First of all was the pizza napolitano, made of tomato and REAL mozzarella, not the plastic stuff used in many pizza places here.  The pizza marinara was topped with tomatoes, sliced garlic, and oregano. I opted for the medium size; the pizza was paper thin with a slightly puffed outer crust which was just a little bit charred and had a tender, crunchy texture. It measured about 14”, and was served with a knife and fork. You can actually taste the wood flavor. The price for the medium pizza was E4.50 which is about $6.00 US. Here it would be $12.00 in the famous restaurants (not naming them!). Fortunately I purchased 25 pounds of the 00 flour and had it shipped, and the flavor and texture is wonderful. I have already made a few paper thin pizzas using it. So it’s safe to say, at least in R.I., no more pizzas and sfoglitelli; they will not be on my shopping list for a while.  As always…That’s Cooking with Class.

When it comes to fruit, the Northeast may be best known for the apple, but nothing heralds the arrival of summer in New England like the strawberry.  Like its fall weather friend, strawberries come in many varieties, with such enticing names as Earliglow, L’Amour, Jewel, and Sparkle. Yet, when most of us go to the market to buy our strawberries, all we care about is that they are red, sweet, and juicy.

One of my fondest memories from childhood is volunteering at my church’s annual Strawberry Festival.  At sunrise, the men would head to the fields of a local farm and pick berries in the early morning light.  Flat upon flat of the luscious little gems would be brought back to the church, where the women would be busy in the kitchen, their fingertips stained red, hulling and slicing the berries that would become jams, jellies, and countless strawberry pies. The very best part, though, were the indescribably delicious strawberry shortcakes.  By mid-morning the line of people waiting for one of these tasty treats would wrap around the side of the church and into the parking lot, but it was well worth the wait.  A customer could order their shortcake one of three ways:  with two scoops of vanilla ice cream (the smoothest, creamiest ever), with a whole biscuit (the most tender and flaky ever), or, my personal favorite, half-and-half - one scoop of ice cream and half of a biscuit.  All piled high with sweet, juicy strawberries and freshly whipped cream.  Yum.

It has been many years since I have had one of those amazing strawberry shortcakes.  Nothing I have had since can compare to the flavors that are still so fresh in my memory.  Yet while nothing can ever really rival a memory, it doesn’t mean that I won’t keep trying to recreate the perfect strawberry shortcake. 

Strawberry season is now upon us here in New England.  It lasts just a few short weeks (from mid-June to mid-July), so now is the perfect time to plan a trip to one of the local farms that offers strawberry picking.  If you are lucky, you may even stumble upon a strawberry festival taking place.  If not, you can always have your own festival at home.  All you need is some ice cream and biscuits (or sponge cake, or chocolate cake, or pound cake…you get the idea), and lots of fresh, sweet strawberries.

Strawberry Fun Facts:
One cup of strawberries provides about 140% of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C.
Strawberries are sweet little cancer fighters.
Strawberries are the only fruit to have their seeds on the outside.
Smaller berries are usually sweeter and more flavorful.
The founder of Rhode Island, Roger Williams, once said of the strawberry “This berry is the wonder of all the fruits growing naturally in these parts.”

It is my pleasure to share the story on how the cooking segments known as “Cooking with Class” (CWC), seen on NBC 10, came to be. The whole thing started when Barbara Morse came to Johnson & Wales University (JWU) to shoot a little food segment, and I just happened to be at her disposal. The school asked me if I would like to do some tapes for Channel 10. They said it would be about a years worth of work, so I agreed. Well, in June of this year it will be our 14th year. Time flies when you’re having fun! LOL! It has been great so far. First of all, I’d like to clear up something:  I don’t work 2 minutes per day as some of you might think!  At JWU I have 15 courses that I teach during the school year. CWC is an extra responsibility for me outside of the classroom. What people really don’t know is that it’s all student-driven and mostly by culinary students. This is how it works:  first we develop the recipes. Then the student with the most seniority who knows the routine sets up the show’s taping order. Most people think it’s a professionally set up show. All of our equipment such as the pans, china, utensils, ovens, and dishes are owned by Johnson & Wales University. The University is totally behind the fact that we do this, because it gives the students an opportunity to earn student wages and still learn. The most asked question I get that viewers want to know about is what happens to all of the food. Well, the camera guys enjoy a few tastes, but most of it goes back in the kitchen. To a college student, receiving all the extra cooked food is like having an extreme benefit package! We have a list of students wanting to work on CWC, but we can only have six at a time.

Each student usually picks out a recipe they want to prepare. They go over it, discuss it with the supervisor (in this case, Linda, who is a pastry student), understand it and sign off on it. While Linda makes sure all five segments for the week are lined up, the student sets the completed plate to be photographed and is completely responsible for the set up of each segment. Maddy (from our Communications and Public Relations Department) keeps me on a strict time schedule, but I usually don’t listen anyway!  LOL!  We usually tape between 15 and 20 shows in one day.  If there are 15 shows or segments, then there are 30 prepped dishes. One is already prepared (that’s the one I show you at the end of the segment), and one I prepare on camera.

Along with this comes the cleaning of the TV kitchen which is one of the best in New England. We have a gas stove top; grill; steamer; inset fryer; two ovens which can bake, microwave, and dehydrate food; a combination oven which can steam and bake simultaneously; and a pizza oven. The Amphitheater, where we tape, can seat 175 people in auditorium-style levels. It has built-in TV screens and ceiling projectors which are used for visiting chef demonstrations, so it has two valuable purposes. Our recipes on CWC reflect the idea that people enjoy cooking for their families and friends, but without cleaning out their wallets. All the recipes are tested three times prior to the public being able to download them. We on CWC are very proud of what we do, and my students have a tremendous amount of pride in their work.  Many of them have gone on to work for culinary magazine companies, or become executive chefs and dietitians. Two actually did their co-op with the Food Network. As of now we have approximately 4,000 cooking/pastry tapes. We have the best of the best in our faculty who make their presence felt on the show. Everything we have used from day one comes from our own labs, such as the pastry and bread labs. As far as NBC 10, they have been nothing less than wonderful and very complementary to myself and the University. Just for the fun of it we do the NBC 10 Turkey Hotline each Thanksgiving. You have probably seen us on the phones; we handle over 500 calls in the three days we do this fun event. I see many people outside of school in stores while they are shopping and they are all great to chat with. I have figured out in the years that I have been doing the show that usually a loaf of bread equals about an hour of cooking questions! I think we have sent recipes to 75% of Rhode Islanders. I even received an email from a woman from Colombia telling me she downloads our recipes. Well, I just had to explain how our little segment on NBC 10 has impacted the use of our recipes. And that brings me to this last bit: as of January 1, 2009 through April 1 2009, the web hits for recipes hit 80,995. And that’s only in the first four months of this year! Not bad for a little state and a major culinary university. So hopefully I have made heads or tails of our segment and how it works.

As always “That’s Cooking with Class”.

I don’t know of anyone who dislikes lobster:  whether it’s boiled, stuffed, baked or whatever. It’s indisputably tasty, but lobster has a rather unsavory reputation. Lobsters have been called cannibals, aggressive fighters and scavengers.

The reputation is only partly deserved. Cannibalism- especially the eating of soft helpless lobsters that have just molted (or shed their old shell) is common among lobsters kept in crowded conditions such as an aquarium, but it appears to be uncommon in nature. American lobsters are aggressive and will fight for possession of rocky cave shelters. As for their diet there is no evidence that lobsters are primarily scavengers. They eat mainly live food, small crustaceans, and mollusks.

Interestingly enough lobsters, crabs and shrimp constitute the order known as decapods. As the name implies, all decapods have five pairs of legs. There are two commercially important families of edible lobsters. The American homarus americanus which have one pair of large claws and are found in the northern Atlantic Ocean. The spiny lobsters also called rock lobsters lack large claws and have spines all over their bodies. They live in tropical oceans.
Did you know what makes lobsters turn red? Live American lobsters are usually greenish olive or green-brown, though dusky orange and even blue lobsters are sometimes found. Diet, heredity and exposure to light all affect a lobster’s color. The major pigment in a lobster’s shell, astaxanthin, is actually bright red in its free state, but in the lobsters shell astaxanthin is chemically bound to proteins that change to a greenish or bluish color. When lobsters are cooked, heat breaks down these bonds, freeing the astaxanthin so that it reverts to its normal red color.
There are very few lobster hatcheries. One I know of is in Bar Harbor, Maine. Lobster was an expensive luxury but now, with controlled harvesting, they are to the point of being easy to access and the prices are excellent. I, for one, go to the boats where the lobsters arrive fresh from the ocean; I prefer not to go to a fish tank in a store because they are kept in a salt-like chemical which controls their PH and actually flushes the lobster’s body of that sweet, salty taste. So take a nice drive to Galilee down to the docks and purchase the freshest lobsters. When you cook them you will know right away why they are a true fine New England treat.
So I will order mine boiled, maybe lightly stuffed; or maybe a nice lobster roll with fresh homemade mayo, with chopped fennel instead of celery.  If I grab a bib and lots of butter, make sure you sit well away from me because this could get messy. Also there isn’t anything that beats a smooth, rich lobster bisque. With my love for hot dogs it may become a face off between lobster vs. hot dog.  Wonder who will win?

As always that’s “Cooking with Class”. 

Here we are in the food business. As chefs, we make a living at making food taste great. What is the secret ingredient to make these little dishes taste so good? Well it’s the number one used seasoning/spice we have:  salt. One of the problems we have now is that all prepared foods contain massive amounts of salt. In most cases we are used to it. Just take a stroll down the snack aisle in the supermarket; it’s the largest section in the store and totally salt-ridden. But this isn’t the problem:  it’s the food we consume that is either prepared or from restaurants. In this sagging economy, restaurants have to keep lowering food prices to attract patrons.  This is usually done by the fast/casual food places. The more salt used, the cheaper the product is to compensate for lost flavors. McDonalds, Taco Bell, and Burger King all advertise food items as low as 89 cents.  But if you consume them, the sodium total will scare you.

Here is a good way to reduce salt consumption without sacrificing taste. Use a seasoning that contains no sodium or small amounts of sodium and use it to replace regular salt. You can do this for anyone with health concerns when flavoring foods. Salt substitutes are available but they are just a chemical addition to food. Here are a few tips to flavor and reduce salt consumption. Dry herbs mixed together work well. There is a product called Mrs. Dash’s savory seasoning. It’s a pretty good product and when added to food, it gives a nice savory addition to the dish without the salt. Seasonings to use are cayenne, summer savory, dill, basil, lemon or lime juice and zest, paprika, coriander cloves, and thyme, just to name a few. When combined they will give a savory flavor to foods. However, since each person has a different taste and sensitivity to various flavors, these salt substitutes may provide varying degrees of acceptance as a replacement product.

As we continue to evolve in the flavor of food it’s the simplest thing to remember:  moderation, moderation, moderation.  Sounds easy, huh? HMMMMM. Wonder if it works..?

As always “That’s Cooking with Class”.

The debate over the origin of the American barbecue is one that will probably never be resolved. By defining barbecue as a process by which meat is slow cooked over a low fire with smoke opens up the history of barbecue to prehistoric times.
First of all, let’s separate grilling from smoking. While they may appear similar, the equipment and techniques are two very different ways of cooking. Grilling is a hot and fast cooking process. And while you can get the introduction of smoke and fire, you don’t get the same results that you do from smoking. The smoking of foods is a slow process, sometimes taking more than24 hours to complete.
Now while people will refer to cooking a steak out on the barbecue, buying a new barbecue grill or attending a barbecue where hamburgers are served isn’t a barbecue. THIS is grilling.
Moving forward to nail down what true barbecue is, it’s time to look at the regional variations. In Texas we have beef that is partially brisket. In the Carolinas we find pork, either whole hogs or pork shoulder. As you start to move towards Kansas City you will find ribs which are generally pork, but beef isn’t unheard of. Out in western Kentucky you will find mutton. The thing that all of these traditions have in common is low cooking temperatures over a long period of time and the introduction of smoke to flavor and tenderize. They all start out as a tough cut of meat and end up as a tender pull-apart delicacy.
Let’s look at the different cuts of meat in true barbecue.
Brisket:  Usually Texas style. Once you have tried this cut properly cooked, its one of the best tasting cuts of beef you’ll ever have.  It’s also one of the toughest pieces, but when cooked properly it’s tremendous.  Especially when served with lots of thick smoky BBQ sauce.
Pulled Pork:  Probably the original American BBQ. This delicacy was enjoyed by our founding fathers. Slow smoked pork from either the whole hog or selected cuts become so tender it is pulled apart by hand, dished up on simple white bread or buns, and topped with a vinegar sauce.
Ribs: This is the most popular form of barbecue; you don’t know what you are missing until you’ve had them the traditional way. There are many variations on how ribs are smoked but typically pork ribs are cooked in whole racks and served up with the thick sweet/tangy barbecue sauce.
Believe it or not in olden days you could have been lynched for misspeaking about barbecue! For the sake of this conversation you need to know the difference between eating barbecue and attending a barbecue. If you have not been to a true barbecue then you owe it to yourself to go out and find some, because when it’s cooked right it will melt in your mouth. I have been to some of the best barbecues in the USA as a corporate chef for a major smoke house company.  I have sampled it in Texas, Kansas City, Memphis, St Louis, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, just to mention a few. It’s too bad that here there are not any really good places to have real barbecue. Even though many places advertise it in New England, it’s just not the real thing.  You could compare it to trying to find a really great Maine lobster dinner in South Dakota. So hopefully you will research and create your own barbecue.  Just one last reminder: “long and slow is the way to go”.  Make sure you have plenty of chilled beer and have a blast.
As always “That’s Cooking with Class”.  

The Best of the Best in stainless. For most uses, experts say stainless steel cookware is your best bet. Not only is it sturdy and most of all noncreative, but it’s also dishwasher safe and impervious to scrapes. You’ll have to use fat to prevent foods from sticking, but the resulting: fond” [these little browned bits that stick to the bottom of the pan] can be used to create delicious pan sauces.
I searched all Brand names of pots and pans. Not because I do love them but All-Clad earned top marks in professional reviews. All-Clad is distinguished by its construction, which marries an aluminum core with a stainless steel exterior. Also made by All-Clad is a tri poly bottom layer of stainless steel, aluminum and copper. But All –Clad’s own line of pans has an aluminum core that extends up the sides of the pan. This is particularly important when you use them on a gas range, as the flames lick the sides of the pan. Stainless steel reflects light, making is easy to tell how quickly your food is browning, and cleans up easily in the sink of dishwasher. All-Clad pans have the most generous cooking surfaces, and most important then have stay-cool handles and excellent maneuverability then are balanced and like most pans when you lift them even with a weak wrist the pan won’t drop down. It’s a good idea when looking at pots and pans to pick them up, spin them around you can feel how balanced some are compared to others.
All-Clad is very expensive usually you can do very well on the internet but don’t purchase one or two at a time. I am in no way proposing the readers to purchase All-Clad. This blog is only my professional opinion and being in the business for over 35 years [I am only 38 I started when I was 3] lol. I enjoy talking to people on cooking, recipes, equipment tools, gadgets anything. I hope this will give you an indication on stainless steel pots and pans. I welcome any comments and just email me with any questions you have my email is fterranova@jwu.edu  enjoy.  . Next I will tackle the fun stuff which knives are best.

The New King of Hot Sauce

Things are certainly heating up for young upcoming chefs in the area of hot sauces. They have been around for a many years; bottles have even been found on shipwrecks which have been recovered on archaeological sites.

We have long had a love affair with hot sauces in the USA; they appeared in Massachusetts newspapers as early as the early 1800’s. According to reports, the first hot sauce was imported from England to the USA as Worcestershire sauce. As time passed the love of hot sauces became so popular that many homegrown hot sauces in the United States began to come from the South, mainly as seasoning for Cajun food using the famous cayenne pepper.

One of the first manufacturers of domestic hot sauce was Edmund McLihenny’s Tabasco Brand Pepper Sauce, which came on the market in 1868 and is still made today. Many other hot sauces are made from Tabasco peppers but the original recipe is still a guarded secret. Many chefs used the Tabasco Pepper Sauce for many years as an addition to cocktail sauces and even white sauces. I find one major problem with Tabasco Sauce:  first you taste strong vinegar; then comes heat and then more heat.  It seems to destroy all the flavor in food if used excessively.

So here comes the new kid in hot sauces. Its Sriracha hot sauce made from chili peppers, garlic, vinegar and sugar. Its flavor is chili peppers first, the heat, then the sweet, and then along comes a little tang. As the school year progresses, I usually ask questions of these young aspiring chefs in my classes. I ask them a simple question: it’s your kitchen; what is your preferred hot sauce flavor? Usually 18 out of 18 students pick Sriracha pepper sauce. Sometimes young minds know a lot and it shows. I love this hot sauce! I almost put it on my Corn Flakes one morning then discovered it didn’t go well with the bananas and milk. As always, “That’s Cooking With Class”.

As Always “That’s Cooking with Class”