Kitchen Sink-the catch-all for info, tips, spices, etc.

Unless otherwise noted:

Olive oil is always extra virgin.
Butter is always unsalted.
Herb measurements are always for fresh. Conversion to dry below.
Always use Parmesano Reggiano and grate it fresh

A note on shrimp: tiger shrimp is not very good. They are commercially raised and harvested in Thailand and other countries in SE Asia. You can spot them because they have grey bands on them when the are raw. Always buy pink or white shrimp. Most shrimp is frozen on the boat when caught. I like to put shrimps in some cold, salted water for about 15 minutes before I cook them. Rinse off and pat dry before cooking.

Crawdads/crawfish/crayfish/mudbugs: When buying these always try to get the ones from Louisiana. A lot of them come from China and are cheaper, however, they are mushy and just don't taste good.

I use either sea salt or kosher salt in my recipes.
I always use fresh cracked pepper except in some of the dry rubs.

Any food containing acid should always be cooked, mixed and stored in non-reactive containers and cookware such as glass, stainless steel, anodized aluminum, non-stick cookware and/or plastic. It should never touch exposed aluminum. It will react and turn bizarre colors and taste bad.

Foods with acid are tomatoes, anything citrus, vinegars, etc.

TB = tablespoon
Tsp = teaspoon
3 Tsp = 1 Tb

You can convert dried to fresh for herbs/spices using 1/3 dried to 1 fresh ratio.

Don’t put dry spices containing salt on foods until you are ready to cook them. The salt will suck the moisture out of them. And as we all know it’s easier when it’s moist.

Tools of the trade advice:

Always buy the best knives you can afford and keep them as sharp as possible.
You will not cut yourself as much with a sharp knife as you will a dull one. And when you do cut yourself, and you will, it doesn’t hurt as much either.

Basic knives to have are a good 8” chef knife, a paring knife and a good slicing knife with serrated edges. Also useful are a bread knife, a boning knife and a cleaver. I also have a diamond encrusted and a ceramic sharpening steel and a medium/fine stone to keep the knives sharp.

Buy the highest quality cookware that you can afford. It will last longer and it is much easier to cook with. Look for cookware that has an even thickness from the bottom thru the sides. The food will heat more evenly and cook faster.

I also highly recommend having at least one large skillet that isn’t non-stick to use for food where you will be making a sauce in the pan. The brown bits that stick to the pan will come up easily when you deglaze the pan and add tons of flavor to the sauce.


Rubs

Cajun Rub
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 ½ tsp paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
don’t’ use ground for the thyme and oregano
Mix well and store in an airtight container away from light. Goes well on everything

‘cue Rub
I use variations of this when I smoke some ribs or butt

These are all approximate
1 tb kosher salt
1 tb black pepper
1 tb white pepper
2 tb paprika
1 tb sage
1/2 tb cumin
1 tb brown sugar
1 tb onion powder
1 tb garlic powder

Sometimes I'll add a little cayenne or some jalapeno powder if I want them spicier

Southwest Rub
¼ cup red chile molido (powdered chile) 1 Tb onion powder
1 Tb cumin 1 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp oregano 1 tsp garlic powder
good on beef and pork

Pork Rub
1 tb salt 1 tb pepper
1 tb rubbed sage 1 tb garlic powder
1 tb onion powder


Roasted Garlic

1 large head of garlic
olive oil
fresh ground pepper

Peel paper off garlic, leaving head intact. Cut tips of garlic off of cloves.
Place root side down on sheet of foil.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Season with pepper.
Bundle and seal foil.
Bake at 350 for about 1 hour or until garlic turns golden.
Let cool and squeeze out garlic into bowl.
May be covered and refrigerated for 2 days.

This is excellent in mashed potatoes or mixed together with butter and served with hot bread and anything else you can think of.

Roasting Peppers

I prefer to roast them on the top of the burners on a gas stove or on a grill. You can also put them on a baking sheet under the broiler in the oven.

I use this for roasting chile peppers and bell peppers.

Turn the burners on medium to medium-low.
Place the peppers right on the burners
Turn to blacken and blister all sides of the peppers
Place charred peppers in a paper bag, freezer bag or a bowl with a cover to steam and loosen the charred skin more
Peel off the charred skin and wipe off any black bits remaining.
Use immediately or wrap well and freeze.

If roasting in the oven cut in half and place cut-side down on a baking sheet and roast under the broiler. Check to make sure they don’t burn too much.
Steam using the method above.

You can also roast tomatoes this way.