Quality ingredients for quality cooking

I was recently asked by a friend about some of the ingredients I use in my cooking. She asked me if I use store-brands or if there are brand names I swear by or if any of that really matters. Of course, the answer to that is not simple at all. The ingredients I use are based largely on what my budget is at this point in my life. I can't afford to go to Dean and Deluca and drop $20 on a pound of strawberries. Not that we have a Dean and Deluca in my neck of the woods, but hopefully that gets the point across. I buy products that are on sale, I buy store brands for many things because they really are just as good as the brand name. I shop at places like Aldi and Trader Joe's (owned by the same company, by the way) because they offer great products for reasonable prices. And with the constantly rising or fluctuating costs of food these days, these stores have become invaluable to me and my family.

I try to buy organic produce when I can. I pay attention to labels and I am very conscious of what I'm going to feed my family. We've cut out most processed goods and we try to eat as cleanly as possible (though the occasional M&M or Reese's Pieces never hurt anyone!). But like I said, we're on a budget. And a budget doesn't always allow for the best of the best. There are, however, some ingredients that I refuse to skimp on. The first 3 items that come to mind are:

Flour- I use King Aurthur All Purpose flour. It is a staple in my pantry. It has never failed me. I will use Pilsbury as a back up, but I will always choose King Authur first. The grain is grown in the US, it is a decent and fair company, and nothing else measures up to the quality of their product in my opinion. For cake flour, I use Swan's Down. I use it, again, because not much else measures up to that. Plus it's an old, tried and true company that's been around for more than 100 years. They must be doing something right. My grandmothers use/used Swan's Down, my mother uses it, and now so do I.

Butter- So...I mostly* use a store-brand, unsalted butter. But this is listed here because I use butter as opposed to margarine, which is much cheaper. Whether or not margarine is one molecule away from being plastic is true, I still will not put something with that many unpronounceable ingredients into my cooking. It's just...icky. That's right. Icky is a technical term. Deal with it.
*I buy Land O'Lakes or Plugra, which are my favorite brands, if I can get them at the same price or slightly cheaper than the store-brand if they're on sale. It's rare but it happens.

Bacon- As a friend of mine just found out this morning, buying cheap bacon will leave you feeling cheated and sad. It can look amazing, but if the price is too good to be true, it probably is. Many store brands or cheap/off-brands are injected with brine or water. So the bacon looks great, but shrinks down to a third of the size it started out as after it's been cooked. Kinda like Shrinky Dinks. If you are lucky enough to have a local butcher, awesome! Support your local economy and get a great quality product even if you have to pay a little more. We aren't that lucky. So I like Wright brand bacon. I buy it almost exclusively. They provide a tasty, reliable product still at a reasonable price.

Of course, this list could go on and on. There are a lot of products that I enjoy and prefer over most others. But those three are something you will find in my kitchen no matter what. If the zombie apocalypse does happen, those 3 things will be in my emergency kit (since my emergency kit includes a battery operated refrigeration unit of some kind and a dutch oven).

What about you? What products or brands do you prefer over any other?



***I am not being paid to promote the brands listed in this post in any way, shape, or form. I am explaining my preferences and personal experiences with these brands and do not benefit from you clicking any of the hyperlinks.***

Mmmm, butter...

Not a bad picture considering I took it with my phone.

No, I'm not channeling Paula Deen. And no, what I'm about to share with you will not cause you to gain weight or find yourself with a sudden onset of heart disease just by reading it. Ready? Here we go...

Tonight I made Garlic Rosemary chicken breasts for dinner. I used a method that I don't typically use. Let's face it, with a [nearly] 15 month old boy that can't be left alone for 2 seconds without trying to give the cat an unwelcomed hug or standing on something he shouldn't, the less steps I use in my cooking, the better. Keeping the kid alive tends to be more important in our culture than cooking a perfect supper. But tonight I decided to go the extra mile. And what do you know?! The kid is still alive and dinner was delicious!

A few days ago, Charlie saw the January cover photo of Bon Appetit magazine with this glorious, golden pork chop front and center. And of course, he asked me if I could make it. So I picked up the issue, flipped through to the cover recipe and picked it apart. It was less of a recipe and more of a lesson in basting. I thought, "Sure! I can do this! I did it in culinary school. It's a pretty simple idea, really." But I didn't have any glorious, 2-inch thick pork chops. Chicken was on my weekly menu, though. It was supposed to be chicken kabobs, but food on a stick is better left for the Summer months. Garlic Rosemary chicken it is! I turned Yo Gabba Gabba on for the dude, peeked in on him every few minutes, and started dinner.

This is what I did:

I placed an oven-safe skillet on medium heat and added about a teaspoon of rosemary infused olive oil- enough to coat the bottom of the skillet. [Pan spray or regular olive oil will work just fine, too.] I also turned my oven on to 400 degrees F. I took 3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, patted them dry, and seasoned both sides with kosher salt and black pepper. I placed them in my preheated pan for about 4 minutes; just until it started to brown. Then I flipped each breast once letting the other side cook for another 4 minutes. I sprinkled in some dried rosemary and placed the pan in the oven. I let the chicken cook in the oven for about 15 minutes. Keep in mind that these were very thick breasts (about 1 1/2 inches) and still a little icy in the middle so timing will vary. After the chicken was almost cooked through, I pulled the pan out of the oven [WITH A POTHOLDER OR OVEN MITT] and set it back on the stove at medium heat. This is where it gets good. I then added 2 whole, peeled garlic cloves and 2 to 3 tablespoons of butter to the pan. When the butter melted I tilted the pan slightly forward, took a soup/cereal sized spoon, and ladled the butter over each chicken breast repeatedly for several minutes. Then I turned off the heat and set the pan to the side to let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes. After it had some time to relax (being delicious is hard work after all) I sliced it, spooned a little bit of the goodness from the bottom of the pan over the chicken, and served it with roasted veggies.

The basting method takes a little more time and effort, but the product is so yummy! It works well because you are cooking the meat more evenly this way. The less you flip the meat and move it around a pan, the more evenly it will cook. And by basting it with a hot liquid, you're helping cook both sides at once, while locking in the flavors and moisture that is crucial to cooking meat perfectly. Plus, you're making use of all of those wonderful brown bits in the bottom of the pan. In my opinion, basting will yield the most flavorful chicken, pork, or steak you've ever had. It's how a lot of professional steakhouses cook their steaks, rather than using a grill.

So there it is...the [butter] basting method. You can do this with other meats using other oils, wine, or even just some stock. It's a pretty simple concept, it just takes a little more time. But, like I said, it's well worth the effort.

Elle

PS The title of this entry was a toss up between "Mmmm, butter..." and "Let's get basted!". You're welcome.