Da Pan! Da Pan! Da Pan is on FIRE! So keep your eye on it!

I see too often the flame under a pan on a medium, sometimes a medium high heat. As an amateur cook I wasn't too sure why people did this as I was always taught to cook with a very hot pan. As I got older I would ask everybody "How come you don't put the flame on high?" and I always got the same answer, "I don't want the food to burn."
If you want to develop flavor, thicken sauces, sear, roast, or just cook well the flame plays a very big role the success of your dish. You won't be able to brown your meats and potatoes with a medium flame, you can't activate your roux with a medium flame, you can't lock juices in your steak with a medium flame. I get not everybody is a professional cook but you don't need to be! All you need to do is give your food the attention it deserves. Last week I witnessed someone get a pan hot, add their onions and garlic, and then walked away and started having a conversation with someone else. Naturally, when she returned, the onions and garlic were burnt. She looked at me with frustration and said, "Why'd you make me do that?!" Earlier I was explaining to her what a hot pan can do for a dish. She used to cook everything with a low flame and now I see why.
Cooking is like raising a child. You need to watch it and protect it so it doesn't get hurt. You wouldn't put a baby in a room and expect it to grow up to be an adult by itself would you? You need to nurture it, love it and want it to be great!

Green means GO, Ice means STOP

When was the last time you ate a green vegetable that was mushy? When was the last time you ate a brown vegetable that was supposed to be green? When was the last time you even cooked a green vegetable?

I will admit that not everybody is on the same page when it comes to texture. Some people like their pasta soft and some people like it al dente. Some people like their steak well done and some people like their steak rare. I will also admit admit that those people who like their pasta soft and steak well done SHOULD EAT AT MCDONALD'S FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.

That being said...

I'm so amused at how everybody comes and tells me about the dinner they cooked last night. I guess because I'm a chef people think that I love to hear about their "gourmet" dinner they made last night with couscous and dried fruit (cool bro).  I was talking to a coworker the other day and she was telling about her dinner she had cooked for her and her family. "Everything turned out well except for the green beans. They were brown and mushy." At that moment I knew exactly what she did wrong but first, I had to assess the situation. "How long did you boil the green beans for?" I asked. "The recipe said two to three minutes." she explained. Without knowing what the recipe said I asked, "Did you put the green beans in the ice water after the two to three minutes?" She said, "...oh"

When cooking green vegetables such as Asparagus, Green Beans, Broccoli, Spinach, etc. remember these two words; Blanch and Shock. 

Blanching is when you submerge the vegetable in boiling water for a short period of time before it is fully cooked. You are not BOILING it. When you boil something you are cooking it all the way through like boiling potatoes. 

Shocking is when you take the vegetable out of the water and submerge it in ice water immediately. Green vegetables are very fibrous and dense so even when you take it out of the boiling water it is still cooking in the inside. So throwing it in ice water will stop the cooking process. This will also keep the vegetables color and crunchiness. 

(What green vegetables should look like when you shock them...green.)

So I discovered that what my coworker did wrong was that she put the green beans in the boiling water and then turned it off after 2 minutes and did laundry...LEAVING THE VEGETABLES IN THE HOT WATER. And then when she got back she then put them in the ice water.

(When I went to googled "overcooked green beans" this image came up and it's an actual dish that some made and was proud of. This is HORRIFIC.)

Here's a little tip for blanching and shocking. Recipes will tell you to salt the water. How much salt do you use? It all depends. You're not going to use a teaspoon for 3 gallons of water or 2 cups of salt for 1 quart of water. Put enough salt in little by little to make it taste like OCEAN WATER. Yes, that's right. Ocean water. Trust me on this. And also put just a pinch of salt in your ice water. When you take the vegetables out to shock them, you're throwing them in plain ice water where it's going to wash all the flavor off. So just a pinch, nothing crazy but enough to help retain flavor. Remember, salt doesn't make food taste salty, instead, it brings out flavor.

Blanching and shocking isn't JUST for vegetables. Have you ever boiled an egg and when you crack it open the outside of the yolk is green? If you've read my past blog on how to boil a perfect egg, it means it OVERCOOKED. So same thing applies here. Boil the egg and throw it into ice water ASAP.

Hope you enjoyed this one. Only took me 2 hours to write it! Until next time.

bien manger

-cwis