quick Marinade

Here is a suggestion for a quick marinade for chicken

2 oz wine
1 tablespoon spice mix - (ex. spice rub or lemon pepper etc.)
1 teaspoons Olive oil

This will work on 2 - 3 chicken breasts.  Just mix the marinade in a zip lock bag and add the chicken. Massage the chicken and make sure that they are coated.  Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal.  put the bag on  a plate put in the fridge for 2 - 5 hours.  Turn the bag over every hour to ensure that the meat is getting the full effect of the marinade.  Double the amount for 6 breasts.  The idea is not to make a huge amount of marinade.  Putting the marinade in the bag helps to reduce the amount needed.

Freezer Burn

I was helping a friend defrost an older freezer. He was going to throwout anything that had freezer burn.  While that is sometimes a good idea there are ways to deal with freezer burn.

Freezer burn is basically dehydration. So for a chicken that has freezer burn you can always use it to make stock. The same is true of old beef ribs.  You can also cut off the part that is "burned" and cook the rest of the item. If you have a steak that is freezer burned, put it in a marinade.  In these difficult financial times we can all use a little reminder on how to save money.

I hope this helps.  To avoid freezer burn, wrap the meat or other item so that air cannot get to it.  It is the air space that allows the food to dry out and get "burned'.

Corn Salad

Today in cooking class Chef Stacy made a corn salad that was very tasty!  If you go to Williams Sonoma's website you will find the recipe.  It Is a great example of taking simple ingredients and a little inspiration to have a wonderful outcome. Always remember to use the best and freshest ingredients that you can afford. It is far better to use better ingredients and make less than to make more with substandard components.

Thank you to Stacey - we wish her well in her new job and look forward to continuing the cooking classes.