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Celebrity Chefs Share Recession Tips With Oprah

partysugar — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 11:30:08 -0700

Yesterday celebrity chefs Tyler Florence, Cat Cora, and Curtis Stone made an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. The chefs shared recipes and tips on how to cook more affordably during the recession. They also went into the kitchen of viewers to perform culinary interventions. Stone helped a couple cut their takeout budget by learning to cook, Cora taught a family how to use fresh ingredients to make healthy dishes, and Florence showed a mom the best way to feed her children. The chefs provided some great suggestions on how to save money when grocery shopping. For their ideas, read more.

Use a lesser cut of meat. A whole chicken is cheaper than chicken breasts. Opt for pork shoulder instead of pork tenderloin.
Use a slow cooker. They're ideal for turning lesser cuts of meat into fantastic dinners.
Purchase a whole block of cheese and grate it yourself. In the end its cheaper than buying the pregrated bags.
Be smart at the meat counter. According to Stone, steaks that are nearing their sell-by date are usually marked down.
Select cheaper fish. Skip salmon and choose tilapia.
Always shop with a list. Cora says that people spend 50 percent more if they don't have a list.
Buy only what you need. If you want three bananas, break off three from the bunch.
Plan meals that share ingredients.

How do you save when at the supermarket? Please share your helpful hints below!

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Yummy Links: From Spanish Tours to Sandwich Showdowns

partysugar — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:00:57 -0700

Check out this sneak peek of Spain...on the Road Again. It looks like so much fun! - People
Bon Appétit has made over their website to feature their top 100 recipes. - The BA Blog
Update the classic rice krispie treat by using Fruit Cheerios instead of rice cereal. - Erin Cooks
Love chocolate? Be sure to read these tips for storing your beloved chocolate bars. - Candy Blog
How well does the pancake puff pan work? - The Kitchn
Get the 411 on which containers are best for storing food. -Culinate
Tyler Florence, Curtis Stone, and Ingrid Hoffmann battle to make the best sandwich on Oprah's Sandwich Showdown. Padma provides her two cents and announces the winner. - Oprah

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Summer Reading: Cooking With Curtis

YumSugar — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 12:03:37 -0700

Many of you have written in and asked my opinion of Curtis Stone, aka The Take Home Chef. Truth be told, I don't know too much about him, other than he started at Melbourne's Savoy Hotel at the age of 18, and then later moved on to The Grill Room with Marco Pierre White (Godon Ramsay's mentor/nemesis). I also know that he's the author of a beautiful book called Cooking with Curtis: Easy, Everyday and Adventurous Recipes for the Home Cook.

The book is divided into four seasonal chapters, as well as three difficulty levels, and is full of mouth-watering dishes like Deep-Fried Eggplant and Mozzarella with Basil, Lentil Stew with Spicy Sausage and Crispy Pork Belly. It is clear that Stone's mission is to celebrate fresh seasonal ingredients and to get you, the home cook, interested in exploring the possibilities. There are plenty of tips and each recipe has a gorgeous photo to accompany it.

To get a taste of what the book has to offer - aka the recipe for Deep-Fried Eggplant and Mozzarella with Basil - read more

Deep-Fried Eggplant and Mozzarella with Basil
From Cooking with Curtis by Curtis Stone

2 tablespoons/30 ml olive oil
2 shallots, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red jalapeno chili, chopped
7 ripe plum tomatoes, finely diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For eggplant sandwiches:
1 eggplant (cut crosswise into 1/8 inch slices)
Salt
One 7-ounce ball fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese (cut crosswise into 8 slices)
8 fresh basil leaves
2/3 cup/95 g all purpose flour
4 large eggs, beaten to blend
1 1/2 cups/210 g dried plain bread crumbs
Safflower oil, for deep frying

To make the tomato sauce. Heat the oil in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté for 3 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and chili and sauté for another 1 minute.
Add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are very tender and mushy, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
To make the eggplant sandwiches. Arrange the eggplant slices on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt and allow them to sit for 10 minutes. Rinse the eggplant under cold running water to remove the salt. Pat the eggplant slices dry with paper towels.
Place 1 slice of cheese and 1 basil leaf atop 1 eggplant slice. Top with a second eggplant slice. Repeat to make 8 sandwiches total. Place the flour, eggs and bread crumbs in 3 separate shallow bowls or pie plates.
Working with 1 eggplant sandwich at a time, dredge the eggplant sandwiches in the flour, shaking off the excess, then dip the sandwiches in the eggs, allowing the excess egg to drip back into the bowl of eggs, and dredge in the bread crumbs to coat completely.
Repeat the process to give the eggplant sandwich a second coating of the eggs and bread crumbs (not the flour). Add enough oil to a heavy large frying pan to reach the depth of 2 inches/5 cm. Heat the oil over medium-high heat to 350°F/180°C.
Working in batches, add the sandwiches to the hot oil and fry until they are golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Using a slotted spatula, transfer the fried sandwiches to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
Sprinkle the hot sandwiches with salt. Cut each sandwich into 4 wedges. Serve the sandwiches on a platter with the warm tomato sauce.

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What's Yummy This Week - YumSugar Weekly Recap

YumSugar — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 09:30:05 -0700

Go for these German chocolate cupcakes stuffed with coconut-pecan filling and topped with chocolate ganache.
Fresh, local eating is top on Michelle Obama's agenda.
Get lucky this St. Patrick's Day with one of our favorite beer cocktails.
Party plans a St. Patty's Day gathering for the girls.
The Fat Prince is a great way to introduce yourself to maraschino.
TyFlo, Cat Cora, and Curtis Stone share recession cooking tips.
March is National Noodle Month - test your ramen IQ!

The Year's Best Rising Celebrity Chef

YumSugar — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 08:00:56 -0800

As part of our Best of 2008 series, you told us who was the best rising celebrity chef of the year. You love The Neelys and Curtis Stone, but your number one favorite is Next Iron Chef winner Michael Symon. We agree with you; he's our favorite at Yum.

There's more than one reason we like the Cleveland chef: He's talented yet modest; on Iron Chef America, he's got a great sense of humor and an infectious laugh; and his Greek-inspired food is always heads above the rest.

Why do you like Michael Symon?

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Summer Reading Roundup

YumSugar — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 05:12:37 -0700

Can you believe that August is over already? We hope that you all enjoyed August's summer reading month features. We've had thirty-one options that range from vegetarian cooking, shopping list mockery, world history, children's cooking, vacations, fine dining and more. In case you missed any of them, I've compiled them all in one place for easy perusal, or for you to printout and take to the bookstore!

And don't worry, just because summer reading month is over, doesn't mean we'll stop talking about tasty reads! To check out the full list, read more

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison
The New Outdoor Kitchen by Deborah Krasner
I'm Just Here For The Food by Alton Brown
Julie and Julia by Julie Powell
The Cuisines of Spain by Teresa Barrenechea
Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans
French Women For All Seasons by Mireille Guiliano
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
Be My Guest by Rena Kirdar Sindi
On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee
The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins
Candyfreak by Steve Almond
The Wine Club by Maureen Christian Petrosky
Small-Batch Baking by Debby Maugans Nakos
Barefoot Contessa Parties! by Ina Garten
The Gastronomical Me by MFK Fisher
The Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffrey Steingarten
Milk Eggs Vodka by Bill Keaggy
Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
Something Delicious This Way Comes by Joshua Ploeg
The Great American Camping Cookbook by Scott Cookman
Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl
Martha Stewart's Hors D'oeuvres by Martha Stewart
Sweets: A History of Candy by Tim Richardson
Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy by Joseph Bastianich and David Lynch
Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky
Fanny at Chez Panisse by Alice Waters
Cooking with Curtis by Curtis Stone
Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson
The River Cottage Meat Book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Cocktail Parties With a Twist by Alexandra and Elliot Angle

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