Cold Brew Coffee

The best part of waking up is having cold-brew in your cup...

About 6 months ago I started cold-brewing my morning coffee. I had read that cold brew is much less acidic and less bitter than hot brewed coffee – and it's true. (If you have a stomach acid problem this is for you.) You can make a bunch of it, refrigerate it and it's on-hand every morning or whenever you want it. By the time I put a mug in the microwave to heat up, turn on the Today Show, get my paper off the front porch and return to the kitchen it's ready - 90 seconds.

I cold-brew my coffee in a French Press. You can brew it in anything but you will need some kind of sieve to separate the grounds from the coffee when it's done steeping. You need to use a medium grind coffee, nothing too fine. I use 6 scoops of grounds to 2 cups of water in my press.  Stir it well once you have added the water to the grounds. I hear that using bottled water or distilled water makes it even better. Let it sit on your countertop for 12 hours, strain, place it in a container and refrigerate. It keeps for a week. It's also great for making an iced coffee - just add milk and ice.

Add the cold-brew coffee to your mug about 1/3 or 1/2 full and fill the rest with water (or milk) – it's not meant to be drunk full strength. You can adjust the ratio per your taste. The coffee grounds go farther as well because cold brewing extracts more flavor and is more intense.

If you are having a lot of people over and you know your coffee maker can't keep up make cold-brew in advance.

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Best-Ever Grilled Cheese

This is a simple and fool-proof way to make a great grilled cheese sandwich. Don't try to spread hard butter across a soft piece of bread. You know what happens - the bread tears and you get pockets of butter. Here's the simple and easy way... 

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter on low heat in a small skillet - the size of your sandwich. If doing 2, then use a large skillet and add 5 tablespoons of butter.

Once the butter is melted place a slice of bread in the skillet, press it slightly and let it soak up the butter for a few seconds. Remove it and place it buttered-side up on a plate. Now place the next slice of bread in the pan and move it around until all of the remaining butter is soaked up into the bread. 

Now put your cheese on the bread in the skillet and top with other slice of buttered bread. You will end up with an evenly golden browned and very crispy sandwich.
I like to use both American and Swiss cheese. Of course you can use any cheese or combination that floats your boat.

Sometimes I make a hot ham and cheese by adding a layer of cheese, a little mustard and then a few thin slices of ham. 

 

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Taking Stock

So you baked a nice chicken for dinner or maybe you bought a roasted chicken at the market. DO NOT throw out that carcass! It's full of flavor and will make some delicious chicken stock which you can use when you need it and it will be so much better than canned.

My lunch today - made with chicken stock I prepared after baking a chicken for Sunday dinner. 

Making stock is simple. Throw the carcass in a pot about the size of the carcass. Throw in any other bones even if they look useless. There is flavor in them. Throw in skin, too. Basically throw in everything left on the plate. Heck, throw in bones left on any plate! Toss in an onion cut in half. No need to peel it. Add a few stalks of celery and a carrot or two. Almost cover the carcass with water. Add salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 2 hours. 

Strain the broth into a bowl or container. Refrigerate or freeze if you will not use it in a day or two. If you want to make a chicken soup let the bones cool then pick them over for pieces of tender chicken. Add them to the stock. 

Chicken Noodle Soup 

Cook some egg noodles with some sliced carrots, some peas and any other veggie you might have in the fridge that would go well. Drain, add your stock. Got some fresh spinach? Chop it up and toss it in. Simmer it for 5 minutes. Taste for salt. 

You now have a steaming bowl of fresh, homemade chicken soup. YUM.

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Macerated Strawberries

When I was a kid strawberries were small and sweet. Today, the strawberries you find at the market are huge and not sweet. I don't know what farmers have done, but the genetic manipulation to make them bigger has not made them better. Often they are still a bit green at the crown and the tip, hard and lacking a real strawberry flavor. Nothing is more disappointing than a strawberry that is not sweet and has no taste. Perhaps if you buy them at a farmer's market or pick them yourself at a farm they might be like the strawberries we remember as a child. 

My mother always macerated her strawberries. It guarantees a sweet and tender strawberry with real strawberry flavor and creates strawberry juice which is what you want if having strawberry shortcake or putting them over ice cream. This method is even more necessary today considering the strawberries on steroids that are available.

• Start by rinsing a quart of strawberries under cold running water. 
• Remove the crowns and any green tips. Cut off any soft bruised spots as well. 
• Cut the strawberries in half. If they are the size of a golf ball cut them into quarters. Place them in a bowl. 
• Add 1/4 cup of water, 
• 2 heaping tablespoons of sugar and 
• a few drops of lemon juice if you have it. Mix thoroughly. 
• Now, if you like them sweeter and another tablespoon of sugar.
• Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

You will have tender and sweet strawberries with much more flavor and natural juice.

Click to download recipes.

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