Salty Sauce Audio Class [1:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Kathy in Jupiter has accidentally over-salted her marinara sauce, and she wants to know if there is any way to save it.

You certainly can save it, Kathy, although you will need a new game plan. We’re very sorry this happened to you. The easiest thing to do may be to scrap the sauce and begin again, but, if you are like most cooks, that option just seems unbearable, especially if you have put time, care and money into it.

What you want to do if you choose to stick by your sauce is use the sauce you have as a base for more sauce, either now or in the future. You can do this by simply adding more of all of your other ingredients until the right taste is achieved, but that would likely mean multiplying your recipe by 3: there are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon, so you have essentially tripled the salt in your sauce and will need to triple the rest of the ingredients as well to bring it back. Obviously, this method may involve making more sauce than you are prepared to serve or store in your freezer.

What to do then? Make a paste out of your sauce. Push the salty sauce through a sieve, or screen, or process through a food mill. Then return it to the pot and cook over low heat for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until it has reduced to a paste texture. Allow to cool and separate into 3 portions. Each one of these 3 portions can act as a base for your sauce - use one third of it now to make a new sauce, and save the other two in the freezer until the next time you want to make a marinara, or pomodoro, or red pepper sauce.

With a minimum of adjustment to your original game plan, you can often make hurtles in the kitchen work for you. Remember to try and have fun with all of your new homemade tomato paste. Also, don’t hesitate to call ChefsLine for one-on-one instruction while cooking. We’ll teach you how to prepare an authentic marinara and how and when to season a sauce properly. Put the recipe aside and let’s just cook up a sauce that suits your taste buds!

 

 Guacamole Audio Class [1:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Listen now to Chef Erika Connell Cooper tell ChefsLine@5 member, Chana, how to keep her avocado dip green. In addition to Chef Erika’s tips, here are two ChefsLine recipes for guacamole from our Recipe pages.

Homemade Chips & Guacamole
Chef Adam Cutsinger

INGREDIENTS
4 avocados
1/4 cup grated red onion
1 jalapeno pepper
1/8 cup lime juice
1/8 cup olive oil
1 cup diced tomato
1/2 cup sour cream
salt to taste
15 corn tortillas
3 cups corn oil

METHOD
Whip the avocados, onion, pepper, lime juice, olive oil, tomato, sour cream and salt in a medium-sized bowl until smooth. Cover completely with plastic wrap, making sure to cover the entire surface area of the guacamole to prevent any air from coming into contact with it. Let set in refrigerator. Heat the corn oil in a small sauce pan. Cut the tortillas into 6 pieces each, like a pie. With a wide slotted or perforated spoon or skimmer, lower a handful of the chips into the oil. Turn regularly to make sure they cook equally throughout. When they are golden brown, use the same tool to remove them from the oil and lay them onto a plate covered with a rack or paper towel. Salt them immediately while they are still wet with oil. Repeat with more chips until they are all evenly cooked. Serve with guacamole. You may opt to slice limes or cilantro as a garnish.

Jackie’s Tailgate Guacamole
Chef Jackie Lee

INGREDIENTS
4 Haas avcados
1/2 red onion, small dice
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped
2 roma tomatoes, small dice
1 garlic clove, finely minced
juice of 2 lemons to taste
1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced
salt to taste

METHOD
Prepare and set aside onion, cilantro, tomatoes, garlic, lemon, and jalapeno. Cut avocados lengthwise and peel. Remove pit. Using a tablespoon, scoop avocado into a medium sized bowl. Using a wire whisk, mash avocados until broken into “chip-sized” pieces. Add the rest of ingredients and mix. Guacamole can be refrigerated for up to one hour before serving. Cover completing with plastic wrap. You may add one pit to the container to help prevent browning although proper storage and lemon juice will do the trick.

NOTE
From the Chef: Select dark, almost black Haas avocados. The fruit should be yielding to the touch but not mushy. Refrigerate avocados for an hour before preparing. Use enough lemon to make the guacamole tart but not lose the creamy texture. You do not need to remove the jalapeno seeds but do taste the jalapenos before adding to control heat.

 

 Spicyt Gumbo Audio Class [2:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Marie in Rochester has got some overheated (spicy) gumbo on her hands, and needs to tone it down a notch for those of her guests tonight who may be a little tongue-tender. She suspects that, since she has already cut the spicy ingredients in the recipe, the sausage is the culprit. How can she put out the fire?

Option 1: Add More Volume
The most sensible option for turning down the heat would be to add more of everything else in the recipe except for the spice, and namely the milder-flavored ingredients. This will, however, increase both the volume and the cost of your dish.

Option 2: Add More Rice
If you have already mixed in the rice and it is still too hot, you may add more rice, or perhaps divide the gumbo into two portions and add rice only to one of them, and let your guests know there are a ‘hot’ batch and a ‘hotter’ batch.

Option 3: Serve Over Rice
If you haven’t mixed the rice with the okra stew yet, do not and keep them separate. Serve the rice at the table in bowls. Let your guests know that they should serve themselves a small spoonful of gumbo on their rice to start, especially if they are sensitive to heat.

Option 4: Gumbalaya
How else can you add more elements to the dish, especially some sort flavor-absorbing starch, to draw away some of the heat without ruining the authenticity of the gumbo? How about making gumbalaya?!

Gumbalaya is a hybrid dish featuring elements of both gumbo and jambalaya. It may change your game plan, but it can certainly satisfy your guests with an exciting Louisiana-style medley of ingredients, and perhaps even become a fun topic of conversation. To incorporate jambalaya as part of your dish, just add cooked tomatoes. Cooked tomatoes are acidic and are very helpful in tempering spiciness.

Option 5: Lastly, serve it with whole milk dairy (with fat). A glass of milk can be very helpful in subduing the spicy burn.

 

 Prime Rib Audio Cooking Class [1:44m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Listen now to Chef Cary’s audio cooking class, for Brenda, on how to season and prepare an eleven pound prime rib.

For another lesson, you might also listen to Chef Sara Gibb’s audio class, click here for Cooking Prime Rib 101.

Her Prime Rib Cabernet Au Jus is another great recipe from our chefs.

Give us a call Brenda, we can’t wait to help you with gravy!

 

 Virginia Ham Audio Class [2:05m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Listen now to Chef Cary’s instructions on preparing your ham. Cary has lived in Virginia for over twenty years and prepares these hams often for guests. He highly recommends Alton Brown’s Virginia Ham recipe for home use that uses Dr. Pepper. That recipe is found here and the highlights are using Dr. Pepper as the roasting liquid.

Cary recommends mustard butter as a great compliment to the ham and recommends serving the ham with sweet and starchy side dishes. I happened to stop by Chef Margaret’s recent Christmas Cooking class and came upon her Virginia ham which had been soaking for 3 days and was going to be served with a very simple raisin sauce. Fact is, soaking your ham will release a lot of the salt but perhaps never enough for your family’s taste so a great bet is to make a really fantastic ham, slice as thinly as possible, and serve with delicious side dishes. Be sure to use your ham hock for soup and don’t hesitate to contact us for ideas about great dishes to create (leftovers) with the ham.

You might also consider serving a sauce or chutney with you ham that is a bit sweet and tangy to balance the saltiness of the ham. Typical and delicious sauces included peach, pineapple, apple, apple cider, or bourbon and apricot. Lisa- please let us know if you would like to prepare homemade biscuits or serve your ham with a sauce. Just tell us what fruit you enoy and one of our chefs will prepare a recipe for you.

Mustard Butter
1 stick butter, softened
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
1/2 shallot, chopped
4 Tbsp mustard, dijon is preferred
1/2 tsp salt
fresh pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients together, except for salt and pepper, by hand with a fork. Season to taste. You can form a nice log and chill. Or, place in a crock and store in refrigerator wrapped.

 

 Do-Ahead Prime Rib Audio Class [1:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Marty from Aiken wants to know if he can prepare his (or her- sorry Marty!) prime rib a day or two ahead of the feast. Listen now to Chef Kevin’s advice and instructions on how to pull off this great and festive New Year’s Eve Dinner.

A 12 pound prime rib will take approximately 3 - 3 1/2 hours (17 minutes per pound) total to roast at a combination of high heat / low heat method. For a mostly medium rare roast, cook until the internal temperaure reaches 125 degrees, for a mostly medium roast, cook until the internal temperature reaches 135 degrees.

Follow these links for great step-by-step directions on preparing your prime rib.

Prime Rib Au Jus Recipe

Prime Rib 101 Audio Class with step-by-step directions

 

 Smoking Turkey Audio Class [2:27m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

ChefsLine’s Chef Kevin gives step-by-step instructions on how to smoke a turkey.

1) Rub turkey. Cavender’s Greek Seasoning is a pre-made rub that is great with turkey. Do not stuff turkey.
2) Let sit in refrigerator overninght.
3) Soak wood chips.
4) Bring turkey to room temperature.
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 Prime Rib Timing Audio Class [2:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Ellen in Ojai is making two 4-bone prime ribs and then transporting them to another location to be eaten 3 hours or more after they are cooked, and she wants to know how to keep them from overcooking during that time, especially since she wants one of them to be medium rare (of course she does!) She will not have access to the oven when she arrives, but she does have access to a gas grill. Will that work? And how does she keep them from overcooking?

Using a gas grill is a perfectly good option, Ellen. Sear your meats at home, pack as your normally do and then preheat your grill on arrival.

Listen now to Chef Cary’s instructions on preparing your prime rib in two different locations. It should work out very well.

Please do not hesitate to give us a call at 1-800-977-1224 to discuss this or other cooking techniques.

PS. The estimated cook time on location is 30 minutes.

PPS. Here is a link to a great Prime Rib with Cabernet Au Jus recipe.