Chief's Tip of the Day:

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Chief's Tip of the Day:

Don't forget the sage. If celery, carrots, and onion (mirepoix) are the holy trinity of aromatic veggies, then sage, salt, and black pepper are the holy trinity of savory herbs & spices.

Sage is often relegated to turkey stuffing, and little else. To me, it is the definition of a savory herb. Sage complements everything from mashed potatoes, to gravy, to lamb, to venison. It is famous for use with all kinds of poultry, but also is so good with fish, especially salmon, trout, and swordfish. It adds wonderful flavor to chicken soup, or broth, and is equally at home with acorn squash, or winter squash based soups.

Try adding making a compound butter of salted butter, sage, and black pepper to use with everything you want to put butter on, be it smashed sweet spuds (sweet potatoes), to steamed corn.

If you like savory flavors, this combination just might become one of your all time favorites. It certainly is one of mine.

Next time you have Old Bay seasoning around, place a bit in the palm of your hand, then taste it. You will definitely taste sage, black pepper, salt, and celery seed. And of course it is a vital component in all poultry seasoning mixes. This wonderful herb even adds great flavor to marinara sauce. I wouldn't add it to my apple pie though.

So pick up some sage, fresh, rubbed, ground, it doesn't matter. Start adding it to your savory dishes, i.e. stews, roasts, soups, chops, etc. It will add a whole new flavor dimension to your food.

Beware though. As with all good things, use sparingly. You can always add more to a dish. But once it's in the pot, you can't remove it. And too much sage will add a bitter, and unpleasant flavor to your food. Used properly, it is a wonderful herb. It is a must-have item in my spice rack.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[taxlady]

And of course you need sage in breakfast sausage.

 

[Chef Maloney]

Thank you for the tips Chief Longwind of the North. Much appreciated

 

[Kylie1969]

When dicing/cutting sweet peppers, cut the stem and heel off, remove core, slit, lay it out, skinside down, and slice from the inside. It cuts better and is easier to cut this way.

Excellent, thanks CWS

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Chief's Tip of the Day

First, it's my pleasure and honor to share a little technique and food knowledge that I've learned over the years. You're all very welcome.

For today's tip, I know that there are a good many people who say they don't like trout, and salmon, that the meat is too fishy. Trout and salmon are delectable, when prepared properly. Smaller fish of legal size, between 7 and 15 inches, need no special technique but to not overcook them. A little salt is really all that's needed to bring out the delicate flavor.

Larger members of the Salmon family can indeed taste fishy, like cod-liver oil. I don't know how may of you have had to take that nasty tasting stuff. Just take my word for it. You won't like it. To get rid of that flavor, you have to remove the dark meat (the bloodline), and sometimes the skin as well. Other areas that have to be removed are the meat directly under the dorsal fin, and the fatty meat that makes up the belly. After that, you can bake, broil, poach, pan fry, dust with flour and fry, dip in batter and deep fry, or smoke it. Another great technique for cooking this wonderful category of fish is to place it on an oiled plank of smoking wood, such as apple, cherry, walnut, maple, or white oak.

Cook the fish until it is done through. The meat, depending on the species, will turn a pastel color, such as orange, pink, or white. It will be a solid color. overcooking this delicate meat can make it dry and tough. A light touch with the seasonings is required to avoid overpowering the delicate fish flavor.

Now I can't guarantee that this will make you a salmon, or trout lover. Though the flavor is mild, it isn't sweet like pollack, or cod. It's more savory. But these tips will allow you to find out if its the fish you don't like, or the fat. I just cooked up some steelhead (rainbow trout that's gone to the ocean and returned to fresh water). It is amazingly good. That's what prompted me to expound on salmon and trout.

You will find that you will either adore this family of fish, or hate it. But you won't know until you've had it made properly. I have known many people who swore that they hated all salmon. Then I cooked them some and they changed their minds.

Oh, and I'm not the genius who figured all of this out. I learned to cook fish from my Grandpa, and my Dad. They only fried it, but taught me how to prepare it for cooking. i cook it by many methods. One day, you'll have to try it cooked in a foil pouch, with sliced potatoes, carrots, and butter. Wow is that ever amazing. Oh, and that fried fish made by my Dad and Grandpa, it was something special indeed.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Kylie1969]

Cheers for todays tip Chief

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I love cod liver oil...

 

[Chef Maloney]

Thank you Chief Longwind of the North! :>)

 

[taxlady]

I love cod liver oil...

Have you ever had cod liver? If it's not overcooked, it is yummy, so is cod liver pâté.

I don't like cooked trout or salmon. I enjoy both of them cold smoked.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Have you ever had cod liver? If it's not overcooked, it is yummy, so is cod liver pâté.

I don't like cooked trout or salmon. I enjoy both of them cold smoked.

Never had it. But, my best friend and I were the only one's who would try it in 4th grade when we were studying Norway. I still love the flavor of it and any fish oil.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Never had it. But, my best friend and I were the only one's who would try it in 4th grade when we were studying Norway. I still love the flavor of it and any fish oil.

Yes, but you're an Ogre'ess, so you don't count. Everyone knows that ogres and ogre'ess's love cod liver oil, with earwax on rye.

Oh, and that last virtual snowball you sent my way, it hit me just as I was getting into my car. It splattered all over the side of my face, and down into my shirt. It got my seat and steering wheel all wet, and splattered all of my neighbors for a half-mile radius. Wadaya think this is, snowball chunkin?

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[PrincessFiona60]

ONION Rye! Geesh!

 

[Addie]

I love cod liver oil...

When my daughter was born, her doctor was a strong advocate of cod liver oil for newborns. She had it for the first year of her life. Then I switched her to vitamin drops.

 

[Chef Maloney]

gotta git those omega 3's :<)

 

[taxlady]

You can get the RDA of omega 3 fatty acids from three walnuts.

 

[Chef Maloney]

You can get the RDA of omega 3 fatty acids from three walnuts.

Didn't know that taxlady, and I love walnuts. Thanks.

 

[Kylie1969]

Cheers Taxy, that certainly is some good info there

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Chief's Tip of the Day

Remember to take into account any salt that may already be in food items to be used in recipes where foods are combined, such as lasagna, casseroles, stews, mixed rice dishes, etc. Items like sausages, including hot dogs, have a fair amount of salt already in them. if other ingredients have salt as sell, or if you normally add salt to what you are cooking, you may end up with something too salty.

Case in point: I was making a familiar rice pilaf last night, and changed three ingredients. I used two pre-made soup mixes, an onion, and a chicken soup mix to season the rice, and chopped hot dogs, along with celery and onion. Normally, this dish is made with a packet of chicken soup mix, browned, ground beef, celery, and onions, and is great tasting. Last night, the hot dogs were clearly too salty for the dish. I only added two chopped dogs. Lesson learned.

It's easy to start with unsalted ingredients, and season to taste. When using pre-salted foods, you have to be more careful.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Addie]

And that why my salt shaker sits on the shelf unused.

 

[Zhizara]

I often find that I've made a pot of beans without any added salt, due to the addition of andouille, ham, chorize, etc.

Now I wait until the beans are done before tasting, and often refrigerate them overnight before adding any seasonings.