cooks Archives - Isrealli

Kitchen Essentials for Home Cooks and Food Lovers

October 14, 2020 [email protected]_84 cooks, essentials, Food, Home, kitchen, Lovers

Kitchen gadgets and accessories are usually high on the list of most wedding gift registries, but they’re especially in demand these days as couples spend more time preparing meals at home during the coronavirus pandemic.

We asked four experienced chefs across the country to share some of their go-to wedding gifts. Here’s a sampling.

Molly Yeh

Ms. Yeh is the host of the Food Network series “Girl Meets Farm.” She is a Juilliard-trained percussionist and the author of the cookbooks “Molly on the Range” and “Yogurt.”

Vitamix 5200; $449.95

Jacques Torres

Mr. Torres, a.k.a. Mr. Chocolate, is the founder of Jacques Torres Chocolate, which has seven retail locations in New York. He was the star of the PBS series “Dessert Circus with Jacques Torres,” the host of the Food Network series “Chocolate with Jacques Torres,” and an author of “Dessert Circus.” Most recently, he was the head judge on the Netflix baking competition, “Nailed It!”

Jocelyn Delk Adams

Ms. Adams is the founder and author of the cookbook “Grandbaby Cakes,” which offers her grandmother’s generational recipes with a modern spin. She is a cast member of the Cooking Channel’s “Unique Sweets,” and is part of the Today Tastemakers on the “Today Show.”

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P.E.I. entry-level cooks program back in the kitchen after COVID-19 pause

October 14, 2020 [email protected]_84 cooks, COVID19, entrylevel, kitchen, pause, PEI, Program

More than a dozen cook trainees on P.E.I. are back in the kitchen after COVID-19 forced a six-month pause to their education.

The free entry-level cook training program is offered by the Tourism Industry Association of Prince Edward Island and the Culinary Institute of Canada, with funding from Skills P.E.I.

The goal is to train cooks to work in Island kitchens and help restaurants fill their labour gaps.

“Not a two-year graduate, not a chef, but someone who can come in at a very entry level,” said Austin Clement, program manager at the Culinary Institute. “Someone who understands food safety, somebody who understands the sense of urgency, preparation of small little sandwiches, soup, salads — that sort of thing.”

Demand from restaurants

Clement said the program was launched in 2019 at the request of the food service industry on P.E.I., which was struggling to find enough staff. “In the past, certainly, there have been challenges with working conditions and wages, but that’s improved somewhat over the course of time,” Clement said. “The explosion we’ve had here as Canada’s Food Island, we’ve seen more restaurants, very good restaurants, built a reputation for food. We’re filling a need as volume increases.”

The first training program in 2019 had 16 participants, and five of them have continued their training at the Culinary Institute.

This year’s program has 14 cooks in training, and all but four were in the program when the pandemic shut it down in March.

“It was a little disappointing. We missed out probably on a few important events that we were supposed to do now due to COVID,” said Kirsten Fisher-Compton, who travels to and from Lennox Island every day.

Fisher-Compton heard about the entry-level cook training program from her boss at Tyne Valley Teas Cafe, where she has worked for a couple of years. “Cooking really interests me. I’ve been really trying to get experience in every aspect I can,” Fisher-Compton said.

“I worked doing bakery and salad, sandwich things and now I’m trying the bistro side of things, so we’ll see how that goes.”

The participants do five weeks of on-the-job training and Fisher-Compton is hoping for a position with a “high-end” restaurant, somewhere in the Summerside area.

Fisher-Compton has applied to attend the Culinary Institute next year, with the ultimate goal of having her own food truck.

‘It’s not easy’

Ryan Sankar was also signed up for the entry-level cook training program in February, after moving to P.E.I. from Trinidad and Tobago.

When the program was put on pause, Sankar spent the summer working under instructor Kyle Panton, getting his first taste of life in a kitchen.

“My biggest lesson I’ve learned is ‘don’t let the pressure get to you,'” Sankar said.

“This isn’t the place to come and just expect it to be easy. It’s not easy.”

Sankar said the training program is also a chance for participants to find out what they think of the restaurant industry.

“This course gives you an opportunity

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You’ll Never Eat Overcooked Pasta Again With This Tool That Sings Different Songs While Your Pasta Cooks

October 5, 2020 [email protected]_84 cooks, eat, Overcooked, pasta, sings, Songs, Tool, Youll

Everyone has their own rule of thumb they follow when it comes to cooking pasta because, let’s face it, although it’s filling and delicious in all of its forms, there’s nothing worse than overcooked pasta. Ditch the instructions on the box—with this “Al Dente” pasta timer you can make the perfect meal and be serenaded in the process.

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© Amazon

a sign over a fire hydrant: Al Dente - The Singing Floating Pasta Timer: Will Sing Different Tunes when Pasta is Ready at 3, 7, 9, and 11 Minutes, to be Boiled with any Pasta in the Pot, Floats in Cold & Hot Boiling Water

© amazon.com
Al Dente – The Singing Floating Pasta Timer: Will Sing Different Tunes when Pasta is Ready at 3, 7, 9, and 11 Minutes, to be Boiled with any Pasta in the Pot, Floats in Cold & Hot Boiling Water

$25.00

Shop Now

The Al Dente timer is heat-proof and is meant to be put in the boiling hot water pot with whatever pasta you’re using. It will float in the water and sing different songs to signal how long the pasta has been cooking. At three minutes, he’ll sing “That’s Amore” which is a good benchmark for thinner pastas like Angel hair. Next, at seven minutes, he’ll belt out the Godfather theme song which is good timing for tagliatelle noodles.

For spaghetti, which should be boiled for about nine minutes, the timer will play “Tarantella Napoletana” and, finally, at 11 minutes, Al Dente will play “Prisoner’s Choir.” The handy tool is available for $25 on Amazon Prime right now, and reviews say that it does help people cook their pasta so that they don’t have to worry about setting a timer on their phone or keeping an eye on the clock.

Gadgets like these are increasingly popular as people are spending more time at home experimenting with cooking, and any way the learning curve for cooking time can be improved is worthwhile. If you can get a pasta timer that will sing Italian classics for you in the kitchen, what more could you ever need?

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New Vietnamese restaurant is immigrant cook’s dream come true

September 29, 2020 [email protected]_84 cooks, Dream, immigrant, Restaurant, True, Vietnamese

Meet the family behind Yen’s Kitchen in suburban Lake Worth

Liz Balmaseda

| Palm Beach Post

Years before Manh Trac was born in Ho Chi Minh City, his mother performed at the local circus, balancing her petite frame upon spinning barrels. She had terrible motion sickness, but she also had six siblings to help feed. So if it took some daredevil stunts to accomplish that, so be it.

When that wasn’t enough, Yen Nguyen learned to cook. She set up a lunch stand in an industrial neighborhood and sold steaming bowls of her homemade noodle soups to factory workers on break. Her long-simmered beef pho and pork-broth soups picked up a following. Soon she had a food cart to roll into the local zoo, where she could sell bags of homemade Vietnamese street snacks to visiting families.

When her son was born, she moved the food enterprise to her front porch. At 25, Manh Trac tells that story as if he witnessed all of it himself, with details so vivid you can taste the chili oil in his mother’s popular spicy beef vermicelli bowls.

He tells the story today from Yen’s Kitchen, the bright, month-old restaurant his mother opened in a suburban Lake Worth plaza that’s home to three churches, a pizzeria and a new-ish Asian market. Manh may be standing a world away from that front-porch stand of their native Vietnam, but the scents and flavors of their homeland surround him in the small, casual eatery.

“Everything you see here is made by my mother,” says Manh, referring to the neat shelves of street snacks and spices his mom makes and packages. “We’re just her supporters.”

A hand-painted mural lights up a wall with a sign that translates to “Second Sister of Saigon” — it’s a popular Vietnamese movie title that seems made to order for his mom. Not only is she a second-eldest sister from the city formerly known as Saigon, she’s an industrious woman like the film’s protagonist.

That’s his mother in the kitchen, ladling 18-hour broth into deep bowls. What you don’t see: The many hours Yen Nguyen spends making the snacks she packages, the desserts displayed in the cooler, the traditional teas she brews, the sandwich meats for her banh mis and the batter for her Vietnamese crepes.

Manh, who was 8 when his family came to America in 2003 and who holds bachelor’s degrees in business management and communications, handles the operational side of the restaurant while his father Hung Trac and sister Phuong Trac, who helped fund the restaurant startup, help out in the kitchen. Manh is the restaurant manager who sources the ingredients, pays vendors and schedules staff. He does this so his mother can do what she loves to do best: cook.

Theirs is a quintessential immigrant story in which faraway flavors keep a family grounded and inspired. Yen’s home-cooking nourished the Trac/Nguyen family, body and soul, through several moves in their new country, from Alabama to Tampa to West Palm

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When Russell Wilson cooks it’s anything but a Kitchen Nightmare

September 21, 2020 [email protected]_84 cooks, kitchen, nightmare, Russell, Wilson

When Russell Wilson cooks it’s anything but a Kitchen Nightmare originally appeared on NBC Sports Northwest

Move order Gordon Ramsay, it’s time to let Russ cook.

Russell Wilson, the star quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks, has been one of the best players in football in recent years.

In the lead-up to Sunday’s game against the Patriots, New England head coach Bill Belichick called Wilson “underrated,” and Belichick knows a thing or two about great quarterbacks.

This is when the mantra “Let Russ Cook” comes in. Fans wanting Coach Carroll to loosen the reins on this underrated monster and let him show off to the best of his God-given ability.

Letting him loose will only benefit you, because when you let Russ cook it’s anything but a Kitchen Nightmare… unless you’re one of the 11 players on the defensive side of the ball.

Wilson is off to an incredible start in 2020. He has the fifth-most passing yards in the league with 610, but has done so on just 63 attempts. For comparison, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen leads the league with 729 passing yards but has passed the ball nearly 20 more times.

Wilson is second in the league with a 9.7 yards per pass average, and he leads the league in touchdown passes (9), completion percentage (.825), and quarterback rating (140).

So, with numbers like that, is 2020 the year Wilson finally gets his name in the MVP conversation?

Wilson is entering his ninth season in the NFL, is a six-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl champion, yet he has never received a single vote in the MVP race.

Let’s just call a spade a spade – Russell Wilson is being disrespected. He said so himself back in May.

Now, let’s not take away from Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, the 2018 and 2019 MVPs respectively. Those two were more than deserving, but for Wilson to not receive a single vote is just head-scratching.

Perhaps the best player isn’t always the one walking away with all the hardware. Just look at the NBA.

Controversy has surrounded the 2019-2020 MVP of Giannis Antetokounmpo with arguments abound that LeBron James was robbed. There is little doubt that even at 35-years-old James is the best basketball player on the planet and has been for more than a decade, but he only has four MVP awards to show for it. I say “only” because it should have been more.

James didn’t shoot the three like ’14-’15,’15-16 MVP Steph Curry. James didn’t rack up triple-doubles like ’16-17 MVP Russell Westbrook. James didn’t light up the scoreboard like ’17-’18 MVP James Harden. Yet, even in the years he didn’t take home the award, he was still the best player in the game.

Wilson is much the same.

He has never rushed for 1,000+ yards like 2019 MVP Lamar Jackson did from the quarterback position last season. He has never passed for 50 touchdowns like 2018 MVP Patrick Mahomes. He has never passed for more

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Hutch Kitchen offers cutting-edge accessories for cooks

September 17, 2020 [email protected]_84 Accessories, cooks, cuttingedge, Hutch, kitchen, Offers

Iris says plans are to broaden kitchenware sales in North America, helping establish Calgary as a centre for warehousing and distribution.

And a hazelnut latte after roasted salmon tastes great in a double-wall stainless steel coffee mug at the Hutch Café.

Notes:

• RBC has announced the winners of its 12^th annual Top 25 Canadian Immigrant awards. Congratulations to Maryam Yaqoob, the fourth-annual Youth Award winner who immigrated to Calgary from Iraq. A doctor of medicine student and a clerk at the Cummings School of Medicine, during her undergraduate degree in cellular and molecular biology she received a total of 15 scholarships as well as being on the dean’s and president’s honour roll. Yaqoob is also co-founder of Calgary STEM Cell chapter and a mentor for other refugee youth.

• The recently redeveloped and refurbished 27-storey, 730,200-square-foot First Tower between 4^th and 5^th Avenues on 1^st Street S.E. now features a brand-new 34,000-square-foot employee focused amenity floor on the Plus-15 level. Warren Libert-Scott, senior vice-president at JLL, says it is helping attract new tenants that include two tech sector companies — Symend that has leased three floors totalling 75,000 square feet, and Userful with 26,000 square feet. The new Plus-15 amenity floor includes a tenant lounge and collaboration area that extends onto a west-facing outdoor terrace, a spa-quality fitness and wellness centre, and a modular conference facility. Owner Hines has also completed a 26,000-square-foot, fully furnished show suite on the 20^th floor of the tower.

David Parker appears regularly in the Herald. Read his columns online at calgaryherald.com/business. He can be reached at 403-830-4622 or by email at [email protected]

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What today’s cooks can learn from the 1950s kitchen, from leftovers to lettuce wraps

September 17, 2020 [email protected]_84 1950s, cooks, kitchen, Learn, leftovers, lettuce, Todays, wraps

What today’s cooks can learn from the 1950s kitchen, from leftovers to lettuce wraps

Cucumber and Radish Finger Sandwiches

What today’s cooks can learn from the 1950s kitchen, from leftovers to lettuce wraps

Chicken Amandine Casserole

What today’s cooks can learn from the 1950s kitchen, from leftovers to lettuce wraps

Chicken Amandine Casserole

What today’s cooks can learn from the 1950s kitchen, from leftovers to lettuce wraps

6/6 SLIDES

On ExpressNews.com: replace this text with your teaser head and add hyperlink

Poodle skirts and leather jackets. Rock ’n’ roll. Midcentury furniture. There’s a lot to love about the 1950s.

For all that nostalgia, the food of the period is rarely on the list of things we appreciate today. Aspics and Jell-O salads, gallons of mayonnaise in everything. There are plenty of reasons that chapter in America’s culinary history is easy to forget.

But home cooks in the 1950s knew a few things that still resonate today, especially considering the scarcity and uncertainty we’re all facing with the coronavirus pandemic. This week we’re celebrating some of that wisdom.

Despite its bad rap, much of the food of the ’50s was lighter in calories and easier on the wallet while remaining flavorful and entertaining. And those lessons can do our bodies and budgets a lot of good today.

Wrap it up

In our low-carb, gluten-free modern life, there’s a lot to love about the lettuce wrap. It’s a light and refreshing way to get all the protein and vegetables our bodies need while keeping the calorie count down. And home cooks in the ’50s knew that as well.

Lettuce leaves, be they romaine, butter or iceberg, are the perfect vehicle for carrying a simple tuna, chicken or other salad in a light mayonnaise dressing. Instead of piling your next batch of tuna salad — try our version loaded with avocado and spicy ranch dressing for a flavorful change — onto a couple slices of bread, reach for a head of lettuce instead.

Stick a pick in it

One thing you could find at any midcentury gathering was food served on toothpicks. Whether it was Swedish meatballs or veggies, our predecessors were often eating those one bite at a time. And that meant giving our bodies time to process each nibble before moving on to the next.

This is a fun and easy thing to translate into today’s kitchen. Instead of a charcuterie board loaded with meats and cheese, try composing those elements into individual bites skewered on a toothpick. Or if you’re making lunch for yourself, cut that sandwich or tortilla wrap into bites and stab each with a toothpick. You’ll probably find yourself eating slower and more mindfully.

On ExpressNews.com: How to make enchiladas and enchilada sauces at home

We’ve put this approach into practice

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What today’s cooks can learn from the 1950s kitchen, from lettuce wraps to leftovers

September 16, 2020 [email protected]_84 1950s, cooks, kitchen, Learn, leftovers, lettuce, Todays, wraps