Mushroom Fever

By Lori Powell
For One or Two Bites, a blog for singles and couples

This past Memorial Day weekend, I stopped at a roadside stand and saw two gorgeous ingredients that I just had to have… the most perfect looking shiitake mushrooms and some flowering scallions that I had never encountered before.

Interestingly, the buds of the flowering scallions are similar in flavor to chive blossoms and like them, are perfectly edible. The blossoms have a slighter milder, if not sweeter taste.

I already had grilled salmon and burgers on the menu so I thought, why not turn these two lovelies into a side dish for the meal? Normally I sauté sliced shiitake mushroom caps but since I was going to fire up the grill anyway, I decided to grill the mushroom caps whole.

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Unripe Fruit? Make Biscuits!

By Ben Mims
For Cooking Newbie, a blog for beginner cooks

Many times I hear people telling me that they buy fruit to use in a dessert, but when they get it home from the market and cut into it, they find out it’s unripe and think it can no longer be used. And while that’s true for fruit that they wish to serve fresh, it’s quite the opposite for other fruit desserts or baked goods. In fact, unripe fruit is the perfect thing to bake with because it is sturdier than when ripe and can be heated without breaking down too much, while still imparting a great flavor.

Peaches and apricots are the unripe fruits of the moment at farmers’ markets where I live in San Francisco. But just because they’re not ready for fruit salads or parfaits, doesn’t mean they can’t be used to make a mean cobbler, pie, or biscuit.

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Slicing Meat for Stir-Fries

By Zoe McLaughlin
A new video for Video Friday

These few simple steps will facilitate slicing thin pieces of meat for any stir-fry dish and result in tender bites. This technique works best with flank, skirt and blade steaks, as well as pork tenderloin and thick fish steaks, such as halibut or salmon.

First, place the protein in the freezer for a minimum of 15 minutes but not more than 30 minutes. Allowing the meat or fish to sit in the freezer firms up the flesh and makes it much easier to slice thinly.

While the meat or fish is in the freezer, hone your knife of choice. It is very important to have a sharp blade in order to get a clean, thin slice.

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Oyster Po’ Boys

By Marilyn Hunter
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

I was always told the best way to describe the difference between Creole and Cajun cooking is city food vs. country food. Some people say a Creole feeds one family with three chickens but a Cajun can feed three families with one chicken.

One thing’s for sure, the classic po’ boy, which began as a 5-cent lunch for poor boys, crosses all boundaries. Po' boys can be found on the menus of greasy spoons deep in the bayou to white-tablecloth restaurants in the heart of New Orleans. It’s delicious and very easy to make.

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Steamed Asparagus and Dips

By Lori Powell
For One or Two Bites, a blog for singles and couples

A little late this year, local asparagus is just showing up. You can find them at the farmers’ market upstate in many sizes; from super-thin, wispy stalks to medium ones.

I used to believe that the thinner the stalk, the sweeter, but I have come to see differently…as long as the stalks are fresh and not withered (shriveling), the ends are not dry or the heads/tips are still tight and not frayed… it’s simply all about the cooking.

I have written about this delicious spring veggie in prior posts but feel it needs to be repeated or at least presented again. You see, I grew up with the canned variety, which is in a whole different class than the fresh. And by that, I mean the canned one simply cannot compete.

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