i.cook(food);

I just bumped into this mouth watering recipe for Broccoli-Ricotta Pizza at OpenSourceFood and noticed EVOO as one of the base ingredients.

WTF is EVOO?!?

Well, one quick search at DuckDuckGo returned “Olive Oil” = Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Doh!

To adjust the heat when cooking with chili, all you have to do is to keep or remove the seeds. Why?

The stem end of the pod has most of the glands that produce the capsaicin. The white flesh, that surrounds the seeds, contains the highest concentrations of capsaicin. Removing the seeds and inner membranes is thus effective at reducing the heat of a pod.

from the Wikipedia entry on Chili pepper

In simple terms, the heat in chili is from the oils. Turn down the heat by taking out the source: the seeds.

If you want your food fiery hot, keep the seeds and the whitish membrane inside. If you want your food to have that chili warmth without having people consuming all of the world’s water supplies, scrape them out.

You must be careful when scraping them out, though. Capsaicin can be very nasty, especially if it comes in contact with your eyes. Ouch, It burns!

---

*sigh* I miss the Chili Con Carne from Julio’s in Bicol. Was it in Legazpi City, Albay or what? It was a relatively small restaurant but the food was really good! Well, it doesn’t really matter now though since they’re now closed. :(

How do you know how well your steak is cooked? Cut it?

Unless you’re eating it already, DO NOT cut that steak! You’ll be losing all the precious meat juice in that steak.

How does it feel?

Instead, use this simple method only requiring your hands:

Wait! It seemed perfect but still ended up overcooked! What happened?

Keep in mind that food still cooks for a while immediately after the flame is out. There still is some trapped heat in there so you should adjust accordingly.

---

I found ChefTips on YouTube today searching for this tip I saw long ago on Rob Rainford’s License to Grill. Jason Hill /Chef Tips seems like a good user to subscribe to. He consistently uploads new videos and replies to comments and questions.

I was watching Chef Michael Smith‘s show Chef at Home when I heard a useful tip on making your own special sauce.

You only have to remember that there are three key parts and they are:

• Base
• Seasoning – for taste
• Aromatics – for smell

In the show, he used it as a marinade before hitting the grill. He said it would be good to make a lot of your special mix, saving some for next time. :D

(I may not have heard it right so please correct me if I’m wrong.)

Do you have your own secret sauce? :P

–

A little more on Chef at Home: I love watching Chef at Home. He cooks for family (his partner Rachel and their son Gabriel) and friends so what he cooks range from fun kid-friendly food to backyard party feasts. What makes this show even more interesting is that he encourages freestyle cooking.

“…there are no recipes to follow, just guidelines, and ingredients are interchangeable.”