Food
Three Cheers to Two in the Kitchen It’s never too late to begin taking an interest in serious cooking. by Elaine Slater-Kogler Community contributor I have been with my husband for 20 years and he has dabbled with cooking most of that time. When I say dabble, I mean he would open a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese and add hot dogs cut to look like octopus on top and call it good. Then he graduated to what he calls “cheesy eggs,” which are scrambled eggs with cheese thrown in. In the last year, however, he has decided to tackle more adventurous cooking, mastering the stuffed omelet and venturing into crockpot cooking and grilling. It must be the challenge. I have encouraged and provided him with tools and books to give him guidance. It takes patience to have two people in the kitchen when you are used to one. There are days I just walk away waiting for the outcome. Patience has never been one of my virtues. I appreciate the effort to learn, and I encourage taking on more challenging cooking projects. I really appreciated the efforts when I came home late one night from a meeting dreading the chore of making dinner; I even kidded with a colleague as I left about dinner waiting for me. She said, “Really?” and I responded, “Not!” I had to eat my words because my husband had Swedish meatballs waiting for me. I emailed my colleague to tell her and she said to give him a “gold star” and to “keep that man” I decided to do both. Three cheers to two in the kitchen – it lightens the load.
Photo courtesy of Elaine Slater-Kogler
What’s Cooking? Elaine Slater-Kogler is owner of Infused!, a specialty food store at 37 Fennell St., Skaneateles. In business since 2005, Infused! is all about flavor as well as listening to customers. Contact Elaine at elaine@ infused.com.
Anything Goes Omelet
Drunken Wings
Use a nonstick pan with sloped sides.
Use beer to keep chicken moist.
2 eggs 2 tbsp. whole milk 2 tbsp. butter Salt and ground pepper Suggested fillings: grated cheese, sautéed mushrooms, diced and sautéed Photo courtesy of Elaine Slater-Kogler onion, chopped cooked bacon, diced ham, sausage, hash. Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them. Heat pan over medium-low heat (tip: use a nonstick pan with sloped sides, between 6 and 10 inches in diameter); add butter and let it melt. Add milk to the eggs then salt and pepper. Whisk (beat air into eggs). Pour into pan. With a spatula, gently push one edge of the egg into the center of the pan, while tilting the pan to allow liquid egg to flow in underneath. Repeat with other edges until there’s no liquid and the egg slides around in the pan. If adding filling, spoon ingredients across the center of the egg in straight line. With your spatula, lift one edge of the egg and fold it across and over, so that the edges line up. Cook for another minute or so, but don’t allow the egg to turn brown. Gently transfer omelet to a plate.—Elaine Slater-Kogler
5 1/2 lbs. chicken wings 12 oz. chile sauce 1/4 c. lemon juice 1/4 c. molasses 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 3 drops hot pepper sauce Photo courtesy of Elaine Slater-Kogler 3 tbsp. salsa 2 1/2 tsp. chili powder 1 tsp. garlic powder Pinch of salt and pepper 2 bottles of beer Place chicken in slow cooker. In a medium bowl combine the chile sauce, lemon juice, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, salsa, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix together and pour mixture over chicken. Add bottles of beer to crock to bring moisture up over chicken. Cook in crock pot on medium setting for five hours. Remove from crock pot and place on a baking pan to finish off with browning under the broiler. Keep shaking pan to move wings so they brown evenly. Serve.—Elaine Slater-Kogler
12 April 2014
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4/2/2014 7:13:15 AM