Casino Cucumber Chips

This is a festive summer accompaniment, served chilled as a standalone dish or as a crunchy garnish for hot dogs, hamburgers, or other sandwiches. The dish resembles a bowl of poker chips.

This is a festive summer accompaniment, served chilled as a standalone dish or as a crunchy garnish for hot dogs, hamburgers, or other sandwiches. The dish resembles a bowl of poker chips.

Ingredients

1 small yellow onion, peeled
3 medium cucumbers, peeled with a parer so that the cucumber is surrounded by 8 to 10 green strips of skin alternating with the vegetable's exposed white flesh.
1 lemon, zested as below
1/2t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
Juice of one lemon
1 T. wine vinegar
4 - 6 T. honey
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 t. cayenne pepper (optional)

Preparation

1. Using mandoline or very sharp Chef's knife, slice onion into thin rounds and place in large nonreactive bowl.
2. Using mandoline, slice cucumber rounds less than 1/8" thick and add to bowl.
3. Using micro plane, remove zest from lemon and add to bowl.
3. Add salt, pepper, lemon juice, vinegar, honey, olive oil and (if desired) cayenne to bowl and mix well. Adjust sweet/sour blend, and refrigerate for several hours, tossing occasionally to distribute flavors.   Serve chilled.

New Way to Separate Yolks and Whites of Eggs -- But Is It Better Than the Old Way?

Below is a link to a brief video showing how to use a readily available castoff product -- an empty water bottle -- to separate egg yolks from egg whites. 

http://www.youtube.com/embed/iAp8pEaWB1Y

It works fine, but there's a CAUTION involved in the technique's use. 

IF you are separating quantities of eggs to obtain whites for whipping (e.f., meringue, angel food cakes, soufflés), you must be absolutely fastidious about keeping the slightest speck of yolk out of the whites, because the fat in the yolk will prevent the entrainment of air in the whites. In other words, those whites contaminated by yolk simply won't whip. 

Traditional egg separating methods recommend using three bowls (one small, two larger) to keep the separated whites free of yolks. The eggs are cracked one at a time, with the white of each allowed to fall into the first small bowl. The yolk is then dropped into one of the larger bowls. The white is transferred into the other larger bowl. The process is repeated until the desired quantity of egg white and/or yolk is achieved. With this technique, any white that inadvertently receives some yolk can simply be discarded for another purpose and the bowl cleaned before the process proceeds.

Short Ribs (of Beef) and Vegetables

As with any cut of meat that's not located close to the loin, beef short ribs require slow and low cooking to become tender. The technique of braising, over or stovetop cooking in a quantity of seasoned water-soluble liquid (including wine, stock, and/or water) for hours works for most of the tougher cuts. Braising is poaching taken to an extreme.

A braised cut is made more flavorful by the addition of vegetables and spices cooked with the meat. The remaking cooking liquid is precious, making a sumptuous sauce or gravy.


Ingredients

FOR BROWNING
1/4 c flour for dredging
1 t salt for dredging
1/3 to 1/2 c olive oil for browning
~ 3 lb short ribs (cut into roughly 3" long sections), about 8 to 10 pieces
***
FOR BRAISING
1 medium leek, trimmed of root end and dark green top, cleaned of sand/grit between the layers, and sliced across the grain very thinly
~ 4 t chopped fresh garlic
1 medium to large yellow onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped
1/2 c button mushrooms, chopped
~ 3 c braising liquid (any combination of stock, wine, or water) Hint: - more flavorful ingredients result in a a more flavorful product.
1/2 t ground cinnamon, or ~ 1/2 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t ground sage
1/2 t ground oregano
1T Worcestershire sauce
1 t Dijon mustard
1 T hot pepper sauce
1 1/2 T tomato paste

***
FOR FINISHING
~ 1 1/2 c (or to taste) button mushrooms, sliced
~. 6 (or to taste) medium carrots, trimmed
~ 3 T flour
~ 2T olive oil
~ 1/2 c stock
~ 3 T light cream or half-and-half
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1.  Combine browning flor and salt in large bowl. Dredge ribs so that each piece is coated with flour mixture. Pat off the excess.
2.  In large, oven-proof pot fitted with a lid, place browning oil.  On medium high heat, brown rib pieces, turning so that each side is browned. Adjust heat to keep spattering under control. Do not crowd the pieces - do the browning in a few batches if necessary.
3. When all meat has been browned, remove to a plate or bowl.
4. Into preheated browning oil, combine braising vegetables (garlic, onions, carrots,  and mushrooms) and sauté on medium heat for 5 minutes.
5. Add braising liquid, adjust heat to medium
6. Add braising spices, Worcestershire sauce, pepper sauce, mustard, and tomato pate. Stir to combine.
7. Place pot into 325 degF oven.  After 30 minutes, adjust oven temperature to 275 degF and cook for 1 1/2 hours more.
8. Combine finishing oil and flour, stir to a smooth paste (roux), and set aside.
9.   Remove pot from oven, remove ribs to a bowl.
10. Using a stick blender, blend all vegetables and braising liquid until smooth slurry results. Return ribs to pot, add finishing vegetables and return pot to the 275 degF oven for one more hour.
10. When meat is falling from the bone, remove from oven, remove the ribs and vegetables to a platter and place the platter into a warming (about 175 degF) oven.  Place the braising pot onto a stove burner on medium heat to finish the sauce/gravy.
11.  To lightly simmering slurry, add one or more T of the roux mixture, and cook for a minute or two to thicken slightly.  Whisk in cream to take sauce to the proper consistency, reduce heat to warm for a minute.  Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
12. Remove sauce to a sauce bowl.
13.  Serve the ribs, vegetables, and gravy with garlic mashed or oven-roasted potatoes.   Goes well with a green salad.