February Newsletter 2005

Spring is in the air…at least in the Dallas area. The past two days have been in the 70s. Delicious!

I’m a bit late to wish everyone Happy Valentine’s Day but I do anyway!

I have at the bottom of the newsletter a couple of new recipes which I hope you will try. They are simplicity itself and I truly enjoy them. The Goulash recipe is one I acquired from friends in Kamenicky Senov in the Czech Republic. They served it over boiled potatoes and, I have to tell you, I really pigged out.

This month I want to address the issue of maintenance of copperware. I’ve had a lot of questions recently and I thought I’d pass some of the answers along to you.

COPPER EXTERIOR -
Whether to maintain it bright or oxidized is purely a matter of choice or taste. Some like to have the factory bright, shiny surfaces and to others it simply doesn’t matter.

Having said that...I will say neither the French or professional cooks really are at all concerned about keeping their copper bright. The primary concern is the quality and the capability of usage. Personally, I like it bright and I use it all the time. It looks gorgeous and, knowing that it is easy to maintain, I have absolutely no hesitancy in using it. Mine is not a show kitchen!

INTERIORS –
Stainless Steel: Those pans lined with stainless steel are fabulously easy to maintain. You can use anything to clean them but, please, no abrasives! I prefer to maintain the mirror bright finish for as long as I can. It is readily cleaned with Scotch Brite pads or the like. Similarly I use wooden or plastic tools for the same reason.

Now, using metal scour pads, metal tools or the like is not going to hurt the stainless finish. It is going to patinate eventually anyway but I just like to cook “on the mirror”.

Tinned interiors: Here one really wants to steer away from the use of anything metallic for cleaning, cooking or cutting. The tinned lining is not as durable as the stainless steel so preserving it is easy and certainly desirable. Re-tinning is costly.

If you are one who keeps your copperware, Bourgeat, Mauviel or otherwise bright you may as well know there is an easy fast way to do this. If you have ever used Haggerty’s or Goddard’s Silver Foam you know how easy that is…unless you’ve let the silverware go really black!

I have two copper polishes that work just like the silver foams. Both are French.

• Bistro, 5oz. @ $12.50 plus $5.50 shipping. Regularly $15.00
• Bistro, 35oz. @ $42.50 plus $7.50 shipping. Regularly $55.00
• Bourgeat, 1.65lbs @ $21.00 plus $5.50 shipping. Regularly $29.00

Both these polishes do the job handily. I prefer the Bourgeat for value and quality. I imported this polish directly this past year and have it exclusively in the U.S.

Should you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to shoot me an email or call me at any time.

Thank you for reading this.

Sincerely,
Don Shipman,
MyChefsFavorites.com

RECIPES -

WILD MUSHROOM GOULASH – Serves four

2 lbs Shiitake mushrooms, sliced or chopped coarsely.
3 Tblsp. butter or oil
1 Med. White or yellow onion, minced coarsely.
1 Tblsp. Paprika powder, mild or hot to your taste.
2 Cloves of garlic, minced finely
1 Tblsp. caraway seeds
3 Tblsp. Flour
1-1/3qts. beef broth

PROCEDURE: Use at least a 4qt. saucepan.

1. Heat the butter or oil.
2. Add the onions and caraway. Cook until onions are opaque.
3. Add mushrooms and salt.
4. Cook over medium flame, stirring frequently for about 20 min.
5. Thicken with flour, add paprika, garlic and the beef broth.
6. Cook for about 5 minutes. Season additionally to taste.

The mushrooms – I did not have access to real wild mushrooms and so used Crimini mushrooms. When I was first served this dish in Northern Czech Republic last year my host gathered his own mushrooms in the woods. I submit his goulash was better than mine but this is hard to beat. This is his recipe.

You might want to try a harder, chewier mushroom than the Crimini but they are fine and affordable. While a bit more expensive I think shiitakes would be better, they really work well in my risottos.

Serve over rice, boiled potatoes, grilled meat etc.

I seared 1 lb. of top sirloin cut for stew and added this to the goulash the last five minutes and served it over the rice dish described below. Really rich!

COCONUT RICE – Serve with goulash or by itself. It is a great, rich stand-alone dish.

1 Cup regular long grain white rice…not the instant variety
2 Cups (1 16oz can) coconut milk, not coconut crème. (Chau Doc is a great brand.)
2 Cups (1 16 oz can) chicken stock (Use beef if serving with goulash.) or vegetable stock or broth

Combine coconut milk and stock in a four quart saucepan, bring to a slow boil.
Add rice, bring back to slow boil while stirring.
Cover pan and simmer low for twenty minutes.
Season, or not, with sea salt to taste.

I prefer the chicken stock…Swansons is great. Coconut milk adds a great exotic taste to fish and seafood dishes, stir frys, stews, soups and desserts. Just substitute it for half the stock or milk in your recipes. (This recipe is an adaptation from a newspaper article by Carole Kotkin.