How To: Meat Temperatures

You'll find all sorts of articles showing you what is "medium" versus "rare", or "cooked" versus "dangerous".  I find most of them to be too conservative. Remember, the meat continues to cook after you take it from the oven.  But resting meat is important.  Tent with foil if needed.  Resting allows for two things to happen -- 1) it keeps the meat cooking.  The bigger the piece, the better it retains heat.  2)  It retains some juices via reabsorption.

• Whole Chickens, when the breast is 150, it's done.  
• Chicken breast meat (boneless)  I cook to 145.   
• Pork I cook to 145.  I've never had trichinosis.
• For beef, I like my meat medium to medium rare.  Definitely pink, but warmed throughout.  If it's a steak or a roast, the meat is slightly thready.  135 and it's off the heat, to come to 145.

My idea of perfectly cooked:

Potato Sausage Soup

This is my take on Zuppa Toscana from Olive Garden.  I made it recently and it's darn tasty.  Note: unless you make your own sausage, you never really know if what you're getting is salty, spicy, etc.  So start with the sausage, and through the cooking process add crushed red peppers or salt to your taste.

Ingredients

1 lb of italian sausage  (hot or mild) out of the casing
1 large white onion, small dice
3 large russet potatoes
4 cloves minced garlic
2 qt. chicken stock
4 oz heavy cream
kale
crushed red pepper flakes

Non-standard supplies

Food processor

Instructions

1. Precook (at least mostly cook) sausage with 3/4 tsp of red peppers (if hot sausage) or 1-1/2 tsp (if mild)
2. Remove from pan and chop in food processor to create coarse but even crumbles
3. In same pot used for sausage, heat onion and garlic over medium heat until onions are soft
4. Meanwhile slice unpeeled potatoes -- first lengthwise then into 1/8" pieces
5. Once onions are soft add stock and sausage and simmer for 10 minutes to finish sausage
6. Add potatoes and simmer until  potatoes are soft  (15-20 mins)
7. Chop kale into bite-size pieces, removing the vein
8. Add cream and kale and allow to warm.
9. Top with fresh shredded cheese (parm, romano or asiago) if desired

Note, I like the band Kitchen Basics for stock from the grocery.  It's got a lot of flavor and is readily available.  I tried Rachael Ray's stock line, and found it to be watery and flavorless.

Soda Ham

This is a basic ham. It's good hot, then trim the fat and use the leftovers for sandwiches or casseroles.

Ingredients
7-8# bone-in ham
3 tbsp powdered mustard
1/3 c packed brown sugar
4 oz full-sugar brown soda (Dr. Pepper, root beer, cola -- just not diet)

Non-standard supplies
None

Instructions

1. Trim fat off ham as needed so ham will fit in crock pot 
2. In a bowl, mix mustard powder, sugar with soda until a think paste is formed\ 
3. Score fat of ham in lattice pattern 
4. Smear spread over ham 
5. Cook for 7-8 hours on low

Bacon Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

This is for 6 mushrooms, but make as many as you want by multiplying!  Between the bacon and the blue cheese, no low-sodium diets allowed.

Ingredients

3 strips bacon
6 large mushrooms
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, sliced
3 ounces cream cheese
3 ounces blue cheese
1/3 cup bread crumbs

Non-standard supplies
Food processor or blender

Instructions

1. Cook bacon strips and drain on paper towels. 
2. Meanwhile, remove stems from mushrooms. Set caps aside, and chop stems.
3. Add butter to bacon grease. When melted, stir in mushroom stems, onion, and garlic and cook until caramelized
4. Preheat oven to 350
5. Prep baking dish with non-stick spray
6. Once the onion mixture has reached a deep, rich brown color, place into a blender along with bacon, cream cheese, blue cheese, and bread crumbs until combined
7. Stuff mixture into mushroom caps
8. Bake until bubbly and lightly browned, about 12 minutes

BLT tomatoes

This is a tasty dish, and I learned the hard way, cut the BOTTOM off the tomato so the stem end becomes the base. This will keep your tomatoes from rolling around. Also, I use a strawberry huller to get all the tomato guts out -- works like a charm.

Ingredients
1# bacon
18-24 Campari tomatoes
1 bunch romaine lettuce
1 c sour cream
1 c mayo
1/2 tsp celery salt
Kosher salt

Non-standard supplies
None

Instructions

1. Cook bacon until crispy, crain and cool completely 
2. Prep tomatoes by cutting off bottoms and removing seeds, ribs and juice 
3. Gently salt and invert hollow tomatoes on a paper towel to try to draw out more moisture 
4. With a knife, chop bacon until fine. 
5. In a bowl, mix sour cream, 1/2 c mayo, bacon and celery salt. Mixture should be thick. But if unmanageable, stir in more mayo, up to 1/2 c more 
6. Put mix into a ziploc bag and cut corner off to create piping bag 
7. Tear a small piece of lettuce off and stuff into cup, allowing some lettuce to be seen 
8. Pipe in mixture and serve

How To: Cook Bacon

Bacon actually stumps some people, and it shouldn't.  Here are a few tips to help you not ruin this tasty and popular item.

If cooking on the stove top, cook it slowly.  Medium low heat is best.  That will render lots of fat, which means you get crispy bacon.  When you open the package of bacon, with a sharp knife cut the bacon so it's only half as long.  It will fit more appropriately into your pan.  It also works best for sandwiches at that length.

If your oven is free, then this is the easiest way to cook bacon.  Set it to 375 and layer slices into a sheet pan.  Watch it closely after about 15 minutes.  You won't have to flip it and you won't get bacon grease all over your kitchen.  Just be very careful removing it from the oven.  That grease is very hot and could hurt you if you spill.

In either case, extra bacon  (??? there is such a thing ???) can be stored, once cooled in a ziploc bag with a napkin or folded paper towel to absorb grease.  You can microwave it for 30 seconds to have hot bacon whenever you desire.