By Brenda Crawshaw

Ok, so now that you have read Part I – Cooking, you are looking at this large, bright red, steaming hot, mouthwatering delicacy on your plate and you just aren’t sure what to do with it, right? Well, read on and you will find that it’s not at all difficult and with the tips and tricks I have given you, you will be offering these delicious crustaceans more often at home.

Before you begin to tear into your lobster, have on hand a lobster cracker or handheld nutcracker, a tiny fork or lobster pick, a fork, a bowl for your shells (only shells if you want to use them later for stock) and extra napkins. Now, I like to clean my lobster completely and then enjoy the meat, snagging morsels here and there just because I am impatient. You can clean and eat as you go or you can clean the whole thing and enjoy your entire lobster when the work is done. It’s up to you. Here, for the sake of simplicity and brevity, I am going to run through the whole process; feel free to insert your own nibbling where ever you like!

You will probably also want a generous portion of melted butter in which you will dip your lobster meat. Some people prefer drawn butter, others clarified butter and some lemon or pepper butter. I say melt down a big ol’ batch of plain salted butter and pour it into small bowls or ramekins so you can get a whole chunk of meat right down in there and all covered with that salty goodness.

Let’s get started! Remove the small legs from the bottom of the lobster by grasping them as close to the body as you can and twisting them off. You can either use your pick to get the tiny but delicious morsels out of these legs or you can “pull” the meat out with your teeth. The feeling of a shell scraping against your teeth isn’t all that pleasant for most people so here’s a workaround. Place the twisted off end of the leg in between your bottom and top front teeth above each knuckle and gradually “bite” your way down the leg to the opening. This will push the meat down through the shell into your mouth. Break off the leg where you first started biting and repeat to get the rest.

Now twist off the claws, again close to the body. (One claw may be much larger than the other; this claw is “crushing” claw and the other is the “tearing” claw.) Twist off the “leg” parts of the claws and use your pick or your mini-fork to dig out the sweet meat inside. You may need to crack the larger pieces with your cracker. To do this more easily, place the claw “legs” in the cracker so that the thinner dimension of the “leg” is at right angles to the cracker so you are cracking across the narrower part of the shell and not the flatter part. This will give you better leverage and you will be able to open the shell as opposed to just crushing it. Fish out all those little nuggets!

Now pull off the pincer parts of the claws (the little parts that look like thumbs). Often when you pull these off, any meat inside stays attached to the claw; if not, feel free to dig with your pick. Use your cracker to crack through the pointed end of the claw and break away the shell. The crushed claw will be likely harder to crack. If it is really stubborn, change the positioning of your cracker and if it really won’t break, smash it with your kitchen mallet or meat tenderizer! Using your fork or finger, push the meat through this break.

Now attack the tail! Using a twisting motion, twist the tail free from the body. If may find waxy rose red clumps inside. This is lobster roe, called coral. These are unfertilized eggs and are considered a delicacy by many. You may also find some green, soft, pasty looking stuff inside the body and on the tail meat. This is tomalley, lobster liver, and it, too is delicious despite its unattractive appearance. People are divided on whether or not consumption of this is safe. I ate it for many years and recently stopped because lobsters are indeed bottom feeders of the ocean and they likely do consume some things we’d rather not think about. Given that the liver is the toxin filter in any creature, it is not silly to assume that anything toxic a lobster consumed would be in his liver. So, sadly, I no longer eat the tomalley, but scrape it away instead.

Pull the tiny flippers off the bottom of the tail, inspecting each one for its own tiny sweet offering before discarding. Once those have been removed you will need to execute some hand gymnastics but you will be so happy once you have completed this step! Assuming you are right handed, take the lobster tail shell down in your left hand and flatten it out as much as you can; hold it in this flattened out position as well as you can. Using your right hand, take your fork, tines down, and insert it as far as you can into the tail, without getting tangled in the meat, between the shell and the meat on the side that is facing up. (Got that? Read it again.). When you are in as far as you can go, rock the tines down into the meat and pull, using gentle downward pressure to move the meat toward you and out of the shell. You may have to pull a bit and reinsert the fork to get the meat all the way out.

Got it? Good for you! That was the hardest part. Before you is the tail with a thinner flatter section on what was the upperside of the lobster. Strip that off the tail. Inspect the inside surface for a whitish tube with dark brown or black paste inside. Yes, that’s the digestive tract and it’s not that yucky! Just pull it off with your fingers or your fork and discard. If it is not there, check in the cleft in the tail that was exposed when your stripped off that last piece.

Now you have removed all of the larger parts of the meat and you can feel quite accomplished! If you are feeling adventurous you can split the body and explore for other small nuggets of meat.

If you have segregated your shells from the other waste you can bag them up and freeze them for later or make your stock now. Simply boil the shells with your seasonings and freeze the stock when done. Lobster stock makes a delicious addition to chowder and sauces and freezes well.

Now that you have prepared and eaten your lobster at home you will find plenty of occasions where this will be the perfect offering. You can serve these with confidence and even help other lobster newbies learn how to break down their own delicious dinners!

Brenda Crawshaw

Article Source: Brenda Crawshaw == Lobster at Home – Part II – Breaking II wn

By Billy Bristol

Cooking on grilling planks, or planking, is becoming a favorite of outdoor cooks everywhere. This “planking” is a fool-proof process of cooking because the plank keeps the meat from drying out, as well as providing a sweet and smoky addition to the meat.

Normal grilled foods can dry out quickly when left on the grill, but a plank is soaked with water before grilling, and therefore moisture is constantly moving around the meat. The smoldering plank adds a subtle essence that compliments other flavors without taking over. Every kind of meat from beef to fish benefits from the flavors added by grilling planks.

Plank Wood Choices:

Today, planks for grilling are available in all grilling specialty stores. They come already packaged and sized to fit most grills. There are subtle differences in different wood types for plants, and oftentimes this flavor is masked by heavy grilling sauces and spices.

The two most popular types of woods for grilling planks are alder and cedar, but other woods produce their own delicious flavors.

- Alder produces a very delicate flavor that works best with milder foods. It is a good match for salmon and other fish and seafood.
- Cedar, which is the most aromatic wood of all, produces a deep but gentle flavor perfect for spicy, bolder meats like pork.
- Hickory planks give an intense smoky flavor that works well with chicken and beef.
- Oak gives a moderate flavor that blends well with various meats, including poultry and fish.
- Birch, poplar, pine, and other resinous wood give a bitter flavor to meats, so avoid using them.

Planking Tips:

• Before grilling, soak planks in water to help keep the meat moist. Grilling planks that have been soaked produce maximum smoky flavor, and the plank is less likely to burn. Soak for at least one hour.
• Use a soaked grilling plank right away since the wood will start to dry out fairly quickly.
• Close the grill immediately after placing the plank and meat on the grill. Most of the smoke is generated at the beginning of the grilling process, so you want to capture and use as much of that smoke as possible.
• Arrange the meat on the plank in a single layer, because meat touching the wood will get the most flavor from the wood.
• Always use oven mitts to remove the plank after grilling. Place it on a heatproof platter or baking sheet. The edges of the grilling plank might be charred and smoldering for a short while after.

You will soon begin to love the results of using grilling planks and maybe turn this cooking method into your regular grilling routine.

Billy Bristol is the editor and chief BBQ pitmaster for TexasBarbeques.com, an outdoor cooking and entertaining website devoted to backyard living. TexasBarbeques.com has been providing barbecue recipes, cooking tips, grilling techniques, and backyard entertainment ideas since 2005.
TexasBarbeques.com

Article Source: Billy Bristol == Grilling Planks and the Pleasures of Planking

By Yvonne Stephens

Your basic and certainly ideal pantry contains mostly store brands. Invest in these items, or in the items you do not have already in your pantry, and make many recipes with only little money to spend. When shopping for produce, check your local produce stand, farm market and Asian markets. Their prices are often much less, they sell produce loose, so you can buy 1 zucchini, if you only need 1, not a package of 4.

Instead of having parsley, oregano, basil, rosemary, our basic pantry has Italian Seasoning, because it has all 4 of these herbs, and can be used in lasagna, pasta, salads, pizza, marinades, vegetable dishes etc. As an advocate for sea salt, we understand being reluctant when you have to make ends meet, so our budget pantry has kosher salt. Much cheaper than sea salt, but much better than regular table salt. Store brands, and cheaper brands of dried herbs and spices are just as great to use, you just have to keep an eye on the expiration date, because they will lose their flavor when getting too old.

Especially people who haven’t been cooking much, and don’t have a lot of experience, being overwhelmed by all the different herbs and spices, ingredients and different version of an item, we have crated this basic pantry.

A big thing to remember is that cheaper items, usually of the same quality of the products on eye-level are located either very low or very high. Be wary of products placed at children’s eye-level, because those shelves often hold attractive items you do not need.

Here are the basics, and we shopped around online to compare prices of different grocery stores. Your basic pantry comes to a total of $ 60.60, but supplies you with a wide variety of basic ingredients for lots of different food types.
All-purpose flour, 5 lbs $ 2.49
BBQ sauce, 18 oz $ 3.50
Bay leaves, 0.22 oz $ 0.99
Breadcrumbs, 15 oz $ 2.19
Brown sugar, 32 oz $ 1.99
Butter, 16 oz $ 1.99
Canola oil, 48 oz $ 2.99
Cayenne pepper, 1.75 oz $ 1.59
Chicken broth, 32 oz $ 2.99
Cornstarch, 16 oz $ 1.79
Curry powder, 1 oz $ 4.29
Extra virgin olive oil, 8.5 oz $ 2.49
Garlic, minced, 7.5 oz $ 2.49
Ground black pepper, 2 oz $ 1.79
Hot sauce, 12 oz $ 1.29
Italian seasoning, 1.75 oz $ 1.49
Kosher salt, 48 oz $ 1.59
Lemon juice, 15 oz $ 2.29
Long grain brown rice, 32 oz $ 1.49
Mustard, 8 oz $ 1.29
Oil spray, 6 oz $ 2.00
Paprika powder, 3 oz $ 1.20
Taco seasoning, 1 oz $ 0.77
Thyme, 0.18 oz $ 2.19
Tomato paste, 6 oz $ 0,79
Red crushed pepper, 1.75 oz $ 1.99
Red wine vinegar, 16 oz $ 0.89
Soy sauce lite, 15 oz $ 2.59
Sugar, 5 lbs $ 2.69
Vegetable bouillon cubes, 6 $ 1.49
Worcestershire, 5 oz $ 0.99

So for a total of $60.60 you have the basics to create a lot of home made food, and remember to serve them family style, because your family deserves it.
Article by Chef Yvonne Stephens

Yvonne Stephens – http://www.recessioncooking.net

Article Source: Yvonne Stephens == Your-Basic-Pantry-Items

By Anthony Orling

When you add that rum to your holiday cookies, brandy to your pudding or whiskey to your BBQ sauce all that is left behind is the flavor, right? That cooking sherry might get you drunk right out of the bottle but it just ads a nice taste to that saute, correct? You better think again based on a study performed by the USDA. Thanks to your tax dollars at work, we now have conclusive evidence that a surprisingly high percentage of alcohol remains in your food even after extensive cooking time.

The major factors seem to be the density of the food being prepared, whether the food forms a layer which may reduce evaporation or if you keep the food covered while cooking. Although there are many factors which can impact how much is retained in your food, as much as 10% still remains even after two hours of baking or simmering. A quick review of the list below will give you an idea of just how much alcohol you may have been giving your little nieces and nephews at your last holiday party.

• Alcohol added to food or liquid and stored overnight with no heat retains 70% of the original alcohol content
• Stirring alcohol into hot liquid without further cooking retains 85% or the original alcohol
• That spectacular flambe still has 75% or the original alcohol after the flames go out
• Baking or simmering for fifteen minutes retains 40% or the original alcohol
• Food which has been baked or simmered for thirty minutes still has 35% of the original alcohol
• Cooking for a full hour still retains 25% of the original alcohol
• Even two full hours of baking or simmering retains 10% of the alcohol

As you can see, eating a few too many of Auntie Marge’s famous rum balls really could give you enough alcohol to impact your driving or even fail a roadside sobriety test. Assuming you had a careful drink or two with a meal, the extra alcohol in your flamb

By Eric Stifel

Sure you can go to any grocery store, warehouse store, or even convenient store and pick up a jar of salsa, marinara, or pasta sauce, and take it home and you are ready to make a great dinner or snack, but there is something to be said about making these items from scratch. If you are lucky enough to have the land to grow a garden, so much the better. The one question most people have is, how do I get my tomatoes prepped and ready, so I can use them to make these items? Well I’m going to explain that right now.

It really isn’t as hard as you might imagine. You only need a few simple items and a little time and patience. Basically you will need some beautiful ripe tomatoes, a good size pot of water, a sharp paring knife, a large straining cooking spoon, a cutting board, a large bowl, some ice (enough to fill the large bowl), some more water to put in the bowl, and of course, let’s not forget the stove to put the pot of water on.

The very first thing you will need to do is put enough water in your pot so that when you add your tomatoes, they will be totally submerged, this can be done by adding your tomatoes first and then filling with water, and removing the tomatoes after they are completely covered. Then take the pot with water in it and place it on the stove and turn it on high.

While you are waiting for the water to boil, clean and remove any stems from your tomatoes and place them on your cutting board. You will want to remove the core from one side, this is the side that the tomato was attached to the vine from. This is done by cutting around the outer edge, inward at an angle, and going all the way around until the core pops out. You will only need to cut in about 1 inch deep. Then you flip the tomato over 180 degrees, and you will notice a very tiny core like dot. Instead of coring this, you are going to make two slices in this in the form of an X, between one half inch and one inch wide, depending on how big your tomatoes are. Basically, you want the center of your X to be in the center of that core button. This does not have to be deep, just enough to cut through the skin. Repeat these steps for all of the remain tomatoes.

By now, your pot of water should be boiling, so take your large spoon and one by one, carefully place your tomatoes in the boiling water. Don’t plop them in, as you may splash boiling hot water on yourself, which isn’t a good thing. Once they are all in the pot, take and fill your large bowl with ice and add water so the ice is covered.

In a matter of a few minutes, your tomatoes will start to show sings of the skin cracking and or pealing from the top or bottom. When you see this happening, it is time to remove them from the pot and add them to the bowl of ice water. Let them soak for a few minutes in the ice water, this will prevent them from cooking, and also make the skin come of much easier. After a few minutes, when they are cooled down, you can pull them out one by one and remove the skin, it should peal right off.

Next, place them back on your cutting board, and slice them in half. Make sure you do this around the belly in the center, and not from core to base. This is very important, because if you do it the wrong way, it wall make it very difficult to remove the seeds. If you do it the right way, all you have to do is hold the tomato half in your and and give it a good squeeze and the seeds should come right out. Sometimes I’ll use my paring knife to loosen them up a bit before I squeeze, but you do it whatever way works best for you.

At this point, they are prepped and ready for you to make what ever dish you wish.

Eric Stifel is, among other things, a Husband, Father, Brother, Businessman, amateur Website Designer and amateur article writer who has many hobbies and passions. Photography and Cooking are just two of those passions, travel is certainly an other one of them, which has lead to a large portion of the photo’s he has collected over the years. He has finally put together a website that contains a small number of his photos and recipes and it has officially hit the world wide web as of May, 2009. If you are interested in viewing any of Eric’s pictures or recipes, please stop by http://www.99centsphoto.com He is fairly certain you will find something that will interest you in one way or an other.

Article Source: Eric Stifel — Tomatoes—The-Easy-Way-to-Remove-the-Skin-and-Seeds