Matt Degen

Tapenade Is Tops For Taste

Across backyards everywhere this past Memorial Day, grills blazed at the unofficial start of summer. And while I enjoyed some grilled delights myself, my thoughts – and taste buds – turned to something much different yet absolutely perfect for this eating season: Tapenade.

Tapenade is an olive-based dish that can be served on top of crusty bread, as a dip for vegetables, or even as a spread on sandwiches in place of mayonnaise.

It’s a dish that has a fancy name and one that you may think is hard to prepare, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. If you have a can opener, a food processer, and 10 minutes, you can make tapenade.

Yes, You Can Make Oatmeal In A Rice Cooker (And Why You Should)

First things first. It’s not hard to make oatmeal. I know this. You know this. Anyone who can boil water knows this.

But amid a busy morning, it’s one. more. thing.

For all its ease, homemade old-fashioned oatmeal (also called “rolled”) does require regular stirring and roughly 15 minutes to make. Steel cut oatmeal takes about double that time. In other words, it demands your attention.

Enter the rice cooker. Big news: It can cook more than rice. In a prior video, I showed how to make quinoa in a rice cooker. Now its oats’ turn in this simple yet unsung kitchen hero.

Behold The Food Mill: Still Relevant For The Modern Kitchen?

Take one look at a food mill, or better yet get your hands on one, and it might think it’s a relic from a bygone era. It actually is. The food mill as we know it was created a century ago by the Foley Manufacturing Company, and back then it revolutionized the home kitchen.

Essentially a hand-cranked blade attached to a sieve, the food mill is a food processor, in that it transforms food from one form to another. In this case, soft fruits and vegetables can be loaded into the bin, cranked, and are extruded through the bottom as a puree or juice.

While the modern kitchen is now filled with electric food processors, mixers, and myriad other devices, food mills continue to be made. Mirro makes this Foley model similar to my vintage Foley, and Oxo makes this model that is improved with interchangeable grinding discs that let you choose between fine, medium, and course grinds.

Or you can just hunt for one at a thrift store, as I did. If memory serves, I scored mine for like $7 from my local thrift.

But the question you might have, and that this post so prominently asks, is: Are food mills still relevant?

How To Make Homemade Croutons In An Air Fryer

Croutons may not be big on your culinary radar, but you sure know when they’re missing from a meal. Just think of eating a salad without those crunchy, herb-laden bits. Or perhaps pea soup sans croutons. Boooring!

When most of us want croutons, we simply grab a bag off the shelf in the grocery store. And those storebought things are all pretty serviceable. But if you want croutons that really stand out or need a particular kind — like gluten-free croutons — you’re far better off making them yourself.

Good news: Making croutons at home is amazingly easy. Especially if you have an air fryer. Here’s how.

Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron vs. Enameled Stoneware: What To Know

The next time you step into a Le Creuset store or shop online, you’ll find two similar-looking but very different options: Enameled cast iron or stoneware.

If you’re reading this, you probably already know about Le Creuset. But as a very brief background, Le Creuset is a famous French company known for its premium cookware. Le Creuset is most recognized for its enameled cast iron pieces, which are distinctive for their rainbow of colors.

Le Creuset has been making these beautiful pieces for nearly a century now, and they are equally loved by chefs and home cooks alike. Le Creuset also makes and sells a wider variety of cookware and kitchen gear, ranging from tableware to tea kettles and ramekins. But one particular type of Le Creuset cookware looks quite similar to its iconic enameled cast iron pieces, and that is its stoneware.

Does JUST Egg Taste and Cook Like Real Eggs?

JUST Egg. Ironically, this bottled product is not made from eggs at all. It’s made from plants.

Perhaps like me, you’ve seen this stuff on store shelves next to cartons of eggs and assumed it was another liquid egg product. You know, one that’s made from chicken eggs.

But JUST Egg is entirely different. It’s made with mung beans. As such, you might think of JUST Egg as the eggy, plant-based equivalent of Beyond Meat. JUST Egg touts its product as having even a bit more protein than traditional chicken eggs, while having no cholesterol.

Now, I cook and eat lots of eggs — I even feed eggs to my dogs. Eggs pack quite a bit of nutrition, all the essential amino acids, and are still relatively cheap — despite the current high egg prices.

But when I read a recent article about how the price of JUST Egg is reaching parity (or below) that of traditional eggs, my interest was sparked. Then, while shopping at my local grocer, I saw them on sale for less than $4 for an 8-ounce bottle, about 50 cents off their normal price. A trial was in order.

Instant Pot Chicken Soup — It’s Just So Easy

The first time I made chicken soup in my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker, it felt like cheating. After dumping in the ingredients and going about my business for an hour and a half, I lifted the lid to delicious, sumptuous chicken soup.

This soup required so little effort it was laughable. None of the watching of a pot on a stove to make sure it didn’t boil. None of the stirring. None of the skimming of the “scum” on top. It was literally just gathering ingredients, putting them in the Instant Pot, pressing a button, and walking away. That’s what I call easy.

The results were so good — and have I mentioned easy?? — that it is my go-to method for making quick and easy chicken soup. Another reward is the bounty of broth you get from it, which can be used however you like.

My preference is to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I find these provide a rich and unctuous broth. If you want the thicker, more gelatinous result you get from bones, by all means, use bone-in chicken. Want the leanness of chicken breasts? Go for it.

The Quick & Easy Puttanesca Recipe

If you’ve ever eaten an Italian pasta dish (and who hasn’t?), it’s likely been slathered in a sauce such as marinara, Alfredo, or a meaty Bolognese. But one of the most delicious pasta sauces is one you’ve probably never even heard of: Puttanesca.

I first had a puttanesca sauce at a family-run Italian restaurant in an out-of-the-way strip mall in Southern California. On first taste, my mind and taste buds were immediately blown. The tomato base of the sauce was familiar, but the combination of capers, olives, and anchovies were not. Yet it all worked in a culinary marriage that had me devouring bite after bite. That restaurant remains the only place I’ve seen puttanesca on the menu. And it is now closed.

The good news is, puttanesca is ridiculously easy to make at home. It comes together in about half an hour – you can easily make it while getting your pasta water to the boil and cooking the noodles – and it can be tailored to your taste.

The Easiest Induction Cookware Test

You’ve probably cooked on a gas or electric stove before, but using induction might be new to you. As more communities and households wean themselves off natural gas, it seems induction cooking — and thus induction ranges — will only become more common.

Induction ranges have long been used in Europe and in professional kitchens, but they are still relatively new to the U.S., thus many home cooks have never used this method. I’m a chef, not an electrical engineer, so I won’t pretend to know all the intricacies of how these things work — here’s a better primer — but I can tell you that induction ranges heat cookware fast and efficiently. This is true whether you are using a built-in induction range or even a portable induction burner, like the one pictured above that I regularly use (my main range is gas).

But not all cookware works on induction. However, those that do all have this one thing in common: They’re magnetic.

Hatch Chile Peppers Are Back: Here’s What To Know

If you love chile peppers, now is a special time of year: Hatch chiles are in season and being delivered to stores fresh from their home of New Mexico, USA. These chiles get their name from the Hatch region of New Mexico where they are grown.

It’s easy to mistake a Hatch chile for another chile — the Anaheim, named after the city in California. While these peppers are similar in color, shape, and size, Hatch peppers have a distinctive flavor. I wish I could transmit it to you as you read this, but it’s one you’ll just have to experience yourself. For now, just know that it’s intense, vibrant, and delicious.

It’s like an Anaheim, but in high definition, lol.

Are Hatch Chiles Hot?

Well, they can be. Hatch peppers are available in a variety of spiciness levels, from medium to extra hot. I bought a few bags of medium and found their heat to be less than that of a Jalapeno. As with all peppers, though, each will vary.