Homemade Is Best

Can’t wait for the new episode? Get started with Ham Recipes at Clearly Delicious

To all of the lovely listeners of Homemade is Best, our show will be returning sometime in late March with our long-awaited “Ham” episode.  Although the Christmas holidays may be over, ham is just as versatile in the kitchen as ever making for a great filling in crêpes, sandwiches, omelets, and more! We’ll give you several of our favorite ways to prepare ham, some varieties of ham that you should know about, and useful purchasing information to buy the best possible cut–did you know that most hams contain large portions of water?

Until then, please sit tight and feel free to e-mail Helana or Russ with questions or requests for season 2.  We’d love to hear from you and what dishes you’d like to know more about.  After all, food prepared at home is always best!

Congratulations to Helana for winning the Marx Foods Chile Recipe Challenge!

What’s Helana Excited About?

• Sausages from Marx Foods –  It’s a sausage fest.

Cooking Basics Links

• The Well Stocked Pantry
• Essential Spices for Your Kitchen
• Baking Essentials
• Great Oils
• Cooking Equipment
• Cutlery
• Utensils
• Cooking
• Baking Techniques
• General Cooking Techniques – The one link you cannot skip.

Basic Food Prep Term of the Week:  carmelize

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In today’s episode of Homemade is Best, Russ and Helana pick-up where last week’s episode on Pumpkin left off: Pumpkin Desserts.  Sweet and sugary items are often the most commonly produced pumpkin-based dishes.  Whether it’s grandma’s famous Pumpkin Pie on Thanksgiving or that gotta-have-it decadent Pumpkin-Flavored Cappuccino at Starbucks, Sweet Pumpkin dishes are just one of the many perks of this season’s cooling weather.

We begin our show with a discussion of What’s Helana Excited About? As always, her answers do not disappoint.  She suggests the different ways to cook with Pumpkin Purée from the Farmer’s Market, Pumpkin Purée from Libby’s, and/or Toasted Pumpkin Seed Oil from specialty food companies like La Tourangelle.  Although you will be able to find various purées at most any store, La Tourangelle sells 2 15-ounce cans on Amazon (with free shipping!) that rivals any of the expensive prices you’ll find at Whole Foods or Fresh Market.  Use the purée for the foundation of any of today’s sweet desserts and the olive oil for salad dressings, homemade gelato, and much more.

 Helana’s recipe for Pumpkin Cheese Cake dressed in warm honey, walnuts, and a pecan graham cracker crust.  Talk about Clearly Delicious!

Onto the recipes! We begin our discussion with a holiday classic–Pumpkin Pie.  Helana’s recipe is rich, decadent, and once nabbed her a boyfriend.  True story.  Check-out our variation to see if it’s the same as Grandma used to make! Moving onto a Golden Girls favorite–(Pumpkin) Cheesecake, Russ and Helana share how this advanced recipe is worth every ounce of effort (and perhaps, every pound gained? We’ll let you decide).  Both Russ and Helana have a medley of Cheesecake stories from disasters with cracked surfaces to hot water baths that just don’t do the trick, but they offer up all of their tips and tricks free of charge.  We also suggest some other tips that will keep your cheesecake from cracking.

Finally, we end our discussion with Helana’s most requested Fall Recipe–Pumpkin Spice Ginger Bread and Russ aces his quiz on “quick breads.” This bread is moist, fluffy, and the quintessential taste of fall.

Other Cool Stuff:

Guy Fieri’s Pumpkin Pie Crème Brulée

Emeril Lagasse’s Pumpkin Crème Brulée

“Pumpkin” at Clearly Delicious

Helana’s Chocolate Azteca Cupcakes & Marx Foods Chile Recipe Contest

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Welcome to the first part of a two part series on Pumpkin.  Russ and Helana are both nuts about pumpkin.  After you hear the recipes in today’s episode, we think you will be also.  But before we get to the meat of the show, Helana says her mea culpa for possibly harming those with delicate ears.  If you haven’t heard the Strawberry episode yet then you missed it. Needless to say, drunken sailors have nothing on Helana. (And Russ forgot to cut it out also.)

Anyway, on to What’s Helana Excited About?  This week it’s all pumpkin all the time.  The first thing is a book called Pumpkin, a Super Food for All 12 Months of the Year.  Be sure to check out the preview at the link to preview the book. The second item is also a book on pumpkin. It’s Harvest of Pumpkins and Squash.  They’re both excellent books if you want to get into pumpkin for the fall.

Now, what you’ve been waiting for, the recipes.

• Pumpkin-Peanut Curry Noodles with Five-Spice Seared Scallops and Shrimp from Rachael Ray – Her first appearance here on the show, I believe.  Can you make this one in 30 minutes?
• Rosemary’s Rosemary Pumpkin Soup – This is the recipe that both Russ and Helana made.  You can see the results over at the Facebook page.
• Mesa Grill’s Pumpkin Soup from Bobby Flay – This looks like a killer recipe for pumpkin soup and of course it has a bit of spice.  Also be sure to check out the video of Bobby Flay explaining how he makes this soup.

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Armed with a bevy of recipes, we are taking on the wonderful foods of New England. These are the foods of Helana’s youth. Helana grew up in Maine, and apparently if you catch her in the mood she’ll pit her lobster against yours. True story.  Before all the seafood goodness, be sure to check out Russ’ Strawberry Cake.  It’s the cake from the Strawberry episode.

We’ve got some great recipes, but we also find out What’s Helana Excited About? This week it’s a cookbook that over 150 dishes from Maine. If you’re compelled to eat more New England based foods, this is the book for you.

On to the recipes! First off is Bouillabaisse. Take any kind of seafood/shellfish you have in the house or that’s fresh at the market, mix it up with some essential herbs and spices and wallah! Next is the quintessential New England dish, Maine Lobster. Cooking lobster requires some unique equipment that you don’t need for most other meals. You may need one of these bad boys to keep your shirt clean. To cook the lobsters you’re going to need a steamer. To ease in the cracking of lobster claws, a claw cracker may be in order.  Third recipe on the docket is Beer Steamed Clams.  What a way to go, steamed in beer.  Lucky clams. (You may contact PETA here.)  Finally, we end with New England Fish Chowder.  Read that closely.  It’s fish, not clam chowder.  You may not enjoy the chewy texture of clams, but you get all the awesome flavor and some delicious flaky fish to boot.

Upgrade your food vocabulary with our Basic Food Prep Term of the Week:  Shelfish

We end the show talking about the Mexican food show.  Andrew wrote in asking, What the heck is “celantromoo doupande“?  We can’t figure it out.  Help us out by leaving a comment below.

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Summer just wouldn’t be the same without strawberries.  Whether you add it to a salad, mix some into a glass of lemonade or create a complete strawberry dessert with them, you can’t go wrong.  So on today’s Homemade Is Best, we’re going to run down some of Helana’s favorite strawberry recipes.

First though, we have to know What’s Helana Excited About? Well, this week because of the topic of our show, Helana is excited about a strawberry stem remover.  It’s another in a long line of kitchen gadgets that are fairly single purpose, but make life in the kitchen a whole lot easier.  Definitely worth getting excited about.

On to the recipes!  We’ve got a lot of them this time.  First is a Spinach, Strawberry and Hearts of Palm salad.  It’s our first recipe from Paula Deen, the food network chef that is famous for Southern home cooking.  This one’s not light on calories, at least if you look only at the dressing, but spread over 12 servings it will be a stupendous addition to your next barbeque.  Next is a Summer Berry Pudding.  It tastes better than it looks, according to Helana.  How can it not with 4 different kinds of berries, one of which is strawberries of course.  It’s kinda like a bread pudding with a summer makeover.  The next recipe is one that is the stuff of dreams if you’re a strawberry lover.  It’s Helana’s Strawberry Cake.  It’s a homemade strawberry cake with homemade strawberry frosting.  Be sure to check out Russ’ attempt on the Homemade Is Best Facebook page.  The strawberry keeps on coming with an incredible looking Strawberry Shortcake.  Helana is using a homemade biscuit for this one that looks wonderful.  Very British.  Pip, Pip!   Finally, we end the recipe section with a mini lightning round of Strawberry and Dumplings and  the novel Chocolate Cupcakes with Flaming Strawberries.  Don’t burn your eyebrows off!

For our Basic Food Prep Term of the Week we learn what are hearts of palm?

For Email and Comments, we answer a question from Caroline Delahey who is starting a food blog.  She wanted to know about getting started writing.  Helana suggest the book, Will Write for Food.

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Mexican food is one of the easiest types of food to make at home, yet so many of us still go out to enjoy this ethnic food. Well, hopefully after this episode you’ll change your tune. Bring the taste of Mexico into your home with the recipes we share here in this show.

Before that though, we have to learn, What’s Helana Excited About? Even though the summer drink show is behind us, Helana is still searching for delicious beverages. The one she’s excited about this week is the Cucumber Lime Mint Agua Fresca. That’s a mouthful to say, and it sounds like a delicious mouthful as well. Also, Helana points out all the Mexican and Tex Mex food on Simply Recipes that she checked out in preparation for this show. A lot of good recipes there and definitely something to be excited about.

One more follow up from the drink show. Helana found a great link that explains how long you can keep a simple syrup in the fridge, up to a month. More importantly if you add a tablespoon of vodka to your syrup it lasts for 3 months and can last longer. Check out the link or just listen.

The first recipe for this week was not one that Helana could find on the Internet. It’s an old family recipe that Russ’ family makes. It’s requested more than a couple times a year around the Turley house. It’s the Gringo Chicken Enchiladas. Barely recognizable as Mexican food if you looked at the ingredients, but extremely delicious. Below is a picture of Russ’ recipe card from the family recipe collection.

Helana has a couple recipes of her own as well. The first one is for Ceviche. What makes ceviche so interesting is that you don’t cook it with heat. The fish in this recipe is cooked by the acids in the juice of the lime and lemon. Enjoy this recipe with some chips or warm tortillas for a killer appetizer or light main dish. The second recipe that Helana has brought forth for you enjoyment is Spinach & Shrimp Quesadillas. It’s also fairly gringo, but also clearly delicious. It’s an example of a way you can bring together ingredients that are not Mexican in and of themselves, but when combined in a tortilla, mexican-fusion magic happens. Be sure to check out all the different kinds of Mexican cheese that you can use in your cooking. Helana also threw this recipe in at the end of our discussion. It’s another unlikely pairing Mexican flavors and pumpkin in Chipotle Pumpkin Soup.

For the Basic Food Prep Term of the Week we discuss the differences between Mexican and Tex Mex…badly.  Add your distinction between the two types in the comments or on our Facebook page.

Email and comments this week came in from Caroline.  She recommends a Mexican Watermelon: Agua de Sandia .

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This time on Homemade Is Best, it’s Summer!  Time to get your drink on with these refreshing summer beverages.  We have one adult cocktail and multiple for the whole family.  We’re going to learn how to muddle and about jiggers.  Fun!

First though, before all else, we need to know, What’s Helana Excited About?

Today it’s The Republic of Tea.  It’s a tea brand that caters to the tea lovers out there.  Russ is a plain, black tea kinda guy, while Helana points out the Blackberry Sage flavor as one of her favorites.  Whether you have it hot, iced or sun tea varieties, this is a great summer drink.  Definitely worth being excited about and is available at Cost Plus World Market.  There’s probably one in your town.

Russ starts off the recipes with two for Mint Juleps.  One is the classic cocktail, which was probably invented as a more acceptable way to drink straight bourbon.  The other recipe is for the virgin version from Disneyland.  If you’re a southern California resident, you’ve probably had this one while visiting the park.  While it’s nothing like its namesake, it is delicious none the less.

Helana hits back with two of her favorite Summer drinks.  The first is her new love, Watermelon Juice with Basil.  This drink uses the juicer that she is so fond of.  It’s super easy and from the sound of it, you better get to the store soon before Helana buys up all the watermelons.  The second recipe is for the Perfect Lemonade.  We discuss how to make a simple syrup with this one and, no, you can’t just throw sugar in cold water as Russ learned.  Who knew?

For our Basic Food Prep Term of the Week we learn what it is to muddle.

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In today’s episode of Homemade is Best, Russ and Helana partake in the great appetizer debate–What appetizers are best made at home? When should they be prepared? Are they as quick as they are delicious? AND, what’s up with that light-green guacamole sold in plastic baggies at the store? Is it really “guacamole?” Not so surprisingly, dishes ranging from Tex Mex-style Black Bean Corn Salsa to the “Perfect” Guacamole are always best at home.  But perhaps we are getting ahead of ourselves…

First, Helana and Russ experience the mad-hatter banter of Hannah Hart and her Youtube sensation My Drunk Kitchen.  We discuss episodes “Brunch” (Helana’s favorite) and “Tacos” (which Russ thinks is pretty funny too).  Not only is Hannah’s parodied drunken banter hilarious, but her technique also reveals the actual frustrations that many home cooks can feel in the kitchen (drunk or not).  We like her…a lot.

Once onto the recipes, Russ and Helana can’t get enough of the fresh summer goods popping up over at Clearly Delicious.  Helana introduces Russ to the cheap to make, but superior taste of homemade Black Bean Corn Salsa that she’s been enjoying in the Louisiana heat.  Later, she wows Russ with the aesthetic combination of red and yellow peppers in her Red and Yellow Bruschetta (pronounced [broo-SKEH-tah, broo-SHEH-tah]), and goes on a bit of a tangent as to what constitutes the “Perfect” Guacamole. Advocating that Guacamole should not, and we repeat, SHOULD NOT, be made with any creamy additives like sour cream or cream cheese, Helana highlights how real guacamole with fresh cilantro and ripe avocados upstage any lime green concoction you can find in the store.  Besides, if you want “Cream-amole” that’s fine, but don’t sully the good name of avocados by calling it “guacamole.”

Finally, where would summer appetizers be without pasta salad? Helana offers a Zucchini Almond Pasta Salad w/Goat Cheese for a new take on an old favorite.  The best part? All of these dishes are relatively easy, quick, and simple to make requiring little less than bowls, spoons, knives, and a few minutes for presentation.

Russ aces his weekly exam and we look forward to picking up with summer beverages next week.

Other Fun Stuff:

Basic Food Prep Term of the Week

bruschetta
[broo-SKEH-tah, broo-SHEH-tah]
From the Italian bruscare meaning “to roast over coals,” this traditional garlic bread is made by rubbing slices of toasted bread with garlic cloves, then drizzling the bread with extra-virgin olive oil. The bread is salted and peppered, then heated and served warm.

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First thing you should do after reading this page, forget that, before reading this page of show notes, is go check out Helana’s column in the Louisiana State Newspaper, The Advocate. It’s a new column she’s writing and the first article and recipe out of the gate is a great one for strawberry cake. Oh man that looks good!

Otherwise, today’s show is all about Tuna. We discuss three great recipes as well as discussing how you should cook tuna and what types and grades of tuna exist out there. Should you buy albacore, yellow fin, blue fin, solid, chunk, fancy, etc?  We also talked quite a bit about an avocado slicer, mostly because Helana doesn’t have one!  It’s  a great little tool that slices the avocado in the skin, no muss, no fuss.

The first recipe we discuss is an Un-Cobb. What’s that you ask? It’s Helana’s take on the classic Cobb salad. She’s subtracted a few key ingredients but held true to the essence of the salad. (She should have kept the bacon though.) The second recipe, also from Helana’s blog, is an alternative to a regular old hamburger, it’s the Spicy Tuna Burger. This recipe was inspired by the book that we talked about on show #10, My Father’s Daughter by Gwyneth Paltrow. The third recipe discussed is the simplest and the most accessible to everyone reading and listening. It’s the classic tuna salad sandwich. This is a good one with capers, cottage cheese, red onion, and a host of other ingredients.

This week Arlice wrote a comment on Clearly Delicious asking if sashimi tuna and yellow fin tuna were the same thing.

On the Basic Food Prep Term of the Week we discuss all the different types of tuna.

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