The Well-Stocked Kitchen Starts With Cutting-Edge Knives

Preparing meals that are a cut above the ordinary may be easier if you start with the right cutting tools.

Well-designed cutting tools are engineered with style, safety and performance in mind. A smartly constructed knife is fashioned of forged high-carbon stainless steel and chromium for optimum rust and stain resistance.

For example, Insignia2 cutlery has fully tapered blade edges that are engineered with Chicago Cutlery's signature Taper Grind™ Edge for extreme sharpness, performance, edge retention and resharpening ease.

When choosing a knife, look for heavy forged bolsters between the blade and the handle. These bolsters provide greater balance and safety by preventing fingers from riding up on the blade. A full tang blade, extending from the tip of the knife to the end of the handle, provides additional strength, balance and control.

A good knife collection features patented ergonomic polymer handles for exceptional durability and handling. Triple compression stainless steel rivets should secure the handles to the blades.

Available in 18-piece and 12-piece slanted hardwood block sets, the Insignia2 collection contains a four-piece forged steak knife set, a three-piece set with paring, utility and chef knives, and a two-piece Asian set featuring a seven-inch Granton-edge Santoku and a 3.5-inch paring knife.

A new concept in cutlery is the collection's Partoku™, a five-inch knife that delivers the versatility of a Granton-edge Santoku with the convenience of an easy-handling paring knife. It's designed for chopping, dicing, slicing and mincing and works well as a cleaver, slicer and chef's knife. The five-inch version can accomplish kitchen tasks that would be unwieldy with a larger knife.

After stocking your kitchen with the best, most ergonomic knives, you may want to use them to reward yourself by preparing these delicious recipes:

Braised Chicken

in Wine Sauce

Serves 4

5 slices bacon, diced

1 cup onion, roughly chopped

1 31/2-lb. chicken, cut into eighths

1/4 lb. mushrooms, diced

8 small new potatoes, cut in large pieces

1 clove garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1 cup chicken broth

3 cups Burgundy wine

Chopped parsley

With a Chicago Cutlery Insignia™ Partoku, dice uncooked bacon and mushrooms; roughly chop onions and cut potatoes and chicken into pieces. In a large skillet, sauté diced bacon with half the onions until bacon is crisp. Remove and drain well. Add chicken pieces to skillet and brown on all sides. Remove chicken and set aside.

Put remaining onions, mushrooms, potatoes and minced garlic in skillet. Add browned chicken pieces, bacon and onion mixture. Add salt and pepper, thyme and enough chicken broth and wine to nearly cover chicken. Cover and simmer on low heat for 45 minutes or until chicken is tender and juices run clear when pricked. Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Easy Scalloped Eggplant

Serves 4

1 medium eggplant, peeled and cubed (about 3 cups)

1 Tbsp. parsley, finely chopped

12 ounces grated cheddar cheese; reserve a few tablespoons for topping

2 eggs

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup cracker crumbs

Salt and pepper to taste

Butter

Peel and cube eggplant. In a medium saucepan, boil eggplant until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain well. In a lightly buttered baking dish, combine eggplant, parsley, cheese (reserve some for topping), eggs, onion and cracker crumbs. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, salt and pepper and dot with butter. Bake at 350º F for 25 minutes or until firm. Serve immediately.

About the Author:
Wayne Ryan
For more information on choosing the right knife for the right job, visit www.chicagocutlery.com.
It can be easier and safer to prepare delicious meals if you have state-of-the-art knives designed for balance and performance.
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

Simple BBQ Chicken

A very simple barbecue chicken recipe that will make anyone a BBQ hero!

This recipe is really very simple and even more delicious. It is also extremely cheap, so all of you on a budget out there rejoice! This meal costs all in all only about five dollars, depending on the brand of BBQ sauce you prefer, and it only takes a few short minutes to prepare. This one is absolutely perfect for parties and other gatherings, because the preparation won't take you away from your guests.

Some steamed broccoli or other vegetables you can find and come up with make good side dishes for this tasty BBQ chicken. The chicken will be somewhat rich in flavour, so having a vegetable is generally a good call. Staples like dinner rolls or potatoes wouldn't go amiss either. Anything that matches the simple pleasure of BBQ can be worked into the meal without too much effort on your side, which is also one of the goals with this recipe.

The type of BBQ sauce you use will determine what beverage fits the meal best. For richer flavours, go with a nice dark ale. If you aren't a good cook (which is OK by the way), grab a six-pack of light beer, and everything will fit together perfectly! For the kids, milk juice and water will all match the meal, each one as good as the others. The flavour of the meal changes so drastically with your choice of sauce that it is impossible for me to recommend one beverage over another. Just drink whatever you like! As far as I know it's always your taste that matter anyway!

Ingredients:
Chicken breasts (as many as you plan to eat)
BBQ Sauce (1c. per chicken breast)

Instructions:
1. Pour the BBQ sauce into a frying pan. If you have more than four cups, split the dish into two preparation phases. (More than four breasts will not fit!)
2. Heat BBQ sauce on medium heat for five minutes, or until hot.
3. Place the chicken into the pan, and let it simmer for 25-30 minutes. Only flip the chicken one time!*
4. Remove the chicken from the pan, and serve immediately.

* Flipping the chicken gives the BBQ sauce stuck to the cooked side a chance to cool, which forms a protective shell around the chicken, preventing any further BBQ sauce from penetrating the meat. You want as much BBQ sauce to get into the chicken as possible, and flipping it only once gives the greatest amount of time for that to happen.

About the Author:
John
AceCooking AceRecipes SimpleCooking SpecialRecipes AllCooking
Submitted on 2006-11-05
Article Source: http://www.articlesarea.com/

10 Steps For Cooking-Up Family Memories

The kitchen is the perfect place for making memories. When you spend time baking, cooking and enjoying meals with your family, you create happy memories you and your children will cherish forever.

The benefits of preparing and enjoying food as a family are clear. You save money and eat healthier meals. You create opportunities to connect and communicate with your children and spouse. And most importantly, you show love for your family when you spend time cooking and eating with them. Children of all ages need your attention and your time. By working together to create a meal or bake a batch of cookies, you spend valuable time together.

So, here are 10 steps to get your family cooking up memories.

Step 1:

Teach small children the fun of cooking by helping them bake cookies and cakes. If you are short on time, you can use a boxed cookie mix and spend more time decorating.

Step 2:

Encourage the littlest ones to play pretend cooking. Kids love to play with real mixing bowls, strainers and wooden spoons. These make harmless toys and can be easily thrown in the dishwasher for quick cleanup.

Step 3:

If you live by your day-timer, schedule in baking cookies with your kids. Our schedules can be so hectic that something as simple as baking a batch of chocolate chip cookies can get skipped over. Write it down and do it.

Step 4:

If you have teenagers, let them play their favorite music while they wash the lettuce and set the table.

Step 5:

Work together with your spouse to prepare the dinner and use the time to catch up on each other's day.

Step 6:

Even if you are in a rush preparing dinner, remember to reduce your stress and focus on creating a fun atmosphere that naturally encourages the whole family to participate.

Step 7:

When spending time preparing food with your children, include lessons about healthy eating choices. Keep the conversation positive and avoid listing foods they can't have.

Step 8:

On days where you anticipate time will be tight, consider taking a short cut by using a frozen stir-fry mix or pasta with a jar of pre-made sauce. Your family will appreciate your relaxed mood much more than a made-from-scratch dinner.

Step 9:

Share the job of grocery shopping. One week have mom take one of the children as a helper, the next week dad can go with another child. Always work from a grocery list and let your children help you retrieve items and cross them off the list.

Step 10:

Have big family meals where you share about your day. Keep the conversation fun and avoid negative lectures over dinner. Remember to laugh.

Take these steps today and make your kitchen a fun and memorable place for your whole family.

About the Author:
Geoffrey Cook
You too, can manoeuvre in the unfamiliar waters of gourmet cuisine, with just a few well-learned techniques that are easy to master, and build a repertoire of literally hundreds of dishes and deserts. Let Geoffrey set you on the path today, to gastronomical delights! http://www.free-recipe-books.com
This article was posted on March 13, 2006
Article Source: articlecity

Cooking Recipes – Know Where to Look for Success

Have you ever had the craving for a particular dish or meal, but cannot seem to find a recipe for it? If this sounds like you, there is no need to fret. The fact of the matter is that recipes are available all over the place. Just because you are not a master chef does not mean that you cannot find cooking recipes. If you know where to look for recipes you should never have any problem getting started with your next delicious meal.

Here are three places that you can find cooking recipes without having to spend hours looking for them.

1. The most obvious place to find cooking recipes is in a cookbook. Paper recipes are what the majority of people turn to when they are trying to make a dish that they are not familiar with. After all, paper recipes allow you to keep the instructions handy as you move through the process. The good thing about cookbooks is that there are hundreds of them for sale, with each on touching on a unique topic. You can find a cookbook that covers everything from bread making to desserts.

2. When searching for cooking recipes never overlook a good friend. Chances are that if you like to cook, you probably know somebody else that shares the passion. Why not swap recipes so that everybody can enjoy? Trading paper recipes with a friend is one of the most overlooked ways of finding new dishes to make.

3. Of course, you can search for recipes online. If there is something that you need information on in a hurry, the internet is the place to look. Computer recipes allow you to find what you need without having to buy a single thing. In addition, many people have decided to go the internet route because they can print out the computer recipes and take them to the kitchen. It does not get much easier than that.

Regardless of what type of recipe you are in need of, the fact of the matter is that they can be found in a number of different places. If you do not have luck with one of the options listed above, you can always try the next. And if none of them work for you, why not find your own way of compiling recipes?

The bottom line is that you do not have to be a cooking professional to find quality recipes.

Looking for more information on bread mixes and recipes visit bread-maker.net

About the Author:
Patrick Smith
Content Provider: http://www.my-articles.com