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Remove pomegranate seeds

If you've ever eaten a pomegranate, you've likely encountered the frustrating task of removing the seeds--but there's a better way. Rather than fighting a spoon (or your fingers) through the various nooks and crannies, splattering yourself with pomegranate juice stains in the process, try this much easier, faster approach to deseed a pomegranate:

  1. Cut off the ends of the pomegranate, creating two flat surfaces on the ends.
  2. Cut the pomegranate in half, and twist each half a bit to loosen the delicious seeds that are held within
  3. Grab something sturdy like a wooden spoon, and hit the flat part of the pomegranate half that you created in the first step. The seeds should easily fall out, so make sure you have a bowl or container underneath the pomegranate that you're hitting
  4. Enjoy!

Give it a try, and let us know how it works out for you in the comments! If you want more a more detailed tutorial full of pictures, head on over to Instructables.

Read More | Instructables

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Best way to reheat steak

Have you ever has an amazing steak, cooked to perfection, that you just couldn't finish? You get it boxed up and put it in the fridge, looking forward to finishing the tasty leftover morsels the next day. Then you heat it up, only to find that it's dry and tough. What happened? Why?? More importantly, what can be done to avoid your delectable dinner from turning into a disgusting disaster? The folks over at America's Test Kitchen have found that the best way to reheat steaks is as follows:

  • First, pre-heat your oven to 250 degrees
  • Place the steaks in the oven on a wire rack for about 30 minutes until they reach 110 degrees at the center
  • Take out of over and pat dry
  • Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a pan until hot
  • Place steaks in pan and sear until brown, abotu 60-90 seconds per side

The end result here is that your steak will be only slightly less juicy than it was originally, and that means deliciousness. If you wanna see the process in action, check out the video after the break.

Click to continue reading How to reheat steak without drying it out


Homemade butter

This weekend we purchased a KitchenAid Professional 5 mixer. I have wanted one of these mixers for years, but they're expensive and I didn’t want to spend the money. As it turns out, we purchased this used on Craigslist for $130 (which excites me enough to add it to this post.) It was originally listed for $200 (and retails for over $400,) and I'm very proud to have negotiated (with some assistance) to the final price.

After we got the mixer and brought it home, we felt like we needed to immediately start using it due to the excitement. However, we needed to do some shopping and didn't have a lot of time right then. I remembered that we had some heavy cream in the refrigerator that Andru purchased for our coffee. We normally follow a Paleo diet and this cream, from grass fed cows, is an acceptable part of the program. That said, this month I'm following the Whole30 program, and that doesn't allow any dairy except butter from grass fed cows. I knew butter that butter is made by churning cream, but I thought for sure there was more to it than that.

Click to continue reading How to make homemade butter (recipe!)


Linked bagel halves

Here’s a cool food hack that we just came across and had to share. Did you know that you can technically slice a bagel in such a way that the two halves are linked? Even better, when cut this way you get a little more surface area than the old school slice, which means that you can technically fit a bit more spread and goodness on it as well. Don’t believe me? Hit the link below for the full details, with diagrams on showing exactly where to cut the bagel and everything.

Read More | Mobius Sliced Linked Bagel

Yeah, if you thought you knew how to consume a chicken wing correctly, you may in fact be sadly mistaken. Chef John from Food Wishes put together the video above that shows how to eat the flat part of the chicken wing for maximum meat and deliciousness consumption. Give it a look, and enjoy your new knowledge.


coconutshrimp

Yesterday in Chicago the weather was sunny and 65… in the middle of February!  It was spectacular.  I was inspired by the warm weather to create something that reminded me of summer or my favorite warm weather place, the Caribbean. 

The first time I ever tried coconut shrimp was at a restaurant I worked at in college.  They fried them up and served with a sweet plum sauce.  I absolutely loved them and ordered them almost every shift I worked.  My version requires no frying and it so easy and quick to make.  I also borrowed a great broiling technique from Ellie Krieger from the Foodnetwork, which works every time.

Some people say they are not fans of the texture of coconut, which I can kind of understand.  A great tip for flaky coconut is to throw it in the blender or food processor before using, this helps the coconut blend in well with the breading. I did not do this as me and Husband love coconut in any form.


Prep Time : About 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp (this just makes life easier)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup shredded coconut, I used sweetened and used a heaping 1/2 cup
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 egg whites
3/4 panko crumbs (japanes style breadcrumbs, found in almost every grocery store in the Asian section)
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder (which is a milder chili powder)
2 tablespoons canola oil
Nonstick cooking spray

Click to continue reading Recipe: Coconut Crunchy Shrimp


pankocrustedsalmon

One of my favorite, recent creations is a light, alternative to fried fish that is easy but still packs a ton of flavor. Panko Crusted Salmon is a great go-to meal during the week that literally takes maybe 20 minutes to prepare and broil. In this recipe, I used Norwegian Salmon, mostly because it always looks so great at the seafood counter but also because the flavor is amazing. Most fish would work with this recipe but it is perfectly matched with Salmon.

Panko is the Japanese term for bread crumbs and in my opinion creates a much crunchier, crispier crust on anything. If you are looking for a better alternative to bread crumbs, panko is by far the way to go. They are light and flaky and can be used for toppings on casseroles or even filler to crab cakes (it can really replace anything requiring bread crumbs). I love panko crusted seafood but have also used these delicious, airy crumbs to crust chicken and pork chops. Panko can absorb seasoning well (as they are rather bland alone) and don’t make foods heavy like bread crumbs usually do. Panko is perfect when you want a crunch without frying and can be found at most grocery stores and all Asian specialty stores.

Panko Crusted Salmon
Serves 4
Prep Time : 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

4 Salmon Fillets (6 oz each)
Nonstick Cooking Spray
1 Tbs Rosemary chopped finely
1 Tbs Parsley chopped finely
Dijon Mustard
3/4 cup panko crumbs
Salt and pepper
Lemon wedges

Click to continue reading Recipe: Panko Crusted Salmon


macncheese

As a Foodnetwork addict I am constantly experimenting with great recipes from from my favorite shows.  On Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello on an episode entitled “Pot luck challenge”, Jan Birnbaum, chef and restaurateur, caught my eye with an upscale, hearty mac n’ cheese.

The original recipe called for shrimp, which I was all about, but after visiting the seafood counter at Whole Foods, husband and I couldn’t resist the lobster meat (shrimp vs. lobster? no contest). So we splurged justifying that this would be our Superbowl Sunday feast.

Here is my adaptation of Jan’s recipe:

Ingredients

  • 1 box medium shell pasta
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup tasso ham or bacon (I used bacon)
  • 5 large shallots, minced
  • 1 clove garlic, mined
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup white wine (see review below)
  • 2 cups cream
  • 1 cup grated fontina
  • 1/2 cup grated Cheddar (I prefer mild but sharp would be great too)
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
  • 6-8 oz lobster meat cut up in good bite size chunks (we bought the precooked tub at the seafood counter)
  • 2 cups gently packed spinach
  • Kosher salt and ground white pepper
  • Hot pepper sauce, to taste (recommended: Tabasco)
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs ( I used panko, my new favorite thing)
  • 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley leave

Click to continue reading Recipe: Lobster Macaroni and Cheese


Sprouted Wheat

and seeds is easy and fun. The health benefits are well worth the extra work. You can sprout berries, barley, buckwheat, alfalfa, sesame seeds, and flax seeds, to name a few. When the seed or grain sprouts, nutrients are released during the growing process that are not present in the seed or grain by itself. By sprouting, dehydrating, then grinding your grains, you are creating flour that is many times more nutrient rich than any flour you can purchase in the store. I love watching my food grow, it’s inspiring!

Step 1: Soaking
The first step is to soak the seeds or grains. Place the seeds or grains in a large pot overnight (the size of the pot depends on how much flour or sprouts you will need, keep in mind that soaking causes the grains to expand as they absorb the water).

Step 2: Rinsing
After the overnight soak, you will want to pour your grains into a colander, about half full, and rinse. When I rinse them I like to get my hands in there to mix it up to make sure that all the grains are well rinsed. Do this 2-3 times a day until the sprouts form, you want the sprout to be about 1/4 inch in length. Each seed and grain has a different germination phase. Wheat berries take around 48 hours while quinoa sprouts in as little as 12 hours.

Dehydrated Wheat Sprouts

Step 3:
Depending on what you are planning to use the sprouts for, you may or may not choose to dehydrate your seeds or grains. I use my sprouted wheat to make bread flour and buckwheat to make Buckwheatie Bars. Dehydrating is simple. Just give the sprouts one last rinse and place them on the dehydrating trays. It usually only takes around 4-6 hours to dry. Use your dehydrated sprouts quickly, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to a month or so.


Burns kids washing dishes

I have four children, four and under. Yes I typed that right, and no, I’m not crazy. Okay, maybe a little - but not completely. The six of us live in a 750 square foot house, two bedrooms, one bathroom. You are probably wondering by now what all of that has to do with food. Actually, quite a bit!  With so many little mouths to feed, several times a day, together we create a lot of dishes. I think I ask my husband at least once a week, “Who made all this mess? And who’s going to clean it up?!?” Me. I am the human dish washer. Not that my husband doesn’t help, he does, but he can only do so much.

Click to continue reading Meal Time: Clean Up


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