Coming Soon: Low-Fat Pumpkin Flan

Freezer Burns and Veggie Burgers

I've been featuring some videos lately from my fellow creators on Hungry Nation, and today I'm happy to continue that by introducing Gregory Ng: The Frozen Food Master, from Freezerburns.com.

I love the concept of Freezer Burns, as Gregory takes one for the team by taste testing all sorts of frozen products so you don't have to. This episode is all about vegetable burgers, a subject near and dear to my heart, as evidenced by my post "Meaty Mushroom Veggie Burger - The Least Terrible Veggie Burger Ever!" I've posted the video below, just in case you decide to forgo the frozen food aisle.

I hope you like The Frozen Food Master's Veggie Burger Frodown, and be sure to check out Gregory's great website for more information. Enjoy!





Chef John's Famous Meaty Mushroom Veggie Burger

A Beef Chili That's Great Under Pressure

I've gotten a ton of food wishes for a pressure cooker demo, all unfulfilled due to my serious lack of a pressure cooker. So, when my friends at IMUSA asked me if I was interested in testing their pressure cooker, I answered with an enthusiastic yes.

When you ask someone why they don't use a pressure cooker, one of the most common replies is something to the effect of, "I'm really not into being killed by an exploding stew."

Well, I'm here to tell you, if used properly (meaning you actually read and follow the directions), the chances of a pressure cooker injuring you in an explosion is incredibly slim. You have a better chance of breaking your toe by dropping a bowling ball on it, and this assumes you don't bowl.

While the video features a quite acceptable beef stew-style chili recipe, which I've always called chili Colorado, the point of this post is to give someone new to pressure cookers an overview of the basic steps, tips, and techniques. I've listed the ingredients below, but this will work for any similar recipe.

As you'll see, these marvels of pressurized heat are very simple to use, and really do significantly reduce cooking time. Simply put, by increasing the pressure in the pot, you raise the boiling point, which cooks the food faster. For more info, ask anyone else.

I want to thank IMUSA for sponsoring this demo, and if you want more information about the model I used, you can get that here. Like I said in the video, no matter which brand or model you use, the method is basically the same. Enjoy!




Beef Chili Colorado Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds beef chuck, cut in 1-inch cubes
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic chopped
2 tablespoon ancho chili powder
2 teaspoon Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chipotle pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 can (10.5-oz) diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon ground corn chips, optional
cilantro and chopped green onions to garnish

Give Us Today Our Daily Bread and a Good Night's Sleep

I just landed a few hours ago after an exhausting, but really fun and productive trip to Little Rock. I'm not sure exactly when the videos will be ready to air, but when they are, you'll be the first to know. I'm pretty excited for you to see what we did, and hopefully you'll be able to use some of the recipes during the upcoming entertaining season.

I have a new video on how to use a pressure cooker to post tomorrow, but will treat myself to a good night's sleep before finishing it off. Stay tuned, and in the meantime I hope you enjoy this incredibly fascinating TED lecture on the art of baking bread by Peter Reinhart.

Speaking of bread, if you click on the picture above, you'll be taken to a great no-knead country loaf recipe that features a touch of pumkin that would make for a wonderful seasonal treat. If you watch the lecture I have a feeling you'll be inspired to get your hands into some dough.Enjoy!

This Strawberry Cheesecake Sauce Recipe is the Lesser of Two Evils

I only had enough time to do one of two things; write a post with no video, or edit and upload a video with no post. Guess which one I went with? Okay, so technically this is a post, but since it's really about not doing a post, I'm not sure it counts. Wow, I am tired! Where was I? Oh yeah, here's video recipe for the strawberry dessert sauce I paired with the cheesecake. Enjoy!



1 pint strawberries, rinsed, green tops removed (frozen will work)
1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar (depends on sweetness of berries)
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved into 2 tablespoons water

View the complete recipe

Hello from Little Rock – I'm So Busy It's Scary!

Well, I was hoping to have a new video up today, but there just wasn't any time. We put in a full day getting all the scrips finalized and recipes prepped for the eight videos I'm here to film for Kellogg's Snackpicks.com (here are a couple iPhone pics of the studio). The next couple days don't look to get any easier, as tomorrow we begin shooting at 7 AM, and the same on Wednesday.

So, the best I can do is a frighteningly quick Halloween-themed re-run recipes post. To make it an even lamer post, other than the cheese fingers below, I don't even really have any typical Halloween recipes, but all these could work well if your planning a party and looking for some ideas. Just click on the title for the original post with ingredients and more info. Boo!! (yes, that was a double entendre)

Penne Pasta with Neck Sauce – Perfect for that vampire-themed party!




Pumpkin Brulee - Because if it has pumpkin in it, it's cool for Halloween!




"Severed Fingers" Cheese Sticks – So wrong, yet so right!

A Big Job in Little Rock

I'm heading off to historic Little Rock, Arkansas, to shoot a series of videos for a new corporate client. I leave today, and will return Thursday. I can't give any details at this time, but you will see the fruits (not a hint) of my labor on this blog at some point. As usual, you can follow along with my adventure on Twitter. By the way, I do have some new video recipes already filmed, which I'll post as soon as I can finish the editing. Stay tuned!