The Cookware Blog

I am just convinced that fried onions make almost every dish more interesting. We’ve done steamed veggies with the fried onion mixed in. I just finished a burrito which was incredibly enhanced by the taste of the fried onion even though the salsa was loaded with onions.

Just chop and throw an onion in the fry pan with a little oil and saute to desired texture. Everything from eggs to grilled chicken, burgers to steak, all seem to spring to life. Even the aroma of the onion cooking (I have a fry pan specifically for my grill) gets the digestive juices flowing.

When we place a standard of excellence on the food we create the tools to maintain that standard have to be of equal or greater quality than what we expect to serve. Having a priceless stainless steel cookware set doesn’t mean that we could swap it for the hope diamond. What it means is that we couldn’t swap it with anything else and expect to maintain our standard of excellence.

All of the characteristics of quality cookware come to bear when we expect to achieve a higher standard in the kitchen. If the cookware is of the highest quality we know that any goals we set are obtainable.

We’re calling it red leaf because that’s what our friends gave us. The stainless steel stock pots are essential because we don’t want to lose any of the natural flavor from the fresh garden vegetables going into the soup.

Taking the cabbage, carrots, potatoes and onions to the chopping block we’re ready to simmer these with a little salt and a lot of pepper. We have some fresh dill and garlic that might get thrown in there as well. Then it’s up to the stock pot to simmer until tender.

All of our soups are better in stainless steel cookware, even those we’ve never made before. We trust that with the right pot, the soup should be as good as the chef who invented it.

1 1/2 tbsp oil; 2 med. Leek, trimmed and cleaned thoroughly &chopped; 1 med. Onion sliced (1 c); 1 tsp Fennel seeds, ground; 1 1/4 lbs. Potato, peeled & coarsely cubed; 3 cups chicken broth; 1 1/2 cup Water; 10 46 oz. Arugula, washed, trimmed to yield 4 cups packed; pepper and salt as needed; 2 tbsp Ricard or Pernod; 12 tbsp Yogurt; 4 Arugula leaf, finely slivered (garnish)
1. Heat oil in large pot.
2. Add leeks and onion; cook over moderately low heat, stirring often, until softened – about 10 min. sprinkle with fennel and stir 30 seconds.
3. add potatoes, broth, and water.
4. Simmer 25 min, until soft.
5. Add arugula and cook about 10 min longer, or until stems are soft.
6. Add salt, pepper and liquor to taste.
7. puree to rough or smooth texture, as you like.
8. Adjust seasoning.
9. Serve hot or chilled, topped with yogurt and garnished with arugula slivers.
10. As watercress changes potato soup into something that doesn’t taste quite like any of the individual ingredients, so arugula transforms this traditional soup base.
11. flexible, the soup can be pureed to a chunky or a smooth texture, and served hot, as a main dish, or chilled, as a first course.
From “Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables” by Elizabeth Schneider

Every respectable health professional out there agrees that our diets should contain some fat. While no one that wants to be taken seriously tells you to slather up a skillet with lard, they almost universally agree that the fat intake should be measured and moderate.

When we saute our vegetables in non stick cookware the release of liquids can render the need for any added oil obsolete. Yet in honoring what the experts say we’ll, measure in that moderate amount of oil.

We’re always looking for healthier ways to cook and to improve our diets. Knowing a great deal about oils improves the process of deciding what to buy, what to use and in which application. The entire food industry has been turned over by the scientific findings about harmful physical effects from processed oils. If restaurants have made health conscious choices about oils, shouldn’t we do the same in our kitchens?

We made the move to using rice bran oil in the fry pan years ago after learning about how slowly it breaks down as well as the health benefits. Olive oil runs a close second with many other food applications but in our kitchen the fry pan uses rice bran oil almost exclusively.

When we’re the one who cooks and cleans we don’t usually separate these tasks. If we’re cooking for one or two the cleanup often coincides with the cooking. When we get more adventurous in preparing a large meal, or even cooking an entire weeks meals in one session, the tasks are usually divided and the pots and pans tend to pile up.

Having a complete stainless steel cookware set lends to accomplishing both ends of the routine without extra work in either. When everything can be prepared at the same time the cooking doesn’t drag on and on. With dishwasher friendly stainless steal cookware cleanup can be finished just as fast.

Recipes abound for stews and soups full of fresh garden vegetables and herbs. Some include fresh game or farm raised meats and poultry. Whether our love of a nice simmering stew comes from a need to be out working on the farm, or an easy way to prepare a meal during washing day, this tradition isn’t likely to die off soon.

When we have the right stock pots for the job we know that even clean up won’t add a burden to an otherwise easy meal. While our stew or soup spends the day simmering in stainless steel stock pots, we smell what’s cooking and our work becomes less of a burden knowing the reward awaiting us at the end of our day.

Recipes that are handed down from generation to generation survive because they work. The slightest alteration can affect the integrity of the dish in dramatic ways. Sometimes if we’re lucky, we can actually make the recipe even better.

What we never want whether experimenting, or simply recreating an historic masterpeice is cookware that can interact with the food. True nonporous stainless steel cookware will never alter the taste of your food which is why it is trusted in the greatest kitchens.

Engineers are a remarkable group of people that have made living in the 21st century more convenient through innovation and creativity. In the kitchen we find evidence of their efforts in appliance design and function, also in the advances in ordinary cookware. From the materials used to ensure even heat distribution, to  non-stick surfaces and even more subtle features , we’re offered convenience and safety in our cooking environment.

One of my favorite cookware features is the locking lid with a drain that allows me to keep pasta or vegetables in the pot warm and ready for mixing a special sauce. No more losing noodles down the drain through the strainer, or overheating my knuckles with steam.