Making Artisanal Salt At Home

A five gallon, food-safe, official water-harvester

Salt.

Pretty simple: Take some seawater, boil it, and collect the solids.

It's really almost that easy, however reducing water to collect what is, by weight, essentially four percent of the contents requires patience, a few specialized pieces of equipment (although not necessary, as a big pot will do) and ENERGY.

You are essentially boiling away five gallons of water.  If you have ever made stock, boiling away water is tough.  We use a 22 quart hotel pan that spans two burners to accelerate the process.  Cost me $25 I think.

Beignets - Video

First and foremost, these things are impossibly easy to make and your work will be rewarded by the children in the home or equally important the adults that like a nice, hot, doughy treat with their coffee.  A little planning ahead the night before, and a bit of oil for deep frying in the morning are all the effort this will take beyond the ingredients in the common larder.  This recipe is adapted from one described by Cooks Country in Cooks Illustrated here.

Twice-Fried French Fries (Redux) - Video

I know I have already done a blog post on this, but these fries are so good that I had to video the process and give a few more details.

The mighty russet potato.  The correct consistency for a fry, and more importantly, the traditional spud for the process.

Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream

 When thinking about one's favorite dessert, ice cream comes to mind for most folks, from kids to adults.  There is some mystery about the construction of excellent ice cream, magic even, that prevents most from giving it a shot.  However with some inexpensive equipment and readily-available ingredients, the home chef can whip up an enviable batch with both ease and only a modest investment in time.

Shucking An Oyster - VIDEO

Oysters are an acquired taste and are thought of as a regional treat, but they are both healthy for the environment as cleaners of the the bays in which they reside, and for consumption due to their high zinc and protein contributions.

Making Roast Turkey (or Chicken) Gravy - VIDEO

Besides the family stuffing, gravy seems to provoke the most debate, and have a certain family propriety to it.  Your gravy will conjure up memories of childhood Thanksgivings or other holidays, and strange gravy will fall flat on your memory banks.

Thick or thin? Giblets or smooth? Salty or bland?  Each family seems to have a tradition.  But gravy, while a simple concept, is not so simple in execution.  Remember those lumpy, starchy gravies of youth (maybe even of today)?  Gravy is more than a mixture of stock and thickener.  It is the unifying element on the plate, the sauce in which all the important meal elements swim.  Isn't it worth a little effort?

Making Butter At Home. Good Stuff - VIDEO

Making butter at home is both simple and delicious with the right ingredients, tools, and technique.

Butter is simply the liberated fat from cream, which is generally stored in the emulsion that is cream.  The trick is to use agitation to combine the tiny fat globules into a growing mass until all the fat is liberated from the solution.  Chemistry.