Martha's Favs Mondays: The Martha Stewart Show

Last and finally...I can't leave out Martha, the domestic queen, on the list of cooking shows I watch! I must admit though that I watched her more when I was doing wedding planning - a lot of her craft ideas were useful. Nowadays, what keeps me interested is when chefs go on the show to cook their yummy recipes or when she eats her way around the city. I found her latest Brooklyn episode especially fascinating because it featured local ingredients and restaurants that support them.

Image from MarthaStewart.com

I'm always amused to see celebrities who can't cook...aren't I mean! I'm no worse than Martha Stewart though - she can definitely intimidate her guests who don't cook since she's so fast to correct them. What's important though is that her recipes are always dependable, unlike those from the Food Network.

Martha's Favs Monday: So Good ("蘇Good")

So Good ("蘇Good") is a cooking show in Hong Kong where So (蘇) gets to the bottom of every day Chinese recipes with a bit of scientific explanation and visits the local producers behind the star ingredients. She also has ordinary housewives make their own versions of their recipes and critiques them - in an effort to help them become better cooks of course.

So (蘇), a former radio show host, has got quite a mouth. Whatever comes out of her mouth is quite entertaining. That aside, I have learned so much from her in just a few episodes - the production and variety of traditional Chinese ingredients and how to cook them. Unfortunately, episodes from this show only streams within Hong Kong on the internet. :-(

Martha's Favs Mondays: Colameco's Food Show

Colameco's Food Show on public television is the most organic show I watch. It's not a big time show that features a popular personality, not that Mike Colameco isn't a man to be liked. Colameco had a career as a professionally trained chef. On his show, he goes around to restaurants mostly in NYC to feature the talents and (to feast on) their cooking. The photo below is an unusually stylized photo of Colameco, who is very casual in his appearance and in cooking.


The most appealing qualities of his show for me are that his visits are primarily based in NYC and he supports restaurants where the chefs actually cook in the kitchen. Most importantly, he's straight forward and honest - just my type of guy!

Martha's Favs Mondays: No Reservations

Anthony Bourdain's brutal honesty and cynicism just kills me on No Reservations. Bourdain travels around the world on an entertaining culinary adventure, attached with his classic dark humor. And did I mention his constant drinking and smoking (very bad on TV of course)?

Image from Travel Channel

Bourdain's charming qualities aside, his show is effective in capturing the local culture - real people and authentic food - in his travels. I especially appreciated his visit to Hong Kong. Even I learned a thing or two from his trip there, with the more memorable being an old man practicing the dying art of making bamboo noodles that was passed down in his family. I tasted those hand made noodles myself while I was in Hong Kong last year, and felt so much more connected to my roots.

His personality may get a bit depressing and annoying after a while (especially if you watch the No Reservations marathon), but I am willing to dig deeper into his humanity and his quest to uncover the different food and cultures out there.

Martha's Favs Mondays: America's Test Kitchen

If you want to make the perfect recipe, America's Test Kitchen is your answer. Christopher Kimball and his team put recipes to scientific tests so that your cooking comes out right every single time. You can't doubt science now, can you?


I especially love their equipment ratings - they do all the work in testing equipment so I don't end up spending money on losers. Their taste tests of ingredients are always interesting as well. Best of all, they test accessible ingredients that you can find in supermarkets. Given that they tape in Brookline, MA (husband's former home), it would have been cool to be a part of their consumer taste testers. Oh well.

Image from America's Test Kitchen

Martha's Favs Mondays: Barefoot Contessa

What appeals to me from Barefoot Contessa on Food Network is the homeyness and simple elegance in Ina Garten's cooking. She freely goes to her garden to cut flowers for her table and herbs for her recipes - how natural and homey does it get?



Ina's not afraid to puts twists in her menu where you least expect it. To top it off, she gives me hope in being a good cook because she shows that you don't have to have professional training to do what she does. And how cute are Ina and Jeffrey together? I wish my husband and I will be as lovey dovey many years down the road.

Image from Food Network

Martha's Favs Mondays: Food/Cooking Shows Edition

We're moving onto Food Shows from Kitchen Tools & Equipment on Martha's Favs Mondays! I have lots of equipment I haven't busted out yet. While I would love to put them to work and write about them, I won't be able to do so because we haven't moved into our new house. I have no choice but to interrupt "Martha's Favs Mondays: Kitchen Tools & Equipment," a series I started 2 months ago. I will be sure to pick up on where I left off when I'm settled in our new home. For now, I will be moving onto "Martha's Favs Mondays: Food/Cooking Shows Edition," where I cover the irresistible food/cooking shows I watch. Iron Chef kicks off the first of this series.

There are tons of food/cooking shows on TV these days. Some of them have substance, while others are just made to look pretty to sell the cook's personality or image more than anything. I, of course, stick to those with substance. So, why do I love Iron Chef?

Image from Fine Living Network

My love for food/cooking shows started with this classic Japanese food competiti0n series. It was about 15 years ago that I woke up early each morning during my summer school breaks to watch this show air on public television. The show was like nothing I had ever seen before: local Japanese and foreign chefs pick a competitor from their choice of four Iron Chefs, and battle within an hour with a secret ingredient chosen by the chairman. It opened my eyes to cooking by real chefs and the fabulous range of vocabulary used by the judges in critiquing the dishes.

I stumbled onto this show at first because it looked odd and unrealistic - from the over-dramatic feel of the show, the flamboyant outfits of the chairman, the orchestra that accompanied the introduction of Iron Chef Kobe (the "Prince of Pasta") and the "expert" panel of judges that included a fortune teller. The unrealistic elements were blended with the realistic, which included the exotic, fresh and surprising secret ingredients, the sweat and hard work put in by the chefs, the humorous Chen Kenichi, and the occasional grand battles in foreign countries. Somehow, the blend between fantasy and reality worked fabulously, and I was soon drawn in.

The new Iron Chef series, the one from America, is not as good as the classic Japanese version, but it will do for now. Thankfully, I can still watch the old episodes of the original Iron Chef on the Fine Living Network.

Martha's Favs Mondays: Chopsticks

I use chopsticks daily for dinner at home, but they aren't just for eating. I use them for cooking as well. Believe it or not, I've used them together with a giant spoon to toss pasta in a skillet. I also use them for flipping over Turkey Dumplings on a pan because they give me more control than a spatula. There are longer chopsticks, usually in wood, that are made especially for cooking and are perfect for frying as they lessen the chance of oil splattering on your skin.
As for applications other than cooking, I've used chopsticks for stirring (hot chocolate) and washing (cups, thermos) when my hand would not fit through the opening by using it to maneuver the sponge. Are you surprised at how many ways they can be used?


Image from Amazon.com

Martha's Favs Mondays: Vegetable Peeler

I love tools with multiple uses, and the vegetable peeler is one of them - it's not just for veggies! I use it to get peels off vegetables and fruits, and make thin strips of vegetable or cheese. I would slave over cutting carrots into thin strips for my Turkey Spring Rolls if it weren't for the vegetable peeler - it cut my time down by more than half.
The one I have is from Oxo. It totally sold me on its comfortable grip. Plus, if I remember correctly, it was highly rated by America's Test Kitchen, one of my favorite cooking shows.


Image from Amazon.com

Martha's Favs Mondays: Tongs

I have to say that tongs are the second most hard working tool in my kitchen (with the first being my silicone spatula). They're very useful for handling meat and for cooking pasta in a pan. For example, you can easily flip a piece of chicken breast in a pan with perfect control. You can also treat them as another pair of hands to keep your hands clean - use them to drench meat in flour & egg to create a coating or crust, and most importantly, use them to avoid cross contamination when dealing with raw meat. Here's another application I haven't tried but have seen on TV: use the handles for squeezing citrus.

Image from Amazon.com

The Oxo stainless steel tongs work perfectly for me. I have absolutely no complaints. However, I am looking to make another addition to the tongs family with a silicone head version that won't hurt my non-stick or stainless steel pans. Should I or shouldn't I?

Martha's Favs Mondays: Ice Cream Scoop

I love ice cream, so it only makes sense that I love ice cream scoops right? Actually, I eat right from the container with a spoon, which isn't too smart in terms of portions control. The ice cream scoop I love is also called a cookie scoop because of the tool's release function that can be used for ice cream, cookie dough, batter, etc. Not only is it easy to use, it also saves tons of time - no more making cookies using spoons!

The ice cream scoop is my latest acquisition. It had been on my wish list for the longest time, and now I have three in total, each in different sizes. I recently used my large scoop for waffle batter, and it worked perfectly. I am now totally in love with the tool!

Image from Amazon.com

The large scoop I used from Oxo worked like a dream. The sticky batter released easily in one quick motion, and the non-slip padding was so comfortable. I've tried handling other all-stainless steel scoops in the store and I wasn't crazy about their handles. I knew that if I had to make dozens of cookies with the scoop, I would definitely want a handle that is easy on my hand. So far so good!

Martha's Favs Mondays: Chinese Spider

Nope, not an insect, but the slotted utensil that can used for draining/scooping up deep fried items, dumplings, gnocchi, penne, etc. These days, there are many stainless steel tools that improved on the original Chinese version, which has a bamboo handle. Unlike their new stainless steel counterparts, the original version is much lighter but still very much sturdy at the same time.

Image from Amazon.com

Spider skimmers are not the easiest to clean because of their woven design. So mostly, I use it for non-greasy operations and wash quickly after use in hot water to prevent food from drying on its many crevices.

Martha's Favs Mondays: Immersion Blender Combo

This week, I share with you a fabulous 3-in-1 equipment, the hand blender and chopper. Having been a cook in several small apartments, this was really handy and space efficient. We bought this gadget about 5 years ago, when I convinced my husband (then boyfriend) that I needed a food processor in order to make delicious meals for him. I didn't want a big food processor because of space issues. Luckily, we found the Braun Hand Blender and Chopper that fit our criteria and at a reasonable price. The motor half of the gadget can be attached to a blender, whisk or chopper and simply detached for easy storage.

Image from Amazon.com

Ironically, I've used the immersion blender more than the chopper because I made so much soup for my husband while he was in Boston. Either way, it was the perfect investment. On top of that, its one speed setting makes it a no brainer gadget, which I love. I've made whipped cream with the whisk attachment (I didn't own a hand or stand mixer) and have made various salad dressings, sauces and dips with the chopper to cut and emulsify. The only problem I had was that it broke from overheating, but Braun sent us a new one and we've never had a problem since.

Even though there are all these other fancy looking stainless steel immersion blender combos out there now, I still like our plastic version better because I know the immersion blender attachment won't hurt my non-stick or stainless steel pots. It is a keeper!

Martha's Favs Mondays: Microplane

The second installment of "Martha's Favs Mondays," where I share the essential tools & equipments that I can't live without (or would like on my wish list), is the Microplane rasp grater. I used to use a vegetable peeler and a knife to zest fruits for cooking & baking before my Microplane days. Not anymore! It is such an energy and time saving tool to have in the kitchen. I've used it to make lemon ricotta pancakes, lapsong souchong tea rub, cranberry orange scones, broiled turbot fillet with bread crumbs, and the list goes on.

Image from Williams-Sonoma

The Microplane rasp was first developed as a woodworking tool, but is now mass marketed as a kitchen tool in all home stores. Their kitchen tool empire has grown from zesters, sea salt shaver, to all kinds of different graters. Although I am a Microplane fan, I don't have (and don't want) all of their tools. The only one I have is their rasp grater. I feel this is the only true one I will ever need. I've used it for zesting fruits, grating cheese and ginger root, and both applications work perfectly & beautifully. The other Microplane tool that I'm looking to add to my kitchen is their Box Grater...I just haven't decided between the Oxo or Microplane.

So contrary to what my husband may think, I don't want everything. Otherwise, I would collect all the Microplane tools (yes, even the ridiculous sea salt shaver)!

Martha's Favs Mondays: Silicone Spatula

Happy Monday!

I've been on the hunt for the ultimate kitchen tools & equipment for our new home. I have some essential ones already for compact living, but since we'll have more room for storage, I have been looking to expand my essentials collection so I can do some real (and time saving) baking and cooking. So I thought I would share the essential tools & equipments that I can't live without (or would like on my wish list) in a weekly feature called "Martha's Favs Mondays" on this first Monday of September. Silicone spatula kicks off this series.

Image from Williams-Sonoma

Silicone spatula is by far the busiest tool in my kitchen. I use it for both cooking and baking. I admit, I have reservations about using silicone even though it is heat resistant up to 450° F (some even over 800° F, as Williams-Sonoma claims for theirs) but I made an exception for the spatula because it is so useful for scraping my bowls/pans clean without scratching my non-stick and stainless steel pans. The paranoid part of myself will not use silicone for baking in the oven though. Hence, I've only used my Silpat, a silicone baking mat, once.

I have 2 spatulas - one for cooking and another for baking, so it would be impossible to transfer garlic flavors to my baked goods. I love using the spatula for making pasta sauces, sauteing onions & garlic and especially making scrambled eggs. For baking, I like how I can use it to scrap my bowls clean so only a minimal part of my mixture or cookie dough goes to waste. Here's what I look for in a silicone spatula:

• Long handle for cooking so you don't burn yourself while working on a hot pan and for baking so the spatula can reach into a deep 5qt mixing bowl

• A nice sturdy handle, which is why I prefer wood over plastic (on top of that, plastic may melt when in contact with the rim of a hot pan)
  

• Flexible (not flimsy) head for easy scraping - I would say that making scrambled eggs is the ultimate test
  

• Head features one curved side, like the WS ones, to scrape the often curved bottom of a bowl or pan

In terms of brands, I can't recommend one because I don't remember mine (our cooking spatula is more than 4 years old, bought from the now defunct Linens n'Things). I don't think you can go wrong if you look for those features I listed above. I know that the Rubbermaid recommended by America's Test Kitchen has a pretty hefty price tag for a spatula (about $11) and I have not given in (yet) since my existing cooking spatula is alive and well. I do, however, love the spatulas from Williams-Sonoma because they make the perfect gift as they can be engraved! I own a small one (not engraved) from WS for baking, and I have no complaints. Same goes for my full-sized Kitchenaid spatula for baking.