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| Recipes | Chef's Pantries | Shop for Food & Ingredients | Food Blog |
Cornmeal or Polenta? The Flour of Corn I have always heard that Italians use the word polenta to describe both the ground corn (a.k.a. cornmeal) and the delicious cooked porridge made with cornmeal. When I decided to consult my Dizionario Garzanti, I found polenta defined as a “food made with farina di granturco,” i.e. cornmeal, or literally, “flour of corn.” In most cases, products called cornmeal or polenta can be used interchangeably, but some American cooks find that the cornmeal available in supermarkets is ground too finely for a successful polenta, while they dislike the coarser texture of traditional polenta in baking. Thank goodness ChefShop.com offers both: coarse and fine, both organic, for all your cornmeal – or polenta - recipes. My love affair with cornmeal began with corn muffins. I grew up in Rhode Island, and in New England, corn muffins are available in every bakery and in every supermarket, and they’re on many restaurant breakfast menus. You order them “toasted” - aka slapped on the short-order grill and slathered with butter. When I moved to Seattle, I experienced many food-related shocks: no decent bagels; yellowish potato salad pre-packaged in little plastic tubs; no iced coffee (really) and no corn muffins. Thank goodness I had my Fannie Farmer along and was able to bake my own. Corn Meal Happily, I’ve passed on my love of corn muffins to my daughter. I’ll often drop a dollop of honey or jam into the middle of each one before baking, but my favorite addition is a really wonderful fruit preserve – try marmalade if your a fan like me – but kids are more likely to enjoy strawberry or blueberry jam. Raisins, dried or fresh chopped cranberries, pecans and fresh blueberries all taste really good and add pleasing texture. Molasses and cornmeal is a classic pairing, particularly delicious in Indian Pudding, that uniquely New England treat. My dad was a huge fan, and though I usually prefer a chocolate dessert, I still think a bowl of warm Indian Pudding topped with vanilla ice cream is simply wonderful: homey and satisfying, and even relatively healthy. Until I made a batch for this article, I hadn’t tasted Indian Pudding in years. Another famous New England pairing of cornmeal and molasses is Boston Brown Bread, a dense, moist, sweet bread that steams slowly in the oven. It’s almost sweet enough for dessert, perhaps topped with hard sauce, but spread with cream cheese it makes a very satisfying breakfast loaf, with enough fiber to keep you satisfied throughout the morning. Moving from sweet corn muffins towards the savory side of the spectrum leads to cornbread, often served with stews or chilies or as a stuffing for turkey. There are many, many variations of savory cornbread, some with traditional Thanksgiving herbs like sage and thyme, and others made with cheese, chilies and other Southwestern flavors. Polenta When Italian “fine dining” arrived in Seattle in the 1980's, polenta arrived with it, and I fell in love all over again. (I must digress to say that when I was a kid, Italian food meant spaghetti and meatballs eaten in a red vinyl booth while wearing a lobster bib.) Now that my tastes are a bit more sophisticated – even though polenta is traditionally a peasant dish, it’s been very successfully adopted in upscale restaurants – I know that there’s nothing more delicious than hot, creamy yellow polenta topped with sautéed greens, or served alongside chicken braised in a vinegar-spiked tomato sauce, or even plain. Polenta takes very well to the addition of butter and cheese (gorgonzola is my favorite), and even minimal amounts of both will still add heaps of flavor. The choice between a coarse or fine grind is largely one of personal taste. Recently, I’ve become enamored of the fine; it’s definitely the better choice for coating chicken and fish, and I now prefer it for making polenta. I’ll cook extra for dinner and set some aside before adding savory ingredients or sauces, and then in the morning, I’ll enjoy the plain polenta, topped with brown sugar or maple syrup and sprinkled with toasted pecans – heaven! - A tavola! by Ann E. Shop now for Polenta aka Cornmeal! |
Grilled Mustard Chicken with Fresh Corn Polenta Recipe If you love the taste of onion and mustard, then this is the grilled chicken for you. Easy to do, and so tasty. The creamy polenta creates a nice, creamy bed to the chicken, and a wonderful way to both use up left-over corn-on-the-cob, and soak up the wonderfully mustardy juices of the chicken. Frozen corn is perfect most of the year. Click here to see the Grilled Mustard Chicken with Fresh Corn Polenta Recipe! |
Dijon Mustard from Edmond Fallot In 1634, out of concern for the quality of its mustard, the city of Dijon imposed the first statutes on the mustard-making trade. The 18th century discovery of verjuice - juice from grapes harvested in Burgundy - put the finishing touch of quality to this fine product. Adding verjuice to the brown mustard seed and grinding the mixture using traditional grindstones - so as not to damage the heat-sensitive paste - helped to earn DIJON MUSTARD a worldwide reputation for quality. Shop now for Fallot Dijon Mustard! |
Sale Alle Erbe Italian Herbed Sea Salt Open a jar and smell the salt! It is not at all what you would expect! The smell is a wonderful food for your nose! It is quite remarkable as you can smell three distinct notes. Like a wave, the fresh rosemary rises up and curls over revealing the sage and garlic. Take a “pinch” to taste in your mouth. Let the salt melt away with the sage, rosemary and then time allows all the flavors to come through and linger as you suck your cheeks in. It might not be spoon ready, but for sure it is pinch ready! This salt, from award winning wine maker Vignalta, uses all fresh rosemary, sage and garlic, that is then ground together with the Sicilian sea salt. This embeds the herbs into each grain of salt giving you excellent flavor and allowing you to salt like you normally would. Those that have used this salt swear by it. This salt mix imparts its flavors on a baked chicken nicely. Use lightly with a pristine rockfish or simply toss on your next baked potato. It’s easy. Shop now for Vignalta Sale Alle Erbe! |
Semi-dried Seedless Tamarind A compressed block of dried, de-seeded Tamarind pulp. Tamarind is the primary souring agent in Thai cuisine; it adds a fruity tanginess to soups, salads, stir-fries and salads. Although fresh tamarind is easy to find in the tropics, outside of Southeast Asia, a block dried tamarind is hard to find here. How to use dried tamarind: Break off a lump from the block and soak in warm water for a few minutes until softened. Work the pulp with your fingers to loosen the pulp from the fibers and seeds, if there are any. As a rough guide, use about 3 tablespoons of seedless tamarind pulp to about a cup of water. Double the quantity of pulp if it contains seeds, as well. You don't have to be too concerned about precision here as you can adjust the amount of tamarind used in a dish to taste. Squeeze the mass with your hands over a clean bowl to extract the pulp. Discard the fibers and seeds. Wrap the rest of the block tightly in plastic wrap, and store in the fridge. Shop now for Semi-dried Seedless Tamarind! |
Saf-Instant GOLD Instant Yeast Alternative to dry active yeast. No need to adjust the amount, just substitute one for one. No need to pre-activate in water. Just add directly to the mixture at the beginning of the process. Gold formulated instant yeast is used primarily for making sweet breads and other dough that has a lot of sugar. Sweet breads are notoriously slow to rise due to the fact that the sugar in the dough is absorbing much of the available water and not leaving enough for the yeast. The Saf-Instant Gold yeast is formulated to combat that problem, and results in a shorter rising time for sweet breads. This single-celled fungus is what makes dough rise. It consumes sugar and excretes carbon dioxide gas, which is a good thing, creating air bubbles. These bubbles make the bread rise. The number one yeast developed by a French company and used by bakers all over the world. Store in the freezer, no need to thaw before using. Shop now for Saf-Instant GOLD Instant Yeast! |
Swedish Fish Kolsvart Gaddam These are literally fish from Sweden. Of the candy type. They are delicious by the way. The faves? Elderflower, Sour Raspberry, Cold Smoked Salty Licorice! Really, it's a fun bag of fun! And good eatin' too, if you like candy.... Shop now for Swedish Fish and Pastiles! |
Indian Cabbage Side Dish Herbivoracious Video Recipe Easy, super quick, tasty side dish. Check out the Indian Cabbage Side Dish Video Recipe! |
Black Mustard Whole Seeds The little black seeds (Brassica nigra) are hard when you roll them around with your fingertips and in your mouth. When you bite they collapse like a hollow basketball or ping pong ball. Each seed varies in intensity of flavor with the tip of the tongue telling you ‘mustard’. These tiny little black seeds pack a punch. Black is not nearly as bitter as white/yellow and brown seeds and is more earthy in flavor. Once the most popular mustard seeds, Brassica nigra must be hand harvested because the pods fall off when they are ripe. Yellow and brown can be harvested mechanically and are more readily available. The enzyme myrosin is what gives mustard its mustard flavor and it is “excited” by the submersing of the seeds in a water-based liquid. Using wine, beer, vinegar or even soy sauce can make unique and exciting mustard's. Keep in mind that you can justify eating a ton of mustard for it has a long list of possible positive side effects. Including heal and “fix” conditions like eliminating intestinal parasites, bronchial issues, flatulence, bladder issues and soaking your feet in a bath to promote circulation. Make your own beer mustard, or fry them in a little oil and add to a sauce. These little guys pack a flavorful punch! And they are the first ingredient in Michael's Indian Cabbage Recipe. Shop now for Organic Black Mustard Seeds |
Cumin Whole Seeds Whole cumin was grown in the fertile valleys to the west of Marrakech, between Chichaoua and Essaouira on the Atlantic Coast, and it is some of the most flavorful cumin in the world. It has a spicy-sweet aroma, and a pungent, powerful, sharp flavor with a slightly bitter finish. Along with coriander and anise, cumin is one of the most essential spices in the Moroccan kitchen. An ingredient for the Indian Cabbage Video Recipe. Shop now for Whole Cumin Seeds! |
Turmeric Organic & Ground Tur•mer•ic is one amazing aromatic perennial herb of the Zingiberaceae or ginger family. This tuberous rhizome (root), a flowering plant that grows in tropical locales, is most often ground fresh like wasabi, or boiled, dried, and ground to make a powder. Once upon a time it was called Indian Saffron (in fact it is still used to dye impostor saffron) for its deep orange color. It is also known for its powerful health benefits that Indian Ayurvedic medicine and Chinese medicine have been using for 4000 years to reduce inflammation, help with toothaches, and jaundice. Perhaps the true route to its success is how it helps with flatulence and digestive issues. Like a high-quality fresh olive oil, turmeric is showing that it might also be a fighter of Alzheimer's and diabetes. (Caution for diabetics as it can thin blood, always ask your doctor). Curcumin is the active ingredient in turmeric, and it is curcumin that is believed to destroy mutated cells associated with prostate, breast, and colon cancers. But it’s not just these reasons to have turmeric in your cupboard. It should be in your food for its palette enhancing, pleasing bold color. And it's not just palette pleasing, it is also palate perfect for your lentils, to sprinkle on veggies, or used to brighten your eggs up. Simply add it to your favorite dishes like Moroccan Fried Rice or Singapore noodles. It seems that turmeric is a good “preventive” food, enhancing dishes and in turn, your body! Turmeric is a member of the Ginger family. Though it is also used in the Caribbean, Africa and Asia, it is cultivated and eaten most frequently in India. Turmeric is peppery, woody, warm and musky with a pleasantly bitter aftertaste. It is at once peppery and citrusy, with a hint of the ginger root it resembles. Curries, pickles, pilaus and spice mixtures would be absolutely bereft without the color and flavor of turmeric. Its very mild taste lends itself well to rice, vegetable and pulse dishes. An ingredient for the Indian Cabbage Video Recipe. Shop now for Organic Ground Turmeric! |
Cocoa Powder! shipment arriving now Best Cocoa on the Planet! "I have been using this exclusively for years now. I have a 'secret' brownie recipe that I make with this cocoa, syrup made from the cocoa and only the best ingredients. Everyone goes ga-ga over them. Syrup - so easy to make - anything that calls for cocoa I use this. Sometimes I mix just a touch into my coffee from a treat. If you have not tried this yet you need to. You WILL NOT be disappointed!!!" -- ellie mae Shop now for ChefShop Cocoa Powder! |
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We are shipping as normal. We are having unexpected outages and addressing them as they come up. Good news in that we did receive a shipment of Pistachio Crema from Sicily. We won't mention it anywhere else as the supply is limited. | |
Last Week's #1 Seller! Double Zero Pizza Flour! 11-13 % dry gluten content and designed for high-temperature pizza ovens and fast fermentation times. Super soft flour is the tradition in Naples, Italy - the land of pizza and pasta. Caputo "00" Pizza Flour is finely ground from the finest European winter wheat, which means a softer texture and smooth mouth-feel. It's easy to work and produces a beautiful crumb and a superior crust. Besides the level of the grind, the biggest difference between all-purpose flour and "00" flour is how the gluten behaves. Gluten from durum wheat tends to be strong but not as elastic, while the gluten in red wheat is both strong and elastic. This means with durum wheat flour, you'll get a nice bite on your breads and pasta, but not as much chew and the dough spreads without bouncing back as much. Let's face it, making pizza right now seems just about right. And topping it with whatever you might have in the cupboard and the fridge! Harissa instead of classic tomato sauce or use the Bona Fortuna tomato sauce. And don't hesitate to open that errant can of pineapple to pop-on top. No one will see you.... Shop now for Caputo 00 Pizza Flour! 
Cooking Classes for 2020
We will have classes again. If you have signed up for a class it is still good for any class of your choice when we do start them up again. So no worries. ChefShop Cooking Class
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Store Hours - Monday Thru Saturday! Monday thru Saturday 10AM to 5PM. ChefShop.com 1425 Elliott Ave W Seattle, Wa 98119 206-286-9988 Our bigger parking lot is north of the shop and next door (south of) Champions Party Supply. Easy to reach and wide open parking lot. Click here to see the map. |
| This Week's Recipes |
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Apple, Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onion Pizza Topping Recipe This is a rich topping to a pizza. The amount will top a 12-inch pizza easily. The flavor is a perfect combination of sweetness and richness. Basic Polenta Recipe It takes time and attention to make it right. It is a recipe that reminds you that food is more than just eating, it is a process that makes you whole, inside and out. Time does not equal difficulty or skill. Make your Polenta right and you will be a hero, a superstar. All it takes is time and a little concentration. I find if you solve the world's problems whilst you stir, the results are better. It can take 45 to 60 minutes to make. And it should, as longer is better. This is basic. From here experimentation will help you get to the perfect consistency you need for the dish you are making. Sweet Pea and Feta Dip Starter Recipe Michael Symon prepared this dip at the Aspen Food and Wine Classic. With some fresh, summer farmer's market peas and fabulous extra virgin olive oil, what could be better! |
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