First Timers Cookbook

Check out some of the new pages at:

http://www.ifood.tv/the-first-timers-cookbook

or

http://www.ifood.tv/chefshawnb

Although this term is not really used anymore, the idea is still cool.

“Loaf Cake Recipe”

For a good Loaf Cake Recipe we look to the classic pound cake.  Why is it called a pound cake?  Simple, it contains a pound of butter.  So its not a low calorie, no sugar option, but a good loaf cake recipe it is.

Most loaf cake recipes will call for the creaming method of whipping together the ingredients.  For this loaf cake recipe we decided to do a combination of creaming and then folding to inhibit the gluten development so that this loaf cake recipe would rise a little higher and have a little more tender texture.

Here is the basic loaf cake recipe:

 Pound Cake     (Basic loaf cake recipe)                                               

Serving Size: one 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan                                                                                           

Volume                  Weight                   Ingredient

3              each                                       Large eggs

3              Tsp                                         Milk

1              tsp                                           Vanilla extract

1½          cups                                       Cake flour

1              tsp                                           Baking powder

¼             tsp                                           Salt

¾             cup                                         Granulated white sugar or ½ cup Agave Nectar

1              Pound                                    Unsalted Butter – Room temp

PROCEDURE:

1. Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees.
2. In one bowl combine Cake Flour, Baking Powder, Sugar and Salt and mix until consistent throughout.
3. In a separate bowl, combine Eggs, Milk and Vanilla and mix until consistent throughout.
4. In a separate bowl, mix butter with a hand mixer or stand mixer until soft and smooth (about 2 minutes).
5. Combine liquid ingredients and butter together and mix until consistent throughout. 
6. Add one half of dry ingredients to butter and liquid mix.  Slowly fold together.
7. Add other half of dry ingredients and fold together until consistent throughout.
8. Spray a loaf pan with plenty of oil and place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom.
9. Place batter into loaf pan and smooth until mixture is level.
10. Place into the oven on the center rack.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Check to see if done with a toothpick before removing from oven.
11. Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes before serving.

Want to try a variation to the basic loaf cake recipe?  In this one we added Orange zest or Orange extract (if using extract only use 2 teaspoons instead of Tablespoons).

Orange Pound Cake                                                    

Serving Size: one 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan                                                                                           

Volume                  Weight                   Ingredient

3              each                                       Large eggs

3              Tsp                                         Milk

1              tsp                                           Vanilla extract

1½          cups                                       Cake flour

1              tsp                                           Baking powder

¼             tsp                                           Salt

¾             cup                                         Granulated white sugar or ½ cup Agave Nectar

1              Pound                                    Unsalted Butter – Room temp

2              Tsp                                         Orange Zest

PROCEDURE:

1. Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees.
2. In one bowl combine Cake Flour, Baking Powder, Sugar and Salt and mix until consistent throughout.
3. In a separate bowl, combine Eggs, Milk, Orange Zest and Vanilla and mix until consistent throughout.
4. In a separate bowl, mix butter with a hand mixer or stand mixer until soft and smooth (about 2 minutes).
5. Combine liquid ingredients and butter together and mix until consistent throughout. 
6. Add one half of dry ingredients to butter and liquid mix.  Slowly fold together.
7. Add other half of dry ingredients and fold together until consistent throughout.
8. Spray a loaf pan with plenty of oil and place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom.
9. Place batter into loaf pan and smooth until mixture is level.
10. Place into the oven on the center rack.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Check to see if done with a toothpick before removing from oven.
11. Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes before serving.

To make a this an even more unique loaf cake recipe we will top it with a Cranberry Reduction and Cinnamon Whipped Cream (recipes below).  Not only is this a great loaf cake recipe, but this is a great holiday loaf cake recipe.

Cranberry Reduction                                                    

Serving Size: 1 cup                                                                                        

Volume                                                                  Ingredient

One 64oz Container                                           Cranberry Juice

PROCEDURE: 

Pour cranberry juice into large saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat. Simmer for 1 hour or until reduced to syrup consistency.

This whipped cream recipe goes well with most anything, especially any loaf cake recipe.  So regardless of if its an orange loaf cake recipe, lemon loaf cake recipe or just a plain old loaf cake recipe, top it with this and you’re sure to please. 

Cinnamon Whipped Cream                                                  

Serving Size: 4 cups                                                                                         

Volume                  Ingredient

2 cups                    Cold Heavy Whipping Cream

3 Tsp                      Sugar

2 tsp                       Vanilla extract

2 tsp                       Cinnamon

PROCEDURE:

Combine all ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl and mix on high for approximately 2 to 3 minutes or until it reaches your desired thickness.

This orange loaf cake recipe was featured in the Salt Lake Tribune on November 30, 2011, check it out right here!

So if you want to check out more about a loaf cake recipe stay tuned for the First Timer’s Bakebook!

But if you’re looking to find out more about cooking and less about a loaf cake recipe, check out the First Timer’s Cookbook here!

By Invitation Only

In Salt Lake City we have a little thing called By Invitation Only.  Started by Justin Kinnaird back in 2010, it has become Utah’s premier underground dining event.

I was asked to be the guest Chef for the October 2011 event.  A special thanks to Justin for putting this together, Karl, Dominic, Lee, Washington and my lovely wife for helping out in the kitchen. Photos are courtesy of Carrie Butler, check out her stuff at http://www.carriebutlerphotography.com

The Menu (a mix of Halloween and Fall flavors)

Appetizer

Smoked Deviled Eggs with Caviar

Truffle Salted Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Soup

Creamy Butternut Sqaush Shooters

Salad

Hoilday Caprese Salad

Entree

Tender Roast Beef with Wild Mushroom Demi-Glace, Maryland Crab Cakes with Spicy Red Pepper Remoulade Sauce served with Tri-colored Potato Stacks and steamed Baby Carrots and Spinach  

Dessert

Homemade Vanilla Ice with Chocolate Dirt and Raspberry sauce

KSL News was there to cover the event.  Check it out right here!

“Learn to cook online”

Have you ever wanted to learn to cook online?  Well here you go!

Years ago you would have only a few options in learning how to cook. . . But now, with the advent of technology, you can learn to cook online!

You may have wanted to learn to cook for a while now, so what has been holding you back?

Learn to cook online – Advantage #1 – Do it on your time!

If you choose to learn to cook online you can do it when you can do it, not when certain classes are scheduled.  

Imagine, what if you feel like learning about sauces at 3:00am or about how to break down a chicken at 10 o’clock on Sunday night, by choosing to learn how to cook online you now have that choice!

Learn to cook online – Advantage #2 – Do it affordably!

When you take a regular cooking class you will pay anywhere from $10 to $1,000! Of course, when you learn to cook online you can take 4 classes a month for less than $20!

Have you ever looked into going to a actual culinary school?  Here’s some notable schools that are nice (that don’t allow you to learn to cook online), but not cheap.

Learn to cook online – Advantage #3 – Do it over and over again!

What happens in a traditional cooking class when you miss something?  Maybe you didn’t quite grasp everything that the instructor said because maybe they went too fast or you had to leave the room to take a phone call or rush to the restroom.  Do they start the class over gain, or wait for you.  Nope.  When you learn to cook online you can pause, rewind, fast forward or even skip the whole section if you want.

Learn to cook online – Advantage #4 – Stay Home!

Instead of having to travel to and from the class, dealing with traffic, classes starting late, classes taking lots longer than you expected and everything else that goes along with having to take cooking classes somewhere else. 

Want to cook right alongside the instructor, do it!  Want to just watch?  Do that!  Want to cook by yourself, or with your friends? Its your choice when you’re on your turf.

Learn to cook online – Advantage #5 – Just do it!

You may have said that you are going to learn how to cook for a long time now.  Well what’s stopping you?  Not having the time, the money, having to find out where classes are taught, scheduling the time, and actually taking the class . . . exhausting.    

So what are you waiting for?  Learn to cook online . . . It’s easier, cheaper, faster and you can do it on your own time.

Ready to start?  Click here and Learn to cook online!

Want to check out the just the book and/or the DVD?  Click Right here!

“Online Cooking Classes”

What are the advantages to taking online cooking classes? Well for one, you can take them anytime-anywhere you have an internet connection. Plus, maybe you’re the type of person that doesn’t like to ask questions in front of other people. Or maybe you don’t like to be around other people when you cook, if so then it looks like online cooking classes are the answer for you.

Why weren’t online cooking classes around when I got started?

If there was such a thing as online cooking classes when I got started in this business it sure would have made things a lot easier for me. Instead of online cooking classes I had the old traditional way of learning, being thrown to the wolves.
At the school I went to we didn’t have the luxury of going at our own pace like you do with online cooking classes. Instead we got there at 6 or 7 in the morning and did whatever we needed to do to get lunch out by 10:30 for all the students, faculty and staff at the school. So one day I might be doing breads, the next I might be doing salads and the next doing hot food. In a circumstance like that I didn’t have time to stop and ask questions of my instructor, a lot of times I just had to figure it out on my own. Then if it wasn’t right, I had to learn from my mistake and do it right the next time.
In a setting like that it is very bittersweet. In online cooking classes I could stop, pause, rewind and reread anything I want. In a professional kitchen you sometimes feel like you so little time you can barely even breathe. But, you learn a lot by just getting out and doing it too, maybe even more than just watching it.
The good thing about these online cooking classes is that the information can be taken at your own pace and repeated as many times as you want.

Are the online cooking classes going too fast? Pause and rewind.

Are the online cooking classes covering a topic you’re not all that interested in? Skip it, or simply fast forward.

The nice thing about these online cooking classes its totally up to you. Plus, you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home/office/bed. . .Wherever you decide to take them!

So get into the online cooking classes now!

Ready to get started with your online cooking classes? Click here!

Ocean Spray Recipe Contest 2011

For those who don’t know, I was a finalist in the 2011 Ocean Spray Cranberry Recipe Contest.  The contest was held for foodservice professionals (chefs, etc) and had over 300 entries from across the nation.  I created a Holiday Caprese Salad recipe and was one of the final 4 contestants from across the nation to be named as a finalist.  As a finalist, Ocean Spray sent us out to Boston to compete and enjoy a weekend on them.  So although I didn’t win the $10,000 grand prize, I’ll take a $3000 trip as a constalation prize. . . especially for a recipe that only took me 1 hour to put together.

Here is the recipe . . .

“Agave Sugar”

Years ago, when you wanted to sweeten something you probably turned to good old sugar.  Today there are so many different sweeteners (including agave sugar) out there it’s hard to tell which one is the best option.

One Way Different Sweeteners are Ranked

In recent years the science of the Glycemic Index has been the basis for different diet crazes although those who have diabetes have known this science for years because of their need to monitor blood glucose levels closely.

The Glycemic Index ranks carbohydrates according to their effect on your blood glucose levels.   You see your body performs best when your blood sugar are at a constant flow. If your blood sugar drops too low, you become tired and lethargic and usually hungry. If your blood sugar goes too high then your brain signals your pancreas to secrete more insulin which brings your blood sugar back down, usually by converting the excess of sugar to stored fat.  That is why this has become such a big thing in the dieting world.

When you eat foods that cause a quick glycemic response (simple carbs like white bread, doughnuts, most pastas, white rice, etc.) you may feel great at first because your energy and mood increase as your blood sugar rises, but it’s short lived because it is usually followed by an increase in fat storage, lethargy, and then to top it all off you even get hungry again.

Sweeteners fall into different categories on the Glycemic Index-High and Low respectively.  Usually anything below 50 on the Glycemic Index is considered to be in the low category and everything above 50 and above is in the High category.  Diabetics and dieters alike watch what they eat because they know that food in the High category will spike their insulin levels, whereas sweeteners in the low category will not.

Agave Sugar is low glycemic and one of those sweeteners which will not spike insulin levels.     

Agave Sugar

You may have heard Oprah, Dr. Oz or other celebrities and experts talk about Agave sugar and the benefits of it.  Agave sugar has been around for a while although it has come to the forefront lately because of its recent celebrity endorsements.

How We Get Agave Sugar

The agave plants takes about 7 to 8 years to mature.  The two types, Blue Agave (Agave Tequiliana) and White Agave (Agave Salmiana) are similar plants but processed very differently. 

When Blue Agave matures the leaves are cut off, revealing the core of the plant or “pina” of the plant.

To make the blue agave sugar, the pina is ground-up and the sap is extracted, filtered, and heated at low temperatures.   Blue Agave sugar usually has a honey or molasses like flavor because of this cooking process.

White Agave on the other hand grows a large flower from the center of the plant called the Quiote.  This Quiote is cut off right before the plant fully matures creating a pool of liquid in the center of the plant called the “Aguamiel” or the juice (not sap) the plant feeds the Quiote.  The plant is then milked twice daily as the Aguamiel collects, thus giving us the White Agave Sugar.

Agave Sugar vs. Regular Sugar – Less Calories

Agave sugar is sweeter than regular sugar which means that you can use less of it and get the same effect.  Usually if you were going to use 1 cup of sugar, you would only have to use ½ to 2/3 cup of agave sugar.  Therefore saving you around 250+ calories. 

Blue Agave Sugar vs. White Agave Sugar

Taste

Most varieties of agave sugar are made from the Blue Agave, which makes it hard to substitute in most recipes that call for regular white sugar because of the darker sugar taste that most agave sugar has.

That is why agave sugar made with the white agave sugar is the best alternative taste wise.

Fiber

White agave sugar also has additional health benefits that blue agave sugar lacks also.  When the blue agave sugar is cooked it loses the natural fiber-Inulin.  This pre-biotic fiber-Inulin acts a lot like the digestive enzymes in yogurt that actually aid in the digestion process. What the white agave sugar has that blue agave sugar doesn’t (after it is cooked anyway) is the Inulin that is lost in the cooking process.  The Inulin is added to the white agave sugar, thus giving it another advantage over the blue agave sugar.

Where to Find Agave Sugar

You can find agave sugar most places nowadays.  What used to be just a specialty item is quickly becoming a main stream staple.  Local grocery stores, depending on where you live, will generally carry at least one brand of Blue Agave Sugar, but unless you live in Utah or the neighboring area you may not be able to readily find the White Agave Sugar.  The company Xagave produces the White Agave Sugar with the added Inulin.  If you would like to try it go to their website and use the promo code “BUCHER” to get a 20% discount.

Want to learn more about Agave Sugar?  Check out the online Cooking program here!

Get the First Timer’s Cookbook, DVD or Both Right Here!

“Recipes for Cooked Chicken”

Do you need some recipes for cooked chicken?  Try these recipes for cooked chicken on for size…

For those of you who maybe unfamiliar with what I’m talking about, here is a quick update.  As our world gets busier and technology advances, we see a lot more convenience items in stores;  Everything from “Hotpockets” and premade dinners to items such as pre-cooked chicken, beef, pork or even cooked salmon in a can.

These items aren’t necessarily bad (although they are usually loaded with some sort of sodium product to act as a preservative and a flavor enhancer), but are definitely very convenient.

So for those of you who have wanted to try some recipes for cooked chicken, but didn’t necessarily know where to start, here is a good spot.

In general you will use the recipes for cooked chicken just like you will use a regular recipe with raw chicken in it, only you will be able to speed up the process as well as lessening the chance of salmonella poisoning since the raw chicken is now cooked.

Two birds, one stone.

So now that we are all up to speed on our recipes for cooked chicken, here they are:

• Thai Chicken Nachos
• Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
• Chicken and Rice Casserole
• Chicken Thai Fried Rice
• Five Spice Sweet and Sour Chicken
• Southwest Chicken Salad

Here are a few recipes for cooked chicken that you can get started with.  Like we said before you can basically substitute cooked chicken in any raw chicken dish, just cook it for less time, or heat it up separately and add it at the end of your cooking time.

Recipes for cooked chicken, fast, easy and a healthy and money saving alternative to eating out.    

Want to learn more?  Join our online Cooking Program today!

Check out our Online Cooking Program here!

Get the First Timer’s Cookbook, DVD or Both right here!