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Articles from Chef Todd Mohr | Selfgrowth.com
- Seafood Paella is a Quick Easy Dinner Made in One Pan - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrWhat is a quick easy dinner I can make in one pan? is a question most often asked of me. While I know the expected answer is a recipe, they’d be asking the wrong person for a recipe. I’ve been urging people to “Burn Your Recipes” through my online cooking classes and DVDs for years now, ...
Views: 742(19 votes) - Cooking With Steam and Gin Blossoms - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrI’ve said it before, “the Food Network is the MTV of cooking.” MTV used to play music, now they’re entertainment about music. Food Network is entertainment about food. They don’t teach anyone to cook. Last week, I was listening to my favorite band, The Gin Blossoms on my iPod while cooking ...
Views: 1315(8 votes) - Cake Mixing Like the Pros with the Two-Stage Method - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrCake mixing techniques are always more important than cake baking temperatures. I demonstrated this in an earlier blog by using a butter cake recipe to demonstrate the creaming method. This method combines butter and sugar to trap air, then uses egg yolks to form an emulsification. The ...
Views: 1825(1 vote) - Your Butter Cake Recipes Will Fail Without The Creaming Method - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrButter cake recipes will always be disappointing if you don’t use the correct mixing method. While most people blame the oven for cake faults, the problem is not in the baking. The most common cake faults stem from mistakes made during mixing. Mixing methods are the most important step in ...
Views: 3169(1 vote) - It’s Angel Food Cake Hell If You Mix It Wrong! - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrNo, you’re not. You’re not looking for another Angel Food Cake recipe. The recipe really doesn’t matter as much as the procedure. So, rather than look for a new written set of instructions, how about scrutinizing the steps that professionals take in creating this fat free dessert? When you ...
Views: 3473(1 vote) - Spritz Cookies – It’s All In The Bagging! - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrSpritz cookies are my favorite cookie at the holidays. I don’t make them any other time of the year, just as I don’t watch “A Christmas Carol” or “The Grinch” in July. These cookies bring back strong childhood memories for me, mostly of my Mom’s frustration with her antique cookie press. If ...
Views: 722(1 vote) - Roll Out Cookies For Santa The Right Way! - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrI’d be worried if I made cookies for Santa and he didn’t eat them. What would that mean? Was I too naughty this year for him to even take a bite? Or, is Santa expecting more from me than stale cookies from the store? Santa expects cookies from scratch and I’ve let him down in past years. ...
Views: 1341(1 vote) - The Number 1 Method for Great Cookies From Scratch - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrThe idea of great cookies from scratch is what brings people back to their kitchens this time of year. Even people that don’t bake for the other eleven months of the year, somehow find themselves back in the kitchen for holiday cookie time. Whether you have fond childhood memories of baking ...
Views: 714(2 votes) - Flaky Pie Crust or Mealy Pie Crust? Avoid Soggy Bottom Pies With The Right Choice. - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrChoosing a flaky pie crust or a mealy pie crust for you pie can mean the difference between pie pride and pie purgatory. It’s not that you need different recipes for the two types of pie crust, you just need to employ two different methods. Flaky pie crust will absorb more moisture than a ...
Views: 1045(1 vote) - This Strawberry Pie Recipe Is a Great Method for Any Other Fresh Fruit Pie. - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrThis Strawberry Pie Recipe Is a Great Method for Any Other Fresh Fruit Pie. Unlike canned fruit, fresh fruit does not come with extra liquid. However, we do need some liquid to use as a binder for our pie. If we just sliced strawberries, placed them on the right type of flakes pie crust, and ...
Views: 1071 - A Chef’s Potluck Party Tips to Make Them Jealous - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrA potluck party can be a food nightmare. As a professional Chef and caterer, few things offend my culinary senses more than the holiday potluck party. With hot items going cold, badly portioned and picked-through platters, nacho dip next to brownies, and unidentifiable entrees all sharing the ...
Views: 903(28 votes) - These Uses for Leftover Turkey Will Un-Clog Your Refrigerator - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrDo you start thinking about uses for leftover turkey as soon as the meal begins or does all that food just get loaded into your refrigerator? Since thanksgiving cooking planning starts at your desk and not your stove, you may not have any food remaining after the meal. To reduce wasted time, ...
Views: 1020(1 vote) - Salmon Gravlax Roses Make an Attractive Holiday Appetizer - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrGravlax Roses can make a simple and attractive holiday appetizer from dry-cured salmon. Whether you cure the salmon yourself, or just purchase it, my simple procedure can be the focus of a fancy appetizer selection that only you know was quite simple. To me, the definition of cooking is ...
Views: 1155(1 vote) - The Turkey Gravy Thickener that Grandma Ignored - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrMy Grandmother used cornstarch to make turkey gravy. My Mother inherited this procedure of dissolving cornstarch in water to thicken the drippings. Well, this generational laziness stops here! If your family is like mine, your elders will be sliding the roasting pan from the oven in a few ...
Views: 1209(1 vote) - Cook Green Beans in Advance and Keep Their Vitamins Intact - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrWhen you cook green beans this holiday season, will you open a can of condensed soup and let the beans bake for hours? Most people do. Baking vegetables over a long period of time reduces their nutrient value. Plus, if you are trying to have a stress-free holiday cooking experience, you’re ...
Views: 1562(1 vote) - Christmas Dinner Ideas Start with Appetizers Too Fancy For You. - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrChristmas dinner ideas come easy. Turkey, Ham, or Beef with potatoes and vegetables. However, how you START your meal can be a more perplexing problem. There are infinite choices of holiday appetizers to choose from. How do you find the right recipe? You don’t FIND the right recipe, you ...
Views: 1231(1 vote) - Christmas Dinner Ideas Start with Appetizers Too Fancy For You. - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrChristmas dinner ideas come easy. Turkey, Ham, or Beef with potatoes and vegetables. However, how you START your meal can be a more perplexing problem. There are infinite choices of holiday appetizers to choose from. How do you find the right recipe? You don’t FIND the right recipe, you ...
Views: 1041(1 vote) - Christmas Dinner Ideas Start with Appetizers Too Fancy For You. - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrChristmas dinner ideas come easy. Turkey, Ham, or Beef with potatoes and vegetables. However, how you START your meal can be a more perplexing problem. There are infinite choices of holiday appetizers to choose from. How do you find the right recipe? You don’t FIND the right recipe, you ...
Views: 1174(1 vote) - A Great Thanksgiving Appetizer Recipe by Burning Peppers? How? - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrA great Thanksgiving appetizer recipe can be the start of any reason to celebrate. Whether a holiday dinner, birthday, or weekend party, offering attractive and delicious yet simple appetizers can get any gathering off to a great start. Appetizers, or “hors d Oeuvres” are small bites of food ...
Views: 1230(1 vote) - Stuck for Christmas Dinner Ideas? Try Potatoes Anna - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrChristmas dinner ideas are harder to come by than any other holiday menu. Most people have deep traditions when it comes to their Thanksgiving table, but Christmas presents a great opportunity to try new things, new ideas for the coming new year. Let’s start with starch. Potatoes are high ...
Views: 1212(1 vote) - Thanksgiving Potatoes that Beat Boring Boiled or Mundane Mashed - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrThanksgiving potatoes are boring. If you’re serving the same mashed potatoes year-after-year, you know what I’m talking about. Do you have relatives that insist on the same old menu each holiday? Will Aunt Francis refuse to attend if you don’t serve the family mashed potato recipe? Face ...
Views: 1123 - Holiday Fun with Brown Sugar Ham Glaze and a Blowtorch - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrMaking your own brown sugar ham glaze is so simple that you won’t need to buy a commercially prepared sweet-baked ham this year. You can save money by buying, baking, and glazing your own ham this holiday season. Brining Turkey is Better Than Burning Down Your House was my advice for people ...
Views: 1201(1 vote) - Why Carve Turkey at the Table? Here’s Another Way. - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrIt’s turkey time! The bird is out of the oven and it’s time to carve turkey! Rather than trying to cut all the meat directly from the carcass at the table, consider creating an attractive platter behind the scenes this year. The turkey is fully roasted when my thermometer reads 165F (74C) ...
Views: 1048(1 vote) - Does Your Holiday Stuffing Recipe Have The Right Stuff? - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrI don’t think I’ve ever used a holiday stuffing recipe. That’s not to say I’ve never made a dressing for turkey, I’ve had to make it for 15,000 people! Imagine trying to follow a recipe for 15,000 people. Would it say “15,000 pinches of salt”? I’ve been urging people to “cook like a ...
Views: 1226(1 vote) - Brining Turkey is Better Than Burning Down Your House - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrBrining turkey is my favorite way to prepare my holiday turkey. People’s biggest fear is that their turkey will be dry after cooking it. This is a reasonable fear, because “roasting” is a dry-heat convective cooking process. When roasted, your turkey is cooked indirectly through the use of ...
Views: 1302(1 vote) - The Most Important Thanksgiving Cooking Tip of All - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrOf the many Thanksgiving cooking tips I can give you, this is perhaps the most important. It can be the difference between a triumphant meal and an undercooked case of food borne illness. I get many questions on email about correct roasting temperatures. “What temperature should my oven be ...
Views: 1128(1 vote) - Great Cooking Turkey Tips For Choosing Your Bird - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrI’ve got a lot of cooking turkey tips for you this year, but the very first must be choosing your bird. There are many different classifications and labels that are placed on Thanksgiving fowl, and it can be confusing knowing which type of poultry to purchase. A “Free Range” bird may not ...
Views: 1145(1 vote) - Why this Vegetable Lasagna Recipe Changes Everything. - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrA Vegetable Lasagna recipe is easy to find on the internet. Everyone will have you cooking dry sheets of pasta, letting them cool correctly, then wrestling with the limp, soggy, wet sheets to create a layered Italian dish. I’ve taken a long hard look at lasagnas and I think something ...
Views: 1239(1 vote) - Pumpkin Tarts Means Fall Food Starts! - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrPumpkin tarts are always the first thing I make when I have access to the fresh ingredients of Fall. I know it’s time to start enjoying Fall foods when the colorful assortment of squash come to my local farmers market. However, I see the wrinkled brow of concern and confusion on shoppers ...
Views: 1466(25 votes) - Does Your Grilling Marinade Have These 3 Simple Elements? - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrA grilling marinade is a very simple way to add flavor and moisture to grilled items. If you follow these basic rules, you’ll be able to create a long list of unique combinations of ingredients and invent your own grilling marinade. Any grilling marinade will be made of three basic ...
Views: 1135(1 vote) - Cooking Brown Rice Methods – Which do you choose? - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrWhen you’re cooking brown rice, does it come out mushy or lumpy? When you follow the brown rice instructions, do you get inconsistent results? Despite what everyone on the internet says, there is more than one way to achieve firm but fluffy results when cooking brown rice. All the brown ...
Views: 1291(1 vote) - Summer Demands an Easy Baked Stuffed Clam Recipe - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrWhen I go clam digging and I am as successful as I was on this particular trip, my favorite clam recipe to cook is baked stuffed clams. Today, I’m going to share how I create this fantastic dish! Knife Skills First and foremost, all of the clams need to be cut into small, yet uniformly sized ...
Views: 1005(1 vote) - Peel Tomatoes in 2 Easy Steps - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrIn my efforts to help you understand how to cook healthy foods for yourself and your family, the most important thing to remember is that the most nutritious food comes from fresh produce. So go ahead, enjoy the summer harvest and the flavor of just-picked items, you might even want to enjoy the ...
Views: 830(1 vote) - 5 Simple Steps to Cook Healthy Nutritious Food - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrEvery night when you go home, you have to make a decision about what to have for dinner. For the most part, we would like to eat nutritious food, but many of us didn’t grow up learning how to cook healthy meals. If you’re watching your health, eating out is not the best option, so most people ...
Views: 769(1 vote) - The Secrets of a Parisian Spice Store Owner: Good Food is Simple Food - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrIt doesn’t taste like simple food. In fact, the Paris cuisine that I’ve experienced since arriving in France, food that has tasted fresher and cleaner than I’ve experienced, is raising more questions in my mind. In an effort to find the answers to these questions, I’ve returned to the Rue ...
Views: 904(1 vote) - Why Eating Healthy Food is Easy with Paris Cuisine - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrSince I’ve been on my Paris tour, I’ve discovered that eating healthy food is much easier than I imagined with Paris cuisine. I’m also noticing that everything I’ve eaten tastes incredibly good, so fresh, amazingly flavorful without being overly filling. For someone who already studies food ...
Views: 796(22 votes) - How Drying Herbs Saves You More Green - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrIf you love cooking healthy using fresh ingredients, you’re in good company. The trend today is away from the large, corporate agri-businesses and in support of your local farmer. This is great news as you can have more healthy cooking using locally grown, fresh produce. And, nothing helps your ...
Views: 940(2 votes) - Easy Healthy Recipes Left on My Doorstep! - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrWant to make some easy healthy recipes and ensure that your kitchen is only producing healthy cooking? Then you are going to love the idea that I’m going to share with you today. I just received my first Produce Box! The Produce Box is filled with healthy, fresh ingredients that practically ...
Views: 1278(3 votes) - Can’t Cook On a Budget? It’s Grandma’s Fault. - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrCooking everyday at home is a great way to cook on a budget. But sometimes, the habits that we picked up as a kid can be detrimental to saving money on food. Let me explain what I’m talking about – remember the end of most family meals when grandma would push the serving platter at your already ...
Views: 828(5 votes) - Spoiled Food Is Stinking Up Your Ability To Cook On a Budget - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrFood is a constant expense. Every day, three times a day, whether eating out or cooking at home, you have to spend money on food. If you have to cook on a budget, you’re probably very careful about what you bring home from the grocery for everyday cooking, but how do you protect this investment ...
Views: 825(23 votes) - Grocery Shop to Cook on a Budget - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrCooking at home is certainly more cost effective than eating out. But in order to cook on a budget, it doesn’t mean that you have to buy cheaper food. Generally, cheaper food is less healthy for you, and everyday cooking should call for the most wholesome ingredients you can find. If you have ...
Views: 836(1 vote) - Why Does This Chef Want You To Know His Chef Secrets? - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrWhether you take cooking classes in person or from an online course, it’s important to understand the significance of the chef’s knife. In fact, one of the 5 Chef Secrets that professionals use to create amazing meals at home and on the job is the use of the chef’s knife. Professional chefs ...
Views: 832(1 vote) - Number One Chef Secret Will Change Your Cooking Forever! - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrHave you ever wondered how a chef can be told to cook with a few ingredients and they can pull together a dish without using a cookbook? How is that possible? It’s possible because there are chef secrets that we use in cooking every day. They’re the same chef secrets that I teach in my online ...
Views: 1394(1 vote) - You Won’t Believe This Easy, Simple Method for Cooking Sauce - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrOne of the most difficult things for a cook at home to make is a flavorful sauce. A great sauce will cover some of the worst cooking mistakes, enhance most of the best cooking successes and make you appear to be a home cooking genius. Cooking a sauce means adding flavor, texture, and ...
Views: 680(1 vote) - Easy Cooking Ideas a Recipe Book Will Never Tell You - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrIf you’re looking for easy cooking ideas, stop searching in recipe books! Instead, look at your cooking basics. One of the best basic cooking methods to employ for quick dishes is stove-top sauté. Sauté is a direct source, conductive cooking method that uses intense heat to cook and brown ...
Views: 1330(1 vote) - We Got Endless New Dinner Ideas Last Night, Did You? - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrIf you missed the live cooking webcast last night, you missed a tremendous evening of fun, food, entertainment and education in basic cooking methods…a virtual cooking guide. In fact, I showed everyone watching how basic cooking methods can help you make dinner quick every night and still have ...
Views: 691(1 vote) - Don’t Buy Another Recipe Book Until You See This Video! - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrIn the daily challenge of cooking meals for your family, home cooking recipes can be a help or a hindrance. How recipes work for you depends on what you expect them to tell you. Remember, recipes are good at telling you some things, but don’t help you with an overall kitchen culinary journey. If ...
Views: 687(1 vote) - What To Do After You’ve Discovered Your Recipe Book is Lying to You - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrLet’s say that you are depending on a teacher or a mentor…someone you trust. What would happen if you found out that they’re not telling the truth, or at least, they aren’t telling you the whole truth? If you’re depending on a book to teach you a new kitchen culinary skill, you need to know now ...
Views: 803(1 vote) - Are You Cooking Meals from a Broken Cookbook - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd Mohr“Burn your recipes!” If you’ve been following me for any amount of time now, you’ve heard me utter that statement time and time again. It’s not that I’m entirely against using recipes for home cooking, it’s more because I see cooking meals as a personal art form or your kitchen culinary ...
Views: 1323(1 vote) - 7 Skills You Must Have to Cook Food Consistently - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2011 from Chef Todd MohrI know you’ve said this before, because it’s happened to many a restaurant – • “Their food used to be great, but the chef left”. • “They’re inconsistent. You never know if the food is going to be great or not.” While having all of your meals taste exactly the same is probably not your ...
Views: 1117(16 votes)