Category Archives: Food 101
Food 101: How To Shred Chicken (Or Pulled Pork, Or Other Meats)
I find that a lot of people have been really into slow-cooking lately. Some people like it because it’s easy enough to leave meat in a pot for 6 hours and not care the entire day, but then some people are also under the impression that meat needs to be slow-cooked before it can be turned into the holy grail of barbecue-style foods, pulled chicken/pork. On one hand, when you slow-cook a meat, it tends to make it crazy tender, and thus easy to shred by hand. However on the other hand, it’s entirely within the realm of possibility to pull chicken cutlets or pork chops. It’s just not as effortless.
But come on, pulled chicken, man. Everybody loves it. Because really who the hell wants to have to chew their food all the way?
Food 101: Simple Icing
The right icing can enhance any baked good, and a bad icing can make a cake almost inedible. At least in my own experience, icing almost always better homemade. Yet icing/frosting (depending on your preferred term) is one of those foods that can range from incredibly easy to complicated to make, depending on the specific type. Luckily for us, simple icing/glaze is super easy and you likely already have all the ingredients on hand.
Food 101: Pumpkin Roasting
In an ideal world, we would have had this post up before Thanksgiving and pumpkin pie making time. But alas, time got away from us, and that did not happen. But, perhaps it’s even better timing now, as people transition from fall decorations to Christmas/winter ones. As we covered in pumpkin seed post, pumpkins are cool because they’re both festive seasonal decorations, and food. So instead of just throwing those pumpkins you bought for decoration out, roast them! You can roast them in slices and eat like you would other winter squash, or you can roast them for pumpkin puree. This is probably the most versatile option, since there are many things you can use pumpkin puree for. You can use any size pumpkin you have on hand, but these guidelines are written for sugar pumpkins, which are the smaller ones. If you’re using big pumpkins, like the kind for jack o’lanterns, roasting times may vary.
This is a sugar pumpkin
Both roasting processes begin with cutting your pumpkin in half and scooping out the guts. And also preheating your oven to 375 degrees (Fahrenheit).
The beginning
Food 101: How To Make Basic Chicken/Turkey Gravy From The Pan
Thanksgiving is around the corner, so that means one thing is on most chef’s minds: turkey. Turkey is quintessential to a Thanksgiving meal, and yet where would it be without the sweet nectar that we know as gravy? That sauce made from pan drippings and spices can take any meat from good to awesome instantly, and it requires minimal effort to make in most cases. There’s a couple of slightly different ways to make it, but they all utilize the same basic ingredients and general preparation once you acquire the aforementioned drippings. Making gravy from scratch is easy and tastes a lot better than jar gravy, so it’s definitely a skill you should keep in your cooking holster.
Food 101: Basic Biscuits Recipe
Biscuits are a great food. They can enhance your dinner, you can eat them on their own, or you can use them to make sandwiches. If you’re having a meal that has gravy, biscuits are pretty much a must in order to sop up every bit of rich, meaty goodness. One could argue that you could use dinner rolls for this as well, which is true. But the downside to dinner rolls is that they’re made using yeast, which means they need time to rise, and aren’t as easy to make. Biscuits on the other hand, are very easy to make. They use chemical leavening to rise (baking powder/soda) so there’s no downtime like there is for yeast breads. While there’s nothing wrong with using the biscuits from a can (which I admit I frequently do myself), biscuits from scratch don’t even really take that much more time, so it’s worth giving them a shot when you have a little extra time. Everyone will be super impressed with how yummy they are, and that you made them from scratch.
What you’ll need. Milk not pictured because well, I’m forgetful, and I also just realized the sugar is hidden.
The Poor Couple's Food Guide 
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