We’ve got five videos of Chef Thomas Keller sharing tips, tricks and inspiration from his newest book, Ad Hoc at Home, and we’ll be posting a new one every day.
Click here to view videos 1-4.

We’ve got five videos of Chef Thomas Keller sharing tips, tricks and inspiration from his newest book, Ad Hoc at Home, and we’ll be posting a new one every day. Check back tomorrow for the last video!

Click here to view videos 1-3.

We’ve got five videos of Chef Thomas Keller sharing tips, tricks and inspiration from his newest book, Ad Hoc at Home, and we’ll be posting a new one every day. Check back tomorrow for the fourth video!

We’ve got five videos of Chef Thomas Keller sharing tips, tricks and inspiration from his newest book, Ad Hoc at Home, and we’ll be posting a new one every day. Check back tomorrow for another!

Chef Thomas Keller talks about his newest book, Ad Hoc at Home. Ad Hoc at Home is filled with family-style home-cooking recipes and Keller’s perfected versions of classic comfort foods.

Watch yourself…If you’ve ever accidentally touched your eye after chopping habaneros, you know the pain. Capsaicin, the alkaloid that makes chiles hot, is the same one that’ll make you feel like you’re going blind.  So just avoid the danger in the first place, by wearing gloves when handling chiles – and don’t rub your eyes! When you’re working, or cooking with them, try to keep your face as far away as possible. If you do get a little too close, here are a few ways to alleviate the burning:

• If you burn your hands, coat them in vegetable oil and rub for about 30 seconds and then wash with a strong detergent and water.  Or you can rub the burning area with isopropyl alcohol and follow with a salve, such as Preparation H.

• When you burn your mouth or tongue, eat a thick dairy product like cream, sour cream, yogurt, or ice cream and swirl it around in your mouth before swallowing.

• If you get capsaicin in your eyes flush with eyedrops, keep blinking, flush some more, and wait. It may feel excruciating, but it’ll pass.

For more from The Complete Chile Pepper Book, check previous posts with the Pickled Peppers recipe and How to Pickle

Pickling is one of the better ways to handle an especially fruitful pepper plant or an overly-enthusiastic trip to the farmer’s market. And as The Complete Chile Pepper Book by Dave DeWitt and Paul W. Bosland points out, while pickling does require spending some time at the stove, it’s not difficult, and the trade-off of having “almost fresh” chiles at your fingertips year-round makes it all worthwhile.

Here are a few basic rules to follow when pickling:

• Sterilize the jars and lids in a boiling water bath for 10 to 15 minutes. Bring 1 to 2 inches of water to a boil in a large pot with a folded dish towel in the bottom. Place jars into the water mouth down, along with the lids, which can just be set between the jars. Turn down the heat to keep the pot slowly boiling or simmering.

• Use pickling salt rather than table salt, which contains undesirable (for pickling) additives.

• While cider vinegar is more flavorful, 5 to 6 percent distilled white vinegar should be used to avoid discoloring the chiles.

• Do not boil the vinegar for a long period of time, as that will reduce the acidity.

• Poke or cut a hole in each chile to keep it from floating and also to allow the pickling solution to work into the entire chile.

• After filling each jar, remove any trapped air with a spatula or knife blade inserted between the chiles and the wall of the jar, or by gently tapping the jar.
• After processing in a boiling water bath, remove jars to a draft-free location and allow to cool for 12 hours before handling.

Check back tomorrow for a recipe from The Complete Chile Pepper Book.

What’s frightfully scary, but delicious at the same time? Ghoulish Goodies by Sharon Bowers!  Both kids and grown-ups alike will get a kick out of these fanciful recipes — from Chocolate Spider Clusters to I’Scream Cake to Unblinking Eye Halloween Meatloaf — the snacks, party favors, and meals all add up to an unforgettable holiday. Offering a mix of recipes, some simple enough for kids to create on their own, as well as more complex concoctions, there’s something for everyone. You better believe that Halloween will never be the same.

Swamp Creature Toes: (Makes about 36 toes!)

Salty, sweet, and nutty, these funny big-toe-like snacks are made extra ghoulish by tossing the almonds with green food coloring to give the end result an eerie glow.

Even if you skip the green color, you’ll still have funky toes.

1/2 cup whole skinless salted almonds
green liquid coloring
1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
1 (6-ounce) bag 8-inch pretzel rods (about 12)

1. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or wax paper. Blend the almonds with about 10 drops of coloring in a small stainless steel, ceramic, or glass bowl (plastic might stain). Stir well until all the nuts are coated. Spread the green almonds on a plate to dry.

2. Put the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and melt the chocolate in the microwave: Heat on high for 60 seconds, and then stir well. If it’s not quite smooth, heat in two or three 10-second bursts, stirring well after each burst.  (Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate, stirring frequently, in a double boiler, over just-simmering water. Avoid overheating, which can cause chocolate to seize up into a stiff mass.)

3. Break each pretzel rod into 3 pieces. Dip a broken piece about three-quarters of the way into the melted chocolate, leaving a broken end visible. (If it’s an end piece of the pretzel, dip the finished end, leaving the broken end showing.)

4. Lay the dipped pretzel on a prepared baking sheet and lay a green almond on the top of the dipped end. If the almond won’t stick, dip the underside in a bit more chocolate. When all the toes are decorated, place the baking sheets in the refrigerator or freezer to firm the chocolate. Serve cool.

Gingersnaps most likely have their origin with the Pennsylvania Dutch, and their name probably comes from the word snappen, which means “easy.” The cookies are rolled in sugar before baking, giving them a lovely, crinkly top.

For more baking tips, check out yesterday’s post, How to bake just like your grandmother did. Or even better.

Makes about 40 cookies.

1 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dark molasses
1 tablespoon warm brewed coffee
6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

1. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl.
2. Combine the molasses and coffee into a small bowl.
3. Cream together the butter, the 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and the brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves in a large bowl. Add the molasses mixture and the flour mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in the crystallized ginger. Gather together the dough in a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour, until firm.
4. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Lightly grease two baking sheets.
5. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar. Place them on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Press down each cookie with the bottom of a glass dipped in the remaining 1 tablespoon granulated sugar until the cookies are nice and thin.
6. Bake, one sheet at a time, for about 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven before their edges start to brown; they will be soft in the center but will harden when cool. Watch the cookies carefully and do not allow them to scorch.
7. Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool.

If you’re looking to jump-start your baking skills, you might as well begin with cookies. For starters, there usually aren’t any super-complicated pieces of equipment, ingredients, or Le Cordon Bleu-type knowledge required. And secondly, most cookie doughs are forgiving, meaning even those of us who are challenged in the kitchen can turn out a tasty cookie. Andrea Chesman and Fran Raboff’s 250 Treasured Country Desserts is a collection of tried-and-true recipes that have been passed down through the generations—and all of which have stood the test of time.  As a bonus, this cookbook offers tips and techniques to guide you along and boost your baking know-how.

Here are a few guidelines to follow when making cookies:

• Don’t use imitation ingredients: Go for the real vanilla extract, high-quality chocolate, and butter (not margarine).

• Butter should always be used at room temperature: Lumps of cold, hard butter in the dough will cause flat cookies.

• Chocolate should be melted over low heat to avoid scorching: A double boiler or metal mixing bowl over simmering water should do the trick.

• Toast nuts before adding them to the batter, to maximize flavor: Nuts should be toasted whole and then chopped. To toast, preheat the oven to 300˚F. Spread out the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast for 7 to 10 minutes.
• Raisins that are hard and shriveled going into cookie dough will be hard and shriveled in the baked cookie: To reconstitute, pour boiling water over them and let them sit for 10 minutes. Then drain off water and use as directed. For additional flavor, soak raisins in wine, brandy or fruit juice.

Check back tomorrow for a recipe from 250 Treasured Country Desserts.