Summer Foods Part 2
Episode 32: I took notes so you didn’t have to….Today it’s all me and I am doing some culinary sleuthing for you and answering your questions!
Ok let’s get into this! You have been sending in some amazing questions, keep them coming!!, and I am taking some time to answer them today and do some culinary investigating reporting! A handful of people asked about using an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker in the summer time. And I actually use it a lot all year round. I think it’s a time saver and any time I don’t need to heat up my kitchen with turning on the oven or the stove in the summer I am a happy gal! Below are some of my favorite summer instant pot recipes!
Summer Instant Pot Recipes!
Carnitas (which could then be used for a Cuban Sandie!!)
Summer Fruit Pies
Preheat your oven with a cookie sheet in their and then place the pie tin on the cookie sheet on the bottom rack of the oven
Blind bake your crust
Make the bottom of the pie crust a little thicker
Use Cast Iron or a Metal Pie Tin verse Glass and Ceramic. They conduct heat better. Cast Iron is your friend when baking pie crust.
You can sprinkle a thin layer or something on the bottom of the dough before you fill it. If it’s a sweet pie then maybe a layer of crumbled cookies, almond flour or a brushed layer of melted chocolate. In a savory pie then maybe you sprinkle a little cheese that makes sense for the flavors in the pie.
For the filling, try getting some of the moisture out of the fruit. Mix the fruit ahead of time with some sugar. Let is hang out together in the bowl and then drain a little bit of the juice off if you’d like. Or set it aside and heat it up slightly until the sugar dissolves, let it cool and use it over yogurt or a drizzle over ice cream or put a splash of it in a cocktail!
Make sure your pie is vented properly. Lattice tops or if it’s a double crust add a vent hole. Or use a cute little bird like this…
For tapioca starch and corn starch…they are going to do about the same thing. The tapioca starch might have a better shine to it but that’s really the only difference I could find. For either you want about 1 - 2 tsp of the starch to every 4 oz of fruit. And once it’s done baking make sure the pie is completely cooled before you dive into. I KNOW how hard this is to do…so do your best. No judgement and honestly if it’s just a pie for us at home, I have been known to dive into a warm pie or two.
How do you cut a Mango
Rather than me try to explain how to cut a mango I found a great article that shows you how to do it three different ways! BAM! Just make sure your knives are sharp, you are paying attention so you don’t loose a finger and that your mango is ripe.
Grill Tips and Tricks
Let’s talk about grilling and chilling! Summer is really really here and a lot of people are buying new homes which means new backyards and grills! Ok so you’ve been grilling and are running into a few issues, let me see if I can help!
Clean your grill every time. Every single time. I get it rip roaring hot and then use a wire brush to get all the past stuff off of the grill before I start grilling again!
As you are heating up the grill…pull out your protein. Let that rest on your kitchen counter for about 20 - 30 minutes before putting it on the grill.
And as for the proteins…wait to brush the sauce on until the end. I love to do a dry rub to marinate the proteins in and anything that is sugary I wait to brush on at the end and finish it with the sauce at the end. The sugar is going to caramelize very very quickly on the grill with the heat and also cause potential flare ups so to avoid too much char.
We also love a little bit of grill spray on the protein to help it not to stick. Some people aren’t into and that’s fine too. You do you!
Alright so we are putting the proteins on the grill. I like to create different heat zones on the grill with turning the temperature down a little in a few places because not everything cooks at the same time so to add little bit more of control it’s nice to have a spot or two that’s a tiny bit cooler so you can move things around and keep them warm without overcooking anything.
To smoosh or not to smoosh with a spatula while on the grill? Don’t smoosh if you don’t have to. By smooshing down the burger or any other protein it releases juice which is flavor as well as can dry out as well. So don’t smoosh!
Speaking of cooking…carry over cooking is a really thing. A meat thermometer is a life saver! You want to cook everything to about 5 degrees before it’s totally done and then let it rest for on the counter for about 15 minutes or so.
Take it slow, don’t move the proteins around too much and you’re going to do great!
Tomatoes, Tomatoes and More Tomatoes
With tomato season in full swing a lot of people want to know what to do with all of these beauties! So here’s a handful of yummy tomato recipes!
Now go forth and cook/eat some amazing food!!
Beth Fuller is a Boston based Food, Product and Lifestyle Photographer. One of the best ways to support the podcast and Beth is to write a review wherever you listen, like the podcast on your favorite platform and please keep Beth in mind for any photography projects as a gal has got to pay her bills!
If you have a question and want it to be featured on the podcast please email either the question or a voice memo to letsgoonafoodadventure@gmail.com. Are you on instagram? Tag me in your food adventures, @letsgoonafoodadventure. Do you want to work together with food and product photography, drop me a line here!
xoxo
Beth
