An awesome deep fried turkey from thanksgiving 2008...

A friend of mine has a serious love affair with turkey–not the country, but the poultry.  She just can’t get enough of it.  Delicious, nutritious, and available–what more could a girl ask for, really?

She told me, though, that she wishes she could relish in “Thanksgiving Turkey” more than just once a year, but that she just doesn’t have the time or the determination to spend days slaving over a whole, roasted turkey.  And can you blame her?  Most of us grew up watching the trials and tribulations of a holiday turkey dinner our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles suffered year after year: the undercooked bird, the overcooked bird, the near-tragic deep fryer mishap, the sloppy brine bucket.  Why would anyone want to take  on that kind of trauma?

Well, because it at the end of the day, it really is delicious.   And comforting, too.  So I decided to help my friend out and find an everyday, easy version of Thanksgiving turkey–that’s what friends are for!

It didn’t take me long to find this recipe.  What attracted me most to it was 1)the very simple ingredient list, 2) the fact that it didn’t involve a whole turkey but rather turkey breast (which is about 10x more manageable that a big, ol’ bird), and 3) a brine!

Brines are flavor-infusing, juiciness-producing, culinary assistants, and giving your turkey (or other proteins) a nice, long bath in a brine will ensure the utmost tastiness in your dish.

So I sent it along to my friend, and she gave it a whirl.  The result?  Pure joy.  It’s so easy and delicious, that she makes it on a weekly basis.  I gave her a fun little tip, though.  Brines usually call for a hefty amount of salt, so why not experiment?  Throw some blended salt into the mix to try out different flavors.  Fumee De Sel for a rich smokey flavor,  Hickory Maple for a sweet, barbecue-like flavor, or even Citrus Basil for something innovative and fresh.  Or try a large granule Pure Foundation salt like Himalayan Pink. As always, the flavor possibilities are endless, and it keeps that turkey dinner exciting and new.

Needless to say, my friend is forever thankful for the advice (and so are her tastebuds!).  Now she can have stress-free, flavorful turkey whenever her little heart desires it.  Gosh, helping people reach their culinary dreams can be so satisfying!

Traverse City Sunset Over Lake Michigan

Having just come back from an amazing 4th of July weekend in Traverse City, Michigan, I was pleased to see that the region’s amazing culture of food is obtaining national press coverage as a premium dining destination. Over the long weekend (I cheated a bit a took Monday, July 6th off), I had the opportunity to not only eat a fantastic home grilled meal (more on that in a later post), but I also dined at two of my favorite restaurants in the area – The Boathouse (home to our Salt Chef) and Trattoria Stella.

Both restaurants take advantage of the small farms and local food producers in and around Traverse City. It is no doubt that the ingredients used by these restaurants are as fresh and flavorful as possible, since the distance from the field to the fryer is equivalent to a drive across town. Indeed, this is the philosophy that Beyond the Shaker has adopted for its gourmet blended salts, using the finest ingredients available to create incredible, almost ‘fresh’ flavor. Of course, partnering with Executive Chef Eric Nittolo of The Boathouse, to craft our blended salts was a logical way of extending our local/fresh/organic/sustainable philosophy into our products.

We are glad Traverse City is obtaining the attention it deserves as an up and coming foodie hot spot, since we have known for years that there was something special stirring in this culinary region.

Last night we had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in the Traverse City area – Trattoria Stella, and the star appetizer (and perhaps the overall favorite of the evening), were these perfectly seared bay scallops. Prior to them being devoured by the hungry diners, I snapped a picture of them with my iPhone. Putting aside that the camera on the phone really does not do these delectable little morsels justice, hopefully the incredible seared tops of each scallop can be seen.

The trick, to the flavor and marvelous color was apparent from the first bite – salt. Specifically, my guess was the use of a mineral rich flake salt, like our Sel Gris, and then searing on one side with lots of butter. What we all enjoyed the most was the salty crust that formed on the seared top of the scallop. The trend in cooking scallops seems to be to undercook them, which most likely stems from a fear of overcooking them into rubbery little pucks.

However, the chef found absolutely the ideal sear – a delicate crispy crust of salty-buttery goodness. When we cook scallops at home, we usually flip them over halfway through the cooking process, but that is more a reflection of our amateur chef status than the ideal cook method. The scallops at Stella’s restaurant were only seared on one side, which really made for the ideal crust.

We have tried, with our Salt Chef, using the Truffle Wet Salt and the Chanterelle Vanilla on seared scallops with tremendous success. The flavor profiles of these salts matches well with the briny seafood taste. In terms of usage, we found that the the Truffle Wet can be applied prior to searing the scallops, but the Chanterelle Vanilla is better as a finishing salt added to the tops of the scallops just prior to serving. Either way, we encourage everyone to give scallops a shot in your own kitchen – since they really are not that hard to prepare, especially when you use the right salts!

I just made the most fabulous chili using Beyond the Shaker’s Hot Habanero Blend! And it’s healthy too..if you are on Weight Watchers and using the point system there are only 6 points per cup if you follow the recipe. It’s called Nick’s Chili because my Dad came up with the original.

Nick’s Chili

Saute together in 2 tablespoons of olive oil: 4 large onions (diced), one red pepper (diced) and 6 stalks of celery (sliced). Saute them until they are translucent–about 15-20 minutes. Add a little of the Beyond the Shaker Chef’s Blend (a tantalizing mix of the finest unrefined salts blended with several types of cracked pepper) while they are cooking –be conservative with the salinity now because you will be adding more later (she says with a salty grin)…

Add 3 pounds of ground turkey and break it up in the pot until it is in small pieces and cooked through.

Add two large cans of whole tomatoes that you have roughly chopped plus the juice from the can.

Add one can of beer and simmer for one and a half hours (don’t cheat! Time is key here so the flavors can mix and mingle).

Now for the magic! Add between 2 teaspoons (for mild) up to what ever you think you can stand of the Beyond the Shaker Hot Habanero Blend! The flavor, color and texture of this salt really takes a great Chili recipe to the next level…

Add about 3/4 cup of salsa –medium or hot

Add two drained and rinsed cans of kidney beans.

This chili can be topped with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped olives or crushed Fritos–just remember to count those points too!

"A Spoon Full of Citrus Basil Helps the Tequila Go Down..."

Seems like you can’t turn the TV on without seeing a highly-exuberant chef taking a blow torch or dry ice to their food in attempt to create the next best freaky fare.  This is all done in the name of molecular gastronomy, the science meets art meets food movement that is quite hot among chefs and restaurateurs these days.

Some may be a little cynical about this movement, preferring their potatoes mashed and not freeze dried and chiseled into flakes.  Hey, I may even be one of those cynics—but when it comes to booze, these molecular gastronomy folks know what’s up.

No bad day is immune to the healing powers of a good margarita, and if you are lucky enough to have an excellent margarita, well, those can pretty much prevent a bad day from happening anytime soon.

That’s why when I heard about these crazy little concoctions from world-renowned chef Ferran Adria, as mentioned in A Day at ElBulli, his impressive book that chronicles the life and times of his famous restaurant in Northern Spain that quite possibly started the entire science-art-food scene, I couldn’t help but drool a little: Margarita with Salt Foam.

Yes.  Salt foam.

It doesn’t get more magical than that.

The ingredients for the foam are really simple, too.  Well, provided that you have Lecite on hand.  Chances are you don’t, though, and that you’ve never heard of it—I certainly hadn’t.  It’s an emulsifier, and you can get it online.  www.tienda.com calls it “A natural soy lecithin-based emulsifier, ideal for making airs.”  Making airs?!  At a little less than 60 bucks for about 10 grams of the powder, it’s really up to you if making airs is important to your margarita.

At the very least, it’s worth a try.  And it can be used for other types of situations where you want to turn any sort of watery substance into an airy substance.  I’m on a mission to seek out those other types of situations.

Back to the salt foam, here are the ingredients:

250 g water
35 g unrefined salt (try our Murray River or Sel Gris)
1 g Lecite

And yes, you’ll want to definitely measure these quantities out.  Mix the ingredients together in a small bowl with a hand mixer, and watch the foam form.  Scoop it up with a spoon, dollop on your drink, and voila—one serious margarita.

So light, so perfectly salty, so airy!  Who ever thought “making airs” could be so tasty?

BUT in case this prep work is too much work for you, we would highly suggest just skipping the foam, and instead try our Citrus Basil salt on the rim of your margarita glass. Just use a slice of lime to coat the edge of the glass, and then in a shallow dish run the edge through a heaping spoonful of Citrus Basil. Pour in your margarita and get ready for some SERIOUS flavor!