Is Peanut Oil Safe for Allergic People?

My daughter, Wendy, and I were talking recently about peanut oil.  It brought up a conversation about cooking with peanut oil and whether people with peanut allergies can digest it.   As a home cook, you should always be aware of food allergies when preparing meals for others.

I decided to see for myself how safe it is since many restaurants use peanut oil.  It turns out that several studies have been done on the subject.  I was surprised to find that many allergic people can safely eat foods that contain or are cooked in peanut oil.

If you suspect a peanut allergy, however, you should always check with your doctor to see if the oil affects you.  As far as cooking for others is concerned, if there is the slightest possibility for harm, announce what you have used for cooking. 

As long as the oil is not labeled extruded, cold-pressed, expelled or gourmet peanut oil, it may be safe.   These could contain the proteins from peanuts that cause the allergic reaction.  The version of the oil used in restaurants and found in your local supermarket is refined; a process that extracts those proteins.
 

Cooks like peanut oil because they can cook foods at a high temperature without smoking, so it is great for frying.  Also, it is known as a "good or healthy" fat because it is a monounsaturated fat which falls into a category of fats that can lower your bad (LDL) cholesterol.  It makes some snacks relatively healthy.  Some companies, like Utz and  Dirty brand, fry their potato chips in peanut oil.

You can use this light tasting oil in stir-fried dishes.  Peanut oil is very versatile and is used in lots of Asian and African restaurants.  You can even use it in desserts such as fudge or fried peach pie.

My Version of Buffalo Chicken Wings

Here is one of my favorites for my version of Buffalo chicken wings. You can use a deep fryer if you have one. I don't, so I use a heavy sauce pan or my trusty cast-iron skillet, because it gets nice and hot. A Dutch oven also works. Anything you can put a quantity of oil in. Please note that I also don't use flour to coat the wings, so make sure to pat dry the wings and drop them carefully in the oil.

Ingredients:                                              

Peanut oil for deep frying
12-24 wing pieces (Whole wings cut in half or buy frozen "wingettes")

4 Tbs margarine
1 Tbs vinegar
* 5 Tbs hot sauce (I use Louisiana, Uncle Brutha's or whatever I have. You can use Tabasco also)
Garlic salt and pepper to taste
Blue cheese dressing
Celery sticks

Directions:

Heat oil in skillet to about 375 degrees F. (190.5 degrees C.) Add enough to cover wings-about an inch or two deep. Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper if you like. Drop thawed chicken wings gently into the hot oil, one batch at time. Do not crowd. Fry until golden brown. About 10-15 minutes depending on wing size. Remove the wings from the oil and drain on a rack or paper towels.

While wings are cooking, melt margarine in a saucepan, add hot sauce and vinegar. Stir and put in a large mixing bowl. Add the Buffalo chicken wings and toss in the sauce to coat each wing. Place in a bowl or platter.
Serve with blue cheese dressing, celery sticks and lot of napkins.

*If the wings are for children, start with a Tbs hot sauce. Serve the kids first, and then add more hot sauce to the bowl.

Find chicken wing recipes from Applebee's, TGI Fridays and Chili's you can cook at home.

Moroccan-Style Salmon with Couscous for Home Cooks

Home cooks are always looking for interesting dishes for family and friends to sample.  Try this recipe from Morocco for an exciting taste.  The flavors blend beautifully. Fresh coriander is not always available, so you may substitute 1 teaspoon of ground.

Moroccan-Style Salmon with Couscous for Home Cooks

Ingredients:

1 small onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbs olive oil

1 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes with juice

4 tsp honey

1 tsp grated lemon peel, grated

3/4 tsp ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Salt and black pepper to taste

1/2-1 tsp cayenne pepper to taste

6 salmon fillets, 4-6 oz each

2 Tbs chopped toasted almonds

2 Tbs fresh coriander, chopped

3 cups cooked couscous or rice

Directions:

Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil in a medium skillet over

medium high heat until golden. Stir in tomatoes with juice, honey, lemon peel and cumin. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in

lemon juice and season with salt, black pepper and cayenne.

Meanwhile, season salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Broil 4-6

inches from heat, allowing 10 minutes cooking time per inch of

thickness, measured at the thickest part. Place each steak on a

dinner plate. Top with tomato sauce. Sprinkle with almonds and

coriander. Serve with couscous.

6 servings

Frozen Vegetables and Rice Recipe with an Indian Spice Kick

This summer, a young intern from Korea stayed with me.  I had no idea she was a vegetarian and didn't have much in the refrigerator on that first evening that would fill the bill, except some frozen vegetables and jasmine rice.  So, I made a medley with an Indian spice that I think turned out well.  She said it was very good.


I chopped an onion and cooked it in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a non-stick saucepan over medium heat.   I put in a couple of cups of frozen peas and carrots, a cup of cauliflower and a couple of handfuls of French-style green beans; stirring gently to coat the veggies with the olive oil.  Then I may have put in a couple of tablespoons of water.


Next, I added a half a teaspoon of *garam masala, a teaspoon of curry powder, ½ teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon ginger, sprinkle of and salt and pepper to taste.  I covered the mixture with a lid and let it cook on low heat for about five minutes or so.  I made some microwave rice according to my daughter, Wendy's, recipe, and placed the vegetable mixture over the rice. 


Way yum.

*Garam masala is a fragrant and warm dry spice mix. I love the taste.  According to an Indian friend, Indian cooks add the garam masala about 5 minutes before finishing the dish.

I have recently started trying recipes from America's Secret Recipes.  They are copycat recipes from some of the most popular restaurants in America.  I can't say I've been to all the restaurants or even tried all the dishes on the menus of the restaurants I have visited.  However, many of these are easy to do and have a great taste.  Go here to check them out.

Warning Tips for Cooking Vegetable Meals for Non-Vegetarians

Just the word, vegetables, causes some people to have the same reaction as if they were eating a lemon. Especially when you first learn to cook, you may shrink in horror at the thought of having to a meal of just vegetables. There was a time when the thought of serving a dish with no meat was unappealing. Meatless meals were for those "weird" friends who all of a sudden became vegetarian..

Vegetables were a mostly lowly unnoticed addition to a meal. There was no variety.  They were there so you would have three things on your plate and, you could say you ate something nutritional. Primarily the green stuff was ignored and not just by children. Fortunately, times have changed!

Nowadays, meatless meals are exciting, filling and downright delicious. A warning, though: because vegetables are so perishable, they change when they are cooked and there are some tips to be aware of that will determine whether your finished dish looks and tastes good.

• Do not overcook. Doneness varies from vegetable to vegetable; however, most vegetables should be cooked briefly

• Vegetables that have tender parts and tough parts, like broccoli and asparagus, require special preparation so all parts get done at the same time

• For example, broccoli stems should be removed from the florets and trimmed. Asparagus stalks should be peeled. The base of Brussels sprouts should be pierced with a sharp knife

• Add vegetables to boiling salted water to cut down on cooking time and help minimize loss of flavor

• Mushrooms easily absorb water so rinse or wipe mushrooms with a damp paper towel

• Perk up steamed vegetables by adding a little lemon juice or olive oil. Toss them in a vinaigrette or add a little grated cheese

Home-cooked vegetable meals sometimes get a bad rap. Cooking one doesn't mean having unexciting or bland fare. Treat your vegetables well and you can have a tasty and satisfying meal.

Discover How to Make Your Favorite Restaurant Dishes at Home!  These Secret Recipes Have Finally Been Revealed... Click here!

Catfish is Not Just for Fridays Anymore

When I was growing up in Annapolis, Maryland, we usually had fish on Fridays. We might have had it on other days, however, I seem to remember that Friday was the night for fish. Especially during Lent. Sometimes we would have baked Rockfish, also known as striped bass or hardheads (Atlantic croaker) because they were larger than the perch or spot. My mom would bake them with a tomato sauce.

I must say that the baked fish was my least favorite way for her to cook fish. I liked the sauce by itself and the fish by itslef, but together they almost wanted to make me gag. I used to wonder why she would ruin great fish like that. Now, of course, my palette has become more sophisticated and I enjoy fish with a tomato sauce from time to time. I don't usually cook it that way except perhaps when I saute catfish with fresh tomatoes and grenn or red peppers.

Although I loved the different kinds of fish we had, catfish was my favorite. After my dad would skin them, my mother would fry them. They were so sweet. I would be hard pressed to eat catfish from the waters now. The waters of the Chesapeake Bay where I grew up were much cleaner then. I still buy them, however, now catfish are farm raised. I keep catfish in my freezer, either fillets or in "nuggets," because I might have a catfish "attack" at any time, even for Sunday dinner. I generally fry the fillets (See photo above) and vary the seasonings; the nuggets are great fried, stewed or sautéed. Catfish is not just for Fridays any longer.   Even my restaurant favorites cannot rival my pan-fried catfish.  Yum!

Pound Cake Recipe Made with Real Love from An Old-Fashioned Cookbook

One of my most precious possessions is an old cookbook from of my parent's marriage.  It is The "White House Cookbook, Revised for Both Small and Large Families," and is so old, I have to keep it wrapped and protected.  The pages are yellowed and cracked and the front and back covers are attached with tape.  It is undated and may have belonged to either my maternal or paternal grandmother.  In my dad's handwriting, a note written on a sheet of paper says: "White House Cookbook, 1923."  It could even be older.  My mom and dad were not married until many years later.  I remember my mother using it from time to time.

               

In one of the recipes for a cake, the directions tell the home cook to, "Bake three or four hours, according to the thickness of the loaves, in a tolerably hot oven, and with steady heat."  No oven temperature is mentioned so the cooks had to be really adept and intuitive at baking, in particular.  And, they really had to love what they were doing.

Here is the recipe for English Pound Cake copied exactly as written:

"One pound of butter, one and one-quarter pounds of flour, one pound of pounded loaf sugar, one pound of currants, nine eggs, two ounces of candied peel, one ounce of citron, one ounce of sweet almonds; when liked, a little pounded mace. Work the butter into the cream; add the sugar, then the well-beaten yolks of the eggs, next the flour, currants, candied peel, which should be cut into neat slices, and the almonds, which should be blanched and chopped, and mix all these well together; whisk the whites of eggs and let them be thoroughly blended with the other ingredients.  Beat the cake well for twenty minutes and put it into a round pan, lined at the bottom and sides with strips of white buttered paper.  Bake it from two hours to two and a half, and let the oven be well heated when the cake is first put in, as, if this is not the case, the currants will all sink to the bottom of it."

Beating heavy batter with raisins by hand for 20 minutes straight!  Now, that is real love!