Tag: YouTube

Chef John is Taking a (Real) Spring Break!

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be leaving Monday for
Arizona’s Valley of the Sun, for a week of baseball, golf, and not working on a
video recipe blog. I’ve done a ton of traveling since I started this blog, but
never actually gone off-line during any of these “breaks.”

No matter where I’ve gone, or what I was doing, I’d find a
few hours late at night to jump on the laptop to catch up on emails, answer
blog comments, and crush trolls on YouTube. However, this time I’m planning on
going completely “unplugged.”

My friend Anna from Allrecipes.com will be moderating the
blog, fielding your questions, and generally keeping an eye on you until I get
back. I’m sure you’ll treat her with the same good cheer that you show me, and
other than being much less of a smartass, you really shouldn’t notice much of a
difference.

Despite my great escape to land of the well tanned, we’ll
still be posting two brand new videos this week, including a recipe that’s been
one of the most requested food wishes of all time. So, stay tuned for that, have
fun while I’m gone, and as always, enjoy!

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gordon ramsay youtube

Garlic Parm Hot Wings – Video Recipe 800! 800? Really?

This garlic Parmesan hot wings video represents the 800th
recipe we’ve uploaded to YouTube since we launched the channel in January 2007.
As I waited for the file to upload, an odd sense of disbelief started to wash
over me. Had I really cooked, filmed, and posted 800 video recipes? It didn’t
seem possible.

The more I thought about just how much content that is, the
more improbable it seemed. 800 recipes? That’s like 10 cookbooks! Then, a
different kind of disbelief came over me as I considered all the dishes I’ve
still not done.

After all these hundreds and hundreds of recipes, I still
have not done things like risotto, goulash, blue cheese dressing, calamari, or
beef Wellington; just to name a few. Anyway, it was an interesting and
introspective ten minutes, sitting there watching the upload progress bar
slowly move across the screen, thinking about what I had done, and how much I
still needed to do.

As far as these gorgeous wings go, they rocked. My wife
Michele, who is not a big fan of chicken wings, ate more than I’d ever seen her
eat before, and deemed them my best yet. I’m not sure about that, but they did
come out really, really well.

One reason it’s hard to get a crispy-crusty coating on a
wing in the oven is all the moisture that leaks out during the initial phase of
baking. Here, we are parboiling the wings in a very flavorful liquid, which not
only helped season the chicken, but also produced a surface texture in the oven
that your guests will swear came straight out of a deep fryer. I hope you give
these a try soon, and as always, and for the 800th time, enjoy!

Ingredients for 5 pounds of wings (about 48 pieces):

3 quarts cold water

1/4 cup salt

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried rosemary

4 to 5 pounds of chicken wing sections

8-10 cloves garlic plus big pinch of salt

3 or 4 tbsp olive oil, or as needed

1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste (obviously you can add
cayenne or other hot stuff to make these even spicier)
2 tbsp fine breadcrumbs

about 1 cup of very finely and freshly grated
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

creamy Italian dressing for dipping, optional

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Holiday Granola – Only 8 Edible Gift Making Days Until Christmas!

When I was asked to take part in a special holiday YouTube
playlist called, “Christmas Morning Breakfast,” I started thinking about
seasonal variation on things like eggs benedict, quiche, and French toast. But
then I realized…you can’t wrap those things up and give them as an edible gift,
so I decided to do this granola instead.

We’ve covered the edible gift topic before, and discussed
the fine line between, “Wow, what a creative and thoughtful gift!” and “Wow,
what a cheapskate!” Happily, when it comes to this delicious, crunchy treat,
one taste and the lucky recipient will forget about any ulterior economic
motivations.

Since this was a Christmas-themed recipe, I went with lots
of festively colored dried fruit, but the beauty of the granola technique is
that it pretty much works with anything. I love the looks of the green pumpkin
seeds, but things like hazelnuts and pecans would also work wonderfully.

As I mentioned in the video, it’s really up to you to
determine the cooking time. I tend to like mine just golden-brown, but many
enjoy the deeper, nuttier flavor of a longer roasting. Since you are pulling
and tossing every 10 minutes, this is pretty easy to monitor, but just be
careful towards the end, as it can get bitter if you go too far.

Anyway, whether this is for a quick and easy holiday
breakfast, with milk or over Greek yogurt; or you are going to package some up
as a stocking stuffer for the foodies in your life, I hope you give this a try
soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 6 cups of Granola

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup shredded coconut (pure coconut, not candied)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt

1/2 cup chopped candy covered chocolate pieces (like M&M’s)

1/2 cup golden raisins, chopped

1 cup mixed dried fruit (any combo of cranberries, cherries,
strawberries, blueberries, etc.)

*Bake at 325 degrees F. for 30-40 minutes or until browned.