Cooking Sous Vide- how to cook french food in a beer cooler

Ben and I REALLY love cooking. A lot. We also REALLY love eating. A lot. Don't be like us.

We also like watching cooking shows. Top Chef, Top Chef Masters, Chopped, Iron Chef, Cook like an Iron Chef, etc etc etc. AND we love buying all sorts of cooking tools, gadgets and kitchen paraphernalia in general. I'm telling you. Don't be like us.

So, when Ben found out that there was a french technique that most chefs were using and that required the use of some sort of cool gadget to turn even tough cuts of beef into soft chunks of deliciousness, he was ALL. OVER it.

Sous vide(pronounced /suːˈviːd/) is French for under vacuum. It is basically cooking food in airtight plastic bags in a low temperature water bath for long periods of time. The temperature needs to be precise and constant. A typical cooking temperature would be 60C or 140F.

The objective of cooking sous vide is to maintain the integrity of the ingredients and enhance the flavor. It helps keep food moist, make meat tender and it is a very healthy way of cooking since it doesn't require fat.

Because we are gadget oriented geeks, we recently purchased our very own Sous Vide Supreme Demi.

It is a very simple (yet very cool) contraption that is basically a water oven. What it does is heat the water and keep it at a very consistent temperature through the whole cooking process. It also features a timer which, for the most part, is not necessary, because when you are cooking sous vide, there is a minimum cooking time, but you can leave the food in the water bath for much longer than that without altering the doneness at all.

We also bought a vacuum sealer and the plastic bags to go with it, but it broke down after a couple weeks (and a scrambled egg experiment),so while we are waiting for it to be replaced we have been using these handheld little guys or even just regular Ziploc bags.

We have been getting AMAZING results! The steak is always so tender, juicy and the flavor of the seasonings seems to be enhanced. We have also made salmon, chicken, broccoli and poached eggs and they all turned out great. It does take some time to cook (steak is usually about 1 hour) but it's totally worth it.

The problem is that buying a Sous Vide Supreme and the vacuum sealer is not cheap. We got ours at Bed, Bath and Beyond with the 20% off coupon and the vacuum sealer on Woot, so it came to about $300. It's definitely worth buying if you are going to be doing this often (and we plan to), but it is very pricey especially if you are not sure you are going to like the results.

The great news is that you don't need a Sous Vide Supreme to cook sous vide at home. All you need is a beer cooler! You heard me right. You can try your hand at this amazing french technique using nothing more that a Ziploc bag, a beer cooler and a thermometer.

Here is how you do it:

1- Place your steak (or rack of lamb, or salmon, fish, chicken) in the bag with salt, pepper and any other seasonings you'd like to add. You don't need any fat, but if you decide that you do want to add some, go for a little bit of butter. If you have a vacuum sealer it is much better and it is the right way to do it, but it you don't, a Ziploc bag will do.

2- Place a BIG pot of water on the stove and heat it till it boils.Place the boiling hot water in a beer cooler ( 2 or 3 degrees hotter than you need). Keep water boiling on the stove. For medium rare steak you need the water to be at 131F.

3- Check the temperature of the water with a thermometer. If you are using a vacuum sealed bag, just pop it in the cooler. If you are using a Ziploc bag, seal most of it (leave a tiny bit open) and submerge most of the bag in the water. The air that is in the bag will slowly come out of the bag and then you can seal it completely. You might need to place a glass, bowl or some other object in the cooler to keep the bag completely under water.

4- Keep checking the temperature of the water with the thermometer and add boiling water to the cooler if the temperature drops.

5- For steak, let it cook for at least 1 hour. You can let it go longer and it won't alter the doneness.

6- After at least 1 hour, heat up a skillet over high heat. When it is hot, add 1 tsp of butter and sear the steak for about 45 seconds on each side. Let the meat rest for about 5 minutes (this is very important!) and serve!

Here is a table of different cooking times and temperatures:

The steak temperature guide is really long so here is the link where you can find it:

http://www.cookingsousvide.com/info/sous-vide-guides/more/sous-vide-steak-guide#times

Because Saint Patrick's Day is right around the corner, here is a recipe for Corned Beef and Cabbage Sous Vide: (You do need a Sous Vide water oven for this recipe because a cooler will not hold the temperature for that much time)

Sous Vide Corned Beef and Cabbage

Time: 24 to 48 Hours
Temperature: 135°F / 57°C
Serves: 4

3-4 pounds of corned beef
1 head of cabbage, cut into ½" wide strips
6 slices of bacon, cut into ¼" strips
1-2 cups fresh chicken stock
¼ cup white wine vinegar

Corned beef cooked with sous vide results in meat with a great texture. It is also much juicier and more flavorful than many corned beefs.

In this recipe we call for it to be cooked at 135°F which was the temperature we liked best. However, our test with the corned beef cooked at 146°F was also very good. It was drier than the 135°F meat but a bit more tender. Either temperature will result in fantastic corned beef.

Pre Sous Vide Bath

Preheat your sous vide water bath to 135°F / 57°C.

Seal the corned beef in a sous vide pouch and place the pouch into your water bath. Let it cook for 24 to 48 hours.

Finishing After Sous Vide

About 45 minutes before you are ready to eat begin to prepare the cabbage.

Cook the bacon strips over medium heat until crisp and the fat is rendered. Pour out all but 1-2 tablespoons of the bacon fat.

Add the cabbage strips to the bacon pan and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of the chicken stock and the ¼ cup of vinegar to the pan. Let the cabbage cook in the liquid until tender, adding more chicken stock if it begins to dry out.

When the cabbage starts to become tender, remove the corned beef from the water bath and the sous vide pouch. Slice the corned beef into ½" - ¾" slices.

Serve the corned beef on a plate with the cabbage piled on top of it. This is also wonderful when served with roasted potatoes, fresh bread, or a light salad.

This recipe and many others can be found in this book:

We got it and it's great if you want to learn the basics of this great technique.

Here are some other resources you might want to look into if you are interested in sous vide cooking:

http://www.cookingsousvide.com

http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/03/how-to-sous-vide-steak.html

http://www.sousvidesupreme.com

http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/04/cook-your-meat-in-a-beer-cooler-the-worlds-best-sous-vide-hack.html

http://sousvide.wordpress.com/

http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2010-01/cooking-sous-vide-inexpensive-diy-way

You can also sign up for free on this website and watch a series of 8 video tutorials about cooking sous vide:

http://www.sousvidesupreme.com/videos/default.htm

Or watch this video about beer cooler sous vide:

Let me know if you tried it and invite me over for dinner if it works!

Happy cooking!

Being a Weight Watcher Part I (and a yummy recipe)

I went to my Weight Watchers meeting this morning. And I lost weight. All is well in the world. ; )

Weight Watchers has been a big part of my life for the last year or so. I hope it will be a part of my life forever. That's the way it's supposed to be. It's not a diet. It's a lifestyle. But boy is it hard to live that lifestyle for me! I struggle EVERY.SINGLE.DAY! I hear people say they got used to it. I haven't and probably won't, but guess what? It works and it's a wonderful, livable program.

I lost 63lbs with Weight Watchers and a total of 102lbs total since I had Isabella. You gasp and say: "No you didn't! You weren't almost 300lbs 20 months ago!" Oh yes, I was. And I don't want to forget that. Because it's important to remember. I look at myself everyday and it's easy to forget how miserable it felt and how BIG I really looked (don't tell me I hid it tell because I'm tall. I'd have to be as tall as the Christ Statue in Rio to hide all that weight!) For the sake of remembering and because I have no shame or self-respect, I'm posting this picture someone "kindly" posted on Facebook. I was almost 9 months pregnant and it was hot.Bear that in mind will ya?

(Gasping in horror!) I know... Breathe and move on...

Anyway, I need Weight Watchers is my life. I NEED the meetings, the accountability, my amazingly supportive WW friends (Max and Christine, Barb, Sally, Carol, Carole, Carla, Peggy, Marie, Loretta, Danielle, Marianne,etc etc etc- I love you guys!). I NEED the accountability of knowing another human being is going to see me step onto the scale every week (you have no idea how hard that is!). I NEED Cathy's guidance and support. She's an amazing WW leader (and human being, and mother, and artist, and blogger and FRIEND no matter what she thinks). I need the points, the tracker, the scale, the calculator, the website, the Apps, the magazine, the books. I really do. Most of all I need the feeling of being in control and I didn't get that very often with food before WW.

Ok, this is going to sound weird but maybe you've been through it and you'll know what I'm talking about. It is very gratifying to be able to restrict/control and deny yourself some things sometimes. Weird hum? But have you ever felt the urge to buy something expensive and useless? Have you had it in your hands and you REALLY REALLY want it? Then you breathe, think for a couple of minutes about your budget, your storage space, your decor or whatever and then you decide that you are going to put it back on the shelf. VERY EMPOWERING!

I've come to the conclusion that I am a food addict. And turning down a Chicken Fried Steak is amazingly gratifying for an addict. And the pleasure that comes from turning it down lasts, as opposed to the intense (I mean INTENSE!)and short lived pleasure of eating it.

I'm not the only crazy person who thinks about these things. I read a really great book last year and the author talks about the rewards of not indulging and self-control.Read it. You'll love it. But don't blame me if it keeps you awake at night because you have a million things you want to improve and change in your life!

An addict? You exclaim. YES. An addict. I tell people I used to eat a lot. And often. And think about food a lot. And often. And people would say: "I eat a lot too". Well, if I go out to lunch with you and you refuse a cheddar biscuit because it's going to ruin your appetite, you're not in my league. Nope. Not even close. At the end of the day, people would admit: " I thought I ate a lot,but..." I knew what they meant. For years I said I LOOOOOOOVED food but you know what? I don't. I have a very negative relationship with food and if I had the chance to pop a pill and never have to eat again I would. That's not love. That's addiction.

But just as I floss, clean the toilet, change a poopy diaper and pay the bills, I know that I need to do this. For me. And my family. Even when I don't want to. Even when I have to force myself to. Because it's not natural for me. And I suspect it never will be. But overcoming your natural instinct is rewarding. Going against your grain is what makes us powerful, intelligent and mature human beings. So I try. And then some.

Now on to the recipe!

I try to adapt things I like to eat so they fit into the program. I first had Swedish Meatballs at IKEA and I was hooked! Love them! But my original beloved recipe came to a whopping 102 points!! That is for 4 servings but we'd usually gobble it all up ourselves. So here is my new take on it. Hope you like it!

WW friendly Swedish Meatballs for 2

-For the meatballs:

- 1/2 lbs lean ground beef (7% fat)

- 1 slice of 50 calorie white bread

- garlic powder to taste

- 1/8 cup of skim milk

- dried parsley flakes or fresh parsley if you have it and like it (if you are like my husband and you hate parsley, don't add it. Fine, be that way)

- 1 tsp butter

- 1 tsp olive oil

- salt and pepper

-For the sauce:

- 1/3 can of Campbell's beef consomme

- 1/3 can of Campbell's 98% Fat Free cream of mushroom soup

- 6-8 sliced babybella mushrooms (or cremini, shitake, button- whatever rocks your world or just omit that part if you hate mushrooms. You don't know what you're missing. Just saying.)

In a medium bowl crumble the bread slice and add the milk. Let it soak for 2 minutes. Combine the beef and seasonings (C'mon! use your hands for that part!) Form the meatballs. (I like to make them small so I can say I had 8 meatballs for lunch but I'm weird. Don't be like me.)

Over high heat, add the butter and the olive oil to a medium saute pan. Add the meatballs and don't touch them until one side is brown and beautiful. Flip them over and brown the other side. Remove them from the pan. Add the beef consomme and deglaze the pan (deglaze= fancy word that means remove every bit of deliciousness that might have stuck to the bottom of the pan). Add the sliced mushrooms and the cream of mushroom soup and the meatballs and let it cook until the mushrooms are tender.

Grand total of 6 Points Plus per serving (2).

You can serve them with egg noodles or rice if you have the points to spare. Just make sure to add the points to your meal!

If you are insterested in knowing more about WW go to:

http://www.weightwatchers.com/