I’m trying to learn to can with confidence. To me, canning is a foreign skill perfected by 50′s housewives, pioneer women, and their descendants. I’ve always thought of it as a means to save money or combat scarcity- not as a way to preserve seasonal bounty or enjoy the luxuries of ripe summer produce during the depths of winter.

Maybe the tornado changed my mind. All week, i’ve been fantasizing about filling my cabinets with jams, jellies, pickles, relishes, and other condiments. I want something to spice up boring meals on the nights i’m too tired to cook. I want something to thrown on pancakes when there’s no syrup left in the fridge. So, I made learning to can a summer goal. I ordered a bunch of canning books from interlibrary loan and made a list of all the things i’d like to try.

My first few attempts were slightly nerve-wracking. I wasn’t ready to invest in canning equipment, so I used a soup pot, some metal tongs, an impromptu canning rack made of jar rings, and a ladle. In my first three tries (two jams, one relish), I dropped a jar, I burned myself with boiling water, and I spilled 220 degree jam all over the outside of the container I was trying to put it in. Tiring of the potential for mess and injury, I bought an inexpensive canning set. I hear you can find those for much cheaper, so keep your eye out.

This was the last recipe I made before acquiring canning equipment. It’s a tasty radish relish that’s great on steamed vegetables or fish. The recipe comes from Sherri Brooks Vinton’s Put ‘em Up!, which is a great book if you’re intimidated by canning and want to start with small batches. Canning & Preserving with Ashley English is another good title. It doesn’t have as many recipes, but it does a good job explaining techniques.

Over the next few weeks i’ll try to keep you updated on my progress. I have several books and types of jars coming in, and i’m looking forward to experimenting.
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Here are two recipes I made right around Super Bowl Sunday. The first is my usual go-to pizza recipe (note that Cook’s Illustrated has an updated recipe in the latest issue). The second is Ree Drummond’s Spicy Shredded Pork, which fueled a near-endless supply of tacos, quesadillas, sandwiches, and other lunches.

Looking at these photos, I feel more compelled to talk about equipment than food. Cooking can be more enjoyable and less stressful when you have the right tools. The few times i’ve using the ‘wrong’ tools, i’ve ended up with lopsided cakes, giant messes, broken glass, and burned fingers. In most cases, good equipment can reduce errors and improve product. You’ll bake better cakes in pans that heat evenly and hold their shape. You’ll get a better sear on meat in a pan that’s not non-stick. And so on.

Good equipment doesn’t have to be expensive. I buy a lot of my cook and bake ware secondhand. In some cases, the stuff you find in thrift stores or relatives’ garages (or on ebay) will serve you better than the newer stuff. I don’t especially like it when I buy something new and it breaks after one or two uses. Recently, this has happened to me with 1) a cheap nonstick skillet and 2) a citrus juicer. Hence another reason to buy cheap or secondhand- if it breaks, you aren’t out much on your investment. When I find older things in good condition, I’m inclined to think they will stand the test of time. I especially love vintage baking pans, cake carriers, table ware, and serving pieces.

This isn’t to say that there aren’t new items of quality and value. Recently i’ve acquired a number of new kitchen doo-dads, some which i’m using more frequently than others. I have a few new things that have brought me a lot of pleasure in the kitchen including:

1) A fancy-pants garbage can.

2) A pizza stone.

3) A set of small, locking tongs. (Pictured above)

I try not to buy anything new unless i’m sure I will appreciate it and use it often. I also try to shop TJ Maxx or restaurant supply stores before going to more expensive retailers. I’m also really wary of online product reviews- they’re often unreliable, and most of the time they don’t account for wear/longevity. I’m more likely to buy new kitchen products when i’ve test-driven them in a friend or relative’s kitchen beforehand. The one exception is when I travel- when i’m buying ‘souvenir cookware,’ I’m not always thinking about function…

So that’s my two cents. Look for things that will last, and try to get them free, cheap, second-hand, or on sale. If you have to buy new, do some research first.

How have you built your collection of cookware/bakeware?

I was recently invited to a potluck. I had planned to bring a pie, but then I heard that several other people were making pies. I decided I’d make mac and cheese instead. It was a blatant violation of my “never bring a dish you’ve never made to a potluck” rule.

I rarely make mac and cheese. I find it too indulgent for one or two people, and the leftovers are always disappointing (unless, of course, you bread and deep fry them like Alton Brown does). The recipes can get expensive and labor intensive, requiring the use of all your pots and all the burners on your stove.

In fact, if my friend Andy hadn’t started bringing mac and cheese to potlucks, I never would have considered making it for this event. His mac and cheese, a modified version of Alton Brown’s Baked Macaroni and Cheese, is a wildly popular potluck contribution that no one seems to tire of. Andy is also responsible for introducing me to the fabulous mac and cheese at Kelly’s Bar and Lounge.

If you’d like to make this recipe like Andy does, you’ll need to:
1. Increase the 1/2lb of macaroni to about 3/4 pound
2. Make a roux out of the flour, mustard and butter
3. Heat the milk and bay leaf separately on low heat until ready to add them to the roux
4. Substitute copious amounts of smoked paprika/pimenton for the paprika
5. Serve the final product with Sriracha and salt.

I like it so much that it’s the only mac and cheese i’ll ever make. It was the first dish emptied at the potluck, and one person told me I should have made twice as much!