Chef Penny Moline shows you how anyone can cook with passion! Keep it simple, Keep it fresh, Keep it safe. And share it with someone you love!

I keep a small bowl of kosher salt at my work station at work....and on my kitchen counter right by my cutting board at home....a box of kosher salt will last in home use a long time....Please invest in it...


Salt is like a complement..... use it...people will make a lot of really great complements....use too much....no complements...use too little.... not enough complements!   Salt is a fundamental flavor of the human palate...when you are cooking foods from scratch...remember you are not getting the amount you would from pre-prepared foods...so please use some of the complements from your bowl of salt..

Table salt is used on the table and in baking.... it may contain iodine...or other additives to prevent caking... I use Morton salt for baking... and table salt....if I am not getting enough complements... but generally I use Kosher salt in all my savory cooking....  It is a coarse salt and does not dissolve as quickly... It is easier to use by putting some in your hand....and taking pinches of it to put into your foods that you are preparing...   I recommend....taste....add salt.....taste.....add more salt if needed....for those complements...taste..add salt if needed.... Use the two spoon method I use... one spoon goes in my mouth...one spoon dishes up the goodies and puts it on the spoon that goes in my mouth....I don't run out of spoons this way....and I am not contaminating my foods...and am not washing spoons all day...

There are many sea salt and other salts out in the market...with flavors, I use these types of salt mainly for garnishing...

Cooking it always Kosher....baking is always a fine granulation of salt....at least this is my preference.

Pepper:

Pepper comes in three forms:  white, green and black...all come from the same berry but are processed differently.

Black Pepper is picked not ripe...white is fully ripe and the hull is removed...green pepper is picke unripe and preserved before the color darkens...

Whole pepper corns are what I use in a pepper mill...but let me tell you...if you don't have a pepper mill, you can still get that great flavor of freshly cracked pepper.  Put some pepper corns on a cutting board...use a small saute pan and roll it across the pepper corns almost like a rolling pin... you will have crushed pepper.... a coffee grinder will work too. 

I am not a fan of white pepper.... I think is smells like my dog Rupert when he is wet.... only a couple of recipes that I will use white pepper... and will usually just use black pepper....White pepper is a big deal in most kitchens Chef's like to use white pepper because you can't see it in sauces.... I can't see it...but I can taste it...and to ME...it is wet dog...sorry....I have never tasted wet dog...but I am sure this is what it tastes like at least  to me...however, there is a recipe with cucumbers, tomatoes, that white pepper is amazing in....

Green peppercorns are pretty pricey...and used in special recipes ...Wet packed peppercorns are perishable...water packed will only keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator after opening..but are wonderful in a sauce over steaks!  You can purchase dried green peppercorns...Rose or red peppercorns are similar to green pepper except it is allowed to ripen until the skin turns red.

Cayenne pepper is not related to black or white peppercorns.  It belongs to the paprika family.  It can give a bit of heat to a soup or a sauce without changing the flavor...when using a pinch...when using more...it give heat and flavor to a dish...

I keep a small bowl of kosher salt at my work station at work....and on my kitchen counter right by my cutting board at home....a box of kosher salt will last in home use a long time....Please invest in it...


Salt is like a complement..... use it...people will make a lot of really great complements....use too much....no complements...use too little.... not enough complements!   Salt is a fundamental flavor of the human palate...when you are cooking foods from scratch...remember you are not getting the amount you would from pre-prepared foods...so please use some of the complements from your bowl of salt..

Table salt is used on the table and in baking.... it may contain iodine...or other additives to prevent caking... I use Morton salt for baking... and table salt....if I am not getting enough complements... but generally I use Kosher salt in all my savory cooking....  It is a coarse salt and does not dissolve as quickly... It is easier to use by putting some in your hand....and taking pinches of it to put into your foods that you are preparing...   I recommend....taste....add salt.....taste.....add more salt if needed....for those complements...taste..add salt if needed.... Use the two spoon method I use... one spoon goes in my mouth...one spoon dishes up the goodies and puts it on the spoon that goes in my mouth....I don't run out of spoons this way....and I am not contaminating my foods...and am not washing spoons all day...

There are many sea salt and other salts out in the market...with flavors, I use these types of salt mainly for garnishing...

Cooking it always Kosher....baking is always a fine granulation of salt....at least this is my preference.

Pepper:

Pepper comes in three forms:  white, green and black...all come from the same berry but are processed differently.

Black Pepper is picked not ripe...white is fully ripe and the hull is removed...green pepper is picke unripe and preserved before the color darkens...

Whole pepper corns are what I use in a pepper mill...but let me tell you...if you don't have a pepper mill, you can still get that great flavor of freshly cracked pepper.  Put some pepper corns on a cutting board...use a small saute pan and roll it across the pepper corns almost like a rolling pin... you will have crushed pepper.... a coffee grinder will work too. 

I am not a fan of white pepper.... I think is smells like my dog Rupert when he is wet.... only a couple of recipes that I will use white pepper... and will usually just use black pepper....White pepper is a big deal in most kitchens Chef's like to use white pepper because you can't see it in sauces.... I can't see it...but I can taste it...and to ME...it is wet dog...sorry....I have never tasted wet dog...but I am sure this is what it tastes like at least  to me...however, there is a recipe with cucumbers, tomatoes, that white pepper is amazing in....

Green peppercorns are pretty pricey...and used in special recipes ...Wet packed peppercorns are perishable...water packed will only keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator after opening..but are wonderful in a sauce over steaks!  You can purchase dried green peppercorns...Rose or red peppercorns are similar to green pepper except it is allowed to ripen until the skin turns red.

Cayenne pepper is not related to black or white peppercorns.  It belongs to the paprika family.  It can give a bit of heat to a soup or a sauce without changing the flavor...when using a pinch...when using more...it give heat and flavor to a dish...