FREDDIE`S top 10 FAVORITE KITCHEN TOOLS

FREDDIE’S
top 10 FAVORITE
KITCHEN TOOLS
+ 2 exclusive
bonus recipes
FREDDIE’S Top 10
FAVORITE KITCHEN TOOLS
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CAST IRON SKILLET A cast iron skillet is a crucial
tool for any aspiring chef. It’s durable and gets smoking
hot, making cooking really efficient. But when you’re
cooking eggs, low and slow is the major rule to keep in
mind. Let the pan get hot for 2 to 3 minutes, on medium
low, then crack your eggs right on the pan. As soon as
you see the edges firm up, flip em over. Top your eggs
with my red chile sauce and you’ll be in heaven.
GRILL TONGS G rill tongs are my real kitchen
workhorse. I use them for everything from flipping
sausages to charring my favorite New Mexico chiles.
Chiles are the backbone of New Mexican cooking, and
green chiles are delivered by the truckload to my house
every month. My favorite way to eat them is to char them,
either outside on my grill or on my stovetop held directly
over the flame with the tongs.
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BASIL PLANTS I can’t keep enough basil
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GARLIC ROASTER From my jambalaya to my
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SKEWERS FOR GRILLINGOkay, it might
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ICE CUBE TRAY G rowing up in Albuquerque,
DUTCH OVEN G reen chile stew is the perfect meal
to cook when the temp drops below 40 degrees. That
doesn’t happen much here in LA, but I still like to use
my dutch oven to make a comforting green chile stew as
often as I can. Serve with warm tortillas for a taste of my
home.
PIZZA STONE M y daughter, Charlie, and I make
pizza together as an easy weeknight dinner. Tools make
pizza easier, and pizza stones are everywhere nowadays.
Use one for the best thin crust pizza but make sure you
place the stone in your oven while it’s heating up.
ALUMINUM FOIL F oil packets are a great way to let
a vegetable steam itself while you focus on dinner. I love
to pop asparagus or eggplant in there for a delicious
side that even my kids gobble up.
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growing in my back garden. We make a ton of
pesto in my family, just like my mama did with
me. I have memories of picking basil by the
handfuls and bringing them to my mother to
make pesto together. Now I do that with my own
children.
tomato soup, garlic is such an important part of
my cooking. A terra-cotta garlic roaster makes
sure all of my meals taste perfect.
be because we live in LA, but I use my grill
constantly, and putting meat and veggies on
skewers is the easiest way to put together dinner.
Even if you only have access to one in the summer
months, it still makes dinner prep a 10-minute
affair; you can make all sorts of meat and veggie
combinations to suit your family’s tastes.
my mom constantly had to invent new ways for us
to stay cool. She would freeze chocolate syrup in
an ice cube tray as a fun and sweet way to cool
down on those hot summer days.
GRILL L iving in southern California, we grill
outside all year long. But even if you only grill in
the summer months, you can still cook so many
meals using this tool. Nothing sears meat or
gives veggies that unique flavor quite like a
good grilling.
PONZU WOK POT
2 SERVINGS
My wife and I were in Australia working on a movie together. We rented a house right on the
water that was owned by the man who created Nintendo, so I was excited. Then a local radio
station announced our address and offered the public a cash prize to get a pic with us.
Being stalked and hunted like wild game is a bit dehumanizing—makes you feel like a wax
figure—so we were kind of trapped. No beach, no hikes, no surfs, no turfs, and I missed my
dog. We eventually got the bounty removed from us, as innocent people should not be hunted
unless your pursuer is the great Boba Fett. The one thing those DJ jokers couldn’t wreck was
our good times: We cooked. We ate. We loved, no matter what. We made this recipe once a
week for six months straight. It’s really fast and easy and makes you look like a pro.
3 carrots, halved and thinly
sliced crosswise
4 ounces shiitake
mushrooms, stemmed
4 ounces shimeji or enoki
mushrooms, stemmed
⁄4 pound boneless sirloin,
cut across the grain into
1
⁄4" thick slices
3
10 ounces cooked udon
noodles
1
⁄2 bunch fresh baby spinach
⁄2 cup Japanese ponzu
sauce
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I. Add a splash of oil or water to your wok. Then arrange your carrots
and ’shrooms standing up side by side all around the wall of the pot,
leaving the center clear. Place the wok over high heat, and let the
veggies cook until they begin to soften, about 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Add the sliced beef to the middle of the wok. Cook for 1 minute, then
add the ponzu sauce and ½ cup of water. Add the cooked noodles to
the liquid, laying them right across the top. Cook them until they
warm through, about 4 to 5 minutes, then add the spinach and cover
the pot, letting it cook until wilted, about 2 minutes.
3. Remove the wok from the heat and serve the veggies, meat, noodles,
and sauce arranged neatly next to each other in a bowl or you can mix
them all up. Enjoy.
THE PRINZE JERKY
MAKES A TON
My mother made this in the ’80s with one of the original food dehydrators. It took three days
to make, and the smell made my mouth water for 72 hours straight. Fortunately, it’s quicker
now. (You can also use an oven for this jerky, which is of course a little faster, but your
cleanup sucks.) Here in California I just buy carne asada steak, which is usually skirt steak
or flank steak sliced super thin, so this jerky is simple to set up. If your store doesn’t have
that advertised, ask your butcher for the thinnest cuts.
4 pounds very thin skirt
steak, flank steak, or
flap steak, such as for
carne asada
2 1⁄2 tablespoons onion
powder
11⁄ 2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons
Worcestershire sauce
11⁄2 teaspoons freshly
ground black pepper
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 tablespoon ancho chile
powder
1. Slice the steak with the grain into ½" slices. Place pieces in a large
mixing bowl and add the onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black
pepper, and chile powder. Add the soy sauce and Wor’ sauce and mix
the meat so it is coated in the marinade. Then add the liquid smoke.
2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for at
least 12 and up to 24 hours.
3. Remove the strips of steak and pat them dry with a paper towel.
Arrange the strips on each rack of your dehydrator with a little space
between each one. Let these dehydrate for 14 hours—or more,
depending on what consistency you prefer.
SECRET TRICK: If you want to let the oven do it, here’s how: Preheat the oven to 150°F, removing
the oven racks first. Wrap the racks with foil, and pierce one all over with small holes, which
help the extra liquid that comes off the steak drip on to the lower foil, aiding dehydration.
Place the one with the holes right above the one without, then lay out the strips evenly on the
top rack with a little space between each one. Cook in the oven for up to 4 hours depending
on thickness. (I don’t prefer this method, but not everyone has the Food Dehydrator 1000!)