Pressure Cooking Recipes for Your Zavor Multicooker!

Filed under: Bites & Bits,Member Deals,Recipes , Tags: , , , , — Author: Caron Golden , September 28, 2020

We’re now launching into week three of our month-long member discount on Zavor multicookers and induction cooktops. All APPCA members are eligible to get a 35 percent discount on Zavor Electric Multicookers and Induction cooktops PLUS free shipping. Members may purchase up to one induction cooktop and one multicooker of their choice with the discount. The discount will be valid from September 15 to October 15, 2020, and you can obtain the details on our member forum’s private discussion group.

If you’re a chef who hasn’t put a multicooker to use on behalf of clients (or yourselves), we thought we’d share collections of recipes for its pressure cooking function this week. Next week, we’ll look into recipes for several other functions the multicooker offers, like making rice and yogurt, searing and even stir fry. The multicookers by Zavor can do both of these and much more. NOTE: Some of these links reference Instant Pot–but that shouldn’t make a difference to you in the context of recipes.

So, here are links to general recipes:

We’ve got vegetarian pressure cooker recipes, too!

Need vegan pressure cooker recipes? There are tons out there!

Need Keto-friendly pressure cooker recipes? Look at these!

Finally, if you’re a chef who hasn’t been noodling around with pressure cooking and need some tips to get started, here you go…

Have clients with other food needs? We’re pretty sure there are pressure cooker recipes perfect for them, too! In the meantime, be sure to take advantage of this member discount and order your Zavor equipment before October 15, 2020!

What are your favorite pressure cooker dishes you make for your clients?

Not an APPCA member? Now’s the perfect time to join! Go to personalchef.com to learn about all the benefits that come with membership.

And if you are a member and have a special talent to share on this blog, let us know so we can feature you!

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Slow Cooker Recipe Mania!

Filed under: Member Deals,Recipes , Tags: , , , — Author: Caron Golden , September 21, 2020

As you might have read, we’re in the middle of a month-long member discount on Zavor multicookers and induction cooktops. All APPCA members are eligible to get a 35 percent discount on Zavor Electric Multicookers and Induction cooktops PLUS free shipping. Members may purchase up to one induction cooktop and one multicooker of their choice with the discount. The discount will be valid from September 15 to October 15, 2020 and you can obtain the details on our member forum’s private discussion group.

If you’re a chef who hasn’t put a multicooker to use on behalf of clients (or yourselves), we thought we’d share collections of recipes for it’s slow cooker function this week. Next week, we’ll have lots of resources for you for pressure cooking. The multicookers by Zavor can do both of these and much more.

So, here are links to general recipes:

Need vegetarian slow cooker meals? No problem!

Got vegan clients? There are slow cooker recipes for them!

We’re guessing some of you have Keto diet clients. Here you go…

Have clients with other food needs? We’re pretty sure there are slow cooker recipes perfect for them, too! In the meantime, be sure to take advantage of this member discount and order your Zavor equipment before October 15, 2020!

What are your favorite slow cooker dishes to make for your clients?

Not an APPCA member? Now’s the perfect time to join! Go to personalchef.com to learn about all the benefits that come with membership.

And if you are a member and have a special talent to share on this blog, let us know so we can feature you!

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Such a Deal! Big Zavor Discount for APPCA Members!

Filed under: Member Deals , Tags: , , , , , , , , — Author: Caron Golden , September 14, 2020

We’re very excited to announce a great deal only for our APPCA members!

All APPCA members are eligible to get a 35 percent discount on Zavor Electric Multicookers and Induction cooktops PLUS free shipping. Members may purchase up to one induction cooktop and one multicooker of their choice with the discount. The discount will be valid from September 15 to October 15, 2020.

Not familiar with Zavor? Well, you may remember the company Fagor America. In fact, we featured a promotion for members with Fagor back in 2017. The company shut its doors in 2018 but several longtime employees didn’t want to let the quality equipment disappear and launched Zavor before the end of 2018. Think of it as the phoenix of a late, great manufacturer.

Here’s what member April Lee of Tastefully Yours Personal Chef Services in Baltimore, who helped organize this discount with Zavor, said about the promotion:

“Zavor’s multicookers have been name as the best by leading industry reviewers: Cook’s Illustrated/America’s Test Kitchen, Consumer Reports, Food & Wine, Chowhound, EatingWell, and others. The discount plus free shipping really is a generous promotion and great opportunity for personal chefs to buy an excellent appliance.”

We’re betting that you’ll be thrilled with this new company’s wares!

The five products discounted for you include:

 

Induction PRO Cooktop: This cooktop cooks up to 50 percent faster than gas and electric, which saves energy. The cool glass surface means food will not stick. It has eight quick launch buttons for cooking functions: Warm, Simmer, Boil, Rapid Boil, Sauté, Brown, Sear and Stir Fry. Perfect to use as an extra cooking zone in the kitchen.

LUX Multicooker: The Lux Multicooker, available in 4, 6, and 8 quart capacities, offers 7 main functions from pressure cook and slow cook to steam/rice and yogurt. It also has keep warm and time delay functions, a mute feature, adjustable time and temperature, and 3-position pressure valve.

LUX Edge Multicooker: This multicooker has 14 preset functions, including pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, and yogurt maker. It also has a manual function for complete cooking control. It’s available in 4, 6, and 8 quart capacities. There is a keep warm function for up to 24 hours and a time delay function for up to 6 hours.

 

LUX LCD Multicooker: The LUX LCD Multicooker was named the Best Multicooker in the market in 2018 by America’s Test Kitchen. It features an LCD screen and has 10 main functions and over 30 settings, plus a Flex setting that allows you to program your own cooking temperature. It is available in 4, 6, and 8 quart capacities.

LUX LCD Multicooker Black: This multicooker has the same functions as the LUX LCD Multicooker, but is available in a stunning black metal finish. It is available in 6 and 8 quart capacities.

Here’s how this will work. On Tuesday, September 15, 2020, we will post this information, plus the link and the promo code in our members-only Private Discussion Forum on the APPCA website. Not an APPCA member but want the discount? We invite you to go to our website, join the organization and get take advantage of the training you’ll get to improve your personal chef business.

Do you use a multicooker or glass cooktop? What do you like about them?

Not an APPCA member? Now’s the perfect time to join! Go to personalchef.com to learn about all the benefits that come with membership.

And if you are a member and have a special talent to share on this blog, let us know so we can feature you!

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Rosh Hashanah Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls

Filed under: Holiday Dishes,Recipes , Tags: , , , , — Author: Caron Golden , September 7, 2020

Winter may be the common period of time when cultures around the world ring in the new year. But for Jews around the world the new year begins in the fall on the first day of Tishri in the Hebrew calendar, which, because it’s a lunar calendar, changes annually. This year it begins on the evening of Friday, September 18. And while you may assume it marks a period of celebration, quite the contrary. In fact, it begins the 10 days of repentance that culminates in Yom Kippur, a day of fasting, confession, and asking forgiveness. Collectively, they’re known as the Days of Awe.

My not-so-religiously observant family has tended to consider Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in the context of food—no surprise there. Yes, we went to temple, but we planned either with our extended family or our friends the gatherings afterwards that would feature the foods of our Ashkenazi, or Eastern European, heritage. In other words, mostly hearty, cold-weather dishes, which is deeply ironic during the inevitable heat waves of Southern California in September and October.

Nevertheless, that was our food and that was what we made and enjoyed. Chicken soup with matzo balls (matzo dumplings) was non-negotiable. So was a round challah to symbolize the repeating of the seasons and holidays, and apples dipped in honey to symbolize the hope for a sweet year. There might be gefilte fish, an appetizer of ground fish shaped into quenelles that are poached and served chilled. We loved eating it with horseradish. Then there would be one of three choices for the main course: brisket (pot roast), roasted chicken, or stuffed cabbage in a rich reddish brown sweet and sour sauce. A sweet noodle kugel, made with egg noodles, sour cream, and cream cheese, had to accompany it since it was our favorite. And, of course, we’d have to have a vegetable, like tzimmes—made with root vegetables. For dessert, there might be a traditional honey cake, or perhaps my Nana’s mandelbread, a biscotti-like cookie filled with almonds and dusted with cinnamon sugar, or slices of her apple strudel.

None of these dishes are specific to Rosh Hashanah—we ate them at other holidays (except the kugel during Passover) or at family meals during the year. But these always showed up at Rosh Hashanah.

Now, as chefs you know that chicken soup is just something every non-vegan/vegetarian home cook and professional cook should know how to make—and have on hand in the freezer. It’s especially helpful when a cold or flu strikes. There’s just nothing so comforting. Plus, it’s so easy to make. Everyone who makes it has their own style, but for those who haven’t made it before, you’re basically filling a large pot with vegetables, like carrots, celery, parsnips, onions, and garlic (my mom also likes to add zucchini for its sweetness), adding pieces of chicken (mostly drumsticks and thighs because the bones are larger and have more marrow for flavor; if you can find chicken feet from a butcher or at an Asian market add them as well for an even richer stock). Add salt and pepper, cover the ingredients with water, bring to a rolling simmer, place a lid on top, and reduce the heat and simmer for about three hours. At that point add some parsley and dill. Cook a bit more and you’re done. You can eat it with all the chicken and veggies or, what we do for the holidays, strain the liquid and put back some cooked carrots and shredded chicken meat. Of course, for the holidays, like Rosh Hashanah, we also add the best part: the matzo balls.

Evie forming the matzo balls

Matzo balls may seem like they should be tricky, but over the years watching my mom, Evie Golden, make them has been confidence building. You mix together beaten eggs, a little chicken soup, vegetable oil (or schmaltz—chicken fat), salt, pepper, and matzo meal. It’ll be goopy at first so refrigerate the dough for an hour to thicken it.  From there you bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and fill a little bowl with cold water (that’s just to dip your fingers in to keep the matzo mixture from sticking to them). Now you form the balls by pulling a golf-ball amount of dough onto your fingers and then gently rolling into a ball before dropping it into the boiling water. Repeat until you use up all the dough. Let the matzo balls simmer in the pot, covered—and, my mom warns, don’t even think of lifting the cover for 30 minutes. Then you can leave them there until you’re ready to serve them, drop them into the chicken soup, or—if you make them ahead of time, freeze them.

And if you’re making these dishes for clients, wish them a Shana Tova, or Happy New Year!

Evie Golden’s Matzo Balls (Knaidlach in Yiddish)
Yield: 16 golf-ball size matzo balls

Ingredients

4 large eggs
¼ cup chicken soup
¼ cup vegetable oil (unless you have some chicken fat—known as schmaltz— around)
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus salt for boiling water
Dash of black pepper
1 1/3 cup unsalted matzo meal

Directions

Beat the eggs in a medium size bowl. Add soup, oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well, then add the matzo meal. Stir until it just comes together and then refrigerate it for an hour to thicken.

In a large wide pot with a lid, bring a lot of salted water to a boil. Fill a small bowl with cold water to dip your fingers in to keep the dough from sticking to them. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Dip the fingers of one hand in the cold water and use it to pull out a golf-ball size amount of the matzo mixture and place it in the other hand, then gently roll into the ball without working it too much and drop into the boiling water. Repeat with each ball, including wetting your fingers.

The balls will rise from the bottom of the pot to float. When all of the balls have been made, turn the water to a low simmer (to prevent the balls from falling apart) and cover the pot. Do not lift the lid while they’re cooking. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave them there until you’re ready to serve or remove with a slotted spoon and drop into the hot chicken soup.

Do not double the recipe if you need more balls. Make another batch instead. The matzo balls can be frozen. If you freeze them, either put them in the chicken soup or put them in a container, submerged in the salted water from the pot. Or, you can put them on parchment paper/wax paper on a baking sheet, freeze until hard, and then pack in a plastic bag or container.

Do you cook Jewish holiday dishes for clients? If so, what do you make?

Not an APPCA member? Now’s the perfect time to join! Go to personalchef.com to learn about all the benefits that come with membership.

And if you are a member and have a special talent to share on this blog, let us know so we can feature you!

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