Cooking with Chef Tim Edstrom

Chef Tim Edstrom paid a visit to MOPS last Wednesday, and while he cooked a delicious risotto for us, he also shared some cooking tips.

Tim is using a food mill to grind up butternut squash that has already been cooked. Tip: For the best mashed potatoes, bake Yukon Gold potatoes in their jackets, then put them in a food mill and add a little milk and butter.

Tim slices raw butternut squash. Next to the silver bowl, there is a plate of diced apples. Tim prefers Granny Smith apples for cooking because of their flavor, and they also don't brown as quickly as other varieties after they are cut. Tip: Make sure the food you are slicing always has a flat surface. Use a very sharp knife. If you cut yourself with a sharp knife, it will heal faster than a cut from a dull knife.

Use real wine as opposed to "cooking" wine. If you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it! Tim uses a wooden spoon since that's how he was taught to cook.

See those beautifully cooked apples in the foreground!
Tim cooked them as a garnish with butter and brown sugar.

Tim is browning the butternut squash for the risotto.
Tip: Do not add salt as you brown something. Salt will pull the moisture out of your food and it won't brown as well. Add the salt later.

Unfortunately, I had to go pick up my daughter from preschool before the risotto was finished, and I didn't get to taste a sample. I was very disappointed!

Many, many thanks to Tim for sharing his talent with us!