Crazy Croat's Recipes and Cheffy Tips

08/20/2026

When preparing hard-boiled or jammy eggs, I do NOT boil them.

I steam them.

I know that many cooks state that this doesn't make any difference. To that I say: 1. The eggs aren't jostling against each other, so they don't crack, 2. Steam is a consistent temperature, so cooking is even, and 3. You can use an ice bath or a cold water bath because either will result in the shells peeling properly IF you gently roll the egg on the counter.

This method is fool-proof. Truly.

All kudos to Alton Brown.

Alton Brown explains a foolproof way to hard-cook (not boil) eggs. ...

08/15/2026

Garlic-Shrimp Spaghetti! EASY recipe! I will post soon.

08/15/2026

Crazy Croat's Cheffy Tip #73:

When making a sauce or soup, a mire-poix offers a great base.

Mire-poix is a combo of three vegetables: onion, celery and carrots.

The trick is FINELY-DICING the carrot and celery. While a regular dice for the onion will suffice, finely-dicing the carrots and celery allows those vegetables to soften, even melt into the sauce.

Finely-dice means 1/10" maximum, meaning under 1/8".

You'll need a good sharp knife to achieve this cut.

I cook my mire-poix in a cast iron skillet. The onion, seasoned with salt, cooks for at least 30 minutes on low first, achieving some caramelization. Then I add my finely-diced celery and carrot. I continue to cook the mire-poix on the lowest setting for at least 40 minutes, achieving a beautiful flavour base.

So, use a mire-poix when making a tomato pasta sauce, a soup or a cream sauce. Have fun!

08/13/2026

Apple Peppers are different from Sweet Bell Peppers in shape, size and flavour profile.
Apple Peppers are about 4" in diameter max and have a round shape like an apple, while Sweet Bell Peppers are somewhat square and larger. While Sweet Green Peppers are slightly bitter and Red Bell Peppers are sweeter (and the yellow and orange shades between green and red), Apple Peppers are even sweeter than Red Bell Peppers. The hot variety of Apple Peppers offer a citrusy heat (Wow! That'd be fun to work with!)

Apple Peppers have darker seeds too.

So, try Apple Peppers if you can find them. [Or grow them yourself]

08/12/2026

Crazy Croat's Cheffy Tip #23: adding acidity with lemon.

Lemons are fairly inexpensive but add so much depth to a dish. There's practically no main dish that doesn't require some acidity.

Example: sonething as mundane and un-gourmet (is that a word?) as chicken noodle soup benefits from a wedge of lemon sq**rted into it. In fact, any chicken soup benefits from a sq**rt of lemon.

Fish, obviously, loves lemon.

Weiner Schnitzel, famously, benefits from a sq**rt of lemon.

So, ALWAYS have lemons on hand. It doesn't matter what cuisine you're attempting, lemons help. Italian, Greek, Hungarian, German, Spanish, English (yes, that's a cuisine, don't slam the English), Swedish, Russian, Chinese... name the cuisine. Lemons help. Just a wedge of lemon sq**rt brightens a dish.

07/27/2026

Crazy Croat's Cheffy Tip #5: use a wooden cutting board.

You may have noticed many ads popping up that promote titanium or steel cutting boards. DO NOT BUY THEM. Metal will DESTROY your knives. A knife edge needs a "softer" surface to cut on. That's why wooden boards are the right choice. You can try bamboo, but bamboo, unlike a good maple or walnut board, has parallel "grain" and isn't wood at all. It's grass.

So, please get a decent wooden cutting block or board.

Oh, and plastic is not healthy. You will be putting mini-pieces of plastic into your food if you use a plastic board. Glass is just as hard as metal and is equally destructive to your knives.

07/22/2026

Crazy Croat’s City-Wide 5-Alarm “Inferno” Slow-Cooker Chilli

Ingredients:

907 g (2 lbs) stewing beef diced into 2 cm (3/4”) cubes
473 ml (2 cups) black turtle beans (2, 430 ml, or 15 oz cans OR prepare a batch from dry beans: See how to prepare beans from dry beans in a separate post)
473 ml (2 cups) red kidney beans (2, 430 ml, or 15 oz cans OR prepare a batch from dry beans: See how to prepare beans from dry beans in a separate post)
250 ml (1 cup) beef broth
2 medium yellow onions, diced
6-7 jalapeńos, sliced with seeds
5 Red Thai Chili peppers, finely sliced
1, 830 ml (28 oz) can of diced tomatoes
2 yellow or orange sweet bell peppers, diced
3 - 5 tbsp chili powder
3 tbsp oregano
3 tsp cayenne
2 - 3 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp fresh ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 - 2 tsp paprika
1 tsp liquid smoke

2 tbsp canola or vegetable oil

Method:

Pat dry the beef with paper towel. Make sure the beef is as dry as possible.

Heat a large pan over medium heat with the canola oil in it.

Place beef in the pan and cook the beef until lightly seared.

Place seared beef into a 6 to 8 quart slow-cooker.

Place pan back on burner and add a little more oil.

Place onion in pan and cook until translucent.

Place cooked onion into slow cooker.

Place all remaining ingredients into slow cooker, stirring the ingredients as you add ingredients so that the chilli is mixed evenly.

Set slow-cooker on high for 5 hours, or on slow for 9 hours (I choose slow every time as I believe it gives a better distribution of flavours).

Serve with buns, shredded cheddar cheese, and/or sour cream (or on a hot dog!).

Yield: 12 to 16 portions. This chilli will freeze well for up to 3 months.

07/19/2026

Crazy Croat's Cheffy Tip #24:

Buy the brand name that you know delivers the best flavour. We all face the opportunity to save a few cents by buying the no-name, store brand or knock-off product. It's not worth the few cents or even dollars you'll "save". If you don't like it ir if it's not the best in your estimation, it's a waste of money.

No matter the product, the brand name that YOU love is worth the difference in price, so buy it. Brand names are better for a second reason: those companies are committed to creating new products and maintaining extremely high standards to ensure that their products deliver consistent quality, texture and flavour.

I have plenty of chances to buy no-name, store brands or knock-offs. Those other versions simply don't stack up in flavour as far as I'm concerned.

If you DO find that a no-name, store brand or knock-off is more flavourful or palatable, great. I have yet to meet up with any that hold a sputtering candle to the original name brand, and I have yet to meet someone who claims that the name brand doesn't remain superior.

Pictured is my favourite yellow mustard. I have tried others. For my taste, this mustard is the best. Whatever is YOUR favourite is the one you should buy and use.

07/16/2026

Crazy Croat's Cheffy Tip #17

When using canned tomatoes from a tin for a sauce, the sauce needs to simmer for at least one hour to get rid of the tin flavour.

Italians IN ITALY use canned tomatoes, so there is no advantage to using fresh tomatoes when making a sauce. Just make sure that you simmer the sauce for at least an hour. I simmer my sauce for about 4 hours, stirring occasionally.

07/15/2026