Books & Cooks: Emeril Lagasse

I've been incredibly busy this week. I haven't been in the kitchen to cook. At all.



I did manage to eke out some items early in the week. I promise to post them soon.



On Monday the 17th, St. Patrick's Day, I held the first installment of my Books & Cooks series at BestHealth, Emeril Lagasse.



The Food Network's [former] golden boy, Emeril Lagasse, rules over pork fat, Essence, and everything related to New Orleans cuisine. He makes "food of love" and lives to tell about it. Contrary to popular belief, Emeril is not from Louisiana, does not have Creole or Cajun roots, nor did he step foot into the South until becoming executive chef of the Commander's Palace in New Orleans some years ago. He is a gentleman of Portuguese descent from Fall River, Massachusetts.



I pored over cookbooks, Websites, page inserts, and articles to find recipes I was willing to replicate in healthy form for my clients at Best Health. I took the simplest, most delicious recipes and made them into my own.



Here is my ode to Emeril:

I have to admit, this photo isn't the best. It's quite crappy. I don't have a photographer on location to help me make my food look good. I'm usually under time constraints and I don't think about taking pictures until way after the food is gone.

Oven fried oysters with buttermilk dressing and corn-jalapeño relish
serves 6-8

Corn-Jalapeno Relish:

1 tablespoon Smart Beat light

2 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels

2/3 cup chopped red bell pepper

2/3 cup chopped red onion

2 jalapeno peppers, minced

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

I used frozen corn this time. The corn in the grocery was emaciated and puny. I didn't want to get laughed out of the kitchen.

Peppers other than jalepeno can be used: poblano, anaheim, banana, dried chipotle, habanero..the list goes on.

Buttermilk Dressing:

3/4 cup fat free buttermilk

1/4 teaspoon minced garlic

3 tablespoons minced chives

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup fat free sour cream

Basically, this is ranch dressing. Add some MSG (commercially sold as Accent) and you've got Hidden Valley Ranch. Or as I like to call it: Hidden Ingredient Ranch, because one of the ingredients listed is "SPICES." I'm sorry but I didn't know there was an herb called spices. The salt in this recipe is just a guideline. Please add salt (and pepper) to taste.

Oysters:

1/4 cup Better ‘n’ Eggs real egg product

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons No-Salt Seasoning Shake**

2/3 cup fat free buttermilk

2 tablespoon hot sauce
24 raw oysters, drained and patted dry

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Method #1: Set up a breading station:(1) buttermilk, hot sauce (2) flour mixed with Shake, (3) egg product, (4) cornmeal (with added Shake just because it tastes really great). Bread oysters following the standard breading procedure. To produce a crispier crust, double dip the oyster in flour and egg product twice before ending with a layer of cornmeal.Spray each oyster piece liberally with non-stick spray. Place in oven for 30-35 minutes. Check for even browning and turn pieces midway through.
Method #2: In a medium bowl, whisk the cornmeal with the flour and No-Salt Shake. In a second bowl, combine the buttermilk, hot sauce, and No-Salt shake, and stir to blend. Working with 6 oysters at a time, dip the oysters first in the buttermilk mixture, then allow any excess to drip off before dredging the oysters in the cornmeal mixture. Repeat with the remaining oysters.
Dredge oysters in the flour then the cornmeal mixture, coating evenly. Carefully place oysters on a foil lined or non-stick sheet pan.

Use a little more of the egg product in whatever dish you use to bread your oysters because it will make it easier for dipping purposes.

Salad greens & topping:
8 cups mixed baby greens, for serving
3 tablespoons Hormel Real Crumbled Bacon

No-Salt Seasoning Shake** Yield: 2/3 cup
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons celery seed

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried lemon peel

This shake I created was my attempt to make a seasoning like Emeril's Essence without the salt. I originally called it Effervescence, but I thought people would expect it to bubble in their mouths. This does nothing of the sort.

The lemon peel can be purchased at The Fresh Market (if one is near you) or you can ask your local grocer if you're stumped. Dried orange peel is also available.

Corn Relish: Heat a heavy skillet over high heat. When hot, add the Smart Beat and corn and cook until the corn has begun to brown, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add the bell pepper, onion, jalapeno peppers, and salt and cook until vegetables are wilted, about 3 minutes. Add honey and lime juice, stir to combine, and transfer corn to a mixing bowl. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. (The relish may be made 1 day in advance and stored in the refrigerator, covered.)

"Nicked Up" Chuckwagon Chili (click here for recipe)

This is the same recipe for the Cincinnati Chili I made on March 1. I just called it "Nicked Up" because Emeril calls a lot of his recipes "Kicked up." Hey--I can be original too!

Oven Fried Onion Rings Serves 2

Serving size: 15 rings

2 large onions
1/4 cup Better 'N' Eggs real egg product
1/2 cup crushed Fiber One
2 tablespoon No-Salt Seasoning Shake

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cut edges off onion, and remove outer layer. Cut onion into 1/2 inch wide slices, and separate into rings.
Next, fill a small bowl with Better 'N' Eggs.
Using a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One cereal and No-Salt Shake to a breadcrumb-like consistency. Pour crumbs into a small dish.
One by one, coat each ring in egg and shake after each dip. Then coat each ring with Fiber crumbs.
Place on an oven-safe baking dish sprayed with nonstick spray. Cook for 20-25 minutes, flipping rings over about halfway through.

You can use the same buttermilk/cornmeal procedure for these guys and the results are still spectacular.

The Ides Have It

I opted to write an undergraduate thesis when I was in college. It proved to be more work than I could ever imagine. It took a little over a year. It took some hair, a pinky fingernail, and some academic confidence with it as well.



I was one of the lucky ones. I only had to revise it one time. I have heard stories of people having multiple extensions and paying thousands of dollars in extra tuition just so they can have more time to submit their dissertations.

My thesis: Romans Versus Americans: How The Art Of Rhetoric Determines National Pride


To summarize (because 45 pages is no joke), the more persuasive you are, the better your quality of life will be. That is a watered-down, pale summary of what I really said.



OK. What does all of that have to do with food? Nothing. But it's been four years this month since I toiled over a dimly lit computer screen to produce that work of mine. Today, I've been inspired to toil in a dimly lit kitchen to produce another kind of work.

I decided to make a Caesar salad in an attempt to make an ode to our favorite Roman deity, Julius Caesar.



The original Caesar salad had nothing to do with Julius, Romans, Italy, or anything Mediterranean. Its birthplace is in Mexico. Tijuana, Mexico to be exact. Folklore tells us that an Italian gentleman by the name of Caesar Cardini birthed this salad in an attempt to make do with what he had on hand in his restaurant when ingredients were low. His Mexican locale was due to his great idea of dodging prohibition laws in the 1920s and 30s.

Caesar Dressing Makes 2 cups

4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 whole eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 cup salad or olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon black pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

I like my dressing garlicky, spicy, and full of flavor. I like it fluffy and thick, too. You can reduce the garlic amount but I really love the recipe like this. Using extra-virgin olive oil is OK here, but if you don't want to use your "good" oil for this, a regular olive oil will work too. Vegetable and canola are acceptable in a pinch. The whole eggs are what make the dressing full. Leaving them out won't detract from the flavor. I don't use anchovies because the Parmesan and Worcestershire add enough sodium. As a matter of fact, the anchovy is one of the many ingredients in Worcestershire sauce. And once again, the flavor is not affected by the lack of little salted fish.



Procedure:

In a food processor or blender, combine vinegar, lemon juice, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic, and Parmesan cheese. Slowly add oil to create an emulsion. Process until smooth. Dressing keeps up to one week in refrigerator.

If dressing is too thick, pour small amounts of ice cold water into emulsion while processor/blender is running until desired consistency.

If dressing is too vinegary, keep adding oil until desired taste.

If dressing is too oily, add more red wine vinegar.


Buttery Croutons

4 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
3 slices French bread, cut into cubes
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
In a large saute pan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in garlic; cook and stir for 1 minute. Pour butter mixture over bread cubes and toss to coat. Spread on a baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until crisp and dry. Cool. Croutons will crisp upon cooling.

A Little Rice

Risotto.

Riso.

Little rice.

Rice.

The cooking method is similar to a pilaf or pilau. The only differences is the type of rice and a pilaf's crusty bottom is desireable (the only time a crusty bottom is acceptable) Risotto sounds so exotic and complicated and it really isn't. It's a special dish made with special rice that Italians have cultivated and the rest of the world has messed up.

Books and such will tell you that you need to constantly stir and watch over this for 20 minutes to achieve perfection.
No you don't.

You can safely chop up the vegetables for your side dish, admonish Johnny for spoiling his dinner with the potato chips, or call your husband to tell him to bring home some more eggs because you're out.

Now don't go into the den and watch the latest installment of "Young and the Restless" either, but you get my drift.

Arborio is the rice of choice here. Its short, fat grains have a hard starchy center and a soft starchy shell.
Chardonnay is my wine of choice because it's known for its creamy textures and it pairs well with the soft characteristics of the risotto.
I added a silken chicken recipe to add to the luxurious mouthfeel of the riso and wine.


Basic Risotto Serves 2 for main dishes; 4 for side dishes

1 1/4 cup Arborio rice
1 tablespoon pure olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely diced
1 cup chardonnay (or any table white wine)
3 1/2 cups chicken stock*
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Using a heavy bottomed pot or skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sweat the onions until translucent. Try not to let the onions brown.














Add the Arborio rice, stir to coat with the olive oil, and saute with the onions for about 5 minutes.
Put the stock in a saucepan and heat to a gentle simmer on the stove.
*I used my tea kettle to heat the stock. I also used Kitchen Basics chicken stock. It comes in vegetable, meat, and fish too. It's the best commercial stock I have ever come across. Make sure you DO NOT use any stock or broth out of a can. Flat tinny flavors are all you're going to get going this route. If you are going to take the time to make this rice, you should do it right! With fresh/high quality ingredients! If you feel comfortable making your own stock, you should do it. Freeze what you don't use in ice cube trays, pop them out, put them in plastic bags.

Add the wine, stir and let it cook until the wine is almost completely absorbed by the rice. Add 1 cup of stock and stir frequently until it is almost completely absorbed.
Using a wooden spoon, paddle, or high-heat spatula will prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot. I heard that a metal spoon damages the rice kernels but I've never taken a liking to scraping metal spoons against the bottoms of my pots so I won't be testing this theory.

Continue adding the broth, 1 cup at a time, until it is gone. Periodically taste the rice to determine its doneness. It should be tender yet firm to the bite, like al dente pasta. If it's too hard, keep adding broth or water until it's done. If it's too soft, that's OK. It's not ruined.
Lastly, stir in the butter and salt and pepper to taste. The butter adds a bit of flavor and a nice sheen to finish the dish.


I've taken the silken chicken idea from Madhur Jaffery's Quick and Easy Indian Cooking. Her recipe involves garam masala and chicken breasts.

My recipe involves a homemade seasoning mix and chicken legs. I didn't want my chicken to taste of the subcontinent today and the legs were on sale.

Silken Chicken

No-salt shake:
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons celery seed
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried lemon peel

Marinade: 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream or 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon No-Salt shake
2 clove garlic, peeled and crushed to a pulp
1/2 teaspoon, peeled and grated ginger

8 chicken drumsticks, skinned removed

It can stay in the marinade, covered and refrigerated, for 6 to 8 hours, up to 24. Lift the chicken pieces up and place them in a single layer in a shallow baking pan lined with aluminum foil. On top of each leg, sprinkle a little salt and black pepper; A little more no-salt shake is OK here too. Put into the top third of the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the chicken is running clear juices. Serve immediately.


















The chicken atop the risotto is accompanied by Brussel sprouts (steamed, braised, then sauteed with garlic and onions) and a quick succotash.

Pâtes et fromage

Sounds fancy, don't it?

Pâtes et fromage is only macaroni (pasta) and cheese.

More comfort food.

I don't know why I feel the need to be comfortable.

I feel so sluggish and lazy right now! I didn't even want to post this entry.

Usually, I bite it and write it. Not today. I had to take a nap first. Zzzzz

Even though the weather is beginning to get warmer, and I'm ready for Spring, I'm holding onto the last part of winter for dear life. I don't know why. I hate Winter. I hate to see it come and can't wait for it to leave!

Macaroni and cheese, please!

Everybody's got their own tried and true (or experimental and iffy) mac 'n' cheese recipe.

People bake it, fake it, boil it, fry it, mix it, buy it--and do a host of other kinds of verbs to it.

My mac 'n' cheese isn't innovative, unbelievably creative, or novel. It's just full of cheese and noodles.

The recipe is posted here*. It's also available for downloading so you can print it out; just click on the title of the recipe. Nutritional information is also available.

*To make it richer, use full fat milk (for both milks), regular shredded cheese, and flour instead of cornstarch. It will turn out the same, and probably even better.

Does anyone want to come over and help me clean up?

Southern Comfort

As much as I like to drink, imbibe-- this post has nothing to do with everybody's favorite flavored whiskey.

Even though I was born in Philly, I usually don't let on to this fact until I really have to use it. Usually right after the phrase "You Southerners..." or "Up north, we do it the right way..."





Well, I felt Southern today. For sure.




Instead of planning a meal or gallivanting to the local grocer for fresh ingredients, I decided to head to tried and true K&W Cafeteria.

K&W is like Picadilly, Luby's, or Bickford's. If you don't have one of these in your area, I'm sorry--you are truly missing out. K&W specializes in Southern fare. If you have a relative or friend visit who is not familiar with Southern cuisine, if you don't feel like cooking, or you just want a variety of food at a reasonable price, go to K&W.

Older Americans (baby boomers and up, is what I'm speaking of here) tend to flock to K&W in droves to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner there. The food is sold cafeteria style or a la carte. The food is always hot, always good, and always full of calories, so be careful. Not all Southern fare is full of trans fats and calories of which to be ashamed. In Winston-Salem, there are items available that meet the standards of Heart Center Dining Program at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. They taste good too.

I ordered NOTHING from the heart healthy menu today. NOTHING.

Behold: my dinner of fried chicken, biscuits, gravy,

macaroni and cheese, turnip greens, and coconut custard pie

I don't even like coconut custard pie. I ate it anyway.

Did you see the glasses of tea and water holding court over the tray of food?

I usually get my tea unsweetened because I cannot stand Southern sweet tea. Now that Starbucks is serving it, I feel as if I can't get away from it. I add Splenda to my tea. I'll use Equal if I have to. Today, Splenda and Equal went out to lunch too because the K&W location I went to had none. I almost cried. I thought the lady was kidding. 'Know what I did?

I was like putting sand in water. It did nothing. I asked for it to be taken off my ticket. I was not about to pay for mediocrity.

The Lion Or The Lamb

...I'll take the lamb. I don't think it's legal to eat lion.

"Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?"

--from The Lamb by William
Blake

March is here. I really don't know if it came in like a lion or a lamb because our weather has been less than predictable (sunny/tornados/sunny/hail/sunny/light frost) but for sure, Spring is on its way. I can feel it. I can see it. The only way to celebrate is to get some lamb and do it up right. The availability of lamb this time of year heralds 3 things:

1. the rising of Jesus Christ
2. the rising of perennials
3. the rising of hot cross buns on the kitchen counter or in the oven
   
   

Croci (or crocuses) I found in my yard.

Hot cross buns and Jesus will have to wait another 3 weeks. I decided to get ground lamb from my favorite local butcher (Thanks, Marcus!) and make gyros.

YEER-oh. Not GY-roh. You get in trouble if you pronounce it the wrong way.

Sadly, I've never been to Greece. I've only gone by it in a boat on the way to Italy. We waved at the hills and crests of the coastline as we tipped back ouzo in celebration of the times we would have had on the island.

I've never made a gyro. I've only watched the guys at my favorite Greek restaurant slice it off the spit, slap it on a pita and hand it to me in a grease-coated wax paper cone. I've made souvlaki, baklava (with no pistachios or walnuts; roasted soy nuts are pretty good!), dolmades, moussaka, and gigantes beans...but no gyros.

Today that all changed.

The meat in a gyro is typically lamb, chicken or pork. A pita is warmed and tzatziki sauce, tomatoes, and lettuce accompany the latter. I really don't know the history or significance of the food, but I do know that it's like...Greek fast food. I had one in the south of Spain once that had harissa and a crazy cucumber relish on it.

The real crowning glory of a gyro is the tzatziki sauce. If you've got good sauce, then you've got good eats. It's a yogurt-cucumber sauce that is sometimes called a tarator sauce (tarator is more watery and is a soup, really).

Lamb Gyro Serves 2 or 3 (or one very hungry person)

1 medium onion, cut into pieces

6 cloves garlic, peeled

3/4 lb ground lamb

2 tablespoon Italian seasoning*

1 tsp dried rosemary

Salt and pepper to taste

Pre-packaged pitas for serving
*I hate those blends in the grocery, but I have this leftover from when my grandma used to cook in the kitchen.Alternatively you can use a mixture of thyme, oregano, and basil (fresh or dried).

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Process the onion and garlic in a food processor until chopped finely. Turn out into the center of a clean kitchen towel. Gather up the ends of the towel and squeeze until almost all of the juice is removed. Discard juice. Set aside 2 Tbsp of mixture for tzatziki sauce.
Return the mixture to the food processor and add the lamb, italian seasoning, rosemary, salt and pepper and process until it is a fine paste.

Whenever you are making a forcemeat like this, it behooves you to take a bit aside and cook it in a pan to taste test for seasonings. Do this now.

After proper seasoning, press mixture into the bottom of a loaf pan, pie plate, or oven-proof skillet. Cover with foil and place a heavy bottomed pot, brick, stone, or old dried-up beans (that you will never use) on the foil to weigh down the meat.

Ground lamb mixture pressed into the cast-iron skillet

Essentially, you will be pressing out most of the moisture from the lamb.

Place in oven for 20 minutes for medium/well-done.

If you like your meat varying degrees of doneness, cook it for less than 20 minutes. Twenty minutes is only a guideline, of course.

I sliced up my circle of lamb into strips to resemble to street gyros.

Tzatziki sauce

8 ounces Fage Total 0% Greek yogurt

1 medium English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped

Reserved onion/garlic mixture

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 tsp red wine vinegar

5 to 6 mint leaves, minced (or chiffonade for presentation purposes)

Salt and pepper to taste

Place the chopped cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the liquid; discard liquid.

Pulverized cucumber displayed on a tea towel (before the big squeeze)

In a bowl, combine the yogurt, cucumber, salt, garlic, vinegar, and mint. Let chill until lamb is done. Serve as a sauce for gyros. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.

Me inspecting the tzatziki. I approve!

Mmmm...tzatziki sauce.

Cut pieces of lamb for the gyro

A nice chiffonade of romaine lettuce. Very mediterranean.




Bad news: I was so hungry I didn't take a pic of my gyro before shoveling it in my mouth.

Good news: It was great! Next time I think I'll grind my own lamb to make the texture smoother. I hope I don't grind it so much that it becomes a mushy mess.

Embellishment Belongs On Food Only

I am incredibly disappointed to find out that Robert Irvine of "Dinner: Impossible" is being cut from the Food Network due to his "embellished resume." Read about it here

He is fantastic. He really knows his stuff and I can't imagine why he'd want to tell falsehoods.

I can only dream to produce the way he does. He gets people who know nothing about food, who haven't seen the inside of a kitchen to help him come up with some creative, innovative tactics to get the job done.

Well, just because you're a liar doesn't mean you don't know how to do your job.

Is It Chili in Cincinnati?

I subscribe to a few different weekly e-newsletters so that I can keep up with trends and have a constant reminder of food in my back pocket at all times (I have a BlackBerry).

Allrecipes.com, The Splendid Table, and America's Test Kitchen are all I subscribe to, but there are plenty of tips, tricks, and trades between the three of them to keep me rolling in dough (and salt, butter, spices, but not all at the same time. It tends to get a bit messy) for years to come.

I was introduced to Cincinnati chili recently at a restaurant in Greensboro, NC called Cincy's. Apparently it's sold in a can in Cincinnati-based grocery store, Kroger and made-to-order at a few choice fast-food restaurants in the 'Nati. It's Greek in origin--two Greek families immigrated to Ohio in the early 1900s and perfected recipes, opened chains of restaurants, and the rest is history.

The lure of this chili you may ask? It's served on top of spaghetti with a choice of toppings:

Two-way: Served over spaghetti
Three-way: Served over spaghetti and topped with cheese
Four-way: Served over spaghetti and topped with onions and cheese
Five-way: Served over spaghetti and topped with onions, beans, and cheese

If you don't want spaghetti, you are to order "a coney." It's a hot dog with all of the aforementioned toppings. Did I forget to mention oyster crackers? Yes, most servings of this regional delight are served with oyster crackers so you can crumble them over the top. I love oyster crackers, but the cheese and onions are enough for me.



Cincinnati Chili Serves 3 to 4
Adapted from CooksCountry.com

Today's e-letter from America's Test Kitchen reminded me of a promise I made to post some lacto-ovo vegetarian recipes.

1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp ancho chili powder
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup low-sodium, vegetable broth or low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar
2 pouches Boca Meatless Burger Crumbles**
Optional: 6 oz Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Whole Wheat Thin Spaghetti, cooked and drained

1. Heat oil in a dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook onions until soft and browned around edges.

2. Add garlic, tomato paste, chili powder, oregano, cinnamon, salt & pepper, to taste. Cook until fragrant.


I took it upon myself to grind my own spices together. I heard some people add cocoa powder to the spice mixture too. This would lend a richer, deeper texture to the chili.


3. Stir in chicken broth, tomato sauce, vinegar, and brown sugar.

The chili is supposed to be watery, not thick like we're used to with meaty (or bean-y) chilies.

4. Add Boca crumbles, bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until chili is slightly thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.

At this point, the chili can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days or frozen up to 2 months.

Pretend the onions aren't there, and that's a two-way.

On my way to the dining room with my favorite: Four-way

I reckon this would be the portion of the program called product placement, but I just want to make sure you know what you're looking for in the grocery store when you attempt this recipe as written.

**Attention Meat Eaters: One pound (or a 1 1/2 lb if you wish) of ground meat should be added instead of the crumbles in step #4. Use the leanest ground beef you can find. Otherwise, the resulting chili will have undesirable pockets of fat that have to be skimmed off and that's just not cute. Increase the vegetable/chicken broth to 1 1/2 cups and break up the meat add you put it in the pot.