Jewel asks: When I was buying shrimp, I saw the word “count.” What does this mean?

“Count” in shrimp lingo means the number of shrimp you’ll get per pound. This is where size really does matter because the smaller the number, the bigger the shrimp. This is why you should always buy shrimp by count not size.

Sometimes you’ll find a “U” in front of the number 10 or 15. This means there are under 10 or 15 shrimp per pound. Buying shrimp by the count is a good idea because what one store sells as “large” could be sold as “jumbo”  in another store.

Count is usually reserved for raw shrimp, head-on or head-off, de-veined or not, and peeled or unpeeled.

But lately I’ve noticed that some places are selling cooked shrimp with a “count.” Don’t forget that shrimp shrinks once it is cooked, so buy bigger if you can afford it!

Use this handy chart for a loose reference so you’ll always know how to buy shrimp by count not size:

And once you get those shrimp home, you’re going to need to peel and devein them. Here’s how I do it:

When I was a kid, I wouldn’t eat coffee cake because I thought it was made from coffee… (what kid likes coffee?)

Kind of makes sense, doesn’t it?

Well, after 17 years as a journalist, five kids and too many late nights, you’ve got to believe I love coffee. And to drive home the point, here’s a recipe for coffee cake actually MADE with coffee.

And it is amazing.

The coffee and chocolate combo offers a delicious depth of flavor. I also used sour cream in this recipe, which makes for a rich, dense cake, perfect for holding the pecan and brown sugar swirl in the middle.

Even better… this is a totally gluten free recipe, made with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour. I also tested it using All-Purpose flour, so you’ll get the same perfect results with either type of flour.

One other thing… this recipe calls for a ½ cup of brewed coffee, so I used the Single-Serve side of my Hamilton Beach 2-Way FlexBrew® Coffeemaker. When I was ready to serve the cake, I brewed a large pot of coffee on the Carafe Side. My pals at Hamilton Beach sent me the FlexBrew® Coffeemaker to try out… it’s great being able to make a big old pot of coffee OR a just a cup!

So here’s my recipe for the Best Gluten Free Coffee Cake Ever… made with coffee. Funny how things sometimes come full circle.

       Print this recipe.    

Have you ever spent hours and hours cooking something deliciously marvelous on the stove only to turn your back for ONE SECOND and find it’s burned? Stuck to the bottom of the pot burned? Two-day-soak burned?

Yep. That’s happened to me, too. Notice the past tense. HAPPENED. Never will again because I’ve got a Pauli Cookware stockpot.

“What,” you say. “a pot that keeps you from burning your food?” (I’m blaming the pot… did you catch that?)

Yes… that’s EXACTLY what I’m saying.

I met Paul Scioscio, the inventor of Pauli Cookware, at the Housewares Show earlier this year. I honestly didn’t believe what he told me: I could leave a pot on the stove for hours and never have to stir or worry that its contents would burn. He sent me one and I tried it out…

Now I believe.

Pauli Cookware has a patented 7-layer commercial grade stainless steel and aluminum bottom that wraps around a hermetically sealed oil chamber. The oil heats up and distributes the heat evenly, so your food cooks without burning.

Here’s a demo:

Because of the way the pot is made, you can’t cook on high heat… that means no frying or sautéing. I thought this might be an issue when searing meat for a stew, but the bottom of the pot still gets hot enough to deliver a nice brown color.

You have to wash the Pauli pot by hand, but I don’t put my cookware in the dishwasher anyway (you shouldn’t either!). Pauli Cookware comes in 3 generous sizes: 7 quarts, 11 quarts and 16 quarts. It works on all cooktops, including induction.

I’m always looking for help in the kitchen, and for ways to avoid “operator error”… like burning something. In that regard, my Pauli Pot’s got my back!

If you’d like to order your own Pauli Pot, click on the link on my sidebar! Tell them Mama sent you! I’ll have some really fabulous recipes using my Pauli Pot over the next few months.

How do you like your steak… still mooing or like a piece of shoe leather?

At this time of year there are plenty of strange (and strangely wonderful) gadgets to boost your grilling mojo. Here’s one I really like: The SteakChamp.

The German-made SteakChamp is a high-precision steak thermometer that will help you cook your steak exactly the way you want it, either on the grill, in the oven or in a pan on the stove. The stainless steel probes come in four models to suit your temperature preference (rare, medium rare, medium and medium well), and are tuned to USDA temperatures guidelines.

But before I continue, may I digress a moment? The word “probe” has always bugged me. It reminds me of aliens, or something like that. Okay… back to the best tool for grilling the perfect steak, the SteakChamp.

Here’s how it works:

1. Remove your meat from the fridge about half an hour before cooking. The meat should be at least 1½-inches thick.
2. Select the SteakChamp probe (there’s that word again) for the level of doneness you want (rare, medium rare, etc.). Insert the SteakChamp into the center of the meat sideways, until it is completely inside the meat and only the end of the SteakChamp protrudes.
3. Sear both sides of the meat on high heat for 2 minutes.
4. Reduce the heat to medium. When the SteakChamp begins to double flash, remove the meat from the heat. Let the meat rest until the double flashing signal stops. Remove the SteakChamp and serve your perfect steak.

This is a great video to show you exactly how the SteakChamp works on a grill:

Visit the SteakChamp website to see how this gadget works on top of the stove and in the oven. You can find it at Sur la Table.  Follow the directions and you’ll be grilling like a champ all summer!