20 brought Recipes

water added to large soup pot and brought to a boil, soft or firm tofu (organic is best) cut into small cubes, fresh shiitake mushrooms sliced in slivers, fresh green onions sliced very thin, carrot, peeled and shaved with potato peeler, leaves of spinach , swiss chard or other leafy green vegetable. stack the leaves and roll into a cigar shape then slice. the result will be thin leafy green strips, generous tsp of shiro (white ) miso or more to taste or use part shiro and part hatcho or yaemon miso. the last two are unpasteurized and have digestive enzymes that are beneficial. hatcho is the lowest in salt for those concerned about salt intake., kombu (seaweed)

pumpkin pie custard, insteas of pumpkin pie , try this flavorful light holiday dessert, says field editor namcy zimmerman of cap may court house, new jersey. my husband s aunt shared the recipe after she brought this treat to a family party., method: baked, time : prep: 20 min. bake: 40 min. + cooling, canned pumpkin, fat-free evaporated milk, egg whites, fat-free milk, sugar, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, salt, ground nutmeg, fat-free whipped topping , optional

any liquid can be reduced just by heating it - but why would you want to do that, answer comes back to two of our old friends, flavor and consistency (texture)., by reducing any flavored liquid you intensify its flavor and at the same time thicken it. you can continue this process until what you have left is a syrup if it contains sugar, or a sauce if it does not., this is 1 of the most important tools in the kitchen , believe it or not, because a great sauce can rescue an indifferent meal., literally any liquid can be reduced ., a few uses, wine is frequently used in cooking , both as a marinade and as an addition to sauces for meat., there are some problems with it though, 1 of which is that you need a really good wine and quite a lot of it to produce a reasonable sauce for, say, six people., on the other hand , if you use pure grape juice and reduce it to a syrup, that syrup, added to any sauce (or gravy if you prefer) will lift it into the realms of gourmet ., more , you don tsp have to make your reduction on the night you prepare your meal. you can reduce a liter of grape juice at any time to the consistency and flavor you want; then just store it in the fridge., you can do the same thing with any fruit juice - prune is sensational - and store it until needed. just about all of them will do things for ice cream, pies or tarts that will have your guests demanding the recipe, pork with apple sauce use a carton of fresh apple juice from the supermarket and reduce it. and if you want a real sensation add in a glass of apple brandy during the reduction process., are you getting an idea of how simple this is, take any carton of fresh stock straight of the shelf and reduce it. you will transform it into something even the manufacturer won tsp recognize. but beware, you need to start out with good quality in the first place, because when you reduce a liquid you intensify all the flavors, and not just the good ones., if it s salty to start with, for example, it will be salty beyond belief by the time you ve reduced it even by half. so if you are going to use a supermarket stock, make sure it s an extremely good 1., believe me when i tell you that stock cubes should not be used for reduction sauces., thickeners, because you will be tasting as you go (won tsp you ), you may find that you get the flavor you want before the desired consistency is reached., a couple of hints right now for your sauces., sweet ones can be thickened successfully without loss of color by adding in liquid glucose early on in the reduction process. surprisingly, this will add little in the way of sweetness and produces a beautiful velvety sauce when whisked., if you get it wrong and add too much, no problem. stir in a little extra water to thin it., reduction pans, reductions need to happen rapidly in serving to preserve flavors. and the greater the surface area of the liquid the faster the water will evaporate., however you may want to whisk something into the sauce while its cooking - such as butter or olive oil for example - and for that i find a small wok is best; 1 with a handle., a wok is less likely to reduce so fast that the sauce is burnt while your back is turned. but try both methods and see which you prefer. you may even end up using something totally different., no magic to this. whatever works for you, that s what you should use, in this and everything else to do with cooking., just bear in mind that what you re after is speed and ease of use. as well as a great tasting result, of course. :>), keeping, if they should dry out , simply add a little water and heat through., sauces containing meat juices of any kind must be frozen if you re going to keep them, and should be brought to boiling point before being used again. there is no need to thaw them out to do this, in fact it s better not to. simply drop the frozen cubes into a saucepan, melt them over a gentle heat, and then bring swiftly to the boil., why do you do this to avoid food poisoning, that s why. you are making sure that any bugs introduced into the sauce during the preparation process are killed off., worry , this will not be because of anything you have done wrong (i hope!), but because bacteria are part of our everyday lives and they exist in every kitchen, however clean., in fact your food , and especially your meat, is crawling with wildlife that you will never see. don tsp worry about them. careful handling and simple precautions will ensure that these miniature monsters can never multiply enough to harm either you or your guests.

pot brewed chicory coffee, cooled, half-and-half, simple syrup , to sweeten (equal parts sugar and water brought to a boil and stirred until the sugar is dissolved, then cooled), coffee-flavored liqueur, to taste (recommended : kahlua), chicory coffee ice cubes (make with leftover cooled coffee and freeze in an ice cube tray)

potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks (idaho), heavy cream , brought to a boil and kept warm, butter, softened to room temp, nicoise olives (pitted ) or 1/2 cup kalamata olive, chopped rough (pitted), thyme

water, dried lima beans , soaked overnight in water to cover or 1/2 cup , brought to a boil and then soaked for 1 hour, uncooked rice or 1 cup cooked rice, barley, garlic cloves, minced, dill weed, bay leaf, celery, chopped, vegetable oil, sweet hungarian paprika, potato, diced, sweet potatoes, diced sliced or 1 cup carrot, sliced, salt, ground black pepper, green beans (fresh or frozen ), tomato sauce, parsley, chopped (optional)

white wine (spanish table wine, i used sauvignon blanc or white zinfandel), peach schnapps or 1/2 cup brandy, triple sec, fresh orange juice, pineapple juice, simple syrup, and cooled (equal parts sugar and water brought to a boil for 2 minutes in a small saucepan, leftover syrup can ), white peach puree (peel peaches, remove pit and puree in a blender with a small amount of water) or 6 oz peach nectar, can be used (much less work), fresh peach , oranges (i also added fresh pineapple and cherries), club soda

making the caramel, sugar can be cooked two ways : wet or dry. wet cooking is the easier method, because it gives you greater control over the degree of caramelization., sugar and water are brought to a boil; the water boils away and the changes from pale gold to amber to brown., you can stir the pan to help dissolve the sugar, but stop stirring once the mixture boils., dry cooking usually involves adding an acid , such as lemon juice, to keep the sugar from crystallizing., toss the lemon juice with the sugar until it s the consistency of wet sand., heat the sugar until it melts. don tsp stir , which promotes crystallization--the caramel will seize up and be grainy, not clear--but you may swirl the pan slightly to help redistribute any sugar that s starting to brown., making the custard, some recipes call for sweetened condensed milk while others use cream or whole milk. a flan made with sweetened condensed milk will be slightly denser than 1 made with milk or cream. likewise, flan made with milk rather than cream will be slightly lighter than a cream-based custard. experiment with different ingredients and recipes to find the 1 that suits your tastes., place the milk , solid flavoring--vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, citrus zest--and sugar into a large saucepan. (liqueurs and extracts are added after the mixture cooks)., bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally., while the milk mixture heats , whisk the eggs until pale yellow. don tsp over-mix the eggs: you don tsp want the eggs to become foamy, because the air bubbles affect the texture of the finished product., in a slow stream , pour the hot milk mixture into the bowl of eggs, whisking constantly., pour the custard base through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl to ensure a silky smooth texture in your flan., stir in extract or other flavorings., divide the custard equally between your caramel-coated dish or ramekins.

cake scraps and crumbs, simple syrup (2 parts water, 1 part sugar brought to a boil and allowed to cool to room temperature), sherry or orange flavored liqueur, vanilla pastry cream , recipe follows, brown sugar whipped cream , recipe follows, nuts ground with 1/2 cup sugar, strawberries , cut up tossed with 1/4 of cup sugar, whole , 2%, or 1% fat milk, vanilla bean split lengthwise, egg yolks, granulated sugar, cornstarch, unsalted butter, chilled heavy cream, light brown sugar

water , brought to a boil, unflavored gelatin, unscented liquid soap (or bubble bath), essential oil

rock salt, prime rib roast , brought to room tempeture (or standing rib roast), garlic cloves, crushed, horseradish (to taste), pepper (to taste, we like a lot ), water (to sprinkle the salt)

pearl tapioca, water, milk, coconut milk, sugar, vanilla bean, split, fresh tarragon leaves, fresh spinach, simple syrup (equal amounts sugar and water brought to a boil and then cooled), vegetable oil, banana, sliced

smoked bacon or 1 small ham hock, garlic, roughly chopped, dried red kidney beans , brought to a boil and cooled, drained, cold water, scotch bonnet, halved and seeded , or 2 serrano chilis, ground cinnamon, coconut milk, scallions, crushed, fresh thyme, ground allspice, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, grain rice, washed and drained

plain or raspberry yogurt, vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla bean, split, simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water brought to a boil and cooled), chocolate covered toffee bits

whole almonds blanched, milk, plus more, simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar brought to a boil and chilled), vanilla beans, sugar, water, unsalted butter

eggs, bisquick, milk, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, green onions, breakfast meat of your choice

dried rice vermicelli, shrimp, shelled, avocados, peeled, pitted and sliced into 8 slices per half, mango, peeled , cut off of the pit and sliced thinly, rice papers, head boston lettuce, leaves separated and ribs removed, mint leaves, cilantro sprigs, well rinsed and dried, chile-mint dipping sauce , recipe follows, chile-mint dipping sauce, chilled simple syrup (1 quart water plus 2 cups sugar brought to a boil), lime juice, rice wine vinegar, minced ginger, minced red onion, minced garlic, basil , leaves picked and chopped, cilantro, chopped, mint, chopped, roasted red bell pepper, peeled, seeded, and minced, roasted yellow bell pepper, peeled, seeded, and minced, minced jalapenos, salt and pepper

shredded red cabbage, red wine, sherry vinegar, peeled and diced granny smith apple, white onion, sliced, maple syrup (canadian), rashers bacon, diced, cinnamon stick, ground juniper berries, caraway seeds, olive oil, filets caribou (from the saddle), kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, butter, concentrated veal or caribou jus, cold sweet butter, diced, thyme leaves, cooked quince , recipe follows, semolina gratin , recipe follows, quince, peeled, cored and cut into 8 wedges, simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water brought to a boil and allowed to cool), lemon, juiced, water, milk, sweet butter, semolina, grated oka (semi-soft cheese similar to smoked gouda), egg yolks, salt and freshly ground black pepper, parmesan, bread crumbs