130531 chocolate leaves leaves you wanting for more Recipes

egg whites (about 10), sugar, cake flour, baking cocoa, cream of tartar, salt, sugar, heavy whipping cream, sugar, baking cocoa, salt, vanilla extract, chocolate leaves , 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.

sugar (more if you like ), cocoa (hershey s dark is good), water for low-fat sorbet (or milk (skim, 1% or 2%, your choice), dark chocolate (can double if you like) or 2 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped (can double if you like), cayenne (or more , entirely optional but is a nice surprise in a frozen dish)

chicken thighs, lemon, salt, pepper, olive oil, white onion, diced, garlic clove, chopped, tomatillo , dehusked and chopped, chipotle peppers (or more if you want more heat!), mexican oregano

old el paso mild salsa (*can use hot salsa , if you want more heat!), sour cream, cream cheese, taco seasoning, garlic powder, pepper, green peppers, chopped, green onions, chopped, tomatoes, seeded and chopped, olive, chopped, lots cheddar cheese, shredded

raspberry juice, from fresh or frozen berries, cornstarch, chocolate chips, butter, cream cheese, softened, sugar, count) package miniature phyllo cups (2.1 oz,), chocolate leaves , dessert decorations (optional)

plain tree branches, bittersweet chocolate , tempered, assorted items to hang from the tree , for example: cookies, petit fours, fresh fruits such as cherries or raspberries, orange peels, white chocolate leaves, etc.

ladyfingers, split, sugar, whipping cream, butter or margarine, semisweet chocolate squares, coarsely chopped, vanilla extract, hazelnut liqueur , optional, whipping cream , whipped, garnishes: chocolate leaves

attractively -shaped ,unblemished leaves washed and dryed, chocolate, paint brush

skirt steaks, soy sauce, vegetable oil, chili powder, ground cumin, minced garlic, kosher salt, ground black pepper, lime, cut in quarters, black beans, rinsed and drained, fresh pineapple, diced (you can used canned drained well, if you can not get fresh), jalapeno pepper, chopped fine (ribs and seeds removed, serrano will also work and if you want more heat, leave the seeds and ribs i), red onion, diced fine, rice wine vinegar, orange marmalade, fresh cilantro, scallions, chopped fine

diced tomatoes (san marzano or any good quality italian tomato, or if you can tsp find any, hunts or a similar brand w), tomato sauce, tomato paste, red wine (cabernet or merlot works great), vegetable broth (or you can use water), onion, fine diced (if you want more onion flavor, just use a large onion), garlic (again , add more or less according to your taste, i use 3 teaspoons), dried basil, dried oregano, fresh parsley (fresh please, it really makes a difference), sugar, red pepper flakes, red wine vinegar (at the end of cooking), olive oil (to saute onion and garlic), salt, pepper, fresh basil, fine chopped, ground meat (beef, turkey, chicken, sausage or any combination, you can also use diced pork sausage as well. if y), vegetables, fine diced (celery, peppers, red or green bell, spicy such as jalapeno, cubenelle, banana, etc. any of your favo), fresh mushrooms , rough chopped (you will use more mushrooms than the other vegetables because they cook down more)

whipping cream, butter, sugar, unsweetened chocolate, chopped, water (if you want to make it alcoholic, substitute with creme de cacao)

garlic, chunk peeled, fresh ginger, water , plus more as needed, vegetable oil, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, green cardamom pods, whole allspice, cinnamon stick, broken in 1/2, bay leaf, preferably fresh, yellow onion, sliced, madras-style curry powder, jalapeno, or more to taste, whole, peeled, canned tomatoes (with puree), roughly chopped, mixed 1-inch-cut vegetables , such as cauliflower, potatoes, green beans, or eggplant, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, unsweetened coconut milk, cubed) cooked chicken, preferably thigh or leg (optional), cilantro leaves, for garnish, suggestion : basmati rice and chutney

corn tortillas, oil (canola or similar, not olive), fresh tomato, green chili pepper ( chile de arbol ), onion , slices (save some for topping if you want), chicken stock powder (or more if you want more salt in your dish), potatoes, sliced, boiled, chorizo sausage, fried, diced (best if isn tsp really spicy), bacon, fried, diced, ham, diced, sour cream, for topping, cheese, for topping (any melting type would do, i use manchego )

stewed tomatoes, green chilies, diced, green onions, sliced, garlic salt, onion salt, seasoned pepper, canola oil, white vinegar, worcestershire sauce, tabasco sauce (more if you want more heat)

all-purpose flour, baking soda, butter, softened, brown sugar, white sugar, instant white chocolate pudding mix (or chocolate for chocolate chocolate chip cookies), eggs, vanilla extract, semisweet chocolate chips, chopped walnuts (if you want)

minus 1 tbsp sifted whole wheat flour, double-acting baking-powder (low aluminum, of course), sea salt, cinnamon, honey, minus 2 1/2 tbsp oil, eggs, vanilla extract, organic peanut butter (optional, but necessary if you want to make peanut butter-chocolate chip cookies!), organic semisweet chocolate chips or carob chips

ground beef, italian sausage, ground, egg, dry italian breadcrumbs, beef bouillon cube, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, paprika, ketchup, steak sauce