180 cooking basics Recipes

ingredients for basic butter cookies, decorating icing (optional), ing in various colors (optional), garnish: edible glitter and nonpareils (see cooks note, below)

best basic pie crust dough, raspberries , blackberries, marionberries, or other brambleberries, flour, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, quick-cooking tapioca, lemon juice, salt, butter, cream or ice (optional)

muffin pans, a special metal baking pan , sometimes referred to as a muffin tin, with 6 or 12 cup-shaped depressions. most often this pan is made from aluminum., muffin cups are, standard muffin cup is about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and holds 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter., giant or texas-size muffin cup is about 3 1/2 inches in diameter and holds 5/8 cup batter., muffin cup is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter and holds 1/8 cup or 2 tbsp batter., muffin-top cup is about 4 inches in diameter but are only 1/2 inch deep ., substituting a different size muffin cup, substitute another size muffin cup for original size listed in recipe. if substituting a larger size muffin cup the recipe will yield fewer muffins and if using smaller size muffin cup the recipe will yield more muffins. the bake time will be changed also. bake a larger muffin longer than the original time and smaller muffins a shorter time., tips on baking muffins, grease muffin cups by spraying each cup with no stick cooking spray or using a paper towel dipped in shortening to grease each cup., use paper liners in muffin cups for easy clean-up., if muffin cups are filled more than 3/4 full the muffins will have flat, flying saucer tops. if sufficient room is not allowed for muffins to expand before reaching the top of the cup the muffin will flatten on top., if some muffin cups will remain empty during baking , put 2 to 3 tbsp water in the unused muffin cups to keep the pan from warping., if baked muffins stick to the bottom of the muffin cup, place hot muffin pan on a wet towel for about two minutes., source : land o lakes, all about muffins, are you eating muffins or cupcakes, hot breads are always a hit and muffins are 1 of the easiest to make. they are more quickly and easily made than biscuits and no kneading, rolling or cutting is required. they can be a savory, last minute dinner muffin or a sweet delicious breakfast muffin. made using whole-wheat flour, wheat germ, bran, honey, fruits and nuts they can be very nutritious. but like the healthy granola craze which turned into candy bars, muffins also can quickly turn into cupcakes. eating cupcakes for breakfast is your choice, but don tsp tell yourself you are eating healthy breakfast muffins. a recent magazine article revealed some muffins available in new york delicatessens were claimed to be low fat, but actually contained up to 23 g of fat. that s more fat than two egg mcmuffins., what is the difference between muffins and cupcakes, some say cupcakes have frosting. a basic formula for muffins is 2 cups flour, 2-4 tbsp sugar, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 egg, 1/4 cup oil, shortening or butter, 1 cup milk. when the fat, sugar and egg ratio in a recipe reaches double or more than this, you have reached the cake level., other technical difference between muffins and cupcakes, method of cooking is different for muffins and cupcakes. the muffin method is by far the fastest and easiest. flour, sugar, baking powder and salt (all the dry ingredients) are mixed together. this is where the leavening can be uniformly dispersed into the flour. sugar is mixed with the flour to prevent the flour from lumping when combined with the wet ingredients., making and baking muffins, in a large bowl, oil (or melted butter) and egg are beaten together to form an emulsion to disperse the fat more uniformly. then the milk is stirred in. this much mixing can be done ahead and held. the two are combined just before baking., combine, cut and fold liquid into the dry ingredients. mix only to combine. batter will be lumpy but no pockets of dry ingredients should remain. the general rule is only 12 strokes., bake as soon as it s mixed. when filling cups, do not mix batter between scoops. excessive mixing causes loss of leavening., cake method for making muffins, sometimes muffins are made using the cake method , i.e. cream the fat and sugar, add eggs, add the dry ingredients and milk alternately. this is more time consuming but produces a lighter, more tender, cake-like muffin., perfect muffin, perfect muffin has a thin brown crust , a slightly rounded top with a pebbled appearance and a moist, even interior. there should be no peaks, no tunnels which are usually caused by excessive mixing and too much liquid (muffin batter should not be fluid)., more leavening is not better, just because a recipe is in print does not mean that it is in balance. a guide for leavening 2 cups of flour in a recipe is either 2 1/2 tsp double acting baking powder, or 4 tsp fast acting baking powder, or 1/2 tsp soda plus 1 cup buttermilk (for the acid) and 1 1/4 tsp baking powder. excess baking powder and soda taste bitter., here are a few tips for altering muffin recipes, substitute 2 egg whites for 1 egg in the recipe. if these are stiffly beaten and folded in at the end it will produce a lighter muffin with less fat., use non-fat milk instead of whole milk ., use salad oil in place of butter. in place of the fat in the recipe , use 1-fourth of the oil and replace the other three-fourths with fruit puree such as applesauce. jars of baby food fruits provide a quick choice of purees other than apple. adding non-gluten grain products (bran, germ, oatmeal, corn meal) for part of the flour makes a more tender muffin., create your own taste sensations, begin with the basic formula and change 1/2 cup of the flour to corn meal, bran, wheat germ, rye, oatmeal or leftover cooked cereal. add 1/2 to 1 cup chopped apple, dates, prunes, raisins, apricots, figs, blueberries, cranberries, cheese, nuts., make your favorite muffin mixes by measuring the dry ingredients twice (or more ) into two separate bowls. use 1 and package 1 with the list of wet ingredients to be added when mixing at a later date.

walnuts , finely ground in a food processor, pecans , finely ground in a food processor, flour, dark brown sugar, salt, unsalted butter, melted, ripe peaches (about 8), peeled and sliced (see notes ), sugar, quick-cooking tapioca (see notes ), disk (1/2 recipe ) best basic pie crust dough

olive oil, brown button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (or mixed mushrooms), onion, chopped (half of it comes from the bechamel sauce if using my recipe), garlic clove, sliced, dried rubbed sage, dried rosemary, fresh ground black pepper, chili powder, penne pasta , cooked according to package directions (whole wheat is fine), mozzarella cheese , ball cubed (low-fat works fine), camembert cheese, cubed (low-fat works fine ), bechamel sauce (recommended basic with lots of flavour), cheese, grated (i used a mix of 4 cheeses, use your favourite)

head iceberg lettuce, shredded, roma tomatoes, chopped and seeded, yellow pepper, chopped and seeded, chopped green onion, hard boiled eggs, chopped, sliced mushrooms, frozen peas thawed and drained ., bacon, cooked and crumbled, shredded cheddar cheese, dressing : simple ,basic-good stuff, mayonnaise, sour cream, sugar (more if like it really sweet!), two of white vinegar, p.s you can use miracle whip too, just omit the sour cream and up the amount you use (i don tsp even think of miracle whip as a food, but many loyal layer salad lovers swear by it, so had to add!)

tortellini , meat filled, chicken breast, pre-cooked & cut into bite size pieces, pancetta, thick sliced & cut into small slices, prosciutto (or ham, cut into small slices), onion (minced or finely diced ), butter, mushroom, sliced (fresh ), peas (frozen ), chicken stock, parmesan cheese, grated (fresh if possible), heavy cream (only use if needed to thin out cream sauce), salt and pepper, white sauce , basic italian white cream sauce (like an alfredo or bechamel) as prepared

zucchini , halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 lb.), sliced fresh mushrooms, garlic cloves, minced, vegetable cooking spray, red bell pepper, chopped, yellow bell pepper, chopped, yellow onion, chopped, salt, fat-free ricotta cheese, egg, shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided, freshly grated parmesan cheese, divided, basic marinara sauce, no-boil lasagna noodles

dry lasagna noodles, cooked and drained, fresh basil leaf , torn into small pieces, white sauce, shrimp or 1 1/2 lbs crab or 1 1/2 lbs imitation crabmeat or 1 1/2 lbs mussels or 1 1/2 lbs oysters or 1 1/2 lbs squid (basically, your choice), fat free mozzarella cheese or 2 cups low fat mozzarella, shredded, fat-free cottage cheese, shredded parmesan cheese, egg

canister of refrigerated pizza dough or 1 ball of homemade basic pizza dough, flour - for rolling out dough, pesto - purchased or homemade, italian sausage - cooked and crumbled, sweet red peppers - drained and chopped, basil - chopped chiffonade, fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh parmesan cheese - grated plus 2 tbsp for garnish, egg - beaten with two tsp of water for egg wash, marinara sauce, chopped red pepper for garnish

allspice, brown sugar, cider, cinnamon, divided, coarsely chopped walnuts, currants, eggs, juice and zest of 1 lemon, milk, nutmeg, mascarpone, recipe basic pappardelle pasta, rolled, cut, and dried, salt, plus more for cooking the pasta, sugar, tart apples , such as granny smith, braeburn, or gala, vanilla extract

duck , 4 lbs, soy sauce, dried tangerine peel, sherry wine, oil, sugar, water, red dates, washed, cooked sweet rice, prepared in chinese style (see basic plain rice), shelled raw peanuts (boiled 30 minutes, skinned), lotus seeds (boiled 30 minutes, skinned), dried mushrooms, prepared and diced, bamboo shoot, diced, salt

celery heart, beets cooked, green apple, head endive, head boston lettuce, walnut halves, scallions thinly sliced, basic vinaigrette, cold pressed olive oil, fresh lemon juice, spicy mustard, garlic, fresh herbs, salt, freshly ground black pepper

water, rice vinegar, sugar, salt, uncooked short-grain rice, water, divided, low-sodium soy sauce, wasabi powder, basic crepes, spinach leaves, shrimp, cooked and peeled, thick) slices peeled avocado (about 1 avocado), sesame seeds, toasted

garlic bulbs, olive oil, cooked regular rice, recipe basic cornbread, crumbled, ground pork sausage, butter or margarine, onion, diced, red or green bell pepper, diced, carrot, diced, chopped fresh parsley, poultry seasoning, chopped fresh or 1 to 2 tsp rubbed sage, salt, pepper, chicken broth

red potatoes, chicken broth, garlic, butter or margarine, heavy whipping cream, salt, black pepper, basic pizza dough , recipe follows, garlic mashed potatoes, sauteed onions, tomatoes, sliced thin, shredded provolone, shredded fontina, bacon, cooked and crumbled, cracked pepper, onion salt, bread flour, salt, active dry yeast, vegetable oil, warm water

live maine lobster (2 lb), olive oil, garlic cloves, chopped, white wine, basic tomato sauce, crushed red pepper flakes, chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, salt, linguini, cooked

extra virgin olive oil plus 1/2 cup, red onion, chopped into 1/2 inch dice, garlic, peeled and thinly sliced, carrot, scraped and chopped into 1/4 inch thick half moons, ribs celery, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces, waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes, white cannellini or brown borlotti beans, soaked and fully cooked, reserved bean liquid, basic tomato sauce, swiss chard , chopped into 1/2 inch ribbons, kale , chopped into 1/2 inch ribbons, black cabbage ( cavolo nero), chopped into 1/2 inch ribbons, garnish: 4 slices country bread, toasted, grated parmigiano