494 don peek Recipes

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.

flavor of this stew really depends on good fresh corn. don tsp forget to scrape the pulp out of the cobs (see below) or the stew will be watery and a little bland. this homey dish is usually served with a crusty, rustic loaf of bread to help sop up the sauce and plenty of hot sauce; you can also serve this over plain steamed rice., ears corn , husks and silk removed, bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (8 to 10 thighs), trimmed, salt and ground black pepper, vegetable oil, kielbasa sausage , sliced 1/4 inch thick, red bell peppers , stemmed, seeded , and cut into 1/2-inch pieces, onions , minced, celery ribs , minced, cayenne pepper, garlic cloves , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 4 tsp), minced fresh thyme leaves , or 1/4 tsp dried, low-sodium chicken broth, bay leaves, minced fresh cilantro leaves, removing corn kernels and pulp from the cob, hold the cob on its end inside a large wide bolw and cut off the kernels using a paring knife., once the kernels are removed , firmly scrape the pulp and milk out of the cob using the back of a butter knife.

beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes, condensed french onion soup, condensed cream of mushroom soup, mushrooms, drained, dry red wine

cubed stew meat, carrots, chopped, onions, chopped, cubed potatoes, brown sugar, tapioca flour, tomato-vegetable juice cocktail

stewing beef, well trimmed and cut in 1-inch cubes, dry onion soup mix, cream of mushroom soup, whole mushrooms or 1 (4 oz) can sliced mushrooms, dry red wine

uncle ben s wild rice (with herbs), skinless chicken, low-fat cream of celery soup, water, mushroom soup, dry onion soup mix

potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes (about 4 large), water, to cover, garlic clove, salt, milk, unsalted butter, white pepper, smoked sausage, finely chopped, green onions, chopped, dried marjoram, eggs, swiss cheese, grated, parsley, chopped

stewing beef, onion soup mix, cream of mushroom soup, club soda, cooked rice or noodles

cream of mushroom soup, milk, water, white rice, onion soup mix, boneless skinless chicken breasts

stewing beef, dry onion soup mix, cream of mushroom soup, ginger ale (use soup can), sliced mushrooms, drained

soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil (use less if you don tsp like this or use olive oil), garlic - minced, asparagus, sesame seeds

fruitcakes get an awful lot of bad press , especially the mass produced varieties, but a rich homemade version can be incredibly delicious., fruitcake is a mixture of fruits and nuts with just enough batter to hold them together. when wrapped in cloth and foil, saturated with alcoholic liquors regularly, and kept in in tightly closed tins, a fruitcake may be kept for months or even years, have it your way ..., if there are certain fruits you don tsp like , you can always include more of another, or some of your own favorites. dried fruits cooked in juice can take the place of candied fruits, and seeds can replace nuts. to convert a favorite dark fruitcake recipe to a light fruitcake, leave out the dark spices, use light colored fruits (golden raisins, dried apricots, etc.), and replace dark corn syrup or molasses with light corn syrup

uncle ben s long grain and wild rice blend, cream of mushroom soup, cream of celery soup, cold water, parsley, curry powder, chicken pieces, onion soup mix

stew meat, potatoes, quartered ,or smaller, carrots, cut into big pieces, stalk celery, onion, green pepper, tapioca, sugar, tomatoes, white bread, crumbled, salt and pepper, to taste

white potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch thick slices, bacon grease or 1/3 cup meat pan dripping, fried, onion, peeled and sliced, salt, pepper, water , to barely cover potatoes

steaks , cut into cubes, dry onion soup mix, water, cream of mushroom soup, sliced mushrooms (optional)

olive oil or 2 tbsp vegetable oil, chicken, cut into serving pieces (with or without skin ), whole canned tomatoes, undrained and chopped, sliced fresh mushrooms or 1/2 cup drained canned mushroom, garlic clove, minced, lipton recipe secrets onion soup mix, hot cooked noodles