128 few using 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.

bread (a few days old), butter, sugar, eggs, apple, peeled and grated, cocoa powder, sultanas, raisins, candied peel, mixed spice, vanilla, scotch whisky (*optional), anise or 1/2 tsp fennel seed, extra sugar

your favorite diced tomatoes (add another can if feeding more than 4 people), frozen fish such as red snapper , cod, etc. or fresh fish of your choice., water (for four people), yellow or white onion, vegetables, chopped (see below ), chopped fresh parsley or italian flat leaf parsley, tb chopped garlic, season with salt and pepper before serving based on your personal taste., you can add as many or as few chopped vegetables as you like. you can also use more or less fish depending on how thick you like your chowder to be.), this recipe can also be made with leftover fish and leftover vegetables. i do not suggest using leftover fish sticks or any other fried fish unless you remove the breaded topping first. if you do use fish that has been cooked, just add it to the chowder about two minutes before serving to heat it to the temperature of the other ingredients in the pot., if you prefer a mexican flavor , add 1 tsp. cumin and 1/2 tsp oregano with a dash of cayenne pepper (or more for a hotter flavor), if you prefer an italian flavor , add 1/2 tsp of italian seasonings or 1 tsp oregano, vegetables to be added are based on your favorites and what you may or may not have in your pantry at the time. here are some of my favorite additions for your review, diced potatoes , celery, carrots, zucchini, leeks, mushrooms, cabbage, mild chile peppers, red onions, artichoke hearts, and green or red bell peppers. you can add a handful of fresh spinach or 1/4 cup of frozen spinach. you can always add a can of mixed vegetables and of course, you can use frozen vegetables. i do not suggest using broccoli. corn is also a good addition. you can add a can of drained corn, black beans and a few tbsp of salsa for a great mexican fish soup., use canned tomatoes that have additional vegs in them such as mexican-style with chilies and onions, italian-style with peppers or anything other blend you prefer.)

unsalted butter, extra virgin olive oil, garlic clove, finely chopped, white mushroom, thinly sliced, onion, minced, spaghetti in tomato sauce, sliced prosciutto (if using bacon, blanch it first in boiling water for a few minutes, then rinse and drain) or 2 oz lean bacon (if using bacon, blanch it first in boiling water for a few minutes, then rinse and drain) or 2 oz black forest ham, finely chopped (if using bacon, blanch it first in boiling water for a few minutes, then rinse and drain), heavy cream, freshly grated parmesan cheese, salt & freshly ground black pepper, eggs, lightly beaten

onion, peeled and diced, green pepper, diced, olive oil (or use spray release or vegetable oil), dried rosemary leaves , crushed in the palm of your hand or crushed with a mortar and pestle, whole tomatoes , whirled in blender for a few seconds or 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice, white pearl rice, salt

turkish dried apricots (use organic and unsulphured apricots for quality and best flavor), pretzels (plus a few more in case any break), cream cheese (approximately ), chocolate chips (plus a few extra) or 12 currants (plus a few extra)

whole pickled jalapeno peppers (i use a large can of san marcos brand, you can also use fresh jalapenos, steamed for a few minutes), pork sausage (i use hot from owens), breadcrumbs, egg, soft cream cheese (i use non-fat )

potatoes , scrubbed and washed, salt, flavour, use any kinda thiick paste to your liking, use fresh herbs / spices pounded , mixed with some corn flour , salt to taste , few tbsps of water and gold colouring and made into thick paste, i used 2 tsp chilli pwd , 1 tsp corriander pwd , 2 tsp meat masala pwd , a pinch of red colouring , 2 tsp rice flour , salt to taste and few tbsps of water and made into thick paste

raw bratwurst (bulk or in links, but, if using links, just remove the casings, garlic, minced, onion, grated, cream cheese, softened and cubed, cheddar or colby cheese, grated(grate your own, please, half and half or cream, a few dashes of worcestershire sauce, a few dashes of hot sauce, party sized rye bread, paprika for garnish , optional

cake mix (from a 18.25oz box of mix), water, oil, egg, lightly beaten, powdered sugar, baking cocoa, vanilla extract, butter, melted and cooled, milk

risotto with sausage and cranberry beans, make risotto , you absolutely must use a specific type of rice called arborio rice (carnaroli and vialone nano are also used, some say superior, but are more difficult to find). these types of rice release starch when stirred in a liquid; it is this process which makes risotto, otherwise you just have a starchy mess of mush. these types of rice are identified by their fat round grains and pearly appearance. they can be used to make other sorts of rice dishes, such as pilaf, but other types of rice cannot be used for risotto. arborio is no longer that much of a specialty product; it can be found in most large, well-stocked grocery stores in the italian section. or sometimes, misguidedly, in the asian section., okay , so now we have the rice. you will also need some good, low-salt stock or broth - it should be low-salt not for health reasons, but because a good deal of it will evaporate, leaving its salt behind, and i like to have more control over the salt in a dish. it can be homemade, but i m not going to be a snob about it because, in truth, we go through gallons of store-bought stock in this household and i don tsp see that changing anytime soon. furthermore, risotto is actually a dish which can be whipped up out of thin air when it seems as though you have nothing to eat, as long as you have butter, rice, stock, maybe a few herbs, and some leftover parmesan. i like the kind of stock purchased in tetrapak cartons, because they are resealable and can be put in the fridge and used as needed. if you really want to use homemade but you don tsp have time to make stock or don tsp like the aroma of roasting bones in your house (i don tsp blame you), you can buy really great stock at north market poultry and game - it is expensive, but can be diluted with a 2- or 3-to-1 ratio of water to stock, so it stretches. my general guideline is to plan on 1/4 cup dry rice per person, and about 4 cups of stock to 1 cup of rice. of course, this isn tsp exact and will vary depending on your elevation and the phases of the moon, but it s a good place to start. i usually just use 4 cups of stock and then dilute with water or wine (or sometimes beer, if that s all i have) if i feel i m going to run out., well, we have rice and stock covered, now we just need our setup: place the stock in a saucepan on your rear burner, bring to a simmer, and leave it there with a 6-8 oz ladle in, and place a large, wide saute pan (must be really large, plan that your rice will at least quadruple in size) or dutch oven on the burner in front. get out your favorite wooden spoon and flex your stirring arm., nice thing about using sausage is it s so full of flavor you can leave out the usual onion/garlic/shallot/celery nonsense if you re tired and don tsp feel like chopping. furthermore, sausage goes from the freezer to the pan without suffering too much. okay, let s go, risotto with sausage and cranberry beans - serves 4, links italian sausage , or 1 lb bulk (or hot, or a combination - definitely with some fennel), casings removed, cooked cranberry beans or 1 can white beans, drained, arborio rice, beef , chicken or vegetable stock, butter, freshly, finely grated parmesan cheese , plus more for garnish, an oz) flat-leaf parsley, chopped finely, lemon juice , or juice from 1/2 lemon, salt and black pepper to taste, red pepper flakes to taste, optional, good balsamic vinegar , optional

seasonal fish and vegetables are used in tempura. the ingredients for tempura in the recipe below are only a few of the many, many common ingredients that lend themselves to this treatment. shrimp; squid; small whole fish like perch, smelt, and goby; white-fleshed saltwater fish; eggplant; green beans; onion rings; sweet potato slices; bell pepper strips; mushrooms - the list could go on for several pages. chicken, beef and pork, however, are not usually prepared as tempura because of their relatively heavier, identifiable taste. chicken and pork are deep-fried in other ways, and beef is often given a more highlighted preparation, say, in sukiyaki., http://japanesefood.about.com/od/tempura/a/cookingtempura.htm, basic steps for cooking tempura, prepare the ingredients ., make tempura batter ., heat vegetable oil in a deep pan to 340-350f degree., lightly dip ingredients in the batter and immediately fry them until crisp. it takes longer to fry vegetables than to fry seafood., drain tempura on a rack ., serve right away with tentsuyu (tempura dipping sauce) or salt. tempura is best served hot. *grated daikon radish is a common condiment., tempura batter recipe - japanese recipe, http://japanesefood.about.com/od/tempura/r/tempurabatter.htm, egg, ice water, all purpose flour, preparation, beat an egg in a bowl. add ice water in the bowl. be sure to use very cold water., add sifted flour in the bowl and mix lightly. be careful not to overmix the batter., tempura dipping sauce recipe, tempura dipping sauce is called tentsuyu in japanese. serve this sauce with tempura., dashi soup stock, mirin, soy sauce, sugar, preparation, put mirin in a pan and heat. add soy sauce and dashi soup stock in the pan. bring the sauce to a boil., tips for making crispy tempura, by setsuko yoshizuka, tip 1: ice, use ice water for the batter. this is really important to prevent the batter from absorbing too much oil., tip 2: batter (tempura batter recipe), do not make the batter ahead of time. try not to over mix the batter and not to coat ingredients with the batter too much., if you are frying both seafood and vegetables, fry vegetables first. then, fry seafood. fry vegetables at 340f degree and fry seafood at 350f degree., tip 4: oil temperature, check the temperature of frying oil , drop a little batter into the oil. if the batter comes up right away instead of sinking to the bottom of the pan, it s about 360 f degree. if the batter goes halfway to the bottom and comes up, it s about 340f degree. this is said to be the right temperature to fry tempura.

these vintage cake icing recipes are taken from mom s old recipe scrapbooks , circa 1929. mom often used these easy cake frosting recipes to decorate cakes for birthdays and everyday use., seven minute icing recipe, egg white , 3/4 cups white sugar, 1 tbsp corn syrup, 1/4 tsp cream of tartar, 3 tbsp water, 1/2 tsp vanilla. combine all ingredients, except flavoring, in top of double boiler and beat; place over rapidly boiling water and beat 7 minutes or until frosting is fluffy and will hold shape; remove from stove, add flavor and beat 1 minute longer; spread immediately., easy vanilla icing recipe, butter , 1-1/2 cups icing sugar, 1-1/2 tbsp milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla; beat., vanilla butter cream icing recipe, butter , 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp vanilla, 3 cups icing sugar, 1/4 cup milk. combine all ingredients and mix., butterscotch icing recipe, in a saucepan combine 3 tbsp butter , 3 tbsp milk, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar. heat till dissolved, beat in 1-2/3 cups icing sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla; beat till creamy., icing recipes, these old-fashioned , homemade icing recipes are taken from the white house cook book by hugo ziemann, steward of the white house, and mrs. f. litre. gillette, a celebrated 19th-century cookbook author, published by the saalfield publishing company, new york, in 1913., cake frosting tips, in the first place , the eggs should be cold, and the platter on which they are to be beaten also cold. allow, for the white of 1 egg, 1 small teacupful of powdered sugar. break the eggs and throw a small handful of the sugar on them as soon as you begin beating; keep adding it at intervals until it is all used up. the eggs must not be beaten until the sugar has been added in this way, which gives a smooth, tender frosting, and 1 that will dry much sooner than the old way., spread with a broad knife evenly over the cake, and if it seems too thin, beat in a little more sugar. cover the cake with two coats, the second after the first has become dry, or nearly so. if the icing gets too dry or stiff before the last coat is needed, it can be thinned sufficiently with a little water, enough to make it work smoothly., a little lemon juice , or half a teaspoonful of tartaric acid, added to the frosting while being beaten, makes it white and more frothy., flavors mostly used are lemon , vanilla, almond, rose, chocolate, and orange., if you wish to ornament with figures or flowers, make up rather more icing, keep about 1-third out until that on the cake is dried; then, with a clean glass syringe, apply it in such forms as you desire and dry as before; what you keep out to ornament with may be tinted pink with cochineal , blue with indigo, yellow with saffron or the grated rind off an orange strained through a cloth, green with spinach juice and brown with chocolate, purple with cochineal and indigo. strawberry, or currant and cranberry juices color a delicate pink., cake in a cool oven with the door open to dry, or in a draught in an open window., almond frosting (marzipan icing recipe), whites of three eggs, beaten up with three cups of fine, white sugar. blanch a lb of sweet almonds, lb them in a mortar with a little sugar, until a fine paste, then add the whites of eggs, sugar and vanilla extract. lb a few minutes to thoroughly mix. cover the cake with a very thick coating of this, set in a cool oven to dry, afterwards cover with a plain icing., chocolate frosting, whites of four eggs , three cups of powdered sugar and nearly a cup of grated chocolate. beat the whites a very little, they must not become white, stir in the chocolate, then put in the sugar gradually, beating to mix it well., plain chocolate icing, put into a shallow pan four tablespoonfuls of scraped chocolate , and place it where it will melt gradually, but not scorch; when melted, stir in three tablespoonfuls of milk or cream and 1 of water; mix all well together, and add 1 scant teacupful of sugar; boil about five minutes, and while hot, and when the cakes are nearly cold, spread some evenly over the surface of 1 of the cakes; put a second 1 on top, alternating the mixture and cakes; then cover top and sides, and set in a warm oven to harden., all who have tried recipe after recipe , vainly hoping to find 1 where the chocolate sticks to the cake and not to the fingers, will appreciate the above. in making those most palatable of cakes, chocolate eclairs, the recipe just given will be found very satisfactory., tutti frutti icing, mix with boiled icing 1 oz each of chopped citron , candied cherries, seedless raisins, candied pineapple, and blanched almonds., sugar icing, extra-refined sugar add 1 oz of fine white starch ; lb finely together and then sift them through gauze; then beat the whites of three eggs to a froth. the secret of success is to beat the eggs long enough, and always 1 way; add the powdered sugar by degrees, or it will spoil the froth of the eggs. when all the sugar is stirred in continue the whipping for half an hour longer, adding more sugar if the ice is too thin., take a little of the icing and lay it aside for ornamenting afterward. when the cake comes out of the oven, spread the sugar icing smoothly over it with a knife and dry it at once in a cool oven., ornament the cake with it, make a cone of stiff writing paper and squeeze the colored icing through it, so as to form leaves, beading or letters, as the case may be. it requires nicety and care to do it with success.

baby greens, i used dole , but there are many different brands and by all means use your favorite mix for this, red beets (roasted), yellow beets (roasted), fennel bulb, cut in quarters (roasted), shallots, cut in half (roasted), gorgonzola, crumbled, olive oil, kosher salt, ground black pepper, olive oil, walnut oil, maple syrup, sherry wine vinegar, cider vinegar, minced garlic, walnuts, fine chopped (a few extra for a garnish), shallot, grated

vegetarian ground beef, eggs or 2 small, onions or 1 medium onion, finely chopped, grated cheese (i use chedder), worcestershire sauce (a few shakes), hp steak sauce (a few squeezes), breadcrumbs, salt & pepper

cold water, ice, fruit* (cut into 1-inch pieces unless otherwise specified ), sugar , or to taste, fresh lime juice , or to taste, honeydew or cantaloupe, mango (use only 1 cup fruit; about 1 small ), pineapple with a few fresh basil leaves, watermelon, strawberries (halved ) with a few fresh mint leaves, papaya, seedless red grapes (whole )

bone in, skin on, chicken thighs, evoo, margarine, a few shakes of each, stirred together: garlic pepper, cumin, seasoned salt, dried cilantro, taco seasoning and a pinch of chili powder, white onion, sliced into rings, carton chicken stock (will not use all), chili powder, cumin, chopped garlic, onion, chopped, green chiles, drained, great northern beans, navy beans, black beans, rotel tomatoes, salsa, jalepeno, cored, seeded and chopped fine (optional), red pepper, seeded and chopped, deboned and deskinned chicken, sour cream, mexican flavor shredded cheese, serve with tortilla or corn chips, shredded cheese, sourcream, black olives, jalepeno slices, hot sauce

pork roast, chopped, onion, chopped, garlic, chopped, chopped green chiles, green enchilada sauce, chicken broth, add water to cover the mixture by a few inches, salsa (i use a spicy green chile 1), chopped or diced tomatoes, mexican hominy (white ), cumin, oregano, coriander, cinnamon, spice, salt and pepper, a few handfuls of chopped cilantro, a sprinkling of tapioca (for thickening), a sprinkling of yellow cornmeal (for thickening)