236 kind your 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.

butter, egg yolks, philadelphia cream cheese, baking powder, flour, jam (your favourite kind) or preserves (your favourite kind)

beef arm roast or 3 1/2-4 lbs chuck roast or 3 1/2-4 lbs blade roast, oil, salt, fresh coarse ground black pepper, prepared horseradish (not the cream added kind, the real-deal !!), prepared whole grain mustard (use your favorite !) or 1/4 cup spicy brown mustard (use your favorite!) or 1/4 cup dijon mustard (use your favorite!), beef broth, 2 if your roast is 4 lbs. (or more ), onion, sliced, red potatoes, unpeeled, quartered, carrots , peeled, cut into thick slices (can ease this step with baby !), butter

head romaine lettuce, chopped, scallion, sliced white and green parts, red onion, chopped, green pepper, chopped, red pepper, chopped, carrot, chopped, cucumber, seeded and chopped, ripe tomato, seeded and chopped, olives, chopped (your choice of olive, but i prefer the small green stuffed w/ pimento), pepperoncini peppers, seeded and chopped, crumbled feta cheese, fresh dill, chopped, flour tortilla (your choice , any kind but the larger ones work best), salad dressing, of your choice (i prefer non fat italian or a greek dressing)

zucchini (can sub half of a huge 1), onion, sliced thinly, your favorite barbecue rub (your preference), oil, barbecue sauce (i prefer the smoky sweet kind)

ground beef, chopped onion, lettuce, tomato, corn tortilla, avocado, vegetable oil, shredded cheese (your favorite kind , i like colby or sharp)

ball park frank (or your favorite kind ), crushed pineapple, drained, bacon, use the regular length kind, not the 12 oz size, condiments , of your choice, hot dog bun

cornbread mix (add water only kind or your favorite cornbread recipe), cold water, egg, dried onion, minced, black beans, rinsed, green onions, minced, fresh jalapeno, minced, black olives, sliced, shredded cheddar cheese

graham cracker crumbs, ready-to-use mincemeat (i use the kind in a jar, or you can use your own home-made), sweetened condensed milk

ground beef, fresh (not frozen ), yellow onions, medium, diced, garlic cloves, minced, habanero peppers, jalapeno peppers, serrano chili peppers, red chili peppers, original rotel tomatoes, hot rotel tomatoes, rotel chili fixins tomatoes, baked beans (i prefer bush s vegetarian ), light red kidney beans, drained, beer (i prefer blue moon), ground cayenne pepper, barbecue sauce, your favorite kind (i prefer sweet baby ray s), sour cream, grated parmesan cheese or 1/2 cup romano cheese or 1/2 cup asiago cheese, mexican cheese, shredded, white onion, diced

broccoli bunches washed and chopped into small chunks, celery stalks washed and cut into small pieces, onion diced, butter, cream / milk ( your preference as to what kind you like to use, table, half and half, low fat ,2% milk etc..), cornstarch, water (for cornstarch), water enough to cover vegetables in pot, chicken bouillons, salt, pepper, garlic seasoning, potato (optional)

frozen tail-on cooked shrimp (about 30-38 or 41-50 count , not the tiny kind), dry sherry, lime juice, seasoning salt , to taste (such as johnny s or lawry s), fresh ground black pepper , to taste, dried ancho chile powder or 1/4 tsp other chili powder, to taste, seafood cocktail sauce, seafood cocktail sauce, your favorite kind, for dipping

fat cottage cheese (fat-free may also be used in place of this), jam (use your favourite kind, or a mixture of favourites!)

frozen cheese tortellini, sliced pepperoni, black olives, pitted green olives, cheese (of your choice, i use the white pepperjack for a bit of heat), italian dressing, toothpick (the kind with the handles)

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

pie crust, your favorite , i prefer the refridgerated kind, but frozen or homemade will do, sugar, cornstarch, water, jello gelatin , strawberry or your favorite, fruit, your choice, cool whip, to serve

fat free turkey hot dogs (or your favorite kind ), macaroni and cheese mix (any kind), milk, condensed cheddar cheese soup (or 1 cup melted velveeta), fat free chili sauce (sometimes known as hot-dog sauce)

pasta (something fun, i like cavatappi, whole wheat might be interesting), cooked winter squash, onion, portabella mushrooms (any kind works ), olive oil, sage, salt and pepper, cheese (your favorite kind. i like parm with this)