95 literal 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.

frozen peas (you can use fresh peas if you like), lamb, cubes, tomato paste, ripe and soft tomatoes, lamb stock (home made or store bought, or stock cubes dissolved in water) or 1 liter chicken stock (home made or store bought, or stock cubes dissolved in water), onion, finely chopped (white or yellow ), garlic cloves, minced, salt (most people would prefer more , but i find that this is a good amount for my taste), dried coriander, curry powder, black pepper, tabasco sauce (optional), water (as needed)

dried chinese mushrooms, leeks, finely sliced, garlic clove, chopped, gingerroot, grated, stalk celery, diced, carrot, diced, chicken stock or 1 liter vegetable stock, light soy sauce, pearl barley

realemon juice, daily prepared sweet -and-sour mix, mountain dew soda or 1 (2 liter) bottle 7-up soda or 1 (2 liter) bottle ginger ale

cheap tequila (divided ), triple sec (divided ), sweet and sour cocktail mix (divided ) or 1 3/4 liters margarita mix (divided), orange juice (divided ), lime juice (divided ), lime , juice of (divided), lime juice (for garnish ), kosher salt (for garnish ), lime, wheels or wedges (for garnish )

ripe avocados, red onion, diced, serrano chilies, stems and seeds removed and chopped (use gloves to handle these), freshly chopped cilantro leaf, fresh lime juice (1 or 2 limes depending on size), ripe tomatoes , seeds removed and diced, garlic cloves, roughly diced, salt & freshly ground black pepper, flour tortillas, shredded monterey jack cheese, vegetable oil or 1 liter canola oil, olive oil, red onion, sliced, ground beef, tomato paste, chili powder, ground cumin, celery salt, salt & freshly ground black pepper

olive oil, onion, finely chopped, garlic cloves, crushed, ripe tomatoes, peeled & chopped, red pepper, seeded & finely chopped, sun-dried tomato puree, vegetable stock or 1 1/4 liters chicken stock, courgettes, sliced, capers, chopped, fresh basil leaf, salt and pepper

butternut squash , about 1 . 5-2lb, olive oil, onion, diced, leek, small dice, fresh hot pepper, minced, stalk celery, diced, carrot, diced, garlic clove, minced, minced ginger, curry powder, salt & freshly ground black pepper, chicken stock or 1 liter vegetable stock, red lentil, coconut milk

dry red wine (i use a spanish jumilla), up or 3 (2 liter) bottles sprite, orange juice, limes, thinly sliced & cut into quarters, lemons, sliced & thinly sliced & cut into quarters, oranges, sliced & thinly sliced & cut into quarters, brandy, sugar, triple sec (or cointreau), grenadine, frozen lemonade concentrate, frozen limeade concentrate, ice cubes

semi-sweet chocolate chips (divided ), margarine (or butter, divided), water, fat-free sugar-free instant chocolate pudding mix, powdered sugar, sweetened condensed milk, imitation vanilla

sunflower oil, garlic clove, crushed, onion, finely chopped, red lentils , presoaked in water, carrots, peeled and cut into chunks, vegetable stock or 1 1/4 liters chicken stock, very thin slices wholemeal french baguettes, butter , for spreading, sesame seeds, greek yogurt, chopped chives

black currant juice , grape juice or 1 liter other berry juice, cinnamon sticks (broken into pieces), cardamom seeds, citrus peels, nutmeg, fresh ginger, anise seed (optional), allspice (optional), apple, sliced, raisins, sugar

cabbage, with big leaves , core removed, grain rice, butter, onions, peeled and minced, mushrooms (canned or fresh ), worcestershire sauce (optional), salt, pepper, garlic powder, sweet paprika, parsley, tomato juice or 1 1/2 liters vegetable stock or 1 1/2 liters mushroom stock, sweet paprika