24 making perfect Recipes

tea bags, baking soda, boiling water, cold water, sugar (i use 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup) (optional), lemon

eggplants (or 3-4 chinese ), salt, oil (vegetable or canola), all-purpose flour, eggs , more if needed (beaten), breadcrumbs (italian flavor or flavor your own ), mozzarella cheese (shredded ), parmesan cheese (grated ), pasta sauce (make your own or purchase)

ricotta cheese , not skim, mozzarella cheese , not skim, shredded and divided, egg beaters egg substitute, parmesan cheese, frozen spinach, thawed and wrung dry (or 1/4 cup parsley, flat leaf, chopped), cracked black pepper, lasagna noodles (i use the trader joe no boil brand and they are perfect for an 8-inch brownie pan), spaghetti sauce (or your favorite sauce) or 28 oz alfredo sauce (or your favorite sauce), chiffonade basil (to garnish )

egg, cold water, sea salt, vinegar (optional, i don tsp use )

everywhere you look , there is a lot of emphasis on cutting the fat out of our daily diets, but who wants to cut out the fat if it means cutting out the flavor when it comes to baking, there is a way to cut down on your fat intake without changing the ingredients in your favorite recipes. if you switch to nonstick silicone bakeware, you can cut down on your fat intake with minimal effort. because the bakeware is nonstick, you never have to use butter, shortening, or grease on your pans or sheets to ensure easy food removal., first silicone items made exclusively for baking were small silicone mats that fit nicely on your cookie sheet and allowed you to bake cookies with out greasing the cookie sheet or worrying about the bottoms getting burned. these little mats were a huge success and stores were hard pressed to keep them in stock., as the popularity of these mats grew , manufacturers decide to explore the idea of making more bakeware from silicone. they began making spoons, spatulas, and whisks that could withstand high heats and could be used with nonstick cookware with no fear of ruining the coating. silicone utensils were the perfect choice for candy making or any other project that required a boiling and sticky liquid to be stirred., kitchen supply manufacturers also introduced silicone potholders and oven gloves. because they can withstand heats up to 500 degrees, they are the perfect insurance that you won tsp get burned when you pull a hot dish from your oven. they don tsp conduct heat the way that a cloth potholder does and they are much sturdier and easy to keep clean than traditional potholders. home canners fell in love with silicone baker s mitts because they could actually reach into a pot of boiling water to remove a hot jar of food once it was done processing. as an added bonus these durable potholders do double duty as lid grippers making opening jars a snap., once silicone hit kitchens in the form of baking mats , utensils, and pot holders, kitchen experts began to see the potential of this material in everyday baking. suddenly almost any type of bakeware that could traditionally be found in stainless steel, aluminum, glass, or stoneware was being offered in brightly colored silicone. stores began selling muffin tins, bread loaf pans, cake pans, and pie pans. the most popular pieces tend to be the specialty designed cake pans that allow you to make cakes shaped like everything from roses to pumpkins. they even have mini cake pans that make individual, fancy shaped cakes., popularity of silicone bakeware skyrocketed as cooks began to see the benefits of using this material in their kitchens. foods pop out of silicone pans with amazing ease. you never need to grease, flour, or even use cooking spray on a silicone pan and that adds up to lots of calories and fat grams saved with each meal. because silicone is very flexible, it is easy to bend and twist it so that cakes and breads pop out easily. you never have to force baked goods out of the pan, so they retain there shape and you don tsp see a lot of split and broken cakes., silicone is a bakers dream when it comes to making evenly cooked delicacies. the material distributes heat evenly, so you never end up with a cake that is burned around the edges and still not cooked in the middle. it also cools down quickly ensuring that your foods will not continue cooking and possibly drying out once you remove them from the oven., because silicone is nonstick , cleanup is a breeze. a little soap and water and any crumb left on your bakeware disappears. it is nonporous, so it never retains any odors from the foods you cook. completely versatile it goes from oven to table to freezer and can even be thrown in the dishwasher. once you are done cleaning it, storage is a snap. with its flexibility, you can twist it, bend it, fold it or mash it up so it can fit in the smallest of drawers or cupboards., if you haven tsp tried silicone bakeware , add a piece or two to your kitchen. you will be surprised at its quality and flexibility.

red onion, tomatoes, halloumi cheese, oregano marinade (below in directions ), hearts of romaine , halved lengthwise, olive oil, kalamata olives (about 1/4 lb), what to buy: halloumi is a cypriot cheese, sold in blocks in many gourmet grocery stores. it has a high melting point, making it perfect for grilling. kalamatas are a greek variety of black olive, found in most groceries., special equipment : use wooden or metal skewers to make the kebabs.

half-and-half cream, egg yolks (perfect excuse to make an angel food cake with leftover egg whites, (*wink*), sugar, whipping cream, vanilla, salt

making the caramel, sugar can be cooked two ways : wet or dry. wet cooking is the easier method, because it gives you greater control over the degree of caramelization., sugar and water are brought to a boil; the water boils away and the changes from pale gold to amber to brown., you can stir the pan to help dissolve the sugar, but stop stirring once the mixture boils., dry cooking usually involves adding an acid , such as lemon juice, to keep the sugar from crystallizing., toss the lemon juice with the sugar until it s the consistency of wet sand., heat the sugar until it melts. don tsp stir , which promotes crystallization--the caramel will seize up and be grainy, not clear--but you may swirl the pan slightly to help redistribute any sugar that s starting to brown., making the custard, some recipes call for sweetened condensed milk while others use cream or whole milk. a flan made with sweetened condensed milk will be slightly denser than 1 made with milk or cream. likewise, flan made with milk rather than cream will be slightly lighter than a cream-based custard. experiment with different ingredients and recipes to find the 1 that suits your tastes., place the milk , solid flavoring--vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, citrus zest--and sugar into a large saucepan. (liqueurs and extracts are added after the mixture cooks)., bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally., while the milk mixture heats , whisk the eggs until pale yellow. don tsp over-mix the eggs: you don tsp want the eggs to become foamy, because the air bubbles affect the texture of the finished product., in a slow stream , pour the hot milk mixture into the bowl of eggs, whisking constantly., pour the custard base through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl to ensure a silky smooth texture in your flan., stir in extract or other flavorings., divide the custard equally between your caramel-coated dish or ramekins.

onion, chopped, oil, celery ribs, chopped, carrots, peeled and chopped, yellow split peas (less muddy tasting than green, and it makes for a lovely, elegant soup. if you are particularly fond), water, salt and pepper, to taste

milk chocolate bars - i buy the big ones that are always on sale at christmas time , but any size will do, just make sure it adds up to 20 oz. if you like darker fudge, substitute some or all of the 20 oz. with the semi-sweet chocolate bars., butter (not margarine!), softened to room temperature. also, a little extra for your pans., semi-sweet chocolate chips. use a good brand , as in nestle s, hershey s, or ghiradelli. if you prefer lighter fudge, use milk chocolate chips., granulated (white) sugar, evaporated milk, marshmallows, vanilla , use the real stuff, nuts, chopped

cake flour, plain flour, salt, sugar, shortening, egg plus enough milk to make 1/2 cup

hershey baking chocolate, unsweetened, water, butter or 1/2 cup margarine, sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, chilled, pie shells (i prefer chocolate. do not use graham cracker pie shell!) or 1 chocolate crumb pie shell, if you make it yourself, chill the crust first (i prefer chocolate. do not use graham cracker pie shell!), cream (cool whip works great) or whipped topping (cool whip works great), almonds

eggs, process american cheese, broken in pieces, vegetable oil or 2 -4 tbsp butter, salt and pepper (to taste), maple syrup (optional)

low-fat buttermilk, reduced-fat mayonnaise, fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, dijon mustard, worcestershire sauce, anchovy fillets, rinsed, garlic clove, minced, salt, fresh ground pepper, parmesan cheese (i used grated & added a little extra to make it thick)

perfectly chocolate cupcakes (i halved this and got exactly 15), makes 30 regular cupcakes or 96 mini cupcakes, sugar, all-purpose flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, eggs, milk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, boiling water (i dissolved 1 tbsp of instant coffee into the for half a recipe), coffee meringue (adapted from cupcakes! by elinor klivans), makes enough for 15-18 cupcakes, granulated sugar, water, egg whites, cream of tartar, water, instant coffee granules, chocolate coating (this makes a lot, but you need the chocolate to be deep enough to dip all the cupcakes), semi-sweet chocolate chips, canola or vegetable oil, overall rating on a scale of 1-5, moistness : 5, tenderness : 5

mile high lemon meringue secrets, lemon meringue pie may be an american classic , but it can be tricky to prepare. there s the crust with all its issues, then the tart filling and the meringue itself, which is all too prone to weeping. and that topping is never, ever as tall and fluffy as we would like. we wanted to figure out how to make a perfect lemon meringue pie with a sky-high topping. here s what we discovered, make the meringue with a hot sugar syrup (what the professionals call italian-style meringue). this ensures that the meringue is cooked through and stable enough to be piled high on top of the filling. the addition of a little cream of tartar to the egg whites while mixing also helps to stabilize the meringue.flavor the filling with both lemon zest and lemon juice for the brightest citrus flavor. remember to strain the filling to remove the zest, which would mar the otherwise silky smooth filling.use a rubber spatula to spread the meringue over the filled pie, making sure to stick the meringue to the edge of the pie crust to prevent the topping from shrinking. once all the meringue is on the pie, use the spatula to make the spikes and peaks of meringue., all-purpose flour , for dusting, brisee (pie dough) for 1 single 9 inch pie crust, egg, heavy cream, cornstarch, cake flour, salt, sugar, egg yolks, lightly beaten, fresh lemon juice, lemon rind, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, egg whites, sugar, salt

steak, approximately 1-1/2 inches thick, olive oil (approximately, enough to coat bottom of a cast iron skillet), kosher salt (to cover the bottom of a cast iron skillet)