2553 needs something 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.

tuna (drained, but not squeezed dry ), eggs, mayonnaise, dill weed (optional), oil, to fry in

frozen chopped broccoli, garlic, jarred minced, butter, divided, all-purpose flour, milk, salt, pepper, cream cheese, softened, cheddar cheese, shredded, breadcrumbs or 1/2 cup crushed ritz cracker, fine and dry

chicken breasts or 4 -6 chicken thighs, cream of mushroom soup, water (just use the cream of mushroom soup cans!), frozen mixed vegetables (something with broccoli is yummy), uncooked rice, paprika, pepper

coleslaw, chopped green onion, almonds, sunflower seeds, chicken-flavored ramen noodles (uncooked & crumbled ), oil, cider vinegar (or something dark), sugar, soy sauce

cream cheese, softened, sour cream, taco seasoning, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper , to taste, green chilies, diced, tomato, chopped, green pepper, chopped, onion, chopped, shredded cheese, divided, chicken breast, cooked and shredded, burrito-size flour tortillas, enchilada sauce , of your choice

butter, brown sugar, eggs, beaten, vanilla, all-purpose flour, chocolate frosting, vanilla frosting, peanut butter (optional), crushed pecans or 1 -2 cup walnuts

onions, sliced, celery ribs, sliced, butter, mushrooms or 6 cups chopped (use cremini, or portobello or even shiitake, ie, something with meat and substance), chopped fresh basil, fresh oregano, flour, vegetable stock, salt & pepper, plain yogurt, chopped fresh parsley

honey graham crackers (not sure of what size box i use just the 1 with three packages in it, had to put something or it w), instant vanilla pudding, instant chocolate pudding mix, milk, heavy whipping cream, chocolate syrup, to decorate

fish fillets (depending on the particular ), lemon juice, parmesan cheese, freshly and finely grated, clarified butter or 4 tbsp ghee, mayonnaise, scallions, white and light green,chopped, salt, fresh ground black pepper, cholula hot sauce or 1 -2 dash tapatio hot sauce

unflavored gelatin, cold water, fat-free cottage cheese, nonfat yogurt (artificially sweetened), artificial sweetener (or 2 tbsp sugar or splenda granular, to taste), coconut flavoring, ground allspice, sliced mango, sliced banana

melted duck or goose fat or butter. you can purchase goose fat at bristol farms; you can save duck fat from roasting duck legs (also available at asian supermarkets; i usually get them on the same trip and make them first, to render the fat). you may supplement either 1 with butter if you need more to cover the gizzards. vegetable oil will not do. you will need enough to cover the gizzards in, a small high casserole ; i also use a loaf pan.

all-purpose bleached flour (she notes: this flour is softer than unbleached flour and helps to make tender pancakes), sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, buttermilk, milk, egg, unsalted butter, melted, vanilla extract, vegetable oil for griddle, variations, lemon poppy seed pancakes : follow pancake recipe, whisking 1 tsp. of finely grated lemon zest and 1 tsp. of poppy seeds into the dry ingredients., orange cardamom pancakes : follow pancake recipe, whisking 1tsp. of finely grated orange zest and 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom into the dry ingredients., gingerbread pancakes : follow pancake recipe, substituting 4 tsps. of molasses for the sugar and adding it to the wet ingredients, then whisking 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1 1/2 tsps. ground ginger and 1/8 tsp. ground cloves into the dry ingredients., chocolate chip pancakes : follow pancake recipe, sprinkling 1 tbsp. of miniature chocolate chips over the uncooked side of each pancake as it cooks., banana nutmeg : follow pancake recipe, whisking 1/2 tsp. nutmeg into the dry ingredients and dropping 5 or 6 thin slices of banana (you ll need 2 small bananas total) over the uncooked side of each pancake as it cooks., ginger pancakes : follow pancake recipe, whisking 1 tsp. ginger into the dry ingredients and sprinkling 1 tbsp. of finely chopped crystallized ginger (about 1/2 cup total) over the uncooked side of each pancake as it cooks., lemon blueberry : follow pancake recipe, whisking 1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest into the dry ingredients and sprinkling about 2 tbsp. frozen blueberries (you ll need about 1 cup total) over the uncooked side of each pancake as it cooks., almond pancakes : follow pancake recipe, substituting 1 tsp. of almond extract for the vanilla extract., corn pancakes : flowwow pancake recipe, reducing flour to 3/4 cup and whisking 1/2 cup fine yellow corn meal into dry ingredients, and sprinkling 2 tbsp. of frozen corn (about 1 cup total) over the uncooked side of each pancake as it cooks.

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

butter or 3 tbsp margarine, chopped onions, flour, hot milk or 2 cups hot non-dairy milk substitute, dried chipped beef or 1/2 lb deli sliced turkey, paprika, tabasco sauce, freshly ground black pepper, sherry wine or 1 dash marsala, vanilla

boneless skinless chicken breasts, margarine or 6 tbsp butter, dry onion soup mix, cream of mushroom soup, uncooked quick-cooking rice, water

olive oil, divided, garlic cloves, minced, shallots, minced, tomatoes, diced (can use canned or fresh ), tomato sauce, crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste), salt, white wine (something dry), scallops, fresh parsley (chopped , to taste), fresh basil (chopped , to taste), salt & pepper, to taste

boneless and skinless cooked chicken, cooled and cut into small cubes, plain nonfat yogurt, sour cream, dijon mustard , to taste, curry powder, ground cumin, cayenne pepper , plus more to taste, raisins or 1 cup halved red seedless grapes, kosher salt , to taste, fresh ground black pepper , to taste, cashews, sandwich bread or croissants or salad greens