28 not your kind Recipes

all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, unsweetened (and not the extra dark kind ), granulated sugar, salt (not coarse grained), baking powder, baking soda, dark brown sugar, lime juice, milk, egg, olive oil (or vegetable or canola oil), vanilla extract or 1 tsp almond extract, black coffee, milk chocolate or 5 oz dark chocolate, heavy whipping cream

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.

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

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

dried red kidney beans , soaked overnight, rinsed, and cooked until tender, italian sausage (raw, *not* the smoked kind, hot or mild, to your taste ), ground beef (as lean as you like it), extra virgin olive oil , if necessary, onions, chopped, garlic, minced (or to taste), chili powder (hot or mild as per your tastes), cocoa, cumin, chipotle chiles in adobo (1 small can), blackstrap molasses, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, good-quality beef stock, divided, salt , to taste, liquid smoke , to taste, velveeta cheese (do not use store brand as it does not work as well) (optional), beef stock, potato flakes (mashed potato mix), fresh minced cilantro, crumbled cooked bacon, sliced green onion, shredded cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream

artichoke hearts (hard leaves removed and quartered ), hearts of palm, sliced (i buy them precut in the can), mozzarella cheese, diced (i used 2 pieces of string cheese and just sliced those up), diced roasted red bell pepper, tomato, diced, pine nuts, balsamic vinegar (i use the aged sweet kind, if yours is not sweet , you may want to add 1/2 tsp sugar), olive oil (a nice, full flavored 1), seasoning salt, fresh ground pepper, fresh rosemary, minced (may add up to 1/2 tsp if you like), dried oregano

chopped black olives, sliced mushrooms, red onion, sliced very thin, tomatoes, chopped, bell pepper, sliced very thin, artichoke hearts (not the marinated kind ), sliced cucumbers, stalks celery (sliced thin), your favorite italian dressing, salad supreme dry seasoning (this is an important ingredient), cooked noodles , of your choice, salt and pepper

turkish pitta bread (not the small round lebanese kind, but the fluffy ones), tomato sauce with herbs (or make your own using fresh tomatoes and herbs of your choice), sweet corn (tinned ), tomatoes, diced, bell pepper, chopped, onion, sliced, mushrooms, sliced, grated cheese (gouda or mozzarella or really any type you like)

brown sugar, wine (your favorite kind ), dried apricots, pitted prune, pineapple chunks in juice, not drained, cherry pie filling

salsa (your favorite kind ), boneless chicken breasts (or 8 boneless chicken tenders), instant rice, water, onion, bell pepper (or 1cup of pepper onion mix), salt, pepper, shredded cheese (optional * i like sharp cheddar but velveeta has been used also ) (optional), sour cream (optional), hot sauce (optional)

lean ground beef, mild italian sausage (more beef than sausage.), egg, onion, finely chopped, fresh bread, chopped, uncooked oatmeal, curry powder, ketchup, divided, sweet relish

sugar, sunflower oil, applesauce, egg whites (i used stop & shop pourable , 1/2 cup), low-fat milk (any kind of milk works, 1% is what i keep around), tomato soup (condensed not ready-to-heat ), all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground allspice, ground cardamom

your favorite spaghetti, garlic cloves, whole, punch salt, oil, garlic clove, minced, tomato sauce , el pato, find it anywhere, its up to you- serranos chile, chopped, del monte diced tomato with zesty mild green chili, red dried chili pepper flakes, monterey jack cheese, block kind-, cut piece (not shredded )

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

boneless skinless chicken breasts, shredded monterey jack pepper cheese (2 per chicken breast), plain tortilla chips (crushed fine in the food processor), flour, salsa, use your favorite , but a smooth salsa, not the chunky kind, a picante sauce also works, eggs, well beaten, olive oil (to saute the chicken), salt, pepper, avocados , rough chopped, fresh jalapenos , fine diced ribs and seeds removed, sour cream (don tsp use low fat), milk (more if you prefer the sauce a bit thinner), lime juice, fresh cilantro, fine chopped, salt, pepper

ground beef (you can also substitute your favorite other ground meat), elbow macaroni, uncooked (or 3 cups if you want it to go farther), diced tomatoes , do not drain (you can also use crushed if you like bigger pieces of tomato), sweet corn, condensed tomato soup, onion, chopped (whatever your favorite kind, i use white onions)

pie crust , for a 9 inch pie your favorite recipe or a prepared/frozen crust, whole milk, unflavored gelatin, vanilla pudding mix (the cooking kind , not instant ), vanilla chip, whipping cream (heavy cream), fresh strawberries (stems removed ), vanilla chips, cooking oil (not olive oil), chocolate pudding mix, milk chocolate or 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate or 3 tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips

potatoes (yukon gold or red about half as big as your hand), vegetable oil, kraft mayonnaise (not miracle whip and not fat free. use regular or light kind), apricot preserves, celery seed, garlic salt, garlic powder, onion powder, sweet pickle juice, french dressing, hot mustard (chinese mustard)