300 start 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.

potato (about 2 medium or 3 small russets or other starchy ), onion, salt (start with a lower amount, you can add at the table), ground pepper, freshly ground nutmeg (optional and to taste), egg, oil (for frying )

beef roast (thick cut 7 bone in ), sweet onion (such as walla walla), fresh garlic cloves, chopped (depending on your taste for garlic i start with 4 cloves), salt and pepper, baking potatoes, carrots, parsnips

racks lamb rib chops, apricot jam, ketchup, garlic powder (start with 1/4 tsp of ), worcestershire sauce

thick plain yogurt, cornstarch, ginger-garlic paste, red chili powder, lemons or 1 tbsp lime juice, salt , to start, boneless chicken, cut into 2 inch pieces (please avoid chicken breasts, use boneless skinless thighs or chicken tenders), oil (for deep frying), mustard seeds, green chilies, finely chopped, fresh curry leaves

ground beef, olive oil, water, dried chili pods, garlic cloves, minced, bay leaves, salt, cumin, ground red pepper, oregano, fresh ground pepper, sugar, dried onion flakes, mexican chili powder (start with 2 and increase to suit your taste buds), flour, cornmeal, water, dark red kidney beans (more to taste), pinto beans (more to taste), petite cut diced tomatoes (more to taste, note ( to kick this up a little more use 1 10 oz cans of rotel)

mashed avocados , depending on the size you will need 2 to 3 avocados, cream cheese, chopped green onion, i use only the tops, chopped parsley, lime juice , i start with about 1 tsp, garlic, crushed, chili powder, salt and pepper, some more chopped parsley , for serving, chopped pistachio nuts (optional)

tomato (cheapest is best here, since they re soupy to start with), tomatoes, peeled (if they re in season, else don tsp bother) (optional), onion, chopped, garlic, minced, red bell peppers (only if you like it) (optional) or 1 small green bell pepper (only if you like it) (optional), best olive oil, contadina tomato sauce, contadina tomato paste, salt, dried oregano, fresh basil, minced (hard to have too much basil)

firm tofu, cubed (small packs ), soy sauce (i use braggs), olive oil, steak sauce (hp sauce works well), margarine (such as earth balance), onion, diced, celery rib, finely chopped, carrots, sliced, waxy potatoes, chopped into 1 inch pieces, garlic cloves, minced, guinness stout (ours comes in 440 ml cans), vegetable broth, flour (start with 2 tbsp if you use reg ), fresh thyme, finely chopped, brown sugar (optional), salt and pepper

boneless skinless chicken breasts, cream cheese (filling starts here), shredded colby cheese, lemon juice, feta (to taste), dried marjoram, dried italian herb seasoning, fresh dill, chia seeds (coating starts here), quinoa flour (or all-purpose flour), black pepper, dried garlic, dried marjoram, dried italian herb seasoning

skinless and boneless cooked chicken or 6 cups cooked turkey, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, sea salt (start low and adjust to taste), white pepper (start low and adjust to taste), lemon pepper (i use tones seafood seasoning, which is much like ) or 1/2 tsp lime pepper (i use tones seafood seasoning, which is much like ), garlic powder, dried thyme, dried marjoram, dried basil, light olive oil, fresh lemon juice (have more on hand to adjust flavor at the end), celery, finely diced, chopped fresh parsley, leaves only, green onion, whites and greens, sliced thinly, chopped walnuts or 3/4 cup pecans, mayonnaise (no substitutes)

omelet jelly roll style, flour, milk, tb butter, melted, eggs, crumbled bacon (cooked ), grated cheddar cheese, preheat oven to 350. line jelly roll pan (15 x 10 x 1) with aluminum foil. generously grease foil with cooking spray. mix together flour, milk, butter and eggs until smooth. pour carefully into prepared pan. sprinkle with bacon. bake until eggs are set 15-18 minutes. remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with cheese. starting at narrow end of pan and using foil to lift roll the omelet. wrap with foil and return to warm oven for a few minutes. when ready to serve slice into 1 or 1 1/2 inch slices. serves 3-4.

sour cream (don tsp use low fat), fresh grated horseradish, grated shallot, worcestershire sauce (i like to use a bit more, but start with 1 tsp and you can always add more), fresh lemon juice (i start with 1/8, depending on your taste), dijon mustard (optional), salt, pepper, sour cream, prepared hot horseradish sauce, grated shallot, lemon juice, dijon mustard (optional), salt, pepper

all-purpose flour (start cupcake), baking soda, salt, buttermilk, sour cream, drops orange food coloring (optional), unsalted butter, softened, granulated sugar, eggs, orange extract (end cupcake), unsalted butter, softened (start icing), sugar, vanilla extract, water, orange extract, drops orange food coloring (optional, end icing ), non-dairy whipped topping (start filling), left over orange buttercream frosting (from above. see instructions, end filling)

turkey giblets, croutons, salt (may be y to start with so start with 1 1/2 and increase from there), garlic salt, pork sausage (save grease), celery soup, marjoram, eggs, onion, chopped, sauerkraut, pepper

fresh garlic cloves, peeled and chopped. (if they ve started to sprout, don tsp use them for aioli.), coarse sea or kosher salt, egg yolk*, at room temperature, lemon, juiced, pure olive oil (not extra virgin), extra-virgin olive oil, freshly ground black pepper

bananas (ones starting to turn black are best), self raising flour, soft brown sugar, margarine or 8 oz butter, sultanas, eggs

sweet onions, vinegar, crushed tomatoes or 1 lb crushed tomato puree, cayenne pepper, butter, water (to start), salt, crushed garlic (or to taste)