8 that most Recipes

here are the basics of making an excellent cheese fondue , the proper way (or at least the lindysez way)., use good cheese , i use half emmental swiss and gruyere, grate them up and toss them with some salt and a good amount of pepper. let them sit out at room temp so they melt better . cut your bread (good french bread, but not sourdough) into bite sized pieces making sure to have crust on each piece. let those sit out for a while too so they aren tsp too soft., cheese that you use , you are going to use 1 3/4 cups of a dry white wine, such as a fume blanc, a california sauv blanc (don tsp use a new zealand 1 as most are too grassy) or a pouilly-fume. when you are ready to make the fondue, rub the pot with a clove of garlic (we like garlic, so we leave the clove in, but you don tsp need to); then place over a medium heat and add the wine. when the wine comes to a simmer, start slowly adding the cheese, sprinkling in a handful at a time, allowing each addition to melt (my dad said you always have to stir in the same direction, in a figure 8 motion, it works. if you stir in a circle you will end up with a big glop of cheese in the middle of a pot of wine, the figure 8 is key); keep adding until you have a nice thick sauce, then add a splash of kirsch and a pinch of nutmeg. put over a burner to keep it bubbling, and stir often when you dip your bread., a lb of cheese is enough for 4 people; or more if you are serving other things. and the amounts are guesstimates. i almost always grate too much cheese, so only add as much as you need to get the right consistency ; when you dip a piece of bread into the fondue, you want a nice coating of cheese and for the bread to absorb the wine. that s what it s all about, cheese, wine and bread. so use the best you can of each ingredient. and any left over cheese makes for a mighty good ham and cheese omelet.

ripe haas avocado, tomatoes diced, diced red onion, key limes or 1 lime, chopped cilantro, coarse black pepper, kosher salt - to taste, red chili flakes - to taste, this salad is mostly done to taste that s why the varied numbers of ingredients. some people like a strong lime and cilantro flavor while others like more avocados. this is only meant for a general reference so play around with the recipe and enjoy. 1 spin off is to add some lemongrass paste to the lime juice for a extra kick

article, those of us who are blessed with living in the lone star state may take for granted the steaming hot, flavorful corn tortillas that many mexican restaurants still provide free to patrons. cities and towns of any size at all frequently have a tortilleria, that is, a tortilla factory, where freshly-made tortillas or fresh masa (tortilla dough) can be purchased. or maybe not., in any case , a resourceful cook, particularly 1 who relishes tex-mex fare, will want to be able to produce a batch of corn tortillas. there is nothing quite like the aroma of hot, handmade tortillas. your own tortillas will not only rival the restaurant variety, they will taste even better because they are so fresh., according to the tortilla industry association, tortillas are more popular today in the u.s. than all other ethnic breads, such as bagels, english muffins and pita bread., average (say 6- to 7-inch) corn tortilla contains about 60 calories, a gram or so each of protein and fat, 12 g of carbohydrate and 44 milligrams of calcium. since they are made exclusively of corn flour and contain no wheat gluten, they are an ideal bread alternative for those who are gluten intolerant., but most of all , they are good., corn tortillas are the foundation of classic tex-mex dishes like enchiladas , gorditas, quesadillas, tacos and tostados. mexican cooks have been patting them out for millennia; tortillas are the bread of mexico., this article will concern itself with corn tortillas, rather than the wheat flour tortillas that originated in northern mexico., ingredients for tortilla making are incredibly, and somewhat deceptively, simple. there are only two: corn flour and water. we could get so basic as to detail the process of making corn flour with parched corn and slaked lime, and grinding the resulting product ourselves, but no 1 would do that. and besides, there is a product made by the quaker oats company called masa harina that makes an excellent corn tortilla. masa harina may be difficult to find in some, principally northern, areas of the u.s., and you may have to ask your grocer to serving it for you. it can also be obtained by mail order, although it is a bit pricey ($3.95 for 2 lb, plus shipping), compared to what you pay for it in a local supermarket., whatever you do , don tsp confuse corn flour with corn meal. corn meal is made from a completely different process, and it simply won tsp work for tortilla making., need a big cast-iron skillet or griddle and a tortilla press, too. tortilla presses have become pretty easy to find in kitchen-supply stores. not exactly a high-tech gadget, if you pay more than $20 for 1, you ve paid way too much. if you can tsp find a tortilla press, it is possible (but not preferable) to press out your tortillas on a flat surface using a heavy, flat-bottomed dish. you ll also need some plastic bags of the sandwich or freezer variety, but more about that later., in most every recipe for corn tortillas, the proportion of ingredients called for is 2 cups of masa harina to 1-1/4 to 1-1/3 cups of water. however, the difference between 1/4 cup and 1/3 cup, while only 4 tsp, can be critical.

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

white bread, cheese, tomatoes, sliced, onion, sliced, green chili peppers, black pepper (to taste), hot sauce (i like tabasco, best)

globe eggplants, sweet onions, sweet apples (not tart like granny smith or macintosh), shallot minced, butter or lite, olive oil, crushed garlic, garam massala (an indian spice mixture that can be found in any indian store or in the asian section of most supermarkets), ground cumin, hot indian curry powder , to taste, dried basil, qt. chicken stock, cream sherry, sour cream (lite or non-fat ok), salt & hot sauce to taste, sugar to taste, hickory or mesquite chips for smoking