16 them grape 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.

cool whip, thawed, french vanilla instant pudding, apples, diced (2 red delicious and 2 granny smith work great), seedless grapes (you can leave whole , i halve them), snickers candy bar (keep a few out for decoration), banana, sliced (optional)

instant white chocolate pudding and pie filling mix (fat free, sugar free works fine), low-fat strawberry yogurt, cool whip, thawed, strawberry, cut up, grapes (rachel likes it best without them)

corkscrew pasta (i like multi colored), frozen peas, thawed, carrots, blanched, peeled and diced, celery, finely sliced, cucumber, peeled and diced, red pepper, diced, red onion, diced, grape tomatoes, sliced in half, turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled, sliced black olives (heck... i use about a cup and i just halve them.), non-fat or low-fat mayonnaise, dry ranch salad dressing mix, prepared barbecue sauce (i use about 1/2 cup)

garbanzo beans, drained, black olives, drained and sliced, artichoke hearts, drained and quartered, pepperoni, cubed (i use pepperoni minis), salami, cubed, cucumbers , halved lengthwise and sliced, grape tomatoes (i cut them in half), red onion, chopped, garlic cloves, minced, mozzarella cheese, italian dressing, lemon , juice of, salt and pepper, to taste, oregano

olive oil, salad vinegar, honey, minced garlic, salt, coarse black pepper, black beans, chick peas, red beans , kidney beans work fine too, green onions , thinly slice or 1 small onion, finely chopped, red or yellow pepper,diced (green ok too, if you like them, i don tsp), grape tomatoes, sliced in half, crumbled feta cheese, nice handful fresh cilantro, chopped , or 1 scant tbsp. dried

wonderful and yummy waldorf salad with a twist, apples (use any type you like , or a combination), walnuts or pecans, or a combination of both, red or green seedless grapes, halved (or fourths) or a combination of both, chopped celery or cut in very thin half moons, walnuts or pecans, or a combination of both, soft) cream cheese with 2 tbsp. high, quality mayonnaise ., you may also sub plain yogurt (if desired!), lemon- juice - to retard discoleration, sugar, we like to add a few marachino sweet cherries also..(almost forgot, them ) optional

apples , variety (i leave them unpeeled-your choice), sugar, to taste (honey , agave nectar, raw sugar, etc.), english mixed spice, salt, lemon juice (can sub orange, tangerine, etc.), unsweetened apple juice or 1 cup water or 1 cup white grape juice

grape tomatoes, garlic cloves, chopped or sliced (or more if you love garlic!), extra-virgin olive oil, ground sea salt (to taste), fresh ground black pepper (to taste)

raw shrimp or 1 lb cooked shrimp, grape tomatoes, halved, garlic cloves, crushed, green onion, sliced small, basil, oregano, salt , to taste, olive oil, butter, red chili peppers, chopped or 1 red chili pepper flakes

cooked, diced chicken (i usually buy the flash frozen chicken tenders at wal-mart and then grill them on my george foreman grill, let them cool and dice them), rinsed, halved seedless grapes (i think red look nicer, but i ll buy whatever is seedless and on sale), chopped celery (my husband hates celery so i usually omit this), chopped walnuts (the actual recipe probably calls for less, but i say you can never have enough nuts), ranch dressing, spicy brown mustard

recipe dill dip (or your favorite raw vegetable dip), broccoli floweretes, cauliflower floweretes, whole small white mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed, green onions, whole radishes, whole grape tomatoes, zucchini, peeled, de-seeded , and cut into strips, cucumber, peeled, de-seeded , and cut into strips, jicama, peeled and cut into strips, baby carrots, celery , peeled (yes, try using a potato peeler to peel the outside of the stalk - a trick my chef sister taught me...ii think you ll like the results!), any color sweet peppers, but into strips (some hot peppers, too, if desired - just warn your guests if they aren tsp familiar with them!), any other veggies of your choice, your favorite italian dressing, dill dip recipe, sour cream, real mayonnaise, dried dill weed, beau monde seasoning (if you can tsp find beau monde, use 1 tsp each: garlic powder, celery salt and onion salt), dried parsley, dried onion, mix all ingredients together well, cover and chill several hours before serving.

ground pork sausage with sage, baking powder, grape tomatoes, sliced in half and sprinkled with salt, eggs, sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 2 1/2 cups), salt and pepper, two 9-inch unbaked frozen pie shells (set them out to thaw while preparing the other ingredients)

cold water, mixed with, kosher salt (to cover 3 1/2 lb fryer, washed and brined for 4 hours, then drain and rinse chicken), chicken stock, vegetables, frozen and mixed, potato, diced peeled, white pearl onion, frozen (microwave for a few minutes to pre-cook them), flat leaf parsley, minced, sage, minced, scallions, whites and greens, chopped, frozen chives, cornstarch, salt, pepper, cayenne, egg, separated, sliced red grapes or 1/2 cup dried cranberries