At the counter
Most of your work is done at the counter. Most of your technique will be developed here. Plenty of space and a minimum of clutter will make you more successful. Get in there with your hands...up to your elbows when necessary. Messing around and messing up can be a lot of fun. This section will help you discover basic techniques of preparation as our symphony proceeds. Again, the experience you bring to the kitchen is valuable. If your situation is changing, your previous techniques are still sound one.
Sounds simple, eh? McDonald's Hamburger University has test kitchens and professional tasters that decide exactly what order and in what amount to assemble their ingredients. Benefit from their research. Typically, you will want something moist next to the bread. Meat or heavier ingredient on the bottom. Slippery or lighter ingredients on the top. Sandwich fanatics may also insist that their mustard go next to the meat and their mayo go next to the cheese and that their tomato not touch their bread. Whatever your preference, do it with panache. Style can make the difference. Add a few slices of black Greek olive to a ham and cheese on rye. Put a slice or two of pepper or green onion into your grilled cheese. Experiment!
When beating ingredients, such as eggs, the idea is to mix the ingredients thoroughly while getting a little air into the mixture. If you add a few drops of water to eggs, it will break the tension of the egg white and they will mix better. Beating egg whites in a copper bowl helps them to stand up stiffer. Hold the bowl in one hand and the fork in the other. Tilt the bowl a little and provide a brisk circular motion with the wrist. Start fast and end with a slow finish, trying not to touch the bowl with the whisk. When you think you have mixed it well, test it with your thumb and index finger in several places to see if the ingredients are indeed well beaten.
Generally, the less you handle pastry dough, the better. Measure the dry ingredients and place in a medium mixing bowl. I try to use one with high sides. Measure the butter, margarine, or shortening and put it into the bowl in smallish pieces. Using a pastry blender, cut the pieces of butter by mashing against the bottom and sides of the bowl. Be as efficient as possible so that you are touching the dough as few times as possible. Some cooks use their fingers to gently blend the ingredients. The touch you use must be extremely light, though. The recipe will tell you the desired consistency, such as cornmeal size or pea size. You can tell this by feel. A recipe often asks you to make a well in the center to add a liquid. Use your hands to gently make a hole in the center of the bowl to pour the puddle of milk or other liquid.
Choose asparagus with tight flowers for freshness. Peel the tough stems with a potato peeler. Don't cut them off; they are quite tasty. Bundle them with cotton kitchen twine by frapping several rounds, then moving down and frapping several more rounds. They are now ready to spend the hour required for steaming.
Let the fowl rest 10 to 20 minutes after removing from the oven to allow juices to settle. If you are carving at the table, remove the bird breast-side-up to a heated platter and garnish with parsley. We often "present" the bird and then retreat to the safety and privacy of the kitchen to carve. Using a very sharp carving knife and two-tined fork, insert the fork into the knee joint and slice the meat of the thigh away from the hip socket. Hold the drumstick with a towel and twist it a bit at the very end of the cutting process. Remove the wings in a similar manner. To slice the breast, begin at the area nearest the neck and slice thinly across the grain, the entire length of the breast. We like to put dark meat on one warm platter and white meat on another. The more difficult to reach pieces under the bird can be left for later. Leftovers are just the best!
This process is much like chopping vegetables, but the product is smaller and oily. That makes it a little tricky. Pay a little closer attention to knife control. Cup the hand you use to pivot the knife over the nuts a bit as they will pop away when cut. Follow the same technique as chopping vegetables. If your knife is dull, you will wind up mashing the nuts and not chopping them. This releases too much of the oil. If you are using chopped nuts in a muffin or loaf quick-bread, dust them a very tiny bit with flour, and they will not sink to the bottom of the batter.
Whenever chopping, dicing or mincing, you want the product to end up the same size so that the pieces will cook evenly and in the same amount of time as the other pieces. Chopping vegetables results in pieces about the size of your smallest fingernail. I will use an onion as an example since they can particularly tricky. Burning a candle nearby helps keep the tears to a minimum. If the fumes get to be too much, stoop down below the level of the counter for a few seconds. Since the fumes are rising, they can't reach you. In the end, a sharp knife should help you avoid all this. It will cut, not crush the vegetable.
Place the peeled onion on the cutting board. Roll it a bit so that it finds its natural resting place. Hold the onion with one hand and leave a two inch arc between the top of the onion and the bottom of the hand, Slide your chef's knife between your hand and the onion. The cutting motion is firm and forward. Repeat quartering process until the onion is in 8-10 pieces. Chop each piece by placing it on the cutting board with the flattest side down. Rest the non-knife hand on the butting board with fingers curled under and thumbs out of the way. You will guide the vegetable toward the knife with this hand. With the knife hand, grip the handle and let the blade touch the board. The knife hand should come down with the blade in such a way that it hangs over the board, letting the full length of the blade make contact with the board. Cut the onion pieces. The blade will be perpendicular to the board with the back of the blade resting against the curled fingers of the other hand. The trick is cutting down and forward or down and backward. The resulting pieces are about the size of a sugar cube.
There really is no mystery to this technique. The concept is to separate the liquid butter from its solid sediments. Unfortunately, it is a very visual process. As with some such vision-dependent activities, I adopt the philosophy of "better to waste a bit of food than to risk fouling the process". Melt the butter slowly and thoroughly on the stove or in microwave. Set aside to cool in a coffee cup or other cup with fairly straight sides for the top 3/4 portion and sides slanted inward for the bottom portion. When it is cooled just enough to touch, slip an index finger 1/2 inch above where the cup starts to slant inward. Place the tip of a plastic bulb-ended baster at that point and begin to suction out all liquid above that point. Place in another cup or bowl. Strain that liquid through cheesecloth into its final serving container. As much as I hate to be the one to use the phrase, "get a sighted friend," this is one of the few times it might be useful to use this friend. Grilling and the racking stage of home-made wine are two other times I shout for help. Once you know just how far down you need to go to get a majority of the good liquid and avoid the bad solids, you will have a formula to follow. When you have a formula to follow, you will no longer need to seek visual information. As with any other visual technique, there is always such a formula. Establishing it might take a little help initially, but then it's part of your repertoire.
If eggs are involved, crack and beat them lightly in a separate cup or small bowl first. Add the ingredients in the order they are mentioned in the recipe. If it just lists them all together, then order does not matter. Use your hands and scoop up from the bottom of the bowl. If flours are involved, use a light touch to avoid toughness. You can tell by feeling when the ingredients seem to be thoroughly combined. Use a rubber scraper to loosen ingredients from the side. Leave all ingredients behind in the bowl before washing your hands. Don't be reluctant to get in up to your elbows if necessary. You will learn to feel how ingredients act and react.
Composing a salad is more organized than tossing. The arrangement is intended to be balanced in terms of presentation, color and texture. If the recipe does not describe the arrangement, then you are free to make any design you would like. Determine your design keeping in mind the size of each ingredient, the flavors and any other logical considerations that might make it better. For example, do not put sesame seeds under the meat where they might get soggy. Also consider how the salad will be eaten. Ingredients should be a size that easily fits on a fork, as composed salads should not have to be cut.
To cover or not to cover a casserole is am important issue and the recipe should be followed; if not mentioned, do not cover. If you are using a glass dish, use its cover. If you are using a baking dish or pie pan, cover with aluminum foil. All edges should be sealed well. Recipes often ask you to uncover the casserole the last 10 minutes or so. Be sure to set the timer accordingly. Remove the casserole completely from the oven to uncover it. Remember that steam will escape as you do this, so do not work with your forearms over the dish. Also be aware that cheese or other gooey ingredients might have stuck to the foil or lid. I sometimes make a double batch of a casserole and freeze half. In that case I would also cover it with foil and wrap the whole thing in a plastic grocery bag to avoid freezer burn.
If you have lost track of an egg and are not quite sure if it is boiled or not, spin it on the countertop. If it spins, it is boiled. If it rolls sluggishly, it is not. If you doubt its freshness, drop it into a bowl of water. A fresh egg will sink to the bottom. A rotten one will float.
Crack eggs into a coffee cup or mug. Whack if firmly on the countertop or other flat surface. Some cooks use the rim of the cup, but I find that fewer pieces of shell separate the other way. Holding each half of the egg with opposing hands, separate the shell and let the egg slide into the cup. Once you have cracked all the eggs necessary, run your fingers through the cup to make sure you have not included any shell. Pour the eggs into the mixing bowl. If the recipe calls for adding the eggs one at a time, then do so using the cup and repeat the process.
Nuts fresh from the shell are superb! You want to hold the nut as close to the meeting point of the two arms of the nutcracker as you can get it comfortably. The point is to crack it enough so that you peel it, but not to the point of crushing the nutmeat. Most nuts have a thin paper shell inside that you will also want to remove before going further. I usually put the whole nuts or nut halves into a bowl. I then search for nut shells and put them into a second bowl when I am sure there are none. This is an extra step, but saves the aggravation of biting down on a nut shell in the baked good or salad.
Place the measured butter, margarine or shortening in the mixing bowl. Leave at room temperature to soften for an hour. Pour in the measured sugar. Mix with a hand beater on low speed until ingredients are well blended. Set beater aside and scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber scraper. Then blend at high speed until the mixture is creamy. Clean detached beaters with fingers to get all the creamed mixture into the bowl.
If you are using a canned chicken broth and you don't want that little glob of fat they include, open the can with the triangular end of the bottle opener. When you pour it out, the piece of fat stays in the can.
If you have made a stock or broth and want to relieve the fat, put it in the refrigerator for about 2 hours. As it chills, the fat rises to the stop and solidifies. Break it in half when it is completely hard and scoop out one side then the other with fingers flat as if they were a spatula. I would mention that the fat can be easily felt. Discard the fat, and your soup is healthier and tastier.
Using the pan lid to drain ingredients is dangerous. It might dirty one more dish, but use a colander. Put the colander flat on the bottom of an empty sink. Pour ingredients away from you. Shake the colander a little as ingredients settle to release the last bits of water or liquid. If you need to save the liquid, follow the same procedure, putting the colander into a slightly larger bowl. Pour the ingredients into the colander and lift it out. Allow the draining liquid to fall back into the bowl and save it for its intended use.
Use the same technique for chopping vegetables. Again, I will use an onion as an example. Place the peeled onion on the cutting board. Roll it a bit so that it finds its natural resting place. Hold the onion with one hand and leave a two inch arc between the top of the onion and the bottom of the hand, Slide your chef's knife between your hand and the onion. The cutting motion is firm and forward. Repeat quartering process until the onion is in 8-10 pieces. Chop each piece by placing it on the cutting board with the flattest side down. Hold the knife point to the cutting board with the heel of your opposite hand. With the knife hand, grip the handle and cut the onion pieces. Using the held down point as a central stable point, dice the onion to desired size in an arc. The pieces will be half the size of sugar cubes. Before using the pieces, quickly feel them to make sure they are uniform in size.
Most people prefer to dress their own salads at the table. You can offer more varieties of dressings that way, and they can use the preferred amount. However, some salads are dressed at the counter. I still only use half the amount and reserve the other half in a small pitcher for the table. Use a spoon to ladle the dressing over the salad. Do not pour from the pitcher; you loose control. The recipe will designate tossing at this point or not, depending on the salad type.
Often these ingredients will be hot, so use a spoon or baster. Take a small amount in a large spoon and drip it onto the top of the cake or dish. Keep track of where you have dripped it so that you can cover it evenly.
Dropping cookie dough on the sheet
The recipe will designate a size such as rounded teaspoon, etc. Scoop the dough in the suggested spoon and cup your hand over it to ensure that it is rounded or whatever the further designation in. Transfer it to the cookie sheet and use the index finger of the hand not holding the spoon to slide the dough out of the spoon onto the baking sheet. If the recipe calls for 2 inches apart, use 3 fingers together to measure 2 inches.
This process is also called dredging meats. Put the required flour, cornmeal or wheat germ in a bowl of sufficient size to hold the meat and to turn it over. Lay a strip of meat in the bowl and toss a little flour or cornmeal on top. Turn the meat once or twice without excessive handling. Shake the excess dry ingredient off the meat and transfer the meat to a platter. If the flour seems a little dusty to you, toast it at 350 degrees for 5 minutes to settle it down.
A recipe often calls for a lightly floured surface for rolling out pastries or other dough. Make sure the surface is scrupulously clean and dry. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons on the surface and spread it around with your hands in a circular motion. You don't want any ripples of flour left behind; this would dry out your pastry. Keep the canister handy in case you need to re-flour during the rolling process.
If you want a wavy edge to your pie crust, it's really easy. Once you have flopped the pastry in the dish and it is hanging over and inch or so, use the edge of a table knife to cut off the excess. Use a downward motion and have the knife come in contact with the outermost edge of the pie pan. It will cut itself away and fall off as you go. Then press the index and middle fingers down on the pie crust edge, about 1/2 inch apart. Moosh the pie dough up between these two fingers and pick them up. Leave a little space and do it again. Continue to rotate the pie around until you have fluted the whole edge. Work fast so that your crust does not start to dry out.
The object of this process is to mix the ingredients without bruising the integrity of any one ingredient. For example, you would like to combine whipped cream with other ingredients, but you do not want to deflate the cream. Place the most fragile ingredient on the top. Scoop a spatula or scraper down the sides of the bowl and draw a bit of the bottom ingredient to the top in a circular movement. Gently cover the fragile ingredient, but do not stir it. Continue to do this repeatedly until you think the ingredients are blended, but not broken down. Test by removing a small spoonful from the bowl. Test it by taste or by fingers to see if they seem blended. Once you have experience with certain recipes, you will have a sense of how much time it will take to fold the ingredients. Cook's hint is to fold in any sugar you might want in the end to make the ingredients more tender.
Run hot tap water over drinking glasses or beer mugs. Pour all excess liquid out of the glass. Place in the freezer so they do not touch each other. They will be frosted in about a half-hour.
The best graters are the boxed cylinders which collect the cheese inside. It is easy to keep a steady pressure with this kind of grater. Hold the handle on top with one hand. Grip the cheese with your hand well out of the way of the grater. Choose the fine or heavier grate depending on your preference or the final use of the product. Grate a few strokes and turn cheese so that you are not always following the same grooves. Watch that last few inches. I find it safer to leave a few inches on the brick than to try to squeeze out those last few shreds.
If you are using a flat grater, place one handle on the cutting board or counter to steady the grater. Grip the other handle with one hand and tilt the grater 45 degrees. Use the same steady downward motion, but be aware of the possibility that the other end might slip. Have a plate or large enough bowl underneath these graters to catch the cheese. If you plan to use the cheese immediately, grate over a paper towel, so you can fold it up and transfer the cheese to not miss a morsel.
There is nothing quite like a fresh grate of nutmeg atop a milky drink or in a Latin American dish. If you do not have a special nutmeg grater, not to worry. Use the finest part of the grater that you do have and use the same technique as you would for cheese. Since the nutmeg is so small, be very careful not to include any knuckles in the grating.
Follow a recipe's suggestions for greasing, greasing and flouring, greasing only bottom of pan, etc. Dip a folded paper towel into the shortening can to scoop out the desired amount. Spread it evenly on the pan in an organized pattern to avoid missing spots. You will find your own pattern to use for a variety of spreads such as cake frosting, peanut butter and other times when an even spread is essential. For example, you might choose a grid pattern, spread from left to right, dropping an inch, spread from right to left and so forth. Turn the pan and repeat the process.
Sprinkle a few tablespoons of flour into the pan. Tilt pan in all four directions to allow the flour to stick to the shortening. Repeat this process several times. Then tilt the pan upside down into the trash to get rid of excess flour. Then do not touch the pan surface or you will disturb the floured surface.
Mmmmm...freshly ground pepper. Keep your grinder relatively full. Too full and the grains come out too large. Almost empty and the grinder does not work properly. Perform a test to get to know your grinder. Grind out 8 or 10 times and measure the result. Then estimate how many grinds it will take to get 1/8 teaspoon, 1/4 teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon, etc. Measure carefully with measuring spoons until you know how many grinds it takes to get each measurement. Then you never have to measure again! When you are ready to experiment, you might try white peppers, lemon peppers and other varieties.
I love my electric juicer for large amounts of fresh orange juice or margaritas. Juicing by hand is not difficult, though. Roll the fruit on the counter pressing down with the heel of your hand. This breaks some of the pulp membranes and makes it easier to extract the juice. Hold the fruit in one hand pressing the stem end with the thumb and the other end with the fingers. Cut the fruit in half with a sharp knife so that when it falls open, the ends are on the bottom. Hold over a cup or bowl large enough to hold twice as much juice as you will need. Working from the outsides of the cut edges of the fruit, squeeze gently. Move towards the middle and then work your way towards the end of the fruit. If there are particularly stubborn sections, you can turn it over and gouge with your fingers to release the juices. If you have a rather old fruit, you might try microwaving it for 10-20 seconds to release the juice before cutting.
The process of kneading dough brings the ingredients in closer contact with each other and encourages the gluten from the flour. This makes the dough more elastic. Different recipes will ask for different degrees of kneading. For example, Angel Biscuits only want 3-4 strokes, whereas Mamaw's Perfect Dressing bread takes a much heavier hand. Making fresh pasta falls somewhere in between. The recipe should be specific about the degree of kneading, but it is safer to err on the light side.
The ingredients are thoroughly mixed before turning out. Make sure the surface is clean and dry. Sprinkle a little flour (2-3 tablespoons) onto the surface and spread around with both hands. When both hands and the surface are lightly powdered, turn the dough out by turning the bowl upside down on the surface. Handle gently. Form a ball in the middle of the surface. Place both fists together with thumbs touching. Then turn fists at about a 90 degree angle from each other. Open fingers slightly. Using the heals of your fists, press slightly forward and downward gently into the middle of the ball. Fold the dough in half from the right side and rotate 90 degrees to the right. Repeat the motion for as long as the recipe asks for. If the dough is too sticky to handle, sprinkle a little flour on the outside of the ball. If you need a very elastic dough, you will pinch it to test it. Take a walnut size piece of dough in one hand and stretch it with the other until it breaks. Drop it on the counter. Then feel the shape. If it is elongated and pointed, it is not elastic. If it curled back up into a ball, you have achieved elasticity, Eventually, you will know what the dough should feel like. You will be able to adjust the flour according to the weather or the quality of the ingredients just like the pros.
Cool all ingredients so that you can handle them. Use your hands to judge how much of each ingredient there is if the recipe calls for multiple layers of the same ingredient. The order is usually important. Also make sure the layers are evenly distributed. If a sauce is to come last, save a little more of it than you have put in other layers. You will want everything is well covered with the sauce in the end so that other ingredients do not dry out in cooking. To cover or not to cover a casserole with a lid or foil is also important. Follow the recipe on this issue. If it says nothing, do not cover.
Allowing the yeast to do its chemical thing will encourage your success with leavened recipes. If the directions say to let the dough double in size, do the following. Place the dough in a ceramic bowl and cover lightly with a kitchen towel. If your climate is very dry, dampen the towel slightly first. Store in a warm place away from drafts, such as inside a gas stove with only the pilot light on or close to the water heater. It will take a couple of hours for it to double in size, but check the initial size carefully, so you will know when that has happened.
For dry bread crumbs: Dry the sliced bread out overnight. Crumble the bread into fine grains by hand or zip it through the blender or food processor. If you are caught short of time, process crackers instead. If you do not have a blender or food processor, put the crackers in a self-sealing plastic bag. Roll them with a rolling pin or the side of a glass or a can from the pantry.
For fresh bread crumbs: Simply blend or process bread slices that are fresh. They will absorb less oil in cooking.
Ah...the daily grind! I can mark the decades of my life and personal development by how I was making coffee at the time. I have suffered though instant coffee, percolated the grounds, boiled cowboy java over an open fire with eggshells to promote settling, and dripped it a hundred different ways. I have settled on a method which has taken two shapes. I think I'll be sticking with them.
The concept is to grind the coffee as finely as possible, use a cone filter, and pour fresh water just below the boiling point over the coffee. You can use less coffee if you spend a little more for good beans. Use a hand grinder set at the absolute finest or an electric grinder until the coffee is powdered. Place it in a permanent gold filter or a paper filter - either resting in a ceramic or plastic cone filter. Place the cone filter over the final receptacle, such as a ceramic or glass pot. Boil spring water and then let it rest for 15 seconds before pouring over ground coffee. Pour directly in the middle, not around the edges of the cone. My ratio is one heaping tablespoon of beans per mug of coffee. You will need to experiment to find your favorite. At the height of my obsession, I would use only Swedish water which was never allowed to touch metal. I have given up some of the ritual and have even been known to use a Krupps dripper with an automatic timer. I still insist on good water free of chlorine and good coffee beans.
What's a Friday night fright flick without a bowl of corn? The best popcorn has a regulated amount of moisture in it to ensure the best popping. The concept is to pour the corn into the pan with heated, but not smoking oil. To keep the corn moving so that it does not burn as it pops. To keep it at a moderately high heat as it cooks. To turn off the heat as the last kernel pops. Then to remove it from the pot immediately. All of this takes an experiment or two to get it down perfectly for your popcorn maker or stove. Experiment to see how little oil you can use and still pop that last kernel. It will taste better.
Try some seasoning in the butter, if you use it. For example, a really fancy snack is the popcorn dressed with a hint of Italian seasoning in a splash of butter...all sprinkled lightly with Parmesan cheese. Roll the film!
The same technique is used as for chopping. Again, I will use an onion as an example. Place the peeled onion on the cutting board. Roll it a bit so that it finds its natural resting place. Hold the onion with one hand and leave a two inch arc between the top of the onion and the bottom of the hand, Slide your chef's knife between your hand and the onion. The cutting motion is firm and forward. Repeat quartering process until the onion is in 8-10 pieces. Chop each piece by placing it on the cutting board with the flattest side down. Hold the knife point to the cutting board with the heel of your opposite hand. With the knife hand, grip the handle and cut the onion pieces. Using the held down point as a central stable point, chop the onion to desired size in an arc. The resulting pieces are one quarter the size of a sugar cube. Use your hands to check for uniformity in size.
Stir batter slowly at first to avoid a dust storm of dry ingredients. A recipe will often ask you to mix dry ingredients and wet ones separately and then add them gradually together. Similarly, you might be asked to add eggs one at a time. To ensure even mixing, stop several times and scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl with a rubber scraper. If mixing with a long handled spoon, keep a saucer at the side to put the wet spoon on. Get in there with your hands to make sure everything is fully mixed.
Spend a few extra dollars and get a good can opener. It will last longer and be friendlier to you. Find the top of the can. Its lip will be more pronounced than the bottom. It doesn't really hurt anything to open the bottom; it's just more difficult. Wash the lid of the can first in case it slips into the ingredients. Grasp the can opener handles in one hand and the twisting mechanism in the other. Spread the handles open slightly, about two inches apart. Using the two interlocking cogs that feel like teeth, grab the lip of the can and close the handles slowly with the handles. The two arms of the handles are atop each other and parallel to the counter, Applying even pressure, twist the turning mechanism clockwise. Even pressure on the handles will support the can in an upright position. If it should slip off the can, just back up a little and start the process in a portion of the lid that is already open. If the lid should slip into the ingredients, lift it out with a knife blade or fork tine, not your finger.
Hold the jar in one hand and rap is smartly on the bottom with the heel of your other hand. Then whack the lid's lip with a table knife handle at four spots. The jar should open easily. A particularly stubborn lid will come off with a rubber glove. If the lid is difficult because it has crystallized sugar, such as a honey jar, run hot water over it for a minute to liquefy the sugar. In fact, hardened honey or syrup can be tamed after 30 seconds in the microwave.
Opening wine and champagne bottles
Score the metal casing at the top of the bottle just under the lip with a knife or the end of a corkscrew. Peel back only that section. My favorite corkscrews have been the winged variety with a straight shaft encased by the screw-shaped component. Place the round loop lined with a plastic ring atop the bottle of wine. The whole mechanism should be manipulated until it is as straight up and down as possible. The wings will hang down. Hold the ring in place with one hand while aiming the point of the corkscrew directly down into the cork with the other. Twisting the mechanism from the top, gently press the corkscrew further and further into the cork as it twists. The winged sides will start to rise. When they are pointing toward the ceiling, the screw is completely in, but not through the cork. Steadying the bottle flat on the counter, grasp one wing in each hand and gently bring them back down to their original position. This will lift the cork out. You may then twist the cork back off the corkscrew and use it in the bottle. Allow red wines 20-30 minutes to breathe before serving.
Champagne bottles do not have to intimidate you. Hold a towel over the cork and grab the cork with one hand. With the bottle flat on the counter, grasp the widest portion with the other hand. Hold the cork still and twist the bottle. When you start to feel the cork give, do not panic and let go. Just continue to twist the bottle gently. Hold the cork down as you turn. You really don't want it to pop unless you are making a movie; that releases a lot of the bubbly. Put a little water over the ice in the bucket to loosen it up a little. If you are caught short for time, sprinkle a little rock salt over the ice as you would for an ice cream maker.
Use a nested measuring cup the required size. Pack the brown sugar in the cup as tightly as you can get it to fit until it is level with the top of the cup. Then crumble it out of the cup so that it does not remain packed.
Be sure the expiration date has not passed on your yeast. Old yeast really does not have what it takes. Measure the required amount of yeast into a small ceramic cup. Pour fairly hot tap water in the required amount over the yeast. It will bubble a little. Let it rest for 5-7 minutes in a warm place.
The process will make the meat more tender and will result in a thinner, more even product. Place the meat between two pieces of plastic or in a large plastic bag. Put flat on a counter that has been slickened with a small bit of water. Pound with a meat tendering mallet, hammer or other flat, heavy instrument. Turn after every 3-4 strokes so that meat breaks down evenly. Follow the suggestions in the recipe for thickness. The space from the end of your thumb to your knuckle is an inch.
Hold the mixing bowl full of batter 6 inches above the middle of the prepared pan. Tilt bowl until the batter spills into pan. With the bowl still tilted, scrape it with rubber scraper until all batter is in the pan. Using an organized pattern can help to get all of the batter out of the bowl.
When transferring liquid ingredients from one container to another, hold the full container in one hand and the empty one in the other with one finger draped over the lip. Place the empty container flat on a counter top and slide your finger inside down to the level that you would like the liquid to reach. Pour slowly until you feel the liquid reach the level you have marked with your finger. Electronic level indicators are available and handy for hot liquids, such as coffee.
Paper muffin cups are available now with separated little aluminum foil outer layers. They make baking muffins easy. Then you can slip them out of the foil portion, microwave for 30 seconds and slip back into the foil portion. They stay hot for quite some time.
If you prefer to prepare the tins, dip a middle finger into the shortening can and coat it. Then run it around the inside of each cup of the muffin tine and coat very lightly. If you are not baking a full dozen, fill the remaining cups with water so that they all bake evenly.
Use a blender or food processor. The recipe generally tells you how long or to what stage to purée. Some ingredients, such as basil leaves, are tender and don't want bruising. The result should be a well blended liquid, sometimes thick and sluggish, sometimes runny.
If a recipe calls for potatoes to be quartered and sliced, begin by scrubbing the potato well. Remember that it grows underground. Determine if it needs to be peeled or not. Save the peelings for stocks. Place the potato on the cutting board and let it find its stable resting place. Place the fingers of one hand on the long side of the potato and the thumb of that same hand on the opposite long side, leaving an arch formed by the palm of the hand. Slide the blade of the chef's knife under that arch. Grasp the potato firmly and apply a careful, even slicing motion in one direction to the potato. The result is a potato halved lengthwise. Turn one half so that the cut side is down on the cutting board, Repeat the slice with the stable half. Repeat with the other half after turning it over to stabilize. You now have quarters that you can evenly slice for potato salad or soup.
Handling the pastry as little as possible will result in a flakier, lighter product. Flour a pastry board by gently sprinkling a few tablespoons with your hand or use a pastry cloth. Turn the dough out onto the surface. Rub a little flour onto your rolling pin. Gently roll out the pastry from the center, first horizontally and then vertically. Repeat at the two o'clock position and ten o'clock position. Repeat the process in all directions until the pastry is the desired size.
To tell if it is the correct size, Place the pie pan upside down on the pastry. It should extend about 4 inches beyond the pan. Remove the pan. Gently fold the pastry in half and then into fourths to make lifting easy. Lift the pastry and place the point of the fold in the center of the pan. Gently unfold the pastry. It should hang over the side of the pan. With a table knife, use a downward motion to cut off the excess dough. Do not try to cut around, as this will tear and shove the dough around. If you want to flute the edges, place two fingers on the edge pointing toward the center of the pan, With your other hand, squish the dough between the two fingers so that it produces a wavy design. Prick the dough in eight places before baking. Some recipes might call for you to bake the crust with a layer of dried beans or rocks. In this case, you will put a layer of aluminum foil on the crust and evenly weight the surface with small pebbles or dried beans. This will allow the crust to bake evenly and beautifully.
Since tolerances for salt and tastes for pepper vary wildly, a recipe often asks you to decide how much you want. If you are making mashed potatoes, for example, cup one hand and shake as much salt as you would include for your one portion. Then repeat for as many servings as you have. Go a little shy, and taste before adding last bit of salt. Estimate ground pepper using the same technique.
There are, of course, egg separators available. You can also use a slotted spoon and let the white run through the slots. Here is another technique that assures that you get all the separation needed. Have two cups or mugs ready. Whack the egg gently on the countertop or the rim of one cup. Immediately turn the egg so that the crack is horizontal and the egg is not escaping from within. Gently open the egg shell so that you have two nice halves of the shell with the egg in one half. The egg white will start to overflow into the cup. When most of it has slipped out, pour the egg into the other half of the shell. More white will ooze out into the cup. Repeat this process several times. Then dump the egg yolk into the other cup.
If you will be making meringue or whipping the whites, it is important to get absolutely no yolk into the whites. If I need whites for this purpose I usually line up as many cups as I have eggs on the off-chance that one yolk escapes me. That way only one egg is ruined and not the whole batch. If you have egg whites leftover after using the yolks, whip them stiff. They make great complexion revitalizer. Let them dry on your skin. The feel is amazing!
Use the slicing blade on your cheese grater to shave firm chocolate. If it is warm in the house, chill the chocolate slightly first. Hold the slicer at a slight angle with one hand and drag the chocolate along the edge of the slicer. As with grating cheese, be careful not to catch a knuckle on the edge. If you need curls of shaved chocolate, place the chocolate on a cutting board and use a cheese cutter or butter curler to gouge little curls from the hunk of chocolate. Again, careful with the fingers. It is always better to waste a little...tasty, too.
Sometimes meat needs to be shredded, either to take on the flavors of a sauce or to present an appropriate texture. The recipe will tell you whether or not to shred meat raw, half-cooked or fully cooked. Make sure it is cool enough to handle. Remember that the inside of the meat will be much hotter than the outside. Cut the meat into pieces easy to handle and tear it into shreds by hand. If the recipe should neglect to tell you the size of shred, estimate it by the size of the other things in the dish. For example, in Marinated Chicken Salad with Pasta, Grapes, and Cashews you can take your cue from the size of the other ingredients. Shred the chicken slightly larger than the fruit and pasta so that it dominates the flavors.
Follow the same basic procedure as you would for grating cheese. If the vegetable is high in water, such as zucchini, be careful not to bruise the vegetable by using too heavy a hand. Carrots, on the other hand, can take a little pressure.
Many flours come presifted these days. I still like to sift my ingredients together, because I know they might sit on the shelf for some time. A little hand sifter is fine. Put the ingredients in the container over a bowl to catch falling flour, etc. Grasp the handle and pull it back and forth evenly. Some sifters have a rotating handle instead. Always sift before measuring.
Slicing citrus for garnishing glasses
If your drink has orange, lemon or lime juice in it and you would like a slice to spruce up your glass, take the slice from the very middle of the fruit. With the ends of the fruit to the left and right, hold the fruit by the middle and cut it in half. Then take a thin, uniformly shaped slice off the middle. Lay the slice down on the cutting board and locate the very center of it. Poke the center with the point of the knife and make a cut out to the sides. Only make that one cut radiating from the center to one edge. This is where you slip the slice onto the glass.
The meat does not have to be completely thawed, if originally frozen. In fact, if it is still a little chilly in the center, it will slice more easily. If slicing beef, follow the recipe's suggestions concerning cutting with or against the grain. When in doubt, cut against the grain. Estimate the size of the piece you will want and how many pieces that will mean taking from the original hunk. Cut by the half-life theory. For example, if you need 8 pieces, cut in half. Then cut each of those in half and each in half again. Chicken is not as well behaved as beef, so be careful with its slipperiness. When you become practiced and understanding of how meat will act, you will be able to cut between your thumb and fingers to get smaller pieces.
If paper-thin slices are required, use the slicer on your cheese grater. Apply even pressure while keeping the vegetable at an angle. For thicker slices use a chef's knife. Hold the knife in one hand and curl the fingers under the other hand as for chopping vegetables. Once you have cut the ends off, you should have a nice vertical cut to use as a guide. Place the blade of the knife against the vertical cut and follow it up till you reach the top of the vegetable. Move the blade toward the hand that is holding the vegetable until the desired thickness is reached. Then cut down and forward. The most dangerous section is the last few cuts, so watch your fingers. Julienne refers to slicing vegetables in long pencil sized shapes.
Spooning batter into muffin tins
Use a soup spoon or a small measuring cup and gather a heaping amount from the batter. Make sure it is not dripping before you transfer it. If some accidentally drips on the tin, wipe it up so that it does not burn. Locate the middle of the cup and aim for it. Fill the cup 1/2 to 2/3 full. If you are not baking a full dozen, fill the remaining cups with water.
I think one of the hardest estimation tasks is which plastic tub to put the leftovers in. I often end up washing an extra because I misjudged. Put the leftover food into a container with a minimum of leftover space. Air is not our friend here. Also make sure the lid fits air-tight. Try to keep the same types of leftovers in the same place in the fridge. This keeps the trolling to a minimum later on. In fact, I have different shapes for different items. For example, my lunches are always in small round ones. Meats are always in rectangular ones. Stocks are always in jars.
When draining ingredients, you generally are trying to capture the solids and discard the liquids. It is just the opposite for straining. Generally you would like to capture the liquids and retain the solids to discard or re-use. If you are straining something like a soup stock, line the colander with a piece of cheesecloth. Then place the colander in a somewhat larger bowl in the sink. Transfer the liquid into the colander and lift it gently. Allow the liquid to drain through the colander and catch the solids in the cheesecloth. Gather up the edges of the cheesecloth and squeeze the solids to coax out the remaining liquid. If you need to do this while the liquid is too hot to handle, then use a large wooden spoon to press the liquid out against the cheesecloth on the sides of the colander.
Cut the stem and the top of the artichoke off. Snip the end of each leaf with kitchen shears. Place a lemon slice atop the artichoke so that it will not discolor. Wrap it with cotton kitchen twine vertically and then again horizontally so that all the leaves are secure. The artichoke is now ready to be boiled for 45 minutes.
The purpose of this technique is to cover all ingredients with a liquid such as dressing or to evenly distribute ingredients. If the ingredients are hot such as a pasta dish, use a pair of salad hands or two large cold meat forks. If the ingredients are cold, use your own clean hands. Start at the top of the bowl and move the instruments down the sides to the bottom. Gently lift the ingredients up turning over all ingredients several times. The bowl should be a third larger than the ingredients it holds so that nothing escapes.
The blender can be quite useful once you get to know what your particular appliance does to different foods. The danger lies in over processing the food. Fruits will bruise, and sauces will weep if left too long. Test a new food by just pulsing a time or two to see how the food acts. Never touch a dial with the lid off or you'll be looking for stuff on the ceiling. Determine which consistency the recipe wants...blend, purée, etc. This might not always match the dials or buttons on your appliance. Do a pulse test and continue until you feel the consistency you desire. Grinding ice in a blender can dull your blades. Crack the ice a bit in a towel with a mallet before putting it into the blender.
The purpose of a chafing dish is to keep foods warm for a long period of time, usually during an open house or buffet. The idea is to use a small candle or liquid flame under a heavy dish that will distribute that heat. Foods with some liquids, such as dips or meatballs in sauce work the best. As with any other appliance, you just have to get to know your piece of equipment. There are questions to keep in mind. How long can I leave it before it burns out and food becomes cold? How long can I leave it and not have foods stick? Where is a safe place to put it so that no one bumps it or accidentally snags a handle? Where can I put it so that people do not have to reach too far over other foods to get to the contents? Once you pay attention to these details, you can let the dish languish so that you can enjoy yourself.
The concept at work here is long, very slow cooking. It works especially well with cheaper cuts of meat that need a slow, tenderizing process. As with all appliances, you have to get to know your model. Try it out the first time while you are home, so that you can check it occasionally during the cooking time to make sure the liquid is not cooking away. Layer meats on the bottom, then vegetables, then pour the liquids over all.
You can also use the crock pot on its lowest setting to keep mulled wine or wassail drinks hot. Remember that the element inside is very hot and so is the crock itself. It will remain so for some time after you turn off the appliance.
I cooked for 30 years without a food processor, so I know that a good knife is all you really need. However, I would not trade mine for anything. It enables me to get evenly thin slicing on potatoes and to whip ingredients evenly. I will not presume to give instruction on its use here. Each instrument is different and has different technique requirements and safety concerns. For safety reasons, I will uncharacteristically urge you to rely on a sighted friend to acquaint you with the printed instructions. My best advice is to not try to circumvent the safety features for convenience or expedience. Sticking a wooden spoon into the hopper to stir, even if the motor is off, is very dangerous. All of those safety features really are there for a reason. They are quite easy to use once you figure out how to assemble the apparatus properly. Food processors can be safer than conventional knifes and slicers when used properly. And they will allow you to process large amounts of food in a short time.
An electric hand mixer is a great compromise for those of us with less space or money. The only danger seems to be accidentally pulling the beaters out while the mixer is still running. Believe me, you will only do that once. Insert the desired beaters in the holes on the bottom of the mixer and listen for the snap of the locking mechanism. Some brands have a square and a round beater stem so that they only fit one way.
Make sure you have adequate liquid in the ingredients so that flour does not dust your counter and you. Stick the beaters down into the ingredients and start with a very slow speed. Increase speed slowly and move the beaters around in the ingredients. When you think they might be about halfway mixed, turn the mixer off and place the mixer on its heel with the beaters dripping over the bowl. Use a scraper and pull the unblended ingredients off the bottom and sides of the bowl. Repeat the process. When you think it is completely finished, stick your finger all the way to the bottom and stir once to make sure there are no leftover ingredients. If there are, repeat the process several times.
Most electric citrus juicers work on the principle of rotation triggered by pressure. Cut the fruit in half and hold over the rotating cone. Press down gently on the fruit and the cone will start to rotate. Press the sides of the fruit into the rotation device and turn a bit as you go. The sieve should catch the pulp and seeds as the juice fall into the vessel.
A mortar or spice mill is not essential. You can use a pottery bowl and the blunt handle end of a wooden spoon. What is essential is the blending of the spices. You want to crush the oregano leaves or dried chiles or other ingredients and mix their flavors before adding them to the recipe. Sometimes the recipe wants a paste of garlic and spices. Whatever is called for should be evenly blended. Hold the mortar or bowl containing the ingredients in one hand and the pestle or spoon handle in the other. With even pressure applied to the bottom of the mortar or bowl, grind away with a downward and outward twisting movement. Repeat half a dozen times or so and check the ingredients to see if they feel even.
A toaster oven saves on electricity and is quite efficient in heating quickly. Its obvious use is for toast. There is usually a sensor somewhere in the bottom, often bottom-front. There must be a piece of bread over this for the toaster to sense doneness.
I love to use mine for small casseroles and virtually anything that will fit. Remember to have a little space around the edges of your pan so that air can circulate.
This is a great way to hold down the fat and calories in a dish. Spray the product on the skillet, cookie sheet or baking dish. Hold both spray and dish well away from stove, oven or flame. Aerosol propellant is extremely flammable. Feel for the exit hole of the spray nozzle and hold about 4 inches from the surface to be sprayed. Spray the product evening and thinly over the surface. A pattern of moving the spray would be helpful here, too.
Parchment paper is useful in distributing heat and a steamy effect for baked goods. To cut a paper to fit your round pan perfectly, fold a square into a triangle. Repeat the proves in halves six times keeping the same point of the triangle to your left. Place this point in the center of your round pan and nip the open end with kitchen shears so that it fits the pan. Unfold the triangle and it will cover the bottom of the pan.
To create a "hot house" effect for baking fruit, create a pouch of the paper as if it were an envelope. Seal it tight trapping air inside.
I like to cook without preservatives and other chemicals in my ingredients. It is also so much cheaper to buy a bag of macaroni and to use fresh cheeses, for example. Just as easy to fix and so much tastier. With all that said, I will testify that it is great to pull a boxed mix out on occasion. A banana-nut muffin or a pan of brownies in 20 minutes can be awfully attractive when energy is low or time is short. When the third grader comes to you and says she needs 24 cupcakes for the spring picnic...tomorrow...just pull out that box of cake mix. Keep a small variety of items on hand for just such emergencies.
One of the goals of this book is to tear the cook away from this seductive machine. So many of the microwave foods are crammed with processed ingredients, preservatives and additives. I still would not trade mine in, for almost anything. It is invaluable for many preparations: warming water to add to the soup pot, melting butter, softening an old lime for juicing. And, of course, nothing beats it for heating leftovers. Like any other appliance, it requires a little bit of experimentation to know how it will treat ingredients. Here are some simple rules. Clean the sides, top and bottom when you are wiping counters and washing dishes. Food will cook on and interfere with its operation later. Never put metals of any kind in the oven. Test it the first few times you use if for each kind of food. Stop the cooking time a little short and test the food, then continue. Remember that food continues to cook after the oven is off. Respect the suggested cooking times. For example, a cup of water might take 5-10 minutes to boil. But a friend tells me that if you leave it in a microwave that long, the water boils out, the mug cracks, and the oven goes to the shop. He knows.
Each brand of oven is different, so you will have to get that legendary "sighted friend" to help you learn to calibrate and program it. Many of the new microwaves have control panels that are difficult to feel. They can be marked with Braille numbers on Dymo tape. Thin pieces of the tape can also be placed in a grid pattern around the rows of numbers. Many people still feel that the older type of oven with a dial are easier to use and don't require any tactile markings at all.
Many recipes ask that you remove ingredients to a warm platter or that you serve at the table on warm plates. This is an important final touch for keeping the dish as it should be. And an easy to accomplish one. If you have many plates, such as for a Thanksgiving dinner, warm them in the dry cycle of your dishwasher. If your dishwasher has dirty dishes or you have only a few plates, run hot water over them and dry. I have seen cooks do this in the bottom section of a gas oven, but I would not suggest this unless you really know your appliance.
When washing dishes by hand, start with lots of soap and water as hot as you can touch and still be comfortable. Begin with glasses. Touching glasses underwater can break them, so do them one at a time. Then proceed with cutlery and silverware, plates, serving dishes, pots and pans. If space is a premium, stop between stages, dry the dishes and put them away. As you put them away, check the dishes by feeling for leftover bits of food.
If you are using a dishwasher, fill the dishwasher in the most space efficient way, without nesting items. Glasses and bowl on the top, plates and pots on the bottom, tableware in its basket. Ask your local appliance dealer about the water in the area. You might be surprised that you only need half the soap recommended by the manufacturer.
Put a narrow deep mixing bowl and your hand mixer beaters into the freezer. Chill one hour. Put one cup whipping cream and 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar in the bowl. Whip at the highest possible speed until it peaks. Test this by stopping the beaters. Get a small dollop on the end of your finger to see if it falls off. When it stays on, it is thick enough. If you are using a hand-held electric mixer, tilt the bowl a little with one hand. Using a hand beater is not impossible. The idea is to get as much air into the cream as possible, so you want to do it fast and furiously. I even tried a fork at the campsite once, but it turned to butter.
My father helped me wood-burn a cover for my cookbook. It won a prize in the regional Brownie cookbook contest when I was 8. The prize was a wire whisk. I still use it. A fork would work adequately, but there seems to be nothing quite like the whisk itself. The ingredients should fill the bowl or pan only halfway for a good whisking. Tilt the bowl slightly and place the whisk so that it gently touches the bottom of the vessel. With a firm but not outrageous motion, make circular, clockwise movements that describe a circle from the bottom of the pan to the top of the level of liquid being whisked. The idea is to mix all the ingredients into a smooth, viscous consistency. If eggs are involved in a major way, add a few drops of water to break the surface tension.
A zester is like a tiny cheese grater, If you do not have a zester, use the smallest holes in your cheese grater. Use the same technique as for grating cheese, only use a lighter touch. Use small, feathery strokes and take only the outermost part of the rind off the fruit. You do not want any of the bitter inner white layer of the skin.