Blanching is a technique used to partially cook vegetables. To blanch, add cut vegetables to a pot of boiling salted water. Most vegetables will cook within 2 to 5 minutes; taste often to see when the vegetable is done to your liking. To stop the cooking process, “shock” the vegetables by immediately plunging them into […]
It’s easy to make your own chicken stock – and it tastes so much better than supermarket stock! The next time you roast a chicken, save the bones. Take a large pot, add the bones and filtered water to cover, along with several pinches of salt, some roughly cut onions and carrots and a handful
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To enrich a stock, use vegetable trimmings – such as rinsed pea shells, parsley stems and celery tops. Save and freeze Parmesan cheese rinds and add them to the stock.
Al dente is an Italian phrase that translates as “to the tooth.” Al dente means to cook something – pasta, vegetables, etc. – firm to the bite.
Some stomachs are sensitive to the “bite” of raw onions. Tame them by soaking the slices in a bowl of cool water for a few minutes. Squeeze the water from the onions and replace in fresh water. Repeat two to three times. Drain, and dry onions with a clean cloth.
Unless you are a professional baker, you probably don’t have pie weights in your kitchen. For an inexpensive and readily accessible substitute, use lentils, rice or beans. After baking the crust, remove your “pie weights” and store them in a plastic zip-lock bag for reuse.
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To deglaze a pan, add liquid and scrape bottom of pan until pan is clean and scrapings are incorporated into liquid.
The cabbage can be dressed sooner and set aside. You will lose the crunch of the vegetables, but it will become more infused with the dressing.
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Leeks are notoriously sandy! Here’s how to thoroughly clean them: Cut off the green leaves of the leek where they start to ‘Y’ just on top of the white portion and save the green leaves for all stocks. Do not remove the root end. Split the leek in half, lengthwise. Hold under cool running water
When making caramel, some of the cane juice will crystalize and cling to the sides of the pot as the water evaporates. This could potentially burn and affect the caramel’s flavor. To prevent this, dip a small pastry brush in cold water and brush the sugar crystals clinging to the sides back into the caramel.
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