23727 proving that less more 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.

heads broccoli, chopped, garlic, sliced, red onion, diced, grape tomatoes, halved, white wine, vegetable broth, asiago cheese, grated (or parmesan), red pepper flakes (or more if you like heat ), olive oil, fettuccine pasta , cooked according to package directions, salt and pepper

yeast, warm skim milk (or any other milks really), water , that is warm, sugar, egg, melted butter, flour (or more or less as needed), salt, extra melted butter, cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg

penne (more or less ) or 3/4 lb ziti pasta (more or less), diced tomatoes , with 3 cheeses, kalamata olive, pitted and chopped, garlic cloves, chopped, anchovies, minced, oregano, lowfat mozzarella cheese, diced, olive oil, crushed red pepper flakes (less if don tsp like hot), fresh ground black pepper, parmesan cheese, grated

vegetarian chicken strips, lightlife smart strips chick n style seasoned veggie strips meat free (has 0 g of fat and 14 grams of protein), peas and carrots, chopped celery, chopped red bell pepper (optional, for added vitamins and a sweeter taste), sauted mixed mushrooms (i like crimini, which are tiny portobello mushroom, but whatever mushrooms you like, please use less), chopped leek (or scallion or shallot), vegetable stock (which has 0 g of fat), white wine (totally optional), garlic salt, fresh tarragon (optional as well ), sage, thyme, white pepper (or black if you prefer ), soy flour (for a thick gravy, if you like yours thinner, don tsp use all of this, just use enough until its the cup), worcestershire sauce

vegetable oil, divided, white onion, chopped, jalapeno peppers (more or less to taste) or 1 serrano chili, seeded and chopped (more or less to taste), garlic clove, minced, refried beans (canned or homemade ), water, manchego cheese or 2 cups chihuahua cheese or 2 cups monterey jack cheese or 2 cups light cheddar cheese, shredded, flour tortillas , medium size (sometimes labeled for fajitas), pico de gallo, sour cream, shredded cheese

sugar (sifted after measuring), low-fat milk (skim or 1% is fine although i have made this successfully using 2% fat milk), corn syrup (more if needed to reach desired consistency), almond extract, vanilla

eggplant cut in medium sized cubes (don tsp bother to peel), zucchini , scrubbed and cut in medium chunks, yellow squash , scrubbed and cut in chunks, full head of garlic , most of the outer peel pulled off, yellow or red onions cut in coarse wedges, ends removed, white button mushrooms or crimini, wiped down left whole (on the small side, don tsp aim for huge mushrooms here, you don tsp want to cut them; that is more work), green pepper, seeded and cut in medium chunks, red pepper seeded and cut in medium chunks, yellow pepper seeded and cut in medium chunks, roma tomatoes stem ends removed and halved, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, fresh marjoram if available (i mysteriously kill mine each year), several sprigs of fresh thyme leaves, a handful of parsley, stemmed and coarsely chopped, two long pieces of lemon rind , juice of 1 lemon, sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes, few shavings of parmesan if you must gild the lily

lean ground beef, onion, chopped, garlic clove, minced, oregano (or more to taste), olive oil, frozen spinach, frozen yellow squash, spaghetti sauce (i prefer classico), ricotta cheese (optional), bow tie pasta, cooked (or other chunky pasta), parmesan cheese (optional)

ground beef, ground pork, textured vegetable protein, rolled oats, eggs, garlic cloves, carrots, onion, worcestershire sauce, salt (or more to taste), black pepper, hot chili sauce (optional), catsup (topping )

hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped, cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes, spam, cubed, browned and cooled, miracle whip (more or less to taste) or 3/4 cup mayonnaise (more or less to taste), yellow mustard (more or less to taste), onion, minced (i omit this), salt and pepper

chicken pieces, flour, butter, evaporated milk, cream of mushroom soup, undiluted, velveeta cheese, cubed very small (more if desired) or 1 cup colby cheese, grated (more if desired), grated parmesan cheese (optional), salt and pepper, cayenne pepper (optional), garlic powder (optional) or 2 -3 fresh minced garlic cloves (optional), whole white pearl onion, drained, sliced mushrooms, paprika , to sprinkle

mayonnaise, sour cream, seafood cocktail sauce or 4 oz chili sauce, diced fresh ginger (more or less to taste, can have a kick to it with more), sugar or 1 -2 tbsp corn syrup, drop tabasco sauce or 1 -2 tsp datil hot pepper sauce (to desired heat level)

bread (whole wheat, raisin, orange, country white, etc.), butter or margarine, for spreading, pumpkin pie spice (more or less 1/2 teaspoon) or 1/2 tsp cinnamon (more or less 1/2 teaspoon), cream cheese, softened (warmed if you wish), honey, softened

lean ground beef (or less ), green pepper, chopped, onions, chopped, brooks chili hot beans, tomato paste, water, diced tomatoes with juice, chili powder , to taste, cumin , to taste, hot sauce , to taste, cilantro (optional)

apples, cored and thinly sliced, lemon juice (optional), sugar , to sprinkle over apples (or less), cinnamon or 1 1/2 tsp cardamom, kerry irish gold butter, melted, unbleached white flour, sugar, for topping, egg, beaten (optional)

tomato sauce, white vinegar, liquid smoke (hickory flavor), tomato paste (more if you like it thick), cayenne pepper, salt, garlic powder, dried onion flakes, sugar

diced tomaoes, rotell diced tomatoes with chilis (your choice on heat, i usually use mild), white and yellow corn - drained, black beans - drained and rinsed well, jalapino rings from jar - diced - more if you like, vadalia onion, diced, crushed garlic, sliced black olives - drained, lime juice give or take, cumin, cyanne pepper (optional), handful cilantro - chopped