Saturday, January 30, 2010
Диети
Диетата е предвидена за 7 дни. Некалоричните течности по време на диетата не са ограничени.
Дневно диетично меню
Закуска: 1чаша доматен сок,2 филийки ръжен хляб, намазани тънко с масло, или половин чаша нискомаслена извара с 1 чаша плодова салата.
Обяд: 1 чаша доматен сок, половин чаша сварен ориз с малко задушени зеленчуци, за десерт – сурова или печена ябълка, или 150 г нетлъста варена риба, салата от краставица, домат и маруля, подправена с 1 супена лъжица зехтин, за десерт – 100 г грозде.
Вечеря: 1 чаша доматен сок, 100 г телешка кайма с черен пипер и зелени подправки, запечена в тиган без мазнина или на скара, малко задушени гъби с лук и 2 дребни варени картофа, или 1 парче сварени пилешки гърди без кожата, малко варени зеленчуци и половин чаша сварен ориз
Pastry making
Food tip on pastry making
- Rolling the pastry (no more than 5mm thick) and lining the flan ring/tart mould
- Docking the pastry: lightly piercing the base with a fork; this will stop any air bubbles from forming resulting in an uneven base
- Cutting a sheet of greaseproof paper in a circle 4cm large than the flan ring/tart mould (to allow for the sides); this is called a cartouche
- Place the cartouche in the pastry case and filling with baking beans; these can be of the commercial re-usable synthetic type, or any type of lentil or similar. It is obviously best to use something that you can keep afterwards and re-use. Rice can also be used but burns and must be discarded after a single use.
- Allow to rest for at least an hour in the chiller before placing in the pre-heated oven (180ºC) and baking for 20 minutes
- Remove from oven, remove the baking beans and cartouche and bake for another 5 - 10 minutes
- Brush with a little egg beaten with some milk and place back in the oven for 5 minutes. This will act as a sealant and prevent the pastry absorbing any moisture from the filling used
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool before using
Removing excess salt
Food tip on removing excess salt from stocks, sauces, soups and stews
If your stock, sauce, soup, stew etc is too salty; add a peeled potato or potatoes into it, depending on how salty it is and how much of the stock, sauce, soup or stew you have.
As the potato cooks it will absorb a lot of the salt. The cooked potato can then just be discarded (or used if really wished). Repeat if necessary
If it is only a little salty, a little sugar or honey can be added to counteract it
On a related issue, If you would like to know how to remove excess fat from stocks, sauces, soups and stew
Removing excess fat
Food tip on removing excess fat from stocks, sauces, soups and stews
Well, yes this will work and works purely because the lettuce acts as a 'sponge' and soaks it up, you place the lettuce leaves on top of the ‘offending item’ and leave for a minute or so and then remove with tongs and discard. Other vegetables could be used also but lettuce being the lightest can just sit on the surface where the fat would be. It does seem a great waste of lettuce though, when a good size spoon or ladle will also do the trick, here are the two methods I always use:
- As the rendered fat comes to the surface take a soup ladle or large spoon and make a small circular motion in the centre of the pot: this will (because of centrifugal) force the fat to the sides
- Scoop the fat up and dispose
- Repeat as necessary
If the stock, sauce, soup, stew etc is not needed until the next day, this is much easier:
- Transfer the soup into a bowl or similar clean container
- Place in the refrigerator over night
- The fat will settle on the surface and turn solid, which is very easily removed by hand
What is marinating?
What is marinating?
It is flavour enhancement by absorption, by osmosis; it is a technique that was originally used when they had no refrigeration to keep foods fresh, it was done to preserve foods and it was also done to disguise the often putrid taste of the meats. Thankfully this is no longer the case, instead we use it to infuse certain flavours to enhance the full natural flavour of foods or to add to them. Sure, we can still use long marinating times and preserve the foods this way if we desire, but with a little advance knowledge and shorter marinating times we now can use it to just enhance the natural flavours of the foods.
Another result of marinating is that it helps break down the tough proteins of foods; what many commonly refer to as ‘gristle’, like the collagen and elastin in meats. There by making the meats more palatable, easier to chew and seeming more tender.
Types of marinades
Essentially there are two types of marinades; dry ones and wet ones. Which one to use depends on many factors:
the type of food
the toughness/tenderness
the desired effect
whether preserving is required or a factor
Dry marinades
Wet marinades
Wet ones by comparison utilise acids to break down the proteins; acids such as lemon juice or vinegar and again use the natural strong flavours of the marinating ingredients to add flavour.
What types of foods can be marinated?
Virtually anything from meats to fish to fruits and vegetables
How long does one marinade?
That depends on the foods:
Large cuts of meats (over 2kg)
=
8 hours to overnight
Small cuts of meat
=
1/2 to 3 hours
Whole fish
=
3 hours to overnight
Fillets of fish (depending on size)
=
1 hour to overnight
Fruits and vegetables
=
1 to 3 hours
But why marinate/cure meats?
To add flavour and to preserve. Old-time butcher shops closed every weekend and ice the only refrigerant available, could not dependably hold fresh meat for two days. To keep unsold meat from going to waste, the butcher soaked the meat in a strong brine or covered it with coarse salt to trigger osmosis (the movement of water across a membrane from weak solutions toward strong solutions). The grains of salt were called "corn" in England, and the name "corned beef" stuck with the product.
What is curing?
It is the process of preserving the foods by a form of dehydration by the addition of a chemical. It is also used to add other flavours to the foods
What are the commonly used curing compounds?
Salt, sugar and sodium nitrate. Salt and sugar both cure meat by osmosis, in addition to drawing the water from the food, they dehydrate and kill the bacteria that make food spoil. Commercially though, the word "cure" refers to processing the meat with either sodium nitrite or sodium nitrate. Sodium nitrite is the basis for two commercially used products: Prague powders #1 and #2.
Prague powder #1
A mixture of 1 part sodium nitrite and 16 parts salt. The chemicals are combined and crystallised to assure even distribution. Even though diluted, only 100gm of Prague powder #1 is required to cure 45kg of meat. A more typical measurement for home use is 1 tsp per 2kg of meat.
Prague powder #2
A mixture of 1 ounce of sodium nitrite and 0.64 ounces sodium nitrate per pound of finished product. The remaining 14.36 ounces is sodium chloride (salt).
Recipes for
So know you know a little of the whys and wherefores, I hope you are now dying to give it a go? So all that is left to answer is the hows . . .
With the knowledge that a wet marinade needs a acid to help break down the proteins, it only remains to point out five factors:
-
Use an acid that suits the foods and flavour you desire.
for red meats I recommend red wine or a red wine vinegar (or a combination of)
for white meats white wine or a white wine vinegar (or a combination of)
for fish white wine, white wine vinegar or any citrus juice; lemon, lime, orange etc (or a combination of)
-
Never have the acid more than 1/3 (I recommend 1/4 as ideal) of your total marinade, or it will turn from breaking down the protein to actually ‘cooking’ it
-
A good quality oil can be added to the marinade, but only in small quantities (no more than 1/4 of the total marinate) if the food is low in fat, like wild meats
-
Make cuts in the foods to reduce marinating times and increasing flavour absorption; scoring meats and some fish (squid is great for this technique) in a neat criss-cross fashion, will give a spectacular effect when you cook them.
-
To this add flavours that suits your individual taste:
soy sauce
Worcester sauce
sweet chilli sauce
Asian vinegars
sesame oil
garlic
ginger
chilli
wasaabi
shallots
onions
spring onions
fresh herbs
spices
lemon grass
You are limited only by your imagination. Armed with the above information I suggest experimenting and finding what suits you best; what flavours, how long etc. Think about what suits the cooked food and build a marinate around it: orange for duck, red wine and juniper berries for venison, etc.
Frozen fish versus fresh
Food tips on frozen fish versus fresh
Frozen fish fillets can be just as good as fresh as long as they have been snapped frozen professionally; in other words, while at sea on the fish processing trawlers. The rapid process used (10kg boxes in matter if seconds!) ensures the ice crystals within the flesh are minute; this allows for minimum water absorption and destruction of the flesh. If then transported home and stored correctly, when cooked (or defrosted) it should then be virtually indistinguishable from fresh fish fillets.
In fact frozen, in many cases can be better than so called ‘fresh’, unless you are getting it straight from the sea that is, and it is stored between - 1ºC to 1ºC of course, but how many times does that happen? Did you know:
-
If fresh fish is kept on ice from the time it is caught it has a ten to fourteen day shelf life?
-
Or that for every hour it is not kept on ice that it loses a day off its shelf life?
But normally by the time it reaches us in a supermarket, all nicely filleted, packed etc, you will be lucky to get three days before it starts to go sticky, smelly and ready for the rubbish bin!
As to home freezing fish; I have never had any luck with this. The process takes too long in a home freezer and the results are the opposite of the above: the ice crystals are too large, destroy the flesh structure and when cooked / defrosted one ends up with waterlogged, tasteless fillets.
Cooking frozen fish - well it is always best to follow the manufacturers instructions. Further to this:
If deep frying in batter - cook from frozen
If deep frying in breadcrumbs - cook from frozen (although the bread-crumbing is more successful if done with defrosted fish fillets)
If shallow frying - defrost first. This is mainly a safety issue: the water within the fillets will likely cause the fat / oil to spit or sometimes the fillet can explode in parts
If grilling - cook from frozen if thin fillets / steaks (maximum 3cm) or defrost if thick fillets / steaks
If baking - cook from frozen if thin fillets / steaks (maximum 3cm) or defrost if thick fillets / steaks
If baking in tinfoil - cook from frozen
If baking in a crust / pastry - defrost first or the water within will cause soggy pastry
If making a stew - cook from frozen if you can safely cut the fillet to size. Also allow for extra thickening of the sauce just prior to serving
All the above should be carried out at normal cooking temperatures (as per fresh fish).
Defrosting fish
-
This should always be achieved slowly in the refrigerator; this minimises any chances of bacterial contamination.
-
Defrosting under water is not recommended as all flavour will be lost. The flavour of fish is salt based, which will be washed away/dissolved in the water.
- Defrosting in the microwave should be carried out if the fish is to be cooked straight away (within 10 minutes of defrosting). It should also be done if your microwave has a really good defrost cycle and the fish is no more than 3cm thick; otherwise one finds the fish partially cooks and dries out.
Garlic Cooking Tips
1.When purchasing garlic look for bulbs that have plump, firm cloves with the papery outer sheath intact. Avoid garlic that is soft, spongy or shrivelled
2.Keep the bulbs in a cool, dry place. Do not refrigerate. Garlic needs air circulation so don't store in a plastic bag, keep it on your shelves or window sill (out of the sun)
3.To separate the cloves from the bulb, place the bulb on a solid surface, place both hands on top and apply pressure. You will hear the crack as they start to separate.
4.To peel a large number of cloves, drop them into a pan of boiling water for 10 - 20 seconds (known as blanching), drain and plunge into iced water, (known as refreshing), drain and the skins should just easily slip off
5.To peel a small amount; place the blade of a large knife on top and smack the blade with your fist, the peel is then easily removed and you will have partly crushed the clove
6.The smaller the garlic pieces, the stronger the flavour that is imparted into the foods
-
if you want a nice mild flavour, lightly perfumed food, even a sweetness use whole, unbroken garlic cloves (they may even be left with the peel on)
-
if a slightly stronger nuance is required thinly slice it
-
for a fuller flavour, finely chop it (also known as minced garlic)
-
if it’s a full on, in your face, vampires wont come near taste you want then crush the bulbs to a pulp
7.To crush the garlic with a knife, first lightly chop it, sprinkle on a big pinch of salt (which releases the garlic juices) and then by rub the flat of your knife back and forth over it
8.The longer you cook garlic, the less astringent it becomes and the flavour will soften. When sautéing garlic, be careful not to burn it, burnt garlic has an unpleasant bitter taste
9.To remove garlic odour from your hands, rinse your hands with fresh lemon juice or scrub with a bit of salt, then rinse with cool water.
10.To freshen your breath after eating garlic, chew on a sprig of fresh parsley
I hope this demystifies and explains garlic use a little better for you? With this knowledge now in hand, lets hit the kitchen and cook up a storm with my all time favourite recipes that features garlic.
Cake making
Cake tins are made from many types of material, stainless steel, aluminium, silicon, non stick surfaces etc but if one is unsure of the non stick properties of a cake tin, it is best to line it with lightly greased, greaseproof paper. This is achieved by:
- Cutting a greaseproof paper cartouche 2 cm wider than the cake tin
- Cutting a collar 2cm longer than the circumference and 2 cm higher than the cake tin
- Lightly grease both the cartouche and collar
- Place the cartouche in the cake tin first and neatly crease the extra 2cm up the sides
- Place the collar neatly around the inside of the cake tin: the 2cm sides of the cartouche should be outside the collar; to allow a neat finish to the finished cake
- Many chefs will lightly grease both sides of the cartouche and collar, so they cling neatly to the cake tin
Insert a slender bladed knife into the thickest part of the cake (normally the centre) and remove. The blade should come out clean. If it comes out with the batter clinging to it, the cake requires further cooking.
Common faults when cake baking
1.The oven door is opened too soon
this sudden rush of cold air into a warm/hot oven will result in the cake collapsing and coming out flat. The oven door should not be opened until ¾’s the way through allowed cooking time.
2.Cake over browned
Controlling its browning process is essential, this can be achieved by:
- knowing the oven’s hot and cold spots
- placing the cake tin on the middle shelf with a tray on the top shelf to deflect the falling
- heat particles
- lightly covering the cake tin with tin foil
3.The oven door being slammed shut
This sudden and violent action will shock the cake mixture, knock out or deflate all the trapped air bubbles and will result in the cake collapsing and coming out flat
4.Incorrectly weighed ingredients
Unlike many areas of the kitchen, cake making is more of an exact science, in most cases a slight variance in measurements can make all the difference.
5.Incorrect flour used
Cake making requires a ‘soft’ or high ration flour; it must be one that is low in gluten content. A medium to high gluten flour will result in a heavy textured, non risen cake.
6.Flour not sufficiently sieved
To increase the air in the mixture and to ensure what gluten content is there, the flour should be well sieved (2-3 times) and from a reasonable height from sieve to bowl.
7.Fruits sinking
Cakes with dried fruits or nuts added to them, will often turn out to have most of the dried fruits or nuts sunk to the bottom. This can be remedied by lightly tossing/coating them in flour before incorporating them into the mixture. This forms a kind of chemical bond with the batter and prevents them sinking.
Problems that can occur when making sponge cakes
Close texture
- : eggs and sugar overheated
- : eggs and sugar under beaten
- : too much flour
- : flour not folded in
- : oven too hot
Sunken
- : too much sugar
- : oven too hot
- : tin removed during cooking
Heavy
- : butter too hot
- : butter not mixed in well
- : flour over mixed
cake baking
Cake tins are made from many types of material, stainless steel, aluminium, silicon, non stick surfaces etc but if one is unsure of the non stick properties of a cake tin, it is best to line it with lightly greased, greaseproof paper. This is achieved by:
-
Cutting a greaseproof paper cartouche 2 cm wider than the cake tin
-
Cutting a collar 2cm longer than the circumference and 2 cm higher than the cake tin
-
Lightly grease both the cartouche and collar
-
Place the cartouche in the cake tin first and neatly crease the extra 2cm up the sides
-
Place the collar neatly around the inside of the cake tin: the 2cm sides of the cartouche should be outside the collar; to allow a neat finish to the finished cake
-
Many chefs will lightly grease both sides of the cartouche and collar, so they cling neatly to the cake tin
Testing for a cooked cake
Insert a slender bladed knife into the thickest part of the cake (normally the centre) and remove. The blade should come out clean. If it comes out with the batter clinging to it, the cake requires further cooking.
Turning a cake out
Once cooked, remove the greaseproof paper.
Common faults when cake baking
1.The oven door is opened too soon
This sudden rush of cold air into a warm/hot oven will result in the cake collapsing and coming out flat. The oven door should not be opened until ¾’s the way through allowed cooking time. Thus controlling its browning process is essential, this can be achieved by:
knowing the oven’s hot and cold spots
placing the cake tin on the middle shelf with a tray on the top shelf to deflect the falling heat particles
lightly covering the cake tin with tin foil before it is placed in the oven and removing later to brown if required
2.The oven door being slammed shut
This sudden and violent action will shock the cake mixture, knock out or deflate all the trapped air bubbles and will result in the cake collapsing and coming out flat
3.Incorrectly weighed ingredients
Unlike many areas of the kitchen, cake making is more of an exact science, in most cases a slight variance in measurements can make all the difference.
4.Incorrect flour used
Cake making requires a ‘soft’ or high ration flour; it must be one that is low in gluten content. A medium to high gluten flour will result in a heavy textured, non risen cake.
5.Flour not sufficiently sieved
To increase the air in the mixture and to ensure what gluten content is there, the flour should be well sieved (2-3 times) and from a reasonable height from sieve to bowl.
6.Fruits sinking
Cakes with dried fruits or nuts added to them, will often turn out to have most of the dried fruits or nuts sunk to the bottom. This can be remedied by lightly tossing/coating them in flour before incorporating them into the mixture. This forms a kind of chemical bond with the batter and prevents them sinking.
Eggs
Successfully whisking egg whites
When whisking egg whites for meringue etc what you are doing is incorporating air into them in the form of air bubbles. The protein strands in the egg white will wrap themselves around the air causing the bubbles, much the same way as the rubber in a balloon wraps itself around the air when it is inflated.
The method of incorporating air can change the texture of the 'foam' you produce and thus the texture of the recipe. Too much air incorporated too quickly, will stretch the molecular structure of the protein bands and these strands can actually break (resulting in whites that are over beaten and will be 'furry looking', grainy with no cohesion between the particles). This will eventually break down back into a liquid and cannot be restored. In terms of texture, too much air at the beginning will result in wide air holes rather than a firm texture (beer froth rather than snow), a slower initial speed is best, beat slowly and then increasing speed as you go.
The trick for a successful 'meringue' therefore is ensuring the mixture is as stable as possible, the protein strands are thoroughly wrapped around, but not over stretched so they do not burst and the mixture falls flat.
Egg quality
Using slightly thinner egg whites are best (farm fresh whites won't successfully whip due to the tight fresh whites)
Temperature
The whites are best brought up to room temperature before use
Speed
The method of incorporating air can change the texture of the 'foam' you produce and thus the texture of the recipe. That is, too much air incorporated too quickly will stretch the molecular structure of the protein bands and these strands can actually break (resulting in whites that are over beaten or 'furry looking', grainy with no cohesion between the particles).
In terms of texture, too much air at the beginning will result in wide air holes rather than a firm texture (beer froth rather than snow), a slower initial speed is best, beat slowly and then increasing speed as you go.
Of course this is easier to control and do if you are using an electric whisk, but must be judged more carefully if doing by hand
- Start by whisking slowly to break the protein stands down
- As the mixture starts to get foamy increase speed slightly for a few minutes
- Increase speed
- When whisking in sugar, do so at a high speed
Stages
When whipping egg white we talk about two stages: soft peaks and stiff peaks.
- Soft peaks are when a successful foam is obtained and when your finger is placed in, removed and held up the peak will fold over slightly, forming a wave like shape. At this stage if the bowl is tipped upside down the 'meringue' will stick to the bowl and not come out. The soft peak stage is best for when it is to be folded into another mixture; mousses etc
- Stiff peaks require further whipping and the peaks will stand vertical on the finger and the peaks will not fold over. This is stage required for meringues, Pavlova etc where other ingredients are incorporated into it
Fat
Any type of fat, oil or grease is the curse of successful egg white whipping. Even a small amount will inhibit the egg white from whipping to a successful foam. So care must be taken:
- Thoroughly clean all equipment: bowls, whisks, containers etc that will come into contact with the egg white in hot soapy water and rinse clean. Either wipe with paper kitchen towels or allow to drip dry. Tea towels will often have some grease in them.
- Stainless steel bowls or glass bowls are better for whisking as they can be thoroughly cleaned, plastic bowls can 'hide' a smear of fat within its walls, especially if they are in poor state of repair (grooves scarped into the sides)
- When separating the yolk from the white use three containers: one for the yolk, one for white and one to transfer the white into each time. This way if the yolk breaks, you will only ruin one white and not the whole batch. Remember egg yolk is pretty much 99% fat
- Some chefs will run a slice of lemon around the bowl and whisk; this breaks down any minute traces of fat and does not effect the flavour as lemon juice or vinegar is often included in meringue recipes
Other tips include:
- Professional Chefs use a pure copper bowl for egg white whipping / meringue production, a chemical reaction occurs resulting in a far better foam
- Use a large a bowl as possible this encourages the maximum amount of air incorporation
- Some chefs advocate a little pinch of salt when whipping egg whites to stabilise the foam; some chefs put it in before commencing to whip, some at the end. My suggestion is to try it for yourself and see what you think.
- Use only fresh eggs, but not too fresh and use at room temperature. So if you keep eggs in the refrigerator they will need to come out and sit at room temperature for a few hours before use.
How do you tell if eggs are fresh? <click here>
When folding aerated whites into a mixture, use a metal spoon - always preferred because wooden implements may retain grease.
Chocolate
Firstly one needs to understand the questions "how is chocolate made" and "what is chocolate". It is made from the cocao bean, that is dried, roasted and ground. The grinding produces cocoa liquor, from this two distinct items are extracted:
- A fat that is called 'cocoa butter'
- A solid that is called 'cocoa mass' and which is refined to make cocoa powder
Depending on what is then added to the cocoa mass the different varieties of chocolate are produced. Each has a different chemical make-up, the differences are not solely in the taste. Be sure, therefore, to use the kind the recipe calls for, as different varieties will react differently to heat and moisture
Cocoa
Chocolate liquor with much of the cocoa butter removed, creating a fine powder.
Alkalised cocoa powder (also known as Dutch processed cocoa), has been treated with an alkali during processing to produce a more mellow, less harsh-tasting, but darkly coloured cocoa.
It can pick up moisture and odours from other products, so store in a cool, dry place, in an airtight container. Depending on its production it may or may not have other ingredients added - sugar, etc.
Unsweetened Chocolate
Simply the cooled and hardened version of chocolate liquor. It is used primarily as an ingredient in recipes as by itself it does not taste very nice.
Bitter / Dark / Plain Chocolate
Cocoa mass, cocoa butter and sugar. Normally contains approximately 35% cocoa liquor
Semi-sweet Chocolate
It has approx. 15% chocolate liquor, with extra cocoa butter and sugar added. Sweet cooking chocolate is basically the same with more sugar for taste
Milk Chocolate
Cocoa mass, cocoa butter, milk or milk powder and sugar and vanilla added. Normally contains approximately 15 % cocoa liquor
White Chocolate
In reality (and, in many countries, legally) not really chocolate at all, as it contains no cocoa solids, which leaves it the smooth ivory or beige colour. White chocolate is primarily cocoa butter, sugar, milk and vanilla.
White 'chocolate' is the most fragile form of all the chocolates. Pay close attention to it while heating or melting it. It must be achieved slowly or it will burn and seize very easily.
Couverture
Couverture is a special kind of 'cooking' chocolate used by professional chefs. A couverture is simply a chocolate with a relatively higher cocoa butter content (a minimum of 32%, often as much as 39%). This high cocoa butter content contributes fluidity, smoothness, strength and ease of handling. In most cases, these chocolates also contain a high cocoa solid content which heightens the flavour
The formula on couverture packaging may look like this: 70/30/38. This means that there is 70% cocoa solids, 30% sugar, and 38% total fat content.
70/30/38 : describes and extra bitter couverture and indicates 70 percent cocoa
solids and only 30 percent sugar
60/40/38 : describes a bitter couverture, which is the most frequently used
50/50/38 : describes semi-sweet
36/42/38 : describes milk chocolate couverture
There are two other main types: tempered and un-tempered.
Decorator's Chocolate or Confectioner's Chocolate
This is not really chocolate at all, but a sort of chocolate flavoured candy used for things such as covering strawberries. It was created to melt easily and harden quickly, but it is not really chocolate. If you want quick and easy, use decorator's chocolate . . . if you want the real thing, use real chocolate and patience
Working with Chocolate
Storing
- Chocolate does not like moisture or too low a temperatures, it should be stored in a cool dark place and NEVER in a refrigerator
- Cooking chocolate stored in the refrigerator is likely to seize (see below) when melted
- Eating chocolate stored in the refrigerator is likely to form 'sugar bloom'. This is the white powdery residue one sometimes sees on the surface - this basically means the chocolate has sweated. Moisture has been 'squeezed' out of the chocolate due to the low temperature and then as it comes back up to room temperature it solidifies. It will do you no harm, but does affect the flavour
Eating
- Chocolate is always best eaten at, at least room temperature; this is because the taste molecules require this temperature to develop
- If a bar of chocolate or chocolate product is refrigerated and eaten the chocolate flavour will be severely diminished and only when allowed to linger in the mouth will the full flavour be experienced.
- Try this . . .
- Place some chocolate in the refrigerator overnight and leave some out
- Eat a piece of the chilled chocolate first, bite it, chew and swallow
- Now try another piece, but gently suck on it and allow it to slowly melt in the mouth
- Now try the un-refrigerator piece
- You should or will notice a remarkable difference in flavours
Utensils
- Ensure all utensils being used are free from any grease and moisture. It is always best to thoroughly rinse them off under hot running water and then wipe them with a paper kitchen towel or a fresh tea towel.
Chocolate has a very strange peculiarity to it; unlike most things that dilute when you add a liquid, a drop of water in melted / melting chocolate will cause it to 'cease', meaning it will revert back to a solid. When this happens it is totally useless for cooking (perfectly okay to give to the kids to eat while they are watching the Teletubbies though!) - Use only metal bowls, spoons etc when melting, etc. Plastic and wood can retain fat and moisture (see above)
Melting
Chocolate can be successfully melted in a microwave if GREAT care is taken. As there are so many variables with this method I do not recommend trying it.
Besides working with chocolate should be a labour of love, it should be achieved slowly, it should be done so one can see what is happening, smell the beautiful aromas as it melts and be able to taste it, allowing it to slowly linger on the palate!
- Place just a couple of centimetres of water into a saucepan; the chocolate will melt via the heat from the steam that is caused
- Do not allow the water to boil, if boiling water is allowed to come into contact with the base of the bowl, the delicate chocolate will burn and seize (see above)
- Having insured that the bowl, etc is clean (as above) place the bowl over the saucepan. This should have a tight a fit as possible so as not to allow steam to escape that could condense back into the chocolate and seize it
- Place the chocolate into the bowl (with clean, dry hands) and allow to melt as slowly as possible, stirring often to ensure the un-melted chocolate combines with the melted to form a smooth and even melt
- Once fully melted, remove the pan from the heat and use as required. If you are not ready to use it straight away, the heat from the water will keep it nicely melted for at least 20 minutes. If it solidifies slightly in this time, place the pan back over a low heat, DO NOT be tempted to try and heat it back up quickly
Tempering
Because cocoa butter exhibits what is called polymorphous or unstable crystal formation the mass must be 'tempered' to produce the desired properties: smoothness, gloss and melts only when it is eaten and not handled.
Chocolate is normally in temper when it leaves the manufacturer, but may go out of temper if improperly stored - manifested by the appearance of chocolate bloom and will require re-tempering
Chocolate as far as I am aware, contains five types of crystals, which all melt at different temperatures. Tempering basically heats the chocolate above the first which melts at approximately 18°C, cools it to 27°C and then re-heats it to the next crystal level, with a melting temperature of approximately 37°C. (body temperature) thus 'destroying' the lower level crystals.
So, if you have ever melted and used chocolate to cover sweets / candies or to make decorations and found the final result to be dull and lacking sheen, it is because of a lack of tempering. To temper follow the following procedure:
- Place just a couple of centimetres of water into a saucepan - the chocolate will melt via the heat from the steam that is caused
- Do not allow the water to boil, if boiling water is allowed to come into contact with the base of the bowl, the delicate chocolate will burn and seize (see above)
- Having insured that the bowl, etc is clean (as above) place the bowl over the saucepan. This should have a tight a fit as possible so as not to allow steam to escape that could condense back into the chocolate and seize it
- Place two-thirds of the required chocolate into the bowl (with clean, dry hands) and allow to melt as slowly as possible, stirring often to ensure the un-melted chocolate combines with the melted to form a smooth and even melt. Heat to 40°C
- Add the remaining chocolate, stir in to melt and cool to 27°C
- Re-heat to 32°C for dark, 30°C for milk and 28°C for white
- Keep at this temperature by removing and re-placing the bowl from the heat as required
Baklava
Ingredients for Baklava
1pkt filo pastry
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped pistachios
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 pc oranges
How to make Baklava
- Lightly butter a deep sided tray
- Layer with two sheets of pastry and brush with melted butter
- Sprinkle with the various chopped nuts
- Add two more sheets of pastry and continue layering with the nuts and melted butter until the tray is full
- Brush the final layer of pastry with melted butter
- Carefully cut into portions
- Place into a pre-heated oven - 180ºC on the middle shelf until a light golden brown
- While it is baking remove some of the orange zest and finely chop, set aside
- Juice the oranges and place in a thick bottom saucepan with the sugar and water
- Simmer gently until a light syrup consistency is achieved
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes
- Stir in the chopped orange zest
- When the baklava is cooked, remove from the oven and place the tray on a cooling rack
- Brush generously with the orange syrup until all the syrup has been used, or alternatively gently pour it all over and allow to sit at room temperature to steep for at least two hours
- As this dessert is so rich and sweet, I always like to serve it with either a thick natural yoghurt, marscapone cheese or some creme fraiche . . . a few tart berries never go amiss either!
Chef's Tip for Baklava:
In place of the orange syrup try making the Baklava with lime juice or some rose water.
The nuts I have given may be replaced with your own favourites: pecans, hazelnuts, cashews, macadamias, etc.
For something a little different try rolling the pastry sheets up like a cigar and cutting it into fine shreds; called chiffonade. Layer and use these the same way as above.
Filo or phyllo pastry will dry out very quickly when exposed to the air. When using it one should have all other mise en place (preparation) ready and at hand. If the temperature of your kitchen is really hot, place a clean, damp tea towel over the pastry when not in use.
Flours
Cornflour / cornstarch
A finely ground corn/maize product that is gluten free. Mostly found bleached white, but also available with a yellowish tinge to it. Mainly used as a thickening or binding agent, but can be used in a limited way for baking also.
Mix two parts water to one part cornflour to make a slurry or slake, this can be stirred or whisked into liquids for thickening.
Rice flour
Rice flour is primarily made from polished broken rice and is therefore usually whiter than wheat or rye flour, it is usually ground more finely also.
There are essentially two sorts of rice flour: one is made from the type of rice most often cooked at home and one from glutinous rice. The glutinous rice flour has a swelling property that results in a slightly rubbery texture to doughs and therefore ideal for the Asian pork dumplings etc. They freeze well because unlike other starches / flours, it does not separate and lose moisture when thawing.
It cannot however be used in baking; although rice flour contains a high starch content, it does not have the protein called 'gluten' of wheat flours.
Millet flour
Made from a small round grain resembling mustard seed, (often used for bird seed) it has a slight nutty flavour
Oat flour
Oat flour is a fine flour ground from dried oats, has a characteristic nutlike flavour. Due to its lack of gluten it is best used in combination with wheat flour.
Wheatmeal flour
Made by blending in a certain amount of the brown skins of the bran with white flour.
Wholemeal flour
Made from the whole of the wheat berry: the endosperm, the bran and the embryo
Plain white flour
Milled from the endosperm of the wheat berry only; it has the bran, embryo and germ removed. It is graded as to its strength depending on its gluten content: weak, medium and strong.
- Weak flour (also known as soft flour or hi-ratio flour) has a low gluten content of approx. 8% and is therefore ideal for delicate cake and sponge production
- Medium flour (also known as all purpose flour) is produced so that it is suitable for products that have to be chemically aerated. It is weak enough to stop toughening but strong enough to stand the pressures of the gases resulting from the use of baking powders etc. It is also a good all round flour for bread-crumbing, batters, scones etc
- Strong flour has a high gluten content, that makes it ideal for yeast products, breads and puff pastry
- Durum wheat flour (also known as Durum flour and semolina flour) this is specially produced for the production of pastas.
The strength of a flour maybe tested by squeezing the flour in the hand;
- a weak flour will cling together when the hand is open
- a strong flour will crumble to flour again
Self raising flour
This is simply a convenience product; a medium strength flour with the addition of baking powder
Baking powder
As an addition note, baking powder should be bought in as small a quantities as possible, it has a short shelf life and it becomes less effective as the baking powder components breaks down. It is simply made up of two common culinary chemicals: baking soda (bicarbonate of soda and tartaric acid), stable when apart but break down and cancel each other out over time once mixed.
Fresh baking soda can be made by sifting together one part baking soda to two parts tartaric acid.
Potato chips & Mashed potatoes
Tried making your own? Had them come out either with soggy middles or burnt? You are probably 99.9% correct if you thought it has more to do with the potato than your cooking. The problem you are having is almost certainly because of the type of potato you are using. I have always found that most white fleshed potatoes when used for potato chips:
- either are left with white soggy patches and dark brown edges
- or brown too much by the time they are crisp
This is due in part to the way the starch and sugars are distributed within the potato. It is the natural sugar in food that allows it to brown, either through dextrinisation (applying dry heat for making toast) or caramelising (applying moist heat). For my part as a professional chef, I am a dedicated user of Agria potatoes. A yellow fleshed variety that is a great all rounder, it has enough starch to be a wonderful masher, sugars for boiling, holds together well for roasting, etc and the flesh colour gives truly amazing result for deep frying! As to the latter, for French fries and potato chips, etc the colour holds and fries to a superb even golden brown, while being crisp as crisp can be.
I do then strongly suggest looking around and finding a store that sells either yellow flesh potatoes like Golden Wonder or Agria . . . trust me, you will never go back to the 'whatever is available / cheapest' again.
As for other hints for potato chips . . . if you are not too bothered about salt, in place of normal salt for seasoning, try one of the many flavoured salts now available: garlic, onion, etc or maybe a nice flaked sea salt. Better still . . . take some garlic cloves, lightly pierce the skin with a sharp knife, place them in an airtight container of salt, leave for a week or to make your own flavoured salt!
Making great mashed potatoes - Duchesse potato mix
The key here is to have a dry a mash as possible at the end, so one can then add items like cream, butter, etc without ending up with a squelchy mess!
- I find potatoes mash the best when they are cooked still in their skin, this is because the skin helps prevent water absorption. However, the down side to this is one must have even sized potatoes, so they all cook at the same rate. One can of course always bake them first or microwave them (see my notes later for microwaving potatoes).
- If you must cut the potatoes for boiling, cut them as even sized as you can and approximately 5cm (2 inches) in size. Any smaller and they absorb too much water as they cook, any larger and either the inside does not cook fully (meaning lumps!) or by the time it has fully cooked the outer potato has over cooked and becomes water logged.
- Do not cut too far ahead of time. If you leave them sitting in water, they will absorb the water and give you a soggy mash
- Ensure the potatoes are only just covered in water (the longer it takes too come to the boil the more likely they are to absorb the water)
- Ensure the potatoes are kept fully covered as they boil, any potato left sticking out of the water will not fully cook and can cause your mash to be lumpy
- Drain the potatoes as soon as they are cooked, do not leave them sitting in the water. A large colander is best for this, as the greater surface area allows steam (moisture) to escape, thus giving you drier potatoes. Allow them to sit like this for five minutes before mashing.
- The potatoes can also be placed back into a large dry saucepan then:
- placed back onto the heat and with a lid
- shake them for a few seconds and remove the lid, this will allow any steam to escape
- repeat as necessary until little or no steam is left
One can now season and flavour as required. The following suggestions I hope will spark many other ideas within you . . . hmmm, how about I add this or that, what about . . .
- freshly ground sea salt, white pepper and nutmeg
- egg yolks
- cream, crème fraiche or plain yoghurt
- butter or margarine
- for a lower cholesterol level. in place of butter try a good olive oil (virgin or extra virgin)
- diced capsicum, spring onion and ham
- caramelised sliced onions
- chargrilled capsicum - diced or puréed
- roasted garlic
- sundried tomatoes and diced olives
- your favourite grated cheese, crumbled fetta or chopped brie / camembert
- fresh cranberries or redcurrants
- lightly toasted sliced almonds or other nuts
- your favourite fresh chopped herb - basil, mint, coriander etc
- chopped tinned beetroot (drain and rinse first) - the juice should be retained, simmered until reduced by three-quarters and served as a sauce
- Tahiti, pesto or your favourite potato chip/crisps dip
Phylo / Filo Pastry
When working with phylo pastry care must be taken, as it has a tendency to dry out very quickly and become fragile.
- Open and remove the pastry from the packaging carefully and retain
- Do not work in direct sunlight
- Do not remove from the packet until just before required and ensure you have all your other ingredients, your pastry brush etc ready
- Place a damp tea towel over the bulk of it as you work
- Any remainder you have, is best chilled and used up as soon as you can; place back in the original packaging and also wrap in clingfilm to keep out the air, (which can and will dry it out) and store in the chiller
- It can be frozen but does not yield the best results once defrosted
- To use up the excess, use it as you would most other pastries - due to the pastry's required short cooking time, ensure you put in ingredients that quickly heat up or cook.
- It can be used for the likes of:
- Jam or savoury tarts
- Pre-cooked moulds ready for cold fillings to be placed in: layer as per my recipe <click here> cut small squares out, brush the outside of oven proof moulds with oil, invert, place the pastry over the top and bake until golden brown
- These moulds can also be done by oiling small cake / Yorkshire pudding / muffin moulds and lining with the pastry
- The moulds are delicate and should be stored in an air tight container until required
- Fill them with the likes of tinned salmon or tuna, prawns, etc bound with mayonnaise, smoked salmon and marscapone, chopped ham and scrambled egg, delicately cut / baby vegetables, even ice cream and drench it with icing sugar or just whatever takes your fancy
- If you want to use up the remainder to make that great sweet treat, baklava <click here>
Fish and other seafoods
FAQs on cooking fish and shellfish
Should fish be fully cooked?
- Never overcook fish!
- You should remove it from the oven pan etc when it is just under cooked done and still opaque in the middle; the internal heat, the heat from the plate and any sauce will finish off the cooking by the time it gets to the table. In this way you will never serve dried up fish again, it will always be moist and succulent
- Tuna and salmon are best served while still rare in the centre.
- In fact fresh tuna is even better when it is just seared on the outside and eaten like a very rare steak!
- Try crushing cashew nuts and pressing the tuna steaks into it to cover the tuna all over and then pan fry it, or replace the crushed cashews with cracked peppercorns. Cut each steak into 1cm thick slices and arrange, slightly fanned on the plate
Does the same apply to shellfish?
- Most definitely!
But what about food poisoning?
- If the fish / shellfish is cooked as above, it will be thoroughly cooked by the time it is served to your guests, family or friends. It will also have reached the temperature required to kill most bacteria (65°C).
- As for the tuna . . . have you ever eaten raw oysters, sashimi or sushi?
- However, the less cooked you intend to serve your fish or shellfish, the fresher the product should be and the more careful you should be about personal and kitchen hygiene
Are different types of fish suited to particular methods of cookery?
The answer is yes, however you can cook most fish most ways. But the oilier fish with stronger flavours lend themselves better to grilling or barbecuing, while those with a medium flavour are more suited to pan-frying, while the delicate flavoured ones are best poached or steamed. Here are suggestions some of the more available species:
Baking
Bream, snapper, rainbow trout, ocean trout, sea bass, flounder, trevally, leatherjacket.
Grilling and barbecuing
- Swordfish, tuna, blue-eye cod, trout, salmon, mackerel, blue warehou, kingfish, kahawai, flathead, mullet, herring, sardines or any firm-fleshed fish.
- Crayfish, lobster, prawns and mussels
- Marinate or baste lean fish to prevent it drying out during cooking
Stewing and casseroling
- Trevally, kingfish, herring, mackerel, coley, whiting, red mullet, firm-fleshed bream and sea bass
- Crayfish, lobster, prawns, mussels, squid
- Avoid combining any strongly flavored, oily fish in one dish
Deep-frying
- Whitebait, cod, groper, lemon-fish, sardines, orange roughy, any of the dory family and any flat fish fillets
- Prawns, mussels, squid, scallops
- Thicker, larger fish and fillets tend to dry out and overcook on the outside before cooking through.
Pan-frying
Most fish can be pan-fried
Most shellfish can be pan-fried
Stir-frying
- Any firm-fleshed fish such as tuna and mullet
- Prawns, squid, cuttlefish, mussels, scallops
Steaming or poaching
- Bream, snapper, blue-eye, flathead, blue warehou, trout, sea bass, salmon, kingfish
- Crayfish, lobster, prawns, mussels, squid, scallops
- Always poach in either a seasoned court bouillon, fish stock or wine; this will either increase flavor and/or prevent any flavor loss form the fish/shellfish
Мусака с мляно месо и картофи
Продукти:
700-800гр. мляно месо
1кг картофи
1ч.ч. нарязани на кубчета моркови
1к.ч. лук/нарязан/
1ч.ч домати консерва или 2бр.пресни домати/настъргани/
растителна мазнина
150гр кашкавал
чер пипер
магданоз
сол
за бешамела:
3 с.л.брашно
100мл растителна мазнина
2 бр.жълтък
600 мл. прясно мляко
1/3 ч.л. сол
Приготвяне:
Задушаваме нарязания лук.Прибавяме каймата,настърганите домати и оставяме около 20мин. да се задуши.Поръсваме с червен пипер.Слагаме картофите и морковите.Поръсваме с подправките и разбъркваме добре.Изсипваме във тава,подравняваме,заливаме с гореща вода до равнището на сместа и слагаме да печем в гореща фурна.
През това време правим заливката.Разбиваме яйцата и добавяме прясното мляко.Запържваме брашното и при непрекъснато бъркане прибавяме млечната смес.Сместа се добавя на части,не наведнъж за да може по леко да се усвои.Трябва да се получи гладка кремообразна маса.Посоляваме.
Когато сместа във тавичката е готова,заливаме със бешамелов сос.Печем докато се получи лека розова коричка.Поръсваме със нарязан магданоз и кашкавал и запичаме отново.
Това е вариант,в който картофите не се запържват отделно от мляното месо
царевична питка със сирене
1 чаша брашно,
1 чаша царевичен грис,
1 чаша олио,
1 чаша к.мляко
1 чл бакпулвер,
1чл ванилия,
250 гр сиренеСЛАДКА ЦАРЕВИЧНА ПИТКА
Замесва се тесто от
3 ч. ч. царевично брашно,
1 ч. ч. кисело мляко с
1 ч. л. сода за хляб,
2-3 с. л. олио,
2-3 с. л. счукани орехи,
сока от 1 лимон.
Пече се в умерена фурна
Deep Frying
Tips on Deep Frying
- Choose the quality and the shape of cut carefully
- Cut vegetables into shapes and sizes that will suit your final presentation; using the natural shape of the vegetable as much as possible is best, and or using exaggerated oblique cuts (long and 45° angled) gives the best results
- Deep frying battered vegetables is traditionally a Japanese techniques (tempura), the vegetables are cooked from raw so that they retain a natural crispness, as such the way they are cut and their thickness needs to be carefully considered
- Marinating vegetables prior to deep frying will ensure an added depth to its final flavour (not recommended if a flavoured / spiced batter is used)
- The blanching and refreshing of tubers like potatoes / kumara (in well salted water) prior to deep frying will encourage a definitive crispness to the final product
- Ensure all foods are as dry as possible prior to cooking to avoid 'spitting' of oil and to prevent the oil from degrading too quickly
- Prior to battering all foods must be floured first to ensure the batter clings to the food (cornflour is an excellent flour for this and adds a crispness)
- Always ensure the fat is as clean and fresh as possible to avoid taste contamination
- Battered foods are never cooked in a basket, as the foods will sink to the bottom of the basket and the liquid batter will wrap itself around the holes in the basket, cook and therefore 'stick' to the basket
- Battered foods should be placed directly into the friture and removed with a spider
- Panéed foods may successfully be cooked in a basket
- Never over fill a basket, better to cook small amounts more often, overloading the basket will encourage the foods to stick together
- When placing foods into the friture:
ALWAYS place foods into the friture in a safe manner
ALWAYS place foods into the friture in an away motion from the body to avoid any splashes
NEVER drop it from a height - Remove foods to a drainage tray (tray with paper towels) and place in a warmed oven (at 75°C for a maximum of 5 minutes)
- All foods must be piping hot when served (if you can handle them without tongs, they are not hot enough!) and the coating still crisp
Tips on Fresh Fish
Tips on Fresh Fish
1.To many people fresh simply means not frozen.
2.To others it means 'at its peak'
3.To the Japanese it means less than a day old, as in less than 24 hours after it was caught. This is often referred to as being 'sashimi quality' . However for it to be truly of sashimi quality it must have been caught, killed, gutted and stored in a certain way before sale
4.To a professional chef it will usually (and hopefully) mean being served within three days of being caught
Fresh? There are so many factors that determine fresh when it comes to fish.
1.Fish should always be gutted and gilled as soon as it is caught, so any bacteria held in these areas cannot permeate into the flesh as it breaks down (it also ensures a better flavour and aroma)
2.A fish may be only two days old but if it is has not been stored correctly it might as well be two weeks! Experts agree, that for every hour a freshly caught fish is not stored on ice, it loses one day of shelf life. So a fish not chilled for four hours is equivalent in quality to a five day old fish that has been kept on ice
3.
If a fish is stored correctly, (kept on ice) from the time it is caught, it has a useable life of up to ten days. However this is rarely the case and one should use the fish of course as soon as possible. Besides the fact it tastes so much better, one must also remember the health benefits and staying safe from food poisoning.
4.How to tell how fresh fish is? With filleted fish it can be very difficult, one must rely on our senses of smell and touch.
- When lightly pressed the flesh of 'fresh' fish should be quite resilient and bounce back, the older it gets the more likely it is that the indent will remain or slowly bounce back
- It should of course smell fresh, the more it smells like 'fish' the older it is. The fresher it is the less unpleasant aroma there will be
- Always presuming one can be allowed to smell and touch prior to purchase, or one must rely on the supplier and maybe the use by date if packaged
5.For whole fish look for
- a pleasant aroma (someone once wrote that, fish should smell of the sea, be briny in aroma . . . by the time it smells of fish it is too late! )
- flesh that is resilient
- plentiful scales that are not dried up
- the body being covered in sea slime
- bright, bulging eyes
- the gills should be bright and / or red and free from any yeasty aroma and slime (slime in the gills is usually a bacterial slime - not good!)
The older the fish, the lower the quality, the less the above will apply. For example all other signs might be present but
Baking powder
Baking powder is a combination of:
- one part baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) to two parts cream of tartare (tartaric acid)
As the baking soda is a alkaline, when combined with the tartaric acid and a liquid it begins to ferment, forms CO2, and thus allows products to aerate.
But the very thing that makes baking powder work also makes it unstable and gives it a short shelf life, as eventually the two chemicals cancel each other out. When this happens the baking powder is dead and any scones, etc made from it will not rise.
Purchasing the two chemicals separately and making your own baking powder will greatly increase the shelf life and always ensure you have a good, workable baking powder. Alternatively, purchase baking powder in small amounts and use frequently.
Baking soda can also be used as a raising agent (as for Irish soda bread), in this case buttermilk is normally used (or milk with a small amount of vinegar added). This acidity activates the alkaline of the baking soda to produce CO2
Food tip on yeast
A brand name for a mixture of active dry yeast and bread improvers (dough conditioner and nutrients), these stimulate the yeast activity. Because of its make up it is able to be blended directly into the dry ingredients during bread making. If the recipe calls for dried yeast, substitute double the amount of Surebake.
Dried/active yeast
This has a limited shelf life and is best used only for products that either require an extensive preparation or very slow proving. If the recipe calls for Surebake, substitute half the amount of dried/active yeast.
Fresh yeast : storage and quality points
-
Should be wrapped and stored in a cool place
-
Use as quickly as possible after purchasing
-
It should be fresh and moist, have a pleasant smell and crumble easily
Points to remember when using
-
Bowls and flour used for making doughs should be warmed
-
Yeast requires sugar to ferment
-
Use at room temperature
-
Proving temperature is best between at 21º - 32°C, depending on recipe
-
Liquids used in the making of doughs should be 36º - 37ºC
-
Yeast doughs require kneading, to form an elastic dough and to ensure the yeast is well distributed
-
Prove the doughs covered in a warm place, free from draughts to double the original size, knock back to original size then re-prove, before lightly kneading, moulding to shape and proving a third time
-
Salt retards its properties and can destroy it
-
Temperatures above 52ºC destroy yeast (but it can start to die above 40ºC)
-
Yeast can withstand low temperatures without damage
- Never over prove, double the original size is the maximum or the dough will spoil.
Reasons for possible faults using yeast doughs
Texture too close/ dense
:
too hot oven
too little water
insufficient yeast
insufficient proving
insufficient kneading
Texture uneven
:
insufficient kneading
over proving
too cool an oven
Wrinkled crust
:
over proved
Sour tasting dough
:
over proved
stale / dead yeast
Broken crust
:
2nd proving was insufficient
Mekitzi
Many thanks to Lubka БГ версия
That is one very Bulgarian breakfast. No need to say - one of my favorite. Reminds me home and I almost can feel again the wonderful smell of hot sunflower oil, fried dough, wood stove and mom.
Ingredients
| 2 eggs |  |
| *My cup is 250ml |
Preparation
Mix everything and leave aside sprinkled with flower and covered with cloth to prove.
The dough is very soft and sticky.
Before you use it, you need to stir it and add a little bit more flower until the moment the dough does not stick anymore to the sides of the bowl .
Take pieces size of a golf ball and make a flat shapes as you desire. To work easier with this sticky dough you can dip your fingers and the dough in a bowl of oil or water.
Fry them in oil in medium high heat, as much, as you desire. They come very soft with neutral taste. You can serve them sprinkled with powder sugar, maple syrup, jam, preserve, and/or sprinkled with feta crumbs.
Мекици
благодарение на Любка EN version
Продукти
2 яица
1 чл мая
1/4 чл сол
1/2 чл захар
1 вч топло мляко
2 1/2 вч брашно
Приготвяне
Забърках всичко и оставих да втаса поръсено с малко брашнои покрито с кърпа. Тестото става доста меко и лепкаво.
Преди да го изполвам добавям малко брашно докато започне да се отлепя от съда.
Оформят се кръгчета или ли други форми. Пържат се в горещо олио. За да рабти по лесно, ръцете се намазват с мазнина.
Поднасят се напръскани с пудра захар
Thursday, January 28, 2010
ПИЛЕ С ОРИЗ
благодарение на http://forum.bgkulinar.net/viewtopic.1394.html
Продукти:
1 пиле,
1 ч.чаша ориз,
1 глава лук,
1 каф.чашка олио,
1 пилешко бульонче,
1/2 вр. магданоз,
черен пипер и сол на вкус.
Пилето се размразява, измива се добре, нарязва се на порции, подсушава се и се осолява леко.
В тенджерка се изсипва 1 каф. чашка олио, загрява се добре и се изпържва месото до леко зачервяване.
Месото се изважда и в мазнината се слага 1 глава лук, нарязан наситно, посолява се.
Когато лукът леко поомекне се изсипва оризът, който предварително трябва да е промит в няколко води и добре отцеден и, по възможност, подсушен.
Оризът се пържи докато лукът започне да става златист.
Изсипват се 3 ч.чаши вода и се добавя едно пилешко бульонче.
Оставя се да заври. Когато заври, огънят се намалява до слаб и така се вари 5 мин.
Пилешкото месо се подрежда в тавичка, поръсва се с черен пипер и около него се изсипва оризът.
Пече се при температура 180°С, по средата на фурната, с нагряване отгоре и отдолу.
Пече се докато оризът попие водата.
След изваждане от фурната се наръсва с половин връзка пресен магданоз.
Така се прави пиле с бял ориз.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Here's a table of suggested food storage options from Good Eats
Thanks to Nick Holcomb for collecting this information.
Item | Place to Store | Container | Max Duration | Show |
| Apples | Refrigerator | Plastic Bag | ??? | Apple Family Values |
| Bacon | Freezer | Freezer Paper | 1 Year | Scrap Iron Chef |
| Beef, Ground | Refrigerator | Wax Paper | 2 Days | A Grind Is A Terrible Things To Waste |
| Beurre Blanc | Thermos | Thermos | ??? | The Case for Butter |
| Butter | Freezer | Original Packaging | 4 Months | The Case for Butter |
| Butter, Compound | Freezer | Foil Wrapped and in a Plastic Bag | 2 Months | The Case for Butter |
| Cabbage, Cut | Refrigerator Crisper | Plastic Bag | 2 Days | Head Games |
| Cabbage, Whole | Refrigerator Crisper | Plastic Bag | 6 Weeks | Head Games |
| Caesar Dressing | Refrigerator | Sealed | 2 Weeks | Tofuworld |
| Caraway Seeds | Pantry | Plastic Bag | 6 Months | Head Games |
| Cheese | Refrigerator | Wax Paper Separate Box | ??? | For Whom the Cheese Melts |
| Cheesecake | Freezer | Plastic Wrapped then Foil Wrapped | 1 Month | The Trouble with Cheesecake |
Item | Place to Store | Container | Max Duration | Show |
| Chicken | Refrigerator | Sealed | Until use by date | A Bird in the Pan |
| Chilis, Dried | Pantry | Plastic Bag | Just about Forever | Chile's Angels |
| Clams | Refrigerator Bottom Shelf | Open Container | 2 Days | Send in the Clams |
| Clams | Freezer | Plastic Bag | 1 Month | Send in the Clams |
| Cocoa Mixes | Pantry | Sealed | 2 years | Art of Darkness 2 |
| Cocoa Powder | Pantry | Sealed | 2 years | Art of Darkness 2 |
| Coffee Beans | Pantry | Sealed with Valve | 3 Months | True Brew Coffee |
| Corn, Mickeyed | Refrigerator | Plastic Bag | 2 Weeks | Ear Apparent |
| Corn, Straight | Refrigerator | Plastic Wrap | 2 Days | Ear Apparent |
| Cornmeal | Freezer | Plastic Bag | ??? | Ear Apparent |
| Crepe Batter | Refrigerator | Blender | 24 hours | Crepe Expectations |
Item | Place to Store | Container | Max Duration | Show |
| Crepes, Warmed | Oven, Lowest Setting) | Pan | 30 minutes | Crepe Expectations |
| Crepes, Short Term | Refrigerator | Sealed (wax paper between each) | 1 Week | Crepe Expectations |
| Crepes, Long Term | Freezer | Sealed (wax paper between each) | 1 Month | Crepe Expectations |
| Doodads | Counter | Sealed | 24 hours | Citizen Cane |
| Eggplant, Prepared | Refrigerator | Plastic Bag | 1 Week | Deep Purple |
| Eggplant, Prepared | Freezer | Plastic Bag | 3 Months | Deep Purple |
| Eggplant, Whole | Counter | None | 2 Days | Deep Purple |
| Eggplant, Whole | Refrigerator, Top Shelf | Plastic Wrap | 14 Days | Deep Purple |
Item | Place to Store | Container | Max Duration | Show |
| Eggs | Refrigerator, Not on the door | Own Container | ??? | Egg Files |
| Eggs, Poached | Refrigerator | Ice Water Bath | 8 Hours | Misson Poachable |
| Fish, Raw | Refrigerator | Sealed with ice | ??? | Hook Line and Dinner |
| Fries | 200deg Oven | Pan | 30 minutes | Fry Hard |
| Fries, Raw | Refrigerator | Water Bath | 10 Hours | Fry Hard |
| Fruitcake | Pantry | Sealed (with breathing room) | ??? | It's a Wonderful Cake |
| Fruitcake Liquid | Refrigerator | Pot | 3 Days | It's a Wonderful Cake |
| Garlic, Peeled | Refrigerator | Plastic Wrap | ??? | Pressure |
| Garlic, Unpeeled | Pantry | Itself (make sure it is cool and dry) | ??? | The Bulb of the Night |
| Ice Cream | Freezer | Small with coating on ice cream | ??? | Churn Baby Churn |
| Jam, Preserved | Pantry | Jar | 1Year (maybe a little more) | Urban Preservation 1: Spiced Blueberry Jamming |
| Jam, Unpreserved | Refrigerator | Jar | 3 Weeks | Urban Preservation 1: Spiced Blueberry Jamming |
Item | Place to Store | Container | Max Duration | Show |
| Kuri, Red | Pantry | Itself (make sure it is cool and dry) | 1 Month | Squash Court |
| Lemon Curd | Refrigerator | Bowl with Plastic Wrap pushed on top | 1 Month | Egg Files |
| Lettuce Leaves | Refrigerator | Paper Towel Wrapped and in a Plastic Bag | ??? | Salad Days |
| Mayo, Homemade | Refrigerator | Jar | 2 Weeks | Mayo Clinic |
| Mushrooms | Refrigerator | Paper Bag | 3 Days | The Fungal Gourmet |
| Mussels | Refrigerator | Open Container (ice on top of moist paper towels) | 1 Week | Mussel Bound |
| Mustard, Homemade | Pantry | Sealed | 6 Months | Mayo Clinic |
| Mustard, Homemade | Refrigerator | Sealed | Just about Forever | Mayo Clinic |
Item | Place to Store | Container | Max Duration | Show |
| Nuts, Shelled | Freezer | Sealed | 4 Months | It's a Wonderful Cake |
| Olive Oil | Pantry | Can | ??? | Pantry Raid 1: Use Your Noodle |
| Onions, Fresh | Cool/Dry/Well Ventilated | Pantyhose | ??? | A Bowl of Onion |
| Pancake Mix | Pantry | Sealed | 3 Months | Flap Jack Do It Again |
| Pancakes | 200deg Oven | Pan and separated by a towel | 30 minutes | Flap Jack Do It Again |
| Pancakes | Freezer | Plastic Bag | ??? | Flap Jack Do It Again |
| Pasta | Pantry | Sealed | Just about Forever | Pantry Raid 1: Use Your Noodle |
| Pecans, Unshelled | Freezer | Sealed | 1 Year | It's a Wonderful Cake |
| Pickles | Refrigerator | Jar | 3 Months | American Pickle |
| Pizza Dough | Refrigerator | Plastic Bag | 6 Days | Flat is Beautiful |
| Pork Ribs | Refrigerator | Own Container | 4 Weeks | Pork Fiction |
Item | Place to Store | Container | Max Duration | Show |
| Potato Roesti | Oven, Lowest Setting | On a Rack | 20 Minutes | This Spuds for You Too |
| Potatoes | Pantry | Itself (make sure it is cool and dry) | 20 Days | This Spuds for You |
| Prepared Tarts | Refrigerator | Covered | 1 Day | Puff the Magic Pastry |
| Rib Roast, 10 lb. | Refrigerator | Perforated | 4 Days | Celebrity Roast |
| Rice, Brown | Freezer | Plastic Bag in a Sealed Container | 2 years | Power to the Pilaf |
| Rice, Brown | Pantry | Sealed | 6 Months | Power to the Pilaf |
| Rice, Converted | Pantry | Sealed | Years | Power to the Pilaf |
| Rice, White | Pantry | Sealed | Years | Power to the Pilaf |
| Salmon, Smoked | Refrigerator | Sealed | 3 Days | Where There's Smoke There's Fish |
| Salmon, Smoked | Freezer | Sealed | 1 Month | Where There's Smoke There's Fish |
| Simple Syrup | Refrigerator | Sealed | 1 Month | True Brew 2: Tea |
| Simple Syrup | Freezer | Sealed | 1 Year | True Brew 2: Tea |
Item | Place to Store | Container | Max Duration | Show |
| Spices, Unground | Pantry | Sealed glass jar | Just about Forever | It's a Wonderful Cake |
| Spices, Unground | Freezer | Plastic Bag | 1 Year | It's a Wonderful Cake |
| Squash Dumplings, Parcooked | Refrigerator | Sealed | 3 Days | Squash Court |
| Squash Dumplings, Uncooked | Freezer | Plastic Bag | Just about Forever | Squash Court |
| Squid | Refrigerator | Sealed | 3 Days | Squid Pro Quo |
| Squid | Cooler | Sealed | 4 Days | Squid Pro Quo |
| Tart, Baked | Pantry | Plastic Bag | ??? | Puff the Magic Pastry |
| Tea Bags | Pantry | Original Packaging | 5 Months | True Brew 2: Tea |
| Tea, Whole | Pantry | Tin | 2 years | True Brew 2: Tea |
| Tofu, Open | Refrigerator | Sealed (change water) | 5 Days | Tofuworld |
| Tofu, Packaged | Freezer | Original Packaging | 3 Months | Tofuworld |
| Turkey, Leftover | Freezer | Foil Wrapped and in a Plastic Bag | 3 Months | Romancing the Bird |
| Vanilla Bean | Pantry | Sealed | 6 Months | Churn Baby Churn |
| Walnuts, Unshelled | Freezer | Sealed | 1 Year | It's a Wonderful Cake |
| Yeast, Instant | Freezer | Plastic Bag | 2 years | Flat is Beautiful |
