Monday February 13, 2012
Oil and vinegar salad dressing is one of the rare culinary preparations whose name also happens to be its recipe:
oil and vinegar.
Make the perfect vinaigrette.
Photo © Danilo Alfaro
That's not the whole recipe, of course. In addition to the oil and the vinegar, a typical vinaigrette recipe can include ingredients as varied as mustard, honey, fruit juice, buttermilk — there's truly no limit. But the common denominator is the oil and vinegar.
Check out these simple tips for
Making the Perfect Vinaigrette. And here's more about making salads and salad dressings:
Join Me on Facebook | Follow Me on TwitterSunday February 12, 2012
Roux (pronounced "roo") is a mixture of equal parts flour and fat that's used for thickening sauces and soups. It's the starch in the flour that actually does the thickening, but binding it with a fat allows it to dissolve smoothly into your stock, soup or other liquid, whereas adding raw flour would just make a lumpy mess.
How to make roux.
Photo © Danilo Alfaro
Roux pops up everywhere in the culinary arts, and while it's typically made with
clarified butter, as with this
basic white sauce, it can be made with any sort of fat. Like in this
potato chowder recipe, where it's made with bacon fat. Or in the
classic pan gravy, where it's made with chicken fat. Or even in this braised
beef pot roast, where — well, you get the idea.
Here's a simple (as in, only three steps) tutorial on
how to make roux. And here's more about making sauces:
Join Me on Facebook | Follow Me on TwitterSaturday February 11, 2012
If you're wondering about what sort of romantic dessert to make for Valentine's Day, crème brûlée is the one and only. Crème brûlée (pronounced "krem broo-LAY") is one of the most amazing, elegant desserts, and it's surprisingly easy to make. It takes about four hours to properly chill a crème brûlée, so it's not a quick process, but it's definitely worth the wait.
Crème brûlée with fresh berries.
Photo © Danilo Alfaro
Crème brûlée is a simple custard, made with nothing but eggs, cream and sugar, along with a little vanilla. I like to use equal parts heavy cream and
half-and-half. For a richer crème brûlée, use all heavy cream. For a lighter one, you can use all half-and-half.
To make crème brûlée, you'll need some heatproof dishes called ramekins. You'll also need a crème brûlée torch to caramelize the tops of the crème brûlées when you're ready to serve them. You can even get a crème brûlée set that includes the torch and the ramekins. But for some extra Valentine's Day romance, make your crème brûlées in heart-shaped ramekins. Enjoy this
crème brûlée recipe.
And here's more about crème brûlée:
Join Me on Facebook | Follow Me on TwitterFriday February 10, 2012
As I mentioned yesterday, poaching chicken breasts is something you may have done before, or maybe not. Poaching happens to be a great way to cook chicken breasts for using in other recipes, like soups, enchiladas, pot pies and all kinds of pasta recipes. If you ever bought fresh chicken breasts but didn't use them right away, you can poach them and keep them in the fridge for another few days.
How to poach chicken breasts.
Photo © Lisa Hubbard / Getty Images
The great thing about poaching chicken breasts is that the meat comes out moist and tender and succulent. It's impossible to dry out a chicken breast when you poach it. Moreover, you can poach a chicken breast on the stovetop or in the oven. Here are two easy techniques for
How to Poach Chicken Breasts.
And here's more about poaching:
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