We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Hell's Kitchen - Online style
Topic Started: Nov 18 2007, 02:26 PM (442 Views)
Genetic God
Member Avatar
Chief of Staff
Posted Image

Disclaimer - the standard "use a good, sharp knife" should always be assumed when dealing with anything revolving cutting. This goes the same for cutting onions - the duller the knife, the tearier the whole fiasco.


Trick #1 - Cutting an Onion
Put the onion in the freezer for about 5 - 10 minutes. This causes the molecular density of the onion juices (the stuff that makes you tear) to condense and allows the onion to not spray so much of it as it is being cut. The same trick can be applied by heating the knife rather than making the onion cold, but as heating the knife takes away the edge and tends to worsen the condition of the knife, I prefer making the onion cold. (The knife heating trick is a different mechanic - the hot knife will evaporate the juices as it comes in contact with the surface) Also, more of a "duh" thing, but practice makes perfect - the less time you spend cutting (i.e., "cut faster") the better.


Trick #2 - Peeling a Tomato
Don't like the skin of the Tomato? Cut a X-shape or cross-shaped incision (just enough to get through the skin) on the bottom of a tomato and stick a fork onto it (one with a wooden handle would be better). Have a bowl of ice-cold water ready. Hover the tomato over an open flame of your stove, until the skin turns slightly orange-ish in color or starts to blister. When you got this over most of the tomato (should only take about 20 seconds at most), dunk the entire tomato into the bowl of ice cold water. Same can be done with peaches, but as peaches are more delicate I recommend using a pot of boiling water over the flames. This takes longer (fruit needs to sit in the boiling water for about 2 minutes or so), but the result is prettier.


Trick #3 - Peeling a Garlic
Ever see one of those plastic tubes you're supposed to put the cloves of garlic in and roll it to peel your garlic? Don't reach for it at the market, save your $4. All you need to do is gently crush the clove with the side of your knife on a flat surface. No need to smush it to smitherines, just apply a gentle nudge of pressure and it should be all enough so that the garlic clove is slightly crushed the outer layer will peel away easily.


Trick #4 - Pasta, flavored fast
As you boil your pasta, add the veggies you plan to serve with it. For dried ingredients, you can boil the pasta in the stock. For example, add dried shiitake mushrooms to a pot of water and heat until it comes to a boil. Add the pasta (oil + salt if you must), and take out the mushrooms and cut it up (while the pasta is still cooking), and add it back in to the pot. Drain together, and voila, you have mushroom-flavored pasta. Add butter, hefty load of cheese of your liking, some red pepper for flavor, and serve. If you're using fresh ingredients like carrot, spinach, broccoli, asparagus, just add to the pot after you've added the pasta to the water. Cooking times would vary, so just subtract the amount of time to put in the vegetable from the total cooking time. For example, a standard (dry pasta) spaghetti serving takes about 8-9 minutes to cook. Broccoli only needs about 2-3 minutes. Put the broccoli in the pot 5 minutes after the pasta goes in, and drain together when they are done.


Trick #5 - Leftovers
Potato Salad
A. Roll into balls/patties, flour it, and add eggwash + bread crumbs (aka breading) and fry. Instant croquette! (disclaimer: This is probably better done with plain left over mashed potatoes / yam (oooh Thanksgiving left over ideas); avoid doing this with potato salad that is sour or has lots of mayonnaise / relish as it's likely too runny).
B. Sandwich. Add a lettuce leaf or two between the bread if you wish.
C. Or if you wish to elaborate, you can also make a) and then make that into a sandwich. Very yummy.

Left over roast/ steam vegetables
A. Soup: add 1-2 cups soup/chicken stock and combine roasted veggies into blender / food processor, and blend away. Add butter, cream, salt/pepper to taste depending on your liking.
B. Tempura. Yes, this is possible. And the lovely thing is since the veggie inside is already cooked you're basically just flash-frying so the greasiness is down to minimal.

Thanksgiving Turkey
A. You can do the standard cold turkey sandwich
B. Or save the carcass & bones, stick it in the biggest bot you got (literally), add water until it completely covers. Then add a whole carrot, a peeled whole onion (cut in half), and couple of stalks of celery, a bay leaf or two, and let it simmer over night (or 4 hours minimum). In the morning, take out the carcass and veggies, add some freshly cut onions, carrot, potatoes, salt/pepper + herbs, and let simmer until potatoes are soft. Add in pasta bits / rice if desired.



For every cook or anyone who's made themselves adept at the kitchen territory, what little knick-knack tricks and simple methods up your sleeves can you share? :)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
+ HELL
The God of Cookery
Spices...
Success or failure of many recipes often depends on the type and quality of flavor enhancers used. Spices like clove, coriander, black and white pepper, cumin, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, and cinnamon are an absolute necessity in any kitchen. Unfortunately, spices quickly lose their flavor and aroma after they are ground. We suggest, if you must buy ground spices, buy them in the smallest amounts possible because the average life of preground spices is only about three months, even when they're stored in the refrigerator where they can easily get lost. Plus it is usually not possible for the average home cook to use all of a package of preground spices in a three-month period, even when the spice is purchased in the smallest possible package. The solution to this problem is to buy whole spices and grind them yourself. Whole spices have a nearly indefinite shelf life when stored in airtight containers in a cool, dry space.

Whole spices are also cheaper to buy than preground spices, especially if you buy them from one of the many spice shops that advertise on the Internet. Buying preground spices in the supermarket is just like going to the sleaziest used car dealer you can find to buy an automobile; you pay too much and get second-rate quality. To buy them on the Internet, just fire up your search engine and type in the word "spice" and you'll find vendors for almost any spice you can think of. If you live in or near a neighborhood with an ethnic grocer, try there!!

Grinding whole spices has never been easier than it is today. Several kitchen equipment manufacturers make combination coffee grinder/spice mills that retail for about 10 dollars. These little mills have a high-speed electric motor that drives a small propeller-like stainless steel blade at a speed that will reduce even tough spices like whole clove to a fine powder in a matter of seconds. You can also buy a specially designed mortar and pestle, made of marble, that will perform the same grinding duties for under 15 dollars.

Food & Gas...
At the risk of sounding inappropriate, we would like to say a few words about an often embarrassing consequence of consuming a wide variety of foods-intestinal gas. Flatulence is not life threatening, unless you live with someone who's got a real bad disposition. Otherwise, it just makes for an embarrassing and uncomfortable end to a wonderful meal.

The list of gas producing foods is very long. It includes many of our favorites: milk, wheat, oats, potatoes, and many vegetables. Many of these foods contain what scientists call raffinose sugars, which are a prolific source of intestinal gas. The offending gas is produced when these sugars, along with starches and food fiber, reach the large intestine without being digested. Once there harmless bacteria residing in the bowel start to feed on them and give off the bothersome gas as a by-product. Raffinose sugars require a specialized enzyme (alpha-galactosidase) to break them down. However, our bodies don't produce this enzyme, so our intestinal bacteria are left to the task.

There a number of products on the market that may help if you are troubled by flatulence. I am one who has been troubled with it all of my life, so about eight years ago I decided to try a new gas preventer manufactured by the same company that developed Lact-Aid. "Beano", as it's called, contains alpha-galactosidase and is designed to be popped into your mouth along with the first bite of any potentially offending food. Much to my surprise Beano worked. It cut down on the volume of gas and eliminated that uncomfortable bloated feeling, but odor was still a problem. Over the last few years, however, we have learned a few tips that also help to reduce gas generated by bean consumption.

Cook your vegetables and beans completely. By completely we mean soft without being mushy.
Discard the water you soak the beans in. This water is loaded with raffinose sugars. Also, precook your beans separately and discard the cooking water, before combining them with other ingredients in a recipe. This process does not hurt the integrity of the beans and will reduce the cooking time in long cooking recipes like baked beans.
Many bean recipes call for the addition of other vegetables, such as onions and cabbage. Try reducing some of these ingredients before giving up the beans.
Always carry a book of matches (no joke). A lit match produces ozone which oxidizes those mortifying odor-causing gases.
Here are a few tips on working with two of the worlds favorite flavor enhances, fresh garlic and fresh ginger.

Garlic...
Not all fresh garlic is created equal. American garlic, which has a white skin, has a very strong flavor. Mexican and Italian garlic have mauve skins and a smoother milder flavor.

If fresh garlic is stored in an open container in a cool dark place, and the outer skin is not broken, it will stay fresh for more than two months. Once a clove is broken from the bulb, it will remain fresh for about five days.

The most efficient way to peel a garlic clove is what we call the "Julia Child" method. Place the unpeeled clove on the cutting board, clear the kitchen of all friends and family, then take careful aim and whack the clove with a the flat side of the blade of a cleaver or a french knife. It works every time, but we suggest you practice a little.

Once in a while we forget a bulb of garlic and the cloves start to sprout. This is not always evidenced by a little green shoot poking out through the clove. More often you will notice that the garlic has developed a very strong and harsh flavor and aroma. When we discover this, we usually toss the garlic in the trash and buy a fresh bulb. However, when this is not possible, you can tame the flavor by cutting each clove in half with a sharp paring knife and removing the little green shoot hiding inside. After removing the shoot, slice the garlic cloves instead of crushing, chopping, or pureeing them. This reduces the amount of essential oils that will be released into the recipe.

We feel that garlic is an essential ingredient in many foods and we use a lot in a short time. When we are assembling a recipe, especially a new one, we find that peeling garlic cloves can be a hassle. We solve the problem by first separating the cloves from a whole bulb of garlic then dropping them into boiling water for about 15 seconds. This makes them easy to peel. We then put the peeled cloves into a half pint jelly jar, cover them with peanut oil, seal the jar with a new lid, and keep the jar in the refrigerator. The garlic will stay fresh for two weeks. When the garlic is gone we use the wonderfully scented oil to add subtle flavor to a variety of hot and cold foods.

Once fresh garlic is placed in oil, that oil must be kept in the refrigerator, if you intend to use it in recipes after the garlic is gone. If we don't use this garlic scented oil within three days after the garlic is gone, we discard the oil.

The Garlic Press...
If you don't own a garlic press we suggest you get one as soon as possible. Buy a good one, preferably one made of stainless steel. A garlic press makes quick work of preparing garlic for most recipes. It isn't even necessary to peel a garlic clove before passing it through the press. Just pop the clove, skin and all, into the press and squeeze.

Cleaning a garlic press can be a hassle. To make cleaning less arduous, we keep a cup of warm water on the counter while we are using the press. During a cooking session, after each use, we place the press in the warm water. This prevents the garlic residue from drying onto the press. When we are done cooking we take press from the water and place it in the dishwasher in the open position on top of the silverware. One pass through the dishwasher is usually sufficient. If you don't have a dishwasher, or you don't plan to run your dishwasher for a couple of days, add a little liquid dish soap to the warm soaking water, soak the press for about an hour, then clean it using a tooth brush you have set aside for special cleaning projects.



Ginger...
In our opinion fresh ginger is one of the most versatile flavor enhancers available. It can be used to add spark to soups, salads, casseroles, vegetables, and baked goods. Fresh ginger can be purchased in two forms, young ginger and mature ginger. Young ginger, which is sold under the name of Jamaican ginger in many Asian grocery stores during the spring, has a tender, pale skin and a delicate mild flavor. Jamaican ginger does not require peeling before being used in a recipe. Mature ginger has a tough tan skin, which must be removed before use, and a strong spicy flavor and aroma. Mature ginger can be found in most food stores throughout the year.

Ginger, like garlic, can also be hassle to peel when you are trying to assemble a recipe. Under the best storage conditions, fresh ginger purchased in prime condition only has a shelf life of about three weeks. After that it 's smooth skin wrinkles and the flesh inside turns an ugly grey and develops an unpleasant acrid odor. Unless you use a lot of this very expensive root, half, if not more of what you buy, ends up in the trash. A great way to store freshly peeled mature ginger, is to cut it up into ½-inch pieces, place them in a half-pint jelly jar, and cover them with a light dry sherry. Seal the jar with a new cap and place it in the refrigerator where it will keep for three months. When the ginger is gone the, the ginger flavored sherry can be used to enhance the flavor of stir-fried and many other dishes. Fresh ginger can also be peeled, placed in freezer bags, and put in a freezer where it can keep for up to a year.

Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
« Previous Topic · Food & Drink · Next Topic »
Add Reply