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Posts Tagged ‘gourmet’

In these times of superior alertness of the shortages in the world and the recent economic problems in the whole world, but especially in the wealthy Western countries, which are the powerhouses of most Third World countries’ expansion, people are more aware of waste. It is a sin again to throw away food, like it was 50 years ago.

This can only be a good thing although it is a disgrace that it took an international financial crisis to make us recall the lesson. These days, waste of any kind is greeted with public censure and so it is at home too. Most people spend a very high proportion of their outgoings on food and so anyone who wants to cut back, has to first look to this quarter to make a saving.

However, saving does not inevitably mean ‘not buying’, it can and should mean ‘not throwing away’. In other words, prepare your food and do not let your food go off. Preparation and storage are the key words. With that thought in mind, here are a few of my tips for preparing and storing food correctly.

Bread – tons of bread is thrown away every day, because it has gone stale or mouldy and yet it is totally unnecessary. Keep your bread in the deep freezer and not in the bread bin. A whole loaf will slice frozen with the proper knife and sliced bread will come away slice by slice. There is no requirement to defrost as it only takes a minute or two at room temperature.

Bananas – most people understand that banana skins turn black if kept in the fridge, but most people do not know that bananas can be frozen solid. Yes, the skins will still go black, but the fruit will be undamaged.

Cake – to stop cake from going stale, store it in a tin with an apple. The moisture in the apple will stop the cake from going hard.

Watercress – to prevent watercress from wilting, store it upside down in water, that is stalks up.

Salt – salt often gets damp, especially if stored in a steamy kitchen without adequate ventilation, but you do not have to worry about that if you put two or three grains of rice in the salt cellar. They will absorb the moisture before the salt.

Cereal – stop cereal from going soft by resealing the bag with a few clothes pegs. Your cereal will last weeks longer.

Jam – boiling jam makes a scum which has to be skimmed off and thrown away. This wastes jam, goodness and flavour. However, if you whisk a knob of butter into the mixture at the last minute the scum will not materialize, saving time and goodness.

Funnel – you always seem to need a funnel when you do not have one. Then you vow to get a funnel for the next time. Do not bother. Just cut the top nine inches off a plastic bottle of cola. It makes an ideal throw-away funnel. Some of the larger bottles even have a handle on them which is even better.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with researching the programmable crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

There can not be many people who do not like their food, but the human race, being what it is, I expect that there are a few of them. However, for the rest of us, food is a font of daily pleasure and, like a beverage, it is often employed to commemorate a celebration. not only that, but different foods are served for the different meals or distinct celebrations.

Commemorative meals were indubitably planned around the seasonal foods available, but some foodstuffs were ferried huge distances for the benefit of those who could afford them. For example, my Dad considered it a grand treat to be given an orange in his stocking on Christmas Day 60 years ago. How the times have altered! Very few kids would think an orange a gift, special or not, any day of the year nowadays.

Nonetheless, the preservation of food is still a daily affair and so, I have written a few good guidelines on preserving foodstuff underneath, so that you will get the best from what you have purchased or grown in your garden even a long period later.

The Quickest Quiche: a quiche is the conventional healthy fast food and this is one of the best quick ways to make one. Put one onion, four eggs four ounces/125 grammes of butter, half a pint/250 ml milk, baking powder, 2 ounces/60 grammes of grated Cheddar cheese, parsley, salt and pepper and anything else you like into a strong food mixer/blender. Whirl it all up together and pour it into an appropriate dish, lined if you have it with some pre-made, shop bought, pastry. Bake at 190C/375F/Gas Mark 6 for 40 minutes. It serves four and is delicious.

Heavenly Hamburgers: next time you make hamburgers, do not salt the meat before cooking them. Use your normal recipe and make the patties as normal. Then, put a handful of sea salt in your favourite heavy duty frying pan and heat it up to very hot. Drop the hamburgers onto the salt and cook as usual. The outside of the hamburger will go crisp and the fat will be kept to the bare minimum.

Salmon In The Papers: a fantastic way to cook a whole salmon is to cook it in newspaper. You ought to try it. Prepare your salmon according to your favourite recipe. Then wrap in three or four thoroughly drenched sheets of newspaper (any name). Make a nice parcel out of it; as neat as you can. Place the soaking-wet parcel on a baking tray in the centre of a moderate oven. Bake until the paper is dry on the top and then turn it over. When that side is dry the salmon is done. It’ll take about an hour. If you want to eat it hot, peal the paper off straight away and dish up. If you want to eat it cold, leave the package until it is cold and then unwrap. Either way the skin will stick to the newspaper.

Off The Wall: if you are unsure when spaghetti is fit to be eaten, through a strand at a tiled wall. If it sticks, it is done.

Cheap And Cheerful: for a quick, healthy, extraordinary summer sandwich filling, pick some fresh, young dandelion leaves; wash them thoroughly; dress if you wish and put between slices off a good loaf of bread.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with researching the Rival Versaware crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

In the West, alcoholic drinks are never far away from the scene at festive times, but do we aways know how to get the most from these expensive luxuries? Too many people these days just think its a question of ‘getting as much down as possible in as little time as possible’. This is the wrong attitude.

After all, most people realize that a good meal does not consist of eating as many chips as possible in fifteen minutes, so why should that principle not apply to having a drink too? You will get far more pleasure from a bottle of wine, if you spend an extra dollar on it and drink it slowly with a friend and some appropriate food than if you swill down a cheap bottle of plonk on your own. It makes evident sense, but not everyone realizes it.

So, with that thought in mind, I have put together a few tips on how to get more enjoyment from your alcoholic drinks, if you are old enough and of that turn of mind.

Gin and Vodka – if these white spirits are your proffered tipple, always keep the bottle in the fridge, not the drinks cupboard. Keep the mixers in the fridge too. That way the ice will last longer and you will not be tempted to have to gulp it down before the ice melts. If you are having friends around, go one step further and put the bottle in the freezer. It will not go solid. You can even cut the top off a plastic cola bottle, put the bottle of gin or vodka in that, fill it with water and then freeze it. Take off the plastic bottle and you have an attractive “collar of ice” around your bottle.

The Last Tot – five minutes or so after finishing a bottle of spirits, tip it out one more time and the bottle that you thought was drained will deliver one more tot of contents. It is not a lot, but it is a pleasant free surprise. The same works for many alcohol based items including underarm roll-on and perfume.

White Wine – white wines taste better when they have been gently chilled over a prolonged period, but if you get taken by surprise visitors, put the bottle of wine in a container of ice and cold water. Try not to have to put it in the deep freeze, it is too severe, but if you have to, then ten minutes is all that it requires.

Port – it is always better to decant port and older, heavier red wines, because of the dregs that may be at the bottom of the bottle, which tastes horrible and because it assists the aeration of the wine. However, it is not always easy to see when the lees are coming. The books say to use a candle, but they were written a hundred years ago. The concentrated beam from a torch is far better. Try using a Durabeam because its swivel head allows it to be aimed more precisely.

Decanters – sometimes the stopper becomes stuck fast. Tap it with another glass item and it should come free. If not, run the neck of the decanter under hot water for a few seconds and it will come out.

Labels – if you store your wine in a damp place where the labels are likely to rot or fall off, spray them with hair lacquer first.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with researching the programmable crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

Have you ever used a crock pot? Or what we call a slow cooker in the UK? My father gave me a crock pot for Christmas twenty-five years ago and I only had to replace it, because it got stolen. Some thief must have heard the were great and pinched it for his wife.

It was good-looking enough to leave out on the work top and I guess that is how it caught my burglar’s eye. It was stoneware, really nice.

That is one of the points I would like to make in this piece, some of the crock pots from the better manufacturers are pretty enough to take to the table. The other point I would like to make is that crock pots are not only for cooking soup or stews in.

I have recipes in the house for bread and cheesecake. Really, most people just do not believe me when I tell them what you can actually do with a crock pot, especially the modern programmable ones.

To prove it, I have reproduced one of my cheesecake recipes below. If you can not be bothered to make, just take it from me that it is gorgeous, simple enough to make and practically automatic to make. Those of you do get around to making it will agree with me, I am sure.

APPLE-NUT CHEESECAKE

Crust:

1 cup (scant) graham cracker crumbs 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 2 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons butter, melted 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Filling:

16 ounces cream cheese 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated white sugar 2 large eggs 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon vanilla Topping: 1 large apple, thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups) 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Combine the crust ingredients and pat into a 7-inch spring form pan. Beat the sugars into the cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs, whipping cream, cornstarch, and vanilla. Beat for about 3 minutes on the medium speed of a hand-held electric mixer. Pour the mixture into the prepared crust. Combine the apple slices with the sugar, cinnamon and nuts and then spread the topping evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Place the cheesecake on a rack (or “ring” of aluminum foil to keep it off the bottom of the pot) in the Crock Pot. Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Let it stand in the covered pot (after turning it off) for about 1 to 2 hours, until cool enough to handle. Cool it thoroughly before removing the pan sides. Chill before serving; store leftovers in the refrigerator for any normal shop-bought cheesecake, but yours will be better..

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with researching the programmable crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

Most restaurant recipes are offered to you, you simply need to know where to locate them. Which means that you can prepare your favorite dishes from your favorite dining area, your home. This will help to reduce the price down tremendously, which can also help you to cut your expenses.

However, you wont feel deprived because you still get to have your favorite foods. You can locate many of these recipes offered right on the web through many of the recipe databases. First you need to locate one, then type in the restaurant name and the name of the recipe, and then you will be in your own kitchen cooking up all your favorite recipes.

What, if you are looking for other recipes, you will find loads of the best restaurants offering their recipe versions. If you love a great burger and good portion of French fries, you shouldn’t have to settle for anything less than what you want? Could there possibly be anything better than a good old American apple pie? Yes, if you top it with a scoop of ice cream!

If you would like to locate any of these delicious recipes the great news is that there are loads of database websites on the internet that offer them. You can choose from meats, seafood, pasta dishes, and vegetables. Even desserts are available. You can find a lot of recipes that are in this category as well.

Locating recipes also goes for Mexican food. One of the major things you can do when it comes to Mexican type of cuisine is to find a high quality spice blend that just shout’s out Mexican! There are many out there that you can quickly pick up, bring home and use in your recipes to recreate a restaurant recipe or to help you in coming up with that old recipe that you remember your grandmother making when you were growing up. You can find recipes to help you create these recipes as well.

Because, it is very overpriced to go to a fancy restaurant for a meal. And if you have more in your dining group, the more preposterous the prices are. However, for many, there is quite often a craving for that special plate or that certain dessert.

You might be one of those many individuals that has this problem, don’t worry. There are loads of internet recipe membership sites where you can go to, to search for the best restaurant recipes out there to tempt your taste buds in your own dining room.

Are you looking for cheesecake factory recipes? Come view our website about cheesecake factory cheesecake recipes where you can get recipes from all your favorite restaurants.