Sunday, April 30, 2006

Cooking Tips # 2

Stop Your Weeping !!!
Throw the onions into a freezer for 10 minutes or peel them under water - then cut them up.

Choosing The Right Chilli.
When deciding how "hot" you like it, work on the simple basis that the smaller it is, the hotter it will be. (The chilli that is !!!)

Simple Sushi.
Wash the rice and leave it to soak in cold water for 30 minutes before cooking. This moistens the cooked rice, helping it to stick to the fish.

Ripening Unripe Fruit & Veges.
Store a ripe banana with them, as the gasses given off by the banana speed up the ripening process.

Footnote: Maybe we should be taking "bananas" on our Poetry In Motion Tours (hehe)

Thickening Up A Thin - Sauce !!!
Mix together equal quantities of softened butter and flour in a mixing bowl, until it becomes creamy. Whisk this in small amounts into your "thin sauce", until it's thick.

Preparing Mushrooms
Never wash mushrooms in water, as their sponge-like flesh soaks up moisture, which will destory the texture.Wipe them all over instead with a paper towel.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Cooking Tips # 1 !!!

The Creamiest Scrambled Eggs
Whisk some free range eggs with a little bkack pepper & salt and pour into a heavy based pan with lots of melted butter. Use a spatula to stir them as they cook. When the eggs are about a minute away from been ready, remove from the heat. Add a couple of tablespoons of double cream to lower the temparature and serve on hot buttered toast.

Crisping Up Fish Skin
To crisp the skin of white-flesh fish, without drying it out, coat it in a little olive oil and toss in a little instant potato mix, then season before frying. Ensure your frying pan is hot, but not smoking.

Frying Salmon
When frying salmon, follow the above but add a little cayene pepper to your potato mix to enhance the flavour.

Marrinated Lamb
Dice the fat from the best-end of de-boned lamb and heat it in a covered pan until liquid. Allow to cool a little, but while still hot, add some garlic, thyme, bay leaf, rosemary and salt & pepper. Aloow the fat to cool, but not set and then coat the lamb. Cook.

A Tasty Joint
When roasting a whole joint, take it out of the fridge, one hour before putting it in the oven to ensure that it reaches an ambient room temperature. the meat will be more tender and evenly cooked.

Crispy Chicken
A combination of the juice of half a lemon and 2 tablespoons of olive oil drizzled over the skin of the chicken and rubbed in firmly, will give you good crisp skin and succulent flesh. Baste the bird after half an hour in the oven and again twenty mintues later. Rest for 15 - 20 minutes before serving as this allows the heat to spread throught the meat.