Archive for September, 2011
Do you get lumps in your white sauce? When making white sauce (béchamel) or any sauce that requires slow cooking to thicken use an egg whisk and you can increase the temperature (not too much though) to speed the process up.and you wont get any limps in it.
Turn your open barbeque into a gourment oven. Want to try a new barbeque recipe that requires a hood on the barbeque which you may not have. Try using a wok lid or any domed lid. This works very well indeed. Great for roasted meats when camping out.
Never buy frozen pastry again. Do you hate making short pastry. Use a kitchen whiz instead of the usual hand method. Use slightly less liquid than may be asked for in the recipe.Just run the whiz until all the pastry forms into a ball. If it wont form into a ball you may need just a touch more liquid. The liquid depends on what recipe you use for your pastry.
Do your scones look more like rock cakes ? Make your scones in a kitchen whiz. Many people just can’t make scones no matter what. Usually the problem is too much handling. Using the whiz eliminates this problem.
Also try and make your scones as though people or the family are sitting at the table waiting. In other words the less time you take means less handling. The mixture should be quite moist not dry after you add the milk.
Turn onto a well floured board and top a few times with the tips of your fingers to draw the extra four in. This should only take you about 5-8 seconds. Gently pat into shape and cut into whatever shaped scones you want – round or square -whatever.
Scones seem to come out best when cooked in what is variously described as a rising oven. In other words turn your oven on not too long before you start to mix your scones and when they are put in the oven it still has not quite reached the required temperature.
I learnt this way of making scones when I was used to crew on a yacht when I was younger and the guys would want morning tea and see if they could cajole me into making some. Hence my reference to having a waiting audience. The oven was only a small benchtop gas oven and I would turn it on to its maximum temperature and then throw the flour butter and milk together. They were most impressed and I was most surprised at the result. I was not at all sure of my expertise in scone making as my mother could never make scones – hers were the ones that came out like bullets.
I did later convert my mother into making scones in the kitchen whiz when she was around 65 and she was amazed that she finally learnt to make a scone that was edible.
I might add that scones became a regular morning tea item
Are your curries chewy? Do you have trouble working out if a casserole or curry is cooked. When the oil (fat) rises the dish is cooked. All meat dish casseroles have some fat content and when this is released the meat is cooked.
Are you missing the magic ingredient? Have you ever cooked a curry or casserole and the flavour just needs a little something and you cant quite work out exactly what is needed. Maybe it seems as though the flavours don’t quite go together. It is a small intangible ingredient that is lacking. Try a very small amount of sugar and you will be surprised how it seems to blend and mellow the flavours into a more harmonious combination. The flavours will cease to fight against each other.
Whoops have you ever slipped with the salt pot when cooking? Have you ever added just a touch too much salt to a recipe. Never add sugar to correct this try a squeeze of lemon juice.
I hate washing roasting pans. Do you like to have roasted potatoes occasionally but hate washing up the pan afterwards. Here is a simple easy method and it uses less fat. Cut each potato with the skin on, in half so that you have the largest cut area. Add a little margarine and spread it on the cut side of the potato. Then sprinkle with salt and pepper if you want.
Place the buttered potatoes buttered side down on a sheet of aluminium foil wrap. Fold the foil and seal. Add to a preheated hot oven 200 degrees centigrade and cook for approx half an hour. When cooked unwrap and gently peel the foil off the potatoes and serve. Throw the foil in the garbage and voila – lovely scrisp roasted potatoes and no mess.
The word Gourmet is used to refer to the fancier grade, cut, or quality of many of the foods and beverages we consume. Gourmet foods and drinks have long been associated as the regular fare for the rich and famous who can afford the higher pricing that often accompanies many of these finer food and beverage versions. Coffee is a beverage that has been available in cheap, regular and gourmet versions for a long time and the consumption rate of coffee among people from around the world continues to increase every year. Gourmet coffee may have once only been served in the finest dining establishments and found being served mostly in the homes of the upper class, but gourmet coffee is widely available and affordable to a variety of people and is found in a variety of settings today.
Coffee is made from coffee beans which are found within the berries that develop and ripen on a number of smaller evergreen bush plant species known as the Coffea plant. After ripening, coffee berries are harvested, and then undergo a processing which also includes drying them. It is the coffee beans that remain after the processing and drying of the coffee berries. The beans are then roasted to various degrees which cause them to change physically and in the tastes they produce. Finally, the coffee beans are grinded down into a fine consistency that is commonly known as coffee grounds, and packaged and shipped to destinations around the world where consumers can buy and brew coffee grounds to make coffee in commercial, hospitality, institutional, and residential settings. Some people prefer to grind their own coffee beans before brewing them for coffee. Packaged coffee beans that have not been ground can be purchased in stores and ground using the grinding mills that are made available in most of the stores selling them, but also with grinding machines in the home.
The two most commercially grown species of the coffea plant that produce the coffee beans used to make the coffee that the world’s population consumes, are Robusta and Arabica. Gourmet coffee is made from the top tier coffee beans from the arabica coffea plant. These top tier arabica coffea plants are typically grown at very high altitudes (above 3000ft) with ideal soil and climate conditions. The coffee beans produced have fuller flavors, are more aromatic, and have less caffeine in them than other varieties of coffee beans such as Robustas. The coffee beans of arabica coffea plants grown at lower altitudes are still noted among consumers as having richer flavors than the flavors produced by Robusta coffee beans, but it is only the top tier arabica coffee beans that are considered to be Gourmet, and thereby from which gourmet coffee is derived.
Coffee bean grounds and coffee beans that have not been grinded down need to be stored in air-tight containers and kept cool in order to protect them from losing their flavor. The containers that coffee is typically sold in are not the most ideal for storing coffee for a long period of time. When you arrive home after purchasing coffee grounds at the store, consider transferring the fresh coffee grounds to appropriate storage containers to extend its shelf life and full flavor.
Coffee can be brewed in many ways such as boiling, pressuring, and steeping. Most of us brew our coffee using automatic coffee brewing machines and percolators which use gravity to pull hot water through coffee grounds where the hot water mixed with the oils and essences of the coffee grounds empties into a liquid holding container below. Filters are used to keep coffee granules from being emptied into the carafe or liquid holding container from which the brewed coffee can then be served from because most people do not want to drink the coffee granules. Coffee granules can be very bitter once the flavor able oils and essences have been removed through the brewing process. Plants and flowers love coffee grounds though for anybody who is looking for a greener alternative of what to do with coffee grounds after brewing instead of just throwing them in the trash.
Of course, Gourmet coffee beans are only the beginning to creating a truly gourmet coffee experience for many gourmet coffee drinkers. Some people are quite content with drinking their gourmet coffee black, without adding anything like milk, creamer, sugar or other sweeteners or flavorings, to their coffee. While many others want to enhance their gourmet coffee and drinking experience with tasty additions like milk that is whipped into a froth, sweeteners, and mixing in other flavors like chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, and mint, to name just a few. Big name coffee chains sell a wide variety of gourmet coffee with different tasty additions and flavors to appeal to gourmet coffee lovers. However, brewing gourmet coffee at home is usually much cheaper, and you can add what you want to your coffee to satisfy your refined, gourmet tastes.
If you want to make a gourmet gift basket by your own then don’t take much time to think because making one is quite fun and also an affordable alternative to purchase them. But before you get a gift basket to start making the basket decide carefully that which candy and in what quantity you are going to place in it.
You can gift a gourmet gift basket on any occasion may be mothers day or fathers day or even on the occasion of the birthday of your friends. You can make a trip to your local candy store whereby you can get a huge variety of individual candies wrapped in pretty wrappings. Other theme candy wrappings are also available such as sports theme wrapping, holiday and birthday themes are also very popular.
The other way would be that you buy candy in bulk and later create small individual packing for your basket by using small cloth bags or squares of transparent wrap or tissue paper filled with candies. Thereafter you need to gather all the corners and tie it up with a bow. This is another cost cutting idea and also adds a personal touch to the gift basket.
For a larger variety of candy choice you have also the option to buy candy online and this is pretty easy when you enter the term “candy” and you shall have all the results displayed before you. After you decide what you shall fill in the basket you should choose a style and size of the basket. When you make several baskets you should not limit yourself to the same choice for all. The choice for the basket could be personal and also consider what they shall do with it after the contents have been removed.
You have various options and it is not necessary that you stick to baskets because if it is a child you can use a fun lunch box, for a lady cosmetic or handbag would be perfect whereas for a gentleman a metal tin or small travel bag would be great.
With a little thought keeping in mind the interests and likes of the recipient you can easily make a gourmet gift basket really special.
For more information, visit customgiftbasket.info
