December « 2009 « Daily Cooking Recipes

December 18, 2009

Cooking Recipes – Healthy Eating

Filed under: Helpful Tips — Tags: Diet (nutrition), Dietary fiber, Health, Nutrients, Nutrition, Shopping, Whole grain, Whole Grain Stamp — Chef @ 1:26 pm

Healthy Eating – Tips for a Healthy Diet and Better Nutrition

Healthy eating is not about strict nutrition philosophies, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more energy, and keeping yourself as healthy as possible – all which can be achieved by learning some nutrition basics and incorporating them in a way that works for you.

Choose the types of foods that improve your health and avoid the types of foods that raise your risk for such illnesses as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Expand your range of healthy choices to include a wide variety of delicious foods. Learn to use guidelines and tips for creating and maintaining a satisfying, healthy diet.

Here are some tips for how to choose foods that improve your health and avoid foods that raise your risk for illnesses while creating a diet plan that works for you.

Eat enough calories but not too many. Maintain a balance between your calorie intake and calorie expenditure—that is, don’t eat more food than your body uses. The average recommended daily allowance is 2,000 calories, but this depends on your age, sex, height, weight, and physical activity.

Eat a wide variety of foods. Healthy eating is an opportunity to expand your range of choices by trying foods—especially vegetables, whole grains, or fruits—that you don’t normally eat.

Keep portions moderate, especially high-calorie foods. In recent years serving sizes have ballooned, particularly in restaurants. Choose a starter instead of an entrée, split a dish with a friend, and don’t order supersized anything.

Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes—foods high in complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, low in fat, and free of cholesterol. Try to get fresh, local produce

Drink more water. Our bodies are about 75% water. It is a vital part of a healthy diet. Water helps flush our systems, especially the kidneys and bladder, of waste products and toxins. A majority of Americans go through life dehydrated.

Limit sugary foods, salt, and refined-grain products. Sugar is added to a vast array of foods. In a year, just one daily 12-ounce can of soda (160 calories) can increase your weight by 16 pounds. See suggestions below for limiting salt and substituting whole grains for refined grains.

Don’t be the food police. You can enjoy your favorite sweets and fried foods in moderation, as long as they are an occasional part of your overall healthy diet. Food is a great source of pleasure, and pleasure is good for the heart – even if those French fries aren’t!

Get moving. A healthy diet improves your energy and feelings of well-being while reducing your risk of many diseases. Adding regular physical activity and exercise will make any healthy eating plan work even better.

One step at a time. Establishing new food habits is much easier if you focus on and take action on one food group or food fact at a time

Healthy eating begins with learning how to “eat smart”. It’s not just what you eat, but how you eat. Paying attention to what you eat and choosing foods that are both nourishing and enjoyable helps support an overall healthy diet.

1) Take time to chew your food: Chew your food slowly, savoring every bite. We tend to rush though our meals, forgetting to actually taste the flavors and feel the textures of what is in our mouths. Reconnect with the joy of eating.
2) Avoid stress while eating: When we are stressed, our digestion can be compromised, causing problems like colitis and heartburn. Avoid eating while working, driving, arguing, or watching TV (especially disturbing programs or the news). Try taking some deep breaths prior to beginning your meal, or light candles and play soothing music to create a relaxing atmosphere.
3) Listen to your body: Ask yourself if you are really hungry. You may really be thirsty, so try drinking a glass of water first. During a meal, stop eating before you feel full. It actually takes a few minutes for your brain to tell your body that it has had enough food, so eat slowly. Eating just enough to satisfy your hunger will help you remain alert, relaxed and feeling your best, rather than stuffing yourself into a “food coma”!
4) Eat early, eat often: Starting your day with a healthy breakfast can jumpstart your metabolism, and eating the majority of your daily caloric allotment early in the day gives your body time to work those calories off. Also, eating small, healthy meals throughout the day, rather than the standard three large meals, can help keep your metabolism going and ward off snack attacks.

Despite what certain fad diets would have you believe, we all need a balance of carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, and minerals to sustain a healthy body. But what exactly does that mean? What are good carb, protein, and fat choices for developing your own healthy eating plan? Below you will find more details on each of these topics.

Carbohydrates – food composed of some combination of starches, sugar and fiber – provide the body with fuel it needs for physical activity by breaking down into glucose, a type of sugar our cells use as a universal energy source.
1) Bad carbs are foods that have been “stripped” of all bran, fiber, and nutrients. They have been processed in order to make cooking fast and easy. Examples are white flour, refined sugar, and white rice. They digest so quickly that they cause dramatic elevations in blood sugar, which over time can lead to weight gain, hypoglycemia or even diabetes.
2) Good carbs are digested more slowly. This keeps your blood sugar and insulin levels from rising and falling too quickly, helping you get full quicker and feel fuller longer. Good sources of carbs include whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables, which also offer lots of additional health benefits, including heart disease and cancer prevention.

Whole GrainsIn addition to being delicious and satisfying, whole grains are rich in phytochemicals and antioxidants, which help to protect against coronary heart disease, certain cancers, and diabetes. Studies have shown people who eat more whole grains tend to have a healthier heart. Make whole grains an important part of every meal.

Make sure you’re really getting whole grains. Focus on including grains that are in their whole form, such as whole grain brown rice, millet, quinoa, and barley in your meals. When you want to eat healthy grains in the form of breads or cereals be aware that the words stone-ground, multi-grain, 100% wheat, or bran, don’t necessarily mean that a product is whole grain. Look for the new Whole Grain Stamp from the Whole Grains Council. If there is no stamp look for the words “whole grain” or “100% whole wheat,” and check the ingredients to make sure each grain listed is specified as whole grain. Some good sources are dark breads and toasted wheat cereals.

Avoid: Refined grains such as breads, pastas, and breakfast cereals that are not whole grain.

Dietary fiber is found in plant foods (fruit, vegetables and whole grains) and is essential for maintaining a healthy digestive system. Fiber helps support a healthy diet by:
1) Helping you feel fuller faster and longer, which can help prevent overeating.
2) Keeping blood sugar levels even, by slowing digestion and absorption so that glucose (sugar) enters the bloodstream slowly and steadily.
3) Maintaining a healthy colon – the simple organic acids produced when fiber is broken down in the digestive process helps to nourish the lining of the colon.

The two types of fiber are soluble and insoluble:
1) Soluble fiber can dissolve in water and can also help to lower blood fats and maintain blood sugar. Primary sources are beans, fruit and oat products.
2) Insoluble fiber cannot dissolve in water, so it passes directly through the digestive system. It’s found in whole grain products and vegetables.

A healthy diet should contain approximately 20 to 30 grams of fiber a day, but most of us only get about half of that amount.
Vegetables and Fruits: Vitamin, antioxidant and fiber powerhouses

Vegetables and FruitsFruits and vegetables are low in calories and are packed with vitamins, minerals, protective plant compounds and fiber. They are a great source of nutrients and vital for a healthy diet.

Fruits and vegetables should be part of every meal, and be your first choice for a snack. Eat a minimum of five portions each day. The antioxidants and other nutrients in these foods help protect against developing certain types of cancer and other diseases.

Greens: Dark leafy green vegetables are a vital part of a healthy diet since they are packed with nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc, and Vitamins A, C, E and K. Greens help to strengthen the blood and respiratory systems. They are currently the most lacking food in the American diet. Be adventurous in your choice of greens: kale, mustard greens, broccoli, Chinese cabbage are just a few of the many options.

Sweet Vegetables: Naturally sweet vegetables are an excellent way to add healthy sweetness to your meals and reduce your cravings for other sweets. Some examples of sweet vegetables are corn, carrots, beets, sweet potatoes or yams, winter squash, and onions.

Fruit: Eating a wide variety of fruit is another very healthy part of any diet. They provide us with beneficial properties such as natural sugars, fiber, Vitamins and antioxidants. Choose fresh or frozen, and focus on variety. Berries are cancer-fighting, apples provide fiber, oranges and mangos offer vitamin C, and so on.

Go for the brights: The brighter, deeper colored fruits and vegetables contain higher concentrations of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Avoid: Fruit juices can contain up to 10 teaspoons of sugar per cup; avoid or dilute with water. Canned fruit often contains sugary syrup, and dried fruit, while an excellent source of fiber, can be high in calories. Avoid fried veggies or ones smothered in dressings or sauces – you may still get the vitamins, but you’ll be getting a lot of unhealthy fat and extra calories as well.
Support your health and the environment by eating locally-grown food

Eating fresh food is an important part of a healthy diet. It has become standard practice for fruits and vegetables to be shipped across the country or even across the world before they arrive on our supermarket shelves. Locally-grown food is fresher than what you’ll find in the supermarket, which means that is tastier and more nutritious. And since the food travels a shorter distance to get to you, it is better for the environment and helps us reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Following are some ideas on easy ways to increase your consumption of fresh local foods.

1) Visit a local farmer’s market. Farmer’s markets are springing up all over the U.S. They usually offer a wide variety of products such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, baked goods, eggs, and meat. Small farmers care about their land and the health of their farms, so even if they are not “certified organic” the food they produce is of a very high quality.
2) Join a Community Supported Agriculture group (CSA). A CSA is partnership between a local farm and its members who sign up and pay in advance for a box of goods that they will receive on a regular basis (typically once a week). These partnerships help farms receive a better price for their products while giving you a wide variety of fresh local produce.

By supporting your local farmers you are also supporting the local economy. To find local growers, farmer’s markets, and CSAs in your area, visit Local Harvest.
Putting protein into perspective

During digestion, protein in food is broken down into the 20 amino acids that are the basic building blocks our bodies use to create its own protein. Our bodies need protein to maintain our cells, tissues and organs. A lack of protein in our diets can result in slow growth, reduced muscle mass, lower immunity, and weaken the heart and respiratory system. Protein gives us the energy to get up and go –and keep going. Keep in mind that it is vital to eat healthy protein that is free of hormones and antibiotics. Also, the majority of people in the U.S. eat more protein than is necessary. So focus more on getting higher quality versus more quantity. Each person is individual and may need different amounts of protein depending on their body and activity level.
1) A complete protein source is one that provides all of the essential amino acids. Examples are animal-based foods such as meat, poultry, fish, milk, eggs, and cheese.
2) An incomplete protein source is one that is low in one or more of the essential amino acids.
3) Complementary proteins are two or more incomplete protein sources that together provide adequate amounts of all the essential amino acids. For example, rice and dry beans. Similarly, dry beans each are incomplete proteins, but together, these two foods can provide adequate amounts of all the essential amino acids your body needs.
4) Do complementary proteins need to be eaten in the same meal? Research shows that your body can combine complementary proteins that are eaten within the same day.

Nuts, Seeds, Beans, and Tofu: alternative sources for healthy proteins

Nuts, Seeds, Beans, and TofuBeans, nuts, nut butters, peas, and soy products are good sources of protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Many of the foods in this group provide iron, which is better absorbed when a source of vitamin C is consumed with the meal

Choose: Black beans, navy beans, garbanzos, lentils, and other beans. Nuts like almonds, walnuts and pecans. Soy products like tofu, soymilk, tempeh and veggie burgers. All of these are great sources of protein for vegetarians.

Avoid: Salted or sugary nuts; refried beans.
Dairy products and other sources for calcium and vitamin D

Milk and other dairy productsDairy products provide a rich source of calcium, necessary for bone health. Most are fortified with vitamin D, which helps the small intestine absorb calcium. Calcium can also be found in dark green, leafy vegetables, such as kale and collard greens, as well as in dried beans and legumes.

Recommended calcium levels are 1000 mg per day, 1200 mg if you are over 50 years old. Take a vitamin D and calcium supplement if you don’t get enough of these nutrients from your diet.

Choose non-fat or low-fat dairy products that do not contain rBST (bovine growth hormone). If you’re lactose-intolerant, choose lactose-free and lower-lactose products, such as lactose free milk, hard cheeses and yogurt.

Avoid full-fat dairy products or products from cows treated with rBST.
Fats: avoid the bad fats and enjoy the good fats

Fats are another vital part to a healthy diet. Good fats are needed to nourish your brain, heart, nerves, hormones and all your cells, as well as your hair, skin, and nails. Fat also satisfies us and makes us feel full. It’s the type of fat that matters in addition to how much you consume.

1) Saturated fats, primarily found in animal sources including red meat and whole milk dairy products, raise the low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad”) cholesterol that increases your risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Substitute lean meats, skinless poultry, and low-fat or nonfat dairy products, fish and nuts. Other saturated fat sources include vegetable oils such as coconut oil, palm oil and foods made with these oils.
2) Trans fat raises low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad”) cholesterol that increases your risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), as well as lowering HDL, or good cholesterol. Trans fats are created by heating liquid vegetable oils in the presence of hydrogen gas, a process called hydrogenation. Primary sources of trans fat are vegetable shortenings, some margarines, crackers, candies, cookies, snack foods, fried foods, baked goods, and other processed foods made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
3) Monounsaturated fats – People following traditional Mediterranean diets, which are very high in foods containing monounsaturated fats like olive oil, tend to have lower risk of cardiovascular disease, Primary sources are plant oils like canola oil, peanut oil, and olive oil. Other good sources are avocados; nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, and pecans; and seeds such as pumpkin and sesame seeds.
4) Polyunsaturated fats – These includes the Omega-3 and Omega-6 groups of fatty acids which your body can’t make. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in very few foods – primarily cold water fatty fish and fish oils. Foods rich in certain omega-3 fats called EPA and DHA can reduce cardiovascular disease, improve your mood and help prevent dementia. See below for more on Omega-3. Other sources of polyunsaturated fats are sunflower, corn, soybean, and flaxseed oils, and walnuts. It is important to know that these oils become unhealthy when heated due to the formation of free radicals, which can lead to disease.

How much fat is too much? It depends on your lifestyle, your weight, your age and most importantly the state of your health. Focus on including Monounsaturated fats and Polyunsaturated fats in your diet, decreasing Saturated fats, and avoiding Trans fats as much as possible. The USDA recommends that the average individual:

1) Keep total fat intake to 20-35% of calories
2) Limit saturated fats to less than 10% of your calories (200 calories for a 2000 calorie diet)
3) Limit trans fats to 1% of calories (2 grams per day for a 2000 calorie diet)
4) Limit cholesterol to 300 mg per day, less if you have diabetes.

Managing all fats in your diet

Dietary cholesterol is also is a very important form of fat that has its own set of considerations. See Healthy Fats to learn more on managing fats your diet.
Healthy Fats and Oils to support brain and body functions

Healthy Fats and OilsFoods rich in certain omega-3 fats called EPA and DHA can reduce cardiovascular disease, improve your mood and help prevent dementia. The best sources for the EPA and DHA omega-3 fats are fatty fish such salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, and some cold water fish oil supplements. Canned albacore tuna and lake trout can also be good sources depending on how the fish were raised and processed.

1) You may hear a lot about getting your omega-3’s from foods rich in ALA fatty acids. Main sources are vegetable oils and nuts (especially walnuts), flax, soybeans, and tofu. Be aware that our bodies generally convert very little ALA into EPA and DHA, so you may not get as big of a benefit from these foods.
2) Some people avoid seafood because they worry about mercury or other possible toxins. But most experts agree that the benefits of eating 2 servings a week of cold water fatty fish outweigh the risks.

The role of sugar and salt in a healthy diet
Sugary Drinks and Sweets

It is natural to like sweets. And it is okay to enjoy them as an occasional treat, but it is vital to keep consumption to a minimum. Refined sugar is one of the bad carbs mentioned above. Not only does it cause problems with our blood sugar level, but it also uses up stored resources within our body (such as minerals and enzymes) in order to process the sugar. In addition there are many negative health effects that sugar contributes to including: hypoglycemia, suppression of the immune system, arthritis, diabetes, osteoporosis, headaches, and depression.

Choose sweet treats that are home made or have naturally occurring sugar, such as fruits. Try making your favorite dessert with half or one-third less sugar than usual. Make dessert a special event once a week. Many foods have naturally occurring sugars, such as fruits, vegetables, grains and beans. Incorporate naturally sweet foods into your diet to help crowd out unhealthy sweets. Strawberries, apples, sweet potatoes or winter squash are all great options.

Avoid or severely limit sugary drinks – they are an easy way to pack calories and chemicals into your diet without even noticing it. One 12-oz soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar in it! And just because a soda is sugar-free doesn’t make it healthy. Recent studies have shown that the artificial sugar substitutes used in soft drinks may interfere with your body’s natural regulation system and result in your overindulging in other sweet foods and beverages. Try water with a squeeze of lemon or water with a splash of 100% fruit juice.
Salt

Once again the problem with salt comes with the over-use and over consumption of processed salt most commonly used. It is best to limit sodium to 2,300 mg per day – the equivalent to one teaspoon of salt. Most of the salt in our diets comes from processed, packaged, restaurant, and fast food. Processed foods like canned soups or frozen meals can contain hidden sodium that can quickly surpass this recommended amount. Many of us are unaware of how much sodium we are consuming in one day.

Salt itself is not bad. A high quality sea salt can have up to 90 minerals, which are healthy for our body. Look for sea salt that has a reddish or brownish tint, has no coloring, additives, chemicals and has not been bleached.

Comments (1)

Eggs Cooking Recipes

Filed under: Eggs — Tags: Baking, egg substitute, Eggs, Food, Lecithin, Tofu, Xanthan gum — Chef @ 1:25 pm

Eggs are frequently in a wide variety of recipes. In addition delicious, eggs provide protein, vitamin A, riboflavin, and other vitamins and reserves, where the yolk contains all the fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol in an egg. Eggs are an brilliant source of high-quality protein and are far less expensive than nearly all other animal-protein foods.

An egg can be cooking in many methods – boiled eggs, poached eggs, fried eggs, and scrambled eggs – and is also used as an ingredient in making, batters and cakes, etc.

Bird eggs are a common food and one of the most versatile ingredients used in cooking. They are important in many branches of the modern food industry. The most commonly used bird eggs are those from the chicken. Duck and goose eggs, and smaller eggs such as quail eggs are occasionally used as a gourmet ingredient, as are the largest bird eggs, from ostriches. Gull eggs are considered a delicacy in Great Britian, as well as in some Scandinavian countries, particularly in Norway.

For those who do not consume eggs, alternatives used in baking include other rising agents or binding materials, such as ground flax seeds or potato flour. Tofu can also act as a partial binding agent, since it is high in lecithin due to its soy content. Applesauce can be used, as well as arrowroot and banana. Extracted soybean lecithin, in turn, is often used in packaged foods as an inexpensive substitute for egg-derived lecithin.

Other egg substitutes are made from just the white of the egg for those who worry about the high cholesterol and fat content in eggs. These products usually have added vitamins and minerals as well as vegetable-based emulsifiers and thickeners such as xanthan gum or guar gum. These allow the product to maintain the nutrition and several culinary properties of real eggs, making possible foods like Hollandaise sauce, custard, mayonnaise, and most baked goods with these substitutes.

Comments Off

How to Cook a Delicious Pasta

Filed under: How To Cook — Tags: Italian, Italy, Pasta, Spinach, Tomatoes, Vegetarian — Chef @ 1:21 pm

Important Rule: Pasta should be prepared just before serving it.

Use a Large Pot:

To cook pasta properly, pasta needs a lot of water. A too-small pot and too little water encourages the pasta to clump and stick together, thus cooking unevenly.
For a pound (16 ounces) of pasta, you will want a pot that holds at least 5 or 6 quarts of water.

Use only COLD Water:
Fill that big pot 3/4 full of COLD water or use at least one quart of cold water for every four ounces of dry pasta.
The reason for this is that hot water will dissolve anything – including contaminants like lead – much more easily than cold water and if that water encounters something like an older leaded pipe or some rust before coming out in your kitchen sink, it could very well end up in your glass. The most common problem is water that has been sitting in your home pipes for over 6 hours.

Bring the pot of cold water to a fast boil:
Covering the pot of cold water with a lid will help bring the water to a boil faster.

Add Salt:
Salting the water makes pasta taste better by bringing out the natural flavor of the pasta. This does not increase the sodium level of your recipes. NOTE: I always use kosher (coarse) salt.
Do not add your salt until the water has come to a full boil. There are two reasons for this:

1. First, unsalted water has a lower boiling point than salted water, so it will come to a boil a few seconds faster.

2. Second and more important, salt dissolves faster in hot water. Un-dissolved salt crystals in cold water can mar the surface of your stainless-steel pots with small white dots or pits.

Add plenty of salt, about 2 tablespoons of kosher salt per pound of pasta. This may seem like a lot, but it is necessary for getting the pasta properly seasoned. Plus, most of the salt drains off with the water. NOTE: If you taste the salted water, it should resemble “sea water.”

If you are on a sodium restricted diet, please follow your doctor’s orders.

Bring your water, with the added salt, back to a full boil:
Explanation or Science of Boiling Water: Pasta added to water before it starts to boil gets a heat start on mushiness. Pasta quickly begins to break down in tepid water as the starch dissolves. You need the intense heat of boiling water to “set” the outside of the pasta, which prevents the pasta from sticking together. That’s why the fast boil is so important; the water temperature drops when you add the pasta, but if you have a fast boil, the water will still be hot enough for the pasta to cook properly.

Adding the dried pasta:

Add the pasta, all at once, to the boiling salted water, and keep the heat high to bring the water back to the boil as quickly as possible. NOTE: Never mix pasta types in one pot.
To keep pasta from sticking together, gently stir the pasta in the water during the first 1 to 2 minutes of cooking.
Cook the pasta, uncovered, at a fast boil. NOTE: Once you have added your pasta, do not cover the pot with a lid. You can regulate the heat so the pasta/water mixture doesn’t foam up and over the pot sides. Lower it the tiniest bit, and everything should be under control.
DO NOT ADD ANY TYPE OF OIL – Oil will coat the pasta and keep the sauce from adhering. After you add the pasta to the boiling water, stir with a long wooden spoon (stirring prevents pasta from sticking to each other and from sticking to the bottom and the edge of pan). Frequent stirring with a long wooden spoon or fork while the pasta is cooking will help the pasta to cook evenly. Make sure the pieces are moving freely.

Cooking Time:

Don’t rely on the package to give you the correct cooking time
(this is only a guideline). Start timing when the water returns to a boil. Most pastas cook in 8-12 minutes.

Test dry pasta for doneness after about 4 minutes of cooking by tasting it. It is difficult to give exact cooking times since different shapes and thickness of pasta will take less or more time to cook.

Watch the cooking process of the pasta carefully. Pasta can overcook very quickly. Pasta should be tender but still firm when you eat it, what the Italians call “al dente.” To be sure, bite into a piece of the pasta (take a piece of pasta from the pan, cut off a tiny piece, and chew it in your mouth). REMEMBER – Pasta will continue to cook and soften even after it has been taken from the water.

Definition of “al dente” (ahl-DEN-tay): In Italian the phrase means “to the tooth” and is a term used to describe the correct degree of doneness when cooking pasta, risotto, and vegetables. The food should have a slight resistance (chewy) when biting into it, but should not be soft, overdone, or have a hard center.

Fulvia Guyger’s Italian tip for stopping cooking time: Once pasta has reached the “al dente” stage, immediately turn off your gas heat or remove the pot from the heat if using electric heat. Add approximately 1/2 to 1 cup COLD water to the hot water with the pasta. This will immediately lower the temperature of the water and stop the cooking.

Cooking Pasta For Baked Dishes: Because the pasta is cooked twice (boiled first and then combined with other ingredients and cooked in the oven), pasta in baked dishes should boil less time than normal. Boil until just flexible but still quite firm (usually about a 1/3 of the normal cooking time). To test, cut into a piece.

Drain immediately:
Drain immediately into a large colander standing in the sink, and then pick up the colander with its contents and shake it well to remove excess water.

Do NOT rinse unless the recipe says to do so. the starch that makes the pasta stick to itself also helps the sauce stick to the pasta. If you’re going to toss the pasta with the sauce immediately, sticking shouldn’t be a problem.

Never, Never Over Drain Pasta:

EXCEPTION: Except when saucing with thin or brothy sauces such as fresh tomato or seafood, pasta needs to be moist to combine well. As soon as it is drained, remove it from the colander and place it either back in the cooking pan to keep warm to toss it with the sauce, or place it in a preheated serving dish or individual preheated serving bowls. Once the pasta is in the pan or bowl, use a fork and spoon and quickly toss it with the sauce.

Do NOT Rinse Pasta:

EXCEPTION: Do rinse the wide pasta, such as lasagna noodles. If you don’t, you will have a hard time separating the noodles without tearing them.

Also rinse when making a cold pasta salad. The thin coat of starch on the pasta will be sticky when cold.

Comments (3)

The Best Way to Cook Delicious Steak

Filed under: How To Cook — Tags: Beef, Grade, Grilling, Meat, Mignon, steak, United States — Chef @ 1:20 pm

The following tips help you understand how to practice and cook meat to perfection.

A excessive steak starts with a part of the pack of meat quality. The trouble meant for many beginners at what time they grow to the supermarket before neighboring butcher is the perfectly span of meat is bad. In attendance are a variety of meat and span can transpire confusing.

At what time you set the meat taking part in the microwave thawing and sensation force ruin the meat. Microwave meat is on no account a satisfactory opinion, please design in front and constantly give rise to meat roughly speaking 24 hours beforehand consumption. This way, you know with the purpose of icing with no angles, and can transpire cooked accordingly.

Grilling on the appropriate heat ensures even cooking; average is by and large recommended. If the heat is too above what is usual, beef can scorch and grow to be overcooked on the outside beforehand the inside reaches the desired doneness. Charring beef is not recommended.

Taking part in universal, in attendance are three assorted categories of beef taking part in the United States: In the beginning Grade, span and decide on Grade Grade. Prime is the top of the rating balance and no more than a very trivial percentage of beef produced taking part in this voters. The quality of beef is frequently reticent meant for span and decide on grades are networks with the purpose of are on hand to consumers at present taking part in supermarkets and butchers. So at what time you grow to the butcher before supermarket, transpire for sure to decide on the finest quality you can bargain. If veto label on the package, transpire for sure to ask meant for help.

Beforehand the fire, if the holes taking part in the make contacts underneath sweeping. Meant for added fire, exercise of above what is usual quality coal. To determine the come to of briquettes wanted, broaden a layer of brick on the fire, the performance shelve delay to individual before two inches clear of the area of food are covered taking part in grilled dishes. Followed by, place the briquettes taking part in a pyramid. Add lighter fluid and light carefully. Taking part in roughly speaking 30 minutes, the coal ash be supposed to transpire covered. Carefully broaden taking part in individual layer with a long-handled pincers and cooking up the make contacts.

Style for sure the cook on a spit is not activated until the departure, followed by place the meat without delay on the quiz. Close the lid and cook the meat meant for a while. Veto need to disquiet roughly speaking the burn, the top might stop off the flames. Cook two steaks 1 edge your way thick, veto added than 6 minutes for each boundary. Meant for steaks 2 inches thick, try 8 minutes on each one boundary. If you stick to these orders and leave the lid of the quiz start smoking at what time it is phase to veer the meat. We indicate you and contract a timer and exercise it.

The finest way to determine doneness of meat and burgers is to exercise a thermometer time read. It is recorded taking part in seconds, but if round defiant not transpire dowry taking part in foods for the period of cooking. Addition the thermometer horizontally into core of steaks and burgers to check inner heat.

In attendance are on hand a variety of assorted cuts of at present and can transpire very confusing. The finest cuts meant for grilling taking part in my outlook, the Rib-eye, T-Bone, Porterhouse, inexperienced York Strip & Sirloin. In attendance are, of line, cuts with the purpose of award a remaining clean Mignon and Chateaubriand. These reductions are highly finely tuned, but contain very petite fat and not very tasty. I propose to stay away from these cuts meant for the quiz. Meat probably contains when much fat taking part in the arrange, but it is certainly individual of the nearly all appetizing cuts.

Comments (1)

Three Popular Cooking Methods To Cook Turkey

Filed under: How To Cook — Tags: Meat, Oven, Poultry, Roasting, Techniques, Turkey — Chef @ 1:19 pm

Prepare to gain knowledge of supplementary approaching
to how to cook a turkey?

Three Methods in favor of Cooking a damp turkey

1. Roasting

The a large amount traditional method in favor of how to cook a turkey is roasting. The middling recipe calls in favor of an oven hotness of 325 degrees. To groom a turkey in favor of roasting you choose to dip it painstakingly, season it inside and made known with flavors your private enjoys, in that case leave it happening a roasting pan with run happening the floor. The run keeps the drippings from burning (you’ll choose persons in favor of gravy).

Loosely cover the turkey with aluminum foil. In favor of each four pounds of unstuffed turkey you’ll need with reference to single hour cooking while. If you take part in a kitchen thermometer, place it happening the thickest part of the turkey breast. The meat needs to take place 165 degrees to take place safe in favor of consumption. Additionally, experts advocate with the intention of you keep the stuffing outside the bird (mix and leave happening an oven confirmation container, placed happening the oven with reference to 1 hour previous to the turkey is done). This is as well a satisfactory second to remove the aluminum foil so you acquire a careful crispy skin.

At the end of the day, the pitch to a satisfactory heat turkey is resting while. As soon as you influence the turkey made known of the oven consent to it sit indifferent in favor of with reference to 20-30 minutes previous to carving. This keeps the turkey damp.

2. Oven-Bag Roasted turkey

Happening deciding how to cook a turkey, turkey oven bags are a huge alternative to traditional roasting. Supermarkets convey plastic cooking bags safe in favor of oven make use of. The hotness in favor of your oven is straight away 350 degrees F. Suggestion with the intention of your baking pan obligation contain the bird and the cooking bag completely – the bag expands for the duration of cooking and if it touches in the least part of the oven it want melt.

Equally with a heat turkey you must season your bird previous to introduction it happening the bag. Consider addition round about onions, a peeled orange and other tangy aromatics to the cavity of the turkey to undertake it even other spice up from inside made known. Cook according to the information on the cooking bag packaging.

The alternative to the oven bag is a satisfactory quality plastic wrap. You can pre-marinate the turkey, brine it, leave butter and seasonings under the skin and/or season it in that case wrap the bird happening plastic wrap. Check on with aluminum foil completely casing the bird.

Straight away you can cook the turkey single of two ways. Point the oven up to with reference to 375 if you choose a steamed turkey otherwise you can point the hotness down to 250 degrees and long-drawn-out cook the turkey (about 2 hours for every four pounds of totality bird). Happening either casing, you can remove the wrappings on your turkey 30 minutes previous to serving if you choose crispy skin. If using the slow-cook method point up the reheat to 375 in favor of with the intention of keep on amount of cooking while.

3. Oven Braising

Oven braising is akin to using an oven bag otherwise wrap happening with the intention of you’re steaming the turkey. Your oven must take place preheated to with reference to 340 degrees. Place the turkey happening a covered roaster (stuff the bird with vegetables otherwise aromatics equally with method 2). The while vital in favor of cooking is akin to traditional roasting.

Here are certainly many other options equally to how to cook a turkey. These options include deep frying, grilling / rotisserie flair turkey, marinated otherwise brined, and smoked turkey. Every single creates a faintly dissimilar spice up profile and humidity level so a destiny depends on private tastes. Carry out trial right through the time in that case make use of your favorite method happen blessing (or Christmas, otherwise… At whatever time!).

Comments Off

Beginners Cooking Tips

Filed under: How To Cook — Tags: Adam Kuban, Baking and Confections, bread, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, Metric system, Pizza — Chef @ 1:17 pm

About Recipes
Recipes are cooking instructions that should be used as guides for making a specific dish. Most recipes can be made better by using your own imagination to make the dish more closely match your individual taste. If you like spicy and the recipe calls for one teaspoon of crushed red peppers, go ahead and put in two if you want. Just remember to taste as you go.

All that being said, be aware that some recipes should be followed precisely for safety. Specifically, any preserving or pickling recipes should be followed, as far as the proportions of vinegar, salt and water. Altering proportions in these recipes could lead to unhealthy food spoilage. That said, as far as that lasagna recipe you want to make, feel free to add more cheese if you like.Cooking Tips for Beginners encourages you to experiment and have fun in the kitchen.

What’s Not in the Recipe
The recipe can provide the ingredients but the cook has to provide the skill of putting it together. As you learn to cook be aware of the “look and feel” of food. For example, when making mashed potatoes, the amount of liquid added will determine if the final dish is thick, thin, smooth or soupy. Although the recipe may call for one cup of milk, you may need more or less than one cup. It depends on how you like your mashed potatoes. So how do you get what you like? By look and feel! You must learn to observe and feel the consistency of your food to ensure you get the desired final outcome.

Any recipe that calls for making a batter or dough can be altered dramatically by the consistency of the batter or dough. Cakes, biscuits, pancakes, waffles and breads, for example, all require preparing a batter or dough. With experience you will learn the look of the batter that results in what you like. You will then make the proper batter by the addition of liquid according to the “look and feel” of the batter.

Safety in the Kitchen
The kitchen is where more accidents happen than any other room in your house (possible second to the bathroom).
Read more…

Seasoning Tips
Salt is undoubtedly the world’s all time favorite seasoning. It was considered so valuable in some societies that it was used as money. Today we know that too much salt can lead to health problems in some people, but we still love our salt. As a beginner cook you should learn to use salt to enhance a bland tasting dish.

Baking Tips
1) Always pre-heat your oven to the temperature specified in the recipe.
2) Use an oven thermometer to determine the accuracy of the temperature control on your oven. You will only have to do this once. If you set the oven for 400 degrees F. and find that the thermometer shows the oven is actually 415 degrees F., you will know in the future to set the control just slightly below the 400 degree setting when you want 400 degrees.
3) When making biscuits, do not overwork the dough. Just two or three folds is all that is needed. Overworking the dough results in heavy biscuits.
4) Use the cookware specified in the recipe. If it says glass, use glass. If it says cookie sheet, use a cookie sheet. It makes a difference in the final product.
5) When baking breads or any dish calling for baking soda, baking powder or yeast, use measuring cups and spoons to measure accurately. Breads to not take well to eye-ball measurements.
6) Bleached and unbleached flours can be used interchangeably.
7) Baking powder and baking soda are not interchangeable
8) When baking pies or any dish with a crust on top, cover the outer edge of the pie with aluminum foil to prevent burning before the rest of the crust is brown.
9) Invest in a biscuit cutter and rolling pin for smooth edged symmetrical biscuits.

Food Tips
Being a good cook requires good ingredients.
1) Keep cold foods cold and sizzling foods sizzling. Along these lines, place them taking part in appropriate storeroom areas like the refrigerator before the stove.
2) Use a meat thermometer to check the doneness of meat. This will ensure with that the meat is cooked through
3) Separate meat products from other food ingredients and use different utensils and equipment for raw meats.
4) Use up fresh ingredients especially fruits and vegetables. This is as the fresher an ingredient is, the tastier the finished dish will be.

Comments (1)

Ten Cooking Tips for Students

Filed under: How To Cook — Tags: Chats and Forums, Olive oil, Pizza — Chef @ 1:15 pm

In the role of a brand new student, you’re probably living away from back home, and cooking and budgeting used for manually used for the firstly instant. Come again? Sort of things make you need to know, and how can you give somebody no option but to cooking fun?

1. Give somebody no option but to certainly with the purpose of you dine appropriately and contained by your financial plan. While you might happen tempted to live sour takeaways here the firstly month before so, you’ll soon happen living sour toast be as tall as the side of the dub!

2. Mean your meals a week here advance and financial plan accordingly so with the purpose of you don’t need to move shopping several epoch a week. This long for help you save a destiny!

3. Special offers can happen a terrific way to save money on the things with the purpose of you bargain anyway. Don’t happen tempted to bargain things with the purpose of you know you’ll not at all dine, perfectly as they’re substandard. Give somebody no option but to the the majority of your freezer, by selling here bulk and freezing come again? You don’t need promptly. And, you can give somebody no option but to meals before part meals here bulk and freeze come again? You don’t utilization promptly.

4. Utilization fresh food sooner than processed before immediate meals, in the role of it long for happen cheaper, and you’ll know exactly what’s here your meals. Fresh food is better worth, and better used for you too. Why not utilization your neighboring greengrocer before butcher, before visit a neighboring bazaar sooner than being tempted by everything in addition here a supermarket?

5. Carbohydrates are key used for energy, and to keep you feeling packed at some point in the sunlight hours. Feeling fuller used for longer long for prohibit you inadequate to snack. Pasta, rice and potatoes are a terrific basis used for a meal, and are very versatile. Come again? Regarding curries, before lasagnes, in the role of well in the role of spag bol?

6. Protein is and key, so give somebody no option but to certainly with the purpose of you dine adequate of baked beans, chicken, fish and eggs. Pulses are and key used for individuals population who don’t dine meat. Milk is and a high-quality source of protein, so a tumbler of milk is a healthy option next to some instant of the sunlight hours.

7. It’s essential with the purpose of you next to slightest try and acquire your 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a sunlight hours. Having a tumbler of fruit juice, an apple before a banana at some point in the sunlight hours, in the role of well in the role of a healthy eat and dusk meal be supposed to give somebody no option but to this much easier to pull off.

8. Coloring up bearing in mind all meal. Although you might think with the purpose of the bombsite kitchen is found here all student back home, it’s very unhygienic and can head to all sorts of unnecessary illnesses.

9. Acquire a number of recipe books, before contact down a number of of your private favourite recipes. An improvised report bracket can give somebody no option but to sense a recipe easier. It’s much more rapidly to utilization a report before a portion of paper than having to keep running backwards and forwards from the workstation!

10. Having the best cookware is key, and it’s much easier to cook what time you partake of the best size pan, before the best tool used for the trade. If you’re not certainly come again? You need, why not look used for a starter flock with the purpose of long for collapse you come again? You need to acquire happening here the kitchen?

Comments Off

Daily Cooking Recipes Let Me Make Cooking Easy

December 18, 2009