Brilliant Food Tips and Cooking Tricks: 5,000 Ingenious Kitchen Hints, Secrets, Shortcuts, and Solutions

Whether you cook a little or a lot, plain or fancy, healthy or hearty, for your family or just for fun, this is the one book that does it all - faster and easier than you ever dreamed. Find out how to choose the juiciest oranges perk up limp asparagus, rescue any over-salted dish, and crack an egg with one hand. Get down-to-earth answers to the cooking questions that you face every day. Or, if you're simple tired of the same old meals night after night, discover hundreds of easy recipes that put great tasting food on your table in a jiffy.

How to Use This Book A good reference book is like a kaleidoscope of information. At every turn, it sparkles with new and interesting perspectives. And, hopefully, it provides some insight that is truly useful. My goal in these pages was to create such a book. Everything here is designed to help you develop a keener sense of food and cooking by revealing the little details that most cookbooks don't tell you. This book shows you how to buy, store, and prepare hundreds of common (and not-so- common) foods; how to fix food that goes kaflooey in the kitchen; how to cook smarter and faster; how to create and balance flavors; and how to cook more healthfully. Step-by-step illustrations demonstrate essential as well as lesser-known techniques such as the best way to crack an egg, how to seed a chile pepper without touching it, and two ways to carve a turkey. There are even tips on how to read a recipe, set up an efficient kitchen, and plan a party. And, of course, the book contains a broad selection of recipes--over 900 in all. The recipes are meant to address nearly every cooking occasion you may be faced with, from simple breakfasts and weeknight meals to more elaborate holiday meals and special occasions. Each recipe has been developed in a home kitchen and streamlined for home cooks. This book is organized from A to Z. Each entry (Apples, for instance) begins with a brief description followed by tips, recipes, illustrations, and other useful information. The tips within each entry are further organized under five categories: Basics, Prob- lem Solvers, Time Savers, Flavor Tips, and Healthy Hints. All entries are alphabetized by letter rather than by word. This means that if a space occurs between two words in an entry, it is alphabetized as if there were no space. For example, Cake Pans appear before Cakes. If you don't find what you're looking for, check the index. The information you're after may be in another entry. For instance, a tip on how much acid to add to a marinade is listed under Marinades rather than under Acidity. Likewise, the index is the best place to search for recipes because not every recipe will appear under its likely entry. Simple Red Pepper Sauce, for example, appears under Peppers, Sweet rather than under Sauces. Most of this book's recipes appear in a shorthand paragraph form, in which the ingredients and directions are mixed together, and the ingredients appear in boldface type for easy reference. Notice that a few dozen recipes do appear in a more traditional recipe format with an ingredient list followed by a set of cooking directions. These recipes have been given special treatment because they demonstrate the book's most practical tips. I've found that knowing your way around a kitchen comes mostly with practice. But good guidance helps. My hope is that these recipes and tips will make your life in the kitchen easier and more enjoyable; and that the little-known food facts will delight and surprise you along the way.

A Acidity Acidity in food imparts a sour (tart) taste on the tongue that is one of the four basic flavors. The most common forms are citrus juice, vinegar, wine, and tomatoes. Acidic ingredients (yogurt and buttermilk included) also affect the texture, color, and shelf life of foods. A bit of acid can make a pie crust more tender, stabilize whipped egg whites, and bring a shine to copper cookware. Basics To make acidulated water . For each quart (4 cups) of cold water, add 4 tablespoons lemon juice. Or add a different acidic ingredient, such as 2 teaspoons vinegar or 1/2 cup white wine. Problem Solver To prevent discoloration of low-acid foods . Toss the cut food with lemon juice or vinegar. This method will keep cut apples, potatoes, bananas, and other low-acid foods from turning brown. Or place the cut food in acidulated water until needed. Flavor Tips To enhance flavors . A bit of citrus juice or vinegar enhances the flavors of fruits, vegetables, poultry, and seafood by complementing natural sweetness. To decrease acidity . Add a sweet ingredient such as sugar, honey, or syrup. Start with a ratio of 1 part sweetener to 3 parts acidic ingredient (say, 1 teaspoon sugar to 1 tablespoon lemon juice). Increase the ratio as desired. Equal amounts give a pleasant sweet-and-sour flavor. Alcohol see also Beer; Flambé; Sherry; Wine An important ingredient in many recipes, alcohol adds flavor to sauces, soups, marinades, and even ice cream. When heated, some but not all of the alcohol evaporates. Basics To select . Match the type of alcohol to the food. For instance, flavor a raspberry sorbet with raspberry liqueur. There is no reason to use very expensive spirits for cooking, but keep in mind that if it's not worth drinking, it's not worth cooking with either. Avoid products labeled "cooking wine." These often contain salt, are of poor quality, and taste awful. To cook with alcohol . Be careful not to add too much. Many alcohol spirits have strong flavors that can easily overpower a dish. Begin by adding just a teaspoon or tablespoon, then taste the dish and add more if desired. To safely add alcohol to a hot pan . Remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour in the alcohol, swirling the pan to help keep the alcohol from heating too quickly. Return the pan to low heat and continue cooking as necessary. To give frozen desserts a smooth, creamy texture . Add 1 to 2 teaspoons alcohol to the base. Alcohol prevents ice crystals from forming, which helps keep frozen desserts creamy. But be careful. Too much alcohol will prevent your dessert from freezing at all, and you may end up with something best enjoyed with a straw rather than with a spoon. To boil off alcohol . Remove a hot skillet from the heat and add 1/2 to 1 cup liquor, wine, liqueur, or beer. Let the liquid in the pan boil until the vapors do not sting the inside of your nose when inhaled, about 1 minute for liquor, wine, or liqueur and 30 seconds for beer. Al Dente This Italian term translates to "to the tooth" and is used to describe the preferred texture for cooked pasta and some vegetables. Basics To check for al dente texture . Take a bite and look at the center of the food. Pasta should be completely cooked through with no white core but should still offer a bit of resistance. Vegetables should be tender yet crisp. Anchovies; Anchovy Paste These tiny, bold-flavored fish are most often available in their preserved form in tins. Anchovy paste is available in tubes. Basics To select . Go for whole anchovies packed in salt. They have the best flavor and are usually bigger and meatier than oil-packed anchovies. If you can't find salt-packed anchovies, glass jars of oil-packed fillets are the next best choice. Choose the jar with the meatiest fillets. Tins of oil- packed anchovies, which don't allow you to see what you're buying, are a poor third choice. Finally, buy anchovy paste only as a last resort for convenience. Anchovy paste is essentially the leftovers of the anchovy production plant packed into tubes. To store . After opening, transfer any unused anchovies to a container, cover with at least 1" of olive oil, seal the container, and refrigerate for up to 1 year. To fillet whole, salt-packed anchovies . Rinse off the salt with cold water. Working over a colander in the sink under slow running water, hold the fish belly-up and run a finger from the head down through the tail to separate the fillets and expose the backbone. Lift the backbone away from the fillet and discard. Soak the fillets in cold water for 20 to 30 minutes to reduce saltiness. Dry on paper towels before using or storing. Store as you would unfilleted anchovies. To cook . Keep the heat low and cook anchovies slowly, so that they dissolve gradually. Avoid high heat, which hardens anchovies and gives them a harsh, bitter flavor. Time Saver To replace anchovies . For pure convenience, substitute anchovy paste for mashed anchovies. It saves mashing time and cleanup. Use 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste in place of each anchovy fillet. Refrigerate unused anchovy paste in its tube for up to 6 months. For a vegetarian substitute, use 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce or vegetarian Worcestershire sauce mixed with 1/2 teaspoon dried dulse sea vegetable flakes (see page 456) in place of each anchovy fillet.

Quick Anchovy Sauce Combine 2 ounces anchovy paste, 5 tablespoons olive oil, and 4 minced garlic cloves. Use as a sauce for 1 £d pasta, 2 £ds potatoes, or 3 cups cooked rice. Also adds a quick flavor shot to fish soups, salad dressings, and pan sauces. Makes about 1/2 cup. Angel Food Cake A type of sponge cake, angel food cake requires no other leavening than egg whites. It also contains no butter and no egg yolks, so it is extremely low in fat. Problem Solvers To invert the pan during cooling . Place the pan tube over the neck of a tall, sturdy bottle. Or prop the pan edges on 4 cans of equal height. To slice easily . Freeze the cake, then thaw before cutting. To use leftover egg yolks . Hard-cook the yolks in a microwave oven, then press through a sieve. Use in a salad or as a garnish. (To hard-cook 3 to 4 yolks, stir to blend, loosely cover in an oiled, microwaveable bowl, and cook on medium power for 60 seconds.) Or, if you're really ambitious, use leftover yolks to make Classic Hollandaise Sauce (see page 439). Appetizers Meant to stimulate the palate, appetizers differ from hors d'oeuvres in only one respect: They may be served with utensils, whereas hors d'oeuvres are usually served as finger food. (See page 6 for a party's worth of easy appetizers.) Apples see also Pies New York might be the Big Apple, but Washington State is the largest apple- producing state in America. The apple itself is native to central Asia. Basics To select . The flesh should be firm; the skin should be smooth, tight, and free of blemishes and bruises; and the scent should be full and fresh. Don't judge an apple by its looks alone; the best tasting are often not the most beautiful. To tell when an apple is ready to eat . As an apple ripens, its texture, color, flavor, and aroma all change. The flesh softens slightly, the color deepens, the sweetness intensifies, and the acidity drops as the aroma becomes stronger. To store . Store unripe apples at room temperature until they are ready to eat. Keep apples that are ready to eat in the refrigerator. To make apples last as long as possible, store them so that they aren't touching each other. Keep apples away from strong-smelling foods such as onions, as apples easily absorb odors. To peel . Use a vegetable peeler (a knife takes too much of the fruit with the peel). Remove the stem. Hold the peeler at the stem end and begin turning the apple into the blade of the peeler. Angle the peeler at about 60 degrees so that each rotation moves you farther along the circumference of the apple, resulting in a spiral of apple peel. With practice, you should be able to peel an apple in about 20 seconds. To core and keep whole . Use an apple corer made especially for the job. If you don't have a corer, carefully push a small paring knife down through the top of the apple just off-center from the core, and cut around the core. To core for baked apples . Hollow out the core using a melon baller, without going all the way through the bottom. To preserve . Peel, core, and cut the apples into wedges. Toss in lemon juice, then sugar. Spread on a baking sheet and freeze until firm. Transfer to a zipper-lock freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 months. Problem Solvers To keep cut apples from turning brown . Drop the fruit into a bowl of acidulated water (see page 2).Or toss the fruit with lemon juice or orange juice. If the sliced apples are to be baked, such as in a crisp or a pie, the browning reaction will be reversed as the apples cook, so no such precautions are necessary. To revive slightly overripe apples . Chop them, immerse them in apple cider or apple juice, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Or peel and cut the apple and add as is to muffin or pancake batter, where a softer texture is preferred.

Caramelized Apple Wedges Core 1 overripe apple (peel if desired), slice into very thin wedges, and place wedges on a foil-lined baking sheet. Brush with 1 tablespoon melted butter, or dot with butter pieces. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon brown sugar or maple syrup and a pinch of ground cinnamon. Broil until rich golden brown and caramelized, about 3 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream for a simple dessert. Makes 1/2 cup. Fascinating Fact: A bruise on an apple is no different from the browning that occurs when a sliced apple is exposed to air. In both cases, phenolic com£ds and enzymes in the apple's cells react with air, turning the apple brown. In the case of bruising, however, the skin is not broken. It is the air pockets within the apple itself that are reacting with the damaged cells. Either way, the browned part is safe to eat. Time Savers To core quickly . Slice the apple in half from top to bottom. Scoop out the core with a melon baller. Or, if the shape of the final apple slices is not important, use a paring knife to make two deep cuts angled inward--one along each side of the core on each apple half. This cuts out the core in a V shape. To peel and core large amounts quickly . Use a peeling-coring-slicing machine. These nifty contraptions attach to the edge of a countertop and cut prep time almost in half.