Fresh Ingredients Make a Difference!

The markets around my home will also have fresh cut meats, fish, seafood and veggies. I have impressed more people with my home cooked recipes,....

Fresh Ingredients Make a Difference!

Have you ever had a dish that someone made that was kind of bland or tasted like it came out of a can? Well it probably did! A lot of people will take as many short cuts as possible to make their recipes cook up quickly. We do that so easily because of the way things are sold in the supermarkets these days. You can get just about everything in a can, including tomatoes, potatoes, greens and carrots. You can even get herbs and lettuce in a bag, almost the same as canned, because of preservatives added to keep them as fresh as possible in that bag.

The best place to shop for those fresh ingredients for your special recipes is a farmers market or a whole foods type place. You will find the freshest of ingredients around and lots of them. My favorites are cilantro, chives and dill.

You can usually find fresh ground herbs too, like oregano, thyme, and basil. These can be used in so many Italian recipes and as well as some French recipes. If you make vegetarian recipes, you can really spice them up with fresh herbs and spices.

The markets around my home will also have fresh cut meats, fish, seafood and veggies. I have impressed more people with my home cooked recipes, when I use fresh ingredients. When you are searching the web for special recipes you might want to visit gourmandia.com for a huge selection of recipes to use your fresh bought ingredients. Your friends will think you have gone to school to become a chef, once they taste your home cooked recipes.

By Deb Brown
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

Significant Constituent For Baking

Significant Constituent For Baking--baking powder, soda, cream, sugar, eggs and yeast make up the backbone of baking recipes. Flour provides the form of your baked good...

Significant Constituent For Baking

Baking requires a wide variety of ingredients and asks the chef to use them in many ways. Despite this variety, there are a number of ingredients that will show up consistently from recipe to recipe. A few of these staples of baking are flour, eggs, sugar and yeast. Beyond these regular ingredients, apples, cranberries, lemons, pure vanilla, and chocolate are other ingredients that are used frequently. Each of these foods has specific guidelines for use which make it easier for chefs to use them to their greatest potential.

Flour, baking powder, soda, cream, sugar, eggs and yeast make up the backbone of baking recipes. Flour provides the form of your baked good. The type of flour used will define taste, texture and structure of your final product. The reason this all works is because flour contains protein. When the protein mixes with water and heat it responds chemically and gives your baking project its strength. Baking powder and baking soda works similarly to yeast by providing a leavening force for your dish. The primary difference is that baking powder and soda create a chemical reaction that makes the dough rise, while yeast is a living organism that feeds on the dough which creates the same effect as baking powder and soda. Cream is technically the fat that rises to the top of whole milk. It is often whipped and is used in a variety of ways. In baking, sugar does more then just act as flavoring. It also adds tenderness and texture, among other things, to your final product. Like flour, eggs act as a structural element in baking. Eggs can provide leavening, texture, richness and other various characteristics to your baked good and are often used in the batter. Butter also fits beside these other regular ingredients. Aside from these basic items, a wide variety of fruits and nuts are used regularly while baking.

Apples are used frequently in recipes, but be sure to choose a type of apple that fits the flavor you want in your dish, and make sure that it is properly ripened. Good baking apples are firm, smooth, and will give off a fresh smell. Blueberries are another fruit that is used a lot. Look for blueberries that are firm and plump. It is also important to look for berries that are dark with a white dusting. This dusting is important and naturally generated. This dust is a sure sign of freshness. Be sure to avoid berries that are soft, moldy, or crushed. Cranberries are also a popular choice, but almost never raw. When raw they are extremely tart. These berries should be firm, smooth skinned and a shiny red color. Lemons also consistently used. When choosing lemons, they should be bright yellow without any green spots or blemishes. An important task when using lemons is to wash the outer skin. Insecticides are often used on lemons, and do not go well in your baked good. Be sure to wash the rind thoroughly. Peaches, raspberries, pumpkins, strawberries and rhubarb also find their way into many recipes. These fruits follow similar rules of freshness to the already mentioned ingredients, and should be purchased carefully. Nuts can be found in a wide variety of ways, and are generally pre-packaged in the store. Be sure to look closely at what your recipe is asking for before you begin to search for a product.

Two final popular ingredients are vanilla and chocolate. Pure vanilla is a very expensive spice, but it is worth the money when it comes to making a high quality desert. This spice comes in a few forms, primarily extract, beans or powdered. It can also come mixed with sugar. Chocolate is used in a few forms as well. Most recipes will call for semi-sweet or unsweetened varieties. These two ingredients are used often and should be kept readily in your spice rack.

Many ingredients are used regularly in baking, and having a grasp of how these items are used is important. It is also crucial to recognize the freshness and quality of the products you will use. Having a good grasp of these basic ingredients will ensure a high quality snack for your enjoyment.

By Shanta K Singh
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

3 Steps For Simple Vegetarian Recipes

Vegetarian recipes are easy to find. As a matter of fact, you can have no recipes at all...vegetarian diet without risking health problems.,Majority of veggie cuisines are just simple vegetarian recipes....

3 Steps For Simple Vegetarian Recipes

GriffinFor the newly reformed individuals who are trying to have a healthier lifestyle through vegetarian diet,

Here are some tips for you to follow in looking for simple vegetarian recipes.

1.Vegetarian recipes are easy to find. As a matter of fact, you can have no recipes at all. The main rule on vegan diet is to eliminate meat products in the ingredients. How hard can that be? If you haven't adapted the total vegetarian diet or at least the vegetarian with dairy products diet, then you can first try the vegetarian diet with chicken or fish. Just make sure not to include the skin of the chicken in your recipe. And stick with the breast part only.

2.If you want to follow the total vegetarian diet immediately, then you must visit a dietician to help you out. This is not an option anymore, consulting a doctor here is mandatory. A body that has been eating meat for the longest time cannot immediately switch into a total vegetarian diet without risking health problems. Meat products have their own benefits in the human body. You just can't take vitamins and minerals with vegetables and disregard your protein need. The dietician will help you outline the veggies that will supply protein in your body as substitutes to meat products.

3.Majority of veggie cuisines are just simple vegetarian recipes. The instructions for vegetarian recipes are easy to follow and not complicated at all. In no time, you'll be an expert on preparing simple vegetarian recipes.

As you can see becoming vegetarian can be very simple with some very simple vegetarian recipes. If you want to find even more information about Vegetarian Cooking then you can take a look at this site: http://www.vegetarian-cooking.net You will find plenty of information to help you on your way to a healthy vegetarian diet.

By Sandy
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Thanksgiving Dinner - Stress Free

decide how you want your Thanksgiving dinner to be set-up. Do you want buffet-style? With this set-up you would need a fairly large place to set the food....

Thanksgiving Dinner - Stress Free

Hosting a Thanksgiving dinner can be quite stressful. The holiday season is already upon us and it seems we are busy even before the day gets here. First Thanksgiving, then Christmas, with New Years Day to follow. First, calm down.

Here are some tips to relieve some of the stress so you too can enjoy the day with your guests.

First, decide how you want your Thanksgiving dinner to be set-up. Do you want buffet-style? With this set-up you would need a fairly large place to set the food. Your guest would then serve themselves and sit where you have provided. This is a very casual dinner and works well with a large guest list. Another way to serve your holiday meal would be pot-luck style. This way is much less stressful on the host as each of your guests would be bring a dish and usually a dessert. The host usually provides the main dishes such as the turkey, stuffing and gravy. So a sample way to work this would be to let each guest know what items to bring such as mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, rolls and such. Make sure your specific though so you do not end up having tons of greens beans! And yet another way to serve Thanksgiving dinner would be a more formal dinner setting at the table. This is my favorite and is a more intimate setting. To have a formal setting you would need a large table and smaller guest list. What we do at our home is set up two tables next to each other. One for the adults, and one for the kids. The kids can chat amongst their selves and the adults can visit with each other without everyone being separated. So deciding now what kind of Thanksgiving dinner style you want lets you plan accordingly.

The second thing you should do is start you baking now. Most baked goods freeze quite well. You could make and freeze pies, nut breads, unfrosted cakes and cookies. You can freeze fruit pies uncooked, wrapped in plastic wrap then cover in foil. To bake, place frozen pie in center oven at 375 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours or until bubbly and golden brown. To freeze nut breads, you will need to bake as usual and let cool completely. Wrap cooled bread in freezer bread according to size of loaf. To thaw just place on counter for about an hour, then slice as usual. To freeze unfrosted cakes, cool cake layers completely and wrap separately in parchment paper and then in foil. Let thaw on counter completely before frosting. Cookies freeze very well. Just bake according to recipes and cool completely. Store cookies in freezer bags or freezer containers such as lock-n-locks. Just thaw on counter until ready to display and eat. Doing this now will certainly help take a load off.

Plan your guest list. This may seem simple, but as you think about who you want over at your home, your list can grow to impossible numbers! Do you have a large family? If so, you may not be able to have many friends over. This is where you need to decide who you want to spend the day with. Traditions also play a part in this. Maybe you have the same people year after year, such as Grandma and Grandpa. If so, this will be easy because you already know. Ok, you now have your guest list ready.

Start your grocery shopping early! Don't wait until the week of Thanksgiving to buy what you need. Not only are you risking empty shelves, but it is expensive to buy at the last minute. There are great sales starting around Halloween for baking supplies and such. Stock up now. If stuffing mix is on sale when you are at the market for milk, pick it up. You are going to need it anyway. You can also get cranberries cheap way before the big day. Cranberries freeze well too. As you buy items you know you will need, mark them down so when you get the rest of what you need, you do not over buy items. Turkeys also are on sale sometimes weeks before. You can get great deals like $5 turkeys limit 1. When you see this, go back again and pick up another to freeze!

Plan your cooking day. This will most likely be the day or two before. Decide what you have left to do and prep as much as you can. Mix up the stuffing for the bird and put into bowl and store in fridge. Also, you can make your rolls ahead. Cook up those cranberries. They will be much better the next day anyway after setting. You can also make your molded salads the day before as they also will need setting up. This is when you will defrost all those baked goods you froze the weeks prior to now. So if you need to frost the cake, now is the time. You can also bake up those pies you froze. Doing as much as you can on this day will help you to have more time with friends and family.

And Finally Thanksgiving Day! Your turkey is in the oven. When your guests start to arrive you need to enlist help. You may want to do it all and get all the glory for the hard work you have put in, but it is much better to let others help out and enjoy your day. Delegate tasks such as setting the table, organizing serving dishes and setting out appetizers for your guests to enjoy while the meal is being prepared. Snacking is an important part to hosting a party. This is a must when entertaining. So set out the appetizer trays and mingle with your guests because you have planned for this day and you will now enjoy it too!

A sample Thanksgiving meal menu:

Roasted Turkey with Herbs
Cider Crusted Baked Ham
Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan topping
Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Pan gravy
Cranberries with Grand Marnier Sauce (YUM!)
Molded Raspberry/Cranberry Salad
Homemade Rolls with Honey Butter
Green Bean Casserole (kids love this)
Bread Stuffing with Italian Sausage,Pecans,Raisins and Apples
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Pie
Pecan Pie

Stephanie Maggio is the owner and chef of Maggio's Personal Chef Service. She does full personal cheffing and in-home catering. Stephanie has been cooking for 15 years and is a proud member of the Personal Chef's Network.
By Stephanie Maggio
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

How to Make Boiled Or Steamed Rice the Perfect Way

How to Make Boiled Or Steamed Rice the Perfect Way

Many people have tried their hand at making boiled rice. Steamed rice is pretty simple to make. But it surprises me when someone brings it up in a social conversation, as to how to make rice that wasn't sticky or overcooked or undercooked.

We are aiming to make simply nice, fragrant, separate rice that's perfectly cooked. All you need is rice, water, and a thick heavy-gauge pan with a tight-fitting lid. Try to get a pan with glass lid. That way you don't have to lift the lid off the pan to see how it is doing.

What you need is Basmati Rice - 1 cup and water - 1.5 cups

I personally prefer basmati over long grain rice as I love the taste of basmati, but that is my choice. You can use long grain rice, if you like.

Wash off the starch from the rice by rinsing it with water. Rinse till the water becomes clear. Now soak the rice for 20 minutes. This makes the rice grain softer.

I prefer the thick flat bottomed pans, other pans in my experience make the rice stick to the bottom. Put the rice in the pan, add 1.5 cups of water. Leave it on simmer for 20 minutes, with the glass lid on. Now the important thing is not to remove the lid to have a sneak peek on its progress. If you are using a glass lid pan, then you do not have to keep lifting the lid.

I personally add a pinch of salt, it makes the rice softer and tastier. To make each grain of rice separate, I add a drop of ghee or oil. Also, adding a single clove or a single black cardamom, gives it a heady aroma.

Remember, to present the dish well. Eating is all about how the dish, looks, smells and taste!

Abhishek dabbles in cooking every Sunday and these are some tips learnt from Bed Breakfast Delhi. This Delhi guesthouse is near Delhi Airport Hotels
By Abhishek Arora
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Cooking Copy Cat Restaurant Recipes the Right Way

There are a number of copy cat recipe books available and in fact if you scroll down to the bottom of this article you will see a few recommended resources....

Cooking Copy Cat Restaurant Recipes the Right Way

Who wouldn't like to eat out at their favorite restaurant every single day? I know I would, but for me, and I'm sure most of you, that's just not practical. Restaurant's are simply too expensive, and let's face it... in this economy, who can afford it. There is a very practical solution however and that's cooking your own copycat restaurant recipes at home. Copy Cat restaurant recipes are available in a number of places on the internet and they're a lot easier than you might think to make yourself, regardless of how experienced you are as a cook.

The first step in cooking good copy cat restaurant recipes is finding the right recipe. Many of the recipes you'll be looking for are top secret restaurant recipes and they are often very guarded secrets by the chefs and even corporations that created or own them. There are a number of copy cat recipe books available and in fact if you scroll down to the bottom of this article you will see a few recommended resources. But first you need to know how to cook your copy cat recipes to get them tasting like they do in a restaurant.

Ingredients and equipment make an enormous difference when it comes to making copy cat restaurant recipes at home. Often restaurants don't use the healthiest of ingredients, such as MSG, and high amounts of fat. Here is where you need to make a decision. I of course recommend modifying it to lean healthier, however if you are looking to make an exact recipe clone, this is something you will need to be aware of. The next thing is equipment. A commercial kitchen uses equipment that often gives them a lot more control then the equipment we use at home does. The type of pan you use, whether or not you use an electric stove, a gas flame, or even a wood fire grill, depending on the recipe, are all going to effect your copy cat restaurant recipes a good deal.

By Paul S. Hudson
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

But Why Should Pasta Be Cooked Al Dente?

They know that it 'should be' cooked al dente, ---the pasta into glucose - or lowers the glycemic index of the pasta. Lower glycemic indexes have health benefits according to most studies....

But Why Should Pasta Be Cooked Al Dente?

"With no outlet for my feelings, I stared at the phone in my hand until I remembered the spaghetti. Back in the kitchen, I turned off the gas and poured the contents of the pot into a colander. Thanks to the phone call, the spaghetti was a little softer than al dente, but it had not been dealt a mortal blow. I started eating-and thinking." The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Haruki Murakami

Haruki Murakami's narrator is typical of most non-Italians when it comes to cooking pasta. They know that it 'should be' cooked al dente, but they're not going to lose a lot of sleep over it. Al dente is, according to - amongst other - Lidia Bastianich, the famous Italian media cook in America, one of the most difficult concepts in Italian cooking to get across. It is, though, one of the most fundamental.

Why do we say al dente?

There are a number of theories to this, but the most widely accepted and most sensible is simply that the pasta is tested, to see if it's ready, by biting into it. It should not be uncooked, nor should it be soft - so there should be a slight resistance to the teeth - al dente in Italian.

But why should pasta be cooked al dente?

There are a number of good reasons, apart from simple tradition. Firstly, pasta nearly always interacts with a sauce, and when cooked al dente it 'takes on' the sauce more efficiently.

The second reason, according to generations of Italian grandmothers, is that the pasta is more easily digested when it's cooked al dente. There is a certain amount of truth to this, although it might be better to say that the pasta is better digested when cooked al dente, because in actual fact it slows the breaking down of the carbohydrates in the pasta into glucose - or lowers the glycemic index of the pasta. Lower glycemic indexes have health benefits according to most studies.


Franita C. is an Italian housewife living in Bologna, who is a regular contributor to http://www.italian-regional-recipes.com, an Italian food blog with recipes, tips, notes and articles on great Italian cooking.
By Franita C.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/