Creative Kitchen Tips
Aioli, or garlic mayonnaise, is very popular in France, where it is sometimes referred to as “beurre de Provence”. Spread on a sandwich as you would mayonnaise, use as a dipping sauce for crudités, or serve over cold poached salmon, grilled meats and roasted meats, cold boiled potatoes, or frittatas.
Steamed vegetables are cooked over briskly simmering water in a tightly covered pot. A collapsible metal steaming basket is particularly convenient. Also available are bamboo steamers and large stockpots that come with a perforated steaming insert. When using any of these, be sure that the water does not reach the vegetables. Throughout cooking, keep the heat sufficiently high to generate not only steam but also pressure; steam should spew from beneath the pot lid.
Besides stovetop and microwave methods, rice can also be cooked like pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the rice, and boil until tender. Drain and serve. Electric rice cookers are ingenious devices that make preparing white or brown rice a snap. Most rice cookers have a large cooking chamber (often with a nonstick lining) that rests above an electric heating element. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Do not stir the rice except as directed in recipes. The biggest disaster for rice is constant removal of the lid or stirring during cooking.
You may drop them into boiling water for about 10 seconds, then dry and chill them, after which the skins should slip off easily. Or peel them under running water. To keep the irritants diluted and prevent tears you can chop them in a food processor, but then it, of course, must be cleaned. A skilled wrist and a sharp knife are the best method to prevent tears.
Anchovies are strong-flavored and lean, with soft dark-colored flesh. Canned or salted anchovies should be rinsed and used as a flavoring. White anchovies, cured in vinegar and imported from Spain, are particularly delicate tasting (no need to rinse them). Grilling is typical for whole fresh fish, though broiling may be easier if they are very small. Anchovies are a saltwater fish.
Flatten the ball of dough on a work surface into a 12-inch round, rolling and stretching the dough as necessary. Place the round on a prepared baking sheet, or, if using a baking stone, place on a baker's peel dusted with cornmeal. Lift the edges and pinch to form a lip. Brush the top of the dough with olive oil. Use your fingertips to push dents in the dough, and let rest for about ten minutes before adding toppings and baking.
Measure carefully – too much flour toughens pastry; too much liquid makes it soggy; too much shortening makes it greasy and crumbly. Handle dough lightly to inhibit excessive development of gluten. The aim is to make a flaky and tender crust.
Mixing the dough can be accomplished by hand or by machine. A pastry blender, with 5 or 6 bowed metal blades for cutting butter into flour, is the best tool for the hand method, but a food processor also makes a good and speedy dough.
A double boiler melts chocolate without scorching it. The top pan must fit snugly into the lower one so that steam or sputtering water won’t mix with the chocolate and ruin it. A double boiler can be improvised with a saucepan and a stainless steel or heatproof glass bowl.
Oils are 100 percent fat, so they must be reduced by 15 percent to 20 percent when substituted for butter, either by weight or by volume measure. However, there are additional complications when substituting them for solid fats, especially in baking. Since oil does not contribute flavor the way butter does, cakes made with oils need lots of flavor from other ingredients, such as tangy citrus juice and zest spices, chocolate or cocoa, and/or toasted nuts.
Potatoes fall into three groups. Boiling potatoes are relatively high in moisture and low in starch. These waxy potatoes hold their shape when cubed or sliced, so they are chosen for potato salads, gratins, and stews. Baking potatoes are low in moisture and high in starch. When cooked, their flesh is dry and fluffy, exactly right for baking, frying, and mashing. Baking potatoes also give body to soups, as they fall apart in cooking. All-purpose potatoes, typically roundish, usually with a dull brown skin, are moderate in moisture and starch content and good for any cooking method.