Thursday, November 25, 2010

Tips to do More with Less in the Kitchen

Tips to do More with Less in the Kitchen - When I saw a nice recipe, I tried to follow all the directions in the recipe. I bought all the materials needed food at the supermarket. And in fact I spend a lot of money to buy all the food materials. But the sacrifice was to produce a delicious dish. On the other recipe, again I have to buy cooking materials were written in Resp. And again I have to go back and forth to the supermarket. Well, I finally figure out how, for my cooking hobby with all the shortcomings that exist in my kitchen can be resolved easily. And I found a good tips here. And this is the tips that I wrote back to Top Secret Recipe reader blogs .

Although not always easy to make food happen, some people who swear by planning everything down to his eyebrows insects but that's not my style. I prefer to organize themselves with a certain quantity of fresh produce and pantry staples and just find out as I go along. Here's how to get started:

Inventories at the humble subject: Having a few pantry staples can help draw together the different ingredients or loneliness you may have to linger. For me: a kind of some pasta (one short one long), a good vegetable broth, beans (black beans, lentils and white beans), canned tomatoes and tortillas are always in the pantry or freezer. Also, warm vegetable items such as onion and garlic are the backbone of a simple dish a lot and continues for weeks, so I always have them on hand.

Working with less, not more: When shopping I want to limit myself to what is local and in-season. It seems to lend some direction to the things that I find more helpful than trying to peruse the grocery store where everything seems to be in season all the time. Over the years, I have found that our CSA box plus some extra fruit and two vegetables about right for us for a week. Discover your own rhythm with buy enough produce to fill one drawer shelf, see how long it lasts and add more or less depending on what you use. (We use two of the vegetable crisper drawer and a big bowl of fruit every week, but everyone is different.)

Make a list: Make a list as you put yourself about what you produce your own. Put a star by any fragile items that must be used at the beginning of the week (ie fresh basil). Keep this list where you will have access to it when you start thinking about dinner. Maybe in a kitchen drawer or in your wallet for reference before you leave work? After the list will help you avoid forgetting things that you can not see and make connections between the material you have. Think of the goods as your vocabulary for a week and see how many different ways you can think of to put them together.

Looking to other cultures to be a meat-centric less: rich countries tend to have expensive food model with a large piece of meat as the center for each meal. Looking for a recipe inspired by other cultures is a great way to stretch dollars. Do not, however, caught up in having each and every spice to the complicated Indian dishes. In contrast, note the different grains and legumes are used as a protein. For example, find a tasty recipe for black beans (I'll put one here soon), make a big batch and divide into portions for storing in the freezer. They melt quickly if you leave them in containers or bags soaked in warm water. Served with rice (and possibly hot sauce, avocado and Greek yogurt if you have one) they are delicious and satisfying dinner. One of my favorite quick (and cheap) red lentil dish cooked in coconut milk with a tablespoon of curry powder or salt masala, served with Greek yogurt and pita bread. (Ribbon and hold both in the freezer so you can pull the pieces as you need them and warm or toast in the oven without thawing.) Buy good vegetarian cookbook like this one for the main-course inspiration.

Challenge your own mind: Just two things left in your fridge? Try to find a way to draw them together. My favorite recourse is a website like Epicurious. Do a search list of foods you wish to use and see what comes up. For example, this is the result for black beans and sweet potatoes. Try going one or two days longer than you think you can, work with what you already have in the kitchen.

Waste not, want not: Another way to challenge your mind. Keep even small amounts of leftovers, they can unite in a re-creation. For example, you can warm the remaining potatoes in a pan with green beans and top with remaining vinaigrette for delicious French-style potato salad warm? Yes, yes you can. Also, try to make food a little less than you think you'll need. I have found that anything that is made frequently eaten, but when there is still the same person who is less satisfied. Give a try and see how it works.

Buy food in its most basic form: As many as your time allows, buy something in its simplest form. Example one: the cheapest beans dry and very easy to cook (even cooked in water with nothing but miles better than the salt cans and costs 80% less). Example two: buy a granola bar is much more flexible than buying rolled oats, nuts and dried fruits separately. When purchased in their basic form you can put things together because it applies to you: fruit and nuts on a plate of cheese for quick appetizers or baked into bread or all baked in the oven with some syrup to make granola.

Keep it simple: these fun to make great food but sometimes simple can be equally as satisfying. Homemade soup with a piece of warm bread, pasta with garlic and basil salad or a big cut of choice. The practice of doing something simple really good.

I hope this "Tips to do More with Less in the Kitchen" is useful to you

Applebee's Recipe

Applebee's Recipe - Many talented chefs out there playing around with recipes to try and make copycat recipes from their top secret recipe famous restaurant. If we want to learn how to make that recipe at home, here are some recipes restaurants that I got from some friends. Good luck.

Applebee's Pico de Gallo

Notes: This is a great summer relish to serve with chips, or even on a hamburger.
INGREDIENTS:
3 large tomatoes diced, 1 large onion diced
2 Tbsp. diced Jalapenos, 1/2 cup fresh cilantro (diced)
2 tsp. Salt, 1/2 tsp. black pepper, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 Tbsp. white vinegar


Preparation Instructions: Mix all ingredients together in large container until well blended. Allow to sit for at least 6 hours, it is better if allowed to sit overnight.


Applebee's® Baked French Onion Soup

Don't even try to find this one on the menu at Applebee's,because it isn't there; though it's the most popular soup served each day at this huge restaurant chain. This is the first of several big-time soup clones we'll unveil here in the next few weeks to help get you through the cold winter months. And they're all a cinch to make. Just be sure you have some oven-safe soup bowls for this one, since we'll have to broil it a bit before serving. Under the gooey melted provolone of the original version you get from A pplebee's is a unique round crouton that's made from bread similar to a hamburger bun. So that's exactly what we'll use in our clone.

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 medium white onions, sliced
8 cups beef broth (Swanson is best)
1 cup water
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
5 plain hamburger buns
10 slices provolone cheese
10 teaspoons shredded parmesan cheese

1. Add 3 tablespoons oil to a large soup pot or saucepan over medium/high heat. Add the sliced onions and sauté for 20 minutes until the onions begin to soften and start to become translucent. You don't want them to brown.

2. Add the beef broth, water, salt, garlic powder and black pepper to the pan and bring mixture to a boil. When soup begins to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.

3. To make the croutons cut off the top half of each top of the hamburger bun so that the bread is the same thickness as the bottom half of each bun. Throw the tops away. Now you should have 10 round pieces of bread -- 5 bottom buns, and 5 top buns with the tops cut off. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Place the bread in the the oven directly on the rack and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until each piece is golden brown and crispy. Set these croutons aside until you need them.

4. When the soup is done, spoon about 1 cup into an oven-safe bowl. Float a crouton on top of the soup, then place a slice of provolone cheese on top of the crouton. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of shredded parmesan cheese over the provolone.

5. Place the bowl into your oven set to high broil. Broil the soup for 5 to 6 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown (you may need to broil longer if you are making more than one bowl at a time). Sprinkle an additional 1/2 teaspoon of shredded parmesan cheese over the top of the soup and serve. Repeat process to prepare remaining servings.Makes 10 servings.

Applebee's® Bananaberry Freeze

Ah, if only kitchen cloning was an exact science.While working on this one I saw the same bartender make the drink two different ways on two different days. Only after a firm grilling did I get her admitting to her personal "improvement" to the chain's secret recipe. The official clone includes the ingredients found below. But if you want to add a little pineapple juice -- as some independent thinking bartenders are apt to do -- you might discover you have indeed created a tastier version of this refreshing smoothie. On that day the cloning gods shall be looking the other way.But, for heaven's sake, be sure your banana is soft and ripe. This is a detail the gods won't ignore.

1 10-ounce box frozen sweetened sliced strawberries, thawed
1/3 cup pina colada mix
2 cups ice
2 ripe bananas

Garnish
whipped cream
2 fresh strawberries

1. Use a blender to puree the entire contents of the thawed box of frozen strawberries.
2. Add 1/3 cup pina colada mix and 2 cups of ice to the blender.
3. Cut the end off end banana -- set these pieces aside to use later as a garnish -- then put the bananas into the blender.
4. Blend on high speed until the ice is crushed and the drink
is smooth. Pour into two tall stemmed glasses, such as daiquiri glasses.
5. Slice each strawberry halfway up through the middle and add one to the rim of each glass.
6. Cut each banana slice halfway through the middle and add one to the rim of each glass next to the strawberry. Top with whipped cream and serve with a straw.
Makes 2 servings.