Tips & Technique

It’s that time of year – all of your favorite veggie combinations, meats, seafood, pasta, and potato salads become the staples of summer living.

I’m hoping that you will share some of your favorite recipes, but in the meantime, here are a couple of tips I’ve picked up along the way…

If you are using a savory or acidic liquid (vinegar, mustard, citrus...) in your salad, dissolve any salt you will be using in this liquid. It will help the flavors be more uniform in your salad – not just cling to a few pieces here and there. Do this BEFORE you add any oil – salt takes forever to dissolve in oil, and never becomes well combined.

For a pasta or potato salad, I highly recommend adding that “savory liquid” to the starch while it is still hot. Just as spaghetti will absorb some of the tomato sauce, so will your potato or pasta. Make sure you toss well before it cools, but this will give you more depth of flavor in whatever you are making. I’ve had a few potato salads where I got a bite of just plain unsalted potato – haven’t you?

Now, I don’t recommend this next one for all recipes, but it works well in many. Especially if you are worried about the heat of the day, try substituting plain yogurt for mayo. It will give you the creamy texture, a similar (but yes, a different) flavor, and is much safer out of the refrigerator for longer periods of time. It is also a little healthier, if that is a concern. Sour cream can also be used – it has a longer “sun life” than mayo, but not as long as yogurt… Don’t mess with perfection – I’m just giving some options you can try

Let me know how you make out!

Béchamel, or White Sauce is a basic ingredient to so many recipes - from tuna fish casserole to baked ziti to that famous green bean casserole - or just a nice gravy or sauce. It’s amazing how many people don’t know it by name! Every time a recipe calls for “Cream of Something” condensed soup, it’s calling for a flavored béchamel. Making it YOURSELF takes about the same time as opening and heating and stirring what came in the can, it doesn’t have to cost any extra (you have to add the milk anyways?), and it can taste OH so much better - not to mention you can eliminate most of the excess sodium! It can be flavored many ways, and can make anything from pasta to vegetables a richer, more elegant meal. I’ve even used it with spinach and bacon and moz to make an awesome pizza! Use it over meat, or chicken, or seafood or add cheese… and you’ve got a masterpiece! Make a big batch, and you have the base for your OWN “cream of something” soup.

You can make it rich by using cream or half and half, or make it “lite” by using reconstituted fat-free powdered milk! Whatever you have or want - mix and match – you can even use stock or broth instead of dairy (it’s called Veloute sauce then, but who cares? The technique’s the same)…

For about 2-3 cups of sauce, you need to start with 3 Tablespoons of fat, usually butter or margarine. But if you want it to go with chicken, by all means use chicken fat/drippings. Oil or shortening will work, but don’t have as much flavor, and have to be watched more carefully in the early stages – they reach a higher temp, and can easily burn.

Melt your chosen fat over medium/medium-low heat. Add 3 Tablespoons flour. STIR WELL with a fork or a whisk. It will turn into a paste - continue to stir over heat for about 2-3 minutes. This step is very necessary to cook the flour, and avoid a “pasty” flavor.

Slowly, and I DO MEAN SLOWLY, like a cup at a time, add up to 3, maybe 4 cups of your chosen liquid, stirring all the while. The first cup or so will be “grabbed” by the roux (the fat & flour mixture) – so attention is required to prevent lumps. Bring all to a low simmer (little bubbles at the edge), and then remove from heat and add your desired flavorings.

It needs about salt, a little pepper, maybe some nutmeg (a classic addition)…. Some diced or dried onion is always great, mushrooms, finely chopped broccoli or spinach, mustard, cheese, tomatoes… I’m not suggesting all at once, just some ideas

Place back on the heat and simmer until you get the flavor and/or thickness you desire.

I know it sounds a little bit complicated, but honestly, once you do it the process is easy! And once you taste it…. well, those cans won’t be so tempting anymore!

It’s good for you, and when properly prepared, a delightful and necessary element to so much of cooking. But I’ll admit, there is nothing worse than biting into a chunk of raw garlic – and overcooked/burnt garlic is the worst of all worlds!

Roasting garlic makes it not only softer in texture, but smoother in taste. The classic way is to take an entire bulb of garlic, slice the top off, drizzle a little olive oil, and then wrap in foil and bake for 30-45 minutes, either in an oven or in the coals of a grill. Honestly, this gives the best results, and if you’re preparing something that calls for a LOT of garlic, this is your best technique.

But if you want to add that richer, mellower flavor to something that requires only a few cloves, I’ve learned a couple different methods. First and foremost, keep the skins on! Why waste time peeling that paper off when once the process is done, it practically falls away?

A quick and easy method is to simply place a few cloves into your microwave, and “nuke” on HIGH for anywhere from 30-60 seconds. Just the dry, papered cloves… This will NOT give you the creamy results of roasting, but will reduce the harshness of the garlic, and make it easier to peel, and chop or puree.

A better shortcut is to heat a dry saucepan, and “fry” the cloves until you start to get black spots on the paper skins – this takes about 5-8 minutes depending on your pan.

One common mistake I’ve even seen professional chefs do, is to add the garlic to a hot saute pan. More times than not, you are sautéing both onions and garlic – start the onions first. ALWAYS! Garlic burns easily, and if it is all alone in a hot pan, you only have SECONDS to avoid a disaster!

Finally, when you need your garlic really fine use some of the salt in the recipe to help ‘mash’ the garlic. It’s abrasive, and will help you create a garlic paste! Slice, mince, and then using a wide blade just ‘stroke it’ until all is smooth. It works. A word of caution: if you are using this method for a salad dressing, make sure you allow the garlic/salt mixture to ‘blend’ with the acids before you add the oil – the salt may not distribute evenly until it has had a chance to dissolve, which it doesn’t do well in oil.

Have I left anything out? Oh yeah, the jarred variety of minced/diced garlic… I admit I’ve used it , but it is somehow much stronger than fresh, so caution in your amounts should be used!

Oh – most important of all! Lemon juice is really good at cleaning the scent off of your hands, your cutting board… I’ve heard parsley helps the breath – maybe that’s why it was created?!?!

Anything else about garlic you want to know? Let me know

My dear friends, I must admit that I have recently started a new position that is both rewarding and challenging – and EXHAUSTING! I’ve always considered going to work before the SUN does some kind of “personal sin”, yet that is exactly what I am doing. Please bear with me while I get accustomed to these new hours!

But as tired as I’ve been (or maybe because of it), I’ve discovered something that I wanted to share with you – Cereal for dinner is very kewl! Hot or cold, mushy or crunchy… it’s quick, easy, and can actually be nutritious!

Oatmeal or Farina with brown sugar and bacon bits satisfies all the senses. Bran flakes, with raisins and a dash of cinnamon is a delight. I really enjoy yogurt with my homemade granola and nuts, and maybe some fruit…

It’s okay to think outside of the box – or even to eat out of it. In fact, it can be fun!

Hate when you get pools of oil in your saute pan? Want to cut back on fats? Chef Paul Prudhomme gave a simple tip (that I wish I’d thought of)!

Preheat your pan, but instead of pouring oil into the pan, toss the onions (or whatever you are about to saute) with a little bit of oil! They’ll be coated enough do the job, and any excess will NOT go into the rest of your dish.

You get the oil where it’s needed, and nowhere else. You can always add more, but why not start with less?

This is a great tip that Paula Deen gave when she was a guest on the Rachael Ray show – too good not to pass on to you….

When serving a pie (or cake, or bread, or meatloaf…) that is in a disposable aluminum pan, to get that first piece out nice and neat, cut into the pan! Use a good pair of kitchen shears, and cut (just a hair wider than the slice you want) into the “lip” and down the sides. Fold down that section of the side of the pan to get it out of your way.

This way your pie server or spatula slides in easily, and that first piece can be as pristine as the rest. So, you sacrifice about a buck on a pan you probably won't use again anyways...

Thank you Paula & Rachael for a great tip that is very timely!