Best Recipes: Rum Raisin Cheesecake

If you like rum raisin ice cream, you’ll enjoy the flavor of rum raisin in this unique cheesecake.

Crust

1 cup old fashioned or quick cooking oats, uncooked
¼ cup chopped nuts
3 tablespoons margarine, melted
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar

Filling

2 8-oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup flour
2 eggs
½ cup sour cream
3 tablespoons rum
2 tablespoons margarine
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup raisins
¼ cup chopped nuts
2 tablespoons old fashioned or quick cooking oats, uncooked

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine oats, nuts, margarine and brown sugar; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Combine cream cheese, granulated sugar and 2 tablespoons flour, mixing at medium speed on electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in sour cream and rum; mix well. Pour over crust.

Cut margarine into combined remaining flour and brown sugar until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in raisins, nuts and oats. Sprinkle over cream cheese mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing rim of pan.

About the author:
© Donna Monday
Brownies, Cheesecake, Fudge and more . . .
http://www.best-brownie-recipes.com/Cheesecake_besteasyrecipe.html
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Italian Recipe Ingredients

Do you love cooking, but are sometimes unsure of the ingredients. Well here is a guide to some of the more common Italian Recipe Ingredients.

Amaretto - A liqueur made from apricot kernels and bitter almonds. You will ofter find this used in dessert recipes.

Amaretti – Small, dry biscuits (cookies) similar to macaroons. Made with bitter almonds, almond essence and egg whites.

Baccala – is salted, dried cod. You will need to soak it for at least 24 hours and changing the water often.

Bocconcini – means ‘little mouthfuls’. And that’s what it is, little balls of fresh mozzarella cheese stored in water.

Campari – A crimson colored spirit.

Carta di musica – This is a crisp, twice baked flatbread. Can use toasted Lebanese bread or lavish as a substitute.

Ciabatta – A crusty bread that is airy on the inside. The best type is wood fired.

Dried Porcini Mushrooms – A type of mushroom used to add intense flavor to dishes. Choose light brown or tan ones that are not crumbly.

Limoncello – This is a citrus based liqueur. Made by infusing lemon rind in pure alcohol. Serve chilled as an after-dinner drink or a fabulous palate cleanser.

Mascarpone – This rich, smooth cream cheese that has a high fat content. Used in both savoury and sweet dishes.

Mozzarella – A stretched curd cheese known for its melting qualities.

Pancetta – This is dried pork belly. It is generally used like bacon.

Pappardelle – Is a pasta. It can be fresh or dried and is a wide flat ribbon.

Pecorino – A hard cheese made from sheep milk. It has a sharp flavor and is used to grate over pizza.

Pecorino dolce – Known as sweet pecorino, is less aged and has a milder flavor.

Prosciutto – Is a dried and salted (cured) ham, generally served in wafer thin slices.

Radicchio – A red leafed salad ingredient that has a slightly bitter flavor.

Risotto Rice – This is the rice used for making Risotto. It is a short grain rice that is capable of absorbing much fluid while still maintaining it’s shape and firmness. This is what gives Risotto it’s creamy texture.

Scamorza – Very similar to mozzarella. A slightly salty cheese made from cows milk. It can be hung and dried and is often smoked.

Taleggio – This cheese has a pinkish-brown rind and a soft creamy texture. It is made from cows milk, has a strong flavor and becomes acidic with age.

So next time you are cooking Italian, you will be sure to know what ingredient to reach for.

Happy Cooking
Lisa “The Crock Cook”

About the Author:
Lisa cooks Crock Pot Recipes for a-Crock-Cook.com, writes Chinese Fortune Cookies and designs Cupcake decorations at cupcake-creations.com.
**Webmasters - Please feel free to add this article to your site. Just remember to ensure the links remain live and static.
Regards Lisa**
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

If you smellllllelelele..... what Dr. Chef is cookin'

How do you feel today? I like to hear that you're feel very healthy .It's better than you feel good. About our first lesson of cooking today like other education, let's we go back to the basic!!! Be patient about the recipe. There's a billions of recipe out there. The most important thing of cooking is you know the basic of cooking. Firstly, let me tell you about the art of classical cooking.

Classical cooking refers to French cookery that reached its zenith in the kings' palaces during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. French cookery is subject to continuous change, and is closely linked with changes occurring in other art forms. The goal to be achieved today is the combination of classical dishes coupled with artistic, but simple, decorative foods. Only by understanding cookery in this sense is it possible to achieve perfection in the practice of culinary art.

Classical Cookery - Classical cookery includes all the basic dishes together with those specialties and dishes adopted from the old French and international cookery. On the other hand, those "historical" monstrosities, with their pompous and unaesthetic structures or pretentious ornamentation are not a part of classical cooking. Only attractive presentations which satisfy the palate and the eye are classical. This is especially true when the name of the dish also corresponds to its actual ingredients. The names like Rossini, Colbert, a la bordelaise, a la Portuguese, a la florentine, and Argentuil are recognized classical names, and recipes for these dishes require specific ingredients.

Plain cooking - Contrary to classical cookery, plain cooking originally started in private kitchens. The food is simpler, but nevertheless nutritionally adequate and carefully prepared. Many regions and local areas have their own particular cuisine. The climate and geographical conditions, the background of the people, and the traditions and customs of the area often influence the eating patterns and nutritional needs of the people. Many of the dishes unique to a specific region have gained widespread acceptance, as more and more emphasis is placed on nutritional and health needs of the people.

Tomorrow we back to the future!!! We learn the modern cooking. Start from today, I will give you a tips (precept) about cookery. Tips of the day!! :-cooking a tough meat especially buffalo meat, you need to braise it with slow fire. Add some pineapple. You can also put a stainless steel spoon in the pot. After about half an hour (1 kg meat ) , the meat will goes tender……. But not the spoon……

Happy cooking

From the back desk,
Dr. Chef

About the Author:
Dr. Chef, Webmaster for http://www.easy-home-cooking.com .Dr. Chef has been a chef in hotel around the world.From China to India, Middle East to South Africa and Canada to Australia. Now retired as a chef and doing a consultant company in restaurant and hotel business in south East-asia.
Added: 20 Oct 2006
Article Source: http://articles.simplysearch4it.com/article/40011.html

Food in the Caribbean

The Caribbean is perhaps renowned for its white sandy beaches, but it also has some excellent cuisine and food for families and couples.

The earliest inhabitants of the Caribbean islands were the three Indian tribes of Arawak, Carib, and Taino. Their daily food comprised of vegetables and fruits. It was the Taino tribe that first started cooking meat and fish, using large clay vessels for this purpose.

The Arawaks took a different way and used thin strips of green wood to cook meat more slowly and allowing it to absorb the flavor of the wood. The wooden grate they used was called barbacoa and now you know where the term barbeque comes from.

Not to be left behind, the Carib tribe made their fish and meat recipes really spicy by adding pepper sauces, lime, and lemons. In fact, the Caribs are credited with having cooked the first pepper pot stew.

The last of the above three has had a tremendous impact on Caribbean food, which should not be surprising because the Caribbean Sea was named after this tribe.

In the present day, Caribbean food is still a representative of the food that was originally eaten by the early inhabitants and includes okra, fish cakes, callaloo, ackee, salt fish, pudding, souse, cassava, yams, sweet potatoes, plantains, and mangoes. The concept of "jerk" cooking has also originated in the Caribbean when early African hunters would often leave their homes to go on long hunts and take with them pork cooked in a very spicy recipe over hot coals.

In the post-slavery era, Indian cooking culture was introduced in Caribbean food recipes and still remains an active part of the Caribbean cuisine. Most of the curried meats and curry powder recipes that are found today are directly derived from original Indian cuisine.

Rice was introduced to the Caribbean by the Chinese and is now a staple. The Chinese also unleashed mustard on the islanders while the Portuguese sailors did the codfish. Most of the fruit trees that are familiar to the visitors to the island were actually brought here by the Spain and include orange, ginger, lime, figs, plantains, sugar cane, tamarinds, grapes, and coconuts. America brought with it the various beans, squash, corn, tomatoes, potatoes, and chili pepper to the island. In fact, some of these food spread to the rest of world through the Caribbean, before which, they were unknown.

This are but some of the few reasons why Caribbean food is so unique and creative. Flavors from all over the world have found a home in Caribbean food through countless generations and the flow of history.

About the Author:
James Penn runs a highly informative Caribbean website which details exactly how to find cheap Caribbean cruises and also the ten best activities in the Caribbean for families and couples alike.
Submitted on 2006-11-13
Article Source: http://www.articlesarea.com/

Easy Home Cooking

Balance diet of food is the key for keep healthy, strength and active therefore to develop of mind intelligent. As we all knew, pyramid chart of food is very important to us to having a complete and balance dietary. We are what we eat..

Preparing a dish either breakfast, lunch or dinner can turn tiredness and headache especially for a mom that having a career and very limited time to prepare the food. This make mom did a short way by serving the canned food, or a ready-made food. This scenario turned the family having a very high cholesterol and healthiness food for their families.

With the right preparation of cooking, this situation can be able avoid. How do you feel when your family or customer appreciated on what you had doing. Like your kids says “its not enough”, or “give me more”..? You will get the feel of cooking satisfaction..!

Preparing the healthy food doesn’t meant you have to provide the expensive materials. There are several items like fruits, vegetables, and other raw materials, that can easily and cheap you can find at the local market.

In this blog, I will teach you, not only to prepare a dish by giving you a recipe, but I will teach you how to prepare it in the right and easy way as easy-home-cooking.com.Also I will give the origin of the dish and not only of the cooking, but everything of the cooking involvement including beverages, spices, herbs, nutrition, even organized the kitchen cooker..!!

This blog is not only for housewives to cook for the family. It is strongly recommended and extremely suitable for the student to get additional reference sources for the culinary course. Even to the Master Chef…!!

Even the dishes brings to you in the origin recipe, I will give you create it in the modern way. The recipe will content from the French to Chinese, Indian, Mongolians, Russian, nor Italian, even from the exotic of aborigine.

Have you heard the words of “the art of cooking”? What does it mean? It means that one knows a great deal about the practical aspects of cookery and cooking techniques.It presupposes a full and precise knowledge of food; a well developed sense of taste and smell; a sensitivity for colour, texture, and shape or form; and ability to coordinate all the major elements into complete harmony.

According to John Ruskin, a nineteenth century English writer and art critic, the art of cooking includes a grandmother’s thrift, a knowledge of modern chemistry, a frenchman’s sense of artistry,and an Arab’s hospitality. In summary, the art of cooking means providing high quality food and service to the complete satisfaction of guest.

Sounds complicated..? Yes…Never mind..Till next topic, let me turn it easy as easy-home-cooking..!!!

From the back desk
Dr.Chef

About the Author:
Dr. Chef, Webmaster for http://www.easy-home-cooking.com .Dr. Chef has been a chef in hotel around the world.From China to India, Middle East to South Africa and Canada to Australia. Now retired as a chef and doing a consultant company in restaurant and hotel business in south East-asia.
This article was posted on October 18, 2006
Article Source: articlecity

What Exactly Is a Crockpot?

The word 'crockpot' is a name which is actually a trademarked name, but is often used as a generic term. The terms 'crockpot' and 'slow cooker' have come to be used interchangeably.

'Rival' is the original holder of the trademarked term 'Crock-Pot'.

The Rival Crock-Pot / slow cooker has been one of the most important cooking tools for busy families since its introduction in 1971. Slow cooking is a great way to provide delicious home cooked meals for people and families on the go and produces flavorful meals time after time.

This appliance is made of fired clay and is usually glazed and surrounded by a metallic housing. It contains a controlled heating element to maintain the slow cooker temperatures whuich allow food to be cooked over longer periods of time.

Typically a slow cooker will have just two heat settings, and a glass lid is used to retain the heat and moisture. An important tip to be sure to follow is this: Don't lift the lid while it is cooking the food! Letting the heat escape in this way will add twenty minutes to the cooking time! The lid is important as it prevents escape of hot water vapor which would, if permitted, lead to lowering the internal water level, loss of heat and drying out of the contents.

A slow cooker works in a much different way than a pressure cooker which allows much higher temperatures than the boiling point of water. Because the lid of a slow cooker is on very loosely, the temperature inside will never get above the boiling point of water. Any vapor that does occur condenses on the lid and returns as moisture back onto the food.

Because of the nature of slow cooking, food can be cooked for longer than expected with no harm to the food. In fact, your meats become more tender when they are cooked like this over longer periods of time.

Recipes for these cookers must be adjusted to compensate for the nature of the cooking. Often water must be decreased. Most (probably all) come with recipe booklets. Many cookbooks with slow cooker recipes are available and there are numerous recipes on the Web. A small number of cookbooks seek to make complete dishes in a slow cooker using fewer than five ingredients while others treat the slow cooker as a serious piece of culinary equipment capable of producing gourmet meals. With some experience, timings and recipe adjustments can be successfully made for many recipes not originally intended for these cookers. The long, moist nature of the cooking method allows for lower quality cuts to be used.

And even though a slow cooker takes longer to cook the food, it will actually save you time! How is this possible? Well, you can quickly load the ingredients in the morning and turn it on. That right there is the bulk of your time -not very much! And at dinner time, your home will greet you with a flavorful aroma fit for a king or queen!

Copyright 2006 Tony Buel

About the Author:
Tony Buel
www.my-crockpot-recipes.com
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

Cooking Lesson: Seasoning Cast Iron Like The Pros

In the days before we had non-stick cookware, we had the next best thing - seasoned cast iron cookware. While non-stick cookware has certainly outdone cast iron cookware in the non-stick category, cast iron pots and pans are still favored by many chefs, including the professionals because of their durability and ability to retain flavor.

But, if you're not lucky enough to have a hand-me-down from Grandma, you may find yourself confused about how to become a cast iron chef. Have no fear - you can learn to season cast iron cookware with the pros and keep them in great shape for years to come.

Seasoning New Cast Iron Cookware

The process is actually quite simple. When done correctly, your pans will last a long time and may even become your own hand-me -downs in the future.

1. Heat your oven to 300 degrees.
2. Coat the pan with lard or grease. (Be sure that you do not use vegetable oil or commercial cooking sprays. While they may seem easier, they will not only cause your cookware to be seasoned incorrectly, but they will also leave a sticky film on the outside of the cookware that is impossible to remove.)
3. Place the pan in the oven on the middle rack and allow it to bake for 15 minutes.
4. Remove the pan and pour out any excess grease or lard.
5. Put the pan back into the oven and bake for another two hours.
6. Repeat as needed

Many cast iron enthusiasts will swear upon repeating the seasoning process several times before ever using the cookware the first time. Each time you season the cookware, the seasoning bond becomes stronger. Many people will recommend that the first few times the cookware is used it should be used to cook greasy foods (bacon, fatty meats, etc.) to again strengthen the seasoning bond.

Re-seasoning Cookware

If you find that you seasoned the pan improperly the first time, or if food starts to stick to the pan after a period of time in use, you may want to re-season the cookware.

1. Wash the cookware thoroughly with a steel wool pad (doing this while the pan is warm and still safe to touch is best).
2. Make sure the pan is fully dry (use a towel if needed).
3. Follow the seasoning steps above to re-season the pan.

Cleaning Your Cast Iron Cookware

To make your cookware last the test of time, be sure to take proper care of it. Remember the creed of every enthusiast of cast iron - no soap and no steel wool. Soap and steel wool will cause a breakdown in the seasoning bond and should not be used to clean your cookware on a regular basis. If you're baffled at this moment, have no fear. Cleaning cast iron cookware is a breeze.

1. You'll need to rinse your cookware while it is still hot. If food is stuck to it, then scrape the pan or pot as needed.

That's it! Remember not to store food in your cast iron cookware because it may attach a metallic flavor to the food. In addition, store your pans with the lids off to prevent moisture from accumulating and rusting from occurring.

Now that you know the ins and outs to cast iron cookware, you can start creating your own family heirloom - as well as some great food!

About the author:
Mike Lansing is a retired chef who spent most of his time as a Head Chef in New Orleans after training in France. He spends his free time cooking for family and friends, as well as serving as a contributing editor for CookingSchools101.com which offers information on Cooking Schools for those wishing to enter the trade.
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Homemade Beef Jerky

Even though our forefathers didn't know it, lean fresh meat jerky is low in cholesterol and fat and very high in protein, making jerky a nutritious and wholesome snack. Jerky is an excellent energy food when camping, biking, skiing, or anytime you want a light snack.

3 lbs. meat (not ground meat)
2/3 cups Worcestershire Sauce
2/3 cups Soy Sauce
1 tsp. Black Pepper
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Onion Powder
1 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. smoke flavoring
2 tsp. Tabasco Sauce

Mix all marinade ingredients together in a large (gallon size) plastic zipper bag. Add sliced meat (cut about ¼ inch) and refrigerate, mixing and turning about every hour. You should marinade it over night.

When you're ready to begin drying, place a sheet of aluminum foil on the bottom of the oven. Drain meat in a colander and pat dry with a paper towel (the drier the meat now, the better). Set oven at about 150 degrees and place the meat strips on the ovenracks. Leave the oven door open to allow the moisture to escape.

The drying time may vary due to ovens and the size of the meat. The meat should be firm and dry, and not spongy at all. But if the jerky is so dry that it snaps in two easily, than it's over dried.

About the Author:
Ray Torres is an IT consultant by day and a gourmet aficionado by nigth, and founder of Great Free Online Recipes.com and it's recipes and cooking blog. "A celebration of cooking and great food!"
Article Source: http://www.articles411.com

Caribbean Food For Everyone

The intriguing thing about Caribbean food is that the cooks of this fine cuisine take special care when cooking the food. They are always busy adding their special touches to add to the delight of whatever dish they are preparing.

If you have ever tasted Caribbean food you then already know that the tastes of this type of food is amazing. There are so many people in the world that absolutely adore Caribbean food. Some of the most popular and most liked meals are the jerk chicken, (of course!); curry goat, and oxtail stew. The intriguing thing about Caribbean food is that the cooks of this fine cuisine take special care when cooking the food. They are always busy adding their special touches to add to the delight of whatever dish they are preparing. Not to leave out but some of the best salads from the Caribbean are also excellent, including Coleslaw, Potato and Green salads.

Caribbean foods are readily available in most grocery stores and supermarkets. Most of the time when searching for these foods, you will run across mainly fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are the most widely used types of foods throughout the Caribbean so it only makes sense as to what you would mainly find in a store. Every now and then though, you will run across one of the highly regarded sauces or seasonings used throughout the Caribbean cuisine. It does seem like that retailers put some kind of slow activity upon making these sauces and seasonings available throughout their stores to their customers.

Moving along to Caribbean drinks you will find out that some of them are the best you can find. Soft drinks, punches, and alcohol are most highly regarded of the drinks. Soursop, pineapple, and tropical fruit punches are just a few examples of delicious tasting drinks from the islands.

The most talked about thing about Caribbean food is probably the seasonings. This is where the food has gained its widespread popularity throughout the years. This is what the make the prepared meals so enticing to purchase and consume. The very thought of cooking up some jerk chicken and adding any type of Caribbean seasoning just makes your mouth water. The trick is to wash the meat a few times, then use vinegar or lemon to wash it up even further. After you have completed this you can add all or any type of your favorite seasoning to the meat. When finished, you would want to marinate the meat, preferably for 12 to 24 hours. After that it's up to you on how creative you would want to get with the meat.

While most of the people from the Caribbean's do cook their food at a moderate level, there are some islands in the West Indies that prefer cooking their food hot. What I mean is, that most of the people cook at a moderate "spicy" level while others will cook as spicy as they can handle. An example is that jerk seasoning is considered to be a "hot" spice, but if you sparingly use it throughout your dish then it does not have to be hot. Using pepper and hot pepper sauce is up to the discretion of the person going to eat the meal. Some sauces and seasonings are considered "mouth watering" hot, so be careful when thinking about the level of spice or seasoning that you want in your meal.

About the Author:
Ralph Ruckman is the author of Caribbean Recipes a weblog providing information on Caribbean food. Feel free to visit the blog for more information.
Submitted on 2006-11-03
Article Source: http://www.articlesarea.com/

Cooking Tips To Help You In The Kitchen

When you are cooking a meal, there are many things that can go wrong and many simple, household solutions to issues that arise that you may not know. To that end, we've written this article to discuss some simple hints that can make your time spent in the kitchen much easier.

- Did you burn food, and now the whole house smells of the terrible burning odor? Well, don't fret - there is a simple fix. Simply take a half of a cup of whole cloves and put them in a saucepan with two cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for twenty to thirty minutes. The house will now smell sweet due to this mixture.

- Flare-ups on the grill can be worrisome and dangerous. For that reason, it is important to minimize the risk of flare-ups while grilling. Any excess fat on cuts of meat that you are about to cook should be removed. Also, if you bring food to room temperature before placing it on the grill, you're more likely to cook it evenly.

- Need to check your grills temperature, but you don't have the feature on your grill? One simple test that you can perform is to hold your hand facing palms-down over the coals, roughly around where you will be cooking. You should count how long you can stand to keep your hand there as it will give you a rough estimation of the temperature. If you can only count to about two, the heat level is high, and it's best for cooking meat. If you're looking to grill vegetables, you should cook with a medium heat. If you can count to about four, the grill is the proper temperature. Be sure to keep it safe when you are performing this test.

- When baking cookies, it's tough to get them to turn out exactly round. There is an easy solution, however: after creating the dough, place it into empty concentrated juice cans and put it in the refrigerator. When you're ready to bake, just slice off the end of the can and push the dough through, slicing off cookies as you go. They should be perfectly round!

- Need to make your own croutons fast? There's an easy way to do it, and you probably have all the ingredients in your house! Cut slices of bread into cubes that are three quarters of an inch. Place them on a baking tray and add cooking spray and garlic powder. Broil the tray for roughly three minutes, and there you go! Try adding different spices to suit your individual fancy.

About the Author:
Kadence Buchanan writes articles for http://iwomensinterests.com/ - In addition, Kadence also writes articles for http://universeofbeauty.net/ and http://forahealthywoman.com/
This article was posted on October 06, 2006
Article Source: articlecity

Fortunate Lemon Chicken

This is a delicious chicken meal for you to prepare at home. The lemon sauce is fresh and tangy and somehow I always end up eating too much :-).

It takes a bit to prepare and is not the sort of thing you would want to cook each night of the week.

However, it is worth the effort.

I usually make it once in a while as a special meal for my husband. And it always turns out great.

Fortunate Lemon Chicken

4 whole boneless chicken breasts, skin off
½ cup cornstarch (corn flour)
3 tbls water
4 egg yolks – gently beaten
salt, pepper – to taste
shallots – chopped

Lemon Sauce
½ cup lemon juice
2 tsp powdered chicken stock
2 tbls cornstarch (corn flour)
2 tbls honey
2½ tbls brown sugar
1 tsp grated ginger
1¾ cups water

For the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and stir over a low heat until it boils and then thickens.

Cut the chicken breast fillets into 3-4 pieces. Lay flat and pound slightly with a mallet or other heavy object.

Place cornstarch in a bowl and slowly add the water, and then add the slightly beaten egg yolks. Next add salt and pepper to your liking.

Dip the chicken pieces into this batter and ensure you drain well.

Place a couple pieces of the battered chicken at a time, into deep hot oil and fry until lightly browned.

Drain on absorbent paper.

Slice chicken further if required.

Arrange on plates of freshly cooked white rice. Sprinkle with shallots and spoon over hot lemon sauce.

Enjoy!

Then end the meal with a home-made Chinese Fortune Cookie.
Insert a message in each cookie to suit the mood of the meal. This is a fun way to end any meal.

Happy Cooking

Francis Chang
http://www.chinese-fortune-cookie.com

About the Author:
For everything about Chinese Fortune Cookies visit Francis Chang at www.chinese-fortune-cookie.com. **Webmasters - Please feel free to add this article to your site. Just ensure the links remain live and static back to www.chinese-fortune-cookie.com Regards Francis Chang**
Article Source: ArticleToGo.com

Salts Explained

Cooking Salts Explained

Salt, also known as Sodium Chloride or (NaCl) is a vital component of the healthy and balanced human diet. Over half of the human body contains fluids that contain salt. Our blood, tears and saliva all contain salt. In addition we daily lose salt in our perspiration and urine. Muscles need salt in order to function, nerves require salt to carry messages and the digestive system cannot function without salt. So as you can see salt is very important to us humans.

Table Salt

Table salt is your everyday white granular salt found in most kitchens. It is most commonly mined from salt mines and then refined to remove other minerals until it is pure or close to pure sodium chloride. Often you will find table salt referred to as 'iodized', this term refers to the fact that the manufacturer has added iodine. This practice began in the earlier part of the last century in co-operation with the government to minimise the incidence of thyroid problems such as Goiter; an enlargement of the thyroid gland caused by an iodine deficiency.

Taste: Slightly metallic, uninteresting and can easily become overpowering.

Rock Salt

Rock salt is coarse and is usually mined from ancient salt deposits that are the result of very large bodies of water evaporating and leaving behind huge deposits of rock salt. Rock salt is much less refined than everyday table salt and contains more minerals and often more impurities. Rock salt is good for cooking with and ideal to use in salt grinders. I tend to use rock salt in blanching water as adding salt to water increases its boiling temperature and thus decreases the cooking time. I also use rock salt for presentation purposes such underneath oysters to keep them from falling over and visual appeal.

Taste: Rock salt can vary in taste depending on the region it is mined from and can possess interesting characteristics.

Sea Salt

Sea salt comes in many forms; granules, large crystals and flakes. Sea salt is cultivated from filtered high salt content sea water using a process of evaporation. As the water evaporates salt crystals begin to form, the crystals are then allowed to settle, then removed, drained, dried and ready to use. Sea salt (as well as seafood for that matter) naturally contains iodine and supplementing, as often found in ordinary table salt is not required if sufficient amounts of either constitute part of your diet. I tend not to use salt at the table as I believe if the Chef has done his job there should be no need for the addition of salt. However should a guest request salt I will serve them only pure sea salt flakes. My personal preference for sea salt is that of the English east coast, a region that has been producing beautiful flaky white soft crystals for centuries.

Taste: When used in cooking it blends seamlessly with the food. When used at the table it imparts a slight saltiness without the brackishness or lip cringing effect of other salts. A few flakes on the tongue and its oceanic origins become very apparent. Is sea salt worth the extra cost? In my professional and personal opinion, definitely.

About the Author:
Paul Hegeman is a professional Chef and has worked and travelled all over the world. He now resides full time in Sydney Australia. Paul works as a personal Chef as well as a food writer, contributing regularly to www.chefspencil.com. His cooking style focuses on using the freshest ingredients possible and helping them work their magic, his motto 'combinations not complications'.
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

Cook from the Heart, Not by the Book

(ARA) - You don’t have to go by the book to create tasty, easy, sociable food. Easy-peasy meal preparation is all about stripping cooking down to its bare essentials (they don’t call me the Naked Chef for nothing!), using little techniques and conveniences to make the most of your recipes. It’s so simple: Skip the fuss and follow your heart.

Here are some tips to take the stress out of cooking, whether you’re stirring up supper for your mate or hoping to impress the new in-laws:

Dinners-in-a-Bag

When Jools and I first moved to London we were completely broke, our kitchen was the size of a cupboard, and we were working opposite shifts. I didn’t want Jools to feed herself on frozen dinners, so I found myself custom-making the fantastic “Jamie Oliver Dinners in a Bag,” involving glorious aluminum foil.

What I would do for Jools was make up a combo at 4 p.m. as I was going off to work and write with a marker pen “25 minutes at 425 F”, for example, on the foil. Even though Jools didn’t like cooking, she never had a problem with cooking the bags. Now that we have our Amana range, however, it’s easier than ever -- I just program the “Favorites Cycle,” which lets me preset the cook time and temperature for the recipes I use most often. Here’s just one version, but feel free to vary the recipe with things like grated parsnip, smoked bacon or red wine.

Chicken Breasts Baked in a Bag

(Serves two)

2 7-ounce skinless chicken breasts

1 handful of dried porcini

9 ounces of mixed mushrooms, torn up

1 large wineglass of white wine

3 large pats of butter

1 handful of fresh thyme

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced

Using wide aluminum foil, make your bag by placing two pieces on top of each other (about as big as two shoeboxes in length), folding three sides in and leaving one side open. Mix everything together in a bowl, including the chicken. Place in your bag, with all the wine, making sure you don’t pierce the foil. Close up the final edge, making sure it’s tightly sealed and secure on the sides, and slide it onto a roasting pan. Place the pan on a high heat for one minute to get the heat going, then bake in the middle of a 425-degree oven for 25 minutes.

When it’s time to take it out, the Amana EasyRack oven rack, with its practical U-shape design, lets you remove the pan without touching the hot rack. Then you just place the bag on a big plate, take it to the table, break open the foil, and start hearing the raves.

Bare-Bones Cooking Techniques

Here are some other bare-bones techniques I’ve perfected using my Amana range:

* If you invited friends to come round but they’re running late, pop up to four plates of food in the separate warming oven. Your glorious food not only stays warm, but also keeps the kitchen smelling wonderful until they walk in the door.

* If your side dish is ready but you still have other things to cook, just slide the pot onto the middle of the cooktop. The “warming zone” there acts like a fifth burner, keeping it warm and freeing up the other burners so you can finish cooking.

* If your recipe’s left a mess in the oven, don’t fret -- the hidden bake element and smooth oven bottom make it simple to mop up spills before they become baked-on disasters. The oven can clean itself while you’re in the middle of a dinner party -- just flip on the self-clean mode, pour yourself another glass of wine, and go back to your guests.

Visit www.amana.com for more practical appliance solutions from Amana.

Courtesy of ARA Content

EDITOR’S NOTE: For more information contact Maggie O'Brien, (612) 375-8510, mobrien@clynch.com.

Recipes are adapted with permission from Happy Days with the Naked Chef, Hyperion. Jamie Oliver 2002. Food Photographs, David Loftus 2002.

About the author:
Courtesy of ARA Content
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Beef Tamale Bread Casserole

Tamales are a Christmas tradition in Mexicans and many Hispanic households. This beef tamale bread casserole recipe is representative of that delicious tradition.

2 pounds ground chuck

2 cans (14.5 ounces each) tomatoes, slightly drained

1 can (12 ounces) whole kernel corn

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup chopped onion

1 minced clove garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

2 teaspoons salt or to taste

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 cup water

1/2 cup sliced pitted ripe olives

1 1/4 cups milk

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 cup grated mild Cheddar cheese

Heat olive oil in skillet; brown ground chuck. Add onion, garlic, and green pepper to the skillet; cook, stirring, until onion is tender and golden. Stir in the 1/2 cup cornmeal mixed with the 1 cup water; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, corn, salt, chili powder, and pepper; simmer for 5 minutes longer. Add olives; spoon into a 3-quart casserole. In a saucepan, heat milk with 1 teaspoon salt and butter; slowly stir in the cornmeal; cook, stirring, until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in cheese and eggs. Pour over meat mixture.

Bake at pre-heated over at 375° for 30 to 40 minutes. Or, prepare casserole early in the day and refrigerate for several hours. Bake chilled casserole for about 1 hour, or until hot and bubbly.

About the Author:
Ray Torres is an IT consultant by day and a gourmet aficionado by nigth, and founder of Great Free Online Recipes.com and it's recipes and cooking blog. "A celebration of cooking and great food!"
Article Source: http://www.articles411.com

Really Useful Time Management Tips from a Cooking Show

In life, there are lessons available to use everywhere. We just have to have our eyes open to spot them. I have picked up some really useful time-management tips from watching a cooking show. Suspend your disbelief and let me explain further.

I don’t watch a lot of television because it can be a huge time drain. But I enjoy experimenting and cooking, so I do watch a few cooking shows now and then. One of my favorites is “30 Minute Meals” hosted by the ever perky Rachel Ray. Her claim to fame is that she can show you how to prepare healthy, great-tasting home-cooked meals in 30 minutes. Who can resist that?

After experiencing more than a few episodes of her program, I’ve come to realize that she is a master at using time. That’s how she can get so much accomplished in 30 minutes. And here are her “secrets” that you can easily adopt.

Spend time in Planning

Most cooking shows lasting 30 minutes will feature maybe one item. In “30 Minute Meals”, Rachel Ray generally prepares three to five items working alone in her kitchen. She doesn’t have helpers and the ingredients haven’t been pre-chopped or diced or julienned ahead of time. She doesn’t have another perfect soufflé sitting in the oven waiting for her to whip out at the end to show you how it should turn out. She really does the cooking in “real time.” So how does she do it?

Before Rachel Ray even steps foot into her kitchen, she has the entire process for preparing the meal planned out. Does the dessert take longer to cook than the entree? If so, then it makes perfect sense to start the preparation of the dessert first. She knows which sequence of steps is the most efficient based on the planning. She knows exactly which ingredients she needs from the refrigerator so that she only needs to make one trip, which saves her time.

So, here’s our real life application. When you look at your list of things to do, or errands to run, how can you use planning to become more efficient? How many “trips to the refrigerator” can you save by improving your planning?

Utilize Every Minute

This may sound like a no-brainer, but how many of us are really experts at this like Rachel Ray. She constantly talks about her “pockets of time.” When the water is heating up for pasta, she uses her pocket of time to chop onions, butter bread, cut up chicken, and anything else she can fit in. By using these little pockets of time, she whips up a meal in 30 minutes.

Now for our real life application: how many times have you put off doing something because you only had 15 minutes and the task takes an hour? What if you can’t find a whole hour to work on that task for another week, but you can actually squeeze in 15 minutes everyday for the next 4 days? By using your little pockets of time, you are able to complete the task this week instead of next week. That’s the secret to getting more done.

Become a master at this like Rachel Ray. If you only have 10 minutes before you have to go to a meeting, return one phone call. This gives you the perfect incentive to be efficient about concluding the call. Pick up pockets of time everywhere and see how much more you can accomplish during your day.

Simplify whenever possible

Rachel was making a creamy tomato soup one day. Everybody knows that home-made soup takes hours. What was she thinking? Instead of putting in whole tomatoes and letting then cook for hours and then straining and blending the mixture, she put canned tomatoes with some garlic and celery into a food processor, and added the mixture into her pot of hot milk. She simplified the process! Some gourmet will probably shudder at the thought, but the soup looked pretty appetizing to me, and I’m sure it is much better than opening up a can of Campbell’s.

Often times we do things a certain way because that was how we were taught. The sad truth is, how we were taught might not be the best solution anymore. Technology is changing everyday and there are so many more resources available to us now that were unheard of even a generation ago. The more steps there are in a process, the more opportunities there are for errors. Look at what you are working on and how you are completing the task and try to simplify it if at all possible. A direct result of that is improved efficiency, which results in more time for you.

Now you have the time management lessons I’ve learned from the cooking show. Apply them and see what a difference they make to your day. And if you’re cooking, I’ll be right over.

Copyright 2005 Inez Ng

About the Author:
Inez Ng
Are your business results suffering due to an ineffective leadership team? Find out what coaching with Inez Ng can do for your leadership team at http://www.Realizationsunltd.com. Want to know about saving time handling emails? Check out her ebook at http://easyemailstrategies.com.
This article was posted on October 06, 2005
Article Source: articlecity

A Quick Fried Chicken

The very basic and simple fried chicken dish you can cook.

This is probably the most basic and simple fried chicken recipe I can think of, which is a good thing for various different reasons. You can add almost any number of different spices and ingredients to the seasoning recipe to alter the flavour of the meal, or you can leave it as is to be certain that the flavour of the chicken is never over-run by ingredients. Use your own discretion when seasoning this chicken.

Potatoes, grits, coleslaw, or any other basic country side dish goes well with fried chicken. In fact, the chicken itself could be a side dish if you so desire! Remember: this recipe is the very paragon of versatile! Make whatever side dish you feel like!

For beverages, grab some beer or juice. Simple, unrefined drinks will fit right in with this meal. Stick to your family favourites! Fine wines would be simply out of place!

The main advantage to cooking fried chicken is that the preparation takes the same amount of time no matter how much chicken you cook. If you are unsure of how many people will be eating with you, this meal is ideal, because you can accommodate any number of diners with minimal effort. The flavour is also very universal. No one will think the meal is unappetising unless they are a vegetarian, so you do not have to worry about other people's personal preferences!
All in all this is pretty much a perfect recipe for all kinds of occasions like gatherings, or just simple family dinner. You can serve it whenever you don't have time or want to "get away" with something simple and still get people asking for more!
Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts
3 teaspoons seasoned salt
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup vegetable oil

Instructions:

1. Mix the salt, garlic, and flour together in a wide bowl.
2. Roll the chicken in the seasoning mix until it's well covered.
3. Sprinkle more seasoning on the chicken, or shake off any excess, depending on your preference for breading density. If you wet the chicken slightly before dipping, more seasoning will stick. On the same note, patting it dry with a paper towel will minimise the breading content.
4. Pour your oil into a frying pan and heat on med-high for 5 minutes.
5. Fry chicken in the hot oil until it is golden brown.
6. Remove the chicken to a plate with many paper-towels to absorb as much oil as possible before consumption.

About the Author:
John
AceCooking AceRecipes SimpleCooking SpecialRecipes AllCooking
Submitted on 2006-11-05
Article Source: http://www.articlesarea.com/

Cookware - What’s New In Cookware?

As in most other industries, the cookware industry are constantly coming out with new lines and innovations. Some of the new lines are only available in gourmet or specialty shops and are sure to be expensive.

Regalware has a new cast iron cookware with a twice-fired ceramic exterior. It’s available in Royale Blue or Brick Red. As opposed to older cast iron cookware, this new ceramic exterior will work on any cooking surface, including glass top stoves. I had to give up my old-fashioned black cast iron skillets when I bought my new stove because I didn’t realize how badly they could scratch the surface. Ceramic coating keeps its good looks for years. The interior of the cookware has a non-stick surface that makes clean up a breeze. It also has special handles that give you a secure hold on the cooking utensil and stays cool to the touch.

Chinese food continues to be popular and Clad Metalcrafters is offering two new open stock stir fry pans. The pan features a triple layer disk of stainless steel and aluminum that is permanently bonded for fast and even heat distribution. This is important especially when you are cooking beef, chicken, or pork.

Mirro has introduced a new set made of aluminum and stainless steel, which boasts of durable, easy grip plastic handles that are easily handled. The eight-piece set with a non-stick interior sells for less than $40 in many retail stores.

Another innovative product is Bradshaw International’s new line of flex form bake ware. It is more expensive than regular bake ware but more and more people are learning of the advantage of the silicone bake ware. The cost is slowly coming down as they develop a special line to be sold in grocery stores and mega discount stores. The line is called Flexform and will include:

1 9” Round Cake Pan

2 6 Cup Muffin Pan

3 12 Cup Mini Muffin Pan

4 8” x 4” Loaf Pan

5 8” Square Cake Pan

6 11x17” Baking Sheet

Wilton Baking Accessories Company has introduced a stylish serving food centerpiece that can be used for special occasions and holidays. The name of the new device is Cupcakes ‘N More and can be used to display cupcakes, petit fours, tarts and brownies. It’s attractively made with a durable non-chip, non-toxic silver color metal finish. Spiraled wires hold the food items in place.

Periodically dusting with a soft, dry cloth is the key to maintaining your brass chandelier. If it gets dirty enough to need a more intense cleaning, use a gentle dish soap and warm water to clean it. Don't forget to dry after washing. Do not use an ammonia-based cleaner because this will cause tarnishing.

If your brass chandelier is tarnished and you haven't used an ammonia-based cleaner, first determine whether or not it's solid brass. Try sticking a magnet on it; if the magnet stays on, your chandelier is made of steel-plated brass. In that case, the tarnish you are seeing is likely rust and can be removed with steel wool. After removing the rust, your next decision is whether to have it re-plated. If you don't want to have it re-plated, you can choose to paint it.

A solid brass chandelier which has tarnished is relatively easy to clean. First use a brass cleaner to get the tarnish off. Once it has been removed, follow up with clear lacquer spray paint.

When purchasing a brass chandelier, remember that it is not intended as a main light source. Chandeliers are hung for the elegance and grace they add to almost any room. Brass chandeliers come in many sizes, so they are appropriate anywhere.

There are many types of chandeliers available to add grace to your home or business. If you are in the market for one, remember the long life and easy maintenance of brass chandeliers. You'll be glad you did.

About the Author:
John Francis
Cookware sets - are you getting the best for your money?
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

Puff Pastries Can Help You Cook!

If your family is anything like my family, they will be completely tired of eating meatloaf and spaghetti every other day. Kids need variety in their meals. The trouble is, sometimes the family cook runs out of ideas about the things to serve for dinner!

If this is true for you, it sounds like you need to have more variety in what you serve. If you use puff pastry, you're going to be able to serve a whole lot more choices to your family. Those of us who like to stock up may even have puff pastry already in our freezers. Puff pastry shouldn't scare you though-- it is delicious and so easy!

Baking puff pastries is easy. Get yourself an oven and a timer and get started! Puff pastries cook at 200-300 degrees centigrade. Always check your puff pastry slightly before you think it will have finished baking to avoid burning. You will do fine if you keep your eyes peeled!

It's great how puff pastries can turn a mediocre meal into a truly savory experience! I never would have guessed that lamb roast and mini pizzas could be such a flavor sensation by adding this one particular ingredient!

Perhaps you've never had the opportunity to incorporate puff pastries into your meals and are therefore not sure how they can be used to improve a meal. What dishes am I referring to? I will tell you.

For example, puff pastry makes great, simple, and delicious cookies. Get some cookie cutters together and try cutting out different shapes from the puff pastry. You can glaze these cookie pieces with a beaten together mixture of eggs and milk. Stick these cookies in your oven and once they are done, frost them or leave them crunchy and flavorful. Tada! Your last-minute guests won't go hungry now.

Cut four pieces of puff pastry out and put some peaches or strawberries in the middle. Fold the pastry up all around the fruit and crimp the edges with your fingers. Glaze the pastry with your egg wash and put an apricot with sugar on top. Finally, bake your creation for about 15 minutes. Your friends are sure to love this dessert!

There are so many ways you can cook puff pastry. Don't let your baking experience be limited by the options I have listed here-- go ahead and experiment with your own recipes! I guarantee that whether you are making mini pizzas, appetizers, or garnishes, your guests won't be disappointed!

You have seen some of the recipes from my own kitchen but now it's your turn. Get to baking and let your family get a glimpse of how creative you can be!

About the Author:
Lorna Freemont is a prolific writer who keeps up on her interests in just about anything you could think of and she loves discussing all these subjects both in print as well as in person. Search for more articles by Lorna that discuss food at Food Fun Today.
Added: 11 Sep 2006
Article Source: http://articles.simplysearch4it.com/article/36291.html

Why Do Make-Ahead Recipes Work So Well To Reduce Your Dinner Party Stress?

One of the “tricks” I find most useful for hosting stress-free dinner parties is to make some of the recipes ahead. I find that too many last minute jobs can overwhelm me, so I plan ahead to eliminate as many as possible.

The more dishes you can prepare a day or some hours before guests ring your doorbell, the more you reduce your stress. Here are some reasons:

· You avoid a last minute crisis if preparation takes longer than you thought it would.

· If you like to cook, you’ll have the leisure to enjoy what you’re doing instead of feeling frantic about a deadline

· You have time to clean up after you cook.

· If there is a disaster, say you burn something, you have plenty of time to come up with an alternate plan.

· If you have prepared the dessert ahead, you don’t need to leave the table for a long stretch just when the conversation is getting really interesting.

Put your imagination to work for you! Try to imagine your way through the last minute jobs you will have to get dinner on the table, and reduce them to a minimum you feel comfortable with. It helps to think about what all those last minute jobs are: setting out the ice water pitcher, lighting the candles, putting items in serving dishes and getting the guests to the table.

By the way, many of these are jobs that your guests can do.

What is your level of tolerance for last minute jobs?
Now ask yourself what your level of tolerance is for last minute jobs? If it is low, then you should think about finding some recipes that absolutely minimize any last minute work. This is especially true if you are an inexperienced cook.

Some of the recipes I rely on are make-ahead, and some are just items that I can bring home from the store and put out in nice serving dishes.

Some cooks even make everything ahead. If you love stews, lasagna and casseroles, then you could do that too.

But I often prefer serving a delicious roast of lamb or beef or chicken as the special item on the menu. Luckily these dishes are ones you can put in the oven and leave to themselves while you do other things.

If you can add potatoes and vegetables to the roast while it cooks you have almost all of the advantages of make-ahead. Once you pop them in the oven beside the roast you can pretty well ignore them until they are cooked.

So I tend to focus on finding appetizers, salads, side dishes and desserts that I can make ahead, or set out straight from the store, or vegetables I can cook alongside a roast. Then I can concentrate on the last minute items like slicing a roast, making gravy, and getting things on the table.

Probably the most important category for me is appetizers. I find it too stressful to be fussing at cooking something while the doorbell is ringing. If you are hosting by yourself you may find the same.

So I try to have a repertoire of make-ahead or buy-ahead appetizer recipes that work for me. Often I serve more than one, since some of my guests like to stick to very light appetizers, and others enjoy heartier ones.

You can build your repertoire of make ahead recipes for your home dinner parties. I suggest you start with appetizers. If you want to see some of my favorites, just go to my the Make-Ahead Appetizers page on my website.

Enjoy minimizing your hosting stress and watching your guests’ eyes light up at the sight of your tasty, well presented appetizers.

About the author:
Joanie Williams has been enjoying giving home dinner parties with minimum stress for over 25 years. See how you can use make-ahead appetizers to reduce your stress and enjoy your own dinner parties. http://www.thedinnerpartyplanningsite.com/make-ahead-appetizers.html
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Cooking Tip For Onions and Garlic -- Nana's Secret to Great Flavor, If You Know How

Onions and garlic always add great flavor to most dishes. But let me share with you a cooking technique on preparing them that will greatly enhance the flavor of your meals. Your guests will rave about your cooking.

Many dishes call for onions and garlic in their recipes. You chop them up, saute them for 3 minutes and you are done. This is where, in my opinion, they miss the flavor boat.

When I was younger I would watch my husband's Italian Nana cook spaghetti sauce and a number of other dishes and you know what she would do? She would always, finely chop the onion and slowly saute them in olive oil for about 35 to 40 minutes. It was a fairly slow process, because she would tend to the onions stirring them frequently as they slowly cooked. Eventually the onion would cook down (to almost half of what she started with) and turn a nice golden brown.

When the onion was about done Nana would add minced fresh garlic and saute the whole mixture another 4 or 5 minutes. What a wonderful smell that was. Boy was her spaghetti sauce special and this is why I believe her dishes were so delicious.

So I started using this technique every time I made a dish that called for onion and garlic. You know what? Every time I sauteed the onion slowly in olive oil my dishes were more flavorful. Special if you will.

So now I use this little technique every time I make spaghetti sauce, casseroles, beef stroganoff, taco soup and any other dish that calls for onion and garlic.

Once I made a Pampered Chef casserole with egg, zucchini, onion and garlic and used my little technique. Well let me tell you, that dish disappeared fast with many requests for the recipe. When I made this dish previously without using my onion technique the dish was nothing special.

So if you have the time, and I believe it is definitely worth it, try Nana's tip.

One thing to keep in mind is that the onion cooks down to just about half of what you start with so use double the amount of onion that the recipe calls for. Don't worry if it looks like way to much onion. Once it cooks down, the amount will be just right.

Again, here is all there is to it:

Finely chop up the amount of onion you will need. Pour olive oil into a frying pan. Be generous here. There is no set amount. Say 3 or 4 tablespoons for one onion.

Turn the heat on to medium high. Add the onion stirring frequently, until it is reduced by 1/3 to 1/2. If the onion appears to be cooking too fast, turn the temperature down to low. Just make sure the onion doesn't burn.

When you think it's done (after 35 to 40 minutes), add the minced garlic and cook an additional 4 or 5 minutes.

Now add the onions and garlic to you favorite dish.

You are going to love the flavor.

About the Author:
Robin Gai is a previous restaurateur and the webmaster of http://www.cooking-mexican-recipes.com. If you enjoy Mexican food be sure to stop by to find some delicious Mexican recipes.
If you love chicken enchiladas visit http://cooking-mexican-recipes.com/chicken_enchilada_recipes.html
Visit her cooking blog with other recipes and techniqes at http://cooking-mexican-recipes.com/cooking-mexican-recipes-blog.html
I am happy to have you republish this article on your website. However, you are not allowed to change any of the content and all links must remain active.
This article was posted on September 18, 2006
Article Source: articlecity

Szechwan Chicken Recipe

A very delicate and sharply flavoured dish.

Let me introduce to you one of my favourite recipes -- Szechwan chicken -- a sharp flavoured dish. It is chicken stir-fried and covered in a dark soy-based sauce with ginger and hot peppers. The meal is very beautiful when served, and even more impressive to watch while being made. Here is a bonus hint for you: use this to its fullest advantage by making the meal on dates or other events in which being impressive could be considered advantageous.

It is best to serve Szechwan Chicken with rice, or another mild dish to offset the spicy heat of the stir-fry. Vegetables are also a nice touch, and along with rice will serve to round out the meal to match anything you would find at an expensive restaurant. The sauce from the stir-fry can also be used to fry a number of vegetables to accompany the meal. Recycling the sauce you used with the chicken is a quick and easy way to get the most out of your preparation time!

This dish is best served with a sweet beverage, like white win, cola or other soda, or mixed drinks. The heat from the peppers mixes well with any Mexican beverage.

Overall this is a very special dish, which does require some extra time to cook but once you are ready you'll be happy with the result... and as I said the preparation process itself is very unique and interesting by itself. So enjoy cooking it!

Ingredients:

Chicken:
1 lb. boneless chicken breast, cubed
4-6 carrots, sliced into 1/4" pieces
1 can bamboo shoots
12-15 dried hot peppers
Olive oil

Sauce: (Thoroughly mix all ingredients before preparation)
6 tbsp. soy sauce + 3 tbsp. water (or 9 tbsp. of low-sodium soy sauce)
2-3 tbsp. cornstarch
Chopped fresh ginger or powdered dry ginger (to taste, usually 3 tbsp.)
3 tbsp. Sherry

Instructions:

1. Place the peppers and 1 tbsp. of cooking oil in a wok.
2. Brown the peppers under medium-high heat, then remove them to a plate.
3. Place the cubed chicken in the wok and cook until pink color disappears (2-5 min).
4. Remove the chicken from the wok.
5. Add 1 tbsp. of oil to the wok, and add the carrots.
6. Stir-fry until carrots begin to soften. (If you prefer soft vegetables, you can add several tablespoons of water to the carrots and steam them for 5 min.
7. Add the bamboo shoots and stir-fry 1-2 minutes.
8. Add the (browned) peppers, chicken, and the sauce to the wok.
9. Stir under medium heat until the sauce thickens.

About the Author:
John
AceCooking AceRecipes SimpleCooking SpecialRecipes AllCooking
Submitted on 2006-11-05
Article Source: http://www.articlesarea.com/

How to Choose the BBQ That’s Right for You

No matter what kind of food you want to barbeque, there is a barbecue out there that is perfect for your needs and budget.

When it comes to outdoor entertaining, or just enjoying a hot summer’s day, the barbeque is an important part of the whole experience. Whether you’re looking for portable and disposable models, or a stainless steal, state-of-the-art appliance with all of the latest gadgets, there are always a swath of different barbeques for your perusal.

Remember, it isn’t just your cooking skills that will dictate the success of your barbequed meals, but also choosing the proper barbeque to cater to your outdoor cooking needs and desires.

After all, little is more wasteful than paying good money for added features that you’ll never use, or having to try to make dinner for fifteen people on a one square foot grill. Therefore, before heading out to the barbeque store, or even before shopping around online, you will need to consider the different elements that should dictate your final BBQ decision.

Among the most important factors to remember are:

a. How much you want to spend
b. How many people you’ll usually be cooking for
c. How much space you have in your garden for cooking
d. How (and if) you’ll be storing it in the winter

Once you have these answers figured out, you’ll be able to start thinking about the different barbeque types that are available to you.

If you’ll only be cooking occasionally, and on a smaller scale, disposable barbecues – foil trays with their own charcoal and lighter paper – may be exactly what you’re looking for. These are very simple to light, and will burn well for enough time to cook any reasonable meal. These are ideal for cooking in small spaces, or cooking on a picnic (where fires are permitted), but should not be your selection if you are looking into serious outdoor cookery.

Charcoal and gas barbeques come in many different shapes and sizes and are frequently collapsible for easy storage. Some are on casters, and while others require around 5 feet of patio space, others need less than half of that. Though some have side burners, rotisseries, griddles, hot plates, and other food warming gadgets, it’s important to consider the basics first, and build from there.

First, check out the cooking space. Will the space be large enough to handle what you’ll likely be cooking? Next, have a look at the size of the entire barbeque. Remember that you’ll not only need to have enough room for it, but also for yourself to work around it, as well as tables for holding your accessories, marinades, sauces, uncooked food, and naturally, for the people who will be eating your masterpieces. Remember that you’ll also need enough space in your garage or shed to store the barbeque during the winter.

Your barbeque should be tough enough to handle the great outdoors, as well as the wear and tear that you’ll inflict upon it. This means sturdy construction, metal work, and corrosion resistant paint and fittings. A cover is often very beneficial to keep out a spurt of rain, so you might consider that a good investment.

Lastly, have a look at the ease of lighting, cleaning, and charcoal removal. After that, all you need to consider is the color and overall appearance of the barbeque, and how it will compliment your garden.

About the Author:
Richard Cussons is a prolific and diverse writer. You can find out more about the origins of barbeques at BBQ Resources.
Article Source: http://www.articles411.com

When Your Meal Bites Back: Tips For Avoiding Food Poisoning

Around the world, food-borne illnesses have become increasingly common. In the United States alone, millions of people get a food-related illness each year.

"Even the healthiest foods can make a person sick if they aren't handled, cooked or stored properly," says Dr. Robert Berkow, editor in chief of Your Health Now, a new health magazine from the global pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., Inc. Here are some tips on how to avoid getting sick:

• Always wash hands before handling food. Illnesses are easily transferred from person to person through food. Washing hands before touching fruits, vegetables and other foods helps to kill any bacteria that may be transferred from the person's hand to the food.

• When handling raw meat, poultry or pork, always clean up thoroughly.

Don't just wash your hands but also clean the surfaces of cutting boards, countertops and utensils you use. The bacteria known as salmonella spreads easily on surfaces that come in contact with raw meat.

• Avoid eating undercooked food. Undercooked beef, chicken and seafood increase a person's chance of getting salmonella or E. coli, another type of bacteria. This can cause fever, cramps, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

• Do not eat foods that contain raw eggs. Raw eggs may be contaminated with salmonella, which can be killed by cooking. When cooking, always throw away cracked or dirty eggs.

• Avoid drinking juices that have not been pasteurized. The pasteurization process kills bacteria such as E. coli.

• Avoid canned foods that are bulging or dented, or jars that are cracked. Lids should not be loose or swollen. Look at the "sell by" and "use by" dates. Avoid foods that will expire soon after purchasing and never buy outdated foods.

• Properly store and refrigerate foods when they're brought home. Cooked foods should not be left to stand at room temperatures for long periods before serving, and leftovers should be refrigerated within two hours.

• When in doubt, throw it out. If you aren't sure if that leftover is safe to eat, then toss it in the trash.

About the Author:
Wayne Ryan
For more information on health issues that affect you and your family, visit YourHealthNow.com.
Cooked foods should not be left to stand at room temperatures for long periods. Refrigerate leftovers promptly.
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

Low Calorie Cooking And Exercise – The Miracle Diet?

With all the fad diets taking over our televisions, bookstores, and pantries, many people have forgotten the basics of healthy living. When you are busy counting carbs, calculating fat grams, and popping diet pills, perhaps you should consider that the “miracle” diet may very well be the oldest one in the book. Low calorie cooking and exercise may very well be the secret to weight loss and healthy living.

A few decades ago, few people knew what a carb was. However, everyone knew that you were supposed to eat a healthy, balanced diet. Now, however, low calorie cooking has been replaced with complicated recipes with hard-to-find ingredients, all in the name of weight loss. How did this get so complicated? Is it possible that you can lose weight without an advanced degree in physics?

The real key to weight loss and healthy living is low calorie cooking and exercise. Most people have one of two problems with this method. One, it seems too easy, or two, it does not magically make weight disappear.

Although people may say they want an easy solution to weight loss, the truth is the complicated methods make people feel like they are accomplishing something. If it is as simple as lowering calories, people are not constantly reminded of what they are doing, so it seems like they are doing nothing. This coupled with the second reason, it does not make weight magically disappear, makes people assume it does not work. People want to look in the mirror the day after starting a diet and see a difference. They want a manifestation of the hard work and effort they are putting forth. However, few long-term solutions make a difference that quickly. Low calorie cooking and exercise are not capable of getting you into skinny jeans in a week, but the real goal should be long-term health and fitness.

How do you incorporate low calorie cooking into a diet based in deep-fried food and sweets? The first step is to reduce the grease and sugar. You do not have to give it up completely, but make it a rare treat instead of a staple in your diet. When cooking your regular recipes, replace ingredients with healthier alternatives or low calorie counterparts. For example, use low fat cheese and milk and veggies whenever possible.

You can also get exercise into your everyday activities. Park in the far parking places at work or at the grocery store and opt for the stairs instead of the elevator. Every little bit helps get you into shape.

About the Author:
Julia Tanner is a professional writer. More articles can be found at: low fat recipies , low calorie recipes , low calorie cooking
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What Do I Have To Do To Become A Good Chef

Being a chef is a very physical profession. You are required to remain on your feet almost constantly. Along with that, you must also be stirring, kneading, and chopping your foods.

Many times, you will have to do all of this while also having to ordering foods for hungry customers and critical customers.

A kitchen is almost scorching hot year round so you should be quite prepared for that. Even in the best conditioned areas, a kitchen is often as hot as 95 degrees or higher.

If that doesn't sound like enough to do, try doing it while you are also maintaining all of the rest of the kitchen staff. Choosing to be a chef for a living is a very rewarding and time consuming job.

Now do you see why being able to multi-task is so important? The road to becoming a chef requires much training and hands on experience.

Here's what you need to do to be a good chef.

A strong desire to be a chef is a good place to start. Having a good sense of smell, and taste will be necessary also. It would very difficult to prepare a good meal if you can't decipher the differences from one spice to another; or if you do not know which spices go well together and which ones don't.

Cooking is a lot different than being a chef is. If you are just cooking for yourself you have room for errors.

If you are cooking for a stranger, you will want to cook your food to perfection. Of course, you will also want to present the food in an enticing manner as well.

There are stages to becoming a chef. You have to start at the bottom, but becoming a chef is one of few occupations where you can get most of your training on the job. You do have to go to school and train as well, but much of the training is done in a working environment.

About the author:
Robert Smith
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Cuisine and Cooking

The term "cuisine" has widespread implications, encompassing practices and traditions in cooking and the general preparation of food and beverages. These practices and traditions are usually specific to a certain geographic region and heavily influenced by the various ingredients available in that region as well as by it's cultural mores (such as religion). The use of chopsticks in the Far East, for example, (itself done in keeping with Confucian teachings) necessitates that the food be cut into bite-size portions before serving. New technologies have also come into play in regional cuisine. New methods of production, preservation, transportation etc. coupled with the rise of intercultural interaction brought about by immigration and tourism has lifted many of the old restraints off of cuisine.

"Ethnic" cuisine often depends upon the delivery of fresh ingredients from far-away lands and has only recently been made possible by faster and cheaper transportation as well as better preservation and other factors. The existence of foreign cuisines alongside local cuisines allows for the creation of new dishes through experimentation by chefs. Cuisine is, for all these reasons, culturally important in many ways and is often associated with oenology and gastronomy. Italian and French cuisine is much appreciated around the world for its variety and the quality of its products.

About the Author:
David Russo, VMD, PhD
Veterinary Scientist, Gourmet Lover and Amateur Cook
http://www.high-net-worth-gourmet.com
718 8247308
dgrusso@verizon.net
This article was posted on November 21, 2006
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