Easy summer salads are the way to go, now that the winter blues are fading into the distance and salad days are here. The best salads are light, bright and easy to prepare.
After
all who wants to spend hours slaving in the kitchen when friends are
round for lunch, the garden is in bloom and the wine is chilled and
ready to pour. But before you start cooking Taobao save much energy by the right ingredients for a simple salad. That way you do not need the heavy bottles sauces and toppings to make a great taste
Want to take a beautiful crisp summer salad and soak it in a mixture of fat, sugar, salt and chemicals? If you start with good food and not too much that you do not need all these strong tastes as you have good food.
All
you need is to combine good for the flavors work together, have a good
crunchy texture and add light a little dressing to turn it around and
let your taste buds from the rest is fresh, as in any kitchen, the way
of a good salad. No I give supermarkets. Although it is easier to pick up the ready packed tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers etc. the bell.
To
make sure you get the best, take one or two minutes and collect the
vegetables, choose what is ripe and ready for use signature. Of course the same applies to meat and fish. There is a reason for supermarket packaging and it is not always convenient. So choose well, cook quickly and simply and your friends will not be over wine when you arrive! Enjoy a little bit of summer now with this easy salad of poached chicken.
Easy poached chicken salad
Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts (skinless)
1 red onion, finely sliced
1 medium onion
4 ripe tomatoes, finely cut thick
250g / 4oz AST PLASTIC mixed salad leaves
4oz AST PLASTIC raisins soaked in hot water for ten minutes
1 half lemon
2 bay leaves fresh or dried
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 small French bread stick or the like sliced 1/2
For the sauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
1clove crushed garlic
1/2 dessert spoon Dijon or other mild mustard
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
To make the dressing, whisk the vinegar and mustard together with the
garlic, slowly add olive oil while whisking and season with salt and
pepper to taste.
Put a pan of water to boil with the bay leaves, 1/2 white onion, lemon and pepper.Carefully
add the chicken and simmer gently until cooked, if you are not sure
it's worth investing a few dollars in a meat thermometer. The
temperature must be at least 75 degrees Celsius / 167 Fahrenheit, put
the bread on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and season with
salt.
Many of your favorite recipes can be adapted successfully to the slow cooker or slow cooker if you follow a few simple rules. You will find a roadmap time / temperature for converting recipes,
some do's and don'ts for specific ingredients and a few tips to make
your dishes tastier slow cooking.
Liquids
In general, liquid can be decreased in slow cooking - a general rule is approximately half of the recommended amount. Unless the dish contains rice or pasta, one cup of liquid is usually enough.
Pasta and rice
When recipes call for cooked pasta to be added, cook until slightly tender before adding to the pot. Add 1/4 extra liquid per 1/4 cup uncooked rice and rice converted using long grain for best results. For long-cooking recipes, add cooked rice shortly before serving.
Beans
It is generally best to soak beans overnight before cooking in the slow cooker. Before adding sugar or acidic ingredients, the beans should be softened first, in the slow cooker or on the stove top. If your recipe includes tomatoes, salt, or other acidic ingredients, the beans should be tender before beginning.
Herbs and spices
Ground herbs and spices tend to dissipate in long cooking times, so it is best to add at the end of cooking. Whole herbs release flavors over time, so they are a good choice for the slow cooker cook. You should taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary, before serving.
Milk and cheese
Milk, sour cream and cream break down over long periods of cooking and should be added during the last hour. Condensed cream soups are good substitutes for milk and can be cooked for extended times. "Healthy," or reduced fat cream soups can be used in any recipe as a substitute.Cheeses are usually kept for long periods of cooking, so it must be
added at the end of cooking, or use processed cheeses and spreads.
Soups
Add water just to cover the ingredients in the soup and add more after cooking if necessary for a thinner soup.For dairy soups, add 1 or 2 cups of water and for the last hour, add the milk, evaporated milk or cream as called for.
Vegetables
Dense
vegetables such as carrots, potatoes and other tubers no larger than 1
"thick must be cut and placed in the bottom of the pot, since they take
longer to cook
Lobster, once the food of poor farmers, is now considered a special treat for many. Although some people prefer the meaty claws, I think that lobster tails are the best tasting part of this delicious creature. A great meal of lobster tails might seem like a gourmet feast to your guests, but they are actually quite easy to prepare. Add a little sprig of garnish and a fancy dish and you're sure to impress even your mother in law.
Your
lobster tails might start to be fresh or frozen, in New England, fresh
lobster is easy to find but frozen might be all you can get in some
parts of the country and out of season. If your lobster tails are frozen, you need to defrost (can be cooked frozen but not be as tender). Put them in the fridge for 10 hours or so or thaw them in the
microwave for defrosting - Be careful if you choose this method as you
do not want to start cooking in the microwave.
After
they are thawed, remove the meat from the shell to open the back of the
housing cut - cut it in half and open it up to reveal the meat. Lift the meat - you can leave the fan part of the tail to show or not. Remove the vein.
Boiling lobster tails
Boil a pot of water large enough for all the tails to float in, add 1 teaspoon of salt per liter of water. Tail drop into boiling water and cook for about 1 minute per oz thawed (up to 10 0z of tails needs to cook for 10 minutes). If you are cooking a lot of tails, add a minute or two in the total time.
Lobster tails cooking in the oven
Lobster tails can be baked or broiled in the oven. To cook thawed lobster in the oven, set the oven to 400 degrees F.. Brush the tails with butter and bake for 8-10 minutes. If broiling, place the tails 4 or 5 inches from heat and broil for 2-5 minutes. When broiling keep a very close eye on them so they do not burn on the tops.
Lobster tails cooking grate
Oil the grill for lobsters from sticking. Put the grill on medium heat. Brush the lobster tails with butter and place on the grill. Make sure that the tails do not burn - if there is any flame grilled lobster move away. On each side of the grill for 4-5 minutes.Be careful not to overcook your lobster or it will be rubbery and tasteless. Lobster is cooked when it is no longer transparent.
Melt
chocolate baking is a demanding task, if not done well may end up with a
burned or grainy mess and ruin everything you bake. Below are 3 methods for melting chocolate, everyone can be successful
in their own way and only need to choose a method that works for you and
get to cooking are presented!
In the oven
Chocolate can be melted in the oven easily, but will have to be very diligent to see it. It's easy to get caught in their other tasks for baking and do not realize they have overheated until it is too late. To melt chocolate in the oven, heat the oven to 110 degrees. Chop the chocolate and place in a dish in the oven. Keep the door open and inspect regularly. It will take about an hour to melt completely.
Double boiler method
This tried and true method uses two pots or a special double boiler pot. Bottom pot has about an inch of water and the upper container is a little smaller and is based on bottom boat. The water should be heated to just below boiling. Chop the chocolate and put it in the top pot. The chocolate should be stirred until melted and must be careful not
to get water mixed with chocolate as this will make it grainy.
Microwave oven
Use
the microwave to melt chocolate can be the fastest but also the most
disastrous as a couple of seconds of overheating can ruin the chocolate
method. Chop the chocolate and place in a microwave-safe container. Heat
to 50% from 1 to 4 minutes - the amount of time required depends on the
amount of chocolate is melting so you have to watch the chocolate all
the time. When you see that is becoming brighter and before it completely melted, remove from the oven and stir until melted completely
Being a chef is a very physical profession. You need to stay on his feet almost constantly. Along with that, you must also be stirring, kneading and cut their food.
Many times, you must do all this while having to order food for hungry customers and critical customers also.
A kitchen is almost scorching hot year round and be very prepared for that. Even in the best conditioned areas, a kitchen is often as hot as 95 degrees or higher.
If there appears to be enough to do, try to do it while he is also keeping the rest of the kitchen staff. Choosing to be a chef for a living is a very rewarding job and time consuming.
Now do you see why it is so important to be able to multitask. 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. Has a good sense of smell and taste, it will also be necessary. It would be very difficult to prepare a good meal, if you can not decipher the differences from one species to another; or if you know which spices go well together and which do not.
The kitchen is very different from being a chef. If you are cooking for yourself only it has room for error.
If you are cooking for a foreigner, you want to cook food to perfection. Of course we also want to present the food in an attractive way also.
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 their training on the job. You have to go to school and train as well, but much of the training takes place in a work environment.
For
something a little different that promises to please guests and family,
Bumble Bee provides some delicious recipe ideas made with new gold
label Prime canned tuna steak. Keep this gourmet quality solid white tuna ready in the pantry for parties, unexpected guests or family reunions. Then,
prepare a gourmet meal affordable style that will have your guests
convinced you've prepared something truly elaborate and extravagant. As an added bonus, they will enjoy canapés or dishes that are delicious, but without the serious calories.
This specially developed by two of California's leading chefs, are
recipes that demonstrate how canned tuna is no ordinary ingredient.
* Mediterranean Style Rigatoni Pasta with Prime Fillet AlbacoreRecipe from Chef Fabrice Poigin, Bertrand at Mister A, San DiegoThis
simple and tasty dish of pasta with a Mediterranean flair is ideal
sitting down to dinner with family or celebrating with guests. Chef Fabrice suggests complementing this with a glass of Scotswitch 2001 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. Makes 4 servings.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces unsalted butter
1 large sweet onion, diced
1/42 red peppers, chopped and diced
1/41 ripe tomato, diced vine5 cloves garlic, mincedA sprig of rosemarySea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine1 small jar of Spanish olives (green olives stuffed peppers), drained2 6-ounce cans of Bumble Bee Prime Fillet Solid White Albacore, drainedpaste
1/2 pound rigatoni1 tablespoon thinly sliced chivesParmigiano-Reggiano dry, gratedPinch of red pepper flakes, chopped (optional)
Directions:
Bring water to boil in large saucepan according to package directions
in preparation for cooking the rigatoni pasta. Heat
2/3 of the olive oil and 4 ounces of unsalted butter in a large saute
pan over medium-high heat until nearly hot but not smoking. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes until soft. Add chopped red pepper, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until peppers are soft. Add the tomatoes, minced garlic and 1/3 teaspoon of leaves sprig of rosemary. Season with freshly ground pepper and sea salt.Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup dry white wine and simmer for 5 minutes. Then, add drained whole olives and Bumble Bee Prime Fillet tuna in solid pieces to sautéed mixture. Cover and cook until tuna is heated through (about 3-5 minutes).Cook the rigatoni pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package directions or until al dente boil. Drain the pasta in a colander, leaving some moisture. Toss the pasta, tuna sauce and water, then place on a platter or on individual plates. Drizzle remaining olive oil and garnish with finely chopped chives and grated dry aged parmesan. Top with a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, if you prefer a little more bite.* Canape delicate albacore tuna, festiveRecipe from Chef Fabrice Poigin, Bertrand at Mister A, San DiegoA couch elegant, easy to follow style to entertain guests or just treating yourself in a unique way to serve tuna! Serves 6-8.
Ingredients:
1 6-ounce can of Bumble Bee Prime Fillet Solid White Albacore, drained2 shallots, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chives, finely sliced
1 soup spoon crème fraicheSea salt and freshly ground pepper to tasteSourdough bread (optional)
3 ounces of comté cheese or aged white cheddar, sliced thinlyExtra cream for garnish (optional)
1/2 ounce domestic caviar (optional)Chervil sprigs (optional)
Instructions:
Mix tuna steak Prime, scallions, chives, cream and salt and pepper. Spoon mixture onto toasted triangles of sourdough bread or into Chinese ceramic serving spoons. Top
each serving mixture with a slice of cheese and place in a preheated
oven (300 degrees) until cheese begins to melt, about 3 minutes. Remove toast or Chinese spoons from the oven and top individually with a touch of cream and then a dot of caviar (optional). Finish with a sprig of chervil for garnish.
* First tuna steak and potato casseroleChef Gerald Hirigoyen recipe, owner and executive chef, restaurants Piperade and Fringale, San FranciscoRecognized
in 2003 lists ten best new wine Food & Wine Magazine Top Chef
Gerald suggests complementing this dish with a glass of 2001 Turnbull
Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. Makes 4 servings.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
4 medium Anaheim chilies, seeded and thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
8 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered1 cup dry white wine
3 cups vegetable broth or canned vegetable broth6-8 saffron
1 tablespoon kosher salt1
/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 mild dried chili4 6-ounce cans of Bumble Bee Prime Fillet S
With
the holidays on their way soon, many people will be better kitchens to
handle the increased demand for 'fit for a king' meals. Not being a professional Chef should not stop you from being able to cook like one. But you need the right to create these tools tasty dishes. Read on and find out the five tools that no kitchen cook should be without.
Mixing bowlsMake sure you have a good, Set quality of mixing vessels in hand - the bigger the better! Many dishes need to be beaten, blended or mixed. You'll be glad you did not skimp on the mixing bowls when you need to perform any of these tasks. Most professional chefs prefer to use stainless steel mixing bowls. However, there are many quality plastic systems, such as those made by OXO. But be aware that plastic bowls can be difficult to clean over time,
especially if used for heavy duty sauces, and may need to be replaced.
Previously experienced kitchen utensilsPans, pots and pans made of cast iron have been a choice of professionals. But, cookware, cast iron can be a little intimidating. Condiments, previously, re-seasoning, cooking the seasonings in, oils to use, etc. to ensure your skillet is ready, it is a hassle that many cooks would rather not deal with. Now you do not have to. You
can buy cast iron cookware abundance - already seasoned - so you have
no complaint and still get the same great benefits using the simple cast
iron. Lodge is a well known manufacturer of pre-seasoned cookware and offers different types of cookware cast iron. Note - soap or dishwasher should be used for your prized possessions.
Measuring spoons specialtyIf
you've ever seen one old grandmother's recipes refer to a pinch, pinch
or dash and have had to guess the meaning (and hope you're right) then
you absolutely must grab a set of pinch, pinch or measuring spoons the board. No more guessing or testing your interpretations on your guests (as fun as it can be). This set also makes a great conversation - especially at family
gatherings where elder members may take you on a trip down memory lane.
Was first to cake spatulaWhat could possibly ruin the perfect apple pie homemade Dutch crumb? Having to crumble as you try to get that first piece in the pie plate. Well, here's the secret of the pros - use a first a cake spatula. Cook cake spatula. When the cake from the oven and cooled, make the cuts and lift that first piece out in perfect appetizing condition!
Dining guide-companionEver you wonder how much you need to steam asparagus? Am I not sure how to stick a thermometer in a turkey? Ever open a pork chop before butterfly? For all strangers, rarely information you may need, while he was preparing a party is used, you can turn to a kitchen guide. Look for a kitchen guide which specializes in everything and everything you need to know when food is cooking in the kitchen. For a complete guide that has received rave reviews, check mate
Williams-Sonoma Kitchen: A to Z guide to everyday cooking, equipment and
ingredients.Many
of the above items can not be presented at your local retail store, so
you might want to look for a local kitchen specialty store near you or
to shop online. But
if you love the art of cooking and want to be armed with the best tools
possible, now you have a little more to add to your arsenal to help you
cook like the pros.
