Free Web Site Content Provider » Recipe http://articlesmart.com Web Page Content Articles on Ice Cream, Health & More Sat, 28 Aug 2010 18:38:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 The Secret to Cooking Duck http://articlesmart.com/the-secret-to-cooking-duck/ http://articlesmart.com/the-secret-to-cooking-duck/#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2010 06:40:45 +0000 admin http://articlesmart.com/the-secret-to-cooking-duck/ After a long absence from the American food scene, duck is making a comeback. And why not? Well-prepared duck is tasty and healthy. Both domestic and wild duck are an excellent source of iron and protein. Too, fresh duck is found in many supermarkets and specialty food stores from late spring until early winter (the U.S. government grades ducks from A to C–A being the best), and who doesn’t like to try something other than chicken or beef now and then?

How to buy the bird

When buying duck, be sure to choose a bird with a plump, broad breast and elastic skin. If you buy frozen duck, check that the packaging has no holes that could compromise the quality of the poultry.

The problem with duck

Duck isn’t difficult to prepare—once you know how to do it. The trouble is, very few people (even some chefs in expensive restaurants) know how to cook it properly. Duck is dark, fatty meat. You must cook off as much of the fat as possible to end up with a bird that doesn’t have a tough, chewy skin. (Duck skin should be crispy!)

There are a number of ways people have dealt with this over the years, but let’s focus on the French way.

Cooking duck breast the French way

The first vital step is to prepare the duck for cooking by slicing through the skin and fat. With a sharp knife, press down into the duck’s skin, being careful not to cut through the meat of the bird. The fat is easy to cut, so as soon as you feel some resistance, you’re at the meat. Make a cut about every inch over the surface of the bird; for a more attractive look, use a cross-hatch pattern.

These cuts allow the duck’s fat to drain, which greatly improves the taste and texture of the bird.

Next, you must cook the duck slowly:

Place some oil in a heavy pan and fully preheat on low heat. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Season the duck with pepper and a small amount of salt. (Other seasonings could include cumin, rosemary, fennel, or five spice powder.)

Place the duck, skin side down, in the pan. There shouldn’t be a sizzle. (If there is, remove the duck promptly and allow your pan to cool. Then try reheating the pan on lower heat.)

To prevent the duck from frying in its own fat, drain the fat as needed throughout the cooking process.

In about 15 to 20 minutes, most of the duck fat will be gone. At that time, turn the duck and cook for about 5 to 10 seconds.

Place the duck on an oven rack with a foil-covered cookie sheet beneath it (to catch drips). Roast for 5 to 10 minutes or until a thermometer stuck in the breast reads 160 degrees F.

Allow the duck to rest a few minutes before serving.

Now that you understand how to cook duck well, experiment! Impress your family and friends with a gourmet duck cooking recipe, or try barbecuing or grilling duck breasts, remembering to cut through the skin and fat first, then cook slowly.

Kristina Seleshanko is a former research librarian for “Gourmet” magazine and the author of 16 books.
]]> http://articlesmart.com/the-secret-to-cooking-duck/feed/ 0 Information About Eggplant and Eggplant Recipes http://articlesmart.com/information-about-eggplant-and-eggplant-recipes/ http://articlesmart.com/information-about-eggplant-and-eggplant-recipes/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:32:33 +0000 admin http://articlesmart.com/?p=115 Eggplant comes from India. It was cultivated mainly in South and East Asia long ago but it became famous in the western world after 1500. It is cultivated as annual. It grows from 40 to 150 cm. It has big leaves – they can reach 10-20 cm length and 5-10 cm width. Some wild plants can reach the size of 225 cm. Their leaves can be longer than 30 cm and wider than 15 cm. Their trunks are often thorny. Their color can vary from white to purple. The fruit is pulpy. Wild plants have no longer than 3cm fruit in contrary to the cultivated which fruit is quite bigger. Raw fruits of the eggplant have a bitter taste. This bitter taste can easily be fixed. It is necessary to put some salt on the eggplant and then wash it out. Nowadays most of the sorts do not need this manipulation.Another well known fact is that this fruit has the ability to absorb big amounts of fat. It is important to mention that the absorbing ability of the eggplant can decrease if we put salt on it. Eggplant is major ingredient in many cooking recipes. It is famous all over the world-from Japan to Spain. In your meals you can see it boiled, fried, baked…

Recipes with Eggplant

 

Baked Eggplant

 

1 kg eggplant; 2 middle-sized tomatoes; 7-8 tablespoons vegetable oil; 5-6 big cloves of garlic; 1 cup water;

 

Peel and slice the eggplant on thin slices. Put salt and leave for 30 minutes to strain off. Slice the tomatoes on thin slices and the garlic cloves lengthwise. Stir all the products in vegetable oil and pour in a tray. Spread out equally and pour the water. Bake on second level of the oven at maximum temperature then lower to 200 degrees Celsius(392 Fahrenheit). Serve with sliced on fine pieces parsley.

Eggplant with green peppers

 

500 g eggplant; 300 g green peppers; 1 onion; 80 ml vegetable oil; a bunch of parsley; 4-5 cloves of garlic; 1 circle of lemon, pepper; cumin; salt;

 

Slice the green peppers on fine pieces. Wash and peel the eggplant and then slice it on cubes. Fry onion in a frying pan using vegetable oil until it becomes rosy. Add green peppers and eggplant. Add salt. Stir the mixture and cover so the vegetables can get mellow. After the vegetables soften uncover and leave on the hot plate until only fat remains. Slice parsley and garlic and add to the vegetables. Put a pinch or two cumin and pepper for better taste.

 

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]]> http://articlesmart.com/information-about-eggplant-and-eggplant-recipes/feed/ 0 How to Improve Your Cooking? http://articlesmart.com/how-to-improve-your-cooking/ http://articlesmart.com/how-to-improve-your-cooking/#comments Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:56:54 +0000 admin http://articlesmart.com/?p=110 If you think cooking involves opening the refrigerator and putting the frozen dinner inside the microwave, you are wrong. It involves far more than you think and if you want to improve your cooking, you will take this to heart. It requires a lot of preparation, testing, cutting and tasting. For more help visit to: www.cooking-chinese-style.com.And in some cases, even the washing after you are done with making the perfect dish.In short, cooking is not easy. Ask any chef or you mom; or better yet why not try yourself? You will soon find out that making a dish is not some simple task that involves a swish of the magic wand. It is hard work that involves precision, readiness and timing, perfect timing.If you want to improve your cooking skills and produce dishes that your family will marvel at, here are some of the skills that you need to develop.Measuring in precise terms although professional chefs no longer rely on measuring tools like cups and spoons; remember that you are far from being a professional. In fact, you are just learning and until you master cooking, you need these tools to stay in the game an produce at least a passable dish that you family can stomach to eat!Measuring cups and spoons are there to help you determine just how much ingredients you need to put. How much salt or how much sugar. In cooking, measuring is everything, not unless you want your dish to taste like saltwater.Timing a lot of timing is involved in cooking. For the professionals, timing is more of an instinct or expertise. They know upon seeing the meat if boiling should already be stopped or if the vegetables should be pulled out of the pan before it becomes overcooked.But for those who are just learning the ropes, timing is the number of minutes that is indicated in the recipe. That is why a watch is one of the essentials that you need to have if you are cooking. In fact, some even put an alarm so that they will be reminded that it is already time. Food can be really delicate. A minute more than what should be can be disastrous to a dish.Taste some has it, some don’t but the good news is for those who do not have the developed palate that chefs have, the art of tasting a dish can be learned. Taste is very important especially in determining if you should add a little bit more of flavor to the dish. Should you add salt to make it tastier or should you add water to lessen the saltiness. A lot of decisions are involved in cooking and you need a good palate to determine just what will be a hit to the people who will be eating what you prepared.Picky attitude the foundation of a good dish is not just the talent of the person who cooks it but also the quality of the ingredients that were used to prepare it. This means that no matter how good the chef is, he cannot make stale ingredients taste delicious.Old fish will still taste like old fish no matter how many flavorings you add into it. That is why it is important to also develop the skill of looking for fresh ingredients. For more help visit to: www.cooking-chinese-style.com.Ask around and let people in the marketplace teach you how to spot the fresh veggie. If you really want to improve your cooking, lowering your pride will not be so difficult.Miles PepsiCo is a certified culinary trainer who owns a highly popular and comprehensive Culinary Arts web site. For more articles and resources on cooking, free cooking classes and instructions, cooking recipes, cooking lessons and much more, visit his site at:

]]> http://articlesmart.com/how-to-improve-your-cooking/feed/ 0 How Does Crock Pot Cooking for the Summer? http://articlesmart.com/how-does-crock-pot-cooking-for-the-summer/ http://articlesmart.com/how-does-crock-pot-cooking-for-the-summer/#comments Sun, 20 Dec 2009 17:00:48 +0000 admin http://articlesmart.com/?p=109 When the weather outside warms up, the kitchen can be a terrible place to be. There are many things you can do however, when it comes to cooking a nice home made meal that doesn’t require traditional stove top or oven cooking. Learn to utilize some of the lesser heat producing equipment in your kitchen, such as the crock pot, in order to truly beat the summer heat and keep your cool while preparing a nice hot meal for friends and family.So, how does crock pot cooking really help beat the heat? Simply put, the crock pot in and of itself puts off far less heat when cooking than an oven or stove top. This is the first and possibly the best reason to utilize the crock pot in your summer meal planning. You should also consider the fact that by not heating the house by using your stove top or oven you are also preventing your air conditioning (or other cooling methods) from working overtime in order to compensate for the additional heat that other cooking methods introduce.This makes crock pot cooking a win-win situation as the costs involved in operating a crock pot are far less than the costs involved in operating a stove or oven in general. Whether electric or gas, for more details visit to www.chicken-wing-cookbook.com your stove and oven are often serious energy hogs. Add to that the fact that you are not raising the temperature in your home by traditional means of cooking and you are using even less electricity.Unfortunately for most, the general consensus has been that crock pots were meant for comfort foods and hearty winter meals. The truth is that the crock pot should be one of your best loved and most often utilized cooking methods if you can manage it. When it comes to cooking with a crock pot, for more details visit to www.cat-head-biscuit.com the options are almost limitless. Almost anything that can be baked can be made in the crock pot and many, many more wonderful and enticing meals and treats as well.Benefits of Crock Pot CookingIn addition to the cost benefits mentioned above when it comes to crock pot cooking there are many other benefits that are well worth mentioning. First of all, the bulk of the work involved in crock pot cooking takes place early in the day when you are refreshed rather than at the end of a hectic work or play day. This means that you are less likely to forget an ingredient or make other mistakes that often occur as we hurriedly prepare a dinner when we are exhausted from the activities of our day.Second, many great crock pot recipes include the vegetables that insure we are getting the nutrients we need. So often, when preparing a meal at the last minute, vegetables and other side dishes are left out in favor of expedience. Crock pot cooking in many instances is a meal in one dish.Another great reason to use a crock pot for your summertime cooking is the ease of clean up. Unlike pots and pans, most crock pot meals are made in one dish. This means that there will not be mountains of dishes to be either hand washed or loaded into the dishwasher (or if you are like me-both) afterwards. You can spend less time cleaning just as you spent less time slaving over a hot stove. Oh wait! Make that no time slaving over a hot stove. Once clean up is complete you can get back to enjoying the sun set, chasing the lightening bugs with your little ones, or waiting for the first star.While there will never be a one size fits all best cooking method, crock pot cooking comes very close. If you have a crock pot collecting dust somewhere in the back of your pantry it is time to get it out, dust if off, and dig up some great summertime crock pot cooking recipes.

]]> http://articlesmart.com/how-does-crock-pot-cooking-for-the-summer/feed/ 0 The Secret the Healthy Cooking http://articlesmart.com/the-secret-the-healthy-cooking/ http://articlesmart.com/the-secret-the-healthy-cooking/#comments Sun, 20 Dec 2009 09:37:01 +0000 admin http://articlesmart.com/?p=107 Cooking a good nutritious meal does not have to result in torture for your taste buds. In fact, aside from it being pretty easy to prepare, adhering to experts’ cooking tips and tricks can turn you into cook extraordinaire. All you have to do is know which types of food you should choose and find out how many meal verities you can make out of them.Even your favorite cooking recipes can be modified to their healthier alternatives without compromising on taste and texture. For more help visit to: www.classic-dessert-collection.com.Just figure out where to cut on calories and fat so it won’t turn out a gourmet disaster.Of course, cooking healthy food does not really entail having to start from scratch. Why, you can even use convenience store fare and transform them into semi-homemade masterpieces by just adding healthy pinches of ingredients here and there.Healthy cooking also does not mean that everything has to be raw and involve only vegetables. Healthy means the meals carry a balance of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, no matter how they are prepared. So whenever you think healthy cooking simply means chopping up a few things and tossing them together, you are wrong.To spare yourself from the so-called hidden fats, or fats that aren’t easily visible, it’s best to use reduced-fat dairy goods and lean meats for ingredients. The good dietary fats usually come from unrefined products, such as fish, olives, nuts, soy, avocado and seeds. Such kinds of fat also come with other necessary nutrients so it’s okay to crazy with them.When cooking, use a non-stick pan to minimize your oil usage. If you really need to use oil, use menstruated oils applied with pastry brushes or cooking sprays so you don’t go overboard. Also, if your recipe book requires you to brown some veggies, try dunking them into the pan first before spraying oil. This will help lessen the amount of fat absorbed by your ingredients.Some healthy cooking experts recommend that you use substitute liquids for oil, like water, stock, fruit juices, so you won’t strip your ingredients of their vitamins and you won’t run the risk of having excess fat. And if you’re really serious about a healthy diet, use vinegars and salsas, instead of creams and butter, for more detail go to: www.delicious-sandwich-recipes.com.when you serve fish or meat dishes.This is a tricky question. While there are schools of thought that say vitamins and minerals are best preserved when vegetables are served raw, there are some that also contend that certain nutrients only surface when they are cooked. For instance, the anti-cancer and anti-heart illness antioxidant called leucopenia is present mostly in cooked tomatoes and ketchup.When cooking vegetables, just make sure they don’t stay boiling or frying too long to keep the minerals locked inside. Vegetables contain vitamins that are also soluble in water, it is not advised that you use too much of this liquid.As with anything else in this world, things work when done in moderation. The secret the healthy cooking is knowing what you want to take out and what you want to preserve. It doesn’t really take rocket science to learn all these, but it does require some amount of research and patience. After all, your body is your temple. You must love it by giving it a delicious and healthy reward.http://www.blueribbon-recipes.comhttp://www.404self-improvement-tips.com

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