219 Cooking Tips & Techniques You Might Find Useful! (4 page)

~
Chocolate ~

204.
         
Before melting a bar of
chocolate throw it on the floor to break it into small pieces. Only do this
with wrapped bars, of course.

205.
         
Unlike cheese chocolate is best
grated at room temperature but chill as soon as grated as it will quickly melt.

206.
         
The slightest drip of water
will make melting chocolate 'seize' and go all solid and lumpy so be very
careful.
Do Not Cover
as steam will
condense and drip into it. They do say that if you immediately whisk in a
tablespoon of mild vegetable oil per 175g chocolate you can pull it round but I'd
rather not risk it.

207.
         
If your bowl is plastic it is a
good idea to stand it on a metal jam jar lid or similar to stop it sticking to
the bottom of the pan.

~
Beverages ~

208.
         
Cool bottled drinks quickly by
submerging in a mix of ice and cold water. Much faster than just ice.

209.
         
For
clear ice cubes boil and cool the water first. This is a lot of faff just to
cool a drink but is a good idea if you intend adding something pretty such as a
twist of zest, a piece of fruit or an edible flower. If your tap water is
nothing special try using bottled water.

210.
         
Make
sure glasses for
Champagne
and sparkling drinks are grease-free with
no soap residue or all the fizz will go out of the drink.

211.
         
Add a
pinch of salt to coffee to mellow bitterness and round out its flavour.

212.
         
A drip
of vanilla extract is also a great coffee enhancer
.

213.
         
Match
your ice cube to your drink e.g. fruit juice cubes, or tea, coffee, wine etc.

~
Menu Planning ~

If you have a special meal to cook there
are a few things to consider which will make your job easier...

214.
         
I have always said, in my
professional capacity, '
Be
as ready as you can as
early as you can.' and I mean it. Do everything you possibly can in advance.

215.
         
In the same vein if you can
think of a dessert, starter or both that can be prepared the day before - go
for it! Even some main courses are better prepared ahead of time; casseroles
for instance improve with a rest to let their flavours to meld.

216.
         
As people like their steaks
cooked to different degrees I wouldn't recommend it for a dinner party unless
you are really confident.

217.
         
DON'T choose anything that will
need last minute attention, especially if you'll be wearing your best.

218.
         
Check through your menu to make
sure you don't need the same pot or serving dish for two aspects of the meal.

219.
         
Balance courses e.g. rich main
- light fruity dessert, salad main - rich creamy dessert.

~
Final Notes ~

This is obviously
not a definitive list of good cooking tips and I am sure I shall think of some
really good ones as soon as I've published this! If I do I shall put them on
the relevant
page on my
writerly
blog
and perhaps, if you
think of some good ideas you could do the same
.

I would be very
grateful if you could review this booklet for me on Amazon, especially if you
liked it. Just a sentence would do!

For more information (loads and loads
more!) on using up leftovers please have a look at my book "
The
Leftovers Handbook
: An A-Z of Every Conceivable Ingredient in
Your Kitchen, with Inspirational Ideas and Recipes for Using
Them
"
which will soon be available both as an
eBook
and as
a real one!

I have also written an
eBook
on an impressively easy, flexible and delicious
way to make ice cream which has been a lifesaver (not literally!) for me over
the years. "Lush Ice Cream without a Machine ~ or much time or effort or
having to mash the stuff as it freezes" can be sampled or bought
in the UK
at and
in the US
.

My Amazon Author page
is
here.

My writing blog can be
visited
here
.

My foodie blog, Sudden
Lunch!
is
here
.