Get in the Kitchen
Folk, start your ovens..We're really cookin' now!
by
Nancy
Berkoff
If you want to do it like a pro, then you got to have the stuff the pros have. We're all talking about cooking, right?
First things first- your knives. We don't want you to go to the cutlery shop in the mall and buy the most expensive imported knife. And put away those cooking catalogues. We do, however want you to toss out that knife that doubles as a screwdriver and is missing the tip.
Get yourself over to a kitchen shop or a department store and purchase a moderately price chef's knife (also called a French knife or a cook's utility knife). These knives have different types of handles and different blade lengths. Take some time; pretend you're selecting a tennis racquet or a golf club. You're going to be spending a lot of time together, so make sure it's a good fit. Purchase a chef's knife, a serrated knife (the blade has lots of waves, like a steak knife blade) and, very importantly, a knife sharpener. You'll get hurt much worse with a dull knife than a sharp knife (and you won't have to hack and shred your food). Sharpen your knife as often as it needs it (some markets offer free knife sharpening; avail yourself of this service). You'll use the serrated knife for cutting items that you don't want to shred as you cut them, such as bread, bagels and meats. You'll use the chef's knife for everything else.
Now that you've got your implement of destruction, you need something to work on. Welcome to the world of speed-scratch. No, this is not what the dog does in August during flea season. Speed- scratch is a term that chefs use to indicate that they started with a prepared or semiprepared product to which they added some ingredients of their own to produce a "home-made" menu item. An example of speed-scratch would be a refrigerated pizza shell which you topped with jarred pizza sauce, pre-shredded cheese, sliced sausage from the deli, sliced mushrooms from the produce department and pre-chopped onions, garlic and bell peppers from the product department. You gotta know how to shop and then think culinary-creative. Here are some suggestions for some fabulous speed-scratch meals (don't think that you aren't doing the exact same thing that many restaurants do-but you can do this in your bunny slippers):
- Purchase frozen stuffed shells; top with jarred alfredo sauce, fresh sliced mushrooms (use your freshly-sharpened knife or purchase the mushrooms presliced), minced garlic (do it yourself or buy the pre-minced product), shredded fresh basil (some idea) and preshredded cheese. Bake until bubbly and you've got a fast entrée that required little cooking and looks like you were a slave to the stove.
- Bake a white potato and top with prepared salsa, pre-chopped bell peppers and onions, canned white or black beans and ricotta cheese.
- Bake a sweet potato and top with canned crushed pineapple, canned mandarin oranges, frozen (thawed) mango chinks, ricotta cheese (or cream-style cottage cheese) and raisins.
- Combine canned lentils with canned chopped tomatoes, frozen meatballs, tomato puree and dried basil and oregano - a fast lentil stew; serve it over mashed potatoes or steamed rice (you can manage the rice).
- Purchase chorizo (Mexican sausage) or soyrizo (the vegetarian version). Scramble with eggs, tofu or egg substitutes and serve with canned black beans (which you have sautéed with garlic) and heated tortillas.
- Purchase a rotisserie-cooked chicken. Prepare a box of stuffing mix (toss in dried cranberries and walnuts to jazz it up), steam up fresh or frozen veggies of your choice and you've got a mini-holiday dinner.
- Purchase a small eggplant. Cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the middle. Mix the eggplant pulp with canned diced tomatoes, preshredded cheese and seasoned breadcrumbs. Stuff the eggplant, wrap and foil and bake until the eggplant is soft. Instant dinner.
- Purchase a bagged salad of our choice and some precooked turkey breast or rotisserie chicken. Make sure you've got salad things to add to your salad, such as croutons, olives, cherry tomatoes, canned beans, bacon bits, etc. Toss yourself up a great salad, top with poultry - great cold entrée.
- Build up that can of soup. Put a pot of tomato soup on the stove (you can use plain yogurt or tofu instead of milk, if you want a change of flavor). Now toss in some refrigerated tortellini or mini ravioli, chopped canned tomatoes and preshredded cheese. A full meal in a bowl!
Speed-scratch isn't just for savory. Try these speed-scratch desserts:
- Brownies with the works: follow the directions in prepared a box of brownie mix. Add milk or white chocolate chips, shredded coconut, chopped nuts, butterscotch or peanut butter chips, chopped dried cherries or chopped thawed frozen raspberries. Bake as directed.
- Fast English trifle (layered cake and pudding). Purchase fresh or frozen pound cake, cherry and blueberry pie filling and prepared vanilla pudding (and whipped cream, if you like). Cut cake into small (one-inch) chunks. In a large glass bowl, alternate layers of pudding, cake, pie filling and repeat, ending with pudding. Cover and allow to "gel" in the frig for at least one hour. This actually tastes betters the next day.
These are just some ideas for fast cooking like the pros. Did you think that every single thing in a restaurant was cooked completely from scratch all the time? Chefs may be wizards, but their magic is semi-limited. So, sharpen up that knife, scrutinize those grocery aisles and start speed-scratching.
Get in the Kitchen