About Artichokes

Originally from the Mediterranean but now cultivated mainly in California, artichokes are the buds of a large thistle in the sunflower family. The edible portions include the base of the green leaves, the tender inner heart, and the base of the choke itself. Artichoke season is at its peak from March to May.

To select artichoke, rub it with your fingers and listen carefully. If it is tender, the leaves will squeak. A hollow and dry sound indicates a tough, overdeveloped heart. Hold the artichoke in the palm of your hand. Tender ones have a heavy, solid feel. Those with more mature and tougher chokes will feel light and less substantial because they have begun to dehydrate. Keep in mind that size doesn't matter. Size is an indication of where an artichoke grew on the plant, not its age or tenderness. Large ones grow at the top of the plant while smaller ones sprout from the sides of the stalk. And look kindly on artichokes with brown streaks or scars. These marks are known as the "kiss of the frost" and often indicate a delectable nutty flavor.

For storage, keep raw artichokes in a plastic bag in the coldest part of the refrigerator. They should last for at least 1 week if kept in this manner. When washing, plunge artichokes up and down in a sink full of cold water to dislodge any debris trapped between the leaves. To steam, put the artichokes, stem end up, in a steamer basket set over 3" of boiling salted water. This method gets steam to the leaves faster. Cover and cook until tender, about 15 minutes for baby artichokes and up to 45 minutes for large ones.

To test for doneness, just tug on one of the leaves. If it comes off easily, the artichokes is ready to eat. Drain by setting the artichokes upside down on a rack. Let it stand for several minutes before serving.

If you're cooking artichoke stems, peel and cook in salted, acidulated water. Though often discarded, artichoke stems can be as tender and delicious as the heart.

Artichokes could also be served with wine but however, wine enthusiasts agree that artichokes can ruin the flavor of a fine wine because it makes other food taste sweeter. Experts recommend skipping wine when eating a healthy dose of artichokes. If, however, you have your heart set on it, select a white wine with high acidity to counteract the sweetening effect.

Fascinating Fact : Eating artichokes creates a chemical reaction in the mouth that makes other foods or beverages taste sweeter. This is due to a compound called cynarine, which stimulates the sweetness receptors on our tongue. Since artichokes have this effect, it's best to serve them on their own or to pair them with neutral-tasting foods such as pasta.

To prevent discoloration, use only stainless steel knives or scissors when cutting artichokes. Carbon knives cause discoloring. Immediately rub the cut surfaces with lemon juice, or keep cut artichokes in acidulated water until you are ready to cook them. To cover raw and cut artichokes until cooking time, use parchment paper or plastic wrap, but not aluminum foil. For cooking, use stainless steel, nonstick, or enamel-coated pans, Avoid cooking artichokes in cast-iron or aluminum pots, as these metals will discolor artichokes. Also, add lemon juice, vinegar, or white wine to the cooking water.

In order to speed trimming and cooking, smash each artichoke facedown against a counter. This will loosen the leaves and spread them apart slightly, making the leaves easier to trim. It also allows heat to permeate the interior of the artichoke faster. Artichokes could be cooked using microwave or to pressure steam. To microwave, trim the artichokes, wrap each tightly in microwaveable plastic, and arrange in a circle on a carousel or plate. Microwave 4 to 6 large artichokes on high power until the stem ends can be easily pierced with a fork or small knife, about 15 to 20 minutes. Increase or decrease the time depending on the size and number of artichokes. If pressure-steaming, place the artichokes, right side up, in a basket in a pressure cooker. Add a few inches of water, lock on the top, and heat to high pressure. Pressure-steam at high pressure for 10 minutes for large artichokes and 7 minutes for medium. Release the steam immediately.

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About Chestnuts

Lower in fat than most nuts, chestnuts have just 37 calories and less than 1 gram of fat per ounce (cooked). They add rich, earthy flavor to salads, stuffing and rice dishes. Look for fresh, unshelled chestnuts in markets from September to February. Around the same time, you'll find chestnuts in cans, which save time-consuming step of peeling.

The Basic

• To choose - Look for plump, firm nuts with no blemishes on the shell.

• To store - Refrigerate in a zipper-lock plastic bag for up to 2 weeks. Or freeze for up to 5 months.

• To roast and peel - Cut in a slit in the flat part of the shell to prevent the nuts from exploding. Place on a baking sheet and roast at 400^oF for 10 minutes (if peeling only) for 20 minutes (if you want to cook them all the way through). Using a kitchen towel or oven mitts, remove and discard the shells and inner brown skins while the nuts are still hot. (If you let them cool, they are more difficult to peel). Chop or use as desired.

• To boil and peel - Cut a slit in the shells, place the nuts in a saucepan with water to cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 4 minutes (to peel only), or cover and simmer for 25 minutes (to cook until tender). Peel and chop or use as desired.

• To microwave - Cut a slit in the flat part of the shell. Place the chestnuts in a shallow, microwaveable dish and cook on high power for 8 minutes per pound of chestnuts. Peel while warm.

• To intensify flavor and make texture more velvety - Cut a slit in the shells, place in a covered casserole dish with 2 tablespoons water, and bake at 425^oF until tender when pierced with a knife, 30 minutes. Peel while warm.

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About Garniture

To most people, a garniture or garnish means a sprig of parsley added to the plate at the last minute, almost as an afterthought, to provide a little color to the dish. In many professional kitchens, however, a garniture is an important and integral part of the dish. It is the vegetables or other ingredients added to a stew, braised dish, roast or sautéed piece of meat or fish that give the dish its specific character and name. When the garniture is changed - even if the basic technique of cooking the meat, and the meat itself, remains the same - the character and name of the dish change.

Understanding how to work with different garnitures allows the creative cook to make endless variations on a basic dish. Cooked vegetables such as turnips, fennel, carrots, cucumber, mushrooms, and others can all be used, alone or in combination in order to give a fresh color and flavor to a traditional dish. In addition, your choice of when to add the vegetable creates a particular effect and defines just how the garniture is associated with the meat, poultry or seafood. For example, if you add vegetables at the early stage, they'll absorb the flavor of the broth and meat and echo the taste of the meat and sauce. Whereas if you add the garnish at the end, it will provide its own fresh and flavorful contrast to the main ingredients.

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About Poaching

To cook completely submerged in barely simmering liquid. Don't confuse poaching with boiling, which causes most meats to become dry and tough and delicate fish fillets and eggs to break apart.

Almost any liquid can be used for poaching, but water and stock are the most commonly used. One familiar poaching liquid is the vegetable stock called court bouillon, made by simmering aromatic vegetables such as carrots, onions, leeks and fennel with a bouquet garni in water with some white wine. Other poaching liquids include meat or fish stock, light sugar syrup (for fruits), and simplest of all, water flavored with herbs and a little white wine or wine vinegar.

Sometimes the poaching liquid is served around the poached foods in wide soup bowls so that the liquid serves as a delicate stock-like sauce. For some poached foods, especially poached meats, such as French pot-au-feu or Italian bollito misto, the poaching liquid is served separately as a first-course bouillon. The poaching liquid can also be saved and used for making soups or sauces.

For even cooking, start large whole fish and larger pieces of meat in cold liquid and smaller, quicker-cooking foods, such as small whole fish and fish steaks, in hot liquid. There are several reasons for this. If a large fish is started in simmering liquid, the outside of the fish will cook before the heat has a chance to penetrate to the inside, so that the outside will overcook before the center is cooked. If on the other hand, a small fish is started in cold water and the water slowly heated, the fish can overcook before the liquid even reaches the simmer. Starting in cold liquid encourages slow-cooking meats to throw off scum that can be carefully skimmed to keep the stock clear. But quick-cooking of tender meat cuts are best started in simmering liquid so that the outside cooks quickly, leaving the inside rare to medium-rare.

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About Parsnips

A member of the parsley family, parsnips are a white root vegetable with a pleasantly sweet flavor. They are often boiled and mashed like potatoes or in combination with them. When choosing, look for parsnips that are about 8" to 10" in length, and avoid those that look limp or spotted. When left to grow, parsnips can reach up to 20" in length. These larger roots have a stronger flavor and more fibrous texture with a woody center. To use larger parsnips, cut out the fibrous centers before using.

To store parsnips, place them in a perforated bag and refrigerate up to 2 weeks. The longer you keep parsnips, the sweeter they will get. Trim off any green growth at the top of the root before using. Parsnips can be used in soups and stews. However, they will turn mushy when overcooked, so add them to soups, stews, or vegetables sautes during the last 10 minutes of cooking.

Peel parsnips after cooking them. Almost 50 percent of the nutrients in parsnips are water-soluble, meaning that they will leach out during cooking. Also, the majority of the flavor in parsnips is found just beneath the skin, so you don't want that to leach out either. Steam parsnips whole or in large chunks until tender, then scrape or peel away the skin. Like carrots, well-scrubbed fresh parsnips may not need peeling.

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Adding Flavor and Color with Citrus Fruits

Citrus fruits, including oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit are used to add flavor and color to dishes. They are also served as a functional garnish with some foods - for instance, a slice of lime with a Cuban-style black bean soup or a wedge of lemon with a broiled fish.

Although citrus fruits keep well, be sure that the fruit you select is not bruised or softened. Before juicing citrus fruits, you should allow them to come to room temperature if possible. Roll the fruit under the palm of your hand on a cutting board or other hard work surface before juicing to break some of the membranes. This helps to release more juice. Remember to strain out seeds and pith before using the juice, either by covering the citrus fruit with cheesecloth before squeezing it, or by straining it after juicing. There are numerous special tools to juice citrus fruits including reamers, extractors, hand-held and electric juicers.

Zesting Citrus Fruit

The zest, the outer portion of a citrus fruit's peel or rind, is used to add color, texture and flavor to various preparations. The zest includes only the skin's brightly colored part, which contains much of the fruits flavorful and aromatic volatile oils. It does not include the underlying white pith, which has a bitter taste. Use the following method to zest a citrus fruit.

• Use a paring knife, swivel-bladed peeler, or zester to remove only the peel's colored portion.

• If julienne or grated zest is required, use a chef's knife to cut or mince the zest. Grated zest can also be prepared using the fine holes of a box grater.

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Acidity in Food

Acidity in food imparts a sour (tart) taste on the tongue that is one of the four basic flavors. The most common forms are citrus juice, vinegar, wine and tomatoes. Acidic ingredients (yogurt and buttermilk included) also affect the texture, color and shelf life of foods. A bit of acid can make a pie crust more tender, stabilize whipped egg whites, and bring a shine to copper cookware.

To make a basic acidulated water -

• For each quart (4 cups) of cold water, add 4 tablespoons lemon juice. Or add a different acidic ingredient, such as 2 teaspoons vinegar or 1/2 cup of white wine.

To prevent the problem of discoloration of low-acid foods -

• Toss the cut food with lemon juice or vinegar. This method will keep cut apples, potatoes, bananas and other low-acid foods from turning brown. Or place the cut food in acidulated water until needed.

Using acidity to enhance food flavors -

• A bit of citrus juice or vinegar enhances the flavors of fruits, vegetables, poultry and seafood by complementing natural sweetness. To decrease acidity, add a sweet ingredient such as sugar, honey or syrup. Start with a ration of 1 part sweetener to 3 parts acidic ingredient. Increase the ratio as desired. Equal amounts give a pleasant sweet and sour flavor.

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Arrowroot As A Thickener

We couldn't ask for a better thickener. This silky white powder is a pure starch derived from a tropical American plant. It is fat-free, easy to digest and flavorless (so it won't interfere with the delicate sauces). It thickens at low temperature and is perfect for heat-sensitive egg-based sauces and custards. It has twice the thickening power of wheat flour and does not get cloudy upon thickening, so it makes beautiful fruit sauces and gravies. Moreover it has none of the chalky taste associated with cornstarch.

To store arrowroot, keep in an airtight container marked with the date that you bought it. Use within 2 months because its thickening properties diminish with age. When using arrowroot, dissolve 1 1/2 teaspoons arrowroot in 1 tablespoon cold liquid. Stir or whisk the cold mixture into 1 cup of hot liquid at the end of the cooking time. Stir until thickened which is about 5 seconds. These proportions will make about 1 cup of medium-thick sauce, soup or gravy. For thinner sauce, use 1 teaspoon arrowroot. For a thicker sauce, use up to 1 tablespoon arrowroot.

If you are using it to replace cornstarch, use 1 tablespoon arrowroot in place of 2 teaspoons cornstarch. While to replace flour, use half as much arrowroot as flour. If the recipe calls for 1 tablespoon flour, substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons arrowroot.

To keep an arrowroot-thickened sauce thick, just stir until just combined. Over-stirring can make it thin again.

Fascinating Fact :

The word arrowroot is believed to originate with Native Americans, who used the root to draw out poison from arrow wounds. Another possible origin is a Native American word for flour, araruta. Its scientific name is Maranta arundinacea.

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Anchovy

Billions of these little fishes are continually being caught, dried, salted, made into fish sauce and other fish products. They are also cooked freshly caught, the main disadvantage being that there is considerable cleaning and preparation as each fish is no bigger than 12 cm (5 in) and most of them are much smaller. These small fishes are sometimes loosely labeled sprats, a name applied to any small fish.

Most people prefer the very small ones because when they are dipped in seasoned flour and deep fried, even the bones become meltingly crisp. One variety of tiny fish with a silvery stripe running the length of the body is sold dried in packets labeled ikan bilis or ikan teri. They make a delicious snack, deep fried with peanuts and sprinkled with a touch of chili powder and sugar.

Fresh anchovies have white flesh and it is only after salting and leaving for at least a month that they develop the red color and special taste that one associates with fermented anchovies in jars or cans.

Anchovies are processed by marinating the fish in a mixture of salt and vinegar for 1 to 2 hours, until they are soft and juicy, then mix well with the brown sugar and add the kao koi (uncooked rice which has been toasted in a dry pan and then pounded to a powder while still hot) and galingale (galangal). Let the preparation mature in a sterilized glass container for 3 to 4 months, or until the anchovies turn brown, with a clear liquid formed on top and a good aroma arising from the brew.

When you come to eat these preserved anchovies, season them with finely cut lemon grass, young ginger, spring onion, tamarind juice (made by squeezing fully ripe tamarind fruit with warm water until it turns into a brownish liquid), a little sugar and lime juice to taste.

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Bain-marie

A bain-marie is a pan of water that is used to help mixtures such as custards bake evenly and to protect them from the direct heat of the oven or, in some cases, the stove. Bain-marie are usually used for dishes that are baked in small containers (ramekins or casseroles) because the constant temperature of the water helps them all cook at the same rate regardless of the evenness of the oven. The water for bain-marie is usually brought to a boil on top of the stove and poured around the containers in a pan just large enough to hold them. Cold water would cause the food to cook too slowly.

Usually the bain-marie is placed on the stove for a few seconds to bring the water, cooled by the ramekins, back to the simmer. A triple layer of parchments paper or newspaper or a kitchen towel on the bottom of the bain-marie protects the foods from the direct heat of the stove.

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Barbecue

Though the terms grilling and barbecuing are often used synonymously, the two techniques are actually quite distinct. Grilling refers to cooking relatively tender foods quickly over high heat. Barbecuing is just the opposite: cooking relatively tough foods for a long period of time with the gentle heat and smoke of a very low fire, Barbecuing is really a form of braising, in which large cuts of tough meat are basted with sauce and slowly cooked until their fibers soften to the point of meltdown.

To get the most flavorful barbecue, use a combination of hardwood charcoal and wood, such as apple or hickory. And to sustain the low temperatures required for a proper charcoal barbecuing, use the indirect method. Push the hot coals into parallel rows out on the sides of the grill and set your food in the center of the grill grate so that it's not directly over the coals. If using a gas grill with separate heat controls, heat only one side of the grill and place the food on the other side. Rotate the food occasionally so that all sides are heated. If your grill has vents, close them partially.

To prevent flare-ups from the dripping fat, place a disposable aluminum pan between the coals directly underneath the food. This drip pan makes cleanup a snap too. If you need to test the barbecued meats for doneness, stick a large fork directly down into the meat and try to pick it up. If it's impossible to pick up because the meat is so tender that it won't hold the fork, the meat is done.

Fast Faux Barbecue

Rub 1/4 cup barbecue seasoning over the surface of 2 pounds pork butt or beef chuck. Place meat in a pan and brush all over with 2 tablespoons hickory-flavored oil (made from 2 tablespoons oil mixed with 1 to 2 drops liquid smoke hickory seasoning). Add 1 cup beer or water to the pan and wrap the pan with foil, covering completely. Place in a 275^oF oven and roast until the meat is fork-tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Slice and serve with barbecue sauce for dipping.

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Barbecued Ribs

Barbecued ribs take time. Cook them too fast, and they become little more than charred sinew. To speed up the cooking of barbecued beef or pork ribs without causing them to toughen and burn, you can pre-steam them in a pressure cooker, braise them in an oven, or precook them in a microwave oven.

To pressure-steam ribs before grilling, cook 5 pounds pork or beef ribs (cut into 3-rib or 4-rib sections) in 2 cups barbecue sauce in a pressure cooker until centers register 160^oF on an instant read thermometer (and juices run clear, for pork), 12 minutes. Release the steam and brown over a hot fire or under a broiler 4 to 5 minutes.

You may even braise before grilling. Brown the ribs in 1 tablespoon oil. Add 3 cups barbecue sauce, cover, and bake at 350^oF until the meat is fork-tender which should take about an hour.

Ribs could also be precook in a microwave oven. Just place 3 pounds pork or beef ribs (cut into 3-rib or 4-rib sections) in a microwaveable baking dish and cover with 1 cup barbecue sauce. Cover the dish and cook on high power for 10 minutes. Turn the ribs over and microwave on high power until centers register 160^oF on an instant-read thermometer (and juice run clear, for pork), 8 minutes more. Brown the ribs over a high fire or under a broiler for 4 to 5 minutes.

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