Moist Banana Bread Recipe

 

This moist banana bread recipe helps put overripe bananas, that would otherwise be destined for the garbage, to good use, making it a great recipe for anyone who likes to be frugal. The key to good quick breads is not overmixing the batter. Once the liquid ingredients are added to the dry, mix the batter by hand just until the flour is moistened, for no more than about ten seconds. Too much mixing can cause the final product to be dry, tough or misshapen. For a slightly more decadent banana bread recipe, try this Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 large, very ripe bananas
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup butter or shortening

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Spread the walnuts out on a flat baking pan or sheet pan and roast them in the oven for 5-6 minutes. Midway through, toss them around on the pan so that the tops and bottoms brown evenly. When they're done, remove the pan from the oven and then remove the toasted nuts from the hot pan and set them aside to cool.
3. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt and cinnamon. IMPORTANT: Make sure the walnuts are thoroughly cooled before adding them to the dry ingredients, as the heat would activate the baking powder too early.
4. Unwrap the butter and heat it in the microwave, in a microwave-safe bowl, for about a minute, until it's thoroughly melted. Set it aside at room temperature to cool, but don't let it solidify again.
5. Peel the bananas. Using a potato masher, mash the bananas in a separate mixing bowl.
6. Add the vanilla extract to the mashed bananas.
7. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and then add the beaten egg to the banana-vanilla mixture.
8. Thoroughly grease and flour a 9" × 5" × 3" baking pan (or use a nonstick baking pan or a flexible silicone pan).
9. Pour a tiny bit of the melted butter into the egg-banana-vanilla mixture and stir it in. Repeat 3-4 more times, adding a slightly larger amount of the liquid butter each time until it is all incorporated. IMPORTANT: Don't add hot melted butter to the egg-banana mixture as the heat from the butter would cook the egg, and that's not what you want to do!
10. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ones and mix no more than ten seconds. The batter will be visibly lumpy. That's OK! It's extremely important not to overmix the batter, or the resulting bread will be too hard.
11. Once the liquid and dry ingredients have been combined, gently pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake immediately. TIP: The dry and wet ingredients, respectively, can be mixed in advance, but as soon as the wet and dry ingredients have been combined with each other, the liquid will activate the baking powder and the batter must be baked right away.
12. Bake 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean and the edge of the bread starts to separate from the pan.
13. Once the pan is cool enough to touch, carefully invert the pan — the loaf should drop right out, so make sure you support it with your other hand. Let the loaf cool on a wire rack at room temperature.

Makes one 9" × 5" × 3" loaf. For a real treat, serve this banana bread drizzled with a delicious vanilla custard sauce called crème anglaise.

 

http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/bakingdesserts/r/bananabread.htm

How tO MaKe eSpAGnOLe sAuCes ? ? ?

 

Espagnole (Brown) Sauce

Ingredients

• ¾ pint (420 ml) of brown meat stock
• 1 oz (30 g) of butter
• 1 oz (30 g) chopped streaky bacon
• 1 chopped carrot
• 1 chopped shallot
• 4 tbsp of chopped mushrooms
• 3 tbsp of flour
• 2 tbsp of tomato purée
• 1 bouquet garni
• salt and pepper

Method

1. Place the butter in a large saucepan and heat gently until it melts.
2. Add the chopped bacon and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add the chopped vegetables and continue to gently fry all the ingredients until the vegetables have softened.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the flour.
5. Return the pan to the heat and cook the flour mixture (roux) until it turns a dark brown colour. Do not allow it to burn.
6. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the meat stock a little at a time.
7. Continue to stir the sauce continuously until it thickens and then add the tomato purée, the bouquet garni and season with salt and pepper.
8. Reduce the heat and simmer very gently for about an hour.
9. Skim the top of the sauce from time to time.
10. When the sauce is ready, you should have a thick brown strong-tasting sauce. Strain the sauce into a new pan through a sieve so that only the liquid passes through.
11. Serve as you wish or freeze the sauce in individual batches for later use.

sourCes : http://www.helpwithcooking.com/sauces/espagnole-sauce.html

How tO MaKe VeLouTe sAuCes ? ? ?

Ingredients

• 2 cups of chicken (fish or veal stock)
• 4 tbsp of flour
• 4 tbsp of butter
• salt and pepper

Method

1. In a medium sized saucepan melt the butter.
2. Remove the pan from the stove and quickly stir in the flour.
3. Return the pan to the heat and cook the paste mixture, stirring frequently until it turns pale and straw-like in colour. This should take several minutes.
4. Take the pan off the heat again and whisk or stir in half of the stock. Make sure that the paste has dissolved and a liquid has formed without any lumps.
5. Return the pan to the heat and stir in the remaining stock. Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer.
6. Reduce the heat but continue to simmer the sauce for about 25 minutes, stirring from time to time and skimming off any skin that forms on the top.
7. Once the sauce has reached the desired consistency, season with salt and pepper and strain the sauce through a sieve.
8. Serve warm with your prepared dish.

sources : http://www.helpwithcooking.com/sauces/veloute-sauce.html

How tO MaKe hOlLaNdaiSe sAuCe ? ? ?

 

How To Make Hollandaise Sauce

Here's what you'll need for this Hollandaise sauce recipe:

• 1 cup clarified butter (about 2½ sticks before clarifying). The butter should be warm but not hot.
• 4 egg yolks (see tutorial on how to separate eggs).
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice (the juice from 1 small lemon)
• 1 Tbsp cold water
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Cayenne pepper (or a dash of Tabasco sauce), to taste

METHOD :

Combine Egg Yolks and Cold Water

 

Whisk the Egg Yolks and Water Until Light and Foamy

Whisk the Egg Yolks and Water Until Light and Foamy

Whisk for a minute or two, until the mixture is light and foamy. Whisk in a couple of drops of lemon juice, too.

 

Set the Bowl Over the Simmering Water

Set the Bowl Over the Simmering Water

Set the Bowl Over the Simmering Water

Set the bowl directly atop the saucepan of simmering water, thus creating a sort of double-boiler effect. Note that the water itself should not come in contact with the bottom of the bowl. It's the steam, not the water, that should be doing the heating, so don't overfill the saucepan.

Whisk the Yolks Until Slightly Thickened

Whisk the Yolks Until Slightly Thickened

Whisk the Yolks Until Slightly Thickened

By gently heating the egg yolks, we're altering the proteins in a way that makes them bond more effectively with the fat droplets in the clarified butter we're going to be adding. This creates a more stable emulsion, meaning your hollandaise is less likely to curdle.

At the same time, though, we don't want to get the yolks too hot, either. Egg yolks lose their emulsifying powers when cooked, which is why we use this gentler, less direct method of warming them.

Remove From Heat and Begin Slowly Adding Butter

Remove From Heat and Begin Slowly Adding Butter

Remove From Heat and Begin Slowly Adding Butter

Add the melted butter slowly at first, a few drops at a time, while whisking constantly. If you add it too quickly, the emulsion will break.

The Sauce Will Thicken As The Butter Is Added

The Sauce Will Thicken As The Butter is Added

The Sauce Will Thicken As The Butter Is Added

As the sauce thickens, you can gradually increase the rate at which you add the butter. As you can see here, the sauce has thickened quite a bit.

 

Whisk In Lemon Juice and Season To Taste

Whisk In Lemon Juice and Season To Taste

Whisk In Lemon Juice and Season To Taste

Whisk in the remaining lemon juice and season to taste with Kosher salt and cayenne pepper (or a dash of Tabasco sauce). The finished hollandaise sauce will have a smooth, firm consistency. If it's too thick, you can adjust the consistency by whisking in a few drops of warm water.

 

Serve Hollandaise Sauce Right Away

Serve Hollandaise Sauce Right Away

Serve Hollandaise Sauce Right Away

Hollandaise is a wonderfully rich, lemony and buttery sauce that goes beautifully with eggs, vegetables and poached fish.

You can hold a hollandaise for about an hour or so, provided you keep it warm. One way to do this is to set the bowl atop the saucepan of warm water you used earlier. Letting it cool can cause it to break, although it can be rescued by whisking in some hot water. Likewise, it can break if it gets too hot (hollandaise is a bit like Goldilocks), in which case whisking in some cold water can sometimes save it.

In no case, though, should you keep it longer than a couple of hours; after that, you should just toss it.

 

SOURCES : http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/buttersauces/ss/hollandaise.htm

HoW tO maKE bechAmeL saucES ? ? ?

Béchamel Sauce Recipe

Béchamel is a standard white sauce and one of the five "leading sauces" of classical cuisine. It's the starting point for other classic sauces such as the Crème sauce and the Mornay sauce. Béchamel is a simple, versatile sauce that you'll find yourself making again and again. Also see these 7 Béchamel Sauce Variations.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 5 cups whole milk
• 6 Tbsp clarified butter (or ¾ stick unsalted butter)
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ onion, peeled
• 1 whole clove
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Ground white pepper, to taste
• Pinch of ground nutmeg (optional)

Preparation:

1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer over a medium heat, stirring occasionally and taking care not to let it boil.
2. Meanwhile, in a separate heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the clarified butter over a medium heat until it becomes frothy. Don't let it turn brown, though — that'll affect the flavor.
3. With a wooden spoon, stir the flour into the melted butter a little bit at a time, until it is fully incorporated into the butter, giving you a pale-yellow-colored paste. This paste is called a roux. Heat the roux for another minute or so to cook off the taste of raw flour.
4. Using a wire whisk, slowly add the hot milk to the roux, whisking vigorously to make sure it's free of lumps.
5. Now stick the pointy end of the clove into the onion and drop them into the sauce. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the total volume has reduced by about 20 percent, stirring frequently to make sure the sauce doesn't scorch at the bottom of the pan.
6. The resulting sauce should be smooth and velvety. If it's too thick, whisk in a bit more milk until it's just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
7. Remove the sauce from the heat. You can retrieve the clove-stuck onion and discard it now. For an extra smooth consistency, carefully pour the sauce through a wire mesh strainer lined with a piece of cheesecloth.
8. Season the sauce very lightly with salt and white pepper. Be particularly careful with the white pepper — and the nutmeg, if you're using it. A little bit goes a long way! Keep the béchamel covered until you're ready to use it.

Makes about 1 quart of béchamel sauce.

SourCes : http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/sauces/r/bechamel.htm

BaSic bRowN sTOcK . . , .

 

How To Make Brown Stock

The procedure for making brown stock differs from that of white stock mainly in that instead of blanching the bones beforehand, they are roasted instead. Roasting brings out more color and flavor. The mirepoix is roasted too, for the same reason. Also, some sort of tomato product is used with brown stocks, again for adding color and flavor, but also because the acid in the tomato helps dissolve the connective tissues in the bones, thus aiding in the formation of gelatin. For more details, check out this illustrated step-by-step guide to making brown stock.

Difficulty: Average

Time Required: 5-7 hours

Here's How:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Place beef or veal bones in a heavy bottomed roasting pan. Drizzle them with a bit of vegetable oil if you like.
3. Roast bones for about half an hour.
4. Add mirepoix to the roasting pan and continue roasting for another half an hour. Toward the end of the roasting, add the tomato product.
5. When the bones are thoroughly browned, remove the roasting pan from the oven and transfer the bones to a heavy-bottomed stockpot.
6. Add enough cold water to the pot to completely cover the bones. Figure about a quart of water for each pound of bones.
7. Bring pot to a boil, then immediately lower the heat to a simmer.
8. Skim off the scum that rises to the surface.
9. Add the roasted mirepoix to the pot along with a sachet d'epices; tie the sachet string to the stockpot handle for easy retrieval later.
10. Continue to simmer the stock and skim the impurities that rise to the surface. Liquid will evaporate, so make sure there's always enough water to cover the bones.
11. After anywhere from 4 to 6 hours, once the stock has developed a rich, brown color, remove the pot from the heat.
12. Strain the stock through a sieve lined with a few layers of cheesecloth. Cool the stock quickly, using an ice bath if necessary.

Tips:

1. The best bones to use for making stock are ones with a lot of cartilage, such as the so-called "knuckle" bones in the various leg joints. The bones of younger animals also have more cartilage, which is why veal bones are so desirable.
2. Always start with cold water when making stock. It will help extract more collagen from the bones, which will produce a stock with more body.
3. Don't let the stock boil, but rather, keep it at a gentle simmer. Also, don't stir the stock while it simmers. Just let it do its thing. All you need to worry about is skimming the scum off the top, and possibly adding more water if the liquid level drops too low.

What You Need:

• Beef or veal bones
• Heavy-bottomed roasting pan
• Heavy-bottomed stockpot
• Tomato product such as puree or paste
• Mirepoix
• Sachet
• Mesh strainer
• Cheesecloth

SouRceS : http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/stocks/ht/brownstock.htm

Mayonnaise Recipe . . .

 

Mayonnaise Recipe

This basic mayonnaise makes a great sandwich spread, and it can also form the base for salad dressings such as Blue Cheese, Thousand Island and Ranch. A light, neutral-flavored oil like safflower, canola or soybean oil will give the best results, but any blended oil labeled "vegetable oil" or "salad oil" will do the trick. Finally, it can't be said too often: For safety reasons, use pasteurized eggs for this and any other preparation that contains raw eggs.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 egg yolks (for safety reasons, use pasteurized eggs)
• 1 pint vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp plus 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 2-3 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp Kosher salt, or to taste
• Pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

Preparation:

1. Let all your ingredients come to room temperature before you begin.
2. Using an electric hand mixer, stand mixer or a wire whisk, whip the egg yolks for a minute or two, until they're thoroughly beaten.
3. Add the 2 tsp vinegar and whisk for about half a minute. Then add the salt, and the cayenne if you're using it, and beat for another 30 seconds or so.
4. Now, with the mixer going full speed (or with your arm whisking as hard as it can) add the oil very slowly, as little as a drop at a time.
5. When the emulsion starts to form, you can add the oil more quickly, but keep it at a fairly moderate stream. Adding the oil too fast will break your mayonnaise.
6. When the emulsion thickens, add a teaspoon or so of vinegar to thin it out. Continue adding oil, stopping occasionally to add more vinegar if the mixture gets too thick.
7. Finish with the lemon juice, both to add a bit of tang as well as to achieve the right consistency.
8. Store unused portion in the refrigerator, where it should keep for a day or two.

http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/saladdressings/r/mayonnaise.htm

BaSic wHitE sToCk....

 

How To Make White Stock

The procedure for making white stock differs from that of brown stock mainly in that rather than roasting the bones beforehand, they are blanched instead. Blanching helps get rid of the impurities in the bones that can cloud the stock. Note that a white stock can be made using chicken bones, veal bones or beef bones.

Difficulty: Average

Time Required: 4-6 hours

Here's How:

1. Rinse bones in cold water.
2. Transfer the bones to a heavy-bottomed stockpot.
3. Add enough cold water to the pot to completely cover the bones. Figure about a quart of water for each pound of bones.
4. Bring pot to a boil.
5. Drain and rinse bones.
6. Return the blanched bones to the pot and again cover with fresh, cold water.
7. Bring pot to a boil, then immediately lower the heat to a simmer.
8. Skim off the scum that rises to the surface.
9. Add chopped carrots, celery and onion, (also called mirepoix) to the pot along with a sachet d'epices; tie the sachet string to the stockpot handle for easy retrieval later.
10. Continue to simmer the stock and skim the impurities that rise to the surface. Liquid will evaporate, so make sure there's always enough water to cover the bones.
11. After 4 to 6 hours, remove the pot from the heat.
12. Strain the stock through a sieve lined with a few layers of cheesecloth. Cool the stock quickly, using an ice bath if necessary.

Tips:

1. The best bones to use for making stock are ones with a lot of cartilage, such as the so-called "knuckle" bones in the various leg joints. The bones of younger animals also have more cartilage, which is why veal bones are so desirable.
2. Always start with cold water when making stock. It will help extract more collagen from the bones, which will produce a stock with more body.
3. Don't let the stock boil, but rather, keep it at a gentle simmer. Also, don't stir the stock while it simmers. Just let it do its thing. All you need to worry about is skimming the scum off the top, and possibly adding more water if the liquid level drops too low.

What You Need:

• Beef, veal or chicken bones
• Heavy-bottomed stockpot
• Carrots, celery and onion
• Sachet
• Mesh strainer
• Cheesecloth

SourCes :http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/stocks/ht/whitestock.htm

HoW tO TrUsSinG ChicKen???????

Trussing a chicken is a simple procedure that can enhance its quality and presentation. Some cooks believe it's the most complicated part of roasting and preparing a chicken, but that is hardly the case.

Truss the Chicken

1. Place the middle of the string underneath the tail.
2. Bring the ends of the string up and cross them over the tail.
3. Cross the string over the ends of the drumsticks (from the inside), then loop around once, pulling the strings tight.
4. Flip the chicken over.
5. Cross the strings across the back of the chicken, centering one string over each wing.
6. Turn the chicken breast side up.
7. Pull the strings tight, securing the wings against the body.
8. Tie the strings in a knot.
9. Trim the excess string close to the knot.
10. Check to make sure everything is securely tied.

SourCes : http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-truss-a-chicken/