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121 Cooking Secrets to Impress Friends and Family
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is stock enriched with more meat and vegetables and then concentrated and
clarified. Now you know!
34. Quickly and easily thicken gravy. Once the roast or turkey is cooked, there’s always
the task of making the gravy and waiting while it thickens. Luckily, there is a quicker
way! Thicken your gravy by adding a tablespoon of instant mashed potatoes. Start
there, and add more if needed until it’s the right consistency.
35. Dried herbs versus fresh ones. Fresh herbs are best for flavor, but if unavailable, use
about one-third as much dried. If a recipe doesn’t specify fresh or dried, you can
assume it means dried, since dried herbs are much more commonly used. Whichever
herbs you choose, if you’re unsure of the amount, start with just a little, taste often
and add more during cooking. And to ensure that you’re using dried herbs with the
maximum amount of flavor, replace them every three months.
36. Add garlic to oils and vinegars. Oils and vinegars that have been flavored with garlic
provide a quick and easy way to add some punch to salad dressings, stir fries and
meats. Once prepared they can keep indefinitely and can be grabbed whenever you
want to add a little flavor. To make your own simply peel garlic cloves and cut them
in thirds. Put them in the bottom of the vinegar or oil shaker and leave for a few
weeks before using.
37. Use marinades to add flavor. A good marinade will add lots of extra flavor and juices
to meats and vegetables. But be careful not to marinade longer than the recipe calls
for. Some foods, seafood in particular, break down when marinated in acidic
ingredients such as vinegar, wine or citrus fruit juices. The result can be a mushy
mess that no one wants to eat!
38. Make thicker gravy. For thicker gravy, mix some butter and flour in a frying pan and
cook until the mixture is smooth and thick. Add it to your hot gravy for a thick and
rich texture.
39. Use silicone ice cube trays to freeze leftover sauces. Save your leftover sauces, and
freeze them into ice cube trays. By keeping the frozen sauce in smaller pieces, the
sauce thaws and heats quickly,
and your family thinks you
spent all day making a
homemade meal for them!