Monday, January 31, 2011

Reduction Q&A

Q: My question is why when after you've reduced liquid you add more liquid and reduce again sometimes multiple times.  For instance I was watching Anne Burrell making a bolognese sauce.  She reduces it, adds wine, reduces it again, adds water reduces and repeats the water additions and reductions multiple times.
Also, many reciples call for adding wine reducing then adding stock and reducing.  Why not add it altogether and reduce once?

A: I wish I knew the answer to this - maybe it's because their pot isn't big enough.  Science and common sense tell us that these steps would be nearly superfluous.  And deep down, I completely agree.
Adding water to simply evaporate it back out wouldn't seem to affect anything but cooking time, and it doesn't seem as though reducing a liquid in (or not in) the presence of another liquid would change the flavor or manner in which it reduces.

BUT . . .
There are instances where I concede to what I call the "grandma factor"- this is when some ingredients, or cooking step that makes no sense at all is called for in a tried and true recipe.  Bolognese certainly falls under the category of dishes inherited from another generation - along with chili, beef bourguignon, matzo ball soup, etc. etc.

I know this doesn't really qualify as an "answer" but maybe it helps you understand the question itself a little better.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Hong Kong

These are some food pics from the first leg of my trip to Asia. It was quite an experience. If you see a pic you like you can click on it for a title and description.
I couldn't figure out how to post a slide show so that they're shown automatically. Please bear with me as I learn how to blog. . .
I hope you enjoy the pics.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

When I'm Sick . . .

It's flu season and I have been sick as a dog for a few days. "Bed-ridden" is not my style.
I don't spend much time in the sick bed, but when I do there's one thing that always makes me feel a little better: a spritzah. . .















It's simply the juice of one grapefruit and glass of lemon-lime soda (sprite). It's got a little shot of vitamin C and it slides down a sore throat real easy.  It hydrates and best of all . . . it makes me feel just a little bit better.  If you know someone who is under the weather, maybe you can go out of your way to whip up one of these for them. 

Monday, January 17, 2011

Allow me to introduce myself...


Hello!
I’m thrilled to be here as a weekly contributor to the Grill-A-Chef blog. My name is Lauren (here I am on a ferris wheel), and I am an adventurous cook, a menu daydreamer, a reader of cookbooks, and a shameless veggiephile. I love to think about, write about, and share and eat food. My true passion, however, is helping others discover their love of cooking.
Like most of you, I am not formally trained in the culinary arts. I’m far from being a Chef, but I feel confident in my cooking skills and I know that you can feel the same way. Together, we will face our cooking challenges and break down the barriers to a gourmet life! If that’s not your style, no worries, there will be plenty of other foodie news too.
I look forward to our new cyber relationship. Thanks for stopping by, and keep reading!

Happy Cooking,
Lauren

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The Beagle Has Landed

Hey everybody, I'm back on the the scene and preparing for some big changes in 2011.  So stay tuned. 
I had some interesting things on my rounds, and this . . . is just the tip of the iceberg.  It's a salad called dancing shrimp.
More to come very soon. . . .


Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Creative Commons License
Grill-a-Chef by Joshua Stokes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.