Good tips, good tricks

Limes are notorious for not producing as much juice as their citrus counterparts.  Considering the fact that they usually cost their weight in gold to purchase, you want to get the most out of them. 

The way to achieve that is to place your hand on top of the lime and apply pressure as your roll it forwards.  This  technique massages the limes to soften their structure, producing more juice than an un-massaged lime.  

Good tips, good tricks

Have you ever gone to buy an avocado and all you can find are rock hard, under-ripe avocados that look like they won't be ripe for a week?  This happens to me all the time and I usually want to use the avocado within a day or two.

There is a trick to make avocado's ripen faster.  I can't guarantee how quickly it will happen, however, if you place the avocado in a brown paper bag with a banana, apple or tomato, the avocado will ripen faster.  True story.  Just remember to store the bag at room temperature out of direct sunlight. 

Good tips, good tricks.

Ever eaten a piece of bacon and half choked on a stringy, warm, uncooked piece of bacon fat? I have, and it usually turns me completely off bacon until I've forgotten the experience.  

When cooking bacon in a frying pan or grill pan, it should always be placed in a cold pan and allowed to heat as the pan does.  This will ensure the fat is rendered from the bacon which will produce a much more palatable result and also help to avoid shrinkage.  As the bacon renders it provides the lubricant in which the bacon itself cooks and adding extra oil is not needed.    

Good tips, good tricks.

This is going to sound crazy, but it's true.

When whipping cream or egg whites or when making mayonnaise or hollandaise sauce, always beat in the same direction.  If you start going clockwise keep that up through the entire process.  Why?  To save time!  

If you continually change from clockwise to anticlockwise and zig zag through the mix it will take longer to reach the final product.  Crazy, but true!

Good tips, good tricks.

When beating egg whites to stiff peaks there is a quick test to tell whether or not they are ready.  Simply tip the bowl upside down over your head!

When egg whites are ready, you can invert the bowl and they will stay perfectly in place.  If they start to slide around as you tip the bowl they need a little more beating.

How to - Quinelle

A quinelle is a technique used in restaurants to present mousse, ice cream, sorbet, mascarpone, whipped cream, etc.  It is an elliptical shape made by passing the mixture back and forth between two spoons.  It takes a little practice to get perfect (I'm not quite there yet!) but is an easy way to add a classy touch to a dish when presenting it to friends and family.

What you'll need:

• Hot water
• Two dessert spoons of equal size and shape
• Whatever it is you're quinelling

This is difficult to describe so here goes...

Step 1 - Dip spoons into hot water, remove and shake off excess.  Do not dry spoons as the water residue will assist in achieving the desired effect. 

Step 2 - Holding a spoon in each hand, take a spoon full on the mixture and then run the empty spoon on top of the full spoon from back to front, scooping up the mixture as you drag it through.  Repeat a few times, until you have a smooth, even, three sided shape (as pictured) and carefully drop in onto the plate.

Mascarpone

Mascarpone is an Italian cheese that is used in both sweet and savoury dishes.  It is similar in flavour to cream but is much thicker and is used in many recipes including savoury dishes like risotto and pasta and as a finishing touch or component of a dessert.

There are two main ways I use mascarpone. The first is to mix it with double cream, vanilla and a little icing sugar and spread it over cakes, as a filling in pavlova or anywhere whipped cream would normally be used.  However, my favourite way to use mascarpone is to flavour it and serve with desserts.  

Some of the flavourings I frequently use include coffee, vanilla bean, chocolate, mint and lemon or lime (both the juice and the rind).  When flavouring Mascarpone, start with a small amount of the flavouring ingredient, mix well and taste.  Adjust based on the dessert and desired effect, like whether or not the mascarpone is part of the dish or just an accompaniment.  Oh, and another good thing is that because it is firm, it's really easy to quinelle!   

The following is a rough guide per 200g Mascarpone:

• Vanilla - 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• Coffee -  1 double ristretto shot and 1/2 tbs icing sugar
• Chocolate - 50g melted chocolate
• Lemon or Lime - zest of 1/2 a lemon or 1 lime with 1/2 tbs juice
• Mint - 1 tbs finely chopped mint

Good tips, good tricks

The ends of asparagus spears can be very woody and unpalatable. Most people line their aparagus up and chop off the stems about 1/3 to 3/4 the way up the stem.  While there is nothing wrong with this, except maybe losing too much good asparagus or not taking enough off, there is a neat little trick that gets it perfect every time.


Hold the asparagus between your thumbs and forefingers, with one hand on the end and the other in the middle.  Bend and asparagus will snap off in just the right spot!

Good tips, good tricks

Do your jars of tomato paste go mouldy in the fridge after mere days?  Mine used to until I learnt this trick.


It is so simple you'll be asking why no one ever told you this before! The secret?  Secure the lid and store the jar upside down in your fridge.


Works a treat! 

Good tips, good tricks

Raw onion has an intense and overpowering flavour that is not always pleasant.  Sauteing onion will bring out its natural sweetness, but what do you do when you need to add raw onion to a recipe before cooking?  

Place sliced, diced, chopped or grated onion into a sieve and pour boiling water over the top.  While it won't sweeten the onion it will eliminate the overpowering and unpleasant raw flavour by par cooking it. Just remember to squeeze out some of the excess water. 

This is a great tip for adding raw onion to muffins, breads, soup, casseroles or any recipe where a raw onion flavour would upset the balance.   

How To - Balsamic Glaze

Balsamic glaze is thick, sweet and tangy.  It is a great way to jazz up a dish and goes really well with vegetable, meat and fruit.  Super simple to make but requires a good quality vinegar.

What you'll need:

• 2 cups Balsamic Vinegar
• A small heavy bottomed saucepan 

Pour balsamic vinegar into the saucepan and bring to boil.  Reduce to low and slowly simmer for 20-30 minutes until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  

2 cups vinegar will make about 1/2 cup glaze.  

How To - Cooking Rice

A lot of people struggle to cook rice, I was actually scared of the task until I learnt the 'absorption method'.  This is the fool proof way to cook perfect rice. Every time. Without fail.

What you'll need:

• A medium sized pot with a tightly fitting lid  
• Rice
• Water
• Salt

Step 1 - Place rice and water in the pot, in a ratio of 1:2, eg 2 cups rice to 4 cups water. Add a good whack of salt and stir to ensure all rice is wet.
Step 2 - Place pot on the largest burner of your stove top on the highest heat setting. Stir constantly until the water reaches the boil.  
Step 3 - When water has reached the boil, put lid on pot, turn heat down to the lowest setting and leave to simmer for 15 minutes.
Step 4 - After the 15 minutes, remove the pot from the heat and leave to stand for five minutes.  Do not remove the lid until the 5 minutes has passed!  
Step 5 - After the 5 minute resting time, remove the lid, fluff with a fork and serve.


Who needs a rice cooker when it's that easy?!  

How To - Cooking Pasta

While I have not mastered the art of making pasta, I do know the secrets to cooking it.  


What you'll need:

• A big pot with a tightly fitting lid
• Water
• Salt
• Pasta

Step 1 - Fill the pot with water and add a decent whack of salt.  Put the lid on and place on the largest burner of your stove top.   

Step 2 - Turn the burner on the highest heat setting and bring water to a fast boil.

Step 3 - Put pasta in the water and stir immediately. When you add the pasta, the water temperature will drop and you need to bring it back to a boil as quickly as possible.  This is done by putting the lid back on.  Remember to take the lid off again once the water has been  brought back to the boil. 

Step 4 - Cook until pasta is al dente, stirring every minute or two as required, and drain immediately in a colander or use a slotted spoon to transfer pasta to the sauce. 

Some people believe they need to add oil to the water in order to stop the pasta sticking together, however, all the oil does is stops the sauce sticking to the pasta once they are mixed together.   So what's the secret to pasta that doesn't clump?  A REALLY BIG pot of water that is brought back to the boil very quickly after the pasta is added.  

Pasta has different cooking times, depending on whether it is fresh or dried.   Fresh pasta will cook in as little as 2-3 minutes and dried pasta can take anywhere from 7-12 minutes.

Al dente describes pasta that is 'slightly under cooked' so it retains its shape and integrity without being crunchy.  There is a very small window between under cooked and over cooked pasta and the best way to know if the pasta is cooked properly is to take some out of the pot and try it!  

Another way to know if pasta is cooked al dente is to throw it at a wall, if it sticks, it's cooked!  This is also a great way to strip a spaghetti sized piece of paint from the wall, as I discovered to my mother's horror when I was 15.