Archive for the ‘Cooking Tips’ Category
Turkish Delight Christmas Recipe and traditional Christmas Cake
RECIPE 1
Turkish Delight Christmas Recipe
Ingredients :
- 2 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups lightly salted peanuts
Preperation:
- Grease and line a 9 x 13-inch pan with foil.
- In a large, heavy saucepan over moderate heat, cook the sugar, butter, and water, stirring occasionally, until the mixture becomes a golden-brown syrup, about 25 minutes. Remove to a cool surface.
- Stir in the peanuts and pour mixture into the pan, spreading the nuts evenly.
- Let peanut brittle set and cool before breaking into bite-size pieces. It can be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 1 month.
RECIPE 2
Traditional Christmas Cake
Ingredients :
- 2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (9 ounces total) butter at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups each currants, golden raisins, dark raisins
- 1 1/3 cups soft dried figs, chopped
- 1 1/4 cups dates, pitted and chopped
- 1 cup chopped stoned dried prunes
- 1 3/4 cups chopped dried apricots
- 3/4 cup blanched almonds, chopped
- 2/3 cup plus 4 tablespoons brandy
- 2 teaspoons instant espresso, mixed with 1 tablespoon water Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Christmas
Top Christmas Tips
Many of us will be starting to think of the Christmas meal and how to make it the best Christmas ever. So much preparation goes into the whole process so it is important not to leave it until the last minute to get everything sorted because by doing so you are bound to forget something.
One good thing to do is to start the baking a bit earlier. There is nothing like homemade mince pies but baking so close to the festive period is not always possible. As a result, why not bake them now with all the fresh ingredients and freeze them, this means you will have fresh mince pies that are homemade ready to be eaten and all you will have to do is defrost them and place them in the oven to heat up (as you would have to do with premade mince pies).
After the Christmas dinner has gone down well everyone normally congregates in the living room where they sit and chat and maybe play a few games and enjoy what is on the television. Even though everyone has just had a substantial feast, eventually someone will fancy some snacks and then they will turn to the host for ideas. Here you want to make sure you have some nice chocolates at hand and some drinks, you could even mix up some cocktails as there are certain ones that good after a large meal and help with digestion. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Christmas
Barbecue Pizza
Fire ovens make the best pizza not doubt about it. A barbecue can create the same fire concept and you can have perfect pizza every time.
Once you have tried barbecued pizza done the right way take out will be a thing of the past.
Preparation
Create your pizza dough as you would normally and roll it out into a circle. Get the radius size slightly smaller than the grill grid of your barbecue. Try getting the dough rolled out as even as possible and about half a centimeter thick. Anything thinner you run the risk of it breaking up as you are grilling and no thicker otherwise you might not cook the dough properly.
Place on your normal toppings like cheese, tomato sauce, ham and peppers. Ingredients like mushrooms and chicken will need to be pre-cooked before being placed on the pizza.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: cheese
Best Tips To Healthy Cooking
In this 21st century people are becoming more conscious about their eating habits and life styles. Due to the rapid changing trends and lifestyles, people often tend to suffer from heart diseases, depression, stress, high blood pressure and other such related problems. All these problems can be controlled if you cook your food items in healthy ways.
So, below stated are some essential tips that you must follow in order to cook your food in a healthy way.
1. Try to use as little salt as you can in your food. You can still maintain the taste of the recipe by adding lemon juice, herbs, flavored vinegar or different spices.
2. Use less of all fats like butter and oil. While cooking, avoid saturated fats; instead use unsaturated fats like soya oil, olive oil, vegetable oil or peanut oil.
3. As far as you can, avoid frying your food items. Instead of frying you can bake, boil, steam, grill or roast the food. This will help in maintaining the original nutrients of the food.
4. Always avoid using too much of tomato, soya or other processed sauces because they have a high level of salt content. Read the rest of this entry »