Quantcast

Kitchen 101 » Food Prep Basics »

Wood and Herb Flavoring Options For Grilling By erwin

June 10th, 2009

Different herbs and woods affect grilled meat’s overall aroma, after taste and even presentation. Choose aromatic additions to enhance your grilled meat to take your dish to the next level.

Alder Chips: Marry well with salmon and other fish and light meats.

Apple Chips: Enhance chicken and game birds, pork, salmon, sweet glazes, and fruit sauces.

Cherry Chips: Are similar to apple and complement poultry and seafood.

Hickory Chips: deliver a slightly nutty flavor to pork, chicken, and turkey.

Mesquite Chips: Enhance fish, chicken, turkey, and pork.

Oak Chips: Complement pork and beef.

Pecan Chips: are similar to hickory and pair well with chicken and pork.

Dried Basil Stems: infuse a wide variety of foods with a sweet herbal scent.

Dried Rosemary Sprigs: Give a pleasantly woodsy flavor to beef, lamb, pork, chicken, and meaty fish fillets or steaks.

Mixed Herbs: Create fragrant smoke that suits a wide variety of foods; they are sometimes sold in tea bag type packages.

Grapevine Cuttings: A by product of wine making, add fruity flavor to such grilled foods as beef, lamb, chicken, and fish.

Classic French Knife Cuts By erwin

October 12th, 2008

Learn these classic French knife cuts lingos as you dive into our fun recipes.

Our Favorite Cuts

Brunoise: 1/8 x 1/8 x 1/8 size cuts

Macédoine: 1/4 x 1/4 x 1/4 size cuts

Parmentier: 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2 size cuts

Julienne: 1/8 x 1/8 x 3/4 size cuts

Batonnet: 1/4 x 1/4 x 2 size cuts

Alumette: 1/4 x 1/4 x 2 1/2 size cuts

Rondelle: Round slice

Paysanne: 1/2” x 1/2” x 1/84

Other Classic Cuts

Carré large dice 3/4″ cube
Vichy short, very thin sitck less than 1/8″ thick slice
Allumette matchstick 1/8″ x 1/8″ x 3″
Frite French fry 1/2″ x 1/2 ” x 3″
Pont-Neuf steak fry 3/4″ x 3/4″ x 3″
Mignonette stick 3/8″ x 3/8″ x 2″
Mirepoix rough cut 1″ average

Chips/Rondelle/Bias very thin slice 1/8″ slice

Gaufrettes waffle 1/8″ thick; perforated
Chiffonade ribbon cut very thin rolled slice

 Oblique roll cut 45° angle cut
Paille straw Finely shredded
Parisienne Paris style Sphere shape: 1″ average
Noisette pazelnut Sphere shape; 1/2″ to 3/4″
Tourné Olivette olive like 7 sided; 1″ to 2″
Tourné Chateau castle like 7 sided; 2″ to 2 1/2″
Tourné Fondante melting 7 sided; 3″ or more

Proper Way of Holding a Knife By bearic

July 25th, 2008

Grip the knife with your thumb on one side of the blade just at at the hilt and pinch between it and your fore finger. Choking up is the best and safest way to hold the knife. This technique will make you to control the knife 100% without getting any injury. Always use a sharp knife when cutting. When knife is use daily, try to sharpen it once a month. To prevent an injury, do not force the knife to cut in, instead slide the knife through and let it do the work. Never leave a knife in or near the sink or in a place where someone can accidentally get cut or hurt.