Chef Lynn's Cooking Diary

Archive for the ‘Vegetables’ Category

• Light oils: extra light olive, extra virgin olive, corn, safflower, sunflower, vegetable
• Heavy oils: peanut, sesame

To make an herb oil, first sterilize any size jar or bottle (I suggest boiling in water for approximately 10 mins.) then half-fill it with whole fresh herbs. Fill jar with oil (must cover all herbs) Tightly cap and sit aside to steep in a warm place out of sunlight for about two weeks shaking daily. Strain through coffee filter and discard herbs.

Taste the product and repeat steps for richer flavor and body. Re-sterilize container.

Decant final product into a sterilized container with tight-fitting cap. Add a couple of fresh sprigs of herbs and/or a few compatible seeds to final product for a festive looking bottle

Typical herbs to use: garlic, tarragon, thyme, various peppers (hot or mild), basil, rosemary, oregano or bay leaf.

I like to use my flavored oils when grilling vegetables or seafood.

What are some of your uses.  Send me your comments.

Chef Lynn Ware is a private/personal chef specializing in healthy cooking, culinary educator, and food blogger. Chef Lynn offers: Corporate Cooking Classes, Group Cooking Parties, Private Cooking Lessons and Gourmet Catering. Contact Chef Lynn (ChefLynn@ChefLynn.com) for additional information.

HERB BUTTERS

Here’s how:

Use unsalted butter soften at room temperature

Add two tablespoons finely chopped herbs to ½ cup (1/4 lb/1 stick) butter. Combine with fork or electric beater. Do not whip. Form into log on wax paper, roll up and refrigerate until firm. May be frozen in freezer for up to three months.

Presentation tips:

• Slice log or butter into rounds
• Use a melon baller to form balls.
• Flatten between wax paper and use mini cookie or canapé’ cutters to form decorative pats.

Herbs and seasonings to try:

• Parsley or cilantro for seafood and breads
• Basil, oregano, garlic, grated parmesan (½ tsp each per ¼ lb) for Italian garlic bread.
• Tarragon (1 tsp per ¼ lb) for seafood, mushrooms
• Lemon or lime juice (few drops per ¼ lb) for seafood (add slowly so mixture will not separate).
• Honey and mustard (1 tsp each per ¼ lb) for ham or chicken basting or as a sauce
• Honey butter (3 tbs. per ¼ lb) for bread, toast

Savory Basil Butter

Did you know that to peel onions easily and with minimal tears, you should soak them in plenty of cold water for 20-30 minutes first. You will find that this toughens the skin, so that it will pull off more easily, and the cold inhibits the gases that will burn your eyes.

Chef Lynn Ware is a private/personal chef, culinary educator, and food blogger. Chef Lynn offers: Corporate Cooking Classes, Group Cooking Parties, Private Cooking Lessons and Gourmet Catering. Contact Chef Lynn (ChefLynn@ChefLynn.com) for additional information.

Eggplants absorb large quantities of oil during frying. Salting helps to reduce this. Cut the eggplant into slices, place in a strainer, and sprinkle generously with salt. Let stand for about one hour, then rinse well and pat dry with kitchen paper before frying.

Chef Lynn Ware is a private/personal chef, culinary educator, and food blogger. Chef Lynn offers: Corporate Cooking Classes, Group Cooking Parties, Private Cooking Lessons and Gourmet Catering. Contact Chef Lynn (ChefLynn@ChefLynn.com) for additional information.

Mince a whole batch of garlic cloves at a time: form the mixture into a log, wrap it tight in plastic wrap, and freeze. Whenever a recipe calls for minced garlic, just cut a slice off the frozen log.

Chef Lynn Ware is a private/personal chef, culinary educator, and food blogger. Chef Lynn offers: Corporate Cooking Classes, Group Cooking Parties, Private Cooking Lessons and Gourmet Catering. Contact Chef Lynn (ChefLynn@ChefLynn.com) for additional information.