Quick tips - dec 95

Yield: 1 info

Measure Ingredient
\N \N Folding Egg Whites Gently
\N \N Making Thin Sugar Cookies
\N \N Filling Stuffed Manicotti
\N \N Freezing Stock in Convenient Portions
\N \N Avoiding the Burn of Chile Peppers
\N \N Pureeing Heads of Garlic
\N \N Rehydrating Dried Ingredients
\N \N Transferring Pie Crust
\N \N Better Fried Chicken

Fit a handheld mixer with only one beater, set it at the lowest speed, and beat the egg whites into the mixture with a folding motion. This method is thorough but gentle enough to keep the whites from deflating.

Roll out the dough on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper, cut the cookies with the desired cutter, top with another sheet of parchment paper, and freeze. When ready to bake, pop out the shapes like paper dolls.

Getting the filling into stuffed shells or manicotti can be a tedious and frustrating task. Here's an easier way to do it: Fill the bowl of a long-handled infant spoon with the desired filling.

Insert the filling into the pasta, then withdraw the spoon, depositing the filling.

1. Ladle the stock into oversized, non-stick muffin tins, each of which holds just under one cup of stock, and freeze.

2. When the stock is frozen, twist the muffin tin in the same manner as you twist an ice tray, tapper the bottom with a butter knife to loosen if necessary. Place the frozen cubes in a plastic bag, seal tightly, and use as needed.

Here's a way to work with very hot, fresh chile peppers without burning your hands. You'll need a chef's knife and a serrated-tip grapefruit spoon.

Holding the chile in place with the grapefruit spoon, slice the chile lengthwise with the chef's knife. Holding the knife at the stem end of the chile, use the grapefruit spoon to scrape out the seeds and ribs.

Cut about ¼-inch from the end of a head of roasted garlic. Place the garlic, tip side down, in a potato ricer. The extruded garlic is nicely pureed, while the peel remains inside the ricer.

Place the dried ingredient in a glass measuring cup and cover with warm water. Place a custard cup over the dried ingredients, then fill the cup with water. This keeps the dried ingredients completely submerged so they rehydrate evenly.

1. Roll out the crust on a floured pastry cloth or sheets of waxed paper.

2. Fold the waxed paper over so that the dough forms a half-circle.

3. Fold the waxed paper from the other side so the dough forms a quarter-circle.

4. Transfer the quarter-circle of dough from the waxed paper to a pie plate, placing the dough point in the exact center of the pan.

5. Unfold the dough halfway.

6. Finally, unfold the dough completely. The open dough is centered and wrinkle-free.

Putting several pieces of celery, with leaves, into the oil when frying chicken produces more beautifully colored and better-tasting fried chicken

Cook's Illustrated

December 1995

Submitted By DIANE LAZARUS On 11-13-95

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