European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 27, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Demystifying Laww rat Irvi Gity Ifim by Clara German Baltimore Sun it is a familiar scene of seduction and disappointment. A a a a you Are cruising your Cookbook for something new exciting different. Lured by the delicious sound of a recipe Litlo you Check it out. But suddenly a you stumble Over something called Quot de glazing or Quot clarified butter a and the thrill is gone. It May be just a word a technique or an ingredient a but the turn off is Complete and the Pursuit of another recipe is on again a a cooking illiteracy can make even simple recipes unnecessarily daunting for even the most adventurous Cooks cooking professionals say. For example Quot i never know that my Mother s chopped liver was admits Jan Longone an Ann Arbor. Mich., culinary his ionian and rare Cookbook dealer. And How Many of us she asks have watched our first a and last a souffle Lizzie because we really did not understand Thal the technique of Quot folding Quot is not just another term for Quot stir Quot the culinary revolution of the 1980s, which brought gorgeous cookbooks to rival National geographic As Coffee table exotica and advanced Kitchen gadgets that take More time on setup and cleanup than on their assigned tasks May have broadened our interests Longone says. But let s face it she concludes Quot when the history is written of the cuisine of this time say the bulk of the population was eating at Mcdonald s. The gourmet Community is Small in the United states. We re not talking about the Ordinary person but the Beautiful it s no coincidence she says that after All the fancy cookbooks and magazines of the 1980s, 1990 started off with three major Back to basics cookbooks. When the Home Cook actually decides to dig in and use one of the Beautiful cookbooks or gadgets she says its like kids with computers who suddenly have to learn to . But that a unnecessarily so says chef George Keeney an instructor Ai Baltimore s International culinary College. He dismisses with the sweep of a Beefy hand the mystique that the Quot gourmet revolution Quot has cloaked cooking in a even if it has expanded the american palate. A the a new French cuisine just kills me Quot Keeney says. Quot nothing is new in cooking so to speak. To some degree everything has been done before. So the foundation is built but you re just going to Combine it a similarly he conk Nues the typical Home Cook should be Able to learn certain basics a and from there conquer just about any new recipe. People Are always running into something they Aren t familiar with a term or a product arid they shy away due to ignorance. In my teens i d read recipes and certain terminology might put me off completely. That s Why at the Smith s you la always have something with a Cream sauce because they Don t do anything else Quot he says. Quot so As t train students i emphasize reference and i take clarified butter for example. It is not enough just to show How to make clarified butter a which is to separate the clarified fat from the Salt milk solids and water he says. Understanding Why you need it is Quot important too the milk solids in butter Burn and Blacken at a lower temperature than the clarified fat but if they Are removed foods can be cooked at higher temperatures and still get the butter flavor without having to substitute Oil clarified butter is the Clear liquid that forms Between a thin layer of Salt on top and a layer of gooey White milk solids on the Bottom when butter is allowed to melt. To preserve the clarified butter carefully ladle off the Salt then ladle off the Clear yellow clarified butter into a Container a cup of butter wifi yield about a half a cup of clarified butter Keeney and Longone both suggest that you get a Basic Cookbook with a Good glossary or step by step manual so you can consult it when you confront the unfamiliar. Keeney a favourites for the Home Cook Are la technique and la method by Jacques Pepin Longone says that she still favors the very Basic Joy of cooking by Irma s. Rombauer and Marion a Becker a even Over the new Best Selling Back to basics cookbooks. Keeney offers the following recipe a named after his 7-month-old daughter a As an example of a simple recipe that might be disguised As Complex for the Home Cook because of some of its terminology. Terms that might seem daunting Are in capital letters. The recipe is followed by Keeney a explanation of the techniques. Chicken Paige Catherine 2 7-ounce Chicken breasts de boned seasoned flour to dredge Chicken 3 ounces chopped roasted pecans 3 ounces clarified butter 1 ounce shallots 3 ounces rum 2 ounces Coconut milk 6 ounces heavy Cream 1 ounce Raspberry coulis strained or substitute Raspberry preserve a ounce Fine Julienne pimiento it ounce Fine Julienne Green onion blanched Tomato Rose celery Leaf Green onion paint brushes for Garnish dredge Chicken in flour. Place coated Chicken in hot saute pan containing 2 ounces of the clarified butter melted. Brown evenly on both sides. If after Browning Chicken requires further cooking place in Over. Add shallots to saute pan sweat then de Glaze with rum and reduce until dry. For an added flair at this Point flambe can be used in the de glazing process add Coconut milk and heavy Cream and reduce until Nappe. Presentation rub Border of plate lightly with softened butter. Sprinkle pecans onto butter pressing so the pecans adhere. Pour sauce onto half of plate and place Chicken breast on other half. Place Green onion and pimiento on top of Chicken. Pipe Raspberry coulis onto Cream sauce. Then starting at Center of sauce using a toothpick swirl sauce by going in Circle toward the outside. Additional Garnish could Range from Tomato Rose or Parsley to Citrus twist. Serves two. Explanations de boning the key in boning Chicken says Keeney is to always use smooth cutting strokes with a very Sharp knife angled toward the Bone so that you can hear it scraping a this avoids Quot Hacksaw Quot Marks in the meat. Hold the meat rib Side Down on cutting Board with your Palm and use your thumb to pull the meat away from the Bone As you Cut. Dredge to coat the meat lightly. Clarified butter melted butter with Salt and milk solids removed. Shallots is. Green onions they Are not the same thing. Shallots Are Small Golden Brown goofball size onions. Green onions or scallions Are Small onion bulbs on Long Green stems. Fine Julienne Cut to 1-16th Inch by 1-16th Inch by 2 inches sweat to Cook slightly without colouring the onions. Blanche to Cook Halfway or in this instance to dip the onion in boiling water enough to make it pliable. Deplaze to moisten pan with liquid cooking and a scraping to dissolve caramelized drippings in order to incorporate them into sauce. Reduce to allow sauce to thicken naturally by drying. By allowing sauce to simmer so that moisture evaporates flavors Are concentrated As much As possible without altering the constituents of the sauce. Nappe to coat the Back of a spoon. Coulis reduction a or the thickening a of a pureed substance. Flambe this technique works Only on a Gas stove. For another Way to flamb6, see related Story and photos Keeney issues a warning he has seen even a professional chef turn the process into an explosion that set off a fire extinguisher system and ruined a Buffet meal. Mainly he says flambe is for show and adds Quot if a Guy plays basketball he can throw a pass Forward or behind his Back and both get the Job done a but one is for to accomplish the flambe he says follow these Steps exactly. Take the pan off the fire. Pour the alcohol in. Wait until it stops sizzling if you Don t wait Long enough the alcohol could flare up in the next step. Put the pan Back on the fire. Slightly tilt the pan letting the Burner flames jump Over the pan and ignite the Vapours allow flame to continue until it goes out. Keeney says that flambe can be done with or without the Chicken in the pan. But he notes that if you decide to make the sauce and flambe with the Chicken in the pan add the shallots after the flambe. C i p it a or s i n i it i o ii a i Page 14 a the stars and stripes Friday i
