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By JANET K. KEELER, Times Staff Writer deconstructing chiffonade
Chiffonade means "made of rags" in French. As a culinary technique, it means to finely cut strips or ribbons of leafy vegetables or herbs. A chiffonade cut is made by stacking leaves in the same direction and then cutting crosswise in narrow strips. To chiffonade a cabbage for coleslaw, cut the cleaned head into quarters, remove the core, then slice the quarters thinly across the grain. For leafy herbs or vegetables, such as basil or spinach, stack the leaves, then roll them into a cylinder, something like a cigar, before cutting. The fresh mozzarella and tomato salad that's becoming nearly as common as the house salad comes to life with fragrant strips of basil scattered over it. The basil ribbons are made with a chiffonade cut. this web site cooksThe self-proclaimed Internet "Queens of Cuisine," Suzanne, Nikol and Malin, are on a mission to make cooking hip. With their leopardskin pants and funky eyeglasses, the trio of fun-loving cooks succeeds on this site. Gadgets A-Go-Go and Cooking With Rock Stars are just two topics mined for humor and practical advice. They even polled their boyfriends for their favorite football-watching beer. The winners: Guinness, Redhook, Anchor Steam and Chimay. Plenty of recipes, surprisingly standard fare, given the wacky presentation. constant comment"The poor seek food, the rich seek an appetite." cooking classPlant City strawberries are hitting produce stands and grocery stores this month. Look for berries with a rich, glossy red color and shiny green leaves. Avoid those with white or green shoulders and brown or limp leaves. If you get a pint of lackluster strawberries, sprinkle them with a tablespoon or two of sugar and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. The sugar will draw moisture from the berries to make a sweet syrup. 100 faves and ravesPick up a copy of the January/February Saveur magazine. The editors' 100 list includes things from around the world and celebrates the traditional, classic, new and innovative. It also includes tools such as a favorite egg slicer, can opener and kitchen stepladder. We liked the idea of the Polder 2-Step Stool, a compact, sturdy ladder that opens with one quick snap. It sounds great for $19.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond stores. star-spangled pop-tarts
It won't be the first food product to link its name with the Winter Olympics, which begin Feb. 8 in Salt Lake City, but it's the first one to cross our desk. USA Olympic Pop-Tarts are frosted in white and sprinkled with red and blue stars. The flavor? Strawberry, of course. We ate several and felt as patriotic as ever. Fuel for downhill racers and lugers? We think not. easy lasagnaYou'll get to skip a step en route to lasagna with Barilla's oven-ready pasta. The lasagna noodles don't need to be boiled; just layer them in the pan with the other ingredients and bake. The noodles are precooked and then dried. A 9-ounce box, enough for a 13- by 9-inch tray of lasagna, costs $1.50 to $1.75 at supermarkets. bakeoff finalistsKelly B. Everhart of Seffner and Ann Zovko of Tampa are among the 100 finalists who will compete for the $1-million grand prize at the 40th Pillsbury Bake-Off in Orlando Feb. 24-27. Everhart's Monte Cristo Folds will be judged in the Easy Weeknight Meals category, and Zovko's Bacon Spinach Pizza is competing in Casual Snack & Appetizers.
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From the Times Taste section From the features wire |
