 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
By JANET K. KEELER © St. Petersburg Times, deconstructing
|
 Capers |
Capers are used to brighten many dishes including pastas, salads and sauces. They are a traditional ingredient in veal piccata, adding pungency to the lemony sauce.
Most capers are brined, basically meaning they are pickled in a vinegar-based liquid. Salt-packed capers, often sold in gourmet stores or Italian markets, have a deeper flavor and a taste that's truer to the plant. The vinegar used in pickling masks flavor.
Capers also come in different sizes. The smallest are called nonpareils (not to be confused with the confectionary decorations of a same name) and are grown mostly in Provence, in southern France. Culinary experts say these are the most flavorful. Larger ones, about the size of peppercorns, are called gruesas.
To remove capers from their narrow jar without dumping liquid, David Joachim, author of Brilliant: Food Tips and Cooking Tricks (Rodale Press, 2001, $29.95), suggests using a melon baller to scoop them out. Also, he writes, use a long, pointed vegetable peeler to pick up a row of capers on the utensil's chute.
cooking class
Vegetables cooked in a microwave oven retain more vitamins and minerals than vegetables cooked by other methods, especially boiling. The shorter cooking time, in less water, helps minimize the leaching of nutrients into the cooking water.
constant comment
"My wife and I tried to breakfast together, but we had to stop or our marriage would have been wrecked." -- Winston Churchill
this web site cooks
"Everything you wanted to know about fruit" boasts this site that includes more than 100 pages of facts, figures and recipes. Learn about olives when you click on "Fruit From Around the World." Go to "Food-News" and learn that of all the fruits in the world, the tiny guava is the most nutritious, packing in more Vitamins A and C, folic acid, potassium and fiber than any other fruit. Of course, you have to eat a dozen of the Ping-Pong-ball sized fruit to garner the benefits.
If you get tired of reading about fruit, click on the swirling hurricane-like icon and link to the Karma Kagyu Buddhist Network.
honey of a spread
Bigelow Flavored Honey Spreads add a pleasantly subtle twist. The creamy texture spreads nicely on toast and muffins. Six flavors are offered: cinnamon, orange, lemon, raspberry, black currant and French vanilla. Each 11-ounce jar costs $3 at supermarkets.
trim-down barbecue
Weight Watchers International says that grilling can be compatible with weight watching. Some tips: Use a rub on meat rather than a marinade. Spices and herbs add no calories but lots of flavor. The same is true for flavored wood chips such as mesquite or hickory. Throw some on the coals for sweet smoky flavor, calorie free. And if you do use marinades to tenderize meat, cut back on the oil and increase the lemon, vinegar or soy sauce. It's the acid, not the oil, that tenderizes the meat.
you bet your dinner
Despite its reputation for 99-cent breakfasts and bargain buffets, Las Vegas is second only to New York for wallet-emptying restaurant tabs among U.S. cities, a new survey found. The average Las Vegas restaurant tab was $32 a person, well above the national average of $26, according to the Zagat survey. New York's average tab was $35. Worldwide, only Tokyo ($58), London ($41) and Paris ($39) were higher. Las Vegas was followed by San Francisco ($30), Washington, D.C. ($29) and Chicago ($28).
ye olde animal crackers
Colonial Williamsburg is selling barnyard fun in a box with its new Rare Breed Animal Cookies. Forget elephants and zebras. Bite the heads off Leicester longwool sheep, American milking Red Devon cows, Hamburg chickens and other 18th century farm animals when you dig into these two-ounce boxes of "kid-friendly and educational cookies." The cookies were inspired by Williamsburg's Rare Breeds program, begun in 1986 to help save unusual breeds similar to those found in the 18th century colonial capital of America. The cookies are $1.25 a box. Order by phone or request a catalog by calling toll-free 1-800-446-9240. The Web site is www.williamsburgmarketplace.com.
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111
From the Times Taste section
From the features wire
