Coffee Brewing Tips

• Keep the coffee pot scrumptiously clean. Scrub the pot after it is empty rather than wait until the regular washing. Occasionally boil 1 tbsp. of bicarbonate of soda with water in the pot to refresh it.
• Use fresh coffee; if possible, toast and grind beans just before brewing.
• Use freshly drawn cold water. Hot tap water produces a flat flavor.
• Boiling coffee produces a bitter and cloudy brew. Drink it while it is fresh.
• Time your method and measure the ingredients consistently: 2 level tbsp. of regular grind coffee makes a full bodied 3/4 cup brew.
• Bitter coffee results when too much coffee is used or beans were ground too fine. Use less coffee for the very fine grind.
• Ground coffee for your particular method of brewing; follow manufacturer’s directions as to the grind recommended.
• Never boil milk for coffee. Heat it to just below simmering point. If using cream, serve it at room temperature so as not to cool down a hot drink.
• With the proliferation of coffee making machines (cappuccino, espresso, et.), and flavors, there are many ways to prepare this brew but these tips are always useful in making any kind of good coffee.

Cooking Tips: Browning, Frying, and Sautéing

1. Brown red meats quickly over high heat, uncovered. Brown poultry slowly, covered or uncovered.
2. Never pierce meats when browning them; the juices will escape and the meats will become tough and dry. Use tongs, not fork, for turning them over.
3. In stir frying and sautéing, always get your pan hot first (preheat pan on medium high for about 1 minute before adding the oil) and heat oil or butter for 15-30 seconds before adding food so it won’t stick to the pan.
4. When frying several pieces of food at a time, never let the pieces touch each other as they cook or they will stew instead of sauté and end up tough.
5. Keep fried foods warm in a 250ºF oven for 10 minutes.
6. When sautéing with garlic or ginger, always brown them in oil after salt has been added to the oil but before any other ingredients. This will bring out the full flavor of these ingredients.

Cooking Tips: Boiling, Simmering, and Steaming

1. Steam vegetables to conserve nutrients. If you have to boil them, do not peel before boiling, use a small amount of water and cover them. Reuse water for soups.
2. Add 1 tsp. vinegar or lemon juice to the water to make potatoes white.
3. Add a little milk to the water in which cauliflower is cooked to retain whiteness.
4. Salt added to water for boiling vegetables keeps greens green.
5. Grate a quarter of a small onion and add it and a dash of sugar and salt to the water in which you boil frozen or canned vegetables to improve the flavor. Or a dash of garlic powder, pepper and onion flakes for a richer flavor.

Cooking Tips: Barbecuing, Broiling, and Roasting

1. For barbecues, chicken should not be more than 3 pounds; 2 pounds is best because it cooks faster and the meat is going to be more tender and juice.
2. Pork should be sliced thinly so it will be thoroughly cooked.
3. Beef steak should not be less than an inch thick or it will dry out; 1-1/2” thick is best for rare, medium or well done.
4. When broiling steaks or chops, put one cup water in the bottom of the broiler pan to prevent grease from burning on the pan, eliminate smoke, make pan easy to wash and to catch the drippings for the gravy, if making some.
5. When roasting or broiling, line roaster pans with foil (barbecue pans, too) for easy cleaning. Cover the rack also but slash between the grooves to allow the fat to drip into the pan.

Cooking Tips: Pies and Pastries

1. When making pastry for pie crust, add a pinch or two of baking powder to the dry ingredients before adding the water; it will make the pastry more flaky.
2. When adding water to pastry, use only about 1/4 cup ice cold water or less per 2 cups flour and never pour it in one spot all at once. Shake or sprinkle the water, 1 tbsp. at a time, over the mixture while stirring with a fork.
3. Too much heavy handling makes pastry tough. Roll out pastry with a light stroke of the rolling pin going up and down, giving the pastry a quarter turn after several passes of the pin.
4. Pie crust browns beautifully with a sheen when brushed with milk or beaten egg yolk before baking.
5. For a flavorful crust, sprinkle 1/2 cup chopped unsalted, toasted cashew nuts on pastry for lemon meringue pie, press them into the dough for apple pie.
6. To keep the bottom crust of a fruit or berry pie from becoming soft, grease pie pan with 1 tbsp. butter before lining with pastry. Then brush pastry with a well beaten egg white or with shortening or vegetable fat before filling with fruits or berries so juice won’t soak through.
7. Don’t sprinkle top crust of pie with sugar because it burns quickly and gives pie a speckled look. Instead, dust the top crust with sugar while rolling crust and press it into the dough with two passes of the pin. This makes the dough crisper without burning while baking.
8. After filling pastry and fitting on the top crust, let pie rest for 15 minutes before baking. This allows pastry to settle down from being stretched in rolling and prevents pastry shrinkage in baking.
9. Place fruit pies on a foil-lined rimmed cookie sheet so the cookie sheet will catch any spill over fruit juices and there's no messy oven to clean.
10. To avoid a soggy crust with a moist pie like fruit pies or quiches, bake the unfilled shell for about 5 – 6 minutes in a preheated 425ºF oven, before adding the filling. For double crust fruit pies, place pie on an oven rack that is as close to the bottom of the oven as possible to cook bottom crust well.
11. If crust edges of pie are browning too quickly, cover them with strips of foil. Or cut out the bottom of a foil pie plate the same size a pie plate in the oven, leaving about 1 inch wide foil along the rim and place it over the pie to cover the curst edges.
12. Roll dough between 2 sheets of wax paper so dough won’t stick to pin.

Cooking Tips: Cakes

1. When butter is cold right out of the refrigerator and is too hard to cream, shred it into a warmed bowl and it will cream faster.
2. When pouring batter into cake pan, be sure the batter is higher on the sides of the pan than in the center so the cake will bake with an even top.
3. After removing a cake from the oven, place the pan on a damp cloth for a few minutes an the cake will com loose from the pan easily. Or grease cake pans on bottoms only with unsalted shortening or vegetable oil, but brown or waxed paper to fit bottom of cake pan, and line pan with it before pouring in batter. Nonstick cake guaranteed. Layer cakes will not not burn on the bottom if brown or waxed paper is used to line the bottom of the pan after greasing the bottom of the pan. Let cake stand in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to cool.
4. Prevent nuts and fruits from sinking to the bottom of cake batter by coating them with flour or by heating them in the oven for a few minutes before adding them to batter. Three-day old eggs are best for making cakes.
5. If cake is stuck to the pan, stand it on one side for a few minutes then on the other side; its own weight will help pry off. Loose sides with a spatula.

Cooking Tips: Meringues

1. To make good meringue, always let the egg whites warm up to room temperature (65º-75ºF) before beating. Also, add 1tsp. water for each egg white to increase the volume and make the meringue more tender. Or add a pinch or two of baking powder to egg whites before beating for maximum volume.
2. When beating eggs separately, beat whites first; then the yolks may be beaten without washing the beaters. Whites will not beat up to full volume or stiffness if any yolk or bit of fat gets into the bowl.
3. Always spread meringue all the way to the edge of the pie crust to prevent shrinking and watery edges.
4. If you turn off the oven and open the door slightly when the meringue is just perfectly brown, the pie cools slowly and prevents the meringue from cracking or splitting.
5. Add a pinch of cream of tartar to egg whites while beating to avoid sticky meringue.

Cooking Tips: Cookies

1. For drop cookies, oil the spoon. Batter will not stick and will drop off easily.
2. When cookies stick to the cookie sheet, return cookie sheet to the oven for a few minutes to loosen the cookies; remove with a greased formula.
3. To break up hard brown sugar so it is easier to cream it with butter for cookie dough, great it or process it in a blender until it is soft ad fluffy.
4. To make rolled cookies thinner and crisper, put cookies by tbsp. directly on cookie sheet, press each mound with the bottom of a glass, dipping it in sugar each time.
5. Brush the surface of cookies with a slightly beaten egg yolk thinned with water and allow it to dry before baking, for a shiny glaze.
6. To make a strawberry glaze, mix 2 tbsp. strawberry juice, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tbsp. lemon juice, cook stirring until sugar is dissolved.
7. To prevent sticking, dip cookie cutters in flour , shake off excess, before using. Too much flour will make the dough tough.

Cooking with Fresh Herbs

Fresh herbs enhance the flavor of soups, salads, and main dishes without the ill effects on the body of salt, soy sauce, patis or bagoong. About 1 to 2 tbsp. of chopped fresh herb is enough to flavor a dish for 6. Other herbs that go well with Filipino foods, aside from bay leaves and oregano are:

• Basil is a herb that has a spicy taste similar to licorice. It is particularly delicious when sprinkled on sliced fresh tomatoes in a salad. It is also used in soups, casseroles and pasta and particularly good when made into pesto (a sauce of fresh basil leaves ground with garlic, pine nuts and olive oil and spread over hot pasta just before serving).

• Marjoram is a member of the mint family. It has a mild, sweet flavor much like oregano. Use it to flavor meats, poultry and vegetables.

• Rosemary has a lemony-pine nut flavor and goes will with fish and poultry as well as eggs and some vegetable dishes.

• Sage can enhance the flavor of sausages, liver, pork,poultry oily fish, cheese dishes and can be used in spreads, sauces and some stuffing.

• Savory adds a distinctly slightly spicy taste to peas, beans, lentils, as well as meat, fish and egg dishes.

• Tarragon has that anise like flavor that goes will with cheese, chicken, egg and vegetable dishes.

• Thyme goes will with vegetable recipes calling for garlic, onion, tomatoes, and eggplants which are staples in Filipino cooking.

What Wine to Serve When and with What

With today’s trend of do-it-yourself entertaining and health consciousness, alcoholic drinks are no longer the big deal that they once were. More people are drinking less these days and some don’t even serve any liquor in their homes at all. If serving wine, it is all right to serve one wine throughout. Claret is preferable if only one wine is to be used.

Sherry is often served before and after luncheon or dinner, at room temperature in small glasses.

Traditionally, red wine is served with red meat (beef, lamb, venison, duck, and game bird) and also with Italian pasta; white wine with white meat. Pink wine of vin rose is served with pork, veal, ham, sausages, omelets and salads. However, these rules are no longer strictly followed. What is more important is whether a wine is dry, medium dry, or sweet since the taste is what determines its compatibility with foods.

Dry white wine is served with fish or chicken and should be well chilled. A quick way to chill a bottle is to place it is a bucket full of ice cubes and cold water. White wine can be used to the last drip because it has no sediment. Chilled white wine is lighter and refreshing when served in warm weather.

Regardless of color, serve full flavored wine (Red Bordeaux, Burgundy, Chianti) with rich foods, and light wine (Chablis, Rhine, Zinfandel) with delicate foods. Ideally, wine served with meals should be dry, wine with dessert should be sweet. With most Filipino foods, beer is a better accompaniment than wine.

Red Burgundy is a heavier wine; serve it at room temperature or slightly chilled. Open one to two hours before serving to allow it to breathe. Aged reds like Burgundy have sediments and should be laid tilted for some time to allow sediments to settle. Do not serve it to the last drop; serve it from a decanter.

Champagne goes with anything. It is served chilled and kept on ice until served. You can serve it any time from aperitif to dessert. To open – unwind and remove the wire holding the cork and foil covering the cork. Grasp cork firmly with one hand and turn the bottle – not the cork – with the other hand. When the cork begins to loosen, let glass hiss out slowly until there is no more pressure. Remove cork.

Beer is always served icy cold and should be kept in the refrigerator or buried in ice cubes until it is opened. For non-drinkers, have some fresh juices and soda or prepare a bowl of non-alcoholic punch. When cooling beer and soda together in a bucket, arrange in layers with assorted drinks per layer and cover with ice cubes. Don’t put all the beer or all the soda in one layer.

With the current move toward informality, there is no need to different glasses for particular drinks. A basic 9-oz. or 10-oz. wine glass will do for all kinds of drinks. Glasses don’t have to be of the same patter either. Or color for that matter. Plastic glasses are acceptable for very large parties.

Thawing and Reheating Frozen Foods

Foods to be served hot should not be completely cooked before freezing. Allow for additional cooking when reheated. Cool before freezing. Pack foods in ovenware for freezing if to be reheated so they can go straight from freezers to oven. Foil may be used as lid. Keep foods hot in a cool oven (225ºF to 250ºF). Preheat over for 15 to 20 minutes before food is dished up.

Baked cookies – Thaw, unwrapped, at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Cakes – Thaw unfrosted cakes unwrapped at room temperature for about 1 hour. Frosted cakes may take 2 hours and cupcakes, 30 minutes.

Creams – Half fill a deep dish with hot water to prepare an bain-marie (or water bath) and place food in a heat resistant serving dish. Put dish in bain-marie and place it over low heat on stove or in a cool (225ºF to 250ºF). Make sure water is below boiling. Use this method of heating up for soft foods like cream but not for pastry or foods with crisp topping because it will make them soggy.

Frozen pie shell (unbaked) – Bake frozen pie shell at 450ºF for five minutes, and prick sides and bottom and bake 15 minutes more.

Frozen pie shell (baked) – Heat frozen pie shell at 375ºF for 10 minutes.

Lemon meringue pie – Freeze without the meringue. When ready to serve, add meringue to frozen pie, bake at 350ºF from 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for one hour before serving.

Pies without meringue topping – Thaw baked pies in 325ºF oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Unbaked pies should be baked frozen in 400ºF to 15 minutes and again at 350ºF for 30 minutes. For best results, always put double crusted fruit pies on lowest oven shelf to ensure bottom crust is browned before the filling boils over.

Roast meat – Beef, chicken, pork and lamb – thaw them in the refrigerator for 4-8 hours or heat frozen meat for one hour in the oven at 350ºF.

Rolls, biscuits, coffee cakes – Place on baking sheet to thaw. When thawed, heat for 10 to 15 minutes in a preheated 400ºF oven.

White sauce – Always thaw before heating. Put water in a double boiler, put sauce in upper pot, heat without stirring. When hot, add a little more liquid if necessary. Beat until smooth.

Cooking Tips: Deep Frying

1. Use a deep heavy saucepan (3 to 4 quarts size) if an electric fryer is not available. Never deep fry in an ordinary frying pan; the oil may spill over.
2. Oil should be enough to cover the food and to allow it to move freely but should not exceed half the depth of the pan to prevent spilling over when it bubbles when adding cold food.
3. A wire basket is useful in frying a small items (meat balls, French fries, etc.), and even for browning, for ease of loading and unloading to and from the pan. Remove bits of food in the oil because they lower the burning temperature.
4. Be sure fat is preheated to the recommended temperature before the food is added so that the heat, not the oil, penetrates the food. A frying thermometer is helpful to know the exact oil temperature. If it is not available, do a simple temperature test by dropping a 1” cube of bread into the hot oil. At 370ºF which is satisfactory temperature for frying most foods, the bread will brown between 50 – 60 seconds; at 390ºF it will take from 20 – 25 seconds. Adjust heat to keep an even temperature.
5. Refresh deep frying oil used for fish by frying a 1-inch slice of ginger in it at 350ºF until brown and discard ginger.