Tips

A Fish Bone In Your Throat?

June 3, 2015

A Fish Bone In Your Throat?

If you miss a bone and don’t discover it until it’s halfway down your throat, don’t panic. Bite off a piece of bread, chew and swallow it. It will take the bone with it, out of harm’s way.

“Work With What You Got!”

© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen All Rights Reserve

Fresh Spinach

April 30, 2015

Fresh Spinach

Spinach is available year round, but is especially sweet and tender in the late spring, when growing conditions are perfect.

Spinach is so versatile; you can eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert! In Tuscany, the leaves are baked into a pie with almonds, sugar, and candied lemon peel called torta co’bischeri agli spinaci. Leave it to the Italians to create a spinach dessert.

http://www.npr.org/2013/03/28/175478107/tuscan-pie-a-sweet-springtime-take-on-spinach

When shopping for spinach the leaves should be crisp and free of moisture. Avoid spinach with broken or bruised leaves.

If you purchase bagged greens (yes, I know there is a big controversy on bagged greens) they will most likely last twice as long as the leafy bundles. Bagged spinach is handled less and exposed to less moisture. Make sure to check the “best by” date to use the leaves when they are at their peek. If they are dark or clump together, just pass them by.

Spinach grows in sandy soil, so if you by bundled spinach it most definitely won’t be prewashed. Just give the leaves a generous soak in cold water, changing it out once or twice, until there is no more grit in the bottom of the bowl.

To Prepare Spinach (1 Pound): Wash and drain. Remove stems and tear into pieces (12 cups torn).

Conventional Cooking Directions: Cook, covered, in a small amount of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes or until tender. Begin timing when steam foams. OR steam for 3 to 5 minutes. Microwave cooking is not recommended.

How To Store: Rinse leaves in cold water and thoroughly dry. Place leaves in a storage container with a paper towel and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Baby Spinach isn’t actually immature flat-leaf spinach, but a different variety entirely.

Flat-Leaf Spinach has large leaves that turn silky once slow cooked. They have an earthy flavor that tastes great in dishes like lasagna or soup.

It takes 8 cups of raw spinach to make just 1 cup of cooked. Make sure that you have enough spinach for your recipe.

Raw spinach has 33 percent more folate and 187 percent more vitamin C than cooked, since those nutrients are vulnerable to heat. On the flip side, cooking spinach deactivates oxalic acid, a compound that prevents the absorption of certain nutrients, so you get 32 percent more iron and nearly 40 percent more calcium than raw. Have a salad today and sauté tomorrow.

“Work With What You Got!”

© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen All Rights Reserved

Storing Baked Goods

April 9, 2015

Storing Baked Goods

Always allow baked goods to cool completely (preferably on a wire rack) before wrapping and storing. If they are wrapped before they are thoroughly cooled, pastries will steam, turning their nice crisp surfaces soggy and limp. The texture and flavor of most baked goods fare best when stored, well wrapped, in a cool dry location for a couple of days. However, those that are particularly high in moisture will be safest stored in the refrigerator.

“Work With What You Got!”

© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen

Ramps

April 8, 2015

Ramps

If you can’t find any of those oh-so-fleeting ramps at your local farmers’ market then have no fear, as there are plenty of other onion options available this time of year. Turn to Tiny New York Kitchen’s favorites.

Scallions: A supermarket staple. They have a peppery bite that isn’t overpowering. Scallions (Green Onions) are best used chopped raw or charred in salads or as a garnish.

Leeks: Leeks have a slight garlic flavor that mellows when cooked. Braised to an almost creamy texture, they are one of the best side dishes.

Spring Onions: Spring onions are a more mature scallion with large, sweet bulbs and pungent, spicy green tops. They are excellent for roasting whole and finished with sea salt and s bit of lime juice.

Flowering Chives: These mature chives are bursting with gorgeous purple flowers that taste just like wonderful chives. Use both flowers and finely cut stems in salads.

“Work With What You Got!”

© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen

Cooking Ham

April 4, 2015

Cooking Ham

Ham is a great choice for spring gatherings. It’s simple, feeds a crowd and provides wonderful leftovers.

Keep Servings In Mind. Allow for 1/2 to 3/4 pound per serving for bone-in ham, and 1/4 to 1/2 pound per serving for boneless ham.

Before Cooking make sure to let ham sit at room temperature for approximately 1 hour.

Scoring The Skin adds to a beautiful presentation. Cut 1/4 inch deep crosswise into 1 to 2 inch squares to create classic diamond shapes.

Glaze The Ham during the final hour of cooking to avoid burning.

Keep The Flavor Going. Buying bone-in ham leaves you with the ham bone, which is great for flavoring soups and beans.

“Work With What You Got!”

© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen

Asparagus

March 25, 2015

Asparagus

Nothing quite says spring like asparagus, which has a rather short season, which is typically from February to June.

Thickness really has nothing to do with quality. Asparagus is a perennial; more mature plantings tend to yield thicker stalks, and any size will be tender as long as it’s freshly cut. Look for bright apple green spears and tightly closed purplish heads; the stalks should be glossy, firm, and unwrinkled, with just a little white toward the base.

The question that many people have about Asparagus is whether to peel or not to peel. I believe it is quite unnecessary, and for the effort, it just doesn’t make noticeably more asparagus flesh available for eating. Instead, bend the cut end of each spear, snapping off the woody part where it breaks naturally (usually about two-thirds of the way down the stalk). The balance of the spear will be tender to the bite.

Extend the freshness of asparagus by keeping the spears hydrated. When you get the asparagus home from the market, trim the bottom 1/2 inch or so from each stem, and stand the bunch upright in a large coffee cup. Add water just to cover the ends of the stems, and then cover the top of the bunch with a plastic bag. Or you could trim 1/2 inch off the base of the stalks, wrap the bottoms in a damp paper towel, and slip the spears into a plastic bag, leaving the bag open. In either case, make sure to refrigerate the asparagus, adding more water to the cup or dampening the paper towel as needed. The asparagus should stay fresh for up to 3 days.

“Work With What You Got!”

© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen

Peas

March 23, 2015

Peas

There are several types of fresh peas, all of which are available nearly year round these days, but they are at their peak during the spring and early summer months. Like corn, the natural sugar in peas converts quickly to starch, so make sure to buy peas fresh, store them in the refrigerator, and use them within a day or two.

English shell peas are the familiar round green pea. Frozen tiny tender green peas, while enjoyable and convenient throughout the winter months, bear little resemblance to the texture and bright flavor of fresh peas. The springtime ritual of shelling peas is just as satisfying as shucking summer corn, and their flavor and texture are worth every minute.

When shopping for English peas, look for bright green smooth, succulent pods filled with evenly plump, round seeds. The freshness of the pods is an indication of the freshness of the peas. For the most reliable test, pop open a pod and taste a pea. Fresh peas should taste sweet and grassy. A pound of English shell peas in their pods yields about 2 cups of shelled peas, which translates into 2 to 3 servings.

Both sugar snaps and snow peas are edible pod peas. There is no shelling required. As their name implies, sugar snaps are delightfully sweet. Sugar snaps are delicious raw, but their flavor is enhanced with a brief cooking. As with all other peas, look for bright, smooth, succulent, tender green pods with fresh looking stems.

Happy Spring!

“Work With What You Got!”

© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen

Lentils

March 13, 2015

Lentils

The lentil is a Eurasian herb grown for its small, flat, edible seeds and are considered a legume. They are lens shaped (the word comes from the Latin lens, “lentil”), variously colored on the outside, and yellow/orange on the inside. The earliest written mention of lentils is in the book of Genesis: Esau sold his birthright in exchange for a dish of lentils. Lentils are high in fiber, vegetable proteins, and complex carbohydrates and fairly rich in iron and protein; they are low in sodium and fat-free.

Work With What You Got!”

© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen

Tips For Deep-Frying

March 11, 2015

Tips For Deep-Frying

Deep-frying is such a guilty pleasure because no cooking technique gives food that irresistible crunchiness. Because it is also one of the least frequently used cooking methods, here are some important tips to help you achieve Deep-frying nirvana.

Choose the right pot. To deep-fry properly, the food should cook in 2 to 3 inches of hot oil. Choose a pot that is at least 6 inches deep to allow for bubbling without bubbling over. Cast iron (enameled or not) holds the heat well, which makes a good choice.

Use reasonably priced cooking oil. Canola, cottonseed, safflower, or a generic vegetable oil blend will all do. Much is made of the smoke point of oil (the temperature where the oil starts to smoke and break down) for deep-frying, and expensive peanut oil is often singled out as being especially desirable (watch those peanut allergies). Food should not be deep fried at temperatures above 400-degrees because it will burn before it has a chance to cook through. Most refined clear cooking oils have a smoke point of about 425-degrees (except for olive oil), so if you are deep frying at the correct temperature, the oil’s smoke point is not an issue.

Don’t reuse deep frying oil. This is another reason to use reasonably priced oil. Although you can strain the cooled oil for another round or two of deep-frying, this is a sure way of transferring unwanted flavors to your food, and the freshness of the oil obviously is reduced with storage. You don’t want to cook your tortilla chips in the same oil you used for cooking fish and chips. Just budget the price of the oil into the cost of the recipe, throw away after using, and leave it at that.

Use a deep-frying thermometer. It’s the only way to get an accurate reading of the oil temperature. Be sure the end of the thermometer is totally submerged in the oil. Keep the heat on high to maintain the correct oil temperature.

To reduce deep-frying odors, cook outside if possible. There is no reliable way to avoid the odors caused by deep-frying inside. But when the weather is cooperating, plug in an electric kettle and do your frying on your porch or patio.

Let the oil return to its correct frying temperature between batches. In most cases, you may add the food to 375-degree oil, but the temperature will drop to 335-degrees or so for the actual cooking. After removing the food, be sure to reheat the oil over high heat to its original starting temperature.

Use a wire skimmer to remove food from the oil. Also called a spider, these wide-mesh skimmers do a better job of draining away oil than a slotted spoon or slotted skimmer. They are commonly used in Asian cooking, so look for them at kitchenware stores near the woks.

Don’t drain fried foods on paper. Most people use paper towels or brown paper bags to absorb the fat from drained foods. A crunchy coating can soften where it comes into contact with the paper because the steam builds up at the contact point and has nowhere to go but into the coating. For the crispiest result, drain the food on a wire cooling rack set over a rimmed baking sheet, so the food comes into contact only with thin wires.

Keep deep-fried foods warm in the oven before serving. Deep-fried food is best served piping hot right out of the pot, which isn’t always possible when cooking multiple batches. Once you have put the food on the wire rack and baking sheet setup, slip the whole thing into a preheated 200-degree oven for up to 10 minutes.

Add salt JUST before serving. Salt can soften homemade potato chips and other fried foods, so to keep them from losing their crunch, sprinkle on the salt at the last minute.

“Work With What You Got!”

© Victoria Hart Glavin Tiny New York Kitchen

Can’t Take The Heat?

February 27, 2015

In case things get too hot, a teaspoon of sugar after eating something REALLY spicy will neutralize the heat sensation!

Latest Recipes

Roasted Cod Tacos

Roasted Cod Tacos

Black Eyed Pea Salad

Black Eyed Pea Salad

Eggnog Lattes

Eggnog Lattes

Christmas Wreath Pavlova

Christmas Wreath Pavlova

Spicy Mussels

Spicy Mussels