other favorites.
Oil—salad or cooking, and olive if desired.
Olives, green
Potatoes, baking and boiling
Rice—the quick-cooking variety is handiest.
Soups—a variety of dried and canned.
Sugar—white granulated. Other varieties can be purchased as needed, although it might be wise to keep a small amount of dark brown sugar on hand as well.
Syrup—maple, for pancakes.
Tea—in bags is fine.
Vegetables—a variety of both canned, and if you have a freezer, frozen.
Vinegar—red and white wine varieties.
Wines—I like to keep a stock for drinking and cooking. More detail on this in the next chapter.
Now, I promised to let you know the intimate secrets of my spice shelf, so here are the ones that I never want to be without:
Basil
Bay Leaves
Chili Powder
Cinnamon—stick and powdered
Cloves—whole and powdered
Curry Powder
Mace
Marjoram
MSG
Mustard—dry powder
Nutmeg
Oregano
Paprika
Pepper—black
Rosemary
Sage
Salt
Savory
Tarragon
Thyme
Many of the recipes in this book will call for these. Others you will find use for as you gain experience in cooking and acquaintance with the nature of each of the herbs and spices. Additional uses for these are generally listed on the cans or bottles.
* * * *
All set? Let’s look now at how we should follow a recipe, how to measure various ingredients, and all sorts of other helpful little hints that will enable us to avoid having our little bailiwicks declared a disaster area.
When you are getting ready to prepare a certain dish, first read the recipe all the way through. If the first reading doesn’t give you a clear picture of what is to be done, read it through again with extra care. Make a note of all the ingredients that are necessary, and of all the equipment—and make sure that all are on hand before you start your preparation. If this is your first try at following the recipe, keep your cookbook open for reference. You might even want to do this for at least the first several times you prepare a dish.
I’d like to know just who it was that said that a cook should cook without a book. Musicians, doctors, lawyers, and even writers make constant reference to their libraries, and I think that a cook should have the same prerogative. Of course, there will be items that you will learn well enough through practice that you won’t have to make reference to a book, and that’s all well and good. But there are others where particular attention to detail is of the utmost importance, and in those cases, I say use the book.
In measuring, we will stick basically to the standard cups and spoons in our collection as specified above. Wherever another happens to be specified, we shall discuss it at that point. In general, when preparing a recipe it is best to measure the dry ingredients first; filling the measure and then leveling off with the straight (pardon the expression) edge of the knife. Flour should be sifted before measuring (but if you don’t have a sifter, there are certain varieties on the market known as pre-sifted), and in contrast, brown sugar should be packed down tightly. Other types of dry ingredients fall between these two categories, and should only be slightly shaken to be sure that there are no air bubbles that might throw off the measure.
Liquid ingredients are much simpler. Simply fill the measure to the brim.
Butter, shortening, and other solid fats are most easily measured by what is known as the displacement method. Say your recipe calls for a quarter-cup shortening. In your one-cup measure, put three-fourths cup water, then add butter (or shortening or whatever) until the water reaches the brim. Pour off the water and you’re left the right amount of butter.
The following table of equivalents may prove of value to you at times:
3 teaspoons equals 1 tablespoon
2 tablespoons equals 1 ounce
8 ounces equals 1 cup
2 cups equals 1 pint
2 pints equals 1 quart
4 quarts equal 1 gallon
Two other important items in following a recipe are: (1) doneness (it’s important to know when a thing is done), which we’ll discuss separately for each recipe, and (2) a little item called “to taste.” In innumerable cases it is impossible to tell just how much of a particular ingredient to add, and this is especially true in regard to such items as salt, pepper, and some herbs, spices, and condiments. Therefore, you will have to rely on your own taste, adding what you think it necessary, and then tasting to see if the amount if sufficient—be careful, though not to add too much. It’s easier to add ingredients than it is to subtract them.
I’m reminded of the time when Paulette and I had just set up housekeeping and were serving a brunch for eight people. She had just beaten the eggs and added the salt. When she took the top off the coarse pepper bottle she forgot that it didn’t have a shaker top and as a consequence poured the whole bottle into the gooey mess. Brunch was delayed for about an hour while we strained the icky stuff through a sieve. Brunch was saved, but you can see what a timesaver a little care can be.
I think it’s rather safe to assume that the majority of meals that you’ll be serving will be dinners, so we’ll consider a very basic type menu from which you can build all kinds of tasty fare:
Cocktail (may be omitted)—consists of juice, fruit, shrimp, or other light opener.
Soup and/or Salad—in general, when soup is served the salad is served with the main course.
Main Course or Entrée—meat, fish, or fowl.
Starchy Course—potatoes, rice, or pasta.
Green or Yellow Vegetable—this and the starchy course are generally served with the entrée.
Bread and Butter—also served with the main course, and sometimes appearing as early as the soup or salad course.
Dessert—often omitted when soup and/or salad is served.
Wine
