this doesn’t mean to make out. It means to cut narrow gashes in the outer covering of food.
Sear—To brown quickly with intense heat. Before you hop on the stove, better refer back to the kitchen definition of brown.
Shred—To cut or tear into ribbon-like pieces.
Sift—To pass dry ingredients through a sieve.
Simmer—To cook slowly over low heat, usually about 185 degrees.
Steam—A delicious way to prepare vegetables, but since we’re not going to do it at first, I won’t discuss it further.
Steep—To extract color or flavor from a substance by letting it stand in water just below the boiling point.
Stew—To simmer slowly in a small amount of liquid for a long time.
Stir—To mix ingredients until blended with a circular motion of a fork or spoon.
Toast—To brown by direct heat. There’s that word again.
Toss—This isn’t a score either. It means to mix ingredients lightly.
Truss—To tie fowl or meat with skewers and string or needle and thread to hold its shape during cooking.
Now you’re ready for the rest of this book. But, please, keep in mind that this book is, basically, one person’s opinion, as modified by the rest of the C.A.M.P. staff. There are other methods, ways, preferences—and I’m sure all of them have reason for being. So, keep your eyes and ears open at all times for little tidbits of information that you might be able to pick up in the strangest places.
Don’t neglect educational TV cooking shows for more elegant types of recipes. And if you find a better way to do something, or an absolutely fantastic recipe, I’d like to hear about it. And don’t hesitate to use a new recipe or a new method just because C.A.M.P., Lady Agatha or mother does it this way. The more you learn, the better the road is paved through that stomach to the heart of your desires.
CHAPTER TWO
When She Reigns, She Pours (Wines, Liquors, etc.)
Candlelight and wine can raise many a mundane meal into the realm of the sublime. More about the candlelight later on, though; right now we’re concerned with the spirit of the meal—the wine.
Wine might be said to be the soul of a good meal. Whether it is used in a marinade or sauce as a basting ingredient, or as an accompanying beverage, it adds a certain something in the way of elegance that cannot be achieved with beer.
Doubtless, you’re going to ask what wine you should serve. If you turn to the various books on the problem of wine selection, the astronomical number of answers you’re going to get will serve only to confound you further. The best way to determine what to serve, how and with what, is to start out simply, experiment and expand.
There has been, and perhaps always will be, a certain amount of snobbery or P-elegance connected with wine and wine service, but I’ve found that those who are really in the know are the least snobbish. One particular example is a decorator friend of mine from France, whose shop was invaded one day by a gushing lady customer who had just purchased for him, as a Christmas present, a very expensive bottle of imported French wine. After he had properly oohed and ahhed his thanks and she had left the shop, he told me in confidence that the Gallo winery makes the same type of wine, only better, and at a tenth the price.
So don’t be afraid to use cheaper wines—especially if you’re on a budget. If you want to, and can afford to buy names, be my guest. But I’ll bet most of your guests wouldn’t know the difference if they didn’t see the label.
First and last are the fortified wines, or ones to which brandy has been added. Ranging in taste from dry to sweet, their alcoholic content is about twenty percent. The drier varieties are usually used as cocktails, the medium-dry varieties may be served with soup, and the sweet varieties are served with dessert, or after meals. The main varieties are Sherry, Madeira, and Marsala, and the labels will generally inform you as to the particular dryness or sweetness of each.
Second, let’s consider the dinner wines. Basically there are three varieties—red, white, and rosé. Basically, dinner wines are dry, and can be served all through the meal, unless you are set upon the proper wine with the proper course.
The red wines include Bordeaux, Burgundies, Pinot Noir, and Chianti, to mention a few; and are usually served with meat and other full-flavored dishes. Red wines are generally served at room temperatures, but some experts caution, “never above seventy degrees,” and some Western tastes dictate that it should be chilled. Try it several ways and see how YOU like it.
Chablis, Rhine, California Sauterne, Riesling, and Moselle are just a few of the white wines you’ll find on the market, and generally serve as an accompaniment to an entrée of fish, fowl, or other delicately flavored dishes. They should be chilled, however, and never opened until just before serving.
Perhaps the best known of the rosé wines is Grenache Rosé, but some vintners have taken to calling their products by the English word pink, and now we have Pink Chablis. These, like the white wines, should be served chilled, opened at the last minute—but, may be served with almost anything. In my opinion, they are especially good with pork.
In a class by itself is champagne. Properly, champagne is a sparkling white wine—pink or red champagnes are more properly called sparkling Burgundies. All should be served icy cold and go with anything—so much so that the basic rule is when champagne is served, serve only champagne.
Before we leave our discussion of wines, we should at least mention a few ideas in connection with wine cookery. Nearly all wines can he used in some dish or another. Your question might be, “but which one should I use?” Simple. Use, as an extra added flavoring, the type of wine that you would serve with the dish. Try a dash of red wine over a broiled steak; a spoon of dry white wine in a clear soup: or champagne over a chilled peach half in a sherbet glass. You’ll find as you go through this book certain specific ideas for the use of wine in cooking. Use them as a basis, and then as you gain confidence, experiment.
The question now arises, “What are you going to do with your guests until dinner time?” No, Mary, you can’t do that—not if you’re cooking. There are far too many interruptions. After all, you don’t want to burn the roast, or forget to cook the vegetables—and if you already have a cook, you don’t need this book anyway. Then again if you do have a cook, he’s not going to let you entertain the guests in there! So, you serve them drinks, commonly known as cocktails. There’s a helluva word right there.
If your liquor locker is stocked with bourbon, Scotch, gin, vodka, and sweet and dry vermouth, and you have a supply of ice—please don’t forget the ice—soda (and perhaps tonic, ginger ale, 7-Up, and cola) in the refrigerator, you are pretty well set for the requests of your guests. If they should happen to ask for something that can’t be made from these ingredients, they shouldn’t feel too put out, nor should you feel embarrassed, when you answer, “I’m sorry, I don’t have it.”
After all, you’re not expected to be as well-stocked as the local lounge—and chances are, when somebody comes up with a request as just mentioned, they habitually cruise the local bars and are just showing off. For such emergencies you can keep a six-pack in the ice box, and add to your apology, “But I do have some beer if you would prefer.” They most likely, then, will choose the beer, or make a simpler request.
The simplest
