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Show IHIifin) Cookcro' By Angie Martin First of all, for President's Day, how about a delightful cherry-glazed cheesecake. This would even make George Washington stand up and take notice! Then, let's do some wok cooking. cook-ing. For this mere are just a lew rules j to keep in mind for successfully cooking most recipes: Preparation and cooking are two separate procedures. All ingredients should be prepared before cooking is begun. Exact timing is crucial because many of the foods are cooked over intense heat r" It ! y - , 1 XT r ' in a matter or just minutes. When preparing your foods, do cut your meat, poultry, fish and vegetables in uniform sized pieces for even cooking. Otherwise, one ingredient may be overcooked, over-cooked, while others remain undercooked. The type of oil used in stir-frying is also critical. A vegetable oil that can be heated to a high temperature without smoking is essential. Peanut oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil and soybean oil all work well. Other kinds of fats, such as olive oil, sesame oil, butter or lard, cannot be used us-ed because they have low burning points. Now for some of my favorites. FRIED RICE 3'2 to 4 cups cooked long grain rice 3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil legg 4 green onions with tops, sliced 1 clove garlic, minced 2 pound small shrimp, cleaned Vi cup sliced water chestnuts 4 cup soy sauce 1 cup cooked green peas (or whole snow peas) Chill rice in refrigerator. (It is better to make your rice a day ahead of time, if possible.) Put 1 tablespoon of the oil in your Wok and heat to 200. Add egg and scramble; remove and set aside. Add remaining oil and heat to 250, add onion and garlic. Stir fry about 1 minute. Stir in shrimp and water chestnuts. Cook until shrimp curl and turn pink, about 4 mintues. Stir in cold rice and soy sauce until well mixed; then stir in peas and egg. Stir constantly until hot. Makes 4 to 6 servings. NOTE: I like to add 1 cup chopped celery and some almonds which have been browned in a little butter. I toss these in last. Also, this dish may be prepared in advance and stored in refrigerator. About 30 minutes before serving, head uncovered in 350 oven. Cooked pork, beef or chicken may be used instead of shrimp. ALMOND CHICKEN 1V4 cups water 4 tablespoons cooking sherry 2Vz tablespoons cornstarch 4 teaspoons soy sauce 1 teaspoon instant chicken bouilon granules 4 whole chicken breasts 1 egg white 2 tsp. salt 1 large carrot 6 green onions 3 stalks celery 8 fresh mushrooms, sliced 3 cups vegetable oil '2 cup blanched whole almonds 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root 2 cup drained, sliced bamboo shoots (2 or 8 oz. can) Combine water, 2 tablespoons of the sherry, l2 tablespooons of the cornstarch, cor-nstarch, the soy sauce and bouillon in small saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, about 5 minutes. Keep warm. Remove skin and bones from chicken. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sherry, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, egg white and salt. Mix in chicken pieces. Pare carrot and dice. Cut onions into 1-inch pieces. Cut celery diagonally diagonal-ly into V2-inch slices. Heat oil in wok over high heat until it reacaes 375. Add chicken pieces, one at a time, to hot oil (cook only Vb of the pieces at a time). Cook until light brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining chicken. Remove all but 2 tablespoons oil from wok. Stir-fry almonds in the oil until golden, about 2 minutes. Drain. Add carrot and ginger to wok. Stir-fry 1 minute. Add all remaining vegetables. Stir-fry until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Mix in chicken, almonds and sauce. Stir-fry until hot. Makes 4 to 6 servings. CHERRY-GLAZED CHEESECAKE CRUST: V4 cups graham cracker crumbs 2 Tbsp. sugar 1 tsp. cinammon Vi tsp. nutmeg V2 cup slivered almonds Vi cup butter or margarine, melted FILLING: 3 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, room temperature 1 cup sugar 4 eggs 1 Tbsp. cornstarch 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract 1 Tbsp. lemon juice TOPPING: 1 pint sour cream y2 cup sugar 1 tsp. vanilla extract GLAZE: y2 cup sugar 2 Tbsp. cornstarch IV3 cups cherry juice and water Few drops food coloring 2 cups drained, canned cherries Prepare crust by mixing together crumbs, sugar, spices and almonds. Stir in butter, mixing well. Press into bottom and slightly up sides of 10-inch springform pan or large pie tin. Set aside. Prepare filling by thoroughly beating all filling ingredients in blender or food processor, scraping down sides occasionally. If using mixer, beat at least 10 to 15 minutes until well blended. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Mix together topping ingredients in-gredients and pour over cake. Return to oven. Bake at 475 for 5 to 7 minutes. Cool. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours. Prepare glaze by mixing well sugar and cornstarch in saucepan. Stir in cherry juice and simmer over medium heat, stirring until mixture comes to a boil. Simmer 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool 5 to 10 minutes Stir in food coloring. Spread cherries evenly over chilled cheesecake. Pou glaze over them and chill cake until ready to serve. BEEF WITH SNOW PEAS AND WATER CHESTNUTS 8 oz. flank steak, cut crosswise into thin strips 2 tablespoons corn starch 2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil 1 package (8 oz.) frozen snow peas, thawed Vi cup water chestnuts, drained and sliced Vi cup sherry (cooking) Vi soy sauce V2 tablespoon sugar Mix beef and 1 tablespoon of the corn starch. Add oil to wok and heal to 350. Add beef and stir-fry until cooked, about 2 minutes. Stir in sno peas and water chestnuts, stir fry about 1 minute. In cup, mix together sherry, soy sauce, water, sugar and remaining 1 tablespoon corn starch. Add to wok, stirring constantly until mixture boils, about 1 minute. Makes 2 to 3 servings. |