A practical guide for imaginative cooks
u is saia mat cooks and poets are
bom, and everyone else learns a pro
fession, And it does seem uncanny
now without recipes or measuring,
some cooks manage to turn out perfect
dishes every time: never oversalted,
undercooked, or drowned in too much
of one ingredient.
Nevertheless, good cooks still need
good cookbooks, even though they use
them differently than do novices.
Rather than trudging down a list of
instructions line by line, the bom cook
tends to consult a recipe for ideas and
inspiration, or to help him realize a
dtsh that is already simmering in his
imagination.
For the visionary cook who simply
lacks the skills to foige the creation in
his mind’s eye, there is a remarkable
new book. La Varenne Pratique
(Crown, $60.00) is what several years
of instruction at La Varenne cooking
school might look like on paper. For
those who love to study at their own
pace, who can only indulge in cooking
occasionally, or who are interested in
• or restricted to certain types of food,
La Varenne Pratique offers a fine sub
stitute for cooking school.
The book is organized by food cate
gories and by preparaton techniques so
the reader can readily turn to the sub
ject he wants. The instructions are
clear, concise and without pretense,
and are enhanced by more than 2,500
fiill color photographs. Sample recipes
allow the reader to enjoy practicing the
techniques.
Experienced cooks will use La
Varenne Pratique to brash up on tech
niques they have neglected or consis
tently had trouble with, but everything
| is also accessible to the beginner.
Ingredients that may be unfamiliar are
drawn and labeled.
There is hardly a skill one could
think of that is not covered in La
Varenne Pratique. One can learn to
properly cut an artichoke, make spun
sugar, stuff vine leaves, and make
homemade herb vinegar and also mas
ter basic culinary techniques for
sauces, stocks, fish, game, soups and
desserts. Indeed, if one were showed
only one cookbook in a lifetime, La
Varenne Pratique would be a good
choice.
The author of La Varenne Pratique,
Anne Willan, is the president ant
founder of La Virenne cooking schoo
in Paris, which has quickly beconu
one of the most prestigious culinan
institutes in the world.
Reproduced below is a recipe foi
monkfish, a very well liked nsh ir
France that is rapidly gaining populari
ty in this country as well.
FROM LA VARENNE PRATIQUE,
BY ANNE WILLAN (CROWN, $60.00)
Escalopes «f monkfish with Hme and ginger
1 tbspbatti
\ 4 icalUoBS,
7> cup/125ml white wine
1 Ib/SOOg fresh greea fettuedae, ceoked (for serving)
For the stuice:
'It cup/60 eri heavy cream
1 cup/2 Sfo cold better, cat late pieces
1 tbep grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp chopped parsley
Ib/t kg BMwkflsh, ea the boae
caps/SM ad fish stack ande wtlb beae freai the BMMkfish
San aad pepper
Pinch of dried thyme
Jake of 1 leassa
tbsp olive or vegetable ofl
Pared zest of 2 lemons, cat In julienne
thlaly sliced, iadadtag
1 . Fillet the monkfish and use the bone to make stock. Cut the monkfish fil
lets in escalopes. Marinate the fish in salt, pepper, thyme, lemon juice and oil
for 1 hour.
2. Blanch the lemon julienne by boiling in water for 3-4 minutes, then drain
and rinse with cold water.
3. In a sauti pan, melt the butter, add the onions and cook gently until soft.
Add the fish, fish stock and wine. Simmer until die fish just loses its transparen
cy, 1-2 minutes.
4. Remove the fish, cover and keep warm. Cook the fettucine and keep warm.
Meanwhile, make the sauce: boil the cooking liquid until reduced to a glaze.
Add the cream and reduce to about 2 tablespoons. Mount the sauce with the but
ter. Stir in the lemon julienne, lime juice, ginger and parsley. Season.
3. Arrange the monkfish escalopes with the fettucine on individual plates and
spoon the sauce over the fish.
Serves 4.
P4907660
Pork Board Plays Role In Meat
Science Research To Aid Quality
Last year, the National pork Board
allocated $200,000 in pork producer
checkoff funds to help develop new
technology and information pro
grams in the meat science area to im
prove the marketing of pork pro
ducts.
“The Pork Board’s role in meat
science research is to help develop
new technologies and information
sources that will encourage private
industry to develop new and exciting
consumer products," said Hilman
Schroeder, National Pork Board
president and Wisconsin pork pro
ducer.
Among the six checkoff-funded
research projects aimed at providing
new pork technology and information
are studies of the effects of porcine
somatatropin on pork quality, the ef
fects of PST on the processing
characteristics of pork and a method
to produce lowfat frankfurters.
Checkoff funds are also being used
.to develop and implement a new
technological system that will allow
food retailers to Mow a pork cut
from the moment it arrive* in the
store through the checkout counter. A
food bar code and a numbering
system for meat packages enables
retailers to track how many retail
cuts are packaged, what types of cuts
are most popular, and how many cute
are sold, among other things. This
product movement information
allows retailers to do a better Job of
promoting and selling pork cuts.
This year, pork industry merchan
disers, using a computer software
package called Direct Product Pro
fitability, will be able to show food
retailers the profitability of carrying
a particular pork cut in their stores
before any purchase is made. The
software can project a retailer’s ac
tual “bottom line’’ profit when stock
ing a specified pork cut.
Checkoff-funded projects directed
at distributing meat sience informa
tion related to pork include publics
Celebrate The Holidays
Celebrating the holidays takes just a few ingredients: family, friends
and food!
To make this year’s celebration even more special, select delicious
recipes that allow you to spend plenty of time with family and friends such
as Beef Paprikash with Noodles from the new, “Celebrate the Holidays'*
cookbook.
This tasty main dish is quick and easy to prepare with the help of
Swanson clear ready to serve beef broth which gives Beef Paprikash plenty
of rich, fullflavor.
For more delicious holiday recipes made quick and easy with Swanson
Broths, send two labels from any can of Swanson Broths and a check or
money order for $2.50 payable to “Celebrate the Holidays,1* to: Celebrate
the Holidays, c/o Swanson Broths, P.O. Box 77128, New Hope, MN 55471
7128. Offer good until 12/31/91 or when supplies exhausted.
BEEF PAPRIKASH WITH NOODLES
1 can (6 ounces) tomato
8 tablespoons butter or
margarine
1 package (8 ounces)
mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 dove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon paprika
S cans (14 1/8 ounces
each) Swanson clear
ready to serve beef broth
paste
1 tablespoon
Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 cups cubed cooked
Hot cooked wide
noodles
Tbs palm tree gets Its name from the type of palm that has blades that
fan out. resembling the palm and fingers of a hand.
1. In 10-inch skillet over medium beat, in hot butter, cook
onion, garlic and paprika until onion is tender, stir
ring often.
8. Stir in broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire, sugar and pep
per. over medium heat 26 minutes or until sauce thickens,
stirring occasionally.
8. gtir in beef) heat through. Serve over noodles. Makes 4 1/8
cups or 4 servings. _ _
tions like “Lesaona on Meat,” a tex
tbook that focuses on meat selection,
cut Identification, nutrition and other
meat-related topics. It Is designed for
use by college students who have
food-related majors.
Another checkoff funded
publication, the Pork Technical
Reference Manual, is a guide to all
known pork related meat science
research, and includes the names of
the people responsible for that
research. It serves as a catalyst to
help researchers, processors and
technical people with problems thej
encounter during their research anc
development of new nork technology
Build Gingerbread
House With A Kit
This holiday season, the busiest
families can enjoy an old-fashioned
tradition with the new Gingerbread
House Kit. Illustrated step-by-step
instructions enable even first-tim
ers to easily fasten together the pre
baked gingerbread roof and side
sections with pre-mixed Royal Icing
and then secure the structure to the
display base.
The kit indudes plastic minia
tures of Santa, sleigh, reindeer and
Christmas trees to decorate the
yard.
Hie house can be decorated in
any original style. In the kits are
suggestions for using candy and
other decorating materials, such as
pretzel sticks, breakfast cereals,
cookies and more.
Created by McGlynn’s Bakery of
Minneapolis, Minnesota, the new
Gingerbread House Kit is being in
troduced nationwide for the 1990
holiday season. .The new kit, which
comes in an attractive house-shaped
box that’s ideal for gift-giving, is
available in supermarkets and re
tail bakeries.
It can also be obtained by mail
order for $17.96 plus $3 shipping
and handling; call McGlynn’s Bak
ery, Gingerbread Dept. ST, at 800
624-6966; Monday through Friday,
8 a.m. to 6 p.m. COT, by December 6.
Please use by Wednesday, lie
amber 6.1990
***
Here’s some food for thought: 14
scientific societies representing
more than 100,000 food and health
scientists from government, uni
versities and agriculture agree that
“The American food supply is among
the safest in the world.* According
to the National Council of Farmer
Cooperatives. American farmers
• • •
. ■ Diseases of the mind j
are more destructive than
those of the body.
Dear Betty Crocker
Q. Does margarine or buttei
substitute for shortening in pie crusi
recipes?
J.D
Porterville, Calif
A. We don’t recommend this
substitution. Both butter anc
margarine have added water. The ad
ded water replaces fat and fat is whal
makes the crust tender.
Q. What causes the top of my fruit
cake to be crusty and crumble?
S.M.
Jackson, Mich.
A. If a recipe has a high proportion
of sugar to flour, the excess sugai
may separate and rise to the top,
leaving a crystallized layer. Fruit
cake may become crumbly if it’s bak
ed in unlined pans or in too hot an
oven. We recommend lining pans
with aluminum foil and baking in a
300*F oven. Finally, a too-fresh fruit
cake is more likely to crumble. For
rmi
best flavor and easiest slicing, store
well-wrapped fruitcake for three to
four weeks in refrigerator before ser
ving. Cut chilled fruitcake with a thin,
non-serrated knife.
Q. What’s an easy way to remove
the thin layer from shelled peanuts?
L.A.
Ortooville, Mich.
A. Just before you use the peanuts,
roast them in a 380*F oven for three
to five minutes. Remove from oven
and cool slightly. Rub peanuts bet
ween fingers to remove skins. You
can also freeze shelled raw peanuts
several hours or overnight. Then
remove a few at a time from freezer
and slip off skins with fingers.
Do you have a cooking question?
Write “Dear Betty Crocker,” Box
1113, Dept. Betty, Minneapolis, Minn.
55440.
Tip of the week: Heavy thread or
dental floss becomes kitchen tool
ideal for cutting dough into cinnamon
rolls or cutting slices of crumbly blue
cheese.
Prices in this ad good
Monday, December 31 thru
Sunday, January 6,1991.
Fresh Daily
5 Lb. Pack
Or More
GROUND
BEEF
FOOD LION
USDA Choice Beef
TOP ROUND
& LONDON
DROIL
ROAST
*2*®Lb
U.S. No. 1
WHITE
POTATOES
Crisp Fancy Variety Lettuces
Endive, Red Leaf, Green Leaf,
Romaine, Escarole.
3 Liter - Diet Pepsi
PEPSI COLA
$149
3 Liter • Diet Mtn. Dew, Mta. Deer... .1.H
6.5 Oz.
DORITOS
I here is a f-oon non location
near you