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The Ever Versatile Sugar Cookie Recipe

March 31st, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Sugar cookies are versatile, easy to make and are perhaps the most popular cookie on the planet! The first sugar cookie recipe can be traced back to the mid 18th century and has gone through a number of transformations over the years. Snickerdoodles, a delectable variation of the sugar cookie, has hints of cinnamon and is just one of many of these forms.

Why Sugar Cookie Ingredients Make a Difference

You would think that one sugar cookie recipe is rather close in ingredients and preparation as another. However, nothing could be farther from the truth and is the reason why many people stick with their “tried and true” sugar cookie recipe that was handed down from grandma. It can be quite mind-boggling sifting through hundreds of recipes for sugar cookies on the internet or even through your cookbooks.

The primary ingredient sugar is not cut and dried when it comes to a sugar cookie recipe. You could use the regular granulated white sugar; however there are super fine granulated sugar versions that could be incorporated into a recipe and even brown sugar, a southern favorite. The flavoring extract often used in a sugar cookie recipe is vanilla, but you could substitute it for almond extract or even butter extract for a totally new taste.

Even the binding part (the ingredients that make the flour and sugar stick together) of any sugar cookie recipe can be vastly different. Some recipes use lard while other recipes use vegetable shortening, butter or a combination of all of them. Butter is typically used with most recipes to give the sugar cookie a nice flavor. If the sugar cookie recipe calls for lard in addition to the butter, you can expect the cookie to be crisp and delightfully crumby. However, if the recipe used vegetable shortening with the butter, you can expect a crisp, yet chewy cookie instead.

Your Sugar Cookie Recipe Options

Practically everyone has had a sugar cookie in some form or another. Therefore, by deciding the type of sugar cookie you want, you could greatly reduce the number of recipes you may weed through in finding just the right one. For instance, there are sugar cookie recipes for cut-outs as well as drop cookies, refrigerator cookies and even cookies from a mold or press.

A drop sugar cookie recipe is rather quick and easy with you just “dropping” the dough by spoonfuls on a baking sheet. A refrigerator cookie involves you refrigerating the dough, sometimes rolling it into a log shape so that it is easy to cut slices for baking. Sugar cookie cutouts involve rolling out the dough onto a floured cutting board and using cookie cutters to make shapes. With a press or mold, the dough is conformed into a certain shape.

The bottom line is that each sugar cookie recipe will produce a slightly different cookie. The only thing that should always stay the same is how you bake it. Always use a baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper covering it as this not only keeps cookies from sticking, but you will rarely have a problem with burning your cookies.

Strawberry Shortcake—A Recipe For A Delicious And Healthy Dessert

March 28th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Cakes, cookies, and pies are just a few of the many desserts that are both known and loved. Many people can’t say no to a sweet treat, but others feel the need to refuse desserts that they consider to be high in calories and sugar. This makes it hard to find a dessert recipe that pleases everyone. However, strawberry shortcake recipes can do just that! Although they are relatively healthy compared to most other desserts, strawberry shortcake recipes are extremely delicious as well!

Following A Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

The first step in following a strawberry shortcake recipe is to make the filling. In order to make the filling, you will need one-half teaspoon of vanilla extract, one cup of heavy whipping cream, two tablespoons of sugar, four cups of sliced strawberries, and two tablespoons of sugar. First, combine the berries and sugar in a bowl and allow them to macerate in the refrigerator for several hours. In a separate bowl, whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla; cover and refrigerate.

The next part of the strawberry shortcake recipe involves making the shortcake portion of the dessert. The ingredients needed for this include: two-thirds cup of cream or buttermilk, two cups of self-rising flour, eight tablespoons of unsalted butter, one large egg, and two tablespoons of sugar.

First, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Combine the sugar and flour in the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times. Divide the butter into eight pieces and add to the mixture. Pulse approximately fifteen times to mix. Next, whisk together the egg and cream, add this to the mixture, and pulse once again. Place the dough in a pan and bake for fifteen to twenty minutes on the middle rack of the oven. Invert and allow to cool.

Next, you will need to assemble the strawberry shortcake. Split the shortcake in two and place one round on a platter. Place half of the berries and cream on top, and then add the second shortcake round. Top with the remaining berries and cream. Now it is time to serve and enjoy!

Healthy Alternatives

To make the strawberry shortcake recipe even healthier, there are several substitutions you can make. First, you can substitute half of the sugar with calorie-free Splendid. Replacing only half the sugar will allow you to keep the same taste. You can also select low-fat cream to use in the recipe.

Recipe For Success

You can’t go wrong if you follow this strawberry shortcake recipe. Not only will you please the sugar-loving crowd, but you will also create a dessert that appeals to the health conscious.

Ingredient For A Great Salsa Recipe

March 25th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Salsa is often used to describe a sauce of Mexican origins. Although the word salsa is also used to describe a dance, music and some kinds of Italian and Spanish sauces, in English, it describes the Mexican sauce. The traditional salsa recipe from Mexico is spicy and hot but sometimes the level of taste of the salsa depends on the preference of the maker. Salsa is usually used as dips for nachos and other corn based food.

Salsas became popular in the United States of America during the Second World War when there was shortage of the production of catsup. This is why most Americans are more familiar with the salsa roja or red sauce made from cooked tomatoes.

The Makings of Great Salsa Recipe

There are a great many salsa recipes around. The traditional salsa recipe usually contains spices and tomatoes although there are also salsas that do not contain tomatoes. Most salsa mixtures are produce using a bender these days but before you would have needed a traditional Mexican mortar and pestle to make great pasta.

A well loved salsa recipe is the red sauce and the raw sauce. The red sauce if made from cooked tomatoes and several spics and herbs. It is usually used as a condiment in the United States and Mexico. The raw sauce salsa recipe calls for raw tomatoes, chili peppers, lime juice, cilantro leaves, onions and others fresh herbs and spice. These are all coarsely chopped and mixed well.

Sometimes, if you do not know any salsa recipe, you can mix together some tomatoes and other spices to make your own salsa. Other more exotic salsa combinations are with chocolate and another salsa recipe calls for avocado. Pineapples, mango or mint are also some of the additional ingredients for a great salsa recipe.

Commercially prepared salsa is also fast becoming a trend in the United Sates of America and around the world. These are more of the red sauce varieties and come in exotic containers and often sold in supermarkets and grocery stores as dips. The raw sauce is often mixed with vinegar to improve the products longevity in the shelves. Without the vinegar, the salsa recipe will go stale in just a short while.

The more popular brands of salsa are Tostitos, Old El Paso, La Victoria, Newman’s Own and Taco Bell. These are used mainly for dips and other chips made from potatoes or ground corn.

Choose Your Salmon Recipe By Its Preparation Method

March 22nd, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Salmon is one of the tastiest fish to come from the waters of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Indeed, you can also find salmon in the Great Lakes of Michigan as well as several other kinds of lakes all around the world. This global presence means that you can find a good salmon recipe almost anywhere in the world.

Salmon are born in fresh bodies of water and then migrate out to the ocean. When it is time to spawn, the salmon then return to fresh water for reproduction. It is said that salmon return to the same place where they were born. Salmon, more often than not, have a pretty pinkish tinge to the inner flesh of the fish. This pink color is not the normal white color of salmon. The color can be blamed on the shrimp that salmon eat. Most wild caught salmon will have this color. As for farm raised salmon, their fish feed is laced with astaxanthin, the same chemical that turns shrimp pink. Most people prefer a pink flesh salmon for their favorite salmon recipe.

Salmon Recipe Preparations

Salmon is a relatively firm flesh fish which makes it a candidate for a good grilling salmon recipe. There is something about Cooking over an open flame that brings out the wholesome flavor of the fish. Of course, there is something to be said for pan searing a salmon fillet to retain the entire fish flavor as well as seal in the juices for moisture.

You might find a salmon recipe or two that requires boiling this fish. Boiling does not retain the flavor as much as baking or broiling and is typically done just to cook the fish so that it can be flaked or shredded for seafood salads or even croquettes.

Because there are a number of varieties of salmon out in the oceans, your salmon recipe will dictate what cut of fish you are planning to cook. Fillets generally will have the skin still intact on one side. This makes for easy smoking, grilling and baking. Steaks are firmer and more substantial against an open flame in the barbecue pit.

A Basic Baked Salmon Recipe

When it comes to baked salmon, choose your favorite cut of fish. Prepare a shallow baking pan and line it with foil, then lightly grease with a Cooking spray or vegetable shortening. Don’t forget to pre-heat your oven to 425?F.

Ingredients

Olive oil
Seasonings (choose from a particular cuisine like Mexican or Italian)
Minced Onion
Minced Garlic

In a small bowl, pour enough olive oil to adequately coat the fish on both sides. Mix in with the olive oil your favorite spices. Choose basil, oregano, marjoram and minced garlic for an Italian flair of this salmon recipe. For a Mexican flair, add a little freshly chopped cilantro along with a little oregano along with chipolte pepper, comino and minced garlic.

Once all of the spices and the olive oil have been mixed together, you will want to place your salmon in the baking pan. Spread the olive oil mixture on the top of the fish and bake for approximately 30 minutes, depending on the thickness of the filet. Your salmon recipe is done if you can easily flake the fish with a fork.

A Rice Pudding Recipe for a Global Dessert

March 19th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Rice, a main food staple around the world, has been cultivated for thousands of years, originating in Asia. The creation of the first rice pudding recipe is almost as old and was likely created as a way to liven up this normally bland food. The basis for each rice pudding recipe is rice, some type of sweetening agent and often milk as well as a host of other ingredients.

The Rice Pudding Recipe in Different Forms

Virtually every part of the world has its own version of rice pudding, making it a global dessert. Even recipes within one country can include a diverse selection of ingredients as well as even how the rice pudding recipe is cooked. The ingredients used as well as the preparation methods are what dictate the types of rice pudding that can be found all over the world.

The types of rice used in a rice pudding recipe can be vastly different from one country to another. For instance, in the United States, long or short grain white rice is the primary type of rice used. However, in Thailand or Malaysia black rice is often used in the rice pudding dishes. Other types of rice that are often used, depending on availability and country include brown rice, basmati and jasmine rice.

The milk and spices are different from one rice pudding recipe to another, depending on your little corner of the world. Some of the milk commonly used includes whole milk, coconut milk, evaporated milk, half and half, whipping cream, almond milk, soy milk and even goat’s milk. Spices used also differ from country to country with the most popular for rice pudding dishes being cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, saffron, anise and even lavender.

The sweeteners and flavorings used tend to be rather disparate from culture to culture which should come as no surprise. Vanilla, lemon, pistachio, orange, almond, rose water and cocoa lead the pack in terms of flavorings for the rice pudding recipe. Sweeteners include granulated sugar, brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, honey, maple syrup and other syrups made from Cooking down fruit.

Rice Pudding Recipe Add-ins

Each culture may add its own extra ingredients to enhance the taste of their rice pudding. One of the most popular ingredients to add-in for extra flavor is raisins. Berries, nuts, cocoa powder, butter, cherries and practically anything that sounds to you could be added to a rice pudding recipe.

Because eggs are included in most rice puddings, the recipes are often cooked through boiling or baking methods. Each one provides a distinct flavor to a recipe and often times, both methods are used, with the rice pudding starting in a double boiler and then finishing in the oven. If you decide to travel around the world, be sure to try the rice pudding at each destination. You will see and taste for yourself why each rice pudding recipe can be vastly different.

What Is The Recipe For Meat Loaf?

March 16th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

What is meat loaf? That is the very important question that needs to be answered before we can even begin to answer the question of what is the recipe for meat loaf. Meat loaf is an age old dish. It is a mixture of ground beef, milk, soup, and eggs. In fact the first recipe for meat loaf was recorded In 1899. Meat loaf has been a source of great childhood memories for many people.

For other people a comfort food comes to mind when thoughts of meat loaf pop into their heads. Families come together around a dining room table for this scrumptious treat. There are many ways to prepare this much desired meal and so there are a great many recipes for meat loaf in existence. The key is finding one that matches your specific tastes.

Types Of Meat Loaf

There are many, many different recipes for meat loaf. We will start with a traditional recipe for meat loaf. The recipe of ground beef, milk, onion soup, and an egg is a pretty standard recipe for meat loaf; however, there are some recipes that are way beyond this old standard. We will start with the apple meat loaf which consists of adding apples and apple juice to the main ingredients.

Next, we have the Asian meat loaf which consists of brown sugar, soy sauce, gingerroot, and honey. This particular recipe gives a flavor of the orient to any meat loaf. For a little spice add some bell pepper, Cajun seasoning and Worcestershire sauce to your recipe for meat loaf and you are sure to get a nice kick out of your dish. For the Italian lover add pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese for the ultimate Italian fix. These are just a few of the different types of recipes for meat loaf that you can make.

English Meat Loaf

One of the most flavorsome recipes for meat loaf that you will ever find is English meatloaf. The original recipe dates back to the year 1320. Consisting of guinea fowl, partridge and other gamey red meats that the English are known for, this English meat loaf recipe is unparalleled in the western world. To get the best texture in this meat loaf, each of the ingredients is ground extremely small using a kitchen utensil that was only available in medieval times.

Today this instrument is called a grinder, back in the day it was nothing more than a series of steel bars that the ingredients were forced through. Because welding had yet to be invented each of these bars were held together with string of catgut which provided another interesting unique taste and texture to this recipe for meat loaf. As you can see meat loaf is a staple of life in many cultures around the world and has been for quite some time.

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