William Penn Life, 2005 (40. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2005-02-01 / 2. szám
The Hungarian Kitchen with Főszakács Béla Basic Training 2 01 The food & supplies every kitchen should have FÁRADJON BE A MAGYAR KONYHÁBA. It's February and time for a few holidays like Presidents Day, Valentines Day, Washington's Birthday, Lincoln's Birthday, Ground Hog Day and Ash Wednesday. Well the last two aren't real holidays, but we do recognize them for what they stand for: Ground Hog Day, which could signal the end of a long winter; and Ash Wednesday, which starts off Lent as we creep closer to Easter Sunday. No matter how you look at it, the warmer weather is just around the comer. The cookbook is coming along very well, and Chef Vilmos and I are reading recipes and typing them into the computer every single day. By the time we are all done we will both be walking cookbooks! This is a special year for Hungarians as we observe the 50th anniversary of the American Hungarian Foundation located in New Brunswick, N.J. Another event to Corn*/* When mincing garlic, shallots or onions sprinkle a little salt over them. This will keep the pieces from sticking to your knife and cutting board. To keep from crying when you chop or cut onions peel them under cold running water and freeze them for 5 minutes. They won’t give off a pungent odor stinging your eyes. celebrate is the return of the Hungarian Heritage Experience, formerly the WPA Hungarian Language Camp. Yes, I will be at the Experience in August cooking for the attendees all week long, giving kitchen demonstrations and lessons in Hungarian cooking. It is going to be a great time at Penn Scenic View learning the language, eating the food and sharing our heritage with each other. Between now and then we will have more to share with you in the way of Hungarian and other ethnic foods. On that happy note let's continue where we left off last month. Here we go... Since we have all the tools we need for our kitchen, we should now get our basic food supplies that we use in a lot of recipes. Here are five basic groups with items you should have for a basic kitchen pantry. Baking. From the baking aisle of your food market you should have Baking Soda, Baking Powder, All Purpose Flour, Granulated Sugar, Dark Brown Sugar, Bread Crumbs, Powdered Sugar and a Pancake or Waffle Mix. Remember: these are basic items to make basic recipes. You may choose to add more items to your baking shelf, like Powdered Cocoa, Cake Flour, Bread Flour and Com Syrup just to name a few more. Herbs & Spices. For herbs and spices, get Kosher Salt, Black Pepper, Basil, Oregano, Hungarian Paprika, Chili Powder, Granulated Garlic, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves (Ground or Whole) and Bay Leaves. The extras in this category could include anything else used to flavor food, like Bouillon Cubes, Mustard Powder, Pickling Spices, Lemon Pepper Seasoning and Cayenne Pepper. Remember:the more you cook, the more experience you get which means you try more than the basic recipes. The more complex the recipe, the more items you need. I find myself always getting a new food item for the kitchen as I expand my cooking talents. Condiments. Other condiments you should have are Cider and White Vinegars, Olive Oil, Canola Oil, Tabasco Sauce, Vegetable Cooking Spray (like PAM), Crisco (I like the butter flavored), Tomato Ketchup and Soy Sauce. Everyone has some type of Mustard in their home, like Guldens Spicy Brown or Grey Poupon Dijon. Once again, how fancy do you want to get and how much will you use? Basic Table Items. Then, there are Basic Table Items, like White Rice, Tube Pasta (like Penne), String Pasta (like Spaghetti or Linguine), Brown Rice, Tomato Paste, Canned Whole Tomatoes, and Tomato Sauce (either from a jar or can). Then we need beverages like Coffee (Regular or Decaf), Tea Bags (Herbal or regular) and Coffee Filters. The extra Basic Table Items every house usually has are Peanut Butter, Grape Jelly, Canned Tuna, Walnuts, Raisins and Soup (canned or dried in a box). Any more extras would depend on your tastes for food and your budget. Dairy. Finally, we get to the Dairy basics, like Whole Milk, Skim Milk, Practical Pointer By wrapping a few rubber bands around your kitchen knife handle you’ll gain a better grip. This will help your control when cutting foods that are slippery. It makes for a steadier hand which means a cleaner cutting of the food. After you’re done prepping, just remove and throw out the rubber bands, wash your knife and dry before storing it in a drawer or on a rack. 8 William Penn Life, February 2005
