Butternut squash is an edible member of the gourd family whose roots have been traced back to Mexico in 5500 B.C. (Along with beans and corn, squash is one of the "Three Sisters," the cornerstones of Native American cuisine.)
A mature winter squash, it grows on a vine, and has a giant pear-shaped body, tough skin, rich-tasting, vivid yellow-orange flesh and a sweet flavor. (It can often substitute well for the sweet potato.) Butternut squash can be baked, steamed, puréed or simmered, and is often referred to by cooks as a "workhorse" because of its versatility. Once cooked, its dry flesh has a glossy and silky texture that makes it a favorite in soups, curries and other dishes.
Reference: How to peel and seed a butternut squash?
Recipe: Butternut Squash Tempura With Soy-Lime Dipping Sauce
Recipe: Butternut Squash And Banana Puree With Whiskey And Pecans
When you want a dish to have quintessential garlic flavor that permeates each bite, mince it. You can mince with a knife, or a garlic press.
Either way, you need to free the individual cloves. To do that, press down on the head with the heel of your palm. Apply firm, even pressure so the cloves don't fly all over the place.
To peel an individual clove, cut of the hard stem end where the clove attached to the bulb. Either stop the cut just short of the skin on the other side and peel the skin around to remove it, or make the cut all the way through and squeeze out the clove. The older the clove, the easier the skin releases.
You can also peel it by setting the side of your knife blade on the clove and pressing down until you feel the skin release, though not hard enough to pulverize it, or the skin will get mixed in with the garlic.
To mince with a knife, smash the peeled clove with the side of the knife. Then just run your knife back and forth across the smashed clove, chopping as you go until it's as fine as you like.
If you don't want individual little pieces of garlic and have a press, just put the whole peeled clove (or cloves, if you can fit them) in the press and squeeze. Use your knife to trim away any clinging garlic.
What's the difference between white and brown eggs?
What's the difference between white and brown eggs?
Don't judge an egg by its shell. Whether an eggshell is white or brown is determined by the breed of the hen who laid the eggs. It has absolutely nothing to do with taste or nutritional value.
The only time you may want to consider the color of the eggs you're buying is around Easter and Passover time, since white eggs work better for dyeing and decorating purposes.
You can leave basil leaves whole and add them to salads and hot dishes toward the end of cooking, tear them into pieces for more capricious basil flavor, or thinly slice them. To avoid bruising the basil, slide a sharp knife down and across the basil with a deliberate, smooth stroke. A clean cut will darken the leaves less than a pounding cut.
To slice basil, first stack the leaves together.
You can either roll them up like a cigar and slice through them to make a chiffonade, or just slice away at them as they are.
A crookneck squash is a yellow summer squash with a distinctive curved neck and bumpy skin.
It's thought that all yellow squash were originally crookneck; only through breeding have we ended up with the straight-necked, smooth-skinned yellow summer squash we more often see today.
Like all summer squashes, crooknecks are picked while immature and have an edible skin. If you happen to get an older crookneck with a particularly tough exterior, you might want to cut some of it away with a vegetable peeler. The thicker rind of the crookneck and the slightly sweet flesh hold up beautifully when baked, roasted or grilled.
Recipe: Grilled Shrimp And Squash Kebabs (Cookthink)
Recipe: Chicken In Parchment With Mushrooms, Red Onion And Squash (Cookthink)
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia.)
Do I need to peel yellow squash?
Do I need to peel yellow squash?
Almost never. Like zucchini, a yellow squash is a summer squash that's picked while immature, and has a delicate, edible rind. Its thin skin and high water content allow it to cook up quickly, whether grilled, steamed, baked, sautéed or deep-fried.
Occasionally, you'll run across an especially bumby crookneck squash, which you might need to whittle down. Otherwise, you're all set.
Recipe: Grilled Shrimp And Squash Kebabs (Cookthink)
Recipe: Chicken In Parchment With Mushrooms, Red Onion And Squash (Cookthink)
A summer squash is a type of squash that is harvested when immature and thin-skinned. Summer squash varieties include straight-necked and crookneck yellow squashes, zucchini and pattypan (or scallop) squash.
Summer squash is actually a fruit that passes for a vegetable (like a tomato, reproductive seeds are embedded in its flesh).
Thin-skinned summer squashes don't need to be peeled, cook quickly and don't last long -- unlike their heartier winter squash relatives.
Phyllo dough is a delicate, thin, unleavened wheat dough that comes in sheets and is instrumental in Greek, Turkish, Middle Eastern and North African cooking.
It is made from finely ground wheat flour, water and a small amount of oil. The layers of dough are traditionally separated by a thin spread of butter or oil during baking.
Phyllo is classically used in dishes such as savory spanakopita, a Greek spinach and feta cheese pie, and super-sweet baklava.
When working with fragile phyllo dough, keep it covered with a damp kitchen towel and be sure to handle it gingerly, working quickly so that it doesn't dry out.
The easiest way to store basil is in a ziploc bag, tucked away in the refrigerator.
The trick here is to manage the moisture content in the bag. If you notice that too much water accumulates in the bag and turns the leaves dark, slip a few pieces of folded paper towel inside the bag between the basil and the plastic. The paper towel will absorb the water, but release enough of it to keep the air inside humid.
If the basil still has roots, you can put the roots in a small cup of water, cover the leaves with a plastic or ziploc bag, and secure the bag around the cup with a rubber band (or just tuck the bag underneath the cup). This method takes up a little more room in the refrigerator, and we haven't noticed that the roots extend the life of the basil that much.
Reference: How to prep basil (Cookthink)
Recipe: Watermelon Basil Agua Fresca (Coconut & Lime)
Recipe: Prosciutto, Mozzarella And Basil Pita Pizza (Cookthink)
Feta cheese is the most famous Greek invention since democracy. Traditionally made from sheep's (or goat's) milk, commercial producers now also use cow's milk to make the bright white, rindless cheese. Feta is cured and stored in a salty whey brine and has a distinct tangy taste and crumbly texture.
Feta is made by draining curdled milk in molds or cloth bags. It is then cut into slices, salted, and these days, packed in whey brine-filled barrels or plastic tubs, although the best feta is salted and aged rather than drowned in brine. The flavor and level of moisture in the cheese depends on the cheesemaker.
Feta-like cheese is now made in many parts of the world. In Europe the cheese is produced from Bulgaria to Denmark and France. But authentic Greek feta is now protected in Europe with an AOC designation of origin label, like Champagne or Bordeaux. Real feta must contain at least 70 percent sheep's milk and be made using traditional methods and in just seven regions of Greece. Feta cheese sold in the U.S. does not have to comply with these rules.
