HOW TO: Zest & Juice Citrus Fruits

HOW TO: Zest & Juice Citrus Fruits

Select:

1 citrus fruit

Thoroughly wash, then:

Zest

• Using a stainless steel zester, scrape the outer skin of the citrus fruit, grating off only the darkest layer

• Reserve the zest in a covered bowl, refrigerate until needed

Juice

1. Microwave the citrus fruit (outer skin removed for zest) for 15-25 seconds, this will burst some of the juice cells

2. Pressing the citrus firmly under your palm, roll it around on the countertop, further bursting the juice cells inside

3. Cut the citrus fruit in half

   • Blade should slice halfway between the stem and bud ends of the fruit, slicing midway through all the carpels, or segments

   • Note: some juice will drip out, so cut the citrus fruit open over a bowl.

4. Using a hand-held juicing reamer, juice the citrus fruit, allowing the juice to run into a bowl

5. Using a small mesh strainer, strain the citrus juice into a measuring cup

Repeat with additional citrus fruit until the required amount of juice is obtained.

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Brenda’s tips:

• Zest can be refrigerated for about a week, or dried and stored in an airtight container to be used in other recipes

• Heating the citrus before juicing opens the cells and allows more of the juice to be harvested, the microwave is the easiest method

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Window to B’s kitchen . . .

Zesting a lime with a stainless steel zester . . .

Pressing the citrus firmly under my palm, and rolling it around on the countertop. This helps to burst the juice cells making it easier to juice AND more juicy . . .

Using a hand-held juicing reamer, to juice the lime . . .

HOW TO: Perfectly Poached Eggs

Perfect over toast, in ramen, with rice, topping biscuits & gravy, or just drop the whole thing in your mouth.

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HOW TO: Perfectly Poached Eggs

1. Fill a 2 qt or 3 qt pot with about 1 qt water and set over “high” heat

   • Timesaver tip: for easy cleanup, use a non-stick pot

   • Optional: add 2-3 tsp white vinegar

2. Bring water to a rolling boil

3. Add 1 tsp salt to boiling water

4. Reduce heat to “low” and cover with a lid

5. Crack egg(s) into a small bowl

   • ALWAYS crack egg(s) into a separate receptacle {to avoid shell pieces}

   • Optional: crack egg(s) into a wire mesh strainer to remove the thin part of the white (allowing for a cleaner poach), then transfer to a small bowl

6. Carefully tilt small bowl to softly slide the egg(s) into the simmering water

7. Cover pot with a lid

   • Optional: shut heat off, note: Brenda keeps heat on “low” during the poaching process as the water will otherwise grow too cold too fast

8. Set timer for 3 minutes for a soft poach, lengthen time as desired

9. While poaching, layer paper towels or flour sack cloth towel inside bowl

10. Using a slotted spoon, lift poached egg from simmering water and carefully place in towel-lined bowl to drain

Serve hot.

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Brenda’s tips:

• There are a variety of tips, tricks and suggestions out there to achieve a perfect poach. Ultimately it seems the most valuable insight when poaching eggs is simply to practice.

• At 6100 ft above sea level, Brenda prefers a 3.5 minute poach for the white to be completely set.

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Window to B’s kitchen…

HOW TO: Not Waste Butter

HOW TO: Not Waste Butter

Not using the full cube? 

• Unwrap wax paper 

• Lightly score cube to identify the 8 tablespoons 

  • Mark half, then half of halves, then half of those halves = 8 tablespoons

• Cut off butter needed

• Rewrap remaining & store in refrigerator

Magically easy to select exactly the amount needed. 

Butter remains deliciously fresh.

WHY?

Pre-measured packaging is great . . . but if you cut off the wax paper at the mark then there is no wax paper to cover the end to protect the remaining butter from the dreaded refrigerator smell contamination. No one wants that.

No waste! Butter is one of the most delicious things ever created and it's used to make even more deliciousness . . . you don’t want to lose one bit of it.

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Window to B’s kitchen…

HOW TO: Prepare A Cake Pan

What may seem like an “extra step” for the casual baker/cook (i.e. Chelsea), is labeled “essential” by Brenda. Taking a few extra minutes to prepare a cake pan means your cake will:

• slide out of the cake pan with minimal effort, leaving the cake in one piece.

• be easier to freeze and save for later (remove the parchment paper from the bottom of the cake, put in a freezer-safe container/bag or wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 4 months).

• be easier to frost.

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HOW TO: Prepare A Cake Pan

Spritz bottom of cake pan lightly with

cooking spray

Trace and cut

parchment paper

to fit bottom of pan. Note: trace the outside of the pan, cut off the line, and it will fit the inside perfectly.

Lay parchment in pan, spritz parchment for easy release. Add cake batter. Bake. Cool. Remove from pan and pull off parchment to frost. If freezing, always remove parchment prior to wrapping cake in plastic wrap.

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Brenda’s tips:

• Using a combination of cooking spray and parchment will allow for quick release and a prettier cake.

• Wax paper can be used in place of parchment paper.

HOW TO: Defrost Meat

HOW TO: Defrost Meat

Brenda generally plans meals so that she is able to thaw meat in the refrigerator, however, life, so methods:

Water Bath

Fill a sink or container with cool water, set meat in and allow to rest until defrosted. Generally takes 1-2 hours per pound, be aware and don’t compromise food-safe temperatures. 

Microwave

A pre-set option based on weight of meat to defrost. It generally takes 3-4 minutes per pound. Careful, it may get slightly cooked around the edges. 

Refrigerator

Place frozen meat in an adequately-sized container. Cover. Refrigerate. Generally takes a minimum of 12 hours. Much longer for large cuts.

HOW TO: Roll Out Pie Crust

After you’ve made one of these five pie crusts, what’s the best way to roll them out? Today’s Brenda is teaching us, step by step, how to roll out pie crusts.

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1. Sandwich ball of dough between two layers of plastic wrap. Press firmly to flatten dough.

2. Roll with the intent to make a circle. Simply thinking a circle will improve the quality of your shape. 

3. Not yet a circle? Remove top sheet of plastic. Leveraging bottom plastic, fold dough edges in. Cover with top plastic.

4. Roll around edges to smooth out and improve circle. 

5. When complete, dough should be consistent thickness across full circle. 

6. Remove top sheet of plastic. Lift (keeping dough attached to other sheet of plastic), invert and place in pie plate. Use fingertips to smooth dough into pie plate, lightly pressing around the bottom and the rim. Remove plastic.

7. Using a table knife, trim crust along the outer edge of the rim. Brenda generally uses the dull side so as to prevent gouging the tin. Fill, cover with top crust and bake.

HOW TO: Knead Yeast Dough

HOW TO: Knead Yeast Dough

“Kneading” is the motion required to incorporate the ingredients and develop the gluten in wheat flours. Kneading is used in both yeast and non- yeast applications, and techniques differ among cooks. 

Brenda’s love of making yeast dough is a direct result of being taught the skill by her mother. Brenda’s mom taught all of her children how to make bread, and Brenda developed a particular skill for the task.

Need to knead? Here’s how:

Brenda prefers a pull-punch motion. Keep the dough in the bowl as you knead, and only use one hand. Tilt the bowl with your left hand to roll the dough into your right fingertips that will pull the dough over, followed immediately by pushing that dough with the heal of your right hand as the bowl settles back to the countertop. The motion allows a natural clockwise rotation. Continuously repeat for about 5-10 minutes and you’re done.

Wait! That’s not enough!

OK. Let’s break it down.

When making yeast doughs, you’ll know when to begin kneading the dough by hand when the dough becomes “shaggy.” That is to say, difficult to continue stirring as the mass is holding together well but flour is no longer readily incorporating. 

First step is to clean the spoon (Brenda can’t abide to waste even a tablespoon of dough). Hold the spoon above your bowl of dough and dump a handful of flour on the spoon. Lightly rub with your kneading hand, dropping the dough to the bowl. The flour quickly removes all the dough, leaving none to be wasted. Set aside the spoon.

Second, pat the dough into a round, cleaning the bowl’s sides. Follow the same technique as with the spoon. Add some flour and rub the sides of the bowl, incorporating any bits into the main ball. Finish with a light dusting of flour on the bowls surface to start kneading. Brenda always keeps the dough in the bowl as she kneads.

Brenda’s favorite hands-on method is an alternating pull-punch motion. She only uses one hand to knead, pulling the dough with her fingertips and punching with the heal of her hand. As Brenda’s mom put it, “You never know when the doorbell or the phone will ring. Keep one hand clean and you won’t regret it.”

Brenda’s favorite mixing bowl is large and flat-bottomed with a concave lip. As she pulls the dough with her right fingertips, she tilts the bowl toward her with her left hand, allowing it to settle back to the countertop in the next motion of punching with the heal of her right hand. Repeating the cycle for 5-10 minutes develops the gluten and creates a smooth, elastic dough.

A few more bits . . .

Brenda adds ~ 1 tablespoon of flour at a time. There are two ways to add flour to your dough: the first is to lightly dust the top of the dough. The second is to sprinkle flour into the bowl and allow the dough to settle over the flour. Your kneading hand and the bowl should remain relatively dough-free. To achieve this, sprinkle flour lightly as soon as the dough becomes tacky. You might only need a teaspoon of flour each time.

Sprinkling flour on the dough:

Sprinkling flour on the bowl:

So when is enough enough?

Best tip: add minimal flour throughout. When the dough becomes tacky, dust as lightly as possible to continue to keep both the bowl and your hand mostly clean. This will allow you to knead the requisite time to achieve gluten development while not incorporating excessive flour. Continuously observe the texture of the dough and you’ll witness the smoothness develop.

I need a visual . . .

Consider a marshmallow. You just opened a bag and the marshmallows are so soft, but not sticky. Until you break it open — then it clings to your fingertips (see gif below). Yeast dough is similar. As you knead, you don’t want the ball to cling to your hand. But if you were to slice it open, the interior would be very sticky. It will still be sticky - on the inside - when you’re done kneading.

My arm hurts, can I stop yet??

The dough needs to be smooth and elastic, with great gluten development. There are stretch tests you can do (hello windowpane - please don’t break!), but Brenda’s mom taught her a faster way. Pause kneading and flip the ball to the smooth side. Observe the surface. Tiny blisters, slowly bursting? You’re done. Not really seeing blisters? That’s ok. If you’ve been kneading for 10 minutes then you can stop, it’s good enough for now.

Take a rest, let the dough rest, then you’ll both be ready for the next step: shaping.