Cooking

Espresso may seem intimidating, especially perfecting a shot. Contrary to popular belief you don’t need the fanciest manual machine. There are many options out there for making espresso, either with stovetop makers or automatic capsule methods. Regardless of your method, you should learn the basics of espresso and how to operate the machine of your choice. If you’re looking for an authentic Italian espresso, you’ll need an espresso machine. A manual machine where you can tamp and brew everything yourself generally offers a greater level of control. Here’s how you can prepare espresso with one of these machines. Grind and measure your beans. Using dark roast coffee beans and a quality grinder, grind enough beans to make one or two espresso shots. An average single espresso shot will require between 6 and 8 grams of coffee grounds, although this can be adjusted up or down. For a double shot, about 15 grams. Your grounds should be powdery and fine, so go ahead and use the finest setting on your grinder. If you want to be sure you measured correctly, you can weigh your grounds on a kitchen scale — just make sure to tare out the portafilter first. Distribute and tamp down your shot. Once you have an amount of grounds in your portafilter that you’re happy with, distribute the grounds evenly with a finger, place the portafilter on the countertop or other flat surface, and then use the tamper to tamp down on the grounds. You’ll then have a compact disk of espresso in the portafilter. Pull your shot. Before you start, run the machine briefly without a portafilter in place to clear the ground head. Then, lock the portafilter into the machine, position your demitasse glass or other vessel underneath, and start your shot. The espresso should be ready after 25 to 30 seconds, but it will take practice with your specific machine and lots of taste tests to achieve shots to your liking. (Some machines require you to time it manually, while others offer different settings.) The final product shouldn’t be too light or dark in color, shouldn’t taste too acidic or too bitter, and should have a fine layer of caramel-colored crema on top. Prepare milk if using and enjoy your espresso. If you’re trying to make a latte or other drink with milk, you’ll then need to steam your milk. If not, enjoy your espresso as is! Make sure to clean and dry the portafilter, as well as purge and wipe down the milk frothing wand, when you’re done. Source: Good Housekeeping

If you’ve ever baked a chocolate or mocha-flavored cake, then you’ve probably seen a recipe call for espresso powder or instant espresso. This ingredient is a quick way to boost the flavor of the chocolate. You may also have seen espresso powder called for in dry spice rubs for meat, especially to grill. So what exactly is espresso powder? Here’s how to best utilize it, and what to do if you don’t have any on hand. Espresso is a very dark and concentrated instant coffee. It’s not just espresso beans that are grounded finely. These crystals will dissolve in liquid quickly. It’s also important to note that this isn’t technically made for a morning latte. Bakers primarily use it for flavoring cookies, cakes and more. An espresso powder is different from instant coffee in that it’s much more concentrated. Use this powder in your chocolate recipes to enhance flavor. A teaspoon won’t make them taste much like coffee. Using more than a teaspoon will start to bring out coffee flavors. If you ever find yourself without espresso powder, use instant espresso instead. Add 50% more than the amount of espresso powder a recipe usually calls for. Be mindful with instant espresso as it can taste harsh or sour if too much is used. Source: the Kitchn

Bread crumbs add texture, color and a crunch that immediately elevates any dish. You can sprinkle these on a dish to take a dinner from drab to delicious. While there are store-bought options out there, you can easily make your own. Breadcrumbs can come from any kind of bread or roll that can be going stale in the freezer. These breads are great to turn into crumbs. Sourdough French bread Rye Whole wheat or white sandwich bread Leftover hot dog and hamburger buns Use a food processor to quickly turn any bread into tiny bits. Tear the bread into smaller pieces and then pulse in the processor until the crumbs are coarse. If you have a thicker crust bread like French or sourdough you can also trim the crusts beforehand. Total time: 10 minsYield: 2 cups Ingredients: 4 slices bread, about 2 to 3 cups 2 tablespoons olive oil ¼ teaspoon dried thyme 1 pinch salt 1 pinch ground black pepper Directions: To make breadcrumbs quickly in a food processor, remove the crusts from the bread (if you want to), tear the bread into pieces, and pulse in a food processor until they form coarse crumbs. Pulse longer for finer crumbs.Freeze the crumbs for later or toast them to use within a few days. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the bread crumbs (either fresh or frozen), thyme, salt, and ground black pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are golden and crisp. Cool completely. Transfer to an airtight jar, and store on your countertop for up to a week. Source: Simply Recipes

Oil has evolved over time. We have come a long way from shortening, margarine, lard and butter. Our pantries can have oils from all over the world. With all these choices, come more questions. Here’s a guide to cooking oils depending on different cooking methods. Smoke point. This is the temperature an oil will start to smoke. The smoke comes before burning. Not all oils behave the same when heated. Some oils are very stable and can heat to very high temperatures without issues, like avocado oil. Others, like walnut oil, will degrade quickly if heated too high. They will develop unhealthy compounds which shouldn’t be consumed. Unless you’re searing food, you typically don’t want the oil to be smoking hot for very long. Doing so can result in free radicals, which are not good for your body. When cooking with oils there’s some general guidelines you can follow. The higher the heat, the more stable your oil should be. In general, the lighter the color of the oil, the more neutral its flavor. Unrefined oils taste more like the thing they came from. Unfiltered oils are not lower in quality. They’re just not as good for high heat because they have tiny particles in them that will burn quickly. Searing. Use a refined neutral oil like canola oil, soy oil or vegetable oil. You’ll need the oil to smoke for a short period of time so you’ll need a highly stable kind. Sautéing. Use a flavorful or neutral oil like extra-virgin olive oil, avocado oil or grapeseed oil. You’ll want the skillet on medium to high heat, so a moderate to high smoke point oil is the way to go. Frying. Use a highly stable oil like peanut oil, avocado oil or vegetable oil. The temperature sometimes spikes between batches of food so you’ll need an oil with a higher smoke point. Source: Simply Recipes

A caramelized onion brings out a deep, rich, and sweet flavor. Slowly cooking them in a little olive oil is a great way to pull out all the flavor from the simplest of ingredients. As you slowly cook onions over time the natural sugars caramelize, making the best topping to steaks, onion soups or pizza. Learn how below. Prep time: 10 minsCook time: 45 minsTotal time: 55 minsYield: 2 cups Ingredients: Several medium or large onions, yellow, white, or red Extra virgin olive oil Butter (optional) Salt Sugar (optional) Balsamic vinegar (optional) Directions: Slice 1/2-inch off the stem ends of the onions and the roots off of the root end. Place the onions cut side down on the cutting board. Cut them in half through the root end. Peel back the peels from the onions.Lay the onions cut side down and make angled cuts into each onion, aimed at the center, cutting almost all the way, but not completely through the root end. Make the cuts to your desired level of thickness.The root end will help hold the onion together as you cut it, making it easier to cut. Then cut a V in the root end to cut out the tough root holding the slices together. Use a wide, thick-bottomed sauté pan for maximum pan contact with the onions. Coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil, or a mixture of olive oil and butter (about 1 teaspoon per onion). Heat the pan on medium high heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the onion slices and stir to coat the onions with the oil. Spread the onions out evenly over the pan and let cook, stirring occasionally.Depending on how strong your stovetop burner is you may need to reduce the heat to medium or medium low to prevent the onions from burning or drying out.After 10 minutes, sprinkle some salt over the onions, and if you want, you can add some sugar to help with the caramelization process. (about a teaspoon of sugar for 5 onions) One trick to keeping the onions from drying out as they cook is to add a little water to the pan. Let cook for 30 minutes to an hour more, stirring every few minutes. As soon as the onions start sticking to the pan, let them stick a little and brown, but stir them before they burn.The trick is to leave them alone enough to brown (if you stir them too often, they won’t brown), but not so long so that they burn. After the first 20 to 30 minutes you may want to lower the stove temperature a little, and add a little more oil, if you find the onions are about to burn.A metal spatula will help you scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan as the caramelization proceeds. As the onions cook down, you may find you need to scrape the pan every minute, instead of every few minutes.Continue to cook and scrape, cook and scrape, until the onions are a rich, browned color. At the end of the cooking process you might want to add a little balsamic vinegar or wine to help deglaze the pan and bring some additional flavor to the onions.Store refrigerated for several days in an air-tight container. Source: Simply Recipes

Baking a pie with the perfect flaky and tender crust is no easy feat. Ideally your dough should be assembled with cold ingredients and a gentle hand. The temperature in your kitchen is always a factor when you bake. If your kitchen is too hot and humid, dry ingredients tend to absorb the moisture in the air. On the other hand, when your kitchen is too cold, bringing ingredients to room temperature can take a while. Pie dough is no exception to these factors. Baking powder is the secret ingredient to a flaky pie dough. It lightens and expands your crust providing a flaky-like texture. It’ll also make the crust softer in a light and airy way. If your kitchen is too warm or too cold, the baking powder can save the pie. So the next time you run into a tricky weather situation or over handle the dough, reach for about ¼ to ½ teaspoon baking powder to every 1 ¼ cup of flour. Source: the Kitchn

Reheating a leftover pizza to the same level of crispiness can be difficult. The first step is to ditch the microwave. You’ll end up with a soggy pizza slice. Microwaves heat water that’s in food, so the pizza will end up steaming from the inside out. The better way to reheat a pizza is to use a skillet on the stove. This can be a nonstick skillet or a cast iron skillet. Any skillet tends to work so long as it has a lid. Heat up the skillet. Place the skillet over medium low heat and add a little oil to it. You can use nonstick spray to get an even layer. Put the pizza slices in the skillet and make sure they’re aren’t overlapping. You want them to be in full contact with the bottom of the skillet. Put the lid on. After a few minutes, the slices will begin to crisp. Pop the lid and let the slices steam on top. This will remelt the cheese and heat the rest of the toppings. Your pizza should be back to super crispy and delicious. Ovens can also reheat pizzas but it tends to be a waste of energy for a few slices that are already cooked. If needed, you can put the slices on parchment paper on a baking sheet, and let them cook for about 10 minutes. Source: Simply Recipes

The exact temperature of your oven is important, but so is where the heat is located. If heat is uneven in an oven, you could end up with goods that are burnt in some places and still cooking in other places. A thermometer will tell you the temperature, but it won’t tell you where the hot or cold spots are. Luckily you can test your oven with just sugar and a pan to see what you’re dealing with. Set your oven rack to the middle (where it would be if you were baking) and crank the heat to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle an even layer of granulated sugar onto it. Try using a cup of sugar, which would be enough to cover a 11×17-inch pan with a light dusting. Once preheated, place the pan in the center rack of the oven and set a timer for 10 minutes. Once the timer goes off, immediately remove the pan from the oven and inspect the sugar. With this method, you now have a map of your oven’s hot and cold spots. Where the temperature was exactly 400°F, the sugar should be melted without being burnt. Darker, burnt sugar indicate hot spots, while unmelted areas are cool spots. This will help inform where you should be placing goods in your oven. Source: the Kitchn

Baked goods and savory treats made with brown butter give it an extra depth of flavor. It works some serious magic. It has a depth and an intensity that melted butter can lack. While brown butter isn’t hard to make on a stovetop, it can be more work. It requires an extra level of vigilance so the butter doesn’t overcook or burn. Simplify the process by browning the butter in a microwave instead! Cut the butter in roughly cut pieces and place in a microwave-safe bowl with a cover. Heat in a microwave on high for about 10 minute if you’re browning a cup of butter. This will be less if you’re browning less. Check the butter to see it has a nutty smell with browned bits and a deep amber color. If you haven’t achieved that quite yet, simply stick it back in the microwave for another minute or two. The most important part here is this is a completely hands-off experience. There’s no active time required. Brown butter will give your baked goods that extra bit of flavor, and with the microwave tip you’ll be sure to get the results you desire. Source: the Kitchn

Cooking steak can either be a success or a failure with just one crucial step. After you have transferred steak from a grill to a cutting board, it should rest on the board at room temperature for five to seven minutes. These crucial moments ensure the perfect distribution of the juices inside. If you cut into steak too quickly off a barbecue you’ll get a bullseye pattern. On the other hand, if you let the steak sit without touching it, you’ll get a gentle gradation from red to various pinks. For these moments after, don’t wrap it in foil, cover it or poke it. Leave it alone and you’ll be rewarded with the perfect steak. Cosmo Appliances can set you on the right path for all your cooking needs–including a perfect juicy steak. Find a full collection of Cosmo stoves, gas ranges or dual fuel ranges here. Looking for other ways to connect? Follow our Facebook and Instagram! Source: House Beautiful