Action Cook Book - Len Deighton

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smell of putrefaction, which is a stink so powerful it will force you out of the kitchen. If you are sniffing anxiously at a range of three inches, it’s good to eat—you couldn’t get that near to bad meat.

      Milk and cream must be kept covered. Eggs do not need refrigeration. If you do keep them in the refrigerator, give them an hour at room temperature before use. Batter mixture and any sort of uncooked pastry will be better for a couple of hours of refrigeration. Flaky or puff pastry can be put into the cold for half an hour between rollings. White and rosé wines should be cold, but not so cold as to be tasteless. Cooling in an ice bucket is better than in the refrigerator, and in any case, don’t put wine near the freezer nor store it in the refrigerator. Lager can be left in the refrigerator, so can light ale, which responds to chilling very well. If your beer pours out cloudy, however, it is too cold. Among other drinks which improve with chilling, tomato juice and fresh orange juice rank high. Avocado pears and salad vegetables can be served cold. Cucumber is better if not put into the cold. Lettuce should be torn gently apart (cutting turns it brown), the leaves washed and then dried with a cloth (moisture dilutes the dressing) before popping into the cold. Cheese is better stored in a cool place than in a refrigerator. Camembert-type cheese can be irreparably spoiled by refrigeration. Bread can be kept cold if in plenty of foil, but it’s better to use it as you buy it. Don’t refrigerate cereals, cakes, or dry foods like salt, sugar, flour or dried fruit.

      Ice cream bought in a shop will melt in the domestic refrigerator. Ice cream can be made in the freezer, but tiny daggers of ice will form in it unless it is stirred from time to time.

       THE SECRET WEAPON IN THE KITCHEN: THE BLENDER

      The Blender is a set of whirling knives in a heat-proof glass goblet. It will not: beat egg white, whip cream, crush ice, grind raw meat or extract juice, and is not used for cake—or sponge-making. It will, however, grind dry ingredients to dust (if left long enough), or it will grind even more efficiently food particles that are in liquid. If this doesn’t sound very useful, let me elaborate.

      This wonderful machine will

      1 Grind dry rice into rice flour.

      2 Make sugar into powdered sugar for dusting over fruit pie.

      3 Chop nuts, etc. (make your own ground almonds).

      4 Grind coffee.

      5 Grind cornflakes or cracker-style biscuits for base or tops for cheesecake, pies, cakes, etc.

      6 Make fresh, soft breadpieces into wonderful absorbent breadcrumbs for dressings and stuffings (I know no other way to do this).

      7 Mix hot drinks (sprinkle Horlicks, cocoa on to boiling milk to which sugar has been added).

      8 Whisk the skin on boiled milk back into the milk.

      9 Froth milk for coffee (for people who like it like that).

      10 Make mayonnaise (put all ingredients except oil into goblet, switch on. Pour oil in gently, add capers etc. if you wish).

      11 Make vinaigrette dressing (beware: it will emulsify if you aren’t quick).

      12 Make bindings for terrines, pâtés, hamburgers, meat loaf, etc. (put egg + piece of raw onion + garlic + salt + pepper + herbs, etc., into blender. Mix. Add to meat mixture).

      13 Rescue lumpy sauces (pour hot lumpy sauce into goblet, flick switch to remove lumps. N.B. Too long will make sauce go thin. It seems to reduce thickening power of the flour).

      14 Make any kind of milk shake or malted milk (fruit + ice cream + milk).

      15 Make potato pancakes (pieces of raw potato + egg + seasoning + flour + enough milk to moisten. Flatten into thin pancakes. Fry golden).

      16 Grate chunks of lemon or orange rind (no pith now).

      17 Make fruit or vegetable purées for infants (save a lot of money here) or for vegetable soups.

      18 Chop parsley (remove stalks first; don’t overfill goblet).

      19 Make sandwich spreads (use sardines + lemon juice + butter + raw onion + parsley. Blend and spread direct on to bread. Use cream cheese + butter + mustard + onion in the same way. You’ll think of hundreds more).

      20 Make sauces for ice cream. Try plenty of almonds + brown sugar + apricot brandy + a little cream.

      21 Make anchovy sauce (for fish or pasta). Blend lots of olive oil + garlic + tin of anchovy fillets + parsley + stoned olives.

      22 Make orange sauce for basting a duck. Blend a whole orange, skin, pips and all; but chop it before you put it in. Don’t serve this, just use it in the cooking.

      23 Make Pots de Crème. Really sensational as a short cut. You must try this. Put a bar of plain chocolate + 2 tablespoons sugar + a splash of vanilla + an egg + pinch of salt, into blender; when it’s blended pour in 6 oz. of almost boiling milk. When it’s mixed, pour into tiny pots (demi-tasse cups) and chill for at least three hours.

      24 Cream spinach with egg and cream—reheat gently.

      25 Sieve flour. Did you ever wonder why recipe books tell you to sieve flour? When was the last time you found any solid particles in it? You never did. The object of sieving flour is to aerate it. A blender does this in three seconds; you need never sieve flour again.

      Are you convinced that this is the most useful tool in the kitchen? If not, let me tell you one last thing. After you use it, pour water in, flick the switch and the blender will clean itself.

      BLENDER SOUPS

      Vichyssoise: Fry the white parts of 3 leeks and a medium-size onion very gently in butter—they must not brown. (Pressure) cook after adding two chopped potatoes and a pint of some sort of white stock. Blend; chill; add cream just before serving.

      Potato Soup: As Vichyssoise, but no leek; lots of potato. Use this Vichyssoise recipe to make similar soups from: skinned tomato (or sieve after), celery, asparagus, spinach, peas, carrots or mushrooms. Or indeed from combinations of them. Potato can be used to make any of them thick (as it did the Vichyssoise) and a few larger pieces can be added as a garnish after blending. These can all be served chilled, but in this case, go easy on the butter. Yoghourt can be substituted for the cream, so can sour cream.

      Borscht: To one good-sized cooked beetroot, put 3/4 pint any stock (a tin of bouillon is O.K.), also 2 tablespoons sour cream, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, generous salt, a piece of lemon peel and a sprinkle of pepper (paprika is good). Blend this; you will probably have to do it in two batches. Serve it hot or iced, but either way, lash the top with sour cream.

      Cucumber Soup is just cucumber (cooked soft) blended with white stock (you can use clear chicken soup), sour cream and seasoning.

      Watercress Soup: Cook flour and butter in equal quantities for three minutes; add bouillon + watercress; blend; serve.

      BLENDER SAVOURIES

      Savoury Mousse, otherwise a marathon, is simple with a blender. The basis can be cooked ham, crab, lobster, poultry or fish (tinned if necessary). It is blended with a third of its volume of a good white sauce (made by cooking equal quantities of butter and flour together over a low flame—it must not brown—and

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