Home Made Basics

Boven Yvette van Boven van

Description

From acclaimed cookbook author and illustrator Yvette van Boven, a comprehensive kitchen resource for making hundreds of simple dishes from scratch In her latest cookbook, Yvette van Boven shares step-by-step explanations for the foundational dishes that can transform how you cook and what you eat at home. Accompanied by her signature illustrations and beautiful photography, van Boven offers more than 400 recipes for delightful dishes that tell you how to make everything: simple dressings, vegetables, pastas, gnocchi, tortillas, perfectly poached eggs, and much more. Whether you're new to cooking or an experienced home chef, this cookbook teaches you to make satisfying food without a lot of fuss or complicated ingredients. In her unique and friendly voice, the author guides you through every step of cooking simple, well-made everyday meals. A staple for everyone who loves to cook at home, Home Made Basics offers fresh, healthy, and original meals you'll want to make all year round.

Informations

• Publié par: ABRAMS BOOKS
• Date de parution: 30 novembre 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781647003623
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 18 Mo

Extrait

FOR OMAR

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
SOME INFO TO GET STARTED
PARTICULAR INGREDIENTS EXPLAINED
SHOPPING FOR LESS COMMON INGREDIENTS
MORNING
BAKED BREAKFAST
FRESH BREAKFAST
EGGS FOR BREAKFAST
AFTERNOON
TEA BITES
NONALCOHOLIC DRINKS
COCKTAIL SNACKS
COCKTAILS
DINNERTIME
SOUP
SAUCE
VEGETABLES FRUITS
SALADS
VEGETABLE DISHES
PASTA GRAINS
PASTA
GRAINS
SHEET-PAN BAKING
TORTILLAS
MEAT FOWL
LAMB
PORK
BEEF
CHICKEN
FISH SEAFOOD
DESSERT
FROZEN DESSERTS
BAKED DESSERTS
FRUIT
SWEETNESS
FOR OUR PETS
DOGS
CATS
INDEXES
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
I began to help out in the kitchen and around the house from a very young age. My mother thought it was important that we kids knew how dangerous appliances could be, so we wouldn t try to use them without her permission and get hurt in the process. So, at four I had already learned how to sew on a sewing machine: my mother gently pushing the pedal, me holding the fabric underneath the needle. I found out how the lawn mower worked by helping to push it across our large Irish garden, and, whenever it got jammed, by carefully removing tough branches or wads of wet leaves from in between the sharp blades. I learned to always grab the hedge trimmer by its handles, with both hands.
And I learned how the stove worked.
Soon, I stood on a chair next to my mother at the kitchen counter, jotting down her every move. When I didn t know how to write the words, I drew them: a pan, a spoon, a whisk, sketching arrows to indicate her actions. (I do pretty much the same thing today.)
I learned to roll meatballs, to make a stew, to bake cookies and soda bread and lasagna.
When my mother gave me a children s cookbook with step-by-step instructions, I moved from picture to picture, from one step to the next. And that s how I still make my books: step by step. Nothing here is too complicated, because you can t cook something complex until you ve mastered the basics.
This project began as a book aimed at a child like the little chef I once was. But I quickly realized that this should be a book for everyone who likes to cook, but who also feels a little intimidated in the kitchen from time to time.
And even experienced cooks need tried-and-true recipes like these in their arsenal-foundational and satisfying food that they can make without a lot of fuss.
I wrote Home Made Basics for anyone who wants to put a cozy meal on their dining table each day with methods that aren t much more challenging than heating up some leftovers or assembling a few quality ingredients.
So remember: whatever your comfort level in the kitchen, all you have to do to make delicious food is to follow the instructions, step by step.
x Yvette

in the dunes near the beach in Inchydoney, West Cork
SOME INFO TO GET STARTED
YIELD
All recipes serve four, unless indicated otherwise.
PREPARATION TIME
Each recipe mentions a preparation time, which starts the moment the onions are chopped, the beans shelled, or any of the other ingredients listed are prepped. This preparation time might vary from cook to cook, depending on your skill level.
Don t forget to ALWAYS read the whole recipe first, so you won t encounter any surprises. In each recipe I also mention whether you should marinate for an hour ahead of time or if you should wait one day before you can dig in.
MEASUREMENTS
1 tablespoon = 15 ml
1 coffee (dessert) spoon = 7 ml
1 teaspoon = 5 ml
OVEN
I have a gas oven as well as an electric convection oven. I use both for testing.
I always give an average temperature in my recipes.
Puff pastry, for example, bakes at a high temperature: at least 400 F (200 C), but sometimes 425 F (220 C). On the other hand, a slow-roasted cut of Boston pork butt calls for a lower temperature, 300 F (150 C) and-depending on the weight-a long time to cook, about 5 hours. Ovens vary in temperature, even those from the same brand. You can use my stated temperatures and baking times as reliable estimates, but make sure to adjust them to your own oven if necessary.
Always use an oven thermometer; they cost next to nothing and are easy to find. The only temperature you can trust is the one you measure yourself inside the oven. The dial on the front may indicate the desired temperature but not necessarily the actual temperature of your food. Always properly preheat the oven and carefully measure the temperature.
And because every oven is different, the indicated cooking times are approximations. Always check your dish or baked good around the stated cooking time to see whether it s ready.
Once you really begin to get the hang of your oven, you ll start using it more. I cook more than half of my dishes in it, often more than one dish at a time. That way I keep my hands free for doing other stuff in the meantime.
BROTH
I won t mention this in every recipe, but home made broth always tastes best. Simple dishes are greatly improved by the intense, full-bodied flavor of home-steeped broth. Bouillon cubes are an easy substitution (not everyone has the time to make broth from scratch!) but it isn t always the tastiest solution.
I use bouillon cubes sparingly and freeze my home made broths in small batches to use for different dishes. Besides, the smell of a pot of broth, gently simmering on the stove, is amazing!
My broths often give a chicken carcass and some leftover celery, carrots, and leeks from the produce drawer a second life. I give recipes for making broths in the Soup section ( this page ).
EGGS
I prefer to use medium eggs. Farmers market eggs can greatly vary in size. If you think your eggs are very small, use two instead of one. It can really make a difference in a recipe if there isn t enough egg in it.
MILK/DAIRY
Always opt for whole milk, yogurt, or heavy cream. The high fat content is where the flavor is. This is true for all dairy: more fat = more flavor. Just so you know.
BUTTER
I never use margarine. Yes, I know, butter is fat. But if you eat healthfully, a buttered slice of whole-wheat bread won t hurt.
OLIVE OIL
I always use delicious, good-quality olive oil. Extra-virgin, it usually says on the bottle. I use it for cooking as well as in salads and baked goods. I can taste the difference.
Unless explicitly stated otherwise, every recipe that calls for olive oil means: extra-virgin, of good quality.
MEAT
Everyone should decide for themselves what kind of meat they buy. But my motto is: eat meat less often, and if you choose to eat it, buy organic and grass-fed products whenever possible, sourced from animals that lived an honest life.
In this book I give you plenty of recipes for dishes without meat and in the others I suggest where you can leave it out. However, there is a short chapter with recipes in which meat or fowl takes center stage because I love those as well.
FISH
I eat fish more often than I eat meat. I try to stay away from farm-raised fish and to buy only seasonal, wild-caught fish. Each fish species has its own season in which it is at its best. At the fishmonger, always let yourself be guided by what s on offer instead of the recipe. Fish rarely arrives on demand; that s just how nature works.

Connemara, Ireland

the Amsterdam kitchen
PARTICULAR INGREDIENTS EXPLAINED
ACACIA HONEY
Honey is a product of nature. Almost all honey crystallizes over time, except for acacia. So, if you don t use honey very often, this one will always be liquid, even after sitting on the shelf for a long time. Of course, supermarket honey in one of those squeeze bottles also stays liquid, but do know that it has been processed and lacks the health benefits of natural honey. Instead, buy raw honey from an apiary or an organic food store.
PEARL BARLEY ALKMAAR BARLEY
Barley is sold as polished, hulled barley grain, with different degrees of polish. Hulled but only partly polished barley is called pot barley or Scotch barley. In the Netherlands it s also sold under the name Alkmaar barley. If the barley is polished even further, into almost round pearls, it is called pearl barley. Nowadays you can find (pearl) barley in almost any supermarket. Some stores place it near the superfoods, others in the special diet food section, and sometimes it s in the aisle with the rice and other cereals. So it might take some searching. But it is very tasty and very nutritious.
MIRIN
Sweet Japanese rice wine. Can be replaced with sweet or sugar-based sherry or white port.
MISO
In short: miso is a paste made from fermented soybeans, salt, and koji. Koji is fermented soy or barley with the addition of a fungus. If this sounds very unusual, just think of a blue cheese: also made by adding a fungus.
There are all kinds of misos for sale; the white and red ones are the most common. White miso is a good entry-level miso if you are still unfamiliar with the ingredient. This flavoring is used for everything-hot or cold-and is best explained as umami, or the fifth flavor. It s extremely addictive!
NIGELLA SEED
Nigella seed is also commonly called black onion seed, black cumin, or kalonji and isn t readily available at the supermarket. But you will certainly find nigella seed at Middle Eastern and Indian supermarkets, and I regularly buy it online, too. These are the black seeds on Turkish bread (pide), and which are also widely used in Indian cuisine. I am slightly addicted to them. They taste like toasted onions.
RICE VINEGAR
A somewhat milder vinegar than the regular vinegar from the supermarket. It is made from fermented glutinous rice and water. The color can range from transparent to dark brown, depending on the type of rice used and whether the rice grains are polished or not. There is Chinese and Japanese rice vinegar-wheat or sake is often also added to the latter. I like to use Japanese brown rice vinegar myself.
SZECHUAN PEPPERCORNS
Szechuan peppercorns are a particularly delicious and aromatic spice with a hint of lemon flavor. In addition, th