Quick and Easy Kitchen Trucs

Years ago, Arlene Feltman Sailhac wrote a very clever book called Trucs of the Trade which contained over a hundred tricks, tips and recipes from America’s greatest chefs at the time.  It came with a video too. Truc is French slang for “stuff or things.” In the video top chefs were invited to offer quick cooking tips consumers could use at home. The concept was so brilliant that I jealously wished it had been mine. But that doesn’t prevent me from now stealing, borrowing or adapting it for my blog, does it? And, by the way, you can still purchase a copy of the book and for you foodies, it is a must!

The advice assembled below come from chefs, cookbook authors, and people who love to cook as well as from those who don’t know how. I also threw in several nostalgic culinary tricks from my father Tony who rarely made an appearance in the kitchen. This was not for want but rather because it was squarely my mother’s domain.

Let’s start with one of the tips I recall from Kobrand’s video.  Lidia Bastianich— an accomplished chef and restaurateur, astute Eataly businesswoman and television personality—answered the provocative question about the sex of an eggplant. 

TIP #1: The battle of eggplant’s sex

Trust me on this. There is a reason why it matters. Lidia explained that you should look for the male version when buying an eggplant. It turns out that male eggplants have fewer seeds which means they are less bitter than their female counterpart. Pointing the ends of two opposite sex eggplants towards the camera, Lidia illustrated their differences.  If the bottom is deep and shaped like a dash, it’s a female, she explained.  If it is shallow and round, it’s a male.

TIP #2: Use serrated knives for eggplants

 Continuing the discussion of eggplants, London caterer-to-the-stars, Jacqui Pickles, says “I do recall is that aubergines, (UK-speak for eggplant) along with tomatoes and citrus fruits blunt your knives and therefore, should be sliced with serrated knives.”  

 TIP #3: How to tenderize lentils

Jacqui also offered another easy tip on how to cook lentils. “I tend not to soak lentils prior to cooking them. I just bring them to the boil in water, refresh them, then return them to the pan to cook slowly with a few aromatics. You can add fresh ginger or pineapple to soften the lentils. Both these ingredients contain protein-denaturing enzymes; as lentils are relatively rich in protein, the enzymes will tenderize them.” 

TIP #4: Cooking pulses as the pros do

 Jacqui also warned about the water used for cooking lentils. “Importantly, the calcium level in the cooking water can affect the end result: too high and the pulses will harden and split. So, if you live in a hard-water area, you should cook the lentils in bottled water that has a low mineral content.” She learned this tip from Heston Blumenthal, one of the UK’s celebrity chefs.

 (If you are unfamiliar with the term “pulses,” this is a food group comprised of the dried, edible seeds of the legume family…meaning chickpeas, dry peas, beans, and lentils.)

TIP #5: Whipping heavy cream the right way

Cookbook editor Jan Hazard recommends using powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar when whipping cream. “As powdered sugar includes a small amount of corn starch, it helps the whipped cream to hold up and not separate.”

TIP #6: Dental floss to the rescue

Sue Huffman, one of the culinary pioneers who started Food Network, offered a tip, then immediately attributed it to Jan Hazard.  Honesty in the kitchen is an admired and rare trait! So, it was really Jan who said “Cut logs of goat’s milk cheese into rounds using dental floss.”

TIP #7: Storing cheese as they do in France

On the subject of cheese, Janeen Sarlin, author and cooking school teacher, recently gave me the perfect hostess gift for someone who loves cheese:  storage paper. As also the former private chef for Marvin Shanken, owner of The Wine Spectator, Janeen knows how to preserve cheese the proper way.  Whereas conventional plastic wrap suffocates cheese, special two-layered cheese paper allows the product to breathe.  At the same time, it maintains optimal humidity essential for showing cheese at it best.

TIP #8:  Maximizing cheese’s flavor

Cathy Strange, Global Cheese Buyer for Whole Foods, suggests serving cheese at room temperature—67 to 70 ⁰F—to release its flavors.  (This can be achieved by taking the cheese out of the refrigerator one hour before serving it.)  In an interview she did for Epicurious, Cathy said “Remember, cheese is alive.  When it’s put in refrigeration, it sorts of closes down. So, by getting it to room temperature, you’re releasing aromatics and letting the cheese start breathing and bouncing around again.”

 TIP #9:  Tony’s Trucs

On the rare occasions when my mother allowed my father into the kitchen, he would show off his repertoire of unusual shortcuts.  I assumed they came from his Italian-born mother, Maria Spaga, whose cooking skills were legendary.  For example, when my mother was making spaghetti sauce---naturally, using Maria’s recipe—Dad would test it out by putting a healthy spoonful on a slice of bread to replicate pasta. 

Tony also loved frying salami for making sandwiches as he said it eliminated most of the fat.  Several years ago, I rediscovered this trick at a top Paris bistro which served crispy slices of fried saucisson on their salade of baby gem lettuce. Everyone at our table was awed by the chef’s “innovative” way to serve salami whereas I knew it was merely a retro truc.

TIP #10:  Baking cookies in bulk

Arlene from my knitting class offered a baking tip. “I make cookies in bulk all the time for my son who serves them at his restaurant in Tribeca. After I make the dough, I form the cookies straight away, then freeze them for when they are needed.  While they can be baked directly from the freezer by extending the cooking time, I prefer to allow mine to fully defrost before putting them in the oven.”

TIP # 11:  Cookbook wiz and pal Dorie Greenspan recommends to her followers making their lives in the kitchen as easy as possible.  In her baking book Dorie’s Cookies, she tells us “When you are ready to add the dry ingredients to the cookie dough (or batter)—a step that usually comes at the end of the process, or just before you add chips or nuts or crunchies—turn the mixer off, add the flour all at once, and pulse the mixer on and off until the risk of flying flour has passed.”

TIP #12: The power of parchment

Another pal from knitting class, Donna, offered: “I use parchment paper extensively in my kitchen.  I cut off a healthy piece, fold it in half, then do my grating directly on the paper. The fold forms a natural spout for later adding ingredients into a bowl, pot or skillet.”

TIP # 13: How to prevent pizza from sticking

I carried the discussion of kitchen tips over to my spin class last week.  (No one is safe from my inquisitive search for information!) Michelle, an insurance expert who loves to cook, reminded me of a pizza making trick.  If you don’t have cornmeal to put on the bottom of your pan to protect it from sticking, use farina.

TIP # 14: How to boil water

Not to be outdone in the discussion, Harvey-the-copyright-lawyer and also a spinning buddy, prides himself in not knowing how to cook. He jokingly talked about boiling water. Therein started an animated discussion on whether cold water boils faster than warm water. In fact, this is a myth as they boil at the same rate.  However, as one of the other “spinners” offered, you must never reheat water for making tea.  Tea requires a good level of oxygen.  If you use reheated water, it makes the tea taste metallic.

TIP # 15: Saving on the calories

My trainer, Jenn, likes to make birthday cakes for her siblings.  As she is always concerned about health and calories, she recommends substituting apple sauce in lieu of the oil called for in boxed mixes.

TIP # 16: Cooking day-old fish

The other day at a lunch in Nashville, several of us had ordered Cobia, a fish new to us.  After giving it a taste, we agreed it was not very fresh.  Barbara Hanley, who owns Shy Brothers Creamery in Massachusetts and who was raised on large quantities of fish, proffered this cooking tip from her mother. “If the fish was not as fresh as my mother would have liked, she would soak it for an hour in buttermilk to get rid of its fishy smell.” According to Barbara, it worked like a charm.  

TIP #17: Leftover Salade Composé

Food and travel writer Marguerite Thomas has a super simple idea for creating her own salade composé which she enjoys eating either for lunch or even breakfast.  “I’ve been collecting leftover stray vegetables for a day or two—a chopped cooked carrot here, an odd radicchio leaf or two there, that spoonful of leftover peas or rice, even the lone leftover chicken thigh,  and then tossing all of into a salad with a variety of lettuces and oil/vinegar/mustard dressing.  Sometimes I chop a hardboiled egg into it, or I might soft-cook or fry an egg to put on top.”

TIP #18: Waste not-want-not scraps turned into broth

 Whenever I have leftover scraps from cooking (vegetable peels, tops of celery, onion and garlic skins, chicken, lamb or beef bones) I throw them into the freezer in plastic bags.  Once I accumulate a large enough quantity, I make broth out of them.  Remember to segregate out the bones for making a vegetable broth. Almost anything can be used except for Brassicas, that wildly healthy category of vegetables which includes kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage. As they impart a bitter, strong tastes, it is best to forgo using them.  Here’s more information on making broths: https://bit.ly/2Nv5DVI

 TIP# 18, 19 and 20: Quick tips on serving and spilling wine

As a career wine person, here are a few tips I’ve learned over the years:

Air is the enemy of wine.  If you have a half bottle left, for example, decant it into a small container.  Even a clean glass mustard jar will do.   If the leftover quantity is small, put it in an ice cube tray and freeze for a later use to flavor soups, sauces or stews. 

Also, remember if you spill red wine on the tablecloth, plain table salt will pull it out the wine to help prevent staining. 

Finally, to quick chill Champagne, place the bottle in an ice bucket filled with ice, rock salt and water.  Ten to fifteen minutes usually does the trick.

 So what are you waiting for?  Chill yourself some bubbles and try out some of these Trucs!