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By Root 150 0

Mom Makes. It’s like being home … without being told to get your elbows off the table. We’ve also included a couple of chapters that will help you feed your friends. Food for the Masses offers hearty dishes that will serve eight to twelve people, and Party Food is, well, food to take to a party (go figure). As easy as it is to be the one who always brings the loaf of French bread and cheese, this gives you an opportunity to try something a little more interesting. And once you have won over your friends by cooking for them (see how this can be really good for your social life?), you’ll be more than ready to start thumbing through the Impressing Your Date chapter. Because nothing says I Really Like You like a plateful of Mushroom Ravioli in Browned Butter. As for the last chapter—well, you have to have Desserts, right? ’Nuff said.

Kitchen Basics

Here are some basics about ingredients, equipment, and cooking techniques that you should know before starting in on the recipes. We don’t explain this stuff throughout the book because it comes up a lot and so it makes more sense to keep it in one place. You’ll probably want to refer back here often.

Ingredients

Bouillon: This is basically dehydrated vegetable stock, and it’s a key component to making sure your soups and sauces have good, full flavor. In this book, we used bouillon cubes instead of stock or broth because they’re cheaper and a lot lighter to carry home from the store. The only size of vegetable bouillon cubes we found are extra large and are dissolved in 2 cups of water. If you find regular-sized ones, just use two for every one we call for. If you are using broth or stock, just substitute that for the water called for in the recipe (and leave out the bouillon cube, of course). No-salt-added vegetable bouillon cubes are a great option if your store carries them. They contain about 10 percent of the sodium of regular cubes, but still deliver all the flavor.

Breadcrumbs: We use plain breadcrumbs, but it’s not that big of a deal for any of the dishes in this book. If what you have on hand is seasoned, don’t make a special trip to the store; they’ll work fine. Or if you don’t have any at all, place a few slices of bread in the oven at 250°F for 20 minutes, or until they are dried out. Cool completely and break the slices into half-inch pieces. Place in the blender and pulse until smooth.

Butter: We’ve always used salted butter. It used to be because that’s what Mom bought, but now it’s because we prefer salted butter to use on bread and it’s too much hassle to buy both kinds. If you prefer unsalted, you may need to add a little extra salt to the recipes. Margarine can be substituted for butter in all of the recipes in this book. Substituting can often be a problem with desserts, but we made all of these vegan so you wouldn’t have to worry about it. We use stick margarine rather than soft; choose a brand that is free of trans fats.

Cooking spray and oil: Fat’s got a bad rep, but some fat is part of a healthy diet (your brain especially needs healthy fats to function well). Also, you often need it to cook with. We usually say butter or spray the pan in recipes. We always spray. It’s faster, you don’t have to get your hands all greasy, and it’s much lower in fat, and therefore calories. We use plain, unflavored cooking spray—which is just cooking oil and an emulsifier in an aerosol can or pump bottle—and since we’re paying for it now, we buy the store brand. It’s cheaper and it works just as well as name-brand products. Canola, corn, or vegetable oils are good to cook with: its flavor is neutral. If you want to cook with olive oil, the plain, nonfancy stuff will do—save the extra virgin olive oil for salad dressing. And for future reference, olive oil is not a substitute for canola oil, especially in dessert recipes. Brownies with olive oil are really gross. Ask my roommate.

Cornstarch: If you make a lot of stir-fries, you’ll want cornstarch on your shelf. It is a fast and easy way to thicken sauces, but it can cause a real mess if it’s not used properly.