I Love Trader Joe's College Cookbook - Andrea Lynn [40]
TIPS & TECHNIQUE
HOW TO PREPARE AN AVOCADO
Use a chef’s knife to carefully cut the avocado lengthwise around the seed, cutting all the way through to the seed. Stab the seed with the knife, then twist and remove. To dice the avocado, take one half in your hand and use a paring knife to cut a crosshatch pattern into the avocado without going through to the peel. To slice, cut lengthwise. Use a large spoon and scoop out the avocado dice or slices.
HOW TO DICE AN ONION
1. Cut the onion in half vertically, straight through the root end and the stem end.
2. Peel both halves of the onion, discarding the peel.
3. Place the halves on a cutting board, cut-side down. Trim the stem ends.
4. Make numerous parallel cuts from the root end to the stem end, making sure to keep the root end intact. Cuts that are farther apart will result in larger dice; cuts closer together will yield smaller dice.
5. Carefully hold the onion at the root end. Make two or more even horizontal cuts, holding your knife parallel to the cutting board.
6. Holding the root end, slice crosswise, starting at the opposite end. The onion will fall into dice.
HOW TO BOIL AN EGG
If Trader Joe’s is out of hard-cooked peeled eggs, or you just want to know how to make hard-cooked eggs on your own, here’s what to do: In a medium pot, cover 6 to 8 large eggs with enough water to cover them. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. As soon as the water comes to a full rolling boil, cover the pot with a lid and remove it from the heat. Let the eggs sit in the hot water for 12 minutes. Carefully drain the hot water from the eggs. Fill the pot with cold water and ice cubes until the eggs have cooled enough to peel. For easiest and neatest peeling, do it as soon as possible.
HOW TO COOK AL DENTE PASTA
When cooking pasta, the goal is to boil it until it’s al dente. But what exactly does that mean? An Italian phrase meaning “to the bite,” al dente refers to the point when the pasta is cooked but still slightly firm to the bite. The best way to determine this is to taste the pasta as it cooks. Also, immediately after draining the pasta in a colander, make sure to toss it with a little olive oil. This prevents the pasta strands from sticking to each other and making a glop of noodles.
COOKING STEAK AND BURGERS
Keep in mind that the internal temperature of meat will rise by about 5 degrees while resting and that the following guidelines for beef account for that: for rare, 120° to 125°F; for medium-rare, 130° to 140°F; for medium, 145° to 150°F; for well-done, 155° to 165°F. The most accurate way to determine the doneness of steak is by using a meat thermometer, but you’ll lose a bit of juice when the thermometer pokes a hole into the steak.
With a little of practice, you can learn to determine doneness by merely touching the steak with your finger—rare steak feels soft, with a lot of give; a tiny more give yields medium-rare; medium steak yields only slightly to the touch; and well-done steak feels hard to the touch. Resting is important because it allows the steak to finish cooking and retain its juiciness by redistributing its juices. If you cut into a steak without letting it rest, lots of delicious juices will escape.
IDEAS FOR LEFTOVER TRADER JOE’S INGREDIENTS
PESTO
• Whisk with vinegar and olive oil to make salad dressing.
• Mix with sour cream and dollop onto a baked potato or stir into mashed potatoes.
• Smear onto chicken, top with bread crumbs, and bake.
• Swirl into tomato soup.
• Beat into eggs before scrambling.
• Add 1 or 2 tablespoons to cooked rice, polenta, or grits.
• Dilute with oil and use as a marinade for meat.
• Layer onto a grilled cheese sandwich.
• Toss with 1/2 pound cooked Trader Joe’s Italian Capellini pasta and Trader Joe’s Grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken.
ALMOND BUTTER AND BANANA SANDWICH
Wanna make this sandwich à la Elvis? Melt a little butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and sauté the assembled sandwich