Putting Food By - Janet Greene [127]
Divided pairs of shad roe can be brushed with bacon fat for lubrication and wrapped in foil. Come the time to eat them—better soon—they are put still wrapped in a 400 F/205 C oven for 15 minutes, then opened and a partly cooked strip of bacon laid on each, to finish heating and cooking.
Some minced Italian capicola, to be used sparingly in a brown-sauce-with-wine, is always nice to have on hand.
For pasta, pesto sauce (basil-garlic-pignolias–Parmesan cheese olive oil) is a must. Pesto can be frozen in patties dolloped onto a cookie sheet; then each wrapped separately, and all bagged together. While you’re at it, you might also freeze a chunk of Parmesan cheese.
VEGETABLES
Trimmed kale, blanched in boiling water can be reheated and served with lemon. A handful of cooked asparagus stalks or cooked green beans can be thawed and served cold with a little olive oil and vinegar. A fresh herb from the garden, minced and packed small, is wonderful to have on hand. But you might want to put by large containers of minced fresh parsley to make tabbouleh salad. Cooked green peppers with stuffing are truly emergency food, as are grilled tomatoes, which have plenty of flavor but little texture.
A whole stuffed cabbage can be cut in wedges and each wrapped in foil for quick heating. Endive, bought on sale, can be split and blanched for braising.
DESSERTS
Wedges of cheesecake, each wrapped separately. A handful of small cream-puff shells. Tubs of homemade sherbert; a roll of good cookie dough to slice thin and bake and serve with it.
Freeze fresh lemon juice as ice cubes, wrap each in plastic wrap, and gather all in a big freezer bag—and label as equaling 1 or 2 lemons. Also freezable are thin strips of lemon zest: start the steel blade of the food processor, put in sugar, then add the lemon zest—and you have grated lemon zest for a cake or a pudding.
COOK-IN-BAG FREEZING
Foods can be frozen in most of the cook-in bags currently available, but check the package instructions or manufacturer’s specifications before you buy to be sure. Most of today’s cook-in bags are made of plastic and are self-sealing or tie-sealed. Most can be either boiled or microwaved, and some can be baked in a regular oven as well. Again, check before you buy.
What to Freeze in Cook-in Bags
Unless you have particular needs in mind, your likeliest foods for cook-in-bag freezing would be programmed extras, sealed in 1-pint bags (about 3 average servings), 1½-pint bags (4 to 5 servings), 1-quart bags (6 servings), or 1½-quart bags (8 or more servings).
These extras can be grouped roughly as main dishes (fully precooked, just to be reheated); side-dish vegetables (partly precooked, to be finished in the bag); and dessert fruits (raw, to be defrosted by putting the sealed pouch in a bowl of warm water). The manufacturers’ pamphlets include many more dishes.
MAIN DISHES
Thin slices of meat in its gravy, stews, chicken à la king, fillets of fish in a favorite sauce, creamed things—the list goes on. Prepare as for the table: all are fully precooked. Remember that any thickened sauces are best made with the special corn or rice flours described earlier.
Cool the food slightly—just enough so you can handle the filled pouches—and pack it immediately, leaving headrooms as suggested by the manufacturer.
Boneless meats and fish take 18 minutes’ boil-in time for 1-pint bags, 20 minutes for 1½-pint bags, longer for larger bags. (To microwave or bake, consult manufacturers instructions.)
Casseroles and pastas take 13 minutes’ boil-in time for pints, 15 minutes for 1½-pint pouches, longer for larger bags. (To microwave or bake, consult the manufacturer’s instructions.)
SIDE-DISH VEGETABLES
Of course all your vegetables will be perfectly fresh, and young and tender-crisp; carefully washed and cut/trimmed, etc., as for serving.
Precooking times given below are average for half-cooking the individual