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replacements | tips | alcohol substitutions

Replacement for fat in recipes

Diane Christensen, Serials

In making chocolate chip cookies (and probably other cookie recipes, although I haven't tried it), you can replace the margarine/shortening/butter ingredient with pureed white beans. Just get a can of small white beans, drain it and put it in the food processor or blender. The consistency will be very similar to soft butter or margarine. Strangely, the cookies taste really good.

In making gingerbread and many cakes (like carrot cake, apple cake, etc.), you can replace the oil with applesauce. The finished product is great, and it is fat-free!

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Good to Know Cooking Tips

Leila Kramer, Serials

"QUICK FIXES FOR COOKING DISASTERS"

• The food is too salty.
  
Add liquid or solid ingredients to dilute the salt flavor. You might add more broth, beans or vegetables to a soup, or meat and vegetables to a stew. Or try masking the salty taste with a few pinches of sugar.
• The soup is too thick or too thin.
  
  Thin soups by adding water or broth. To thicken clear soups; Mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water until smooth, then whisk into 2 quarts of simmering soup, cooking until it thickens. For chunkier soups, puree half the soup, then stir it back into the pot.

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• The bread is stale...the crackers are soggy.
  To freshen bread, rolls or bagels, sprinkle with water and wrap in aluminum foil. Place in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Crisp crackers on a baking sheet in a 300 degree oven for about 5 minutes.
• You over cooked the (pick one) roast/chicken/turkey.
  
  Thinly slice chewy or dry meat, fan it out and top with a great sauce: You can sauté onions, garlic and mushrooms until golden, add a splash of wine, the pan juices and rosemary or thyme; cook, uncovered, until sauce-like. Sliced meats also can be topped with a balsamic vinaigrette or a quick sauté of vegetables.
  Turn meat that's stringy or falling apart into a goulash, stew, stroganoff or chili; add it to stir-fried vegetables, or encase it in a tortilla with toppings.

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• The fish is dry.
  
  Sauce it with a citrus butter (warm butter with grated peel and a few spoonfuls of juice; garnish with citrus sections), a mustard vinaigrette with herbs and capers, or salsa spiked with fresh cilantro. Serve the fish atop sautéed vegetables or salad. Or make fish cakes; Mix flaked fish with eggs, bread crumbs, onion and seasonings, then form patties, dip them into bread crumbs and sauté.
• The vegetables are overdone.
  
  Puree them, adding seasonings, butter, even Parmesan or ricotta cheese, then serve like mashed potatoes. Or mix the puree with eggs, bread crumbs, chopped onions and seasonings; pour into a greased pan and bake into a vegetable casserole.
• The cake fell apart.
  
  Make a trifle layering crumbled cake, whipped cream, pudding and fruit or candy bits. Or crumble cake and serve over ice cream or pudding alone.
• If you're prone to kitchen disasters...
  
  Rely more on cookbooks you trust for tried-and-true recipes and advice. All People make mistakes when they're rushed or get too ambitious and cook complicated dishes. If you often burn food, cook on a lower flame and buy a few heavy-gauge pots and some timers. Keep a well-stocked pantry, so you don't run out of basic ingredients. Then, even if you have to abandon a dish, you'll have the fixings for a different but equally delicious meal.

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Substitutions For Wine And Liquor In Cooking

In Soups and Entrees:

• Dry (un-sweet) red wine:
  Water
  Beef froth, bouillon or consommé
  Tomato juice (plain or diluted)
  Diluted cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
  Liquid drained from canned mushrooms
  Apple cider
• Dry (un-sweet) white wine:
  Water
  Chicken broth, bouillon or consommé
  Ginger ale
  White grape juice
  Diluted cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
  Liquid drained from canned mushrooms

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In Cheese Dishes:

• Beer or ale:
  Chicken broth
  White grape juice
  Ginger ale

In Desserts:

• Brandy:
  Apple cider
  Peach or apricot syrup
• Rum:
  Pineapple juice
  Syrup flavored with almond extract
• Sherry:
  Orange or pineapple juice
  Cider
  Diluted cider vinegar
  Juice drained from mushrooms
  Water with sherry extract

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• Kirsch:
  Syrup or juice from black cherries, raspberries, boysenberries, currants, grapes or cherry cider
• Cognac:
  Syrup or juice from peaches, apricots or pears
• Cointreau:
  Orange juice
  Frozen orange juice concentrate

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• Crème de menthe:
  Spearmint extract (I'd choose peppermint)
  Oil of spearmint diluted with a little water (peppermint)
  Grapefruit juice
• Red burgundy:
  Grape juice
• White Burgundy:
  White grape juice
• Champagne:
  Ginger ale
• Claret:
  Grape or currant juice
  Cherry cider
  Syrup (Note: To cut the sweetness of the syrups, dilute with water. Also, there are many flavor extracts, such as almond or pineapple, that can be added for interesting flavors.)

In Flambes or Flaming Desserts

• The only substitute that might be used is a sugar cube soaked in lemon extract, then set atop a dessert and burned.

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