Sure, I could cook without chile. But where would the fun be in that?
All bakers and cooks have their own preferences and quirks, when it comes to ingredients.
These are mine:
- Bacon = I buy thick sliced bacon and I slice each package in half, width-wise. I call each half-piece, a piece or slice of bacon. When frying, they don’t shrivel up to the extent that whole slices often do, and because it is thick cut bacon, it is satisfying.
- Butter = If I don’t state otherwise, butter is salted. I usually buy butter at Costco, but I don’t have a favorite brand.
- Margarine = When I see margarine in a recipe, I take that as my cue to use salted butter because margarine is usually salted. I would have said always, but, apparently unsalted margarine is now available.
- Brown sugar = Brown Sugar is always packed into a measuring cup or spoon, unless stated otherwise.
- Eggs = Extra Large Eggs
- Lemon Juice = There’s nothing too wrong with Real Lemon. That’s all I’m sayin’. If I don’t specifically say fresh squeezed lemon juice, it’s not.
- Oatmeal = Rolled oats.
- Unbleached Flour = An all-purpose white flour that isn’t whitened. My favorite brand is Hungarian High Altitude (Hungarian refers to the milling process, and High Altitude refers to where the wheat is grown).
- Wheat Berries = My favorite brand is Wheat Montana.
This list is a work in progress. Updated 2/17/2011 and yes, I know the font isn't consistent now, nor is the spacing or the sizing. It's not me, it's Blogger.
