Anyone Can Cook

Sirloin Tips With Smoky Pepper Sauce Start to Finish: 30 minutes 1 1/2 pounds boneless beef bottom sirloin (tri-tip) steak, trimmed of fat 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika or regular paprika 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 12- to 16-ounce jar roasted sweet red and/or yellow peppers 1/2 cup hickory- or mesquite-flavor barbecue sauce 1/4 cup snipped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley 1 Cut meat into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces; sprinkle with paprika. In a very large skillet heat oil over medium-high heat. Add meat; brown for 5 minutes or to desired doneness, stirring occasionally. Remove from skillet. 2 Meanwhile, drain roasted sweet peppers, reserving liquid. Cut up peppers. Measure 1/2 cup of the reserved liquid (if necessary, add enough water to equal 1/2 cup). 3 Add roasted peppers and the reserved…

Handheld Mandoline This handy alternative to bulky mandolines makes it easy to get paper-thin slices of fruits, vegetables, chocolates, and cheeses. Its hand guard—to keep fingers safe—doubles as a blade cover for storage. $30 kuhnrikon.com Flat Whisk Whisk sauces and gravies without scratching pans thanks to the rubberized loop on this whisk. The flat shape covers more surface area in a pot or bowl and because it’s narrow, it can fit in most sizes of saucepans. $5.99 pyrexware.com Pineapple Slicer Make quick work of slicing and coring a fresh pineapple with this stainless-steel slicer. Simply cut off the pineapple’s top, insert the slicer, twist the handle, and pull out juicy rings of pineapple. The shell stays intact so you could use it as a serving dish. $19.95 williams-sonoma.com Baster Stop…

Fresh Ricotta Cheese 1. Rinse a nonreactive Dutch oven with water (this will help keep the milk from scorching). Add 8 cups whole milk, 1 cup half-and-half, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Clip a candy thermometer to side of pan. 2. Cook over medium-high heat for 15 minutes or until mixture reaches 180°F, stirring and scraping bottom of pan. Reduce heat to medium-low. Gradually add 1/4 cup lemon juice, stirring gently about 1 minute or just until curds form (photo 1, above) (do not stir too much or curds will become rubbery). Remove from heat. 3. Line a colander with a triple thickness of cheesecloth and set over a large bowl. Drain mixture through colander. Continue to drain at room temperature for 1 hour. Lift the ricotta by the edges…

Trick No. 1 It’s difficult to extract much juice from a lemon, lime, or orange without a juicer, but if you don’t have one, pierce the cut surface all over with a fork before squeezing it. Piercing will maximize the amount of juice that comes out—and so will these tricks: If the fruit is cold, microwave it on 100 percent power (high) for 10 seconds. Then roll it on the counter a few times to loosen the fruit from the skin. Trick No. 2 You might not have a biscuit cutter, but surely you have a drinking glass. You can use one to cut out biscuit dough. Dip the glass in flour before cutting each biscuit to keep the dough from clinging to the glass. Trick No. 3 Find yourself…

Prep: 15 minutes Bake: per waffle baker directions 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 cup sugar 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 1 3/4 cups milk 1/2 cup cooking oil or butter, melted 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 cup miniature chocolate pieces 1 In a medium bowl stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the mixture; set aside. 2 In another medium bowl beat eggs lightly; stir in milk, oil, and vanilla. Add egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be slightly lumpy). Fold in chocolate pieces. 3 Add batter to a preheated, lightly greased waffle baker. Close lid quickly; do not open until done.…

Start to Finish: 25 minutes 4 eggs, beaten 1 cup milk 2 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla 8 1/2-inch slices challah bread or brioche or 8 slices dry white bread 2 tablespoons butter or margarine Maple syrup (optional) 1In a medium bowl beat together eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla. Dip bread slices into egg mixture, coating both sides (if using challah or brioche, let soak in egg mixture about 10 seconds on each side) (photo 1). 2In a 10-inch skillet or on a griddle melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium heat; add bread slices (photo 2). Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown (photo 3). Repeat with remaining butter and bread slices. Serve warm. If desired, serve with syrup. Makes 4 servings.…