Canape

Definition: A canape is a type of hors d'oeuvre, or small, single-bite food, that is traditionally made with a base of a small piece of bread with some sort of topping.

Modern canapes may use a cracker, a small pancake or pastry as the base.

When building a canape, the bread is sometimes toasted, and then spread with butter, cream cheese, mayonnaise or some other spread. The canape is then topped with meat, fish, cheese, caviar or some other savory item. Finally, the canape is finished with a garnish.

Pronunciation: can-a-PAY

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Five Easy Muffin Recipes

A batch of fresh muffins hot from the oven is one of life's great simple pleasures. Whether it's blueberry muffins for brunch or double chocolate muffins for a decadent treat, the simple fact is that muffins make people happy.

Chocolate chocolate muffins.
Photo c Danilo Alfaro

And here's another reason to get happy: Because muffins are a member of the quick bread family, they're easy to make and you can bake up a batch of them in about half an hour. Here are Five Easy Muffin Recipes for you to try out. And here are a few more resources to do with baking:

• Baking Soda Vs. Baking Powder
• Make Your Own Baking Powder
• Make Your Own Brown Sugar
• How to Cut In Shortening
• What is All-Purpose Flour?
• What is Gluten?

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Graham Cracker Pie Crust

Graham crackers have been an American staple since a certain Sylvester Graham developed them nearly 200 years ago. Graham believed additive-free, whole-wheat flour was more nutritious than refined white flour. In this, he was correct. He also advocated vegetarianism as a cure for sexual urges. The jury's still out on that one.

Graham cracker pie crust.
Photo c Jennifer Sipala

Still, Graham's cracker remains ever popular — both as a snack and as a pie crust. This graham cracker pie crust is perfect for all kinds of unbaked pies like cream or chiffon pies, and it's really simple to make. For a variation, you can substitute chocolate graham cracker crumbs, vanilla wafer crumbs or gingersnap crumbs. Though I make no claims about what curative properties, if any, gingersnaps or vanilla wafers may possess. Here's some more about pies and pie crusts:

• Flaky Pie Crust
• What is Blind Baking?
• How to Cut In Shortening
• Pastry Dough Recipe
• What is Egg Wash?
• How to Make Pastry Cream

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Charcutiere Sauce Recipe

Charcutiere Sauce Recipe

The Charcutiere Sauce is a finished sauce made with onions, mustard, white wine and chopped cornichons, simmered in a basic demi-glaze. The Charcutiere Sauce is an ideal accompaniment for grilled pork and other meat dishes.

Prep Time: 5?minutes

Cook Time: 25?minutes

Total Time: 30?minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 quart demi-glaze
• ? cup chopped onions
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 tsp dry mustard
• ? tsp sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ? cup chopped cornichons

Preparation:

1. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and lemon juice, and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
   
2. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter and cook the onions until soft and translucent, but don't let them turn brown.
   
3. Add the wine, heat until the liquid boils, lower the heat a bit and continue simmering until the liquid has reduced by two-thirds.
   
4. Add the demi-glace, then lower heat to a simmer and reduce for about 10 minutes.
   
5. Strain through a mesh strainer, add the mustard and the sugar-lemon mixture. Garnish with chopped cornichons and serve right away.

Makes about 1 quart of Charcutiere Sauce.

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How to Make Frosting

If you want to add a delicious homemade touch to your cakes or cupcakes, try making your own frosting. There are a number of different kinds of frostings (or icings; they're they same thing), but the simplest kind is a basic buttercream that you can mix up using butter, shortening and confectioners sugar.

How to Make Frosting.
Photo c Lisa Romerein / Getty Images

Some buttercreams require cooking, but this one doesn't. All you really need is a stand mixer. And here's a tip: When you're making frosting, make more than you think you need. Read more about How to Make Frosting. And here are a few more resources related to baking and desserts:

• What is Confectioners Sugar?
• Baking Soda Vs. Baking Powder
• How to Cut In Shortening
• All About Flour
• Creme Anglaise Recipe
• Creme Brulee Recipe

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Basic Corn Bread

Cornbread is one of those foods that people tend to have strong feelings about, mostly depending on what part of the country they grew up in. If you're from the South, you may have grown up with unsweetened corn bread. In other regions, corn bread can be slightly sweet. Both types of corn bread are valid, and both are delicious.

Basic corn bread.
Photo c Danilo Alfaro

This basic corn bread recipe is sweetened with honey and and sugar — though you can leave out one or the other, or both, if you like your cornbread less sweet, or not sweet at all. Either way, this corn bread is a perfect accompaniment for soup or chili, and it makes a great breakfast, too. And here are some more quick bread recipes:

• Buttermilk Corn Bread
• Easy Banana Bread
• Blueberry Muffins
• Chocolate Chocolate Muffins
• How to Make Scones

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Hominy

Definition: Hominy is a food made from kernels of corn which are soaked in an alkali solution of either lime or lye. The corrosive nature of the solution removes the hull and germ of the corn and causes the grain itself to puff up to about twice its normal size.

Hominy can be made with either white or yellow corn, specifically maize, which is the type of corn used in making corn meal and other grain products — as opposed to sweet corn, which is the vegetable that can be eaten on the cob and so forth.

Once soaked, hominy can be dried and then ground and simmered to make grits (also called hominy grits). Alternately, the processed hominy can be cooked until soft and then used in soups, stews and casseroles. Posole is a traditional Mexican soup made with hominy.

Hominy is available in dried and canned form. The process for preparing dried hominy requires soaking the hominy grains for about eight hours and then simmering for an additional hour or two. Canned hominy has already been cooked and is ready to use, making it a good time saver, although the texture will be slightly different.

Also Known As:

• Hominy grits
• Posole
• Pozole
• Samp
• Big hominy

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