Diana Kennedy’s kitchen dos and don’ts
“If you haven’t got an opinion,” Diana Kennedy says, “you aren’t a very good cook anyway.”
Anyone who’s ever attended a cooking class with Kennedy knows she is a woman of many opinions. Here are several of them.
* “Don’t grate your onions. You’ll leave all the flavors on the grater.”
* “Don’t use corn oil in Mexican cooking. It’s too heavy and has too much flavor.”
* “And no cumin in the beans! You read these books that say it’s authentic — they’re wrong!”
In the kitchen with a feisty Diana Kennedy as she argues with Mexican cooks over tamale prep and teaches health-obsessed white cooks to relax about chiles.
* “Don’t forget epazote --it’s an all-purpose herb. It goes in black beans; it makes a good tea, as a remedy for internal troubles--and it gets rid of ants.”
* “And don’t let anyone tell you epazote came over from Europe. It’s a North American weed--and it loves parking lots.”
* “Don’t let the tap run when you’re cleaning rice. Soak it! I live in an ecological house where I’m very conscious of water use--living in Los Angeles, you ought to be, too.”
Testy and uncompromising, she drove her truck across Mexico for decades, collecting and preserving regional ingredients and recipes.
* “If you have an electric oven, that’s sad, very wasteful of energy. Try to change to gas.”
* When your oil is hot, it should sizzle around a dry, wooden spoon.”
* “Don’t believe everything you read about chiles. People out there are writing some appalling things--totally inaccurate. Remember, I married a newspaper man and he told me to never believe anything you see in print.”
* “Don’t roast your chiles on a fork over a flame. If you’re doing chiles rellenos for 50, you’re going to be way behind for dinner. Instead, roast them on a broiler rack.”
* “I stopped up several drains with chiles in my early days. You don’t have to. Just don’t peel your chiles like this (she picks at the skin a bit at a time), but like this (she slides her whole hand over the chile, removing the skin in one easy strip).
* “If your chiles are too dry, heat them on a comal for a bit.”
* “Chiles don’t just make food hot. They add flavor.”
* “When sauteing, remember this simple rule: Don’t put too many pieces in the pan, otherwise you’re steaming, not browning.”
* “Never buy a blender without removable blades.”
* “(When cooking rice), put a towel over the pan just after most of the liquid has been absorbed. Paula Wolfert suggests it to fluff couscous, and it works beautifully for rice. There aren’t many cooks I’d follow--Paula is one of them.”
* “Before you cover rice with a towel, smell (the cloth) to make sure it doesn’t have any detergent on it.”
* “When you get into a cuisine, you have to realize that there are going to be surprises.”
* “Please insist on real cinnamon bark--the soft one, not the hard, false one, which just isn’t as fragrant.”
* “Always use whole spices. And if your spices have been around a little too long, toast them.”
* “ Mole means mixture , concentration . Mole does not mean chocolate sauce.”
* “Don’t use queso blanco from skim milk. It’s just awful--it won’t melt well and it won’t taste as good.
* “Every calorie should be wonderful.”
This story is a companion piece to the feature story “Diana Kennedy: Rebel With a Cause.”
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