LiveWorld Transcripts

Women.com presents

Food editor of Redbook magazine, Tamara Holt
Cooking ideas

June 29, 1999

Tamara Holt, cookbook author, teacher and food editor at Redbook magazine, will answer your questions and talk with you about your cooking ideas and needs.

Page 1 of 4

HomeArts: Welcome to our chat with Tamara Holt, the food editor at Redbook magazine. Today this cookbook author and teacher will answer your questions and talk with you about your cooking ideas and needs. Welcome, Tamara!

Tamara Holt: Hello! Welcome to another hour of culinary solutions to your questions and suggestions for your dinner table. Does anybody have any questions about anything that they have cooked or eaten that they would like answered?

Dawn: I read your recent article about "Hunk Food." Did any of the stars mention recipes they like to prepare at home?

Tamara Holt: Dawn - No, we just went to the restaurants that they ate at and tracked down what they ordered, so no news from the home front. We're hoping to sneak into a few celebs' kitchens for some upcoming issues, though. Stay tuned.

Dawn: What's the best kind of fish to put on the grill?

Tamara Holt: Dawn - Any firm fleshed fish, such as salmon, tuna, mahi-mahi. Swordfish is also excellent on the grill, but because it's been over fished so much many chefs and food professionals are taking a break from serving it and suggesting it. Shrimp is excellent on the grill, just be sure to put them on skewers so they don't fall through. We have an outrageously delicious shrimp recipe in our current (July) issue from Bobby Flay his new book "Boy Meets Grill."

Brocail: I tend to ruin my poached salmon. Usually, it gets waterlogged. Tell me how to do this right, please!

Tamara Holt: Brocail - Hmm. I'm wondering if you are overcooking it. That would cause the fish to break down and the water to seep in. That could happen in two ways, either you are cooking it on too high a heat, so the outside is overdone before the inside gets cooked, or you are cooking it too long in general. When you poach salmon you should just poach it at a gentle simmer.

Mona: Any tips on fun summer non-alcoholic drinks?

Tamara Holt: Mona, you read my mind. We've got a heat wave in New York, and that's just what I could go for. But if you can hold on for another two weeks our August issue will be on the newsstand, and we've got a great alcohol-optional drink story. But in the meantime, how about this, take any fresh fruit that you like, remove seeds and skins, and puree it with sugar to make a syrup (I'm thinking berries, cherries, and stone fruit such as peaches and apricots). That will make a syrup that you can stir into lemonade or just soda. It's really good.

Xiannie: Any fun tips on how to give shish-ka-bob a new twist?

Tamara Holt: Xiannie, You can go any direction with this fish, veggies, even fruit can go on skewers. The important thing to remember is that everything you put on one skewer should cook at approximately the same rate. Otherwise, you'll end up with one thing that is overcooked and falling off the skewer and something else that's barely done. Personally I prefer to cook only one item on a skewer, and then take them off the skewers to serve. Then everything's perfectly cooked.

Page 1 of 4