Blanch & Shock At Your Next Party!

Here's a quick -- but very cool -- trick for your next dinner soiree.

To bring out the rich, deep colors of vegetables (i.e.: broccoli), all you need to do is blanch and shock them. The whole process takes approximately one minute!

To blanch, bring salted water in a pot to a rolling boil. Then, drop your vegetables in, uncovered, for approximately 45 seconds. This will not only heighten color, but also remove bitter flavors. Plus, since the total time spent in water is minimal, water-soluble vitamins (B and C) will not be lost.

Shocking involves stopping the cooking process (leaving the vegetables crunchy, like, say, for a crudite) by draining the vegetables and immediately placing them in an ice bath (only long enough to cool them; you don't want any freezing action).

You'll be surprised at the difference this short technique makes in the presentation of your food! In fact, when you try it out, leave one raw vegetable out to compare to the blanched and shocked ones and see for yourself.