The first chapter is about stocks (e.g., chicken stock, beef stock). It has some helpful tips for creating great stocks. For example, it says to create the stock over low heat (whenever I had used my own stock before, I had just saved the water that was left after boiling a chicken). He also mentioned that, while its fine to use a raw chicken to create chicken stock, you could also roast the meat and bones first to give the stock a deep roasted flavor.
Today, I put this newfound knowledge to work. For dinner last night, we roasted a chicken. After carving it, I saved the bones and whatever meat was left on them to make a stock today. I put the bones & meat in a stock pot, added about 2½ quarts of water, heated it to about 180 degrees (regularly using a thermometer to make sure it didn't go higher), and let it go for an hour and a half. I regularly skimmed off whatever fat coagulated on top (using a pre-roasted chicken, you get less fat than you would with a raw chicken).
Next, I cut a carrot, leeks, and a sweet onion into large chunks and added them to the water. I kept the temperature around 180 degrees for another hour. I then removed the bones, meat, and vegetables and strained the broth through a fine strainer. I let it cool a little, then added salt to taste.
I used the stock to make hot and sour soup. I have to say, it was the best batch of hot and sour soup I've ever made. Using this homemade chicken stock instead of canned chicken stock (like I usually do) made a huge difference. It just tasted lighter and cleaner. Also, I'm sure that the homemade stock had much less sodium than the canned stuff (I checked the closest can of chicken stock and was surprised at how much sodium it had).
I had about two cups of stock left over, which I put in a Ziploc bag and froze. Apparently, it will keep in the freezer for a few months.
