What's your favorite secret ingredient?

I realize it's not a very sophisticated way to do this, but post a comment and share your best little cooking secret. Something unique, por favor. Ingredients only. I'll do tools at a later date.

For me: 

Chile con limon - a sort of salt, pepper, smokey shaker you can find in Hispanic grocery stores. It's just a teeny bit hot. Love it on hummus and it's a perfect little extra when I can't figure out what's missing in soup or such. They shake it on fruits and veggies in Mexico, but I'm not fond of that application.

Chili garlic sauce - similar cheater, only more spicy and wet/refrigerated. I go through a lot of this and put it in everything. It's an Asian spice, but I'll throw a spoonful into the spaghetti sauce. 

I Most Certain CAN Believe It's Not Butter

Someone on one of my groups recently posted asking for butter replacements in a cake recipe. Those of us who grew up with that little, blue, talking tub of Parkay margarine have a twisted relationship with fats. We slathered transmuted oils on our toast, tossed them in our cookies and never thought twice about that dairy stuff the grandmas used to use. These days, the nutritionists (and there's a group as fickle as Paris Hilton shopping for a new dog) tell us margarine is bad and butter is good. Looking back, it's reasonable to assume that anything requiring scientific intervention to maintain its shape probably is not a healthy alternative. How were we to know?

Anyhow, for anyone who cares, here's my rundown of the best alternatives to butter:

1. Nothing. Especially in baking, there is nothing that can really replace butter. Yes, it's a fat. Yes, it's a big daddy of fats. But it tastes better in cookies, cakes, just about anything sweet that includes leavening and flour. There's a bunch of chemistry behind this. I read about it once. It gave me a headache. The bottom line is any other fat will weigh down baked goods. This is not a good thing, unless you are making a pound cake. Even then, it's better with butter. Rather than stressing about using this natural fat, I balance my indulgences with healthy meals beforehand. Cake or brownies for dessert? Have a soup with lots of veggies and a side salad (hold the bottled transfat dressing). Clear dinner dishes. Slice heaping helping of cake. Insert fork. Enjoy.

2. Lard. You heard me. This is a relatively new discovery for me. After a grueling adventure with tamales I had a bit of manteca left in the tub. A fortuitous recipe for biscuits from Gourmet magazine found itself in my paws. Following directions, I carved out a few tablespoons of rendered pig fat and added it to the other ingredients. Listen. I am a decent cook. I am, however, a dismal failure at biscuits. Or rather I was until I discovered wonderful, lovely lard. Paula Dean would be proud. Like butter, lard is a natural fat that has too long had a bad rap. Good for flaky pastry recipes. Probably not so much so in a cake. Still, I challenge you to try lard biscuits and not sing praises. Learn to love lard, in moderation.

3. Canned pumpkin. This is a darling of the Weight Watchers crowd, and for good reason. Applesauce and prune puree throw the wet balance off in a recipe. They also leave a strange aftertaste and ruin the crumbly good texture of any product they touch, turning it dense and spongy to one degree or another. Canned pumpkin, admittedly, does fiddle a bit with texture, but in a dense recipe like spice cake it's a pretty decent substitute. It's a surprisingly decent substitute in chocolate cake. While I'm still more likely to use butter or canola oil (healthy fat), I'll do a pumpkin sub if I happen to have a can in the pantry. Check online for recipes from Weight Watcher folks. 

Finally, please do not attempt to replace baked good fats with black beans. It is a vile idea. If you want black beans, eat a burrito. 

Here's the Epicurious link to those lardicious biscuits: www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Crust-Buttermilk-Biscuits-241183

Beer and Bread, Did You Make a Yummy Noise

I've tried several different beer bread recipes. Made this one last night and it's a keeper. Dense without being a brick. Lot's of bubbles. Crisp crust. No bitterness (although I used a pretty wimpy beer - El Sol). This one would lend itself to additions like cheese or fresh herbs. One Epicurious poster suggested brown sugar instead of white, which I'll try next time. I may also double this and try as muffins.

Try it with honey butter to heighten the complexity (really). Toast the leftovers for breakfast. And slice it on the thick side or you will lose that lovely crust.

Beer Batter Bread

Yield: Makes 1 loaf

3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 bottle (12 ounces) beer, at room temperature
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Add the beer all at once, mixing as little as possible; the batter should be lumpy.
Pour the batter into a 9-x-5-x-3-inch loaf pan and brush with the melted butter. Bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Turn out onto a rack to cool.

Source Information
New Tastes from Texas by Stephan Pyles