"Front Burner"

June 30, 1999

"Front Burner" columnist, Fraya Berg, is here to answer all of your questions about food and cooking.

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CCCircus: Welcome! Do you have a burning question? Let our "Front Burner" columnist, Fraya Berg solve your culinary conundrums. She will set you straight on preparing, freezing, and storing all your favorite foods.

FrayaBerg: Hi, I'm Fraya Berg and I am here today to answer any questions you have about food and cooking. I hope to get to all of your questions, but those I don't have time to answer may turn up on the "Front Burner," so keep checking there.

BBQBob: I have a recipe that calls for 1/4 cup prepared pesto sauce. Where do I find it and what can I use instead?

FrayaBerg: Prepared pesto sauce can be found in two parts of the supermarket. The freshest and most flavorful is usually in the dairy section near the fresh pastas. It will be in a plastic container; a common brand is Contadina. There are also imported pesto sauces in jars, which you may find in the gourmet section, if your supermarket has one. If you can't find it in the supermarket, check an Italian import store. It's very easy to prepare your own pesto sauce by using fresh basil, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and pine nuts. Just puree them together in a blender. For the exact recipe, look in any basic cookbook. My favorite recipe is in the original "Moosewood Cookbook." The reason I like their recipe so much is because it has some parsley in it, which keeps it very green, and it also has some butter in it, which also helps keep it green, because it solidifies in the refrigerator and the basil doesn't oxidize and turn dark.

Teetoteler: Can I use non-alcoholic wines in place of real wine in recipes?

FrayaBerg: Absolutely. The flavor will not be 100% of what an alcoholic wine would give you in your recipe, but I think 99% of your guests won't be able to tell the difference. The confidence that using the non-alcoholic wine gives you in cooking, knowing that some of your guests may be allergic to wine or alcohol, will make you more relaxed and more comfortable at your party. Using non-alcoholic wine is safer than using regular wine, if you are assuming that all of the alcohol will burn off, because it doesn't completely burn off, not 100%.

Grimace: I've seen these tubes of garlic "paste" in the stores. It seems great not to chop up cloves of garlic, but are there any disadvantages to using the paste?

FrayaBerg: The only disadvantage I see to the paste is that it will not have the pungency of fresh garlic. However, if your choice is between using the garlic paste and not using garlic at all because it's too time consuming, I would definitely opt for the paste. It's very easy to make your own garlic paste by peeling a few cloves of garlic, roughly chopping them, and mashing them at the edge of the cutting board with salt and the edge of your knife blade. The garlic paste that you make this way should not be stored. You should make exactly what you need to use for that recipe.

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