01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, June 28, 2006

BY JOE STUMPE
Knight Ridder Newspapers

Ice can be your kitchen's secret weapon. Here are some ideas to use it:

Guests have arrived unexpectedly, and your white wine is in the rack instead of the refrigerator. Don't panic. Twirling the bottle in a bath of ice, water and a little salt will cool it off much faster than placing it in the refrigerator. (Salt water has a lower freezing point than regular water.) You don't have to twirl the wine constantly, but the more you twirl, exposing more of the wine inside the bottle to the cold, the faster it works. (And remember, white wine isn't intended to be served ice-cold.) Better yet, let your guests do it while you ready a plate of cheese and crackers.

If you like your salads super crisp (and who doesn't), use the restaurant trick of "shocking" the lettuce. Create an ice-water bath by putting some ice into a large bowl and add water. Make sure there's enough to make the water really cold. Now plunge the leaves into the water, holding the lettuce under the surface and shaking it gently, for at least 30 seconds (or up to a minute if your cold threshold is high). Remove the leaves and shake off the water. If you're using lettuce that's already torn into pieces, place a colander into the bowl first to keep the ice from getting mixed up with the lettuce. This is also a good method of thoroughly washing lettuce, by the way.

Ice-water baths are also used to stop a variety of foods from cooking, or rather overcooking. The process works like this: The foods -- usually vegetables, pasta, shrimp or poached eggs -- are cooked in boiling, seasoned water until just done. They are then removed from the boiling water, either with a basket, tongs or slotted spoon, and plunged into an ice-water bath until no longer warm. Contact with the ice water stops the cooking process, which will otherwise continue because of the accumulated heat within the food. Foods that are to be served chilled -- such as pasta salads, shrimp cocktail and vegetable crudites -- are refrigerated until ready to use. Foods that are to be served hot can be reheated by sauteing or by another method. Blanching vegetable such as potatoes and tomatoes and then plunging them into ice water is also an easy way of removing their skins.

Baking is the exact science of cookery, where little things can make a big difference. That's certainly true with pie crusts and other pastry. Using ice-cold water, rather than just cold water out of the tap, helps keep the butter or shortening in a pastry recipe from completely melting while it's being mixed, resulting in a flakier product when baked. To get the water cold enough, just add a few ice cubes to a measuring cup full of water.

There's a corollary principle at work when whipping cream: The milk fat should stay firm rather than becoming warm from the action of the whipping, otherwise it can turn to butter. To facilitate that, chill the cream, bowl and beaters, and place the bowl in a big bowl of ice during the whipping process. This is especially helpful during hot weather.

Ever wonder why seafood markets and restaurants store their products on ice within refrigerated cases? It's because fish and seafood are best kept at a temperature just above freezing, a colder climate than most refrigerators working alone can provide. At home, refrigerate the wrapped fish or seafood on a bed of ice in a tray or container with a lip high enough to catch any water draining from the melting ice. Replace ice and drain water if necessary. Use fish within a day of purchase, or two at most, for best flavor.

Seafood that is served cold -- such as boiled shrimp and fresh oysters -- is also often brought to the table on ice.

When making soup, especially large amounts, it is dangerous to keep it for too long in the temperature zone where bacteria can grow. Refrigerators are not cold enough to quickly chill large volumes of water, and placing a hot pot in the freezer (if there's even room) can partially thaw other foods kept there. The solution is an ice-water bath. For large pots, you may wish to turn your sink into an ice-water bath by stopping up the drain and filling it with ice and water. Chilling the soup also lets you skim the fat off the top.

We'd be remiss if we didn't mention ice's role in one of the world's great drinks, Scotch on the rocks. While the watering-down of melting ice is an unfortunate consequence in most drinks, it turns Scotch into a cool and much more palatable classic for many imbibers.

This brownie recipe from cookbook author Alice Medrich uses an ice-water bath to quickly stop the cooking of the brownies after they're removed from the oven. The promised result is a brownie with a crunchy top and creamy middle.

NEW CLASSIC BROWNIES

8 tablespoons unsalted butter ( 1/2 cup)

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line an 8-inch-square metal baking pan (do not use glass) with foil. Melt butter and chocolate together, on top of a double boiler or in microwave, stirring often until smooth. Stir in sugar, vanilla and salt. Add eggs one at a time, followed by flour. Stir until very smooth, about 1 minute. Add nuts, if using. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare an ice water bath. Fill a large roasting pan with water and ice about 1 inch deep. When brownies are done -- they'll look a bit dry on top -- immediately place pan in water bath. Be sure water doesn't spill over into pan. Add more ice to water if necessary. Allow to cool completely in bath before removing the pan and cutting them. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Makes 16 brownies.

MEXICAN SHRIMP COCKTAIL

1 bunch cilantro

4 medium tomatoes, diced

1 bunch green onions

1 pound medium shrimp peeled (reserve shells)

1 jar clam juice

2 tablespoons ketchup

Juice of 2 limes

Tabasco sauce, to taste

Wash cilantro, chop leaves and discard stems. Mix with tomatoes and onions and set aside. Boil shrimp in clam juice (and enough water to cover the shrimp) until pink. Remove shrimp and plunge into ice-water bath until no longer warm; remove from ice water and refrigerate. Meanwhile, add shells to the liquid and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the liquid and reserve. To serve: In a tall glass, layer shrimp and tomato mixture in several layers. Add ketchup, lime juice and Tabasco sauce (to taste) to the reserved clam liquid. Pour liquid over the shrimp to cover it. Chill until ready to serve.

Source: www.thatsmyhome.com.