For the Foodie in Each of Us (and even those that just need a little extra help in the kitchen)
November 03, 2006
I am a gourmand.
There. I said it. I love food. I love cooking. I love chocolate and chicken and chives, though perhaps not mixed together.
I often find myself daydreaming of hosting my own daytime television show on the FoodTV network, of driving with Rachel Ray in a Chrysler convertible on our way to find the next best place to film $40 a Day, of sampling foods and discussing what spices have been added to produce such a unique flavor.
Simply put, I love to cook.
With the holidays quickly approaching I thought it might be appropriate to unveil a new section of this site for the food lover in each of us. Each week I'll be highlighting my favorite recipes and foods from around the world and in my kitchen. You can use the "Search" feature in the side bar or check out the Gourmand category (also: a Gourmand section coming to a Side Bar near you soon!).
I recently found a list of Unusual Kitchen Tips. The list was so intriguing to me that I feel obligated to share it. I'm also curious whether you are holding a well-kept kitchen secret, and if so, the Internets must know what your secret is. (* * * CONTEST ALERT * * *)
Tired of veggies rotting before you can use them?
Before storing fresh vegetables in the refrigerator (like celery, peppers, onions or lettuce), wrap them several times with slightly damp paper towels - it will at least double the life of the vegetable or fruit and keep them as fresh as the day you bought them (sometimes for weeks!).
Barbequing: Now with more aroma!
Add a touch of exotic flavoring to your grilled food by placing fresh herbs on your coals. I like rosemary or dried basil seedpods. As the coals heat up, the aroma will cling to your food and send a pleasing fragrance through your yard.
Gwen Stefani said it best, "B-a-n-a-n-a-s"
Ever heard of Grilled Banana Splits? Place whole, unpeeled bananas right on the grill and cook them for about eight minutes, turning often. Slice the banana open and top with sauce (I like fudge or caramel) (or both) and/or ice cream (garnish with sliced almonds and a couple of cherries – fresh or maraschino).
Head to your local hardware store
If you insert a nail (a nail about 5" long works well) into one end of a potato, it will conduct heat to the inside and bake you potato more quickly. Some retailers even sell spud spikes, which is basically the same device as a nail. (Note: not for microwave use.)
Sticky cheese grater?
If you place your cheese grater in the freezer for several minutes before grating, cheese won't stick to the metal. If you want to grate a soft cheese (like brie or feta), try putting the cheese in the freezer for an hour to help it harden. Hard cheeses shred better.
Save your eggs from a crackup
Save energy and make perfect hard-boiled eggs. Use a pot with a tight lid, cover your eggs with water, add a pinch of salt, and bring to a rolling boil. As soon as the water is boiling rapidly, turn off the heat and allow the pot to stand, unopened, for 10 minutes. This allows the eggs to finish cooking without cracking and breaking. (Personally, I still like to include an egg timer. But that's only because I'm anal. Cooking eggs this way helps me because I am unapologetically forgetful.
Take the cling out of your wrap
If you store your saran wrap in the freezer, it will unroll and tear more easily, and it won't stick to itself until it thaws out. If you have trouble making it stick to the bowl, moisten the outer edge of the bowl. Or, you could cheat and just buy Press 'n Seal, one of my favorite kitchen products.
Cold corn for hot popping
Store microwave popcorn in the freezer to keep it from getting stale. This will also reduce the number of those irritating unpopped kernels when you pop it. But it won't do anything about the tiny pieces that get stuck along your gums. Two words: dental floss. It makes mouths happy.
Frosting that's easy as cake!
Out of frosting for your cupcakes? Don't fret. Plop a marshmallow on top of each cupcake a minute or so before they're due to come out of the oven. Voila! Instant gooey frosting. (Perfect for people like me, who rejoice at the site of marshmallows.)
- Do you have unusual hints or tips? Leave them in the comments section. The most useful suggestion wins a prize from the Storage Closet O' Goodness. The Winner will be announced will be Wednesday, November 8, 2006. (No excuses - this gives you plenty of time to ask friends for kitchen tips!)
Don't have any hints or tips? Check back often. Someone's bound to leave a comment that you find useful.
- For the past several months I have wanted to start a new food-related blog. I've already purchased a couple domains, but am not satisfied with either. Therefore: the best domain name suggestion (the URL must be available for me to purchase) for the new site wins a free blog re-design!
Find great products to enhance your kitchen such as a new kitchen cart or how about a kitchen island? We have the best collection of kitchen carts and kitchen islands on the Internet at KitchenSource.com.
Technorati: food, foodie, recipe, recipes, kitchen, cooking, Baking, cuisine
Comments
Nice. Question: Who has a hard time getting feta to crumble?
Tips: Two for cutting onions-
1. Don't cut the root of the onion and it won't irritate your eyes (as much)
2. If you get all weepy anyway while cutting onions, stick your head in the freezer for instant relief.
Posted by: mikee | November 3, 2006 01:01 PM
Good question, Mike. Feta crumbles and smooshes oh-so-easily.
Answer: It was an example of a soft cheese. If anyone, anywhere, wants to shred feta, know that it CAN be done. (May cause difficulty and frustration among new users.)
Posted by: jes | November 3, 2006 01:06 PM
eat-that.com
or
eat-th.at
Posted by: Jenn | November 3, 2006 01:50 PM
I had no idea you were such a cook! I love all these little tips. Since I have about a snowball's chance of supplying good cooking tips, domain names it is! But not quite yet ... I'll have to put some thought into this. :)
Posted by: my life is brilliant | November 3, 2006 02:16 PM
Ok, doing something for a free design suddenly is a lot of pressure and now I'm at a loss and not feeling very creative. But I will grovel and pay actual money for a design. Which is less free, but still groveling, dude, groveling.
Posted by: Heather B. | November 3, 2006 03:39 PM
OMG1 Food! i love food and cooking and making special meals... oooo... I made cream of mushroom soup from various mushrooms like Miitake and whatnot this past week and for $12 of ingrediants, i had soup all week for what I WAS paying $3 a day for. Some savings if not much :)
So my tip.. hmm... you know if you want to entertain and are looking for things to prepare in advance and are going to make a salad.. or if you are going to bring a salad to a pot luck? You can make it ahead of time up to two days and put them in ziplock bags and squeeze ALL THE AIR out of the bag and it will store in the fridge.
Posted by: Julianna | November 3, 2006 04:47 PM
A few tips off the top of my head...
1. Want to fill deviled eggs and make 'em look fancy but you don't have a fancy pastry bag thing (I have no idea what they are called)... just snip fill a large ziploc bag with the egg yolk mixture, snip off a bottom corner of the ziploc bag, and squeeze egg yolk mixture out directly into the hard boiled egg white. Viola! Beautiful Deviled eggs. Works great on cakes too... but with frosting instead of egg yold mixture.
2. Need to grease a pan? Want to use real butter instead PAM? Place hand in plastic sandwich baggie. Place a pat of butter in the pan to be greased. Use plastic baggie covered fingers to smoosh the butter all over the pan - don't forget the corners of the pan!
3. Chewing gum while cutting onions seems to keep me from crying. I have no idea why.
4. Put some ketchup (in addition to the the little packet of taco seasoning) in the pan as you cook taco meat. Makes meat moist and delish!! I have no idea why.
5. Cookie dough will roll into MUCH neater balls if you stick it in the fridge for an hour or so before you try to work with it.
hmmmm, ok, that's all I gots for now... I'll probably be back with more!
Posted by: Courtney | November 3, 2006 08:10 PM
The site delishdish.com has expired and is pending renewal or deletion.
Does that mean it's available??? That would be SUPER cute!
Posted by: Courtney | November 3, 2006 08:12 PM
I've got to tell you I like Chez Chirky - but since you made that up, not me, I'll have to think on this because I WILL DO ANYTHING FOR HELP MAKING MY BLOG LOOK PRETTY since I'm HTML illiterate. Salt water taffy anyone? Anyone?
Hints - you know that apple/peeler/corer/slicer thing from Pampered Chef and how apples sometimes stop half way through and you curse the apple and throw it across the room? No? Just me? Ahem...freeze the apple for 10 minutes first and it works every time. Even with soft apples.
Bananas on the grill - even better, an old girl scout recipe called banana boats, slit the banana down the middle, (leave peel on), insert chocolate chips, marshmallows, coconut, whatever you like, press sides back together, wrap whole thing in tin foil and grill for a few minutes. Unwrap and eat out of the skin or dump whole thing on a bowl of ice cream. Instant banana split.
I'll think of more and I'LL BE BACCKKK
Posted by: Anonymous | November 3, 2006 08:51 PM
Shit, I didn't mean to be Anonymous. I'm a dork. It's me!!
Posted by: CPA Mom | November 3, 2006 08:51 PM
I was watching Nigella the other day (so she must get credit, although she got the tip from her Mum, I think) and she said that when she boils an egg she drops a match in the boiling water. I believe it stops it from cracking.
Shit. Now I'm hungry for a soft boiled egg and toast.
Loving the hints!!
Posted by: Marmite Breath | November 3, 2006 11:53 PM
Love all the hints!
When making a dinner that is asian-inspired, I add a couple tablespoons of rice wine vinegar to the water the jasmine rice cooks in and cook as usual. Caution: Less IS More on this one!
Or if you are making basmatic rice to serve with salmon, toss in a couple fresh lemon slices as the rice comes to a boil, then cover and cook as usual. You can easily remove the lemon after the rice is cooked. And voila, extra special rice.
Posted by: Juliness | November 4, 2006 08:04 AM
Hmmm...all I've got for a helpful hint has nothing to do with food. Well. I guess it sorta does.
If someone has stunk up your bathroom (because you KNOW it wouldn't be you) then light a match by the offending toilet (I sure hope the smell is from the toilet!) and blow it out after a couple of seconds to rid the smell.
Posted by: Jenn | November 4, 2006 04:51 PM
OKAY. I do have an actual helpful hint!
Soak a small piece of cedar wood plank in water. Place the plank on the grill and then your uncooked, boneless salmon directly on top. Let it smoke on the grill 25-35 min and you'll have a perfectly cooked, delish salmon!
Posted by: Jenn | November 4, 2006 04:57 PM
A Tip: After cutting onions, get that smell off your hands by rubbing them on your aluminum sink, or even a piece of foil. It only takes a second and you're rid of that naaasty onion smell on your fingers.
Posted by: Jayleigh | November 4, 2006 07:22 PM
Baking tip: Mix up your favorite cookie dough, form the dough into balls or disks (whatever you do for that particular recipe), lay them out on a cookie sheet, and pop them in the freezer. Once they are firm, throw them in a freezer bag, and now you have ready-to-bake cookies!
Posted by: Tartine | November 6, 2006 11:32 AM
jessecipe.com or jessicipe.com
Posted by: Susan | November 6, 2006 11:34 AM
Parchment paper really works under your cookie dough balls. It makes for a moist cookie with a crispy edge.
To enhance the flavor of homemade tomato sauce add a pinch of sugar.
Just found this site...like all the good tips!
Posted by: Steff | November 6, 2006 04:01 PM
Tip #1: When a recipe calls for cooked chicken, drop boneless skinless chicken breasts into a large pot of boiling water. When the chicken turns completely white on both sides, take a piece out with tongs and cut through the middle to make sure it's no longer pink. Remove the rest of the chicken, let it cool on a plate, and then shred or chop according to the recipe.
Tip #2: When a recipe calls for canned diced tomatoes, drain the liquid in the can, then fill it up with water and drain it again, repeat until the water runs clear. You rinse away the salt and citric acid used in the canning process, and the tomatoes will have a naturally sweet taste in your sauce. No sugar necessary!
Posted by: Elizabeth | November 6, 2006 10:05 PM
I MEANT stainless steel sink. And I'm sure they don't make stainless steel foil. I was having a brain cramp that day. :-)
Posted by: Jayleigh | November 6, 2006 11:05 PM
Here are my two:
1. If you scorch the bottom of a pan of food while cooking, stop up your sink and run enough cold water to fill the bottom (1 inch or so). Sit the hot pan of food in the water and you will hear a hissing sound. Somehow this "sucks" the scorched taste out and most of the food will taste fine (don't scrape the burned bits off the bottom of the pan). This really works!
2. To quickly dice tomatoes or onions in relatively uniform pieces: Make evenly-spaced cuts in rows in one direction on the surface, cutting to about halfway through the onion or tomato. Cross those cuts with evenly-spaced rows, cutting to the same depth. Turn the veggie on its side and slice. Once you get to the halfway point, cut your rows again and finish slicing. Presto!
Posted by: Lorie | November 8, 2006 09:09 AM
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Posted by: Rijoy | December 26, 2006 07:11 AM