Cooking Tip Thursdays is dedicated to making time in the kitchen quicker, easier, and just plain better…
Rice. Such a simple little thing to make, yet often an overcooked, mushy, burnt bottom of the pan mess. Not to worry – you can have perfectly prepared rice, throw away that boil in a bag stuff, buy in bulk, and save money. It just takes a bit of patience, practice and the occasional foolproof tip. Continue reading
Cooking Tip Thursdays is dedicated to making time in the kitchen quicker, easier, and just plain better…
Smoke Point: the point where a fat or oil breaks down into potentially harmful and possibly carcinogenic materials containing free-radicals. In other words, the point at which an oil has been heated beyond what is recommended, becomes dangerous, and tastes overwhelmingly unpalatable. Unrefined oils, like extra-virgin olive oil, Continue reading
Cooking Tip Thursdays is dedicated to making time in the kitchen quicker, easier, and just plain better…
Have you ever been to a restaurant that served pan-steamed tuna or scallops? No? That’s probably because it sounds about as appetizing as hospital food. Pan-seared on the other hand sounds like a little slice of culinary heaven. Crisp and caramelized on the outside, still tender on the inside, no matter your protein, you can’t go wrong with this cooking technique. While perfectly searing a scallop or piece of tuna may sound daunting, Continue reading
Cooking Tip Thursdays is dedicated to making time in the kitchen quicker, easier, and just plain better…
Salt has many magical kitchen powers – the most common being the enhancement of flavor to food and the extraction of moisture from food. The process in which salt extracts moisture from food, specifically vegetables, is called disgorging. And thank goodness for it as there are a handful of vegetables that can become a watery mess if not salted and drained prior to cooking. The biggest culprits: Continue reading
Cooking Tip Thursdays is dedicated to making time in the kitchen quicker, easier, and just plain better…
Want a meal you can pull off with little fuss and hardly any cleanup? Cooking en papillote, steaming small portions of food in a wrapper, is healthy and virtually foolproof. The idea behind cooking en papillote is to encase tender, mild foods in a wrapped packet (parchment paper, grape, banana or bamboo leaves, cornhusks, aluminum foil, or any other oven-proof material) that will allow the food to become infused with the juices, spices, and herbs surrounding it. As the package is heated, the air inside expands, and the flavors of the ingredients are swept into it, swirling and mixing, Continue reading
Cooking Tip Thursdays is dedicated to making time in the kitchen quicker, easier, and just plain better…
I know what you’re thinking – am I really giving a tip on squeezing lemons? Yes, because unless you have the biceps of Arnold circa 1975, a citrus squeezer will change your life. Ok, so maybe it won’t change your life, but it is one of the handiest and most useful kitchen gadgets out there. With the power to completely drain your citrus, this easy to use timesaver frees your hands from Continue reading
Cooking Tip Thursdays is dedicated to making time in the kitchen quicker, easier, and just plain better…
What defines summer more than the taste of food right off the grill? Well that and the sun hitting your face, a backyard barbecue with friends and family, the smell of suntan lotion at the beach, and an ice-cold beer. But back to grilled foods – which have become synonymous with meat and vegetables. While I never met a piece of barbecued chicken or grilled squash I didn’t like, it’s somewhat predictable. If you’re looking to add a new trick, tip, or tool to your culinary repertoire, try grilling your Continue reading
Cooking Tip Thursdays is dedicated to making time in the kitchen quicker, easier, and just plain better….
What’s worse than biting into an un-ripe strawberry in the dead of winter? It’s not nearly as juicy, sweet, or as easy to digest as a freshly picked, ripe strawberry; it hasn’t reached its full nutritional potential, and chances are it’s been shipped halfway across the country to reach you. Why not take advantage of the fresh, local, and ripe summer produce upon us right now and start freezing your fruit. Freezing fruit, especially berries, not only maximizes the seasons best while at its peak (and cheapest), it maintains flavor and Continue reading
Cooking Tip Thursdays is dedicated to making time in the kitchen quicker, easier, and just plain better….
When you want to add extra depth, crunch and flavor to a recipe calling for nuts, consider toasting them first. Toasting helps to release the naturally occurring oil in nuts, lending an intensified and richer flavor to any dish or baked good. In the case of thin-skinned nuts such as hazelnuts, it also makes removing their skins easier. There are two ways to toast nuts: Continue reading
Cooking Tip Thursdays is dedicated to making time in the kitchen quicker, easier, and just plain better….
Oxidation is a destructive process, for the cells of our bodies and for the structure of our food. Oxidation of fats and oils leads to rancidity, while oxidation of fruits and vegetables causes discoloration – usually a browning or darkening of the flesh. When you cut into a fruit or vegetable the cells are severed, this causes a release of enzymes that when exposed to oxygen in the air create a change in chemical composition. This change in chemical composition is the oxidation reaction. Continue reading
