An Award from Joy

I'm honored to receive this award from Joy of Desserts for my A to Z of Kitchen Tips series! Thanks so much, Joy.

Want to know what she's talking about? Here are the posts:

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F is for...

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H is for...

I is for...

A to Z of Kitchen Tips: I is for...

Ice Cubes

• For clearer ice cubes, boil your water first.
  
• We all know that ice cubes in beverages can dilute the flavor. Make ice from fruit juices or leftover coffee or tea to keep your favorite beverages cold without becoming watery. How about lemonade ice cubes in iced tea?
  
• Fruit juice and tea ice cubes can add punch to your smoothie recipes.
  
• Make ice cubes of leftover fresh herbs to use in soups, sauces and stews all year round! Just chop herbs, place about 1 tablespoon in each section of your ice tray, fill with water and freeze. Once frozen, transfer herb cubes to a zipper freezer bag for storage.
  
• Don't forget about leftover tomato products! Freeze tomato sauce or paste or even leftover V-8 or tomato juice into ice cubes and store in the freezer for your cooking needs.
  
• If your freezer doesn't have an ice maker, just make ice the old-fashioned way in trays, and empty your trays into a zipper bag, paper lunch sack or other sealable container to make sure you have lots of ice available whenever you need it.
  

Instant Pudding Mix

• A secret weapon in the kitchen! Instead of making with 2 cups of milk for pudding (for a 4-serving size package), prepare with 1-3/4 cups of half and half or heavy cream for a quick mousse. Your guests will never know! Serve in cordial glasses with fruit, coulis or favorite liqueur for an impressive dessert any time of year.
  
• Instant pudding can NOT be made entirely with soy milk, but you can replace half the milk with your favorite soy beverage to reduce fat and punch up the protein.
  
• A box of instant pudding added to any cake batter (from a mix or otherwise) is a delicious way to add extra flavor. For example, a lemon pudding mix added to a regular yellow cake will give a bit of lemony goodness.
  
• Here's a quick & dirty way to prepare your mousse or pudding from instant: pour milk into a large plastic tumbler (you know--the kind you keep around for the husband and kids); insert your immersion blender and sprinkle in the instant powder while pulsing your blender. It'll be combined in no time, with no bowl to clean up! Just cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 5 minutes before digging in!

A to Z of Kitchen Tips: H is for...

Hot Peppers

• By all means, wear gloves when working with hot peppers! There's nothing worse than getting those fiery oils into a cut or in your eyes... believe me, I know. An hour after working with fresh jalapeno peppers, I blew my nose and wiped my eyes and in moments I was in a panic trying to figure out what to do to remove the burn! Sadly, I found no remedy... other than wearing gloves in the future. I even now have a special pair of goggles I wear when working with spicy peppers.

Herbs

• When a recipe calls for dried herbs, substitute 3x the amount of fresh; when a recipe calls for fresh herbs, you can substitute 1/3 the amount of dried.
  
  
• Plant a windowsill herb garden today for fresh herbs anytime!
  
  
• Don't let leftover fresh herbs go to waste! Chop them up (tender stems, too!) and distribute into ice cube trays (about 2T portions), fill with water and freeze. Add to recipes as desired. The water will evaporate away, leaving all the fresh herb's flavor intact. I especially like to do this with parsley and basil--the stalks have a great deal of flavor, and are perfectly fine in soups, stews and italian sauces.
  
  
• When adding dried herbs to a recipe, measure into your palm and rub your palms together over your bowl or saucepan--it helps to release the oils. You'll really smell that herb when you do that!
  
  
• Another dried herb trick: add to sauteeing aromatics for the last 30 seconds--ie, when onion has become transparent. It really brings out the flavor and removes that 'dried' taste. Then add liquids or other ingredients. Not using aromatics? Gently toast dried herbs in a dry skillet over a very low flame.
  

I hope you'll add your H tips in the comments--I'm always looking for new and useful ideas!

Want to read more A to Z of Kitchen Tips?

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A to Z of Kitchen Tips: G is for...

Ginger

- Peel ginger with a spoon to keep waste to a minimum.

- Ginger can be kept in the freezer for extended life; just shred from frozen and add to your recipe.

- Extra peeled, sliced ginger can be kept in your bottle of rice wine vinegar for use in savory recipes.

- If you often use ginger in asian cooking, you can also save sliced peeled ginger in your bottle of soy sauce or teriyaki sauce.

- Prone to motion sickness? Add a sliver to your soda or tea for a refreshing drink that calms a troubled tummy. Or have a ginger snap, piece of candied ginger, or drink some good quality ginger ale or ginger beer.


Garbage Disposal

- Clean your garbage disposal blades by running a few ice cubes in your disposal along with running water.

A to Z of Kitchen Tips: F is for...

• Floors. Hard kitchen floors can be tough on the feet, legs and back when you're on your working in the kitchen. Add lots of cushy throw rugs or rubber mats, especially near work stations to relieve fatigue, or be sure to wear comfortable shoes with slip-proof soles in the kitchen.
  
  
• Fudge. My recipe for jumblefudge is a great quick-and-easy solution using pantry items to keep the kiddies in sweets--but do you know you can also use the same recipe as a coating? Half-dip pretzels, dried apricots, cookies and whatever else your heart desires for easy fudge-coated morsels. Here's the recipe again: in the top of a double boiler,
  or a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, melt together 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk and 2 cups milk chocolate chips; now pour into a pan or use as a coating or frosting.
  
  
• Aluminum foil. A kitchen staple for decades, foil is a necessity in and out of the kitchen. There are literally hundreds of uses for this wonder product—here are just a few:
  
  (a) Make small baking vessels for roasting garlic or baking apples.
  
  (b) Make pan lids suitable for oven or stove-top.
  
  (c) Cover cookie sheets or line various baking pans to make cleanup easier.
  
  (d) Tent your turkey for even cooking and to shield the skin from becoming too brown too fast.
  
  (e) Use a pie-crust shield.
  
  (f) Now I know I'm not the only one who's more than a little grossed-out at the idea of using a public grill for my food--and easy-release or even regular foil is just the right barrier for me! Completely cover grill grates at public parks before cooking your food.
  
  (g) Clean your silver by lining the bottom of a large vessel with a piece of foil, adding baking soda and boiling water and placing your tarnished pieces in the water—the tarnish will slide off your silver and cling to the foil.
  
  (h) Use crumpled foil to clean residue from your grill grate: preheat grill then scrub carefully with crumpled foil (I usually hold it in a pair of extra-long grill tongs and scrub away!).
  
  (i) A large piece of foil under a baking pie or other spill-prone dishes will keep dribbles from burning the floor of your oven.
  
  (j) Use a long crumpled piece of foil to raise meat from the base of your pan while baking to let grease drip off and away. I like to do this with hamburgers or small pieces of steak.
  
  For more great uses for aluminum foil, visit these articles at Real Simple, Reader's Digest and Chabad.org.

A to Z of Kitchen Tips: E is for...

• Eggs. When hard boiling eggs, add 1 teaspoon of salt to your water. You'll find they will peel much easier.
  


• Epicurious.com. The best online recipe source, IMHO.
  


• Ethnic groceries. I have found that ethnic grocery stores are great sources for new and exciting ingredients, as well as an opportunity to find items at a much lower price. When I lived in GA, I used to visit a tiny Jamaican grocery where I could buy pure vanilla extract for under $1 USD, superb-quality and authentic jerk seasoning blends, and a selection of vegetables that were difficult to find at the grocery store, like yucca and plantains. Many ethnic groceries also sell take-out prepared lunches/dinners that are “real deal” cuisine.

A to Z of Kitchen Tips: D is for...

• Dried Fruit - When a recipe calls for raisins, nuts or chocolate chips, you can substitute all or a portion with any dried fruit, such as dates, prunes (okay--dried plums now, aren't they?), apricots, cranberries, cherries. Dried fruit is also wonderful combined with nuts for a quick and healthy snack.
  
• Dark Chocolate - Okay, maybe this isn't a kitchen tip per se. Now I love chocolate in all of its incarnations, but when I'm having a can't-ignore-it chocolate craving, I reach for the dark stuff. And with my current issue with diabetes, chocolate and I--well, we have an illicit love. It's wrong, I know, but sometimes it cannot be ignored. And sugar free chocolates don't always fit the bill--I am a chocolate snob after all. And that's when I reach for a small piece of dark chocolate--the darker the better. It fulfills the craving with only one piece. And then I don't have to eat an entire bag of Lindor Truffles, which jack my sugar up like there's no tomorrow. And we can't have that, can we?
  
• Dessert - No dinner party would be complete without serving dessert, and everyone knows that when going to all the trouble of planning and preparing a meal, the dessert is the piece de resistance. There are many ways you can rise to this added challenge without making yourself crazy. Here are a few ideas:
  
  Paula Deen's Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits - super easy and oh, so delicious, these little biscuits have pleased many of my guests, either for dessert or just a snack with coffee. Pop into the oven just as dinner begins, excuse yourself for the timer 15 minutes later, and let cool until ready to serve.
  
  Any doctored cake mix from a box - I know, I know. Perhaps this is too close to Sandra Lee's plan for entertaining, but in all reality, who doesn't keep boxed cake mixes around the house? Hmm? I do. And there are any number of ways your can use one to make a yummy cake taste like it's homemade, but this is my personal favorite: substitute coconut milk for water, add 1 cup of shredded coconut (I like unsweetened) and 1 tablespoon coconut rum before baking, cool, then glaze with a confectioner's sugar-water glaze (a little added coconut rum in the glaze is nice for adults) and dust with lightly toasted shredded coconut. Delicious--and it fools everyone.
  
  Ice cream is always a great dessert, and comes sugar- and fat-free for those guests with dietary restrictions. I like to serve ice cream in small bowls with a homemade warm topping. And here's where you take the plain and make it your own. How about a drained can of pineapple warmed in a saucepan with a little brown sugar and nutmeg? Or sliced pears sauteed in butter with a handful of dried cranberries and a grating of fresh ginger?
  
  And at the risk of being labelled a grotty pantry-food junkie, I've discovered a quick n' dirty apple crumble in the crock pot that is TO DIE FOR. And this is WAY sugar-heavy, so not for anyone who is diabetic or otherwise watches their sugar intake. Combine 1 box of spice cake mix with 1/2 cup regular-cooking oats, 1 stick of melted butter and a 1-inch piece of freshly grated ginger. Dump three cans of apple pie filling (you could cut this to two and then add freshly sliced apples to thin the super-sweetness of the canned filling, if desired) into the crock pot and top evenly with prepared cake mix. Set to high for four hours and then to low or even off during dinner, depending on your crock pot. Serve hot with vanilla bean ice cream. People will drool over this for weeks. If they don't go into a sugar coma, that is.

A to Z of Kitchen Tips: C is for...

C is for...

• Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce. Added to chili, stews, or anything you want to give a spicy, smoky flavor, they are an indispensible kitchen product when putting together quick meals. Because I don't use a whole can at one time, I spoon leftovers onto a wax paper-lined cookie sheet and put in the freezer until hard, then transfer to a freezer bag for easy use as needed, and no waste. Alternatively, you could freeze in ice cube trays.
  
  
  
• Cornmeal. Sprinkled under bread or pizza crust, cornmeal keeps dough from sticking to your pan during baking.
  
  
  
• Cleaning Copper Pots. To clean rust, soap scum or hard water stains on your copper pots, dip half a lemon in kosher salt and rub well. If that doesn't do the trick, steel wool is your next defense against more agressive stains and rust.

A to Z of Kitchen Tips: B is for...

B is for...

• Breadcrumbs - If you have bread, bagels, rolls or english muffins that you know you won't use before they go stale or moldy, throw them in a bag in the freezer. When you have time, take them out and grate (still frozen) over the large holes on a box grater. Return to the freezer. You'll be able to take out what you need and leave the rest for next time. Unlike meat, bread--and crumbs--can be refrozen. I even like to take some crumbs and mix in some grated parmesan cheese for quick use over italian dishes or for breading chicken.
  
  
• Bananas - If your bananas start to get a little spotty for your taste, just put them in the freezer. They'll turn black within a day, to be sure, but that's alright. They're good for future baking use in muffins and breads.
  
  
• Baker's Grease - For when a recipe calls for greasing and flouring your cake pans, keep a batch of baker's grease on hand in a jar in the refrigerator, made from equal parts canola oil, flour and shortening, beaten with a mixer until blended & fluffy. Paint it onto your baking pans with a basting brush for easy application.

Mrs.W

A to Z of Kitchen Tips: A is for...

I've been cooking full-time since I was fourteen years old. I won't tell you exactly how many years that has been, but suffice it to say a long time! But in that time, I've learned a few tricks around the kitchen.

So I'm going to start sharing my A to Z list with all of you--and I hope that you will offer your tips as well!

To begin...

A is for Apples and Avocados:

• To keep cut apples from turning brown, sprinkle them with a little lemon, lime, orange or grapefruit juice.
  
• Have you ever made guacamole from mashed avocado? If so, have you seen how it can turn an unappetizing grey color upon sitting? To keep your guacamole looking green and fresh, save one of your avocado pits and bury in your guac, then cover the surface with plastic wrap.

Mrs.W