| General Tips
Posted: 11/5/2007 2:56:47 AM | Here's a thread to share your general kitchen tips and tricks. Things that have helped you along the way.
(I did a thread search and there are many 'tips' threads on individual dishes but no general one.)
Here is an ultrasimple one I tried this summer and it worked well. When you have fresh produce, especially small items like a hot pepper and you don't think you'll get to using it soon throw it in the jar with the olives or the pickles.
(I did this with a hot pepper this summer and just used it the other day where it otherwise would have gone bad. Now my green olives had a plesant kick to them!)
Onions work well and because they are now basically pickled onions they go great on sandwiches. Slice the onions. Next I have to try green peppers in the olives, of course they'll need some cutting to fit, but the end result should taste and look good.
Defrosting meat -- This is always a problem and a hassle if you are not totally prepared ahead of time and with busy lifestyles we all can use this kitchen tip. Once I asked some one if that Miracle Thaw Tray as seen on tv was worth the $20. They told me it was a "miracle of marketing" and it was essentially just an aluminum tray with some ridges added. So now when I need something defrosted quick I put it in the aluminum cake pan. Flipping it speeds it even more but it is drastically quicker than air-defrosting.
Try it, you will not be sorry.
The aluminum pan defrost works great on burgers, chops, and chicken breasts. Anything that isnt too thick. Just place it on the counter in an oversized aluminum pan, preferably unwrapped. But if you do leave it wrapped place the front side in contact with the pan. The thermal conduction of just room temp air makes the whole aluminum pan act like a giant heatsink to make defrosting quicker.
I also recently got a present of a pasta roller and I am really tempted to try to put it to use to make lefse, flatbread, and maybe even perogi dough. I'll tell you how it goes!
What's your kitchen tip?
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| General Tips
Posted: 11/5/2007 3:45:13 AM | This is a great idear.........
when using butter to cook with in a frying pan put a few drops of olive oil with it. this will keep it from turning brown and burning. of course if you go real high heat your asking for it.. haha....
keep this thread going. i think it is great....
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| General Tips
Posted: 11/5/2007 5:14:03 PM | dethaw is actually a verb and means to liquify or to soften. So yep, it's a real word.
Anyway. tips. before a mod wallops me..
quickie silver cleaner and this works on ANY silver, and don't use it, if you are wanting to keep the oxidation in the crevices.
Deep dish pan, layer of foil in the bottom, dump baking soda in it, then pour boiling or near to boiling water over it, and then the silver, let it set.
hamburger. I get it in bulk. 5-20 lbs depending on how ambitious I am.
Take 1 gallon freezer bags, put enough hamburger in to pound into a single layer and still close the bag, freeze. you do need a flat surface to initially freeze these, but once they are frozen they stack or can be put against the wall or whatever. they are real slick if you are in a hurry.
I keep the marinade from artichokes, and toss in cubed feta cheese fridge it and let it set for a day or so and use it on salads. | |
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Posted: 11/5/2007 5:37:02 PM | Not sure if they are available in America, but for British readers;
If you are making a cheesecake then use half and half Ginger Nuts/digestives for the base to add a slight spiciness. This works great with a Bailey's and Cointreau topping for a special occasion | |
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Posted: 11/5/2007 6:04:16 PM | | An old favourite kitchen tip for me is to put paper towel into travel coffee cups, thermos, etc.when storing them in the cupboard... Keeps them from acquiring funky tastes.....hmmm maybe other people don't forget their coffee cups half full in their car for days....but for those who do, this works. The other one is to fill the thermos with hot water for a few minutes then dump and fill with hot beverage. | |
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Posted: 11/5/2007 6:50:10 PM | RE: Thawing meat on the counter: In theory it's OK , if> (in some instances : - if you're going to cook the food immediately after it's thawed, or , just as it has thawed, and still cold) but, thawing food in the aluminum pan & or on the counter at room temperture, is NOT the best and SAFEST way to thaw food. If you want to thaw it in a safer manner in your kithcen, put it under cold running water. Certainly it will somewhat effect the texture of the meat, but it's the safest way to do it, if you must do it with speed.
The safest way to prevent food poisoning of food, (especially from chicken, fish & pork), is to thaw meats in the refrigerator. Stay healthy, think ONE or two days ahead, and put it in the frig., so it can thaw while still cold, instead of taking a chance on becoming sick.
Remember this : there are two tempertures to remember to keep food at to keep it from spoiling and to prevent bacteria growth:
Maintain cold food at 40 degrees F or below, or above 140 degrees F. Bacteria cannot live at these tempertures. Think about it: our body temps are about 98.6 right? Room temperture varies between 60 & 80 degrees . These are perfect temps for food to spoil at. So, keep it hot, or keep it cold!
Bon appetite! and above all, keep it simple! | |
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Posted: 11/6/2007 8:29:38 AM | Forget to take meat from the freezer for dins....use the defrost cycle on the microwave!!!!!
Never, ever leave meat out on the counter to thaw, especially uncovered as it appears the OP was suggesting...you can kill the whole family!!! Of course, perhaps that was the OP's intention in putting forward the idea.....perhaps he just dislikes everyone in this forum and wants us all to die of food poisoning. | |
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Posted: 11/6/2007 10:18:18 AM | Such the opposite is true because by dethawing meat on the aluminum pan it is ready to use quickly thus eliminating danger. I'm not talking an all day counter thaw here, I'm talking about 20-30 minutes MAX while one is chopping veggies or prepping other veggies or while one hops in the shower. Sometimes I just do it for 5-10 mins. This is well under the two hour time window the gov agencies tell us about leaving food at room temp, in fact it reduces it compared to normally but somehow you have to get your meat to a more suitable temp prior to cooking. I'm trying to both keep you safer while utilizing what you already probably have available to you and give you the best results possible in your kitchen. If you've ever read my advice in any other cooking thread I should think you'd have to be blind not to notice that.
Forget to take meat from the freezer for dins....use the defrost cycle on the microwave!!!!!
Never, ever leave meat out on the counter to thaw, especially uncovered as it appears the OP was suggesting...you can kill the whole family!!! Of course, perhaps that was the OP's intention in putting forward the idea.....perhaps he just dislikes everyone in this forum and wants us all to die of food poisoning.
The WORST meat I have ever had I saw my sister use the defrost cycle in the microwave. I know it was a reputable brand and saw it come straight out of the freezer with my own two eyes and into the nukerwave only to reek like bacteria burgers after awhile. Now if I can smell the bacteria you know its bad, but to be polite I kept my mouth shut as I knew it was most likely safe even if it was nearing the danger zone. I have never used the microwave thaw mode for meat -- it is beyond awful.
You know how those things work to thaw? They overheat the outside, into your dangerous 140F zone and then they cycle off(this is why the light always gets brighter AND dimmer in them, often) to let the now OVERHEATED sections into the still ice cold rock hard sections of the meat. Now maybe it is technically safe but I do not like the results. I feel like it pre-rots the meat as if it spent a week in the frig! The quality is just not there anymore.
OK. I will add a qualifier to my first post -- If you do not use the meat by 40 minutes then stick it back in the refrig. Happy? | |
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Posted: 11/6/2007 10:45:29 AM | With the greatest of respect OP, your original post did not say anything about how long the meat would be out in this contraption....you failed to explain how it worked and if some of us were of the opinion that it sounded like the meat was exposed for a long time....well geez....how were we to know?
With respect to your sister's meal that you seemingly thought was not much better than dog food (it is considered polite to not dump on others who invite you for a meal even if their cooking is not up to your exacting standards), perhaps she was thawing meat that was not as fresh as it could have been when it went into the freezer...that can happen.
Do you think that the food police in any country would allow a microwave manufacturer to put a defrost cycle on a microwave if it was considered dangerous? Here in Canada, there would be warning stickers galore and a whole section in the instruction booklet on why you should never thaw meat in the microwave. I am sure that in thousands of homes this is a daily occurence.
There was no intention whatsoever on my part to "attack the OP". Perhaps you have a thin skin or feel persecuted....sorry....not my problem. | |
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Posted: 11/6/2007 1:21:21 PM | | I always struggle with opening up a bag of spaghetti! Take the package and slam it down on the counter. The seal breaks open and voila! Saw this on Jamie's Nekky Chef show! | |
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Posted: 11/6/2007 3:38:35 PM | I've exposed my meat for extended periods of time and never had a problem with bacteria... | |
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| General Tips
Posted: 11/6/2007 11:13:03 PM | Make this a house rule, punishable by eviction if necessary:
Never leave sharp knives in the sink.
First is the obvious safety factor, however second is the damage that plates and pots can do to the edges. | |
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Posted: 11/6/2007 11:20:08 PM | ^^^Agreed, and never point up in the dish rack!
I remembered another one: Green peppers seem to go bad quickly for me so often I might have started a dish thinking I had it on hand and when I go to use it I realize the green pepper really needs to see the inside of the trash can.
So in a pinch sweet hungarian pepper is a decent replacement, flavorwise, for green pepper.
Works good in spaghetti sauce and most italian dishes the flavor is pretty close to having the real fresh green pepper, it's certainly better than nothing at all! | |
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Posted: 11/7/2007 4:04:34 AM | Some things are just better at room temperature! | |
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Posted: 11/7/2007 10:02:49 AM | | Silicone basting brushes are excellent for the BBQ. Usually have to handwash the brush end that comes off as the dishwasher doesn't seem to get it clean. Anything silicone for the kitchen is excellent. The spatulas work so well for moving things around as for a stir fry. | |
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Posted: 11/7/2007 7:19:32 PM | Peppermint green tea= Green tea packets + boiling water + a few drops of peppermint extract... it works great and it helps with colds and such
Do you have kids that don't like to eat their veggies?= Get eggplant and cut it up into one inch strips, you can do zucchini, carrots, celery, parsnips, green/red peppers, etc but you need to shred that stuff or cut it up small. Eggplant is great in the sense that it can soften and become a part of the sauce as opposed to being its own entity lol Anyways as all this stuff cooks it sort of disintegrates into the sauce which means the kids won't be able to pick it out and say ewww whats this I'm not eating it blah blah blah. If you want to put leafy greens like spinach or kale in there too then please do me a favor and make it into a thinner than pesto consistency by blending it in the blender with olive oil, salt and pepper... Adults you can add parmesian cheese to this and pine nuts (i like almonds) and some basil and mix it with ur fave pasta yummy! Seriously... anyways this works I got the pickiest eater in the world to eat my veggie lasagna and ask me if he could have seconds lol... I promise hiding it works and if you don't have time to shred everything than just toss it into a food processor- works the same :D Now you have an excuse to use it hahaha | |
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Posted: 11/7/2007 11:27:08 PM | This works for banana's, avocado's and tomatoes.
If they are not quite ready, say still green or hard you can put
them into a couple of plastic bags.This will trap the gases
coming from any of the three items put inside the bag's.
These gases will ripen these items quiker, for even better results,
place bag near a heat source making the process even quicker.
All hail the green banana! | |
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Posted: 11/8/2007 2:24:49 AM | OP, what a cool idea about storing certain produce in the 'pickle' jar, to extend their longevity.  And from your later post, lol, you've got me wanting to try that experiment with green peppers as well now, since I've run into the same problem as you before, thinking I had them on hand when they'd already 'gone'. It wouldn't be the same taste, but, dammit...I'm gonna try that now! lol
I don't suppose this is really a 'tip' per se, but since we have cooks of varied experience in the recipe forums, from beginners to pros, so for what it's worth, in the past when I've found myself stretching my budget dollar a bit thin in buying groceries, and had to buy less-expensive cuts of meat...then marinate, marinate, marinate! and the oil-base will help make a (cheaper, less-tender) cut of meat much more tender. Or, especially if it's beef, do a long, slow simmer to achieve the same results.
Umm...the dethaw/thaw thing....can't we just enjoy the recipe forum for what it is? It was probably just a slip of the tongue (or the fingers in typing) I would imagine....thaw--defrost---hence dethaw....let it drop, k?  This is a good thread, let's not ruin it. :) | |
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Posted: 11/8/2007 4:04:43 AM | on the banana trick above, if you also put unripe bananas in the fruit bowl next to oranges, they seem to ripen quickly.
But my kitchen tip is to those with stainless steel cookers, stoves, hobs and extractor hoods..
Once u have washed them down after cooking and dried them.... get a cotton wool ball add a few drops of baby oil and then wipe the surface of the steel... it comes up streak free and like new. It also helps to stop cooking spills from sticking, the next time you use the stove / hob.
Plus the fact it smells nice too... | |
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Posted: 11/8/2007 4:36:15 AM | Thanks, sweetness-one. (What a great looking all white pooch in your pics, btw.)
It wouldn't be the same taste, but, dammit...I'm gonna try that now! lol
After doing that a few times I started getting a taste for it and I realized I really like paprika. Plus it's entirely under rated in our culture. You can make whole sauces with next to nothing and 2 T of paprika. I mean truly delicious sauces!
I later discovered it is also really what sets off good french dressing so now I make my own(I gave the recipe in some other thread some here) and I boost the 1/2 tsp Paprika to as much as a tablespoon! It just makes it all that much better and still does not overpower the salad greens.
Of course it is that yummy flavor that also makes Hungarian Ghoulash what it is. 
We maybe don't think of spices as affecting our nutrition directly but maybe we should start! Check this out:
This food is very low in Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Thiamin, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Copper and Manganese, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Iron and Potassium.
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c203C.html
Tip on handling fresh garlic
Even though I've bought the swiss made expensive garlic crusher I find it easier to take care of a single clove by smashing it with the bottom of the nearest coffee mug or glass jar. The peel pulls away easily then and its almost half chopped.
The side of the cleaver works well, too, but be careful.
To get it off your hands, the garlic smell, run under cold water with a stainless steel tablespoon. Rub the spoon around your fingers as if it were a bar of soap. This works with other smells, too. | |
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