31 days in the Kitchen--Day 25

Kitchen Tips

So, I didn't have a picture to go with this post, so I will post a picture from two years ago of Traci from Disney World--she was a terrific and funny waitress. I am not sure if she has any kitchen tips, but she will bring you the largest glass of ice tea you have ever seen. I miss Disney World and Traci. Say hello if you go there and see her.

The Kitchen Tips:

A dampened paper towel or terry cloth brushed downward on a cob of corn will remove every strand of corn silk.

A few drops of lemon juice added to simmering rice will keep the grains separate.

A jar lid or a couple of marbles in the bottom half of a double-boiler will rattle when the water gets low and warn you to add more before the pan scorches or burns.

A low-calorie solution for high-fat frying of corn tortillas is to place them in the oven, directly on the rack. Bake at 350 F, to desired crispness. The tortillas will automatically fold over into taco shell form with just a little postioning help.

A lump of butter or a few teaspoons of cooking oil added to water when boiling rice, noodles, macaroni, or spaghetti will prevent boiling over.

A roast with the bone in it will cook faster than a boneless roast - the bone carries the heat to the inside of the roast quicker.

A slice of soft bread placed in the package of hardened brown sugar will soften it again in a couple of hours.

Add a small amount of lemon juice to the artichoke cooking water to retain the color of the artichoke.

Buy several small spray bottles to use in the kitchen, for tasks like moistening pie dough, coating oil on pans, misting salad dressing on delicate greens, or other purposes you might think of.

Check cookies at minimum baking time.

Cookie dough can be frozen up to three months in an airtight container or refrigerated three to four days.

Cookies will spread if your dough is too pliable by allowing butter to get too soft. If your cookies are spreading too much, try refrigerating the dough for a couple of hours before baking.

Don't waste pie pastry scraps ... sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and bake like cookies.

Don't throw out all that leftover wine ... freeze it into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.

Drain deep fried foods on brown paper grocery bags as opposed to paper towels to retain crispness.

Egg shells can be easily removed from hard-boiled eggs if they are boiled in salty water and quickly rinsed in cold water.

For the perfect boiled egg, cover eggs with cold water and a pinch of salt. Bring the water to a full boil. Remove the pan from the heat and cover. Let the eggs sit for 8-9 minutes. Drain the water and place the eggs in ice water to cool and stop the cooking process.

Freeze tomato paste in the can. Open both ends and punch out the paste. Wrap the frozen paste in foil and freeze, then slice off what you need as you need it.

If you have a problem opening jars ... Try using latex dishwashing gloves. They give a on-slip grip that makes opening jars easy.

If you need only 1/2 an onion, save the root half. It will last longer.

I found these tips HERE. Click for more tips. I haven't tried all of these, but will soon. Feel free to share your favorite kitchen tips.