Grilled Brownie
June 29, 2009 - Written by Diana
Last night was our anniversary – and we spent the night alone without any kids, animals, noise – just the two of us spending time together. Tonight, we grilled chicken and had a salad, nothing really special, just a regular family meal. Later I was thinking about the anniversary and realized we didn’t do anything to involve the kids, so I told my husband if he ran out and picked up some ice cream I would quickly assemble a brownie (box mix). Since it’s summer and I hate heating up the house I wanted to try something new and grill it out on the deck .
I lined my cast iron grill pan with foil, sprayed it with some oil, then poured the mix in it. I placed the pan over the two middle burners which were turned on low. The two burners on the outside were on high. It baked rather quickly with the lid down and came out quite nice. When we are camping I bake biscuits and other things over the stove by flipping …
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Barbecue Rubs, Marinades and Sauces – Oh My!
June 26, 2009 - Written by Diana
The other day my friend and I were discussing barbecue and she was troubled because she had rubs but never used them because she didn’t know how. I’m learning a little bit about barbecue, and I’m willing to share my information with you. Add to the conversation and share what you know too.
- Rubs – It’s a dry mix of spices – also sometimes salt and sugars. After you cut away the fat, or if you don’t want it – the skin (I remove chicken skin) and generally prepare the meat, you sprinkle on the rub and give it a little patting or rubbing.
- Marinade – It’s a wet mix of spices, liquids etc, that you let your meat or fish hangout in for a little while before cooking. You can let a marinade sit for a half an hour or even over night. A marinade can be used to tenderize the meat by using an acid and oil. Don’t marinade fish for more than 30 minutes because the acid …
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Cooking Projects
December 7, 2008 - Written by Diana
I think that some days cooking should be the project of the day. I know we think of gardening as a project, or changing the oil, or cleaning the gutters, but some days need to be set aside to accomplish a cooking project. While me may also think of Thanksgiving, or Christmas as a project, and it is, but I’m not referring to that in particular. Making Salsa was one of our projects this year. This weekend my kids are gone, which makes it a little easier. It’s snowing outside and that helps to reinforce that today is a good indoor project day. Turkey Soup
I have a turkey carcass (my sister in law didn’t want it – can you believe my luck). It had some meat on it so I cooked everything in a pot of water. Then strained the broth into another pot, put everything out on pans to cool and removed all the meat. Then I stuck the bones, and skin and everything except the meat, along with onion – quartered, peels and all, plus …
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Turkey Roasting
November 23, 2008 - Written by Diana
Turkey is one of the easiest things to cook, the main problem is taking it out on time so that it stays moist and tender. To that end, pay attention to cooking times and pop up thermometers. Get a meat thermometer and make sure you check the temp with that after the pop up – pops to be sure. - Defrost your turkey. You’ll need to keep it in the fridge for a few days in order for it to defrost. It takes longer with the giblet packet inside, so as soon as you can, take it out. If you didn’t leave enough time to defrost it totally, you will need to submerge your sealed Turkey in a big pot or sink full of cold water. Change the water every 1/2 hour. Whatever you do, put your arm all the way through from one end of the turkey to the other and make sure you get every single one of those giblet parts out.
- Turkey Brining – I talked …
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Turkey Brine
November 15, 2008 - Written by Diana
I think the method of Thanksgiving cooking that is growing the most in popularity is turkey brining. I tried it out on a chicken, and the chicken turned out moist and tender. It has a little bit of a salty taste but not overly so. If you are on a salt free diet, I wouldn’t recommend it, but otherwise, it’s a delicious great tasting way to prep a turkey. The Turkey Brine I used was Spice Hunter Turkey Brine. It contains: Sea salt, brown sugar, dried cranberries, dried apple, garlic, orange peel, juniper berries, Malabar black peppercorns, thyme, rosemary and sage. I wondered if you would be able to taste any of the other flavors in your turkey(chicken) and we could. I didn’t use any other seasonings when I roasted it because I wanted to see what the brine would do to the bird. So without any other seasonings when I roasted it, the chicken was flavorful. I got little bites of flavor here and there that were a delicious addition to the chicken.
Brining the Turkey.
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Winter squash
November 14, 2008 - Written by Diana
My husband and I were at a farmer’s market and he told me that he was outside and a woman came up to him. He said she pointed to the butternut squash and asked if you can eat it. He said yes, but not the skin. She asked him if you peel it and he said yes. I was inside or else I would have given a few more instructions, like maybe cooking would be a good idea since raw winter squash isn’t that tasty. My basic way to deal with squash – quick and easy. Cut squash down the middle, scoop out seeds. Place in a buttered dish or with olive oil in a glass pan and bake at 425 until soft. Peel off skin, or scoop out insides, put back into buttered pan with a little more butter, nutmeg, salt and pepper and bake just a tad bit longer. Delicious. You can cut them into smaller pieces to make them cook faster also.
Another way is to cut off the very top and bottom, slice in half and using a very sharp peeler, or paring knife, peel the skin off, which isn’t easy. Then scoop out seeds, dice and cook in a buttered dish with a little butter and nutmeg.
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Dorm Cooking: 40 Dorm Recipes and Resources
August 12, 2008 - Written by Deb
Yes, I know last week was dorm cooking week but that doesn’t mean there isn’t great stuff to share. There are so many awesome resources and recipes available it would be a shame not to bring them to you here.
I give you 40 Dorm Recipes and Resources:
- College Dorm Fire Safety – Please read this first before attempting to cook in your dorm.
- Cooking in the Dorm – About.com Busy Cooks
- Dorm Room Recipes – The Baltimore Sun
- Dorm Room Dining Tips and Recipes – gwhatchet.com
- Dorm Room Cooking and Recipes – About.com Student Travel
- Beat the’Freshman 15′ with Dorm Room Recipes -udReview.com
- Dorm Room Cheesy Tuna and Noodles – AllRecipes.com
- Sweet Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks – The Eagle Online
- Recipes and Gadgets for Dorm Room Cooking – Parent Dish
- Recipes from the Dorm Room - Student Fitness
- Dorm Room Recipes -Peta2
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Dormerati: Dorm Cooking Tips
August 7, 2008 - Written by DianaMy daughter graduated from high school and is going on to college this month. For the last year we have been asking that gifts for Christmas, her birthday and graduation be centered around what she would need for college. We were trying to mitigate the damage to the bank account and be sensible. I had people ask if that was fair to ask her to give up other gifts and get things that were useful. I discussed this with my daughter and her opinion was that she’d rather get the things she needs and can use. She’s like me. We’re a frugal bunch.
My first best tip for Dorm life is - try the food in the cafeteria. It’s not a bad deal. In most instances you can get all you can eat and they will have a wide selection of foods. Especially get your servings of fresh fruit and vegetables there because fresh fruits and vegetables go bad easily and are expensive. CNN has an article this week that talks about our fridges turning into composters. We have good intentions that sometimes go bad or moldy because of time constraints.
My second best tip is learn how to use a …
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6 Kitchen Knife Safety Tips
July 14, 2008 - Written by Deb
It’s kitchen safety week here at Cookerati. This means that in addition to bringing you the best in food news, tips, recipes and product reviews, we’re going to share a few safety tips as well. Probably the most common kitchen accidents have to do with knives. I nearly severed limbs on more than one occasion, so I know of what I speak. Before you start chopping, slicing and dicing, check out these kitchen safety tips:
1. Make sure your knives are very sharp – The sharper the knife, the easier the chopping. Dull knives go through food with more difficulty upping the odds of your having a mishap.
2. Always lay knives flat on the counter or cutting board when taking a rest from your chopping. Leaving a knife with a blade sticking up or over the edge of a counter or sink is just asking for a hospital visit.
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Deb’s Top 10 Kitchen Must Haves
June 23, 2008 - Written by Deb
While we all have our own ideas about our must-have kitchen gadgets and items, we can all agree on certain items every kitchen can’t do without Some are simple tools, others require a bit of power but they are all needed and useful. Here are my must have kitchen items.
- Wooden spoon – So simple, yet so handy. Wooden spoons stir without scratching. Whether used for stirring drinks or a delicate sauce, there’s one in every kitchen I know.
- A good set of knives – Dull cheap knives won’t do when it comes to kitchen prep. We have a set of Henkels chef knives, which we love. A good, sharp set of knives is essential for every cook.
- Whisk – No, you’re not stirring, you’re whisking. A whisk can froth up scrambled eggs or mix up a batch of pancake batter. It combines your ingredients for a smooth, lump free end result.
- Pots and pans – Everyone argues over what is best. Copper, cast iron, Teflon. We …
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