Does this ever happen to you when your cooking?

Adding salt to your dish is always good but too much salt can be very bad for the palate.  Do you know what to do if you find yourself in this predicament with an averly salted dish?

I know that when this happens there is no way to un-salt the dish but there are a few other things you can do if this happens.  You can first start off with adding more ingredients to the pot.  This will help with the diluting of all the salt added.  you do have to be prepared that your initial dish you were staring to prepare may come out completely different.

A handful of grains or noodles will absorb much of the salt if added to the dish as well as vegetables such as potatoes and onions. If making soup you can always try adding more chicken stock, this will thin out the soup.

Do you have any other tricks to fixing an overly salted dish?

(Image: newyork808/Flickr)

Having enough food is never an option in my house… I think there is always so much more after we all eat Thanksgiving day that everyone can take a doggy bag home.

I know, its insane!

But I know for some of us it is difficult to calculate how much is really needed when planning to host a function.  Here are a few tips that I know will help you on Thanksgiving:

• When it comes to appetizers always make sure that you want everyone to have something to nibble on while they wait for the main course.  At least figure that each person will consume six to eight pieces, that way they are not full but just at the right stage where you know they will consume the lavish feast you’ve been preparing all week!

• Pumpkin soup is always made by my grandmother, so you know its delish!  If having soup as a starter, you can predict that a cup per person should suffice.

• Now for the TURKEY… this is my favorite part! Can’t you tell I’m smiling from ear to ear… It is pretty good to assume that each person will eat a pound each, though that might not be an accurate assumption in my household since we are all GREEDY!  But hey waht can I say we love our Turkey.

• Next, is the tricky part, sides.  Sides can be a little harder to try and narrow down.  It is good to say that 3-4 ounces for vegetable sides, 2-3 ounces for pasta, and 1-1/2 ounces for grains and/or rice should be alright per person.

• Now if your having rolls or biscuits, then you can say 1 to 1-1/2 per person.  Though when it comes to my sister she could eat an entire loaf or a dozen biscuits.  Trust me, she love her some rolls, biscuits, bread of some sorts.

• Now we are at my second most favorite part of the meal… can you guess?  Let me give you a hint, its sweet, decadent, and a perfect ending to a lavish meal.  If you guessed desserts then your right on target.  If your planning on serving a pie of sorts then allot a 3-inch slice per person.  In other words make sure you have plenty!

• Last but not least drinks.  Always make sure that there are enough refreeshments with your meal.  Whether it be juice, punch, water, or alcohol.  The average guests consume roughly one to two 8-ounce drinks per hour.

Do you have any tips that you would like to share with us… please do below!

(Image: Daniel Greene/Flickr)

Who doesn’t love some good old-fashioned fried chicken? Or what about fried anything???

I know me and mine love fried chicken, there’s just something about fried chicken or anything that is thrown in the deep fryer that makes you feel homesick.

For safe and tasty frying tips check below:

• Make sure the oil is at the highest temperature before frying, this will help keep oil absorption to a low level which helps to cut back on fat and calories.

• The optimum temperature for deep frying is mostly between 350ºF and 375ºF.  Check the oil temperature by using a frying thermometer.  Trust me you don’t want to fry without it.

• If you find that you do not have a frying thermometer then don’t fret, you can always check the temperature by dropping a cubed piece of bread into the pot.  If it turns golden brown in 60 seconds then its perfect.

• The best oil to use when frying is peanut oil or canola oil.  It is low in saturated fat, has a high burning point and does not take-away from the flavor of the food you are frying.

Continue below to,

• DO NOT fill the pot more than half-way full.  When food is added to the oil, if too much oil is inside it will cause the oil to bubble over the pot causing an accident and the opportunity of someone to get burned.

• To fry food properly, make sure to give the pieces room to cook.  Which means do not over crowd the pot.  Overcrowding the pot makes the oil reduce in temperature and the food will in turn not cook properly and turn soggy.  Not Yummy!

• Trying cooking pieces of food the same size at the same time, this will have all of the pieces to cook at the same time and be ready together.

• To put out a fat fire cover the pot with lid.  **Did you know that baking soda helps put out a fat fire, well it does**

• If oil begins to smoke that means the oil has burnt and the whole frying process needs to be started again from the beginning.  Discard the oil in a container other than plastic and DO NOT pour it in your drain.

When life hands you lemons make lemonade, well in this case that and a little extra for a kick!

Have extra lemonade on hand make these three quick lemonade cocktail recipes:

• Pink Lemonade Cocktail  Mix 2 cups of Lemonade, 3 (12 ounces) of beer, 3/4 cups of vodka, and ice.

• Lemon-champagne sparkler  Mix 1 cup lemonade, 2 cups Champagne or some other sparkling wine, and 2 tablespoons cranberry juice cocktail.

• Gin shandy  Mix 1 cup lemonade, one 12-ounce bottle ginger beer, and ¾ cup gin.

• Lemonade margarita  Mix 2¼ cups lemonade and ¾ cup tequila. Garnish with lemon rounds.

Image Source

Summer is over, though I see some people trying to hold on for dear life…. 

Give it up its done for this year, but Autumn is here which just totally excites me… YAY!

But for those that are just holding on to summer a little longer a perfect fruit that can help you end summer is the Fig.

These rich tasting bursting with flavor sticky fruit was once looked upon as the forbidden fruit.  Not only was the fig tree a common theme in the Bible, figs were also considered to be sacred to the Egyptians.  They often buried the dead with baskets of figs alongside them.  In ancient Greece, it was written by Plato, himself, that athletes were fed figs to make them stronger.

Huh! I wonder if I can try that out with my son……

There are three common types of figs in the United States: Turkey, Mission, and Adriatic. Turkey figs tend to be larger in size, while the Mission figs are often the sweetest. 

For more…

When shopping for figs, look for firm smooth skins, checking for bruises, always try to avoid figs which feel sticky.  The skin of fresh figs can vary from purple to pink to light brown, no matter what though the flesh inside will always be succulent crimson.  

Remember to store figs in the refrigerator away from being crushed.  Figs are highly perishable, so only purchase them when you know they will be eaten within a few days.  

One would hate for a fig to go to waste.

The beauty with figs are that they can be served anyway from grilled, stewed, baked, eaten raw, made into jam, and baked in pastries and other delicious baked goods.  

That sounds just Yummy…mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

How do you like your figs?

(Images: Xerones/Flickr)

Are you one of those people who tags and bookmarks all types of recipes in your cookbooks or magazines?

I know I am….

If you walked into my kitchen you would find all my cookbooks have either ripped out colored paper or colored sticker bookmarks sticking out of them on every side.

The only bad thing about all my colorful bookmarks is that it doesn’t let me know what categories each of the recipes belong in which is a bad thing.

But check this little nifty creation out…. The Chef Set.

The Chef Set allows you to not only bookmark your favorite recipes but to also be able to see them in different categories (appetizers, meats, vegetables, seafood, and so on).

You can purchase them for $5.95 at Spoon Sisters.

(Image: gtrwndr87/Flickr)

Yom Kippur, the holiest of the Jewish holidays.  It is a day where the central theme is centered on repentance and atonement. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services.

A common way to end the fasting of the important holiday is to gather with family and friends and “break the fast” with a celebratory meal.  The spread usually tends to be light, due to having an empty stomach, such as orange juice, quiches, and other gentle foods.  At the center of the meals, you will always find the traditional bagel spread.

Bagels and cream cheese though is simple and easy to make ahead, why not try to jazz it up a notch with some of these helpful tips and ideas.

• Try to make sure to have an assortment of freshly baked bagels like, sesame, everything, poppy seed, onion, garlic, cinnamon and raisin.  These will make your guests feel so welcomed knowing that there is a range of choices to make.

For more, 

• Try spicing up  cream cheese.  Though regular cream cheese is great and all try chopping up some fresh herbs like chives, tarragon and basil.  Fold the chopped herbs in the cream cheese, goat cheese, or any other soft cheese and smell.  Now that is a great topping for your bagel.

• Always have on hand other spreads.  Try having hummus, egg salads, tapenade, and how can we forget the famous smoked fish platter of lox.

Of all the vegetables that my children will eat at dinner, Broccoli is the one that is pretty much a go and not an argument anymore. The only problem I have now is coming up with different ways to serve them to my kids.  Coming up with different recipes for my children to enjoy these vitamin packed vegetables allows me to try and get creative.

If you feel like you run into this same dilemma let me help you as well.  First, when you buy broccoli make sure to always purchase heads that have firm stalks and tight bright green clusters of buds.  Make sure to refrigerate unwashed broccoli in a plastic bag in the vegetable drawer.  Broccoli has the potential to stay fresh for up to five days.

Here are a few different ways you to can eat and serve broccoli.

  
• Broccoli pesto: Purée cooled steamed broccoli with garlic, toasted pine nuts, grated Parmesan, and olive oil.  Add this easy pesto to pasta, chicken, or use as a dip or a spread on baguettes.

• Broccoli and chicken casserole: Toss broccoli, chopped up chicken pieces, and whole garlic cloves with olive oil. Bake at 400 degrees F until cooked through, 35 to 45 minutes.

• Broccoli dip: Purée steamed broccoli with sour cream and grated Parmesan. Serve with raw veggies.

• Broccoli salad: Toss cooled steamed broccoli with chickpeas, halved grape tomatoes, crumbled Feta, olive oil, and red wine vinegar.

• Broccoli soup: Sauté chopped onion in olive oil. Add broccoli and chicken broth to cover and cook until tender. Purée until smooth.

• Broccoli almondine: Toss steamed broccoli with butter and fresh lemon juice, sprinkle toasted sliced almonds on top.  

• Broccoli quiche:  Bake a pie shell at 375 degrees F. Then combine milk,  shredded cheddar cheese, eggs, flour and salt.  Layer steamed broccoli and mushrooms on top of layered cheese on the pie shell.  Pour milk and egg mixture over all. Bake at 375° for 35 to 45 minutes.

Source

Do you ever wonder what foods you should place in your freezer to keep over time?  While I was researching this subject I cam across this article from Real Simple, stating that the majority of foods that contain a lot of water should not be frozen.  Though I am sure that many of us will place meats and poultry items in the freeze it is always good to remember that their quality will lessen with time.  

However, here are a few examples,  that should never be stored in the freezer:

• Cottage cheese, ricotta, and cream cheese due to its soft consistency and high water content.  When these cheese come out of the freezer and return to room temperature they will become loose and lose its fluffy texture. 

• Shelled eggs, which by common sense is known to be dangerous to your health if consumed after frozen.  Freezing eggs will cause the eggs water content to expand and potentially crack the shell allowing bacteria to seep in.

• Mayonnaise and cream, food emulsions, if frozen will develop large ice crystals that will puncture the cell walls.  When these thaw, they will separate and curdle.

• Fresh water vegetables, such as celery, lettuce and cucumbers can be frozen but when de-thawed they will become soggy and limp.  Not very tasty.

Image: noodlepie/Flickr

Do you wonder how long you should keep that bag of flour or sugar, especially since baking is not your forte?

Having fresh flour on hand when wanting to make your famous pecan pie for thanksgiving that comes around only once a year can be tiresome.  Make sure that your dry baking ingredients are up to par.

Here are a few expiration dates for the following baking staples:

Flour

Replace white flour once a year if it has been stored in an airtight container, in a cool and dry place.  However, for whole-wheat and other whole-grain flours, they should be replaced every six months because of the oils inside that can turn.Whole-grain flour has the tendency to become bitter after a few weeks.  In order to prevent this, place the whole grain flour in the freezer in an airtight container immediately after purchasing it in the store.

Sugar

Sugar does not have to be replaced for two years or maybe longer.  Brown sugar  is a little different, it can be replaced within a year, however, when getting hard it can be microwaved for fifteen seconds.  Make sure to place both in an airtight, moistureproof containers.

Leaveners

Baking Powder should be replaced by the expiration date printed on the can.  Baking soda should be replaced within a year if it’s opened, two if unopened.  make sure to store them in a cool dry place, both react with moisture and can become less stable over time. Do not use the box of baking soda that has been in the refrigerator absorbing odors, it can affect the taste of the foods you bake.

Image: Cafemama/Flickr