Better Home Cooking Basics: #67 Freese Your Bowl & Whisk Before Using Them To Make Homemade Whipped Cream.

’Tis the season for whipped cream. Fresh fruit with homemade whipped cream is simple & sinful all at once. When making whipped cream at home I use 1-2 tablespoons of powdered sugar to each cup of heavy whipping cream. The sugar level really depends on how sweet you want it. One way to make the whipping go faster (especially if doing it by hand) is to freeze the bowl & the whisk (attachment) that you plan to use at least 15 minutes ahead of time. This helps to speed things along when it comes time to whipping. To make the whipped cream simply combine the whipping cream & sugar (if using) & beat the heck out of it with a whisk until it forms stiff peaks. It's quite the arm work out if you do it by hand but you can also employ your trusty mixer too if you're double tasking in the kitchen.

Get more of my better home cooking basics here.

Watermelon Juice

My sister introduced me to Num Pang a delicious Cambodian sandwich shop.  Besides having one of THE BEST shrimp sandwiches I've ever eaten they also have awesome watermelon juice, which my sister (she is in the know about a lot of things) told me how to make.  Turns out you need just 1 ingredient: watermelon. You don't need a fancy juicer, just a blender. I'm pretty sure you could do small batches in a food processor too if you didn't have a blender. I used my immersion blender.

Strawberry Salsa

Happy Memorial Day! Hope you're having a fabulous extended weekend.  What are you making for your bbq? Maybe this salsa?

I love fresh salsas made with fruit (like this mango one I made way back when).  Strawberries are everywhere so I used them for the base of this fresh, quick salsa. 

A new tip I picked up about strawberries is that they will only be as sweet & as red as they are the day you bought them. Most other fruits you can stick in a brown paper bag on your counter for a few days for the fruit ripening fairies to take a visit. Not these guys. If your strawberries are greenish - they'll most likely stay greenish, so opt for the bright red ones instead.

Root Vegetable Stuffing with Fall Fruit

I cannot believe Thanksgiving is next week already, that means time to start planning sides & desserts.  I watched Giada make a version of this stuffing that is both sweet & savory & thought I'd give it a test run before the big turkey day.  I'd say it was a hit, according Chris & me of course.

I love stuffing but I really do not like any type of meat in it - sausage, gizzard, no thanks.  I loved this recipe because it has hearty root veggies plus the sweetness of fall fruit. It's kind of like a dinner cobbler - too savory to be dessert but just sweet enough to make you want seconds.

This particular recipe calls for goat cheese for a tangy extra creamy zing but if you don't like goat cheese (Maggie I know what you're thinking) you can just leave it off, but if you love goat cheese like Chris & me, you're in for a real treat.

Click through for the full recipe (that serves 8-10 people) & photos.