Better Home Cooking Basics: #71 Cool Down Summer Drinks with Frozen Fruit Instead of Ice.

If you didn't know - summer is here! I'm keeping cool with ice cold drinks except I'm swapping out traditional ice cubes for frozen fruit. Lately, I've been really into filling my glass with frozen strawberries, mango & peaches & then pouring a can of limonata (a fizzy lemonade) on top of all that goodness. As the fruit defrosts it adds more flavor to the limonata & cools it down at the same time. Then at the end I have a nice fruit cocktail to snack on. Plus, it looks really pretty.

I also use frozen fruit in my smoothies. That means I skip the ice cubes all together & just blend up frozen fruit. It adds flavor without watering it down. I'd opt for smaller sized fruit when making smoothies. Larger pieces like peach segments should be cut in half as they can sometimes get stuck in the blender & don't chop up as evenly as small chunks of mango would.

PS: Frozen fruit also works like magic for wine & cocktails. Try frozen grapes in your favorite glass of white wine or prosecco.

How are you staying cool this summer?

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Better Home Cooking Basics: #69 Top Your Ice Cream with Spices to Add More Flavor (Not More Fat!).

It's ice cream weather! While hot fudge, whipped cream & extra sprinkles all offer extra deliciousness to everyone's favorite summer treat they also add extra calories. Today, I'm asking you to put down the typically delicious & caloric toppings & visit your spice rack instead. Spices aren't just for cooking any more. You can jazz up any kind of ice cream with spices which means more flavor without added fat! Keep reading for my ice cream & spice pairing suggestions.

Better Home Cooking Basics: #68 Revive Whipped Cream that has been Over-Whipped with a Couple Splashes of Cream.

If you're multitasking while preparing whipped cream from scratch you might opt to use an electric mixer & you may just over whip your cream making it resemble a texture more like churned butter than light & airy whipped cream. If this happens to you don't toss it! Simply add a couple splashes of cream back into the mixture & whip it back into shape & you'll have light & airy whipped cream in no time.

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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.

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Better Home Cooking Basics: #64 Store Asparagus Like a Bouquet of Flowers in the Fridge.

Lately, I’ve been giving tips on how to store your produce & I’m keeping with the theme this week because after all you can’t cook with produce gone bad. It’s supposedly asparagus season (read: it should be on sale). So in hopes to make your asparagus & dollars last longer I give you this tip today: store you asparagus like a bouquet in the fridge.

If you do plan to store your asparagus for a few days after you get it home, trim a small amount from the bottoms of the stalks with a sharp knife & place them in a tall glass/container/jar with a little water in the bottom. Cover the top loosely with a plastic bag, & store in the refrigerator. This will keep the stalks firm and crisp until you are ready to cook them. (I stored mine for a day without the plastic & it still kept them fresh.)

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Better Home Cooking Basics: #51 Choose Citrus Fruit that is Bright , Smooth & Shiny in Texture & Feels Heavy.

The other day I was using a microplane to zest the limes that I was substituting for lemons to make chimichurri sauce. After collecting all the zest I needed, I cut the limes in half to juice them. Two out of the three were juicy & provided lots of juice for my sauce. However, the third one was dry & pulpy with virtually  no juice to offer. That stuck with me & I headed to google to figure out how I could prevent this dehydrated citrus fiasco in the future. What I found seems like it should be common sense but it wasn’t to me (at first) so I’m sharing it with you.

When shopping for citrus here are the three things you want to look for:
Is it bright in color? If it’s a lemon is it bright like the sun? if it’s  lime is it really green?
Is the texture smooth & shiny?  If not throw it back & look for a one that is.
Is it heavy? Bigger is not always better but heavier is. The heavier the piece of citrus fruit the more juice it’s bound to have in side.

Do you have any tips for selecting the best fruits & veggies? Please share in the comments below!

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Better Home Cooking Basics: #46 Use Baking Ingredients at Room Temperature for the Best Results.

Temperatures are dropping &  that only means one thing - more baking to heat up the house of course.

My mom always said to use ingredients like eggs & butter for baking at room temperature. I've seen it written in cookbooks & heard foodies on tv repeat it too. But why? What difference does it make? I'm sure my mom told me but I really did not remember (punky kid).  I looked it up. It makes a big difference. If all your ingredients are at room temperature they'll bond together better & in turn trap air so then when it bakes the air inside expands resulting in light, airy baked goods! Knowing this now I will do my best to bring all my baking ingredients to room temperature because hey I like light & fluffy baked yummies. (This goes for pancakes too guys!)

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Better Home Cooking Basics: #44 Reheat Pancakes in the Toaster & then 30 Seconds in the Microwave.

If you've ever made too many pancakes (like I did on Saturday), this tip is for you. I don't like to throw food out & find leftovers are a great time saver but sometimes when you're reheating them in the oven they get dried out or get too mushy in the microwave.

To reheat pancakes I've found that the best balance for reheating them is a combo of using the toaster (hopefully your pancakes aren't larger than a piece of bread & if they are cut them in half & work in batches) & then microwaving them for 30 seconds. That way they still have a slightly crispy outside but the inside is still moist.

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Better Home Cooking Basics: #42 When Roasting Veggies Create Space between Pieces, Don’t Overlap them.

I've definitely mentioned this time in recipes past but I thought I'd call it out again since the temperatures in the North East have begun to drop & cranking the oven on is starting to sound like a great idea.  Roasting veggies is a great (not to mention easy!!) way to cook your veggies. Cut your veggies up into equal sized pieces. Toss them with olive oil & season with salt & pepper. Then lay them out on baking sheets without overlapping or creating layers. You want just one layer so that the outsides crisp up & the insides are soft & tender.  If you run out of space on your baking sheet, use another one. If you don't & you opt to over lap you veggies might not cook at the same rate & they'll be missing that caramelized crunch on the outside.

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Better Home Cooking Basics: #38 Ripen Tomatoes on the Counter in a Paper Bag.

To keep with my tomato-loving posts this week, I figured I'd share the tip from my mom on how to ensure ripe tomatoes at home. If you bring home less than red tomatoes pop them in a paper bag (sometimes they'll give you brown paper bags at the farmers market - take them). Sit them on your counter for a day or two et voila you will have ripe tomatoes in no time.  (Please note that if you buy green tomatoes they will not ripen like this but they will make for some tastey fried green tomatoes :)

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Better Home Cooking Basics: #37 Use Plastic Wrap for a Stick-Free Way to Roll out Pie Crust

I learned this trick for a stick-free way to roll out pie crust from my mom.  Start by tearing off two big pieces of plastic wrap. Lay one down on the cutting board or flat surface that you'll be working on. Place your ball of dough on the center of the plastic. Lay another piece of the plastic wrap on top. If you plastic isn't large enough use more pieces & overlap them. Then using a rolling pin, roll the dough out between the plastic wrap. You won't need to worry about extra flour making your dough too tough or your dough sticking to your rolling pin.  Plus, it makes it easier to get the dough off the cutting board & into your pie pan. Win. Win.

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Better Home Cooking Basics: #33 The Smaller Garlic is Cut the More Flavor it will Offer.

I'm talking about garlic again today - surprise, surprise. Truth is if you love garlic as much as I do I want to help you make the most of what you've got. The strength of the taste of garlic is directly correlated to how finely it is chopped, cut or grated. Think of the wise guys cutting the garlic in Goodfellas with a razor blade. It's no coincidence that they cut it paper thin. If you're still working on your knife skills here are a few ways to fake it till you make it:

1. Grate it. Use a microplane grater & grate a clove of garlic until you can't hold it with your fingers any more.
2. Process it. Toss a clove or two of garlic into your food processor. Let it do it's thing for about 30 seconds & you'll have super finely chopped garlic.
3. Cut it & mash it. Do your best to cut garlic with a knife. Sprinkle it with salt & then mash it with a mortar & pestle. This will give you tons of flavor like it did for me here.

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Better Home Cooking Basics: #27 Use a Serrated Knife to Cut Tomatoes without Smushing Them

Hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. The sun finally decided to come out here on Sunday & we were blessed with two great sunshiney days - the others were just as good, sans the vitamin d.

Now that summer has unofficially started I am pretty excited for some fresh farm-to-table produce I plan on hitting the farmers markets for. Tomatoes are among some of my favorite finds at farmers markets, especially heirloom tomatoes (the green zebras are my favorite!).  I picked up this tip to cut tomatoes with a serrated knife to keep them from smushing when you do. Try it - I think it'll give you a good grip on cutting tomatoes the next time you do.

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Better Home Cooking Basics: #22 For a Crispier Pizza Crust at Home Use Less Pizza Dough

I'm really into making homemade pizzas. The crispier the crust the better. I'm constantly learning as I go. Lately, I had an epiphany which seems rather obvious but in order to make the crispiest crust you need to make sure you stretch it thin but more importantly & a sure way to make it thin is to simply use less dough. It's that easy. Use less dough & stretch & roll it out the same size as you normally would & you're on your way to a crispier crust. I also recommend heating your pizza stone  (this is by far my favorite one!) or pizza pan in the oven before you place the dough on it. That way the bottom of the crust gets a head start when you put it on the hot surface - you'll probably even hear it sizzle.

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PS: happy 5th birthday this little beauty, my niece Gracie. I love you!

Better Home Cooking Basics: #21 Always us a Rubber Spatula to Stir Melting Chocolate

This tip comes from my chocolate gurus over at Chocoley. Whenever you're working with chocolate like I did for yesterday's post, never use a wooden spoon to stir the chocolate. (Gasp! Yes I know I used to do this too!) Wooden spoons retain smells (mmm yummy garlicky broccoli) & moisture which will ruin the chocolate. So for best results use a rubber spatula. I'm going to work this into my baking in general because as much as I love garlic - it doesn't pair well with chocolate (or does it?).

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Better Home Cooking Basics: #20 Eyeball Measurements for Cooking & Measure Exactly for Baking

When I post cooking recipes (think chicken or veggies) you can usually get by with eyeballing the measurements - adding more or less here & there. When I post baking recipes (think chocolate chip cookies & cakes) it's best to use the measurements given exactly. Baking is a more precise chemistry so break out your measure cups & spoons so that the final sweet product rises when it should & cooks evenly without burning on the outside while the inside is soupy & raw (eww!). If you don't like to measure - stick to cooking & find a good bakery in your neighborhood.

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Better Home Cooking Basics: #19 Roll Citrus Fruit on a Hard Surface Before Squeezing Them for the Most Juice

I use a lot of citrus - mainly lemons & sometimes limes when I cook. In order to get the most juice out of them I do a quick roll on the counter (or whatever hard surface is around) before I juice them - which is sometimes with one of those clamp like hand-held squeezing gadgets, a manual wooden reamer or sometimes just my hands.

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Better Home Cooking Basics: #18 Read Recipes All the Way To the End Before You Begin to Bake/Cook

This tip might sound like something you’d learn on the first day of school - read the directions first but sometimes when there’s photos or you’ve just got your eye of the prize (ahem, Irish Soda Bread) you think you know how it’s going to end so why bother reading it, right? Wrong. This pretty much happened when I made Irish Soda Bread earlier this week. I didn’t read the recipe (that I had handwritten myself so many years ago) & shocked when I read that it had to bake for 80 minutes. Sometimes you have to reserve some of the ingredients for the finish & if you didn’t read ahead you might be all out of said ingredient. Do yourself the favor & read the recipe all the way through before you get into the baking or cooking.

P.S. Happy Birthday Amanda! Thanks so much for your inspiration, support & friendship. I love you GTG!

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Better Home Cooking Basics: #15 Reserve 1 Cup of Pasta Water Before Pouring it Down the Drain

Right before you drain your cooked pasta reserve at least a cup of the salty starchy water. I like to stick a glass measuring cup or a coffee mug into the pot to pull it out.  Then there are at least three ways I use this reserved water for are:

1. To keep pasta from sticking together before serving add some of the water to it so that it doesn’t stick together in the serving bowl.
2. To perfect your sauce consistency by adding some of the reserved water to a thick sauce that you want to thin out by adding a little bit at a time to the sauce & cooking over low heat.
3. To keep leftover pasta from sticking together add some of the water to your the container of pasta that you’re storing it in. When you’re ready to eat the leftovers they’ll look like individual noodles rather than one big mass.  You can microwave the pasta in the water & it won’t get dried out & sticky.

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Better Home Cooking Basics: #14 Line Veggies up & Cut Side by Side to Save Time

Today’s post is late. I know. But Tuesday is still here so I’m sharing this tip with you! When prepping your veggies, like carrots, line them up side by side & cut them all at once. You’ll get more even sizing across the board & save time. Win. Win.

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