Helpful Cooking Info From Various Sources

Since I have gotten more and more involved in cooking and experimenting with cooking I have learned a few lessons from different sources.  Although I do admit most are from The Food Network.  I have also received gifts and tips from family.  Here are a some that I thought would help just about anyone.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is something I use constantly.  It is a little pricey, so I have decided to buy the big tins (available even in my little supermarket) and pour it into a smaller bottle with a convenient pouring spout.  I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I am going to refer to Extra Virgin Olive Oil as EVOO from now on.  It is so much easier.  Any who, this particular EVOO isn't my favorite.  It is definitely fine, but I am going to try a new one after this and when I find my favorite, I will let you know.  Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contesa), likes the Williams and Sonoma brand.  I do too, but it is not available in the large tin.  But if you don't use it much, this is a good alternative, because it does expire after a certain period of time.  Sister A went to Italy last year and brought me back a tin of fresh Italian EVOO, and boy was that fantastic.  Had I thought of it then, I would have saved it for a finishing oil, which is something people use to garnish soups or pastas right before serving.

This is is a tip I got from Sister A.  It is a Hefty Fresh Express zip bag.  It really works well.  When you get home from the supermarket with your produce, wash and dry it thoroughly.  Then put them in these bags with a dry piece of paper towel just in case there is any extra wetness.  The produce will stay fresh longer.  So far this parsley has lasted 5 days, and it is still very fresh tasting.

And one of my favorite things is this salt keeper from Williams and Sonoma.  Sister N gifted this to me several Christmases ago, and I LOVE it.   Recently I went to Crate and Barrel.  They had a really nice one also, and it was significantly cheaper.  I buy a big box of Kosher salt and refill the salt keeper every time it runs out.  It is so pretty and looks good on the counter and it is always handy while cooking.  Love it!

Okay, the McCormick grinders.  I have found these to be live savers.  For years UD and I had some beautiful pepper grinders.  There is an abundance of them out there, and they can be so stylish and funky.  But we found that after time the grinder just didn't work as well.  And I guess that makes sense.  The peppercorns eventually wear it down.  So these are a great alternative.  You use them until they are empty, and the grinder doesn't wear down before that.  And they can be recycled Sister E!  (Sister E has a wonderful blog of her own, that you can find at http://www.housebehindtheotherhouses.blogspot.com/)  These are the two I use most.  The black peppercorns and the Italian herbs.  They also have a cinnamon sugar one that I would get if we had little kids in the house.  Maybe I will get them for Sisters N and E and their children, LD, TT, JK and GW.  :)

Cute, nes cafe?

This is Amato brand tomato paste.  It is so convenient in the tube, rather than using one of those tiny 8 oz. cans.  When you just need a couple of teaspoons, those cans are sort of wasteful.  There is no easy way to seal them up and store them.  This you just put the cover back on and keep it in the fridge until the next time you need it.

Parmigiano Reggiano is called for in so many recipes, and I am sure it is because it is so bloody delicious.

Side note:  I just got finished watching Russell Brand on TV, and I think he is one of the funniest and smartest people around.  So now I feel a little English flare coming on.  Hence the bloody adjective.  Carry on!

I buy it by the chunk and I use a hand grater to grate it for garnish, and a box grater if I need a larger amount.  When you get down to the rinds, be sure to save them in the fridge.  The next time you are making a tomato sauce or even using a jarred one, add a rind and let it melt slowly into the sauce.  It adds such great flavor.

Again I couldn't find all the exact ingredients I wanted. It looks like I have been snookered again.  So I went to plan B.  I used Pastene brand fettuccine.  It is wider than the boxed fettuccine I have seen, so it will do the job.  Never one to give up though, I checked on amazon.com for the pappardelle.  And there it was.  There were so many brands and the prices ranged from very reasonable to WHAT THE HECK?  So I ordered a reasonable one and it happens to be De Cecco, which is Ina Gartens favorite brand.  Nuff said?  I also ordered Rustichella brand.  The De Cecco is ~$4 lb. and the Rustichella is ~$5 lb.  I want to see if there is any difference.  I will let you know.

This is my new stainless steel pan.  I have 2 Le Creuset cast iron pans and several Analon non-stick pans.  But I finally broke down and bought a stainless steel one.  UD is always up for this.  He loves finding just the right kitchen utensils, just like I do.  So it is really fun shopping for this stuff with him.  Two other things you will see in the picture are a handle cover and a cleaning product.  I have a metal allergy, so I can't touch the handle of this pan.  I bought the handle cover years ago at Crate and Barrel.  I also use it for the cast iron pans.  I love it.  And it is nice for this pan too, in case the handle gets too hot.  The cleaning product is something UD found out about.  The first thing I cooked in the pan was ground beef and onions for tacos.  The bottom was somewhat discolored, although smooth to the touch.  I think he was looking around on the Internet and came across Bar Keepers Friend which had great reviews.  Well add another two thumbs up from us.  It is awesome.  The discoloration was gone with very light scrubbing.  It is not only a bar keeper's friend, but ours also.

Last but not least is this Spider scoop.  I am not sure of the technical word for it, but Spider works for me.  I use this to transfer the pasta from the boiling water into the pan of sauce.   One day I would like to get one of those pots that has a metal strainer right in it.  It is meant for pasta I believe.  But they are rather expensive, so I will hold off for now.  In the meantime, the Spider does the job.

So these are some of my favorite essentials in the kitchen.  If even one of them helps you out, I will be very happy for you.  In my next posting you will see many of these in use.  Cheerio!