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Everybody has there own cooking dilemmas and rescue culinary disasters, so
here are some tips if you ever need to try them out.
Cocktail parties:(New)
At cocktail parties, serve lots of delicious thing, but don't put alot of them out, rather
than a huge plate of food on a few plates.
Ice trick:(New)
When your entertaining a large number of people fill your bath with ice and water and
use it as a large ice bucket to chill your drinks.
Leftover pud:(New)
If you fany a change after xmas, why not make a xmas pud ice-cream with any leftover
pud? simply crumble the cooked pudding and fold it gently into a good quality bought vinilla
ice cream, wonderful with poach pears.
Perfect sprouts:(New)
Brussel sprouts can be prepared and three-quarters cooked on xmas eve. Don't bother cutting a cross in the bottom, a total waste
of time which is more likely to make them soggy if it does anything at all. To finish cooking, let them sizzle in plenty
of butter in a large frying pan, prehaps with chestnuts (use the pre-cooked ones that
come in vacuum packs, not canned ones which are often mushy and watery), until good and hot.
No-fuss food:(New)
Keep the menu really simple so you can spend your time with your guests, rather than having to fuss in the
kitchen. Don't try to do everything yourself. Let everyone help you - they loved to feel involved.
Leftover wine:(New)
Freeze leftover wine (red or white) in freezer bags, it's great for when you need a slash for sauces,
casseroles and gravies.
All in one dressing:
If you need to mix some salad dressing into some lettuce leaves, pour the
dressing into the opened bag full of leaves and give it a shake and put it
onto a plate instead of messing up a bowl and your hands.
Stop bananas going brown:
Put firm bananas into a bowl full of cold water for 10 mins. you can know
peel them and they will keep fresh for upto 4 hours.
Rice pudding topping idea:
I always pour a spoonful of sigle cream on top of rice pudding before I
bake. It makes a creamy skin.
Easy grinding:
Fed up with not being able to grind the pepper mill properly, I screwed a
small L-shaped hook into the top rounded bit. Now you can grind pepper
twice as fast.
American frosting:
Beat 175g jam (any flavour) with 3 large egg whites in a double boiler over
simmering heat for about 10 mins until it holds it's shape when the whisks
are lifted. Suitable for any sponge cake. You have to serve it virtually
straight away, but it will be usable for about 2 hours.
Thickening soups:
To thicken soups without spoiling the flavour, add pureed canned butter
beans. Use as much as you need for the desired consistency. Well mashed
potato, fresh or leftover also works well.
Freshen up your lunch box:
To get rid of the smell of old food from plastic lunchboxes, stuff it with
pieces of newspaper and put on the lid. Within a few days the newspaper
will have absorbed any smells.
Flour tip:
Save time when you're cooking by keeping a jar of pre-seasoned flour by the
cooker. If I need seasoned flour for a sauce or to coat meat, the flour is
always to hand.
Quick and easy way to juice fruit:
When you require the juice of a lemon, lime or an orange, slice the fruit in
half and cover with plastic film. Pierce it a few times. Squeeze th fruit
and the juice will come out but the pips won't. The fruit is also covered,
ready to return to the fridge if there's any left over.
To set strawberry Jam:
When making strawberry jam, add some blueberries then they will help it set.
Make your own oil spray:
If you are following a low fat diet, here's an easy way to make your own oil
spray. Fill a new, clean plant mister with 2 thirds water and a third oil
and use it to spray pot, pans and food. Just give it a good shake before
you use it. It's great for a spritzing salad leaves too.
Light touch:
If you're making a large amount of pastry and you don't have a food
processor, grate the hard butter or marg on the large side of a grater
before lightly rubbing it into the flour. This not only saves time but the
results are a very light pastry.
The best scrambled eggs:
In france they have this trick in several
restaurants to end the experience with a flourish. As the fondue ends just
before the crusty layer of cheese stage crack an egg into the bottom of the
pan and stir vigorously, dunk your bread back in and enjoy.
Seasoning food:
To coat pieces of meat quickly and easily in seasoned flour,
put the flour and seasoning in a bowl, add the meat and seal with cling
film or kitchen foil. Shake the bowl lightly and the food will be quickly
and evenly coated.
Its a snip:
I find that my kitchen scissors are perfect for cutting chicken
and other meats into thin strips for stir-frying.
Coloured icing:
When making buttercream, the butter and vinilla extract can
give a creamy colour to the icing. For a snow white effect, add a drop of
blue food colouring to the buttercream.
Freshen up a dressing:
To add extra flavour to a salad dressing and marinade, just
add lemon peel, rosemary and other fresh herbs to the garlic press at the
same time that I crush the garlic.
Freezing herbs:
Here's a very easy way to keep a supply of chopped parsley
to hand. Pick off all the bushy parsley tops and freeze in a large plastic
bag. Once frozen, scrunch the bag and you'llbe left with a large bag of
ready chopped parsley. This also works well with other leafy herbs.
Quick orange zest:
Many recipes require grated orange rind. When peeling
an orange, score the rind into 4 parts, pop it into a plastic bag or
container and freeze. When you need some orange rind, simply grate it from
frozen. It's much easier.
Instant thickener:
When making soups and stews, I use instant mash potato
as a thickener. It doesn't taste powdery like cornflour and doesn't take as
long to prepare as a vegetable puree.
Crispy crunchy biscuits:
Add 1 or 2 sugar cubes to your biscuit tin to
keep the biscuits crisp and fresh.
Ice and a slice:
If you see bags of lemons on offer in the supermarket,
pick some up. Slice any spare ones, open freeze them and pack into a
freezer bag. The iced lemon slices will ensure you will never be without
ice and a slice when unexpected guests drop in, even if your ice tray is
empty.
Children's favourite:
When making coleslaw, replace the onion with
shredded leek. It's much milder and children love it.
Mustard magic:
Make up mustard powder with sherry when your serving roast
beef or steak and kidney pie - it adds a wonderful flavour.
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