Kitchen

[qualitygal]

Going through some cookbooks today, I came upon a tip that might help others.

"If there's too much liquid in your crockpot (or slow-cooker) put a toothpick under the edge of the lid to tilt it slightly and allow steam to escape".

That might help someone out.

Do you have some tips to share?

[nomless]

This is a good one: for things that are rich / contain a lot of fat, add a splash of acid ( vinegar, lemon juice, etc.) to brighten the favor. This even applies to the gravy you make for Thanksgiving. Just a bit of lemon juice or vinegar will enhance the flavor.

[Yahooey]

Fresh ginger - use back of spoon to scrape skin off. No need for knife or peeler. This removes skin only and can get into the nooks and crannies easily too.

[Yahooey]

This isn't cooking but rather storing my Kitchen Aid mixer. I only use it for baking so it gets used occasionally. I keep the attachments inside the bowl and place cling plastic wrap to seal the bowl. Make room for the head. This keeps the bowl ready and clean.

[Poodlepet2]

On the subject of ginger, Christine Pirello (PBS Christina Cooks) maintains that you can keep fresh ginger indefinitely by sticking it in a jar of sand (which of course has been sterilized-I need to investigate that!) Poodlepet

[Lynneuk]

Saw a good tip on The Chew yesterday to make Thanksgiving a little easier. You know how it is always hard to make the gravy at the last second and then if you put it in a gravy boat it doesn't stay hot. Also if you leave it in the pan on the stove it evaporates, not good,lol. You can make the gravy while the sides are heating in the oven and put it in an insulated coffee carafe. It will stay hot and at the right consistency for a long time and you won't be panicking at the last second trying to juggle everything. I thought it was an excellent tip. I might buy an extra carafe though in case the one I have might flavor the gravy with coffee. Not very expensive and useful for all big dinners.

[justathought]

My Grandmother taught me this-Never add cold water to a hot pan that has meat in it. only hot-cold water would toughen the meat

add a little poultry seasoning to home made chicken noodle soup.

[Pipsqueak]

Thought Tyler Florence's tip on how to shorten the time of roasting a turkey was good.

He used the example of a 16 lb. bird and by cutting the backbone from the turkey it opens the surface area up and cooks it faster. He said in their test kitchen, what normally takes 3 hours for a 16 lb. bird, instead only takes an hour and a half at 375 degrees. But he made this stuffing, pulsed it in a blender, then piped it underneath the skin. So when he sliced into the breast meat the stuffing was on top under the golden brown skin. Looked so yummy and a very pleasing presentation on how to serve turkey at Thanksgiving. Would really like to try this roasting technique this year.

[Zhills]

When making a sauce or gravy, be sure that all of the flour is mixed with the oil.

Dry flour + liquid = lumps.

[denisemb]

I use the recipe from food dot com for The Best (Do-Ahead) Turkey Gravy. Instead of buying extra wings, I simply remove the wings from my thawed turkey before brining (no one eats the wings anyway) and make the gravy a day or so before to avoid last minute craziness.

This gravy tastes *wonderful* and also freezes well.

I love the idea of using a coffee carafe to keep it warm...