Tips and Tricks for the Kitchen

You know all of those helpful kitchen-related suggestions that old-timers are so willing to share with the younger generations? These little tips and tricks might be called “kitchen hacks” these days, but they’re still the same good old nuggets of wisdom that they always were. As with any old wives’ tale, hack, or tip, your mileage may vary. Some of these gems have been around for several lifetimes - and according to most grandmas, they really work.


1. For cleaning smelly hands after chopping onions or garlic, just rub them on a stainless steel spoon. The steel is supposed to absorb the odor.
2. Fresh coffee beans can also absorb nasty odors from your hands.
3. If you happen to over-salt a pot of soup, just drop in a peeled potato. The potato will absorb the excess salt.
4. When boiling eggs, add a pinch of salt to keep the shells from cracking.
5. Never put citrus fruits or tomatoes in the fridge. The low temperatures degrade the aroma and flavor of these persnickety fruits.
6. To clean cast iron cookwear, don’t use detergents. Just scrub them with salt and a clean, dry paper towel.
7. Will milk curdle if it is allowed to boil? It turns out that this age-old piece of wisdom isn’t true, after all. Milk that has been boiled is perfectly safe to consume.
8. To clean an electric kettle with calcium buildup on the heating element, boil a mixture of half white vinegar and half water, then empty.
9. When storing empty airtight containers, throw in a pinch of salt to keep them from getting stinky.
10. If you are making gravy and accidentally burn it, just pour it into a clean pan and continue cooking it. Add sugar a little at a time, tasting as you go to avoid over-sugaring it. The sugar will cancel out the burned taste.
11. Burned a pot of rice? Just place a piece of white bread on top of the rice for 5-10 minutes to draw out the burned flavor. Be careful not to scrape the burned pieces off of the bottom of the pan when serving the rice.
12. Before you chop chili peppers, rub a little vegetable oil into your hands and your skin won’t absorb the spicy chili oil.
13. If you aren’t sure how fresh your eggs are, place them in about four inches of water. Eggs that stay on the bottom are fresh. If only one end tips up, the egg is less fresh and should be used soon. If it floats, it’s past the fresh stage.

Reference Life Hackery

10 Tasty Ideas for Leftover Turkey

It's The Day of the Turkey (at least here in the US) and we all know there will be leftovers. Since I can only eat so many TLTs (Turkey, Lettuce, and Tomato sandwiches), I've come up with some easy recipes and ideas so all that tasty bird doesn't go bad. If you want, leave me a comment with some other ideas for Thanksgiving leftovers.

1. Turkey Cranberry Rollup
You can do this as a sandwich, too, but I prefer it in a tortilla. Spread some cranberry sauce, put some turkey on top of it, and roll. It has all the flavor of Thanksgiving with almost none of the work.
2. Turkey Chili
I love to throw together a chili. Anymore, I don't even use a recipe, just some broth (chicken or beef, depending on what flavor I'm going for), some beans (usually kidney, but sometimes black, pinto, or even garbanzo), sometimes corn, some diced tomatoes in sauce, and tomato sauce if I want it thicker. I definitely add some onions and sometimes garlic, then salsa and chili powder, and then I put in whatever kind of meat I'm using that day. It's as easy to put turkey in as anything else, and the bird doesn't do much to change the taste.
3. Turkey and Noodles
Cook up some egg noodles. For a sauce, heat up some creamy soup (cream of mushroom, cream of celery, etc..) and add some turkey and browned onions. Put the turkey topping over the noodles and serve. Most of the time, no one besides you will realize that the meat is even turkey!
4. Turkey Fajitas
Warm up the turkey and serve it instead of chicken or beef with grilled, sliced peppers and grilled onions. Add them all to a tortilla with toppings of your choice and eat.
5. Turkey Lentil Stew
Soak your lentils until they are soft. Cook them in water with some garlic, thyme, salt, and a bay leaf until the lentils have made something of a mushy mess. Add the turkey and make sure it's all heated through.
6. Turkey Stir Fry
It took me a little while to be willing to try this one as turkey is not a meat that comes to mind when I think of stir fry. Out of desperation for something new, I finally made an attempt, and it's actually good. Soak the already-cooked turkey in the stir-fry marinade or topping of your choice. Stir fry your vegetables (I usually use a frozen mixture). Add the turkey near the end, so it has a chance to heat up but not dry out. Eat over rice or Japanese noodles.
7. Turkey Stew

Mix chicken broth with chunks of carrot, onion, potato, celery and whatever vegetables mean "stew" to you. Add some parsley, thyme, a bay leaf or two, salt and pepper to taste, and maybe some oregano for something a little different. Bring the broth with the veggies to a boil and let it boil for about 10 minutes. Add the turkey and continue to boil it until the vegetables are soft. Serve with salad and/or sourdough bread for the Panera effect.
8. Turkey Burritos
Put in turkey with the refried beans, cheese, salsa, guacamole, and whatever else makes a burrito for you. Roll up the tortilla. Heat, eat, and enjoy!
9. Turkey Pad Thai
Ok, I have a confession here--I usually buy my pad thai from Trader Joes. I'll heat it up, add any extra meat or veggies that I want, use their sauce, and serve it...even to guests! When I have turkey around, that's the meat I add and it's pretty tasty. If you're worried about the turkey taste mixing poorly with the Thai spices, press some mashed up fresh garlic into the turkey several hours before you cook and let it sit in a bag or another closed container until you're ready to use it. The garlic should overpower the turkey taste so your pad thai will be yummy, like usual.
10. Freeze it
Amazingly enough, cooked turkey survives freezing fairly well. It comes out pretty dry, so I try to use it in soups or cassaroles when I use it later, but it's still tasty and good. The best part is that I can eat it at some future point when I'm not totally sick of turkey.
The End Result?
Nothing goes to waste, and I don't feel like I'm eating the same thing over and over just to get rid of the meat. Both the frug-a-holic and the variety-lover in me are satisfied. I hope it works for you!

Reference Wise Bread



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Cooking with beer hints!

Cooking with Beer Tips and Hints

Belgium is famous for its Carbonnade à la Flamande, a thick stew of beer, bacon, onions, and brown sugar. Many home cooks prefer their shellfish and hot dogs steamed in beer.

Beer also has wonderful tenderizing properties, making it an excellent choice for a marinade for tougher cuts of meat. Baked goods using beer have a more moist texture and a longer shelf life.

Used in a glaze or baste, beer adds wonderful flavor to poultry and ham. In batter coatings for fried foods, the yeast in the beer acts as a mild leavening agent, causing the batter to puff up, as well as adding a distinctive enhancing flavor.

The hops, barley, and/or malt flavor imparted by the addition of beer to foods will naturally depend on the amount and strength of the beer. Dark beer, such as stout and porter, have a much stronger flavor than a light Pilsener. A good recipe using beer will have a distinctively light, not dominating flavor in the finished dish.

Non-alcoholic (alcohol removed) or light/lite (low-calorie, less than .5% alcohol) beers can usually be substituted (except in baking), but keep in mind that the flavor may not be as desirable and the texture may have less body.

Reference: About.com

Posted by Joanne Vanderhoef
Marketing and Media Specialist

Bones Steakhouse
http://www.bonessteak.com

Spooky Halloween Punch Idea!

Halloween is perhaps the spookiest, and most fun, day of the year. It gives children the chance to live out their fantasy as their favorite character, while allowing adults to be like kids again if only for one night! 

Celebrated on October 31, Halloween is also known as All Hallow's Eve. The holiday, which is thought of by some to be a Pagan holiday, originated from Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival. 

The festival was originally celebrated in the winter. At that time, days were short, and food supplies were even shorter. The threat of cold and hunger loomed, and many people didn't want to leave their homes because they were afraid of the dark. They were also afraid of the spirits of the dead who were thought to return for just one night to haunt those who were still alive. 

In order to leave their homes and blend in with the spirits, people would dress up in costumes so the spirits wouldn't recognize them. Food would also be left on doorsteps to further placate the spirits.

Today the tradition of dressing up still lives on. And, instead of leaving food for spirits, children go Trick or Treating in hopes of filling their bags with lots of goodies.

If you plan on throwing a costume party for the holiday, you may want to consider serving pumpkin flavored drinks, drinks inspired by your favorite Halloween treats, or even a fun spiked punch served in a cauldron that everyone can enjoy. 

SKYY Wicked Witch Apple Punch Ingredients 2 cup(s) Pineapple Juice 1 bottle(s) Apple Cider (750 ml) 1 bottle(s) Cranberry Juice (64 oz.) 1 bottle(s) Ginger Ale (1 Liter) 1 bottle(s) Skyy Infusions Passion Fruit Vodka (750 ml) Apple (Red) Instructions Combine all ingredients in a large black witch's cauldron with ice and stir. Garnish with large slices of red apple floating on top and dry ice. Posted by Joanne Vanderhoef Marketing and Media Specialist Bone's Steakhouse http://www.bonessteak.com Visit out Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/bonessteak

Preserving Fresh Herbs

It seems that the end of summer is when my herb crop is at its peak. This is perfect for me because it means that I have plenty of my favorite seasonings to save to use through the fall and winter.

Freezing Herbs
Just chop the leaves of your favorite herbs, such as basil or Italian parsley, and put 1 teaspoon into each cube of an ice tray and fill with water. After the cubes have frozen, pop them out and put them into a ziplock bag for easy storage. Then when you want to add the fresh taste of herbs to your favorite soup recipe, just drop in a few of these pre-measured cubes and let the flavor melt in.

Drying Herbs
Gather the herbs in the early morning, then wash them and pat them dry. Gently remove leaves from stems - herbs such as basil tend to bruise easily.
Place the leaves in a shallow basket for air-drying. If you're drying herbs with small leaves such as rosemary or oregano, it's best to use a holder with a tighter weave, like cheesecloth stretched over a frame.
Cover the leaves with newspaper to keep them from drying too quickly. The drying process usually takes three to four days. Once a day, shake and redistribute them so they dry more evenly.
Once all of the moisture is driven from the leaves, just crush or crumble them and then store them in labeled, airtight jars in a cool dark place.



Posted by Joanne Vanderhoef
Marketing and Media Specialist

Bone's Steakhouse
http://www.bonessteak.com
Visit out Facebook at
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