Archive for May 2010

Fit a Dinner Party in Your Menu Plan

By Quick Chef · Comments (0)
Monday, May 24th, 2010

i need a bigger table..By Kathy Hester

When you’re rushing around to the store last minute every night there is never enough time to entertain. If you are already doing a menu plan and shopping once a week, you are way ahead of the game. So, go ahead and wash your up best dinnerware and send out an evite to your friends. It’s time for a dinner party!

The menu can be as simple as you want. You can make a lasagna with seasonal veggies like Swiss chard and mushrooms at the beginning of the week and heat it up on the day of the party. Another option is make it in the slow cooker and when you come home from work all you have to do is throw together a salad.

You can also plan way ahead for a party and freeze your pre-made dish in an oven safe Pyrex dish. I always have a few of these stored in the freezer just in case I feel like having people over. Make sure to defrost in the fridge overnight or add extra cooking time.

Not into lasagna? A warm weather dinner can be a chilled soup that you make the day before. I like gazpacho, yogurt dill, or a cold borscht for a refreshing summer treat. Pair it with a salad made of mixed greens from the farmers market and topped with julienned veggies that you’ve marinated overnight in a balsamic vinaigrette.

If you have a sweet tooth like I do, you’ll want to serve a dessert. It can be as simple as a store bought vanilla greek yogurt topped with in season berries. Serve it in a martini glass placed on a square dinnerware salad plate and drizzle some melted chocolate over the top.

Make sure to start the party with an empty dishwasher and your clean up will be a breeze too.

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Categories : freezer cooking, meal planning
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Kitchen Appliances

By Quick Chef · Comments (0)
Monday, May 3rd, 2010

When you walk down the appliance isle of any department store, you will find hundreds of different gadgets for your kitchen. Big ones, small ones, thin and fat, sharp ones, round ones, flat ones and just about any other shape and size you can thing of.

There are automatic appliances, and manual, and a few that use both. There are so many different kitchen gadgets and appliances available that there are specialty stores that are dedicated to selling these fun and handy kitchen tools.

Kitchen gadgets are a cook’s best friend. They are designed to eliminate some of the time it takes to prepare a meal. However, there are some that just don’t cut it. They are promoted to do the most amazing things in the kitchen, and do little to live up to the praise. It is important that you are aware that there are products that do not live up to their names and be a savvy shopper.

How can you tell if an appliance or gadget is going to perform the way it is supposed to? That is a very easy question to answer.

No matter how gimmicky a product is, the first thing that you should do is to decide if you will use it. Think of what it foods it is used to prepare. If you do not buy that food often, then you may not want to purchase the gadget.  The last thing many of us need is another unused item taking up counter or cupboard space.

The next thing to consider is the price. Many of the gadgets and appliance on the market today are priced according to their function. Shopping around can definitely save you money.  Also, refer to how much you will use it in the first question above to ask yourself.  If you will use it a lot then the price-per-use may be worth it.

Knowing how to operate the appliance or gadget is a big consideration. Take for instance a vacuum sealer, after reading the instruction manual, it sounds easy enough to operate right? However, what some instructions do not divulge is the food that you want to vacuum seal needs to be partially frozen or solid before you use it or the liquid will get sucked into the pump and render the appliance useless. Vacuum sealers can cost hundreds of dollars; you do not want to use it only once. (FYI, we LOVE our foodsaver and use it a ton)

For big ticket items, go to the websites of the manufacturer and read the customer comment page. You may gain some insight as to whether or not the product is worth the money and also tip on how to use and maintain it. Also read on whether certain upgraded products are really worth the money or if the basic model is just as good, if not better.

If you want to save time, you can use the Internet to shop for appliances. You will find millions of links to products that you can use everyday.

The most purchased kitchen appliances in the world today are food processors, blenders, microwaves and rotisseries. They offer a real solution to those who have little time to prepare a well-balanced meal for their family.

Please be aware that affiliate links are used in the article and commission will be made on sales.

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Categories : Kitchen Tips
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Pickling at Home

By Quick Chef · Comments (0)
Saturday, May 1st, 2010

I grew up with a great-grandma, grandma and Mom that canned.  Pickles was just one of the many things that were put in a jar to save from our gardens or the local produce stand.  I lucked out and my mother-in-law also liked to make pickles.  We’ve spent many a summer coming up with new twists on what we will pickle.

Pickles are very easy to make and with so much more variety than our grocery shelves can show.  There was a time in history when pickling was one of the best ways to preserve food, but with better shipping available, it fell out of favor.  Today, you will find most pickles in the form of cucumbers that have been made into bread and butter slices or mixed with dill.

There are many different kinds of pickles out there.  Fresh-pack pickles only need to be cured for a few hours in a vinegar solution before they are ready to eat, and as you can see, they are quite simple to make.  Fermented pickles are soaked in brine for a month and are quite a bit stronger.  Fruit pickles use whole or sliced fruit that have been simmered in a syrup of some sort, while relishes are made from chopped vegetables that have been cooked in a vinegar solution.

To get started making pickles, take a look at a simple recipe.  Wash some cucumbers and slice them down to about three to four inch chunks before soaking them in a brine solution that is roughly1 cup of salt to 2 gallons of water for about 12 hours.  Then drain them and put the pickles into a  jar, adding spices like mustard seed or dill before covering them with a boiling solution of one and a half quarts vinegar, half a cup of salt, one-fourth a cup of sugar, two quarts of water and two teaspoons of pickling spice.

With this basic recipe, you can get to pickling quick.  But you’ll find it can get even simpler.  In many Asian countries, the large white radish known as the daikon is often pickled.  Unlike the European radish, the daikon is quite mild and even a little sweet.  To pickle a daikon, simply sprinkle cut slices of daikon with salt for an hour before gently rinsing them clean.  Then cover them with white vinegar or rice vinegar for a few hours and you’ll find that they are quite ready to eat.  Depending on your taste, you can add a little bit of sugar or pepper to the mixture.

Pickling in general is a largely intuitive process, and you’ll find that with just a little bit of practice, you can make some excellent pickles that all of your friends and family can enjoy.  Experiment to find out what crazy twists your family can come up with.

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Categories : Cooking Tips, Preserving, recipes