Kitchen Tips
| Published: 16th April 2007 21:12 |
Kitchen Tips
Use condensed soup as a quick and easy sauce. e.g. cut some leftover chicken into cubes and mix with either condensed chicken or mushroom soup and serve on a bed of rice. "Chicken à la King" in minutes.
To make mince go further add some breadcrumbs or carrots into the recipe.
Add Worcestershire sauce to baked beans or scrambled egg to give them that extra zing.
To make a few sausages go a very long way; make "Toad in the Hole" by cutting the sausages into small pieces and using a bun tin to make individual portions. Add chopped onion for an extra twist.
What is "Toad in the Hole"? It is a batter made with flour, egg and milk, which is poured over sausages and baked in the oven.
Fold some orange liqueur and orange rind into whipped cream to add that special "something". Particularly nice with fresh fruit salad.
Pipe whipped double cream into rosettes onto a tray. Open freeze, then pack carefully. These can be used as decorations for deserts, cakes etc. Allow 30 minutes at room temperature to defrost.
Store mushrooms in paper bags rather than plastic bags or trays, this stops them becoming 'slimy' and prolongs their useful life.
Use left over wine to freeze into ice cubes. These can be used in soups and casseroles etc. or used to chill a glass of wine quickly if you've forgotten to refrigerate it!
To get rid of the smell of onions from hands, put some dish soap (Dawn) on the blade of your knife or any other stainless utensil, carefully run the soap on the utensil with your fingers and any other part that touched the onion. After 30 seconds, rinse and they should be odour free.
When opening jars and bottles get a better grip by -
wrapping a piece of sandpaper round the top, rough side inwards.
wrapping a damp cloth around the jar.
running the lid under a hot tap (but be careful the water is not hot enough to crack the glass).
wear rubber gloves.
put an elastic band around the lid.
Gently knock the side of the lid a couple of times on a hard surface.
To prevent crying when chopping/slicing onions, you can -
chop under water
wear goggles (and just hope no-one comes to the door!)
put a teaspoon in your mouth and keep it closed (breathing through your nose).
Before peeling an onion hold it under the hot water tap for a few seconds. The peel won't flake all over the place and it becomes pliable and comes off in bigger pieces.
To keep bubbles in an open bottle of champagne place the handle of a metal dessertspoon in the bottle neck.
Cut the tie out of washing powder tablet bags and use on bread or freezer bags. Stays really tight and is quick and easy to undo.
Limp lettuce can be revived by placing in a bowl of cold water with a lump of coal.
If you often use wine when cooking put a cup of wine into a freezer bag and freeze, when required it is easy to defrost in the microwave. Red wine appears to work better than white.
For something a little different, stir a little natural yoghurt into fresh cream. This can be used on both sweet and savoury dishes.
Slice fresh lemons, open freeze on a tray, then pack in the usual manner. Always there for that gin and tonic!
After washing and drying, freeze fresh sprigs of herbs, which can either be used whole or crushed whilst frozen - no need to chop.
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