Cara Cara Oranges: What Are They and How Do I Use Them?

I am always excited when Cara Cara oranges appear in my grocery store in November.  Every morning I like to drink some fresh orange juice, which means finding a juicy orange to squeeze.

On-the-Run Dinners

There are some nights when real life intrudes on dinner.  The no-food event we were attending started at 7 pm, and it was an hour’s drive away.  Normally we eat around 7 pm. Waiting till we got home at 10 pm for dinner was out of the question.  We would have to eat in the car.

Sick of Your Vegetable Side Dishes?

Long ago I became dis-enamoured of that old standard veggie—frozen peas.  I can’t remember when I stopped eating them, but I do keep a bag in the freezer.  I use it for sports injuries, to reduce the swelling.

Mom Cooking Tip 175

If you hang around good cooks, you can learn something new every day.  This tip I learned recently.  When making scrambled eggs, dilute the egg mixture with a few tablespoons of water.  The water will make the eggs fluffier.  Do NOT substitute milk for the water.  Milk toughens the eggs.

                                                 See all my Cooking Tips!

When a Family Member and You Disagree about Dinner, Here’s a Solution!

I recently discovered that Bart doesn’t like one of my favorite dinner entrees—stuffed portobello mushrooms.  How did I learn this?  When he helped unpack groceries and saw the package of portobello mushrooms I’d just purchased. 

“I don’t want that for dinner,” he announced.  “I know you like those mushrooms but I don’t.”

Mom Cooking Tip 174

What’s the difference between a can of whole tomatoes, a can of diced tomatoes, a can of tomato sauce and a can of tomato paste?  The amount of water they contain.  If you’re in the middle of cooking something and suddenly realize that you don’t have a can of diced tomatoes, you can substitute one of these other three cans.  And vice versa.  Just add enough water so that the mixture is not too dry.  The look of the dish may be a little different, but the taste will be about the same.

                                               See all my Cooking Tips!

Pesto: What Is It and How Do I Use It?

Pesto is a combination of fresh basil leaves, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, salt and Parmesan cheese.  For whatever reason, it was not on my radar until about 10 years ago when a foodie friend started telling me how easy it was to make.  He didn’t have any for me to sample, so I forgot about it for a few years until I stumbled on a jar of pesto in the refrigerated section of Costco.  I decided to try it as a pasta sauce.

It was an immediate hit.  Pesto, which originated in Italy, has a strong, fresh basil taste and is a very good topping for spaghetti, ravioli and other stuffed pasta.  As the cook, I find it incredibly convenient.  It has now become my family’s emergency meal.

Have I ever made pesto from scratch?  No.  Call me lazy, but it’s a lot easier to have pre-made pesto in the refrigerator than having to rush out to the store to buy fresh basil leaves.

                 For easy recipes, order "Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen!"

Question for Mom

Valencia Orange

I like to make freshly squeezed orange juice, but I have discovered that some oranges have more juice than others.  Which kind of orange has the most juice? —Becky M.

For a long time I thought oranges were simply oranges, but I’ve learned that they’re not all the same. Valencia oranges, which are generally available from March to November, are much juicier than navel oranges.  I have gotten as much as 1 cup of juice from a Valencia orange.

Naval oranges (which have what looks like a bellybutton on one end) are good to eat because when peeled they can be easily divided into sections. However, they don’t provide much juice.

                                               See all Questions for Mom

Turn Green Beans into an Athenian Delicacy

Years ago I spent a summer in Greece as a high school exchange student and learned a lot about Greek cooking.  I didn’t put it into practice, though, until I finished college and moved into my own apartment.

My first attempt was making Spanakopita, which are small pastries stuffed with spinach and cheese. I liked eating them, but making them was a disaster because I had no clue how to handle phyllo dough.  I still can’t do it well, so I order them at a restaurant.

Mom Cooking Tip 173

This Mom Cooking Tip comes from a life-long friend who spent many years working in a New York test kitchen.  She told me that whenever she buys a cooked rotisserie chicken, she roasts it for 1- 1½ additional hours at 375 degrees before serving it.  She thinks it tastes better that way.

I tried out this tip last night, and everyone at the table liked the end result.  The chicken was firmer and not as salty as usual.  I had planned on serving the leftovers tonight, but there was hardly anything left.

                                                       See all my Cooking Tips!

Question for Mom

I like bananas but often they become over-ripe or turn black before I can eat them.  How can I use them up? –Shirley Z.

Super-soft bananas are one reason why Banana Bread was invented.  Here’s my Chocolate Banana Bread recipe.  My family loves it. 
                                              See all Questions for Mom

Basic Beef Stew--An Easy Meal

I don’t buy beef very often, but when I spotted a package of well-trimmed beef stewing meat at the grocery store I snapped it up.  I immediately thought of making Beef Bourguignon but then remembered that our dinner guests don’t like mushrooms.

I decided to take this opportunity to make a basic beef stew.

I Like Fried Chicken, But…

I like fried chicken, but I will never make it because of the amount of oil involved.  Years ago while working in a Little League snack bar, I learned how to handle a deep fat fryer. That’s when I decided I would not cook this way at home.  For one thing, I’m too clumsy to be around boiling oil.  For another, I don’t want to deal with all that oil in my kitchen.  It’s too potentially messy.  And if the words “fire extinguisher” are mentioned in the cooking instructions, that is a turn off.

Mom Cooking Tip 172

Marinades can provide a lot of flavor, but marinating meat for too long can turn it mushy.  I find 15 minutes is a good length of time to marinate salmon or other fish fillets.  For chicken 1-2 hours works well.  For pork, beef and lamb, I opt for 4 hours.

                                               See all my Cooking Tips!

Feeling Nostalgic

I like trying new recipes, but there are times when I crave a dish from my past.  The trigger to making Bacon and Tomato Soup was seeing large, luscious-looking tomatoes at the grocery store.  They reminded me of my childhood, when a tomato tasted like a tomato.  I bought some and sliced them up as a side dish.  They were so good that Bart and I ate them all in one sitting.

Two Recipes for the Same Dish Equals Confusion

I recently cut out a recipe from a local newspaper for Ricotta Stuffed Shells.  I’d never cooked giant shells before and thought it would be the perfect dish to serve to some vegetarian friends.  I added the ingredients to my grocery list and headed out to the store, where among other items I bought a box of giant shells.

Back home in my kitchen I noticed a Ricotta Stuffed Shells recipe on the box.

Sage: What Is It and How Do I Use It?

I always think of sage as a spice that belongs in Thanksgiving stuffing.  I used it years ago, back in the days when I didn’t know much about any spice other than garlic.  I may well have just dumped a couple tablespoons of dried sage into the stuffing and didn’t mix it well.  In fact, I’d probably had that bottle of sage for years.

If Eating Out, Do You Prefer a Restaurant or a Friend’s Kitchen?

Sometimes eating at a friend’s home is so much better than going to a restaurant.  My friend Dorothy is a whiz in the kitchen.  No matter what she serves, it is guaranteed to be better than anything ordered at a restaurant.  Try her Shish Kebab recipe and see for yourself. 

Mom Cooking Tip 171

Do you cry when you're slicing onions?  When I start tearing up, my method used to be walking away from the cutting board until my eyes stopped bothering me.  Now thanks to some good advice from my sister-in-law Sue, I simply drop slices of onion in a bowl of cold water for about 15 minutes.  When I remove them, they no longer have the power to bring tears to my eyes.

                                                     See all my Cooking Tips!

Don’t Cook for 10 When You Are Feeding 2

I’m a big fan of roast pork, but I don’t like it enough to eat it 5 days running.  I have gone that route several times, and each time I decide No More.

When Making Cookies...

Making cookies seem so simple, but if you're not paying attention, things can go wrong.  So here is a cheat sheet to help keep your mind in the game.

When Monday Night Dinners Were Special

Growing up, I always looked forward to Monday night dinner.  My father was off at his Kiwanis Club meeting, and my mother almost always made spaghetti.  “Made” was a flexible word in her vocabulary.  In this case it meant using the can opener to get access to Chef Boyardee’s fully cooked spaghetti in tomato sauce. She plopped it into  a pot, heated it up and served it in bowls.  My brother and I were in heaven.

Question for Mom

Where does powdered sugar come from?—Eli B.

Powdered sugar (also called confectioners sugar) is crushed white sugar with some cornstarch added to keep it from clumping..  It is often used to make icings or is sprinkled onto cakes, cookies and other pastries as decoration.  In England it’s called icing sugar.  Substituting regular white sugar is not recommended as the taste and texture of what you’re making may be affected. 

                   For more recipes, order "Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen!"

Looks Can Be Deceiving

Throughout my adult life I have made strong efforts to cook from scratch, rather than buy frozen dinners or prepared meals.  I made an exception the other day when I saw these prepared but uncooked chicken legs at my grocery store's meat counter.

Mom Cooking Tip 170

Put an upside-down colander over the frying pan when making French Fries to help keep the spatter down.

                                                       See all my Cooking Tips!

Side Dish or Pasta Sauce – You Choose!

I was making Shakshuka for dinner the other night and miscalculated how many vegetables I needed.

Discovering How Good Tomatoes Can Taste After 5 Hours in the Oven

When I forgot to take the sliced tomatoes out of the oven the other night, it was not on purpose.  I had turned the oven off right before dinner, and I removed the buns I had been heating up.  But somehow I totally forgot I was also heating up sliced Roma tomatoes as a side dish.

Mom Cooking Tip 169

When you don't have quite enough food to feed your guests, serve smaller portions.  I was making turkey burgers for 4 and 2 extra people turned up at the last minute.  Luckily I had a package of 12 small buns in the freezer.  Somehow I made 20 mini-burgers out of 20 ounces of ground turkey.  Everyone seemed thrilled with 2 burgers plus a burger without a bun.

                                             See all my Cooking Tips!

Enjoy Summer’s Last Tomatoes

I think I remember what a real tomato tastes like.  However, it’s been so long since I had one that maybe it’s a dream.  My father occasionally came home from work with a bag of freshly picked tomatoes he’d bought at a roadside stand.  We would eat them like apples.  But those days are long gone.

The Biggest Vegetarian Sandwich Ever

The Joeyburger

Just how big is your mouth, Joey?  He laughed and said, “Big enough.”  And that’s how the Joeyburger came into existence.

Joey is the only young family member who has stayed vegetarian (except for pepperoni on his pizza) since he was a toddler.  He may be the only one at our table willing to eat any vegetable put in front of him.

Too Hot to Cook? Try Ratatouille!

Ratatouille with Brown Rice and Corn

Sometimes I forget that that I know how to make colorful vegetables dishes. It’s been awhile since I last prepared Ratatouille, an easy-to-eat French mixture of cooked eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers and tomatoes.

My friend Ilene found the recipe in our second book, “Help! My Apartment Has a Dining Room!” and cooked it for dinner the other night.  She wanted a vegetarian alternative to the hamburgers and fries she and her husband planned to eat the following night.

Question for Mom

When I roast a whole chicken or turkey, how thoroughly should I scrub the insides before cooking it? –Virginia C.

You should not scrub the insides or even rinse the chicken because water destroys some of the flavor.  The roasting process will kill any bacteria. 

                   For more recipes, order "Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen!"

Best Use of Your Time in the Kitchen

Mississippi Mud Pie

Some days I feel like spending hours cooking. It allows me to not think about other things.  Other days I can barely force myself to get a meal on the table.  So I have developed some tricks to keep us from going hungry.

1) Examine what’s in the freezer. Is there a main dish in there, hiding behind the ice cubes?  Sometimes there actually is.  It could be a leftover or an actual main dish, deliberately prepared and frozen when I was in the mood to cook.

Using Up Wine

Boeuf Bourguignon 

Back in the Dark Ages when I was teaching myself to cook, I stumbled on a recipe that called for a cup of wine.  Innocent that I was, I went to my local Bohack, a now defunct New York grocery chain, and consulted with one of the checkout clerks.  She told me what aisle had cooking wine. 

I Can Make That Too: Shrimp Salad in Mom’s Kitchen vs. the Restaurant Version

Shrimp Salad from Petros

For me, eating cold shrimp has always meant Shrimp Cocktail, the classic appetizer that made dining out in the 1950’s a special treat.  I make it at home occasionally when I’m feeling nostalgic, but today shrimp for me is more of an ingredient in a stir-fry, soup or casserole.

Now thanks to a Shrimp Salad I ordered at Petros, a Greek restaurant in Manhattan Beach, CA, I have new respect for cold shrimp. 

Pearl Onions: What Are They and How Do I Use Them?

Pearl onions are the size of marbles and have a gentle onion taste.  They are excellent additions to soups, salads, pasta and casserole dishes.  Fully cooked, they also make a good side dish on their own.

The big drawback of pearl onions is peeling, which can take quite a while if you don’t cook them in boiling water for about 30 seconds and then soak them briefly in cold water to loosen their skins. Trim off the root end. Then grab the other end and squeeze gently so the skin and top layer of onion pops off.

Calling All Chocoholics

Even if I just whisper the word ‘chocolate,’ every family member in my house will find their way to the kitchen in 30 seconds.  They have good reason to be optimistic. 

My son Kevin and I wrote a chocolate cookbook--“Chocolate on the Brain”--so we have a wide range of desserts and snacks to draw from.  You may have baked some of our favorites--Chocolate Chip Bagels,  Chocolate Banana Bread and Lava Cookies.

Now it’s time to introduce you to

If Speed to the Table Is the Issue...

When I need to get dinner on the table in 20 minutes, the biggest question is what part of the meal is going to suffer.  Most pastas and white rice are ready in 20 minutes.  Grilled, pan-fried or stir-fried meat and fish can go from raw to cooked in 10 minutes, although you can forget about roasts—unless you are just reheating them.

The big challenge is the fresh vegetable.  The absolute easiest is broccoli.  Prep time is quick.

Question for Mom

I bought too much prosciutto to make your Prosciutto Panini Sandwich and I don’t know what to do with the leftovers.  Do you have any suggestions? –Fred F.

Funny. I had the same problem. I tore a few slices of prosciutto into 1- or 2-inch pieces and added them to a Shrimp Risotto and cooked the mixture for

“Smashing” Is Not a Usual Recipe Direction

Seldom does a recipe instruct me to smash something.  But then my friend Dorothy invited us for dinner with the promise of serving Smashed Potatoes.

I was intrigued.  Was she planning to use a baseball bat?  How edible would a smashed potato be?  Is this a dish you make only when you’re angry?

How to Pick a Cookbook That Works for You

I have a lot of cookbooks.  Partly it’s because I’ve written a few myself, and partly it’s because I’m always trying new dishes.

Along the way I’ve learned a few things.  I don’t want cookbooks that have beautiful pictures or fancily-named foods with dozens of ingredients, many of which I’ve never heard of.  Also, I avoid books that use a lot of canned foods or specialize in recipes from the 1950s.  It’s surprising how often I come across tuna noodle casserole.

The cookbooks I wrote with my son are basic beginner books. They got a little more complicated as he became a better cook.  Bottom line, though, is this: I don’t write about foods that I would never make.

My Favorite Freezer Food: Shrimp

I could have said croissants, bagels or leftovers, but I picked shrimp because it is so versatile. 

I used to think that shrimp cocktail was the only way to eat shrimp, but I was young and stupid then.  Because I grew up in a small town with limited grocery store options and restaurants, I didn’t think about food too much.  I just ate what was put in front of me. 

When I started cooking for myself, I never considered making shrimp cocktail.  It was a restaurant appetizer and too fancy to serve at home.

When You're Having a Bad Day

When my day is not going right and I need to cheer myself up, I reach for a piece of crusty bread.  Add some butter, and nothing could taste better!

Mom Cooking Tip 168

Using yeast but don’t know where you should place your dough to rise?  Use your oven. Turn it on to 325 degrees for 45 seconds to warm it up just a bit.  Then turn off the heat, put your dough in a large bowl, cover it with a tea towel and place the bowl on the bottom oven rack to rise.

                                                 See all my Cooking Tips!

A Favorite Lunch from the Past

Chicken Melt

When my children were young, they usually ate whatever I put in front of them.  Sometimes they would resist.  For instance, they refused to eat buckwheat, which they said tasted like wet carpet.  I thought they were making it up until I ate some myself.  They were right.

Baby Bellas: What Are They and How Do I Cook Them?

I was in such a hurry to complete my grocery shopping the other day that I grabbed the first package of mushrooms I saw, not paying attention to what the label said. Only when I was putting them in the vegetable bin did I notice I’d purchased “Baby Bella Sliced Mushrooms.”

I Can Make That Too: Panini with Prosciutto in Mom’s Kitchen vs. the Restaurant Version

Eatalian Café's Version of Panini with Prosciutto 

What could taste better on a summer day than a panini stuffed with prosciutto, mozzarella and tomatoes?  It barely needs cooking.  In fact, you can skip the panini press altogether and just use a loaf of French bread or ciabatta cut into 5-inch sections.

Mom Cooking Tip 167

If you are just learning to bake or are trying a new baking recipe, it’s a good idea to check whatever you are baking 5 minutes before it’s supposed to be done.  Your oven may be hotter than it should be…or the recipe writer could have made an error.  If you over-bake bread, cakes or cookies, there’s nothing you can do.  By checking 5 minutes early you may discover your dish is done and you can remove it from the oven.  If it’s not done, you have not harmed it by opening the door.  Just let it bake for the additional 5 minutes.  However, don’t open the oven door every 5 minutes during baking.  That will change the temperature of the oven and will impact the end result.

                                            See all my Cooking Tips!

The Brussels Sprouts Revolution

Since my childhood Brussels sprouts always seemed to be the most hated vegetable on dinner plates.  I got used to choking them down and actually became semi-fond of them. To me they tasted better than mushy peas.  However, I quickly learned not to serve them for company unless I wanted leftovers for myself..

Now, though, roasted brussels sprouts have become a restaurant favorite in Southern California.  They taste nothing like the overcooked vegetable you have bad memories about.  These are cut in half, oven-roasted in olive oil and then sautéd in butter. Seasonings include garlic, lemon juice and a few other salty ingredients.

The dish is so popular at Tin Roof Bistro in Manhattan Beach that the chef has posted his recipe

Loving Tandoori Chicken

Photo courtesy Tuttle Publishing

One of the best meals I had in London some years ago was Tandoori Chicken.  I’d never heard of it, but restaurant critics were raving about this spicy Indian chicken baked in a tandoor oven.  I assumed it was mostly exaggeration—until I tasted it myself. 

Thus was born a new family dining-out experience.  At the time our two children were under 8, and they weren’t interested in spicy food.  On the other hand Bart and I couldn’t get enough of this newly discovered way to cook chicken—a way I could not duplicate since my oven didn’t heat to 800 degrees.