Mom Cooking Tip 133

If you eat a lot of pasta, save time by doubling the amount you normally cook. Swirl the drained leftovers in a tablespoon of olive oil and refrigerate in a covered container.  Reheat in a microwave or add the pasta directly to a pot of sauce.

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So Sick of Turkey

Shrimp Florentine

Whenever I set out to buy a Christmas turkey, I’m an optimist.  Of course I’ll be able to make use of a 16-pounder.  I tell myself, “We’re having 12 people for dinner so there won’t be many leftovers.”

Turns out that was the biggest misstatement of the year.  We’re three nights into turkey leftovers, and I can’t stand the sight of them.  I decided to freeze the rest, but the freezer is so crammed I needed to remove some things first.

That’s how Shrimp Florentine became my go-to dinner.

Question for Mom

Top Bean=No String, Bottom Beans=Strings

Do I have to trim both ends of green beans before cooking them? – Harold G.

The simple answer is no.  Some people don’t bother to trim the stem end, but it’s a little tough. I prefer to snap or cut off about 1/2 inch of that end.  Normally I leave the other end in place. 

But there is one big exception.  If the green beans have tough strings along the edges, it’s a good idea to pull off and discard these strings.  To do that, snap off one end of the bean and carefully pull the string away.  Then snap off the other end and pull the string off the other edge.  

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Mom Cooking Tip 132

Cheese tastes better at room temperature, so let it sit out for about an hour before serving.

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The Secret of Lamb Chops

I’ve always liked lamb chops.  They’re hard to ruin.  Even inexperienced cooks can grill a lamb chop.  Just don’t cook it too long—3-4 minutes per side--unless you like your meat super-well-done.  If you don’t have a grill or broiler, a frying pan will do.

The biggest obstacle to lamb chops is their cost.  My local grocery store is selling loin chops for $12.99 a pound and shoulder chops (also called blade or arms chops) for $10.99 a pound.  Luckily they’re often on sale for considerably less.  When I spotted shoulder chops for $2.99 per pound, I stocked up.

Mom Cooking Tip 131

To cut slices of Lemon or Chocolate Meringue Pie, first dip the knife blade into a glass of water.  This will prevent the knife from sticking to the meringue.

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Old Cookbooks

I was cleaning out my cookbook collection this morning and stumbled on some very odd recipes in some equally odd cookbooks.  Brussels Sprouts in Cream, White Salad and Pear Macaroon Salad. What on earth was I thinking when I bought these books?

I guess it was my way of avoiding the bland, boring dishes I usually ate when I was growing up.  I had my first Eggs Benedict in college and my first Spaghetti in Garlic Sauce (so exotic to me at the time) a few months after joining the New York working world.  Tabbouleh Salad at my local Lebanese restaurant was an eye-opener.

Question for Mom

Clockwise from left: table salt, kosher salt, sea salt flakes, sea salt

How important is salt in a recipe?  --Jeffrey L.

It’s very important when it comes to flavor.  With most dishes you cook, you can add salt at the last minute or leave it to the eaters to add salt themselves in case they’re on a salt-restricted diet.  With raw meat, it’s better not to sprinkle salt on it before you cook it, because salt will pull the juices out—and that can make the meat tougher.

If you are baking bread, cakes, cookies, pie crusts, muffins—anything with dough—adding the right amount of salt is extremely important.  Make sure you add it when the directions tell you to--during mixing--because it affects the baking process.  Salt strengthens the dough and also affects the taste.  I once forgot to add it when making bread, and the end result was awful.

The biggest problem with salt is adding too much.  There is no effective way to remove salt once it has dissolved.  See this post. 

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Mom Money-Saving Tip 89

Roast Pork Loin

Roasts provide lots of meals.  Buy them when they’re on sale, cook them and then freeze half the leftovers.  Use the rest for sandwiches, cut up in tortillas or soup or a simple repeat of your original dinner.  I just bought a 4-pound pork loin roast for $10 and used some of the leftovers for Cuban Sandwiches.  

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Chocolate on My Mind

I’m proud to be a chocoholic. I’ve tried weaning myself off this addiction. Once I managed to avoid chocolate for two weeks, but that was a long time ago. Without the invention of chocolate chips, I might have succeeded. 

A 12-ounce bag of chocolate chips is incredibly versatile. Eating a handful now and then is one way to empty the bag. Making Chocolate Chip Cookies is another way. 

Now I’ve come up with a third way: a Triple-Layer Chocolate Cookie.

Mom Cooking Tip 130

When you’re icing a layer cake and don’t have enough icing, use jam between the layers instead of icing.

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Roast Beef and I

London Broil Sliced Against the Grain

Roast beef and I used to have a fine time together.  When I was growing up, going out to dinner with my family and ordering prime rib was a grand tradition.  We didn’t do it often—maybe once a year—so it was memorable.. 

My mother didn’t know how to cook prime rib.  I doubt she ever looked for it in the meat department.  As I grew up and started learning about cooking, I examined various beef cuts, but I was so confused that I mostly bought ground beef and made hamburgers. 

What was the difference between sirloin steak, porterhouse steak, New York strip steak, minute steak, flank steak, round steak and chuck steak?  Before I figured it out, I moved to London, where these cuts of meat had different names.  Luckily the city had lots of small-store butchers who were willing to answer questions.  With their help

Mom Cooking Tip 129

Draft an ice cream scoop to shape meatballs or burgers, keeping your hands out of raw ground meat.

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