Mom Cooking Tip 137

If you leave the kitchen while you’re cooking something, carry a portable timer with you.  I have burned too many dinners over the years by not hearing the timer beep.

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When the Picture Makes You Want to Cook the Recipe

When I first saw a picture of individual lasagna noodles stuffed with filling, rolled into tight bundles and standing on end in a deep casserole dish, I was enchanted.  Lasagna was one of my early favorite foods, and I still make it at least once a month.  But it had never occurred to me to use the noodles in this way.

For years, laziness prevailed.  Then I rediscovered the recipe I clipped out for “Lasagna Swirls,” as the writer called them, and decided now was the time.  I followed the directions carefully, or so I thought, stuffing each noodle with cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese and spinach, and the resulting dish was mediocre.  One of the young family members, a budding food critic, announced, “These noodles could be armor on a tank.”

Mom Cooking Tip 136

When baking, you don’t need to soften butter if you’re using a food processor.  Just cut it into a few pieces to help processing.

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Nutmeg Grater: What Is It and How Do I Use It?

Clockwise from left: Nutmeg Seeds, Ground Nutmeg, Nutmeg Grater

Not every kitchen needs a nutmeg grater (or grinder, as some people call them) because not every cook uses nutmeg.  But if you haven’t tried this spice, maybe you should—just to twirl the handle of the grater.

Nutmeg is actually a large seed, about 1 inch in length.  It’s brown in color and oval in shape.

Also available pre-ground, nutmeg is a popular baking ingredient. It provides a distinctly sweet but delicate flavor to eggnog, bread, vanilla ice cream and fruit desserts.  Try it in Apple Streusel Pie.

Question for Mom

How do I get cake layers out of their pans after baking without breaking or somehow damaging them?  Nicole E.

The secret is putting a layer of wax paper or parchment paper in the bottom of each cake pan before pouring in the batter.  Cut out pan-sized circles of one of these papers and slip them into the bottom of each pan.  Then spread a small amount of butter or canola oil onto each paper circle.  When you remove the baked cake layers from the oven, set them on a cooling rack and let cool.  Slide a knife around the edge of each pan to loosen the layer.  Then carefully turn the entire pan over onto a plate or the cooking rack itself and gently remove the paper. 

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Question for Mom

What do you recommend as an easy emergency dinner? – Jeff B.

Freshly made Cheese Ravioli is a wonderful treat.  it’s not on my list of dishes I cook from scratch for one simple reason.  Time.  It would take me several hours to make it, and I have other things to do. 

Luckily many grocery stores carry fresh ravioli in their refrigerated cases.  They’re not cheap, but they are cheaper than a plate of ravioli at a restaurant.  Fresh ravioli take about 7 minutes to cook.  Add some garlic butter sauce, Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley, if you have it.  One 9-ounce package feeds two; one 20-ounce package feeds 4.  Add a salad and garlic bread, and it’s feast time.

If you keep packages of fresh ravioli in the freezer, eating them could become a habit.

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Mom Cooking Tip 135

When baking a cake, don’t open the oven door until you can start smelling the cake.  If you open the door too early, the cake may not rise properly.  If it does fall in the center, pile on the icing so no one will notice.  Note thickness of icing in the center of the cake pictured above.

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Who Says Rice Is Boring?

Dinner Party Rice

Actually, me.  And it is boring the way I tend to make it.  Water – rice – boil - eat – reheat or make Fried Rice with the leftovers.  It’s simple.  It’s easy.  It’s bland.  It goes with just about anything except pizza or pasta.

I changed my mind about rice after my friend Grace, who’s from South America, served me her Dinner Party Rice.  Not only is her rice pretty to look at but also it tastes better than the average bowl of rice.

Avocado Toast

I need to get in the Avocado Toast business, now that I realize some people will pay $17 for something I can make for less than a dollar. And that includes homemade wholegrain bread.

I’m not usually on the cutting edge of restaurant dishes, and I’m probably behind the curve on this one too.  But I am a big fan of avocados. 

I didn’t discover this fruit until I was an adult and went grocery shopping with a friend.  He mentioned that his mother often served avocados so I bought one as a dinner side dish.  Regrettably he didn’t mention that avocados are only really edible when they’re ripe.  Under-ripe avocados, which are rock-like, have no taste, and once you cut into them they will not ripen further.  Over-ripe avocados are usually mushy, riddled with black spots and have an off  taste.

In their natural just-ripe state, avocados have a delicate flavor.  Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing poured into the cavity where the very large avocado seed once was boosts the taste.  Check out this link.  This was my go-to appetizer when I lived in London.

Avocado Toast is a good alternative.

Mom Cooking Tip 134

When adding dried herbs to a dish, crush them between your fingers.  This action will help release their flavor.

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Eat Your Greens

These three words – “Eat your greens” – evoke strong memories at our house, especially when our son and daughter are sitting around the dinner table.  While attending elementary school in London, they heard these words constantly at lunchtime.  The dinner ladies, as the female cafeteria staff were called, would not allow children to leave the table until their plates were clean.  Usually that meant choking down some mysterious green sludge.

As parents, we were happy to know our kids were eating balanced meals that we didn’t have to prepare.  Only later did we realize that greens had become the enemy.  These days we often have impromptu skits when cooked spinach, kale, chard, beet greens or mustard greens appear as side dishes.  Luckily leafy salads don’t prompt anyone to chant “Eat your greens,” but our son did buy his sister a dinner lady action figure a few years ago.

How can I overcome this knock on foods that I like to eat?

Anchovy Paste: What Is It and How Do I Use It?

Anchovy paste has been around for centuries and was even used by the Romans.  It’s made of mashed up anchovies, a little water or olive oil and a small amount of sugar to offset the fishy taste. 

For convenience it is usually available in little tubes so you can squeeze out just the amount you need, which is unlikely to be more than a teaspoon at a time.  You can also make your own by mashing anchovy fillets (sold in small cans) with olive oil.

Start the Year Off with Chocolate

Nobody brought me a chocolate dessert over the holidays, so I had to make my own.  That’s not such a terrible thing because I have a lot of good chocolate recipes.  And if I make them myself, I know where to hide the leftovers.

Right now there are two thin slivers of Chocolate Mousse Cake wrapped up in a plastic bag in the back of the fridge.  The last guests leave tomorrow, and I’ll be free to nibble on them in peace.

This is one of the easiest cakes ever.