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

Boiling onions look just like regular onions, but they are only about 1-to 1½ inches in diameter.  They are harvested very early in the growing process.  In their raw state, they are often just as strong in taste as regular onions.  They mellow out when cooked.

Use boiling onions whole in casseroles, soups and in a tray of roasted vegetables.  Or they can simply be a side dish.  Boil them for about 30 minutes, or until they have softened and can be easily pierced with a sharp knife.  Toss with butter, salt, black pepper and a teaspoon of sugar.

Peeling these little onions

No More Turkey, Please!

Ahi Tuna Slices

Thanksgiving is in my rear-view mirror, but leftover turkey lingers.  I didn’t mind it for lunch the day after Thanksgiving, and I was equally happy to eat more leftovers on Saturday night. 

That was then.  This morning I woke up and checked out space in my freezer.  Yup!  Just enough room for those lonely turkey legs that no one wanted to eat.  In a few weeks they will look a lot more delicious.

Now what? 

Cheese Fries Finally Come to My Table

Where have I been for the last 20 years?  I had never eaten a Cheese Fry.  In fact, I hate to admit it but I’d never heard of Cheese Fries.

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

If you’ve ever eaten cornbread, you’ve eaten cornmeal.  Cornmeal is simply ground corn, available in three sizes: fine, medium and coarse.  It’s normally not ground as fine as flour and thus is not a substitute for flour.  It’s more like an addition.

Egg Noodles: What Are They and How Do I Use Them?

My grandmother put egg noodles in chicken soup, but I didn’t know they were different from spaghetti or other noodles until well after I left home and started cooking for myself. 

Mom Cooking Tip 154

Do you have a lot of garlic cloves to peel?  Separate them from the bulb and microwave them for 20 seconds.  The bigger cloves will almost peel themselves.  The smaller ones are a bit more fiddly, but the skins will slip off without too much effort.

                                           See all my Cooking Tips!

When Best Intentions Aren’t Enough

I had been thinking about roasted, spicy chicken legs for dinner ever since I read a favorable review of a local chicken restaurant.   ‘I should be able to make something similar,’ I said to myself while roaming around the supermarket. 

When I spotted a large plastic-wrapped package of chicken legs on sale, I knew my dream dinner was about to come true.  I’ve roasted chicken parts before so I just followed my instincts, mixing together a few spices with some olive oil, coating the legs and baking them for about 45 minutes.   Then I popped them briefly under the broiler to get crispy.

Major disappointment!

Liquid Smoke: What Is It and How Do I Use It?

Liquid smoke sounds like something film crews use to create special effects.  In a way that’s exactly right, although it’s cooks rather than film crews who work the magic.  

A Springform Pan: What Is It and How Do I Use It?

Unless you like to bake, it’s unlikely that you would own a springform pan.  I bought one when I was planning to make a chocolate cheesecake with a cookie crumb crust and worried: 1) a regular cake pan wouldn’t be deep enough to hold all the cheesecake batter, and 2) if I used a deep dish casserole, how would I get the baked cheesecake out of it without making a mess?