Getting Out of a Cooking Rut

When I was growing up, every Friday night we had dinner at my grandmother’s house.  Usually it was boiled chicken, preceded by chicken soup.  Grandma was probably in a cooking rut.

Now our house is the venue for that weekly dinner.  Although boiled chicken is never on the menu, I’m the one in the cooking rut.  There are only certain dishes I can serve that we all will eat—vegetarian lasagna, stuffed tortillas, blintzes--and I’m tired of them.

At times like this one of my great joys in life is dinner at somebody else’s house.

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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