Martha A. Cheves's Blog, page 150

Cookie Tips

Let cookies cool completely before storing. To keep them fresh, store soft and chewy cookies in an airtight container and crisp cookies in a jar with a loose-fitting lid.

Use shiny cookie sheets when baking. Dark pans absorb more heat and can cause them to over brown.

To loosen cookies that have been left in the pan too long, return the pan to a 350 degree oven for minutes, then remove them from the pan. (This works on cakes too.)

Quick-cooking oats, browned in a small amount of butter or margar...

Ice Molds

Having a party? Add an ice mold to your punch. Pour 2 cups of ginger ale into a cakepan. Freeze at least 4 hours. Arrange about 1 cup of fruit over the frozen ale and top with 1 cup of ginger ale. Freeze completely. To unmold, let the pan sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes or until the mold is loosened. Carefully place into your punch.

Seafood Tips

Scallops - Scallops are highly perishable so cook them within two days of purchase. Before cooking, always wash to remove sand and grit.

Crabmeat - Crabmeat becomes tough, watery and looses it's flavor when frozen. Use crabmeat in a recipe and then freeze.

Fish - frozen fish should not be kept longer than one day before cooking. The flavor is better if it's cooked immediately after frying. Fresh fish has practically no "fish" odor. The odor becomes stronger with age so smell your fresh fi...

Muffin Tip

While making muffins, there have been times that I have more muffin cups than muffin batter and I usually don't discover this until after I've sprayed the full pan with non-stick spray or greased all cups. There is a way to keep the spray or grease from baking onto the cups. For those that you don't fill with batter, fill them about half way full with water. The water also keeps the empty cups from smoking while your muffins are baking.

Crab Pesto

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I love Pesto and I love pasta salads but have never tried combining the two. The idea came to me in steps as I started making up my Pesto to go over some spaghetti. I first decided to add the black olives and then added a little mayonnaise to thicken and allow the pesto to stick a little better to the pasta. Then I spotted a package of imitation crab meat. It sounded pretty good so why not? Then I thought about adding the cheese and allowing it to melt. I have a best friend, Dusty, who loves ...

Fruitcake Icing

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I can't say that I like Fruitcake so I don't even bother to make it. But I do sometimes find myself with leftover dried fruit and nuts that would normally go into the making of fruitcake. What do I do with them? Until today I've always tossed them into candy. One of the things I don't like about fruitcake is the taste the fruit ends up with after it's baked. Then I came up with an idea.... use them in cake icing. They keep their original taste and aren't cooked. So since I had a mixture...

Cake Baking Tips

I don't make layer cakes very often but when I do I want them to come out perfect. No sticking to the pan! These are a couple of things I do to make sure my cakes come out of the pan clean and complete.

When a recipe calls for a "greased pan" it means to use solid shortening, not oil. And a greased pan means bottom and sides. Plus, you can add a wax paper liner to the bottom of the pan. This is done by tracing an outline of the pan on the wax paper and cutting it out. Place your liner ...

Keeping That Fresh Coffee Smell and Taste

When I open a fresh container of coffee, the aroma is so wonderful that I can't wait to make a pot. I usually can't wait for the pot to finish before I've poured my 1st cup. That is the best cup of the day but I usually have 2-3 cups. The second cup is good but not as good as the 1st. The third is OK but not as good as the second. Why? AIR! Exposure to air saps the aroma from the coffee. Continued heat makes it bitter. The solution lies in pouring freshly made coffee into a sealed co...

More Vegetable Tips

When selecting yellow squash, look at the stem. If the stem is hard, dry, shriveled, or darkened, the squash is not fresh.

To make use of thick asparagus stalks, peel the lower part p to the tender part with a vegetable peeler.

Steaming fresh vegetables over boiling water preserves more vitamins than cooking in boiling water.

And... remove the tops of carrots before refrigerating. The tops drain the carrots of moisture making them limp and dry.

Vegetable Tips

When preparing vegetables for cooking, use a stiff vegetable brush to scrub rather than peel them. Peeling causes a loss of vitamins found in and just under the skin. For many vegetables, such as squash, peeling is not necessary.

Sand and dirt can be removed by soaking them in warm salted water for 5 minutes.