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Thanksgiving Tip: Refill Your Ice Trays

YumSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:50:35 -0800

Before a party or a big feast like Thanksgiving, there are a couple of minor - yet impactful - things I always make sure to do. One is to empty the dishwasher; another is to refill my ice trays completely with fresh water. There's nothing more annoying than reaching for ice to go with water, punch, or cocktails, only to find that there's one cube left.

Add a note to your Thanksgiving planner: The morning of the big dinner, fill your trays with distilled water, which will prevent ice from appearing cloudy in the center. When guests arrive, you'll be able to serve them drinks with a just-made batch of ice. What little tasks help you stay on top of all the Thanksgiving mania?

Simple Tip: Heat Leftover Pasta Over the Stove

partysugar — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:00:28 -0700

For the majority of my life, I heated up leftover pasta in the microwave. The result is hot, slightly crusty, not-as-good-as-the-night-it-was-made pasta. Recently, I started practicing a new technique that I think is much better. I slowly heat the pasta over the stove and the noodles end up being soft, the sauce is warmed through, and the dish tastes (almost) exactly like it did the night before! Here's how I do it:

Depending on what kind of sauce the pasta was made with, start by heating a little butter or olive oil in a large saute pan over low to medium heat.
When the butter is melted or the oil hot, add the cold pasta.
Now add a couple of tablespoons to 1/4 cup of liquid like water, broth, milk, or wine. Use the kind of liquid you employed when first making the sauce. For example, if reheating leftover macaroni and cheese, add milk. If reheating bolognese, add red wine, etc.
Stir the pasta with the liquid until the pasta is heated and soft, and the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Do you eat leftover pasta? What's your method for reheating?

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How to Quickly Clean a Whisk

partysugar — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:50:56 -0700

For years I hated when a recipe required whisking. Not because it hurt my wrist, but because cleaning the whisk was such a pain. Until one day, while doing the dishes, I had a light bulb moment. The dirty whisk was sitting in a small bowl filled with soapy hot water. Without thinking I quickly swirled the whisk, whisking the soapy water. In seconds, I realized the whisking had whisked all the sauce off, and voila! The whisk was so clean I could make another custard or béchamel sauce. Now I always whisk my whisk until it's clean.

Do you have any secret no-brainer tips for cleaning everyday kitchen tools? Share with us below!

Carrying Food From Kitchen to Kitchen? Label Everything

partysugar — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:15:16 -0700

When preparing for my birthday dinner last week, I started cooking the food on Thursday, but planned to transport it to my grandfather's house (the site of the party) on Friday. To ensure that I wouldn't forget a crucial ingredient, I labeled everything I needed to take with a purple Post-it. Sure, it was a little obsessive compulsive, but when I opened my crowded fridge, it was easy for me to see what items were supposed to be packed. Also, it made sure my mission was accomplished: I didn't end up forgetting anything! What is your secret for remembering ingredients?

Simple Tip: Transport Baked Goods in Bakery Boxes

partysugar — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:15:40 -0700

Unless you make and transport cupcakes on a very regular basis, you probably have no need for a bulky plastic cupcake carrier. However, on those occasions when cupcakes have to be carried from your kitchen to another location, do what I do and pick up a baking box. A local bakery, or even the baking section of your grocery store, has a large supply of these boxes in a variety of sizes. If you've developed a relationship with the employees, they'll most likely give you the box for free. Ask for a large, medium, or small box and you can safely transport cakes, cookies, or pies without ruining a beautiful frosting job. Does anyone else do this? What's your secret for taking baked goods from one place to another?

Go Green! Fashion Your Own Chip Clips

YumSugar — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 07:00:06 -0700

Ever since Party suggested using wine bottles as darling water holders, I've been wanting to share an eco-friendly tip of my own. If you're like me, you've got a surplus of plastic clamped clothes hangers sitting in your closet. I often return hangers to the dry cleaners, as a way to recycle them - but I save the ones with clamps, and turn them into chip clips.

It's beyond easy: carefully twist the clips off (or, if they're soft plastic, you can remove them with a sharp knife), and you've got a useful (and completely free!) clip for chips or anything else that needs preserving in your pantry. Have you ever done this before? What other upcycling or eco-friendly tips do you have for keeping a green kitchen?

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Simple Tip: Keep a Ruler in Your Kitchen

YumSugar — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:45:45 -0700

When improvising in the kitchen, I like to "eyeball" measurements, as Rachael Ray would say. But if there's one scenario when I like to be exact, it's baking. While I'm rolling out dough for anything from tarts to pizza to shortcakes, I prefer to be precise, because variations in size can have a significant impact on baking time. That's why I always keep a ruler handy - so for instance, I can be sure that my breakfast tart is exactly 10 inches by eight inches, like it should be.

I shelled out an extra dollar on a designated kitchen ruler so it's always at arm's length when I'm up to my elbows in flour and isn't covered with anything questionable, like miscellaneous pen marks. Do you keep a ruler in the kitchen? What other measures do you take (no pun intended) to ensure that your baked goods come out right?

Simple Tip: Keep Reusable Totes in Your Trunk

YumSugar — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:50:50 -0700

From drinking less bottled water to making more educated seafood choices, I've been all about adopting a greener lifestyle. But simple as it sounds, the one thing I could never quite nail down was bringing reusable totebags to the grocery store.

Every Sunday, without fail, I'd pull into my local Trader Joe's, and catch the "Don't forget to bring your reusable bags!" sign in the parking lot, only to realize that I'd left all of my totebags at home. After repeating this mistake too many times to count, I finally collected all of my market totes and put them in the trunk of my car. Now, I have an array of bag sizes that come in handy not just for my weekly groceries, but also for takeout, dinner party leftovers, and anything else you can imagine.

Where do you keep your reusable bags, so you don't forget them?

Simple Tip: Smash Olives to Remove the Pit

partysugar — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:15:59 -0700

Last Sunday I was making dinner with my friend Sonia. While she deveined shrimp, I prepared the salad. "What are you doing?" she asked as I repeatedly slammed my hand on top of a knife. I was pitting olives and surprised to learn that she had never seen anyone pit olives before. As I was teaching her my technique, I realized I should share it with you, too!

To pit olives, for making salad or tapenade, place the olive on a cutting board. Set a wide kitchen knife on top of the olive. With the palm of your hand, hit the knife hard - like you would do when peeling garlic. The pressure flattens the olive and the pit pops out easily. This method also works for cherries, but be careful, cherries produce a lot of juicy splatters. How do you pit olives?

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Simple Tip: Chill Kitchen Tools Before Whipping Cream

YumSugar — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:00:43 -0700

While whipping cream for strawberry shortcake the other day, I was reminded of a helpful prep tip that I always employ: stay cool. Using refrigerated cream helps produce stiff peaks, but it's important to chill your mixing bowl and beaters - and even keep the kitchen frigid, if possible. When cream is whipped at a lower temperature, fat globules stick together to support the foam created by whipping in a large amount of tiny air bubbles. Therefore, beating cream at a cooler temperature will produce the largest amount of volume.

What are your best suggestions for whipping heavy cream?