The Cook’s Kitchen

An issue of Country Home magazine was packed with great ideas on “going green” recently. Whether it’s decorating your home, filling your kitchen or working in your garden, they have tons of inspiration on how to use recycled products, be mindful of the environment and how to go green.
Included is Country Home’s Green Clean Shopping […]

The folks at Woman’s Day magazine had a few kitchen savvy tips in the most recent issue that I thought were worthy of passing on. The mushroom tip was definitely new to me.

Store mushrooms in a brown paper bag in the refrigerator because it keeps them fresh longer.
Put the back of a wooden spoon […]

Just because a recipe is complex does not make it good. It only makes it complex.
Whenever I am asked to teach a culinary class, I feel honored that someone, anyone, would let me talk to them a great length about what I love to do. I go on about freshness, food miles, organic and, of […]

Washing fruits and vegetables when you get home from the market is definitely a good idea, as it helps get rid of pesticide residue that may linger.  But there’s no need to spend your money on those fruit and veggie washes that are peppering the market these days.
Consumer Reports suggests using your own homemade version instead.  “Mix […]

Mark Bittman is perhaps best known for his very popular How to Cook Everything book and his column in the New York Times.  In a recent piece in Woman’s Day magazine, he shared what he felt every cook should know:
- If you can control heat, you can cook.  It doesn’t matter if a stove’s electric […]

No worries.  From Real Simple magazine, this very excellent tip …
If you have leftover lemons and limes from a cocktail party, squeeze them and freeze the juice in an ice-cube tray. Once they’re frozen, store the cubes in zippered plastic bags and use them for recipes that call for fresh lemon or lime juice. (One […]

When was the last time you went shopping for cookware? So many shapes, so many sizes, so many varieties and so little time. It can be a confusing world. “What pans are best to sauté in? Do I need a skillet or a dutch oven to make Coq Au Vin? What size pots do I […]

When shopping for bell peppers, you have a variety of colors to choose from … red, green, yellow, orange … does one color really make a difference over another?  In a word, yes. 
The red peppers have the most amount of antioxidants, with yellow and orange following closely behind, so say the research team at Louisiana […]

Alton Brown, host of the popular FoodTV Network show, Good Eats, unveiled his list of 5 Essential Kitchen Gadgets in a recent issue of Oprah’s O magazine. As he said, “I have a small kitchen, so every piece has to audition constantly.”
Chef’s Choice Electric Kettle: “This hot pot takes any liquid to a boil and […]

I rarely have buttermilk on hand, and a bigger problem is that usually when a recipe calls for it, it only needs a small amount, and I’m left with tons leftover. What to do?
If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, try this substitute from Woman’s Day magazine … use a tablespoon lemon juice or […]