Pasta Tips

• Don’t add oil to the pasta water. It will make your pasta slippery and the sauce won’t coat it well.
• Don’t add the salt to the water, till after it boils. Salt slows down the time it takes to come to a boil. Also, salt leaves deposits in the pot if you add it before boiling.
• Cover the pot while boiling. It will come to the boil faster. But uncover when you add the pasta.
• Don’t add the pasta till the water has reached a rolling boil.
• Always save some of the pasta water in case you need it to thin out your sauce.
• Stir the pasta occasionally, while boiling, so it won’t stick.
• Under cook your pasta, so you can add it to your sauce and have it continue cooking together.
• Don’t drain your pasta too much and certainly don’t rinse it. The sauce will coat it better if it still has some of the starch on it. Lasagna is different. Do drain it. Do rinse it. Do dry it on a towel.
• You don’t have to cook lasagne noodles. Just soak in hot water for about twenty minutes. (I spill out the water and add new hot water, half way.)
• 4 oz. (weight) small pasta (penne, shells, macaroni etc.) = 1 cup dried = 2 ½ cups cooked.
• 4 oz. (weight) long pasta (spaghetti, fettucine, angel hair etc.) = 1” diameter = 2 cups cooked.

 

Write on. Wipe off.

Next time you bring a plastic container to a party, make sure you get it back, by writing your name on it with a dry erase white board marker. After you get it back, just wash it off.

A Better Way to Butter

Know the difference between a good cook and a great chef? Oh, about a pound of butter.

We all know the secret of what the addition of a little blob of butter can do to just about anything, from soups to roasted veggies. When you put a pound of butter into your butter dish, instead of leaving that rectangular baby intact, cut it randomly into assorted sized blobs. Then, anytime you want to add a blob for that extra flavor and coveted ‘fat feel’, just grab the size blob you’re looking for. No knife required.

Size Matters

Learn to eyeball sizes and weights. There are about three medium apples in a pound, about two large baking potatoes in a pound. Learn to recognize smaller amounts too. The next time you need a teaspoon of oregano, after measuring, dump the contents of the measuring spoon into the cup of your hand and learn what that teaspoon looks like. What a pleasure to be able to cook a sauce or casserole, adding spices accurately, yet without any measuring. When your recipe calls for a cup of shredded cheese, picture what a one cup measuring cup looks like. That will really help you recognize how much cheese you need. Learning all this takes a bit of practice, but really worth the effort.

Tomatoes

Never let a tomato see the inside of your refrigerator!