Archive for the ‘Tips’ Category
Essential Spatulas for Cooking and Baking
While I agree 100% with vmac in the article Kitchen gadgets you think you need (but don’t), that egg-poachers, garlic peelers, julienne slicers, and choppers aren’t essential equipment, I do differ with his opinion on spatulas. To me, an active home cook (who also bakes) can have more than two spatulas without it being too [...]
Prepare Crispy Tofu Correctly!
i didn’t know how to cook tofu in order to get it nice and crispy for a long time but then a friend of mine showed me how you do it right!!!
the trick is to get as much water out as you can! drain the package, but then flip the whole brick out onto a paper [...]
Party Decorations – All you need are candles
Sometimes it’s fun to go all out and decorate for a party – birthday parties or theme parties usually lend themselves to this really well. However, sometimes there’s no apparent theme or more often than not, you just don’t have the time to come up with ideas and implement them all. I’ve found that the [...]
Basic Baking Ingredients: Tips on Temperature and Treatment
Recently a friend insisted that she couldn’t bake a cookie to save her life-or to have fun with her kids. Every time her children asked, “Mommy, can we bake cookies?” she reached for the mix and watched the excitement in her children’s eyes fade. Her kids want to bake cookies for the baking, not just [...]
Customizing Recipes: Using other recipes to create your own
Mango chutney rocks my world a little bit. Sweet, savory and spicy all at once, this chutney is addicting at first bite. I figured it was time to make my own stash to feed my addiction.
Although I cook regularly, I hate using one single recipe for a new dish. To me, spending all day on [...]
How to Bake Cupcakes from Scratch: 10 Things They DON’T Tell You in the Recipe
Those who bake well and often will tell you that making cupcakes is easy. And it is, if you were raised by June Cleaver or born with the Julia Child gene. I was lucky enough to learn from my mom, the daughter of a truly fantastic baker who wasn’t too June to let me “experiment” [...]
Let Your Guests Choose the Music!
A great way to come up with music that everyone likes for your party is to ask each guest to send you a list of their favorite songs. Most likely you will have at least a few of them, and if not, you might be able to figure out what they will like that you [...]
Party Planning With a Small Space – Host a Party That’s Small on Space but Big on Fun!
Back when I lived in Northern Virginia, in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., I was lucky enough to have lived in a large house, complete with a regulation-size pool table. Back then, hosting a party of any size was a cinch, I could easily fit 70+ people, I had two dining tables to lay out [...]
Help Guests Label Their Drinks
It’s always a predicament at parties when no one can remember where their drink is…and of course, all the drinks look the same. I’ve found that it really helps to get some drink charms to put on the stems of glasses if you are having a cocktail party, and if you are hosting a good-ole [...]
Pick Music Everyone Likes
I’ve found that what really makes or breaks a party is the music. More people are willing to socialize when there is some form of background noise, and I’ve noticed that the more people are enjoying the music, the more people enjoy themselves. Unfortunately, in the past I have pulled the faux pas of putting [...]