Twealing And Perking

 Sometimes even storebought foods need a perk or a tweak to make them more palable. If that sauce is not quite tasty enough - add something? Or the pie crust that needs a little something extra. Add to it. It makes for a tastuer bite.

One of the easiest items to zing up is sauce and gravy. Jarred tomato sauce is tasty but it can be made to taste almost like mom's. Add olive oil to give the sauce some body. This gives it a smoother texture to it which makes for  a silky bite . Sliced green or red peppers are always a good plus to any tomato sauce. Both kinds add sweetness and depth to the flavor. Mushrooms give a chewiness to the sauce as added in sausage. THis could be vegan or non vegan for a more heartier sauce.For a vodka sauce splash in a quarter cup of vodka and half a cup of heavy cream. Frozen pizza can also benefit from some tweaks and perks too. A good sprinkling of oregano helps improve the taste  along with a liberal drizzle of oil. Most frozen pizza have just the usua; topping but you cna perk up a plan 9one with artichi]oke hears, greena dn black olives alogn with vegan susage and even bacon. Scatter pineapple chunks on it as well if you want to . You can apply this idealogy to Thanksgiving foods too, You could add some steamed chestnut to that Stovetop Suffing or add a drop of cognac to jarred gravy.

Baked goods can also get some tweaks and zings. Croissants are good on their own but add some almond butter mixed with cinnamon to create a tasty breakfast or brunch treat.You could also split them, warm them and add apple butter as well.  Since this is pie season, premade pie crusts can always get a boost. Brush them with melted butter for a more homemade taste. You could also brush heavy cream on and then dust the edges with granulated sugar. Zing up that store bought pumpkin pie with some fin homemade toppings. You can make a pecan streusel. Use toasted pecan pieces, oats melted butter , brown sugar and salt. Pop into the oven fro ten minutes to get the streusel crunchy.You could also drizzle on homemade or store bought caramel sauce. As for that other Thanksgiving staple pecan pie. think of serving it with a dollop of bourbon whipped cream. This is combining heavy cream with confectioner's sugar and adding one tablespoon of bourbon along with a teaspoon of vanilla.  Bought shortbread cookies, a favorite winter treat can be elevated a notch when dipped in melted dark chocolate.

Turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. Add some zing to every day ingredients or store bought foods. Giving them some oomph wikk make a difference.

Frozen Pizza It's Getting Fresher

Frozen pizza is one of those quick meal or snack bites.It's great if you don;t want the bother of going out or calling up for a hot pie. Yet it's not as tasty as fresh , hot pies. That's changing. You can have  good quality and flavor right from the freezer.

Regular contributor JUlia Moskin wrote abut this in today's New York Times Food section. She even enlisted her feloow TImes workers to jou=in her in a taste test of some of the more "boutique" brands. The new generation of frozen pies are nto like the ones everyone grew up on. The bigger companies like DiGiorno and Red Baron make their pies with dough conditioners, additives and processed cheeses. all engineered for freezing. The crusts are infused with sugar and oil, the dough is parbaked and the cheese and sauce are applied raw to be cooked in your oven.However this infuriates pizzaiolo like Manhattan's Anthony Mangieri, founder of Pizza Napoletana has created a frozen pizza that meet his standards.It would have to be wood fired, slow rising and fashioned from all natural and all Italian ingredients, He founda plant in Northern Italy that could give him the perfect pie.The first tries didn;t exactly work out, The dough was extreemly gummy and the managers were vexed by his high demands. It wass only when he compared his pies to Ferraris made nearby that they listened. More mom and pop pizzerias are following his lead, relying on a delivery company like Goldbelly to deliver the goods.

How did these new breeds of frozen pizza measure up? Ms. Moskin, along with Erik Kim who also writes for the Times Food section and VaughVreeland,  a supervising producer for the paper  judged them. She also included editor Cathy Lu.They sampled many , but all were from independent pizza makers dedicated to Neopolitan pizza. They came from all over, from the artesenal pizzerias in Manhattan and the boroughs  to the ones in San Francisco and Phoenix alognw ith ones from Atlanta and San Antonio. They found that some were not as good as some of the superamrket brands. WHich ones did pass muster? There was Robert'a from Bushwick Brooklyn. It did have lovely puddles of cheese which everyone loved however there was a skimpy layer of tomato sauce and a crust that had dried out in the freezing process.There was also another New York pizza  Table 87. Mr Kim  loved the tomato puree yet Mr. Vreeland thought it too sweet and comp[ared it to LUnchables. Talia of Napoli had a great crust. , the perfect char as Mis Lu said. yet the toppings were faint in taste. The best was Mr. Mangieri's Genio pizza which was perfect in all aspects. It was a combination of salty and oily.

These are the Next Gen of frozen pizza. Try them for a more authentic fresh fromthe oven flavor/Its the next best thing to having a homemade pie.

Emergency Fridge

This is the time when colds and viruses hit. it can be debilitating, especially when either one comes on strong. You can't get out of bed. You barely can head into the kitchen and cook. This is the time for emergency stock ups. Have your kitchen ready when you can;t go to the store.

Two of the most important items to have are bouillon cubes and soups. These are the easiest to heat up and the easiest to get down. Plus there's nothing like hot liquid to soothe a sore throat. Another plus about bouillon cubes is that they can be used as the base for many heartier soups you can make. Bouillons are light and make a good snack too besides being for lunch or dinner. Add a few Saltines if you're up to it.It makes the cup more substantial and you won't feel so hungry afterwards. Any kind of soup is a good addition to your emergency stock up. Campbell's newest addition, Well Yes! has a wide variety of choices (this is my go to soup now), from tomato basil to roasted chicken with wild rice. These have a lovely homemade taste that's just comforting. What goes with soup? Crackers, Have plenty of Saltines on hand. These are tasty with a cup or even lightly spread with butter or peanut butter.Bread is another must have.A plain slice of toast is always welcomed when you're just coming back from a decreased appetite. Stick with loaves. Baguettes and rolls will become stale too quickly,

Another must have when you're sick is apple sauce. The pectin in it helps alleviate diarrhea and the sugars gives the body an energy boost. Make sure you have cinnamon to add to it. Bananas are another fruit that should be on hand. It replaces potassium lost from vomiting and diarrhea along with helping to strengthening the stomach lining. It's also an easy snack for the kids too. What else should you buy in case you get sick? Rice. It also calms the stomach if you have the flu.It's also one of the easiest foods your family can cook up and it can be used as a side for many dishes like stew. You may also want to buy frozen foods such as pizza and French bread pizza. It's a simple cook, one that even your tweens and teens can do. You can also have easy to saute foods such as chicken breasts or flank steaks, along with such versatile veggies as tomatoes and peppers. These last can be  cut, diced, and sliced and added into a variety of different dishes. Since you'll be feeling dehydrated along with just having a dry throat , get your favorite juices along with cola. The last really does help with upset stomachs and can settle any disturbances It also is just good as a semi frozen slushie when your throat feels extra sore. Teas are a must too. Stock up on your favorite blends. You will be drinking a lot of cups of them.

Don't be stuck with an empty fridge when you're sick. Stock up beforehand on the basics that you and your family will need. That way you can stay in bed and nurse  a bad cold, flu or sore throat.

Doodads And Gadgets

Every kitchen should have an array of gadgets and appliances that will help to facilitate cooking and baking. However should a home chef have every thingamabob available. What should your kitchen have? What's considered a frill or a necessity.

Of course every home should have mid size appliances. Microwaves and toasters are a must. Where would we be without them. The first helps in reheating leftovers and cooking quick sides. As for the toaster, many go for a toaster oven because it does more than the average toaster. It can bake frozen pizza and cinnamon buns along with giving leftovers a nice , crispy surface. A toaster is  a  good choice if you strapped for kitchen space.it's smaller and compact and fits perfectly on a counter or table.  You should have one even if you don't eat toast on a regular basis.Toasted bread adds  something to egg or tuna salad sandwiches and BLTs. Should you add an air fryer to your arsenal?I'd say yes, simply because it's a best alternative to an oven. It cooks everything from fries to meat cuts evenly and some larger models allow you to bake in them. There's a timer which is always a plus. Another must have gadget or appliance (depending on how you look at it) is the crockpot or Instapot. These are great stand ins for your cooktop and oven. A crockpot allows you to make sauce or chili, without having to slave over a hot stove. Also the slow cooking adds more complexity and layers to simple recipes.

What about those other gadgets and doodads? You know the ones. There in those ads between games.  One company, Esfranki, has a whole range of fun gadgets and doodads for every aspect of your life.I've bought a couple of their products such as their reusable toaster bags which I can use to make no mess grilled cheese. and their silicon leak proof bags for leftovers.. I have yet to use them but will - eventually.Their strawberry huller looks interesting and it makes it easier to get rid of the stems. Yet a, paring knife can also do the job.Their stainless steel watermelon cutter also could be  useful, although a good all purpose knife can do the trick. I often think I should buy a cookie dough scooper.It would make it easier to drop dough on the cookie sheet .Using a regular spoon can get sticky and messy, making for unevenly sized cookies. However I found that my family's ice cream scoop, sixty years old and thick like a hammer works perfectly if it's sprayed with a cooking spray.As for my cookie press, it needs a bit of finesse to get perfect cookies. Will I use it again after all the angst it caused?Or will I just make scoop cookies?I'll try it again, maybe for a get together or possibly Easter.

A kitchen doesn't need so many gadgets and doodads.You can make do with what you already have. If it does the trick keep it. Yet it's no sin to expand. If you see an interesting doodad, buy it.

A Day In

These past few days I'll be staying in, thanks to visits from vets and phone installers. What's a foodie to do when they have to stay in. Plenty. There's a list of things any foodie can do when you're stuck in a house.

There's defrosting the freezer. This is perfect because you can actually figure out what those mystery packs are. They could be last year's burgers to snowballs the kids froze as a souvenir of Winter 2010. You can also make those frozen pizzas you had wanted to bake back in March. You can also eat those the icky flavor Popsicles the kids hate. After that you also clean out the fridge. There's probably jars of half eaten jam and salsa that should have been tossed ages ago. Also it's a good time to check out expiration dates too.

Another thing to do is try out some involved recipes you've always wanted to try. You can experiment with your crockpot ,creating everything from Swedish meatballs to stews. It's also a good time to makes sauces as well. Just don't try anything too complicated. You may be need to help out or need to guide the repairmen to where they have to go.

Don't worry if you're stuck in the house waiting for repairmen or doctors. Hang out in your kitchen, There's probably a million things that have to be done and now is a good time to do them.