Easy As Pie Baking

Nothing is as fun as baking.It's satisfying to whip, mix and pour having the end result as a lush dessert or tasty snack.Yet some people are put off by it ,thinking it cam be complicated or that any methods requires years of experience.Not true.There are some really yummy treats that are simple as pie itself to make. Pies can be daunting.There's always the worry that the crusts won't brown or that they will be too tough.There's fretting that the merengue might fall or that the filling might still be raw.There is a solution.Cream pies.These are a snap to make and a delight to eat.Buy a pre made crust and fill it with pudding.Now both Nabisco and Keebler have excellent pie crusts to use as bases.There are some really good puddings out there to use as the filling.If you want something both elegant and tasty, try making one with Hershey's chocolate pudding poured into an Oreo crumb crust.Serve it with a side of Reddi Whip and either bananas,strawberries or cherries.Jello has come out with an instant cheesecake.It's super easy and oven free where you have everything ,crust filling and topping in labeled pouches.It takes all of ten minutes to create a tasty and pretty enough for company dessert, A plate of fresh baked cookies is another sweet treat.Most people are usually put off by baking them,either because they're too complicated to make or too labor intensive.Luckily there are that fast baking stand by,slice and bakes.These logs are wonderful, especially if you have to entertain bored kids.Pillsbury has a few varieties.Of course,nothing beats their chocolate chip, especially when they comes hot from the oven.The sugar cookies are just plain fun because kids can channel their inner artist by decorating with everything from icing to raisins to chocolate chips.You can also use the cookies to make homemade sandwich treats or as the base for ice cream sandwiches.Another fun idea is sticking lollipop sticks in them and turn them into cookie pops.There are also cookie rolls with designs already stamped on them.Make a platter of heart ones for Valentine's Day as a gift for family and friends. You can make luscious desserts and fun snacks with these easy as pie solutions.They are just great for ending a meal, impressing company or making kids happy. Nothing beats a home baked treat, even if it's no bake or has very little baking.

Steak Out Know Your Cuts

Nothing beats a good , juicy steak.It's always a special treat to come home and enjoy a good cut with a glass of wine .Yet what is the best steak to buy?Is a skirt style one better than a Tbone? What makes a good sandwich kind?There are different cuts,each unique ,suited to certain dishes . There are a few varieties out there.Some cuts are cooked one way while other methods leave them either too tough or under cooked.One popular cut is chuck.This is a popular sort during the winter season because it contains a larger amount of collagen than other kinds.This means ,a chewier ,almost more gristlier texture.The best cooking method for this is slow cooking like braising, a covered fry pan way . You can also stew or roast it.Chuck can be used for hamburger too if you want a better burger.Another tougher texture is flanksteak or the original London Broil.Again this has a more thicker feel that is best suited for a broiler.It is very flavorful so a simple salt and pepper rub will do just nicely.Sirloin too, has a very elastic texture and would be good on a grill(although this cut makes for a fantastic Steak Piedmontese, cooked in a hot anchovy bath until tender). Many steak lovers will tell neophyte cooks to try the New York Strip steak.This is similar to a porter house or T bone steak but without the filet or tenderloin attached.It is best off grilled but you can also pan fry it in a mix of olive oil and butter.Many steak houses feature porterhouse chops which are always a crowd pleaser.It's also worth the sometimes high price thanks to it being two steaks.It's a combination of strip steak and tenderloin filet.It is a large steak , perfect for two or just as a single meal for the quintessential Meat lover.Another favorite is the rib eye. This is from the cow's rib section and generously marbled with fat, making it juicy ,tender and flavorful ,a perfect trifecta.These steaks are generally roasted in the oven to soften the fat.Another member of the red meat elite is the T-bone.Like the porterhouse cut, it is a mix of two different cuts,namely the tenderloin and a smaller filet than the porterhouse. There's nothing like coming home to a good steak dinner, especially one that's been expertly prepared.Shop for the cut that suits your recipe and tastes.It will make for a delicious dish, perfect for any steak lover.

Know Your Seasonings

We use them everyday .They add to our every meal and even snacks.Yet do we really know that much about our most common seasonings and their proper uses? The answer might be surprising . What we shake and sprinkle on our foods are more versatile than we think. Salt is one of our most ancient seasonings.The Roman armies were paid in it, hence the reason why our pay is call salary(derived from the Latin word for salt).For years it was used for curing , brining and preserving.It was a staple both in cooking and seasoning afterwards for a few centuries.Thanks to a renewed interest in sea salt ,it's becoming an everyday must have.Unlike regular iodized table salt sea salt comes from all over the world.One of the Best comes from northern France and is called fleur de sel.It is a delicately flavored kind that can sell for almost forty five dollars a pound .It melts delicately on the tongue.There is also sel Gris or grey salt.It is made the same as flier de sel but the drying process is a tad different.The salt is allowed to touch the drying pan hence the silvery grey color.The Himalayas also offers salt as well.It's a healthier sort that helps regulate blood pressure and the heart.Start using these different salts to improve your food's flavors They, more than the regular table kind will definitely bring out subtleties. Salt's partner pepper is also a seasoning with a long history.Like it, peppercorns have been used for two millennia They helped to not only preserve meats but to cover up rotting food.The spice was first harvested from Indonesia ,mostly from Sumatra and Java during the early days of its'use.Now pepper can come from as far away as China and as close as the Caribbean island of Reunion.It is the fruit from the plant of the same name, a woody vine that can grow in almost any landscape.You can get red, white, pink pr green.The black is one of the spiciest ,thanks to the piperine ,a phyto chemical that also gives pepper it's fiery taste.Your best bet is buying a grinder full of whole seeds.FreshyY ground pepper flakes give zing to such bland dishes as scrambled eggs and mashed potatoes.You could also use white peppercorns in making Asian dishes.It's a mild flavor used commonly in all sorts of Chinese dishes.Pepper can also be added to homemade ice cream ,gloving the vanilla flavor a b Surprisingly good boost of flavor. Salt and pepper have been table staples for millennia.Use them to spice up your dishes.They bring out the flavors of everything from tomatoes to potatoes and from breakfasts to snacks.

A Mugful Of Meals

A hot mugful is always a winter favorite.Imagine it filled with a tasty omelet or sugar cookie, yup, that's right,Thanks to a new cookbook, you can male everything ,from chicken pot pie to tacos to oatmeal cookies in your trusty old coffee mug. Camilla V. Saulsbury has written an interesting and intriguing cookbook entitled 250 Best Meals In A Mug (Robert Rose Press). This is a great cookbook for cooking for someone living alone.There are minimeals in essence,all made and cooked in a microwave.This is also helpful gift to first time dorm students or those just starting out.All the dishes can be made for only a few pennies and Ms.Saulbery has included a guide on everything from knowing your microwave to valuable info about ingredients.She explains everything from spices to fats used in cooking and baking.She also recommends what types of mugs to use,(never use ones that are embossed with metal.These can explode in the microwave and damage it) The book's recipes are truly varied.There are the breakfast ones from sausage and grits to pancakes .You can even your mug to make your favorite muffins, breads and cookies.The meal choices are astounding and perfectly suited for a dinner for one.One night your mug could hold creamy pumpkin gnocchi,the next ,baked max and cheese or tuna casserole.Almost every country is also represented from Korea to Egypt. There are such classic dessert dishes such as Ginger bread and sugar cookies.You could even turn your mug into the center of a small party, thanks to the many hot dip recipes such as artichoke and spinach.What really stands out are the soup recipes from classic French onion to Manhattan clam chowder.The soups are easy to make while turning into a hot satisfying meal. This cookbook will forever change the way you use your coffee mig.It won't hold a steaming cup of decaf.Instead it will give you yummy breakfasts and hearty meals.It 'll be used for a celebration of one ,with either a fun dip or special cake!

Feast Of Sweets

What could be better than having dessert for dinner? There's something decadent about cutting out the nutritious middle and heading right for the sweets.That's just what some of the more trendier Manhattan restaurants are doing.They're letting patrons order fun and exciting desserts in stead of the usual mains and sides. Ligaya Mishan got this fun assignment for her Hungry City column in yesterday's New York Times Dining section. She visited some hot eateries as Per Se, Chikalicious and Picholine to name a few.Many restaurants serve what is known as tasting tables where dishes of unusually made desserts and sugary novelties are served.Doing this serves two purposes,one it highlights the pastry chef, often overshadowed by the restaurant's chef and two ,gives diners a chance at trying a less expensive tasting table.Most tasting menus can go as high as three hundred dollars while a dessert one is only eighty dollars or much less.It also is a great way to draw in foodie's who normally wouldn't visit a restaurant due to it's pricing. What did Ms Mishan get to sample? A lot on interesting creations,basically dessert with a Joan Miro twist.ChikaLicious pastry chef and owner Cjika Tillman,a native of Japan makes sweet little amuse bouches worthy of a Bento box.There was a duo of an Earl Grey infused cotta sitting next to a sorbet made from tart Meyer lemons.She also offers a Japanese style cheesecake resting on a bed of ice.Per Se offers a little scoop of pear sorbet along with a mound of vanilla custard.The plate is decorated with oat streusel crumbs.There's also a cappuccino semifreddo served in a coffee cup.It was paired with airy doughnuts that were more like sugary wisp.Chocolate pudding came with a whiff of apple wood smoke and a halo of olive oil.Unusual desserts were also tried. Such as a lemon thyme gelatin cubes set against chocolate and butternut squash purée tucked under a cranberry sorbet.Picholine offered sweets with twists such as apple crescents poached in caramel dabbed with cider purée along with a Gorgonzola(!) semifreddo. Desserts are what diners remember most about their restaurant experiences.What better way to really impress them than with a tasting table of sweets.It's a great introduction to the place along with satisfying a sweet tooth?

Sheets of Armor

The most important tools a home kitchen should have are baking sheets.These can handle everything from roasting vegetables to handling a deboned chicken. They are necessary in creating a one pan meal.They can help in creating easy baked meals from breakfast to dinner. Melissa Clark wrote about their importance in today's New York Times Dining section.She dedicated her entire column,A Good Appetite to them.Sheet pans are vital in creating a variety of different pan roasted dishes.thanks to their generous dimensions.A home cook and even a restaurant chef can cook an entire meal on one.Don't confuse these with cookie sheets which don't have rims , made to allow for quick baking. Also don't use a jelly roll pan either.It would be tempting but this is quite flimsy and should only be used for making sponge cakes.Buy one or two good ones, if you don't have one already.Prices range from around $20 and they will last a good ten to fifteen years, even with a lot of use. Once you have your sheet pans, then start thinking about making a pan meal with it.Ms.Clark has excellent ideas,regarding this.She first uses the pan for cooking winter roots veggies with olive oil.She starts with potatoes, celeriac,rutabagas ,turnips and parsnips along with broccoli rabe.As this is cooking you can prepare the meat.Ms. Clark uses chicken drumsticks coated with mustard butter but you can also try pork or lamb chops or even a small rack of ribs.As one dish starts to cook, the others can be removed from the pan. You can also employ this for breakfast using the roasting pan for bacon or sausage(surprisingly yes) while the other part of the pan can hold ramekins full of baked or shirred eggs. The most important tool in any kitchen should be the sheet pans.These are versatile and can create a tasty meal without all the fuss.They make an oven roasted meal a snap to create without all the fuss and bother!

Happy Birthday Mallomars!

Not many cookies have the staying power of Mallowmars.Some come and go but these American classics are celebrating over one hundred years of goodness.They are still as they were ,full of marshmallow and chocolate flavor. they makeca tasty snack or tasty dessert. Marshmallow cookies are nothing new.The Danish created the first two hundred years ago.The English made a variation called a teacake.These were a round of shortbread topped with what is known as an Italian meringue,a whipped egg white concoction similar to a marshmallow.The entire sweet was then coated withva thin layer of milk chocolate.In Germany they are made with sweetened egg white foam and enrobed in dark chocolate.German kids love them squished between a bun.Some around the world have the addition of a thin layer of raspberry jam or more sugar added like the Canadian version,Whippets. In the US they've been made as Mallowmars ,and were first baked in Union City, New Jersey.They are a puff of marshmallow stuck on a Graham cracker round.They're coated with rich dark chocolate and sold only from September to March and with good reason.They would melt and make a gooey mess otherwise ,thanks to the hot weather.Not to worry.You can make them at home although the process is labor intensive and does require a lot of equipment.Maybe the best replica is the s,more itself, especially if it's made with dark chocolate squares. Mallowmars have been a special treat for the last 101 years.Enjoy them now with a good hot cup of tea or coffee.They're a great cold weather treat, perfect for a snowy afternoon indoors.