Cooking Tricks and Tips

A Sicilian Woman’s Advice

These are a few of my tips that are used often in my kitchen, but just ask away and I can help you out with any problem you may encounter.

FREEZE GRAVY, SAUCES and DRESSINGS-Made too much gravy? Want to have your favorite sauces and dressings handy all the time? Or don’t feel like making gravy just for one serving? Prepare it ahead of time then freeze in ice cube trays. When fully frozen remove from tray and move to a labeled ziplock bag. Use as you need it.

CLEAN GLASSES-Keep seldom used glasses clean by storing upside down. This will avoid dust settling into them.

HEALTHY SODA-Sometime you have a taste just for soda, but who wants to waste those calories and drink the extra unneeded sugar? Squirt the juice of 1/2 a lemon, lime or orange into a tall glass of iced club soda. Or grind several mint leaves into the club soda and serve this delicious, no sugar, healthy drink when bubbles is what you crave.

HOT, POT COVER HANDLE-Sometimes cover handles get too hot to the touch and most people reach for a towel or a kitchen glove, which can be too bulky for small handles. Try using some wine corks that may need to be cut to fit inside the handle. It?s slip free, non-heat conductive and makes for a better grip.

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SMALL DECORATIVE BOTTLES-don?t

throw out your small, interesting

shaped bottles, perhaps those that had

liquor in it. or were used for some other purpose.

After washing them well, you can use them to store oils,

vinegars etc….

You can even attach a pretty label to it if you

think you might forget what the liquid you stored inside, is.

They take up a lot less space on the counter and look so elegant.

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BREAD CRUMBS SUBSTITUTE-to give body to meatballs or fish cakes when you are out of bread crumbs, use fresh bread cut into small bits. You can also use stuffing, that has been softened in a little water or stock

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STALE BREAD-To bring back freshness to old bread, spray bread with water from a water bottle and stick in a 350º oven for 10-15 minutes. Or cut bread into slices first and then spray with water and stick in the oven for 5-6 minutes

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TOMATO SAUCE-if your tomato sauce from cans lacks the sweetness fresh tomatoes have, add a sprinkle of sugar. Remember less is more

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OLIVE OIL- I can?t stress enough the importance

of good Olive Oil, and it need not be expensive.

Generally Extra Virgin Olive oil has a dark green color,

if it is of a yellow color than you are not getting Extra

Virgin Olive Oil, even though the bottle claims it is.

Beware of green colored bottles, they will make the Oil appear

darker than it really is. Make sure the Oil is green and not the

bottle. Sicilian Olive Oils normally have a slightly stronger flavor,

and of course I  prefer it. Nevertheless you can get great Olive

Oils from Spain, Lebanon, Italy, Portugal and Greece.

The pics below (these are not the bottles they came in) show the

difference between Olive oils. On the right you will see a brand

that claims it is “Pure Olive Oil” it fools a lot of people.

The brand on the left is “First Cold Pressed Virgin Olive oil” and

you can tell by the color, the purity of the Olive oil, not mixed

with cheaper oils,as in the case of the one in the right.

The cheaper olive oil I use for frying.

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MAKE EXPRESSO FROTH BY HAND- you don?t have an expensive expresso machine, make your own expresso with froth by hand with the use of a stove top expresso pot. http://isicilian.boonrepublic.com/category/beverages/coffee/

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UNINVITED/UNEXPECTED GUEST-You already prepared dinner and someone pops over unexpectedly, you know the amount you prepared is not enough to accomodate the extra person. To stretch the dinner add a quick extra dish. Make a simple soup with chicken bouillon and small pasta (Pastina type) and sprinkle with Parmesan at the table.  Serve some appetizer before dinner, like cheese and crackers, or bread and a dip. A larger salad, and variety of cheeses, thinly sliced bread with melted imported cheese. A dish of olives, lots of bread and several dips, that you can make last minute as below. These are some ideas.

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QUICK DIP RECIPE- 1) Olive oil, fresh herb, and parmesan. 2) Olive oil and sun dried tomatoes mixed in a food processor. 3) Olive oil, anchovies and hot pepper, mashed with a fork. 4) Fried garlic, olive oil and parmesan. And so on…

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OUT OF DESSERT?-A platter of fruit and cheese will make a great substitute. Sweet and creamy. Yum, yum… delicious

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INEXPENSIVE GOOD WINES-If you are on a budget,

or just want to store a spur of the moment wine bottle,

for under $3.00 a bottle, Walmart has a variety of wines, reds,

whites and rosé with their own label ?OAK LEAF?.

Really pretty good for the price.

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GROW YOUR OWN HERBS- Grow your own, don?t need to spend

lots of money. Pick up a small bag of organic potting soil and organic

herb seeds from a home center store.Pick up coffee ground from Starbucks,

which they package in pretty metallic bags instead of throwing it out

and it?s free to anyone that wants them. Mix the coffee ground with he

potting soil and distribute in medium size pots or you may want to use the

metallic bags from Starbucks to plant your seeds. Plop them on a window

sills and wait for the miracle to happen.

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SAVING FRESH HERBS-Tired of wasting expensive herbs to wilting?

In a food processor, blend herb bundle with 1 cup Olive Oil. Place in

a glass jar and refrigerate. It will keep 2-3 weeks. Use by the spoonful

in your cooking. Great on salad and good spreader on bread or

wherever the herb is directed on the recipe. Oil will congeal in the fridge,

but that is only normal.

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NO STICK PAN-To prevent cookies,pizza or bread from sticking on the pan when baking, cover pan with parchment paper.