How to Keep Kosher with Meat and Seafood
Keeping kosher is the guiding principle behind Jewish food traditions. The rules of keeping kosher involve how you select food, how you cook it, and how you plan your menus. To keep kosher, you have many [more…]
Broccoli Beef
Even the most committed broccoli-phobe will have a hard time resisting this broccoli beef dish. And because broccoli beef is so easy to prepare, it makes a great quick and nutritious lunch when served [more…]
Sautéed Broccoli Rabe
Broccoli rabe has a slightly bitter flavor that stands up nicely to the garlic and hot red pepper flakes in this recipe. If broccoli rabe isn’t available, you can prepare broccoli, spinach, kale, Swiss [more…]
Water-Bath Canning High-Acid Foods
Water-bath canning, sometimes referred to as the boiling-water method of canning, is the simplest and easiest method for preserving high-acid food. Water-bath canning destroys any active bacteria and microorganisms [more…]
Spicy Stir-Fried Okra
Okra is technically a fruit, but that doesn’t stop people from preparing, cooking, and serving it as a vegetable. This stir-fried okra recipe includes gingerroot, which adds a spicy dimension. [more…]
Tabbouleh (Bulghur Wheat Salad)
Tabbouleh is a salad that’s usually made with bulghur wheat, tomatoes, parsley, mint, onions, lemon juice, and olive oil. To make tabbouleh, you first have to soak the bulghur in boiling water until soft [more…]
Steak Sandwiches with Tomato Relish
This steak sandwich is a great way to get creative with steak leftovers. You can use leftover tenderloin or filet mignon for this robust steak and tomato open-face sandwich. [more…]
Dry Goods for the Pantry
Every kitchen pantry should be well stocked with dry goods. Dry goods are foods that aren’t refrigerated or frozen. Stock your pantry with these staples and packaged foods — they can last for a substantial [more…]
Trimming and Slicing Mushrooms
Trimming and slicing mushrooms are worth the effort because of the flavor they impart. Whole mushrooms need some cleaning and trimming — and slicing if the recipe calls for it. [more…]
Commonly Used Pots and Pans
You use some pots and pans more than others. The most common types of pots and pans create a solid foundation for your kitchen equipment. The pots and pans in this list are the most versatile, and you’ll [more…]
Baking a Better Cake
Baking cakes is kind of an art, and the more experience you have, the more comfortable you’ll become with the cake-baking process. Keep these tips in mind when you start baking cakes: [more…]
Pico de Gallo (Fresh Tomato Salsa)
Pico de gallo is an uncooked table condiment also known as salsa cruda or plain old tomato salsa. Pico de gallo is probably Mexico’s best-known salsa. With its chunks of tomato, chiles, and onion, it’s [more…]
Strawberry Banana Liquados
Colorful liquados are sold all over Mexico at juice stands where you can get an instant, made-to-order fruit milkshake. This strawberry banana liquados recipe gives you that juice-stand experience in your [more…]
Homemade Apple Butter
Apple butter is kind of a cross between a jam and homemade applesauce. The rich flavor and wonderful aroma of this apple butter can transform a plain piece of toast into something decadent. [more…]
Fruits and Vegetables for Mexican Cooking
Fresh fruits and vegetables are an integral part of everyday eating in Mexico. Fruits — beautifully sliced and seasoned — are sold on the Mexican street as snacks. And vegetables, besides being used in [more…]
Maintaining Pressure in Your Pressure Cooker
When the pressure-release valve starts to make a hissing noise, you’ve exceeded the pressure in your pressure cooker. Basically, the pressure cooker is telling you to lower the burner heat to maintain [more…]
Caramel Apple Smoothie
This caramel apple smoothie has a creamy light brown color, and it really does taste like a caramel apple in smoothie form (or, at least, it’s pretty darn close). All that’s missing is the stick! [more…]
Tips for Using a Microwave Oven
Cooking in a microwave oven is unlike any kind of conventional cooking. You must follow a different set of microwave-specific cooking rules. Although you can’t microwave every kind of food, your microwave [more…]
Spicy Peanut Soup
Peanuts are the basis for this velvety soup that graced Colonial tables from Georgia to Virginia. Versions of this spicy peanut soup can also be found throughout West Africa. For a tasty twist, use canned [more…]
Italian Frozen Desserts
Frozen desserts have a long history in Italy. Italians love their gelato, Italian-style ice cream. Gelato (shown in this figure) is a lot like American ice cream, but Italian gelato is usually much more [more…]
Improving Your Cookie-Baking Technique
If your cookie-baking technique consists of supermarket slice-n-bake, consider making your own. You’ll know exactly what’s in your own dough, and cookie-baking techniques will get passed on to your kids [more…]
How to Declutter Kitchen Countertops
Countertops are the most overlooked item in many kitchens. The counter is where you set out and prepare food (often on a cutting board), stack plates, put appliances, and lose car keys amid the clutter [more…]
Braised Bamboo Shoots with Bok Choy
This simple stir-fry combines classic Chinese vegetables to create a distinctive dish that sings with the flavors of the bamboo shoots and bok choy. Braising the bamboo shoots and bok choy allows the flavors [more…]
Egg-Based Sauces
Egg-based sauces are (you guessed it!) based on eggs rather than on meat stock or butter and cream, although most egg-based sauces also contain butter, stock, and/or cream. Here are the two most common [more…]
Nutty Funnel Cakes
A summertime fairground favorite, you can make funnel cakes at home. Top your funnel cakes with cinnamon-sugar, which this recipe specifies, or confectioners’ sugar, fruit, and just about anything else [more…]
