Tell me,
I'd like
to hear it!

seekers have
been enlightened!

• Freezing bacon
  
• Remove fat from stocks
  
• Marinating meats

• Chiffonade
  
• Concassé
  
• Onion odor on hands
  
  
• Over dressed salad? Cried the raven, nevermore!
• Roast garlic
  
• Asparagus

• Lime (Lemon, Orange, and Grapefruit too) bowls
  
• Citrus extracts
  
• Orange zest

• Husking hazelnuts I
  
• Husking hazelnuts II
  
• Irish oatmeal

• Write with chocolate
  
• Soften hard brown sugar

• Ice punch bowl
  
• Sharp knife
  
• Clean pasta machine
  
• Clean cutting board
  
• Filling a pastry bag
  
• Clean coffee grinder
  
• Measure dry ingredients
  
• it's water
  
• Keep food safe back from the store

Getting of the stench from your hands

When cutting onion, shallot or garlic, rinse your hands under running water while rubbing something made of stainless steel: the sink, a spoon, a bowl, or a pan (but no knives). It removes the stench from your hands and no one will ever know what you've been chopping.

Have you tried to cut a paper thin slice of prosciutto or cheese or something really yummy, when in fact you are chiseling off ugly chunks of stuff? Have no fear! Just get a ceramic plate, turn it upside down, and drag the knife's edge at a 45 degree angle. Use the same amount of strokes for each side of the blade. In a jiffy you'll have a nice sharp knife.

MATTER OF FACT: A sharp knife is a safe knife. So cut down on cuts; keep that knife sharp!

Ummm, chocolate!!! Want to decorate a plate with squiggley lines of melted chocolate? Want to write "Happy Something Silly Person" with chocolate? Want no-muss, no-fuss with chocolate? Then heat a small pan of water to just below a simmer and then shut off the heat. Get a reclosable top (otherwise known as zip-lock) sandwich bag and put in it small pieces of whatever chocolate you wish to use. Bittersweet and milk chocolate are recommended because cheap white chocolate (actually known as white coating, sounds yummy) gets clumpy and hard to use. Put the bag in the pan of water and flip it around until it has completely melted. Dry bag off completely and cut off a tiny tip of the corner. This is where the squiggley lines or writing comes in.

You've got a zest for life? Then make your own fine strands of Julienne citrus peel. Get out your vegetable peeler! You could buy a zester but why bother. Peel off the colored portion (leaving behind the bitter, white pith) from pole to pole. On your cutting board, line up these stripes so they are just overlapping each other and begin to cut. Technically julienne is a 1/8 X 1/8 X 2" cut; looks like a match stick. Viva la zest!

Don't be taken in by those silly ceramic garlic roasters; they're totally superfluous & unnecessary. All you need is a 350 degree oven, a square piece of aluminum foil, olive oil, and of course garlic! Take the sheet of foil and pour in the center about 1 teaspoon of oil. Cut a whole head of garlic in half (between the poles) and rub the cut side of the garlic with oil. Loosely wrap the garlic halves in the foil and roast until soft; about 15-20 minutes.

This will impress your friends and tone down the "garlic breath" too!

Ever try McCann's Irish Oatmeal? No? Is it because steel-cut oats take longer to cook than quicker-quaker styled rolled oats? Then try this here tip: Add a cup of oats to 4 cups boiling water and turn off heat to let soak overnight. In the morning, bring to a simmer and cook for about 9 to 11 minutes.

This stuff is totally different then what you're use to. It's one heck of a healthful change; one word "fiber".

Asparagus, asparagus, where is your tender part? Often I find recipes requesting the removal of the woody part of asparagus. Yet there is no visual indication; how do you know? I have found if you snap the ends of this delightful little vegetable, it naturally breaks between the ambiguous tender and woody part.

Hey now, here's an idea. Instead of the usual steaming of asparagus how about grilling it? Just lightly moisten it with oil, salt and pepper and grill. It won't take long to cook and tastes great!

Amaze your friends with this cool tip. Make your own Ice Punch Bowl. You can make it with whatever you wish; I like to use thinly slice citrus, flowers, and herbs. You will need two metal bowls (they freeze faster) of different sizes.

• Fill the larger bowl about halfway with good tasting water (If you care, I do).
• Place sprigs and slices of this-and-that about.
• Weight down the smaller bowl so that the water comes to the top of the larger bowl.
• Ready, set, freeze! Give your bowl at least 24 hours to freeze completely.

I just have to say, of course you wouldn't put this in the direct sun for several hours or nakedly sitting on you beautiful and expensive table without a few precautions.

People just don't eat bacon like they used to. It's also something that doesn't last forever. Bacon has an unbeatable flavor that I can't do without. Freezing it is the best way to preserve it. The bacon is there when you want it and defrosts fast! Just put a desired portion (for me, 4 or 6 slices) on a sheet of plastic wrap, seal, and roll up like a carpet. Place your bacon packets into a plastic container and freeze 'em, Freddie.

When you are hankerin' for some bacon, just whip out a portion, unwrap, and defrost. You'll be cookin' in no time!

Make your own lemon and orange extracts. It's so easy, it's crazy! Use a peeler to get stripes of zest (that's the colored stuff on the peel, not the white stuff). Put the zest into a glass jar and fill with a good quality brandy and seal. Allow to mingle in a cool, dark place for 1 month or more.

So, you have just squeezed a bunch of limes for juice. Don't discard those lime halves! Use them for shots of tequila (if you are so bold) or little dishes. If you go for the shot, salt the rim as you would a margarita; then down the hatch. If booze isn't your pleasure, use them for dishes. Go loco! Use the lime halves to hold sorbet or flavored ice or as individual salsa and guacamole cups. The only preparation required is to cut the end so that your vessel won't wobble.

So you grind your coffee beans, that's great. Now here's a neat trick for keeping your coffee grinder freshand free of rancid coffee bean oil. I know, it's a tough thought to bear but it's easy enough to cure. Simply place a half slice of bread in the machine and grind away. Discard the bread and appreciate a glistening grinder!

From the book "In Julia's Kitchen with Master Chefs" is a tip I find as necessary as breathing. It's the scoop-and-level system and is a very accurate way of measuring dry ingredients. Simply dip a dry measuring cup into the dry ingredient until the cup is overflowing. Using the straight edge of a knife or spatula (for me a chop stick) and sweep off the excess. If the ingredient is to be sifted, sift after measuring. Measuring this way can eliminate many problems.

The zip lock bag has changed my life! Simply put your marinade and meat in it. Take out as much air as possible, zip it up and toss it in the fridge. The marinade coats the meat completely and evenly. And it meets my requirements for no-muss, no-fuss. If you want to reuse the marinade, boil it otherwise just zip up the bag and throw it away.

Here's a Martha Stewart-ish idea . . . use rosemary branches for skewers. Make sure the rosemary is fresh or your skewers will go up in flames.

If you are like me, you love hazelnuts! But you know, those skins need to go. The best way to do it is to toast them in a 350 degree F oven for 10-15 minutes. You will know they are done by a delightfully toasted scent. Let them cool for 5-10 minutes. Toss them into a tea towel and rub off their little skins. Then you can just roll them off of the towel and discard the dermal.

Keep your pasta machine clean. Put some bread through the roller of a new pasta machine or one that has sitting around for awhile. This will remove any oil or dust that may have accumulated on the inside. Repeat the process again, if necessary.

No fatty stocks here, no sir!

Okay, you just made a delicious stock but can't quite skim away the floating fat. No problemo! Gently, drop in a tray of ice cubes and stir. The fat will solidify around the ice and can be easily removed. Go ahead and give it a try.

You must know by now ... I am a nut fan. With that said, here is a new tip I just learned from Alice Medrich. It is an easy way of removing the skin from hazelnuts. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil; add 3 tablespoons of baking soda and 2/3 cup of raw hazelnuts. Allow to boil for about 4 or 5 minutes or until the water turns black. Test the skin by dropping a nut into cold water; the skin should slip off easily. Drain the nuts and cool with cold running water. Slip off the skins and dry in a towel. I like to roast the hazelnuts at this point. After that, I either use them right away or freeze them and use later down the road.

Let us ponder the cutting board, shall we? Pungent vegetables and herbs give off strong smells and oils that can impinge on other food's flavor. So I confine mine to only one side of my cutting board. The other side remains sweet-smelling and is used for slicing fruit or anything else that might be affected by strong odors. Simply mark the end of your cutting board with a notch or write on it with a permanent marker.

Back in my dark age of cooking, I'd wished for a few more hands. Why more hands? Well, to hold the darn pastry bag, of course. If you have ever done it, you know just how difficult it can be. Try to get the stuff out of the bowl and into the bag with one hand. I might as well pat my head, rub my tummy and chew gum all at the same time.

Now, I am an enlightened cook. I just grab my Pilsner glass (or any tall glass, will do), plop the empty pastry bag in, and make a cuff over and around the edge. Violá, your hands are free and clean, you got the stuff from the bowl into the bag and you look like you know what you are doing.

Since you have that Pilsner glass out why not drink a beer to your clever new trick!

Hold on to your seat, I got a neat trick here. Situation: hard-as-a-rock-block of brown sugar and you want to make something with it. What to do? Solution: Cut an apple in half and seal it in a plastic bag with your brown sugar brick. In a day or two, the sugar will be soft and ready to use.

How is that possible? Once the apple is cut, it passes a magical ethylene gas and makes things soft and wonderful. You know, if you need to rapidly ripen a banana or tomato and you stick them in a bag with an apple in it? It will ripen faster than if just left on it's own. Who would have thought science could be so much fun!

It is simple and quite essential to our basic existence ... it's water! When cooking with tap water, always use cold -- not hot -- water. It has fewer mineral deposits than hot water.

It's so impressive, it's so easy, it's so chiffonade! It is simply shredded what ever vegetables you wish; classically, spinach, sorrel and lettuce. Basil is best (this of course, is my opinion)! Top it off with your vine-ripen tomatoes and fresh mozzarella salad, or add last minute to a hot soup, pasta, or pizza.

Just stack leaves and roll-up like you would a cigar (to all those people out there who roll cigars, we salute you). Using your nice and sharp knife, cut to create little ribbons.

Yep, it's summer time and here in Southern Cal, and it can get mighty hot! Especially in our beloved cars roasting in the summer's sunshine. So, if your planning a trip to the grocery store, bring along your ice chest; especially for heat-sensitive items like meats, fish, milk and frozen delights. Or if you plan to make a stop or two before you get home. It'll keep things cold and safe (can you say, E. Coli?).

Don't forget the ice! (Blue ice is good, yellow ice bad.)

Oops, over dressed a salad? Have no fear -- never again! Put a small bowl or saucer up-side down in the bottom of your mixing bowl. If it does get over dressed, the excess will drain under the bowl or saucer. No more greens wallowing and wilting in the dressing.

Now, there's something to crunch on!

Something that sounds fancy, looks fancy but certainly doesn't require an AA degree from some fancy culinary academy - it's concassé! That's pronounced [kawn -ka-SAY]. Concassé is a coarsely chopped mixture. So, what is the most popular concassé of them all? That would be tomato, pal.

So, Jenoisé ... how do I do it? Well, bring a pot of water to a boil. Remove the stem and cut a small X on the opposite end. When the water has come to a boil, gently ease the tomatoes in and cook for about 1-2 minutes (this is know as blanching). Immediately transfer to an "ice bath" or a bowl of cold water with ice in it to stop cooking. When the tomatoes have cooled, simply slip off their skins.

Here comes the cutting part (be sure to use a sharp knife) ... Slice the tomato 1/2 way from end to end. Open your tomato like a book, remove the seeds and cut into 1/4-1/2 inch squares. Violá!

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