Cute! I wonder what goes in the tostone cups?

Trying to think of any tips or tricks right now and drawing a blank - of course 😄

I was even thinking the other day, while I was doing something in the kitchen, "this would be a good tip to share", and now I'm trying to recall what it was...?

Hmm, I think it may have been that I never make a cheese sauce for pasta casseroles/mac & cheese. I make a white sauce using milk and cornstarch (plus flavorings like onion, garlic and bay leaf), and put grated cheese between the layers of pasta and any add-ins, then pour the sauce over it all. It gives a better result, IMO. You get those nice strings of melted cheese when serving it and no curdled sauce.

I just made a yummy pasta casserole the other night, using cooked, cubed chicken breast, spinach, mushrooms and garlic with Parmesan cheese and linguine.

Oh, I like that for a casserole! I mostly use eggs or custard because the cheese sauce is too slumpy-glumpy. I can appreciate the selfactuating grated cheese! I'll have to try it.

I forget exactly what went in the tostone cups,—it was some kind of chopped thing, though not a salad, per se— but the chef implied they use them for all kinds of things. I've tried making tostones but I think I started too late in my cooking life to compete with the neighborhood Cuban restaurant, who do next level caramelization without sugariness, but I could see myself making the cups. Maybe with burnt ends and beans, or smoked turkey with onions and radishes.

Have we already talked here about toasting nuts in the micro ( start w 60 seconds and then use 30 second bursts) or microwaving chopped or sliced eggplant prior to frying it—-the eggplant browns faster and absorbs less oil. microwaving the eggplant might take 10 minutes, again in shorter amounts of time so you monitor the process.

Just did this again last night. I fill an empty wine bottle with water to soak wooden skewers before using them on the grill for kebabs.

I’ve never tried this so I have no idea if it would work, but I saw it on Instagram the other day. When you are measuring something sticky like honey or syrup for a flour mixture, instead of putting the sticky substance into a measuring spoon, press the back of the measuring spoon into the flour to make a well exactly the size of the measuring spoon, then fill the well with the sticky substance.

The 'sticky stuff' trick sounds like it might work. I learned to lightly grease the spoon or cup before pouring, and then the sticky won't stick.

I don't have any photos, but one trick was to use variious instruments in your kitchen to make designs on your cookies. Whisks, meat hammers, anything with a pattern works really well.

I like that idea to use kitchen tools to make patterns on cookies (or whatever).

As far as offering tips or tricks, my mind goes blank.

Kate, your cookie designs made me think of this. I rarely use my garlic press for garlic. However, I do use it during the holidays for gingerbread people cookies. A little ball of cookie dough sqeezed through the garlic press makes great ”hair.”

For that matter, toy extruders work great too, for fanciful crossections like stars, if you can find food safe ones.

I like that idea of making a mold for syrup or honey, but after thinking it through, I wonder if doing that in flour might create lumps? I could see it working with oil, tho.

As I discarded a liquid dish detergent bottle, I thought of a potential use for the push/pull top - it fit perfectly on a 48 oz. cooking oil bottle. While it doesn’t give out a mist like the Misto Oil Sprayer (..RIP..), it definitely helps to dispense a small amount of oil. The Misto was initially useful, but eventually the nozzle persistently clogged and stayed depressed when used. It went to trash heaven.

1. Whether you have wood, plastic or bamboo cutting boards, the surface will get messed up sooner or later. I use a carbide tipped planer blade to scrape and repair the cut up surface. Carbide blades will last forever on wood or plastic.

Similar to this one, not expensive:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SKJVN2Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

2. It's a pleasure to always have a sharp knife in the kitchen. I have a very sharp good knife for slicing and I have a couple of not so good knives for general chopping. The good knife will stay very sharp for a very long time.

dcarch

My little OXO food scale fits perfectly into a 1 quart Zip-loc freezer bag. I slip it into a freezer bag when I’m portioning things.

My iPad fits into a 1 gallon Zip-loc freezer bag. I use a bag to protect the iPad so I can have the recipe at hand while I cook. (Most all of my recipes are stored on an app on my iPad.)

I recently bought powdered fruit pectin to add to an evening drink (or it could be morning) to help prevent arthritis. Fruit pectin has been working for me, but up until now, I have been buying liquid, which is a bit difficult to store. I plan to take powdered fruit pectin with me on our trip to Texas, as it will be very easy to pack and also to use once I am there.

I also bought some dragon fruit powder, and I like this a lot as well. What I like even more are the dragon fruit chips that I bought, but they are a bit addictive and too expensive for that. I try to limit myself to 2-4 chips per day.

floral_uk -- Many thanks for your tip for cooking pasta (2 minute boil, 8 minute sit). I tried it tonight, with DS being the chef, and it turned out perfectly!! So much better than any other method I've used. =)

Now here's a tip for cooking corn-on-the-cob that is equally easy & good: Zip-lock bag, one tablespoon of water in it, up to 4 ears of cleaned corn, seal bag with one inch left open. Microwave for 2 minutes PER EAR. Careful -- bag will be HOT! Much better than boiling.

I was cooking noodles tonight and gave floral_uk's method a try. It turned out perfect, just as she said it would. Thank you so much.