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Cheesecakes: I love them. They are my favorite type of cakes. Once you find a recipe that you like, stick with it! I found mine about 30 years ago and it's reliable, no matter what:
Here are my tips:
- You can use virtually any pan for a cheesecake: I usually leave the bottom part of the cheesecake pan on the cake. It's easy and there are not problems. HOWEVER, the next time I want to make a cheesecake, the bottom of the pan cannot be found. It's like that elusive sock that gets lost. No matter where you look, it is gone! I always make my favorite cheesecake for Christmas. One Christmas Eve, tired from wrapping and cooking, and talking, and wining, I reached for my cheesecake pan and no bottom! Mind you, I now have at least 6 cheesecake pans, and can't bear to throw away the ones with missing bottoms. The minute I do, the bottom will appear. What did I use that Christmas Eve? A cast iron skillet! I declare that was the best cheesecake I ever made and the bottom of the pan certainly did not get lost.
- Always put a small pan of water in the bottom of your oven while baking your cheesecake. Technically, it's called a water bath, but don't bathe your cheesecake. The pan of water provides humidity and keeps the cheesecake from drying out or cracking too much. Mine sometimes crack anyway, but no one has ever complained. Leave the pan in the oven until the water has cooled; it can slosh and burn you, otherwise. There are brave folks out there who put their cheesecake pan into a larger pan of water. I'm not one of them. Putting the pan of water in the oven seems good enough.
- Your cheesecake should still "wiggle" a bit when it comes out of the oven. Don't wait until all the wiggle is gone; it won't be nearly as good. The texture will be more grainy than creamy.
- Put your cheesecake in a fairly warm environment to cool off. I usually put mine on the stovetop or near the stove. If it cools too quickly, it will definitely crack. Let it cool completely before transferring it to the fridge.
- To cut your cheesecake: Unless you've already grabbed a fork and are digging in, use a hot knife. I keep a glass of hot water near and dip the knife in periodically. You can spray the knife with cooking spray too, but that's not convenient when cutting many slices.
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Yellow Onions
Great all-purpose use for:
Great all-purpose use for:
- soups and stews
- casseroles
- sauces
- roasting with meat and chicken
White Onions
Sharp and crunchy to use for:
Sharp and crunchy to use for:
- salsa
- saute with other vegetables
Purple or Red Onions
Peppery and delicious to use for:
Peppery and delicious to use for:
- sandwiches and burgers
- guacamole
- pickling
- salads
Sweet Onions (Vidalia / Texas 1015)
Sweet as sugar and great for:
Sweet as sugar and great for:
- onion rings
- frying
- baking
- roasting
Shallots
Lovely and mild, perfect for:
Lovely and mild, perfect for:
- salads
- salad dressings,
- garnishes
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Ingredients
4 egg whites (room temperature)
1/2 cup sifted sugar
dash salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 egg whites (room temperature)
1/2 cup sifted sugar
dash salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Steps
- Put egg whites in a ceramic mixing bowl. Do NOT use a metal or plastic bowl. Beat with a whisk or mixer until soft peaks form when you lift the beater up (turn the mixer off first, of course).
- Gradually beat in sugar, salt and flavoring.
- Spoon meringue evenly over pie, but not too smooth. Spread well to edge, so it won't shrink.
- Bake in preheated 425 degree oven until delicately brown - about 5 minutes.
- To cut easily, dip knife in hot water.
- If meringue "weeps," too much sugar was used or sugar was too coarse. If meringue shrinks or is tough, the oven was too slow.
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Never let things boil over again!!
The solution: a wooden spoon!
Place the wooden spoon over the top of an open (not lidded) pot of boiling soup, pasta, rice, etc. and it won't boil over. I have no idea how this works - it's just magic.
The solution: a wooden spoon!
Place the wooden spoon over the top of an open (not lidded) pot of boiling soup, pasta, rice, etc. and it won't boil over. I have no idea how this works - it's just magic.
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Added too much salt to your soup?
Too much spice?
Here's the cure: a big slice of potato or apple. Just throw it in and leave for awhile, but not long enough to cook. If it starts to get soft, the salt or spice will go right back into the soup. Try it!
Too much spice?
Here's the cure: a big slice of potato or apple. Just throw it in and leave for awhile, but not long enough to cook. If it starts to get soft, the salt or spice will go right back into the soup. Try it!
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Beer poured over seafood is a good marinade.
It makes for a flaky texture!
Marinade at leas an hour in the refrigerator.
It makes for a flaky texture!
Marinade at leas an hour in the refrigerator.
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Yeast Breads:
- Make sure your pan is in the middle of the oven and leave some space around pans, if baking more than one.
- Tap the crust lightly with your knuckles - listen for a hollow sound. It's done!
- When a wooden pick or a cake tester inserted in the thickest part comes out clean, with no crumbs, it's done!
- If your quick bread - like banana bread, etc. has a crack down the middle, don't check for doneness in this crack. Try right next to it.
- Most will pull away from the sides of the pan a bit when done.
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Liquid Ingredients:
- To correctly measure, put the cup on a sturdy, level surface. Don't hold it up in the air!
- If the recipe calls for 1/8 cup, you can just use 2 tablespoons instead.
- For honey or syrup, lightly grease the measuring cup, making it easy to remove the ingredient and get a more accurate measurement. (Works for jelly or jam too!)
- 1 stick of butter = 1/2 cup = 1/4 pound (1 stick - 8 tablespoons)
- Whipped butter or margarine or is not an equal substitute.
- Powdered (confectioner's) sugar and cake flour are light and pack down easily, making for difficulty measuring. Sift them first into a bowl, then measure.
- Same as liquids: 1/8 cup = 2 tablespoons.
- Liquid measuring cups don't work so well with dry ingredients.
- Pack down brown sugar into your measuring cup or spoon.
- For breadcrumbs, oats, cornmeal - pour into the measuring cup, then tap lightly and level off with a knife or spoon.
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Corn:
- Use a CLEAN shoe horn to remove corn kernels from the cob!
- A dampened paper towel will help remove the silks from an ear of corn.
- Frost cupcakes in half the time by dipping the top of the cupcake into soft frosting, twirling slightly, and then quickly turning right-side up.
- Add a tablespoon of vinegar to the water when you poach eggs. It helps set the whites so they do not spread throughout the water.
- To prevent fat splashing when frying meat, sprinkle a little salt into the pan before putting the meat in.
- Soak bacon a few minutes in cold water before placing in skillet. This will lessen the tendency to shrink and curl.
- When you cut marshmallows, dip your scissors in a glass of confectioner's sugar or hot water to keep them from sticking.
- Use a fork for stirring small amounts of dry ingredients and a spoon for stirring liquid ingredients.
- heating milk, rinse the pan with cold water to prevent scorching and sticking.
- Muffins come out of the tins easily, if the hot pan is put straight from the oven onto a wet dish towel.
- You won't have as many tears when cutting onions, if you put the onions in the freezer for 4 to 5 minutes before slicing.
- Potatoes soaked in salt water for 20 minutes before baking will bake more rapidly.
- Sweet potatoes will not turn dark if put in salted water (5 teaspoons to a quart of water) immediately after peeling.
- A thin slice cut from each end of a potato will speed up baking time.
- A few drops of lemon juice added to a pot of simmering rice keeps the grains from sticking together.
- To make a small amount of shrimp go further in a casserole or other dish, split large, fat shrimp horizontally. The shrimp flavor permeates the mixture more thoroughly when you slice them this way.