Purchasing Your Avocado

• When selecting an avocado, if you are planning on eating it right away, get one from which the stem falls off easily, but is still somewhat green underneath.  If the underneath has turned brown they are overripe.  If the stem does not come off, it is good to sit on your counter for a few days until it ripens.
• If you can only find an unripe avocado you can have it ripe by tomorrow if you place it in a bag with a banana and let is rest for 24 hours.  The gas produced by bananas ripen produce.  Because of this, don’t store bananas with your fruit if you don’t want them ripened.

Peeling, Slicing and Dicing Your Avocado

• Halve the avocado. You may have seen people hack the seed with their knife. Be very careful if you do this, because it is very easy to get your finger too.
• I prefer to slightly squeeze the avocado, and the seed will nearly pop out.
• You can score the avocado right in the skin, then just scoop it out with a spoon. Here is a video by Expert Village.
• If you are making a lot of guacamole, after you halve the avocado, press it through a bread drying rack that has metal struts going both directions creating a grid. Just press the avocado through this into a bowl.
• You can also scrape an avocado against the side of a glass. Here is a video by Crazy Russian Hacker.

Misc Avocado Information

• I am from Ohio. Back east avocados are called mangoes. Bell peppers are also called mangoes. Here in Arizona mangoes are called mangoes, avocados and called avocados and bell peppers are called bell peppers.

 

Keeping Hot Food Hot

• If you have a casserole, you can keep it hot by wrapping it in a couple of bath towels.  If it is something that might spill, use a towel that will not be ruined by a stain.
• If you have a crock pot or hot plate that will need to be plugged in, it is YOUR responsibility to bring an extension cord, not your hosts.  A heads-up ahead of time would be considerate as well.

Keeping Cold Food Cold

• You can create a double boiler cooler by putting ice in the bottom of a large baking pot, and then putting a steel dish on top of it.  It is even better if you can put a lid over top.
• You can also simply place your item in a tray of ice.
• Wrapping up your item in a towel with an ice pack works, almost as well as bringing your item in a cooler.
• The benefit of the first two items is that they will stay cold even on the serving table.

Spoilage

• This is the greatest fear of potluck attendees.  If you have something that used mayo, eggs or some other easily spoil-able ingredient, for God’s sake be sure to take adequate precautions.

Sharing

• If you are a beer drinker, don’t bring a six-pack just for yourself – bring a case to share.
• Bring enough food to share.  Don’t bring a half pint of potato salad and fill up your plate three times.

Food Choices

• This is not the place to experiment.  Forget about your spicy chicken lips.  Stick with something that is a tried and true favorite.
• People tend to bring meaty dishes to share.  Consider bringing a vegetable plate.
• If you bring soup, don’t expect the host to have bowls and spoons.  Part of your contribution includes utensils that are probably not otherwise available.

Left Overs

• It is a nice gesture to leave food behind, but it is actually not the norm.  Usually people will “help clear up” and take the food home with them.  Each situation can be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.  Here are three examples that happened to us:
  • Amy is on a diet, but LOVES to cook and bake.  She made cookies and a trifle and brought them to our potluck.  She left them behind so she would not eat them and ruin her diet.
  • Tim is a single guy who brought baked chicken and fried chicken.  Only half of it was eaten.  I asked him “Would it be OK to combine them into one box.”  This gave him the opportunity to say “Oh, you just keep them all.”  His reply was “That would make it much easier for me.  Thanks.”
  • Tina brought a 48 pack of misc chips.  She put it under the table saying that she would bring it out if it was needed.  She then ate and left early, taking the chips with her.  This was just tacky.

Social Etiquette

• A potluck, by definition, is a party to which each guest brings something to share.  An entree, a salad, a desert, or some other part of the meal.  Condiments do not count as a contribution.
• You can, however, ask the host if you should bring a dish to share, or it if would be more helpful to bring a couple stacks of paper plates and some cups.  You should, however, coordinate this substitution with the host.
• If you are told that you don’t have to bring anything, this is technically a dinner party, not a potluck.  It is still common courtesy to bring something.  A potted plant, a bottle of wine, or a loaf of bread.
• Hosts: Don’t ask that guests bring a pot to share, plus a couple of bottles of wine to share.  It is OK to ask people to bring whatever they want to drink, but don’t be stingy about it.
• Rather than being the first in line, as the food starts to come out, ask your host if there is anything you can do to help.  You won’t starve to death if you don’t get up to the buffet table in the first fifteen minutes.
• If the host asks you to bring something for which you are known, try your best to accommodate their request.  If you can’t, let them know ahead of time.
• Do not criticize food that you feel is below par.  The person that prepared the dish could be sitting right next to you.
• Don’t pig out just because you can.  This is a social dining experience, not preparation before a fast.
• Don’t bring something that will require additional cooking time without informing the host of your requirements far ahead of time.  They may have alternate plans for their stove.
• Wait for everyone to have firsts, before you go back for seconds.  Frequently the host will not even get a chance to eat.
• After everyone has finished eating, ask if you can help clean up – or just start carrying some of the dishes into the kitchen, following the example of your host.
• Host: Be sure to return all of the CLEANED dishes brought to your potluck.  Make a note somewhere of what belongs to whom so you can be sure to return them.
• If you can’t follow these simple rules and behave, just offer a reasonable reason you cannot attend and stay home.

Tips are coming soon:

Storing

Butter vs Margarine

Oil

Olive Oil, green

Refrigerated

Tips are coming soon:

Knife

Cooking

Cleanliness

 

Tips are coming soon:

Cows, Veal and Beef

Pigs and Pork

Chickens and Poultry

• Use gloves when working with raw poultry

Seafood

 

Tips are coming soon.  For now, you can BROWSE HERE.

 

Links to Third Party Sites

• YouTube – Household Hacker
• YouTube – Food Life Hacks
• YouTube – Crazy Russian Hacker

More Hacks

• Hometalk.com

1. Chip bag – no bowl – bit a hole in the face of the bag and tear a spiral until you have a bowl
2. No charcoal? chips work here too. Light and use a a substitute for charcoal. Finishes quickly though.
3. Corn chips are more along the lines of petro chemicals, so if you need something to start a fire on your camping trip, try Doritos.
4. Sterilize your sponges by putting a damp sponge into the microwave for two minutes
5. CD Case – Use for transporting bagels
6. Website for using leftovers – www.MyFridgeFood.com
7. Repair scratches on a table:
   – Rub with a walnut – get all of the oils into the crack
   – Rub the oils in with your finger
   – Clean with a soft cloth
8. Elevator – Easter Egg – Close and your floor at the same time – Straight up
9. Nervous – Chew gum – Body has nothing to fear or wouldn’t be eating
10. Use a dab of honey for pimples or a cut. Use toothpaste for a bee sting.
11. Slow sink ? Use a toilet plunger
12. When buying a used car, NEVER pay the asking price on a car lot.  Have a price in mind, but start at about 20% lower than what they are asking.  Find a couple of flaws, or some things you don’t like about the car.  Also, carry cash to the lot, and they will start foaming at the mouth.  Don’t be afraid to walk away – also don’t fall prey to their guilt trips.
13. Coffee Filters – Use for pinch pots or splatter guard in microwave
14. Lock screen on phone or iPad – “if found, please return to”
15. V to keep waxed paper or saran wrap roll in dispenser
16. Bagel freshener – wrap in wet paper towel and microwave 15 seconds
17. Juice bottle for power failure – See tip and picture this website
18. Book: How to Rebuild the world from scratch by Lewis Dartnell
19. Separating eggs: Put all eggs into a bowl, then use a water bottle.  Squeeze, touch yolk, release.
20. Dicing an avocado for guacamole:  Halve the avocado and remove the pit.  Push into a cross hatch bread rack.
21. Cutting a Kiwi: Halve the kiwi and scoop out meat with a soup spoon.
22. Pitting a strawberry: Use a (firm) soda straw.  Push through the tip and shove up to the leaves.
23. Peeling Garlic:  Cut the entire head around the “equator” and put them both face down.  Smack it with your cleaver.
24. Use a spice grinder to make your own rice flour or bean flour
25. Cut a hole in the plastic top of your spaghetti storage container to get the right amount every time.
26. Dip your hot skillet bottom into batter for a perfectly formed crepe
27. Place a wooden spook across your pot to prevent boil-overs
28. Use binder clips to help keep cables organized
29. Fix wobbly furniture by gluing a penny to the bottom of one of the legs
30. Eat your hamburger upside down.  The tops are more durable.
31. Use a n emptied chap stick tube to hold your emergency money
32. Use a needle nosed pliers to hold your nail to get it started
33. To help clean your microwave, boil 1 C water for 5 minutes.  The steam loosens everything.
34. Use a can opener to cut open some ridged plastic packaging
35. \

Tips are coming soon:

Dressing on the side of bowl

Tear or use plastic knife

Iceburg – smash end

 

Preparing your Dough

• Many pizza places will sell you a ball of their dough for a couple of bucks.
• Alternately, you can get oven-ready dough at the supermarket
• It is not too difficult to make your own dough.  CLICK HERE for several of my recipes
• Here is my good friend, Steve, that owns Grande Pizza PREPARING HIS DOUGH for an overnight rise.
• Albert Grande shows you a basic dough recipe and some of the proper techniques WITH THIS VIDEO.
• Dough that is risen without sugar will take longer, but will have a more fully developed flavor

Flattening your Pizza

• A rolling pin may seem like a good idea, but it squeezes many of the air pockets out of the dough.  Your pizza will taste more like cardboard
• Use your finger tips and palms to flatten your pizza
• Turn it (flip it) often during the flattening

Toppings

• Sauce is a good thing, but too much will give you a soggy crust.  Serve your pizza with a sauce side for dipping instead.
• I have a lot of recipes for RED SAUCE and for MARINARA.  I really like pizza!
• Put onions and pepperoni on the top so they fully cook
• Generally speaking, try to hold your pizzas to about five toppings (not counting sauce or cheese)

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Baking

• Pizzas should be cooked at high heat fairly quickly.  500º for 12 minutes is pretty good for the home oven.
• Use a baking stone if you have one.  Bring it up to temperature with your oven.  Never put a cold baking stone in a hot oven – it will crack.
• Never use soap to wash your baking stone.

Reheating

• Use a baking stone for reheating your left-over pizza.  The microwave will make it kind of soggy.
• No baking stone?  Put it on a cooling rack and slide that into your oven.  Put a pan under the cooling rack to catch drips.
• Grandma and I both like different toppings, so we get an extra large cheese pizza and keep it as a base for later toppings.
• To reheat, we bake at 400º for 8-10 minutes.

 

OVERVIEW

• These freezer tips are a perfect companion book to our Casseroles and Pan Dishes cookbook. The basics in this tip can be used for many casseroles and pan dishes.
• Prepare the recipe as you normally would. Instead of putting it in the oven, cover it and put in the freezer. For longer term storage, use a vacuum sealer.

QUICK FREEZE

• If you have strawberries, or other similar high-liquid produce, it is best to freeze them quickly.
  1. Put a heavy metal baking sheet in your freezer overnight.
  2. The next morning, spread your berries on the cold baking sheet and place back in the freezer for 4-5 hours.
  3. Use a spatula to remove the berries and place in a vacuum sealer bag.
  4. Always thaw out berries overnight in the refrigerator to minimize them becoming mushy.
• Freezing berries is a good way to create ingredients for smoothies.
  1. Break them into smaller pieces
  2. Freeze them as shown above
  3. Place them right in your blender instead of ice cubes to chill your smoothie.

GENERAL FREEZING

1. Prepare in large deep-dish baking tray.
2. Let cool on the counter to the point where it may be warm, but not hot.
3. Place in refrigerator overnight
4. Using a sharp knife (see Tips and Tricks) cut into serving-sized portions
5. Place each serving onto a square of aluminum foil
6. Carefully fold the corners over so that you don’t end up with any pieces of foil embedded into the sauce
7. Label and freeze
8. For extra protection, the next day (when it is frozen solid) enclose the frozen foil-wrapped meal in a twist-tie plastic storage bag – or better yet a vacuum sealed bag.

HOW LONG WILL THIS BE KEPT IN YOUR FREEZER

• For a couple of days you can just keep it wrapped in the foil. Even better would be a baggie sealed with a twist tie.
• For a couple of weeks, you need a baggie with a twist tie. Even better would be a vacuum sealed bag.
• For two weeks or more, you need to invest in a vacuum sealer.
• Amazon sells a Seal-a-Meal which is OK for occasional use.
• For more frequent use, invest in a Food Saver System

TO THAW

It is always best to thaw something in the refrigerator overnight (or one or two days before if it is a larger item) to prevent bacteria growth. Thawing something on the counter, or in water for more than a half hour, may cause unsafe and potentially harmful bacteria to grow.

LASAGNA: A POTENTIAL STEP BY STEP

1. Let thaw out in fridge overnight (over a couple of nights if it is a large piece)
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Unfold foil, and place (still on foil) onto baking sheet
   – If foil is frozen into the lasagna, cook for 10 minutes before proceeding to step 4.
4. Lay another layer of foil over the top (do not tuck or secure foil)
5. Cook 45 minutes (60 minutes if larger)
6. To finish, remove top foil, then cook 20 more minutes
7. Let stand at least 5 minutes before serving

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FREEZING AND THAWING SOUPS AND STOCKS

• These freezer tips are a perfect companion book to our Stews and Soups cookbook. The basics in this tip can be used for many recipes.
• Anytime you have a chicken, turkey, ribs, or anything with bones, you have the perfect beginnings for GREAT soup or spaghetti sauce.
• See the recipe in Grandpa’s book Stews and Soups on how to make stock, THEN once it is done, come back here for instructions on how to freeze it.
• Making your own stock is easy and tastes much better than canned stuff.

GENERAL FREEZING

1. Clean canning jars. If you want to go the whole canning route, you will need a pressure canner. These steps will prepare your stock for freezing, NOT canning.
2. Place your canning lids in a bowl of extremely hot water.
   2 cups of water in a microwave for 3 minutes is adequate
3. While stock is still too hot to touch, ladle stock into your canning jars leaving at least 1/2 inch clearance on top.
   DO NOT COMPLETELY FILL THE JARS, OR THEY WILL CRACK AS THEY FREEZE, AND THE LIQUID EXPANDS
4. Screw the lids onto the jars
5. Place jars in an ice bath for about 3 minutes to cool them rapidly.
6. You will notice the fat start to separate from the stock
7. You will hear pinging as the jars somewhat seal themselves.
8. Once the jars cool down to nearly room temperature, put the jars into the refrigerator overnight to cool even further.
9. Move to the freezer the following day.
   NOTE: Moving them to the fridge or freezer before they have somewhat cooled will thaw other stuff in your freezer, and increase the chance for bacteria to grow in those other foods.  Be patient, and let the jars cool.

HOW LONG WILL THIS BE KEPT IN YOUR FREEZER

• For up to a couple of weeks, just placing the jars in your freezer is good enough.
• For two weeks or more, once the liquid has complete frozen, float a thin later of water on top and freeze again.  This will create a flavor barrier that will isolate your broth from freezer burn.

TO THAW

1. If you have used water to create a flavor barrier, take the lid off your jar and rinse off any ice crystals that have formed.  Discard this tainted water.
2. Place the jar in your refrigerator for one or two days.  Two or three days if you used a quart canning jar.
3. Use a spoon to scrape off the congealed fat and discard
4. Use this stock as the base for any soups or home-made spaghetti sauces at a ratio of about 1 to 1
5. Add vegetables or meat as desired, depending on what you are making

A NOTE ABOUT SPOILAGE

If this is only a week old, and has been properly refrigerated, you should be safe BUT if it is older than a  week, and has been thawed out that long and in the refrigerator, proceed as follows:

1. Put your stock in a soup pan over medium high heat.
2. Make sure that the temperature comes up to at least 185 degrees so that any pathogens are killed.
3. Let simmer for at least ten minutes.  Longer is better.
4. Add your other ingredients, and cook for long enough to finish cooking the other ingredients.
5. Stock should be bubbling on the sides.
6. Since bacteria growth has started, do not save left-overs.

If it has NOT been refrigerated for several hours or more, please discard it.

Tips are coming soon:

Information about cheese

Hard cheese is cheese that is aged longer, and thus, has a lower moisture content.  Examples are cheddar, gruyere, manchego and parmesan
Click here for good info about Hard Cheese.

Semi-hard cheese are edam, Swiss, epoisse and langres cheese

Soft cheese is not aged very long and thus have a softer texture and milder taste.  American, brie and camembert are examples.
Click here for more about Soft Cheese.

Store cheese wrapped in waxed paper, never plastic
Keep cool, but not cold – Moist, but not wet

When creating a cheese plate, plate three cheeses max.
Create a theme:  Same type of milk, family, same cheese different age, same style different makers

Strong cheeses:  Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Stilton

Cheese fondues

• Swiss
  • Vaudoise: Gruyère.
  • Fribourgeoise: Vacherin fribourgeois à fondue,[Note 1] wherein potatoes are often dipped instead of bread. This is the only cheese fondue that does not use wine. The cheese is melted in a few tablespoons of water over low heat.
  • Moitié-moitié (or half and half), also called Fondue Suisse: Gruyère and Fribourg vacherin.
  • Neuchâteloise: Gruyère and Emmental.
  • Innerschweiz: Gruyère, Emmental, and Sbrinz.
  • Genevoise: Gruyère (preferably of several stages of maturity) with a little
  • Emmentaler and Valais cheese. Sometimes chopped sautéed morels are added.
  • Interlaken: Gruyère, Appenzeller, Emmental.
  • Appenzeller: Appenzeller cheese with cream added.
  • Tomato: Gruyère, Emmental, crushed tomatoes, and wine.
  • Spicy: Gruyère, red and green peppers, with chili.
  • Mushroom: Gruyère, Fribourg vacherin, and mushrooms.

• French
  • Savoyarde: Comté, Beaufort and one or two other local cheese like Reblochon, Abondance,[24] or French equivalent of Gruyère.
  • Jurassienne: Mature or mild Comté.
  • Auvergnate: Saint-Nectaire, Cantal and Fourme d’Ambert[25]

• Italian alpine
  • Valdôtaine (French: Fondue à la valdôtaine[26] or Italian: Fonduta alla valdostana): Fontina, milk, eggs, and truffles, typical of the Aosta Valley;
  • Fonduta piemontese in Piedmont.

Prepared convenience food

Refrigerated fondue blends are sold in most Swiss supermarkets as convenience food and need little more than melting in the caquelon. Individual portions heatable in a microwave oven are also sold.

Quick Hollandaise

FOR ONE	FOR TWO
•  1 TBL Knorr Hollandaise powder •  1 tsp corn starch • 1/4 C milk • 1 TBL water • 1 TBL butter •  1 dash Worcestershire sauce Mix water, cornstarch and Knorr Micro milk for 30 seconds Add butter and micro 15 seconds Temper hot milk into Knorr mix Mix Knorr mix back into glass Micro in 10 second intervals, mixing each time, till thickened	•  2 TBL Knorr Hollandaise powder •  2 tsp corn starch • 1/2 C milk • 2 TBL water • 2 TBL butter •  2 dashes Worcestershire sauce Mix water, cornstarch and Knorr Micro milk for 45 seconds Add butter and micro 15 seconds If not foaming, micro 15 more Temper hot milk into Knorr mix Mix Knorr mix back into glass Micro in 10 second intervals, mixing each time, till thickened
English Muffin, poached egg, ham or spinach

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Quick Vanilla Cream Sauce

FOR ONE	FOR TWO
•  1 TBL Birds Custard powder •  1 tsp corn starch • 1/4 C milk • 2 TBL confectioner sugar • 1 TBL water • 1 TBL butter •  1 dash vanilla • optional: almond extract Mix water, cornstarch and Birds Micro milk for 30 seconds Add butter and micro 15 seconds Temper hot milk into Birds mix Mix Birds mix back into glass Micro in 10 second intervals, mixing each time, till thickened	•  2 TBL Birds Custard powder •  2 tsp corn starch • 1/2 C milk • 1/4 C confectioner sugar • 2 TBL water • 2 TBL butter •  2 dashes vanilla Mix water, cornstarch and Birds Micro milk for 45 seconds Add butter and micro 15 seconds If not foaming, micro 15 more Temper hot milk into Birds mix Mix Birds mix back into glass Micro in 10 second intervals, mixing each time, till thickened
Serve over top of bread pudding or similar dish.

 

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Quick Gravy

FOR ONE	FOR TWO
•  1 TBL AP flour •  1 tsp corn starch • 1/4 C milk or broth • 1 dash Worcestershire sauce • 1 TBL water • 1 TBL butter •  1 dash browning sauce Microwave flour for 10 seconds Mix water, cornstarch and flour Micro milk/broth for 30 seconds Add butter and micro 15 seconds Temper hot liquid into flour mix Mix flour mix back into liquid Micro in 10 second intervals, mixing each time, till thickened	•  2 TBL AP flour •  2 tsp corn starch • 1/2 C milk or broth •  2 dashes Worcestershire • 2 TBL water • 2 TBL butter •  2 dashes browning sauce Microwave flour for 15 seconds Mix water, cornstarch and flour Micro milk/broth for 45 seconds Add butter and micro 15 seconds Temper hot liquid into flour mix Mix flour mix back into liquid Micro in 10 second intervals, mixing each time, till thickened
Serve over top of bread or potatoes

 

Types of cooked potatoes

• Home Fries
• Hashed Browns
• Baked
• Twice Baked
• Mashed
• Curly Q’s
• Au Gratin
• Pancakes
• Shoestring
• Scalloped
• Jackets
• French Fries
• Potato Skins
• Boiled

Starch Content

• High: Russet, Burbank
  -Whip, mash, fry, bake – 350º – Poke full of holes – Oil and salt the outside – 1 hour – skin cruncy and inside meat soft
• Medium: Yukon Gold, White, California Longs
  – Scalloped, pancakes, gratins
  – Gratin – sliced potatoes, refrig salvage – buttered casserole
  – layer potato, mushrooms, seasoning, cheese – REPEAT 2-3 TIMES
  – Add 1/2 and 1/2 – Press down – 400º 45 minutes covered – Uncover and another 10 minutes – Let rest for 20 minutes
• Low: Norland, red, boiling, fingerling, Pontiacs, LaSodas
  – Mashed Potatoes – Peeled Russet and unpeeled red –
  – Bring salted water up to boiling first, then add potatoes – Boil 6 minutes
  – Lowfat buttermilk and butter – Heat up to 185º
  – Add just a bit of milk, and mash potatoes – Be careful to not make too wet
• STARCHES: 
• Onions, tomatoes, pesto, bacon, horseradish – Sprinkle on top

Grinding Spices

If you don’t already have a spice grinder, get a porcelain grinder with a metal basin and plastic cover

Grating Cheese

1. When grating soft cheese, it will go better if you spray your grinder (flat) surface with something like Pam, and if you put your cheese in the freezer for a half-hour before grinding.

Grating other Veggies

• Carrots: If you use grated carrots in something like cole slaw, they will bleed and turn your entire slaw pink.  You can avoid this by pouring vinegar on the carrots to set the dye.  After they have rested in the vinegar for about five minutes, you can pour off the liquid, rinse your carrots in water, and you are then good to go.
• Ginger: Use the edge of a spoon to peel your ginger.  If you just want the flavor (not the fiber) you can grate the ginger and then S-Q-U-E-E-Z-E the juice out.  It will measure spoon for spoon as grated ginger.

Microplane Grating

• Use a microplane for removing the zest from an orange, lemon or lime.  Don’t go too deep.  You don’t want the white pith.
• I like to keep whole nutmeg in a jar.  About 8 seeds will last you for about a year.  Since they are whole, you can squeak 12-15 months out of it, rather than 6-9 months that the pre-grated stuff will last you.  Microplane these right into your mixture.

Peeling

• Avocado: CLICK HERE for Avocado Tips and Tricks.
  

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• Garlic: I will give you this one first – Just buy peeled garlic.  It is not much more expensive than whole garlic, and will save you a lot of grief.  It is ALMOST as good as fresh.  Don’t keep it more than a month though.
• Garlic: You can separate cloves and then cut the tips off.  Put the clove in a ball created by two bowls – rim to rim – and then shaking the hell out of them.  The skin will simply fall off.
• Garlic: The old fashioned method is to crush the clove lightly with the side of your knife, then removing the skin.
•