Make creamy salad dressing by adding a
bit of cream to basic vinaigrette. Photo
courtesy Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.
We’re always surprised that so many folks who cook their meals buy bottled dressing for the salad. Bottled dressing is expensive, and it’s so easy to make your own.
When we ask people why they just don’t whisk together 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 4 tablespoons olive oil, one often-heard response is that the family prefers creamy dressing.
Done! Just whisk together 1/2 part cream. It that’s not creamy enough, add more cream.
And don’t forget to season your vinaigrette with a pinch of salt and pepper, for starters. For more flavors, add:
A pinch of dry mustard
A half teaspoon of Dijon mustard (or other favorite mustard)
Minced garlic
A pinch of anchovy paste, hot chile paste, olive paste, pesto or tomato paste (we use Amore brand)
Your favorite herbs (we like minced dill, parsley and/or oregano but experiment with anything at hand, including horseradish)
Your favorite spices
Add anything else that sounds good to you. We’ve been enjoying Kalamata olive vinaigrette, adding a teaspoon of puréed Kalamata olives.
Usually, when we see a product at retail that touts “As Seen On TV,” we rush past it. Personal experience—as well as reviews and segments produced by television journalists—show that a lot of infomercial-sold merchandise doesn’t measure up to claims.
But we had a good experience with the Microwave Pasta Boat.
Those who cook pasta know that this simple product takes a fair amount of time. It can take a stock pot full of water up to 30 minutes to boil. Hopefully, boiling water doesn’t splash as you drain the pasta into a colander.
The Microwave Pasta Boat improves on the pasta-cooking experience.
The Microwave Pasta Boat has a steamer
rack for cooking other foods.
The pasta is cooked in less than 20 minutes—less time than it would take a stock pot of water to boil on the stove.
If you’re cooking multiple dishes, it frees up a burner.
No water boils over onto the stove.
There’s a built-in strainer; no colander or other pot is needed.
The strainer lid makes straining a cinch.
The drained pasta remains in the boat, where you can toss it with sauce, olive oil, butter, etc.
You can also mix pasta salad and other recipes in the boat, without needing another pot or bowl.
For everyday meals, the pasta boat can be brought to the table for serving or passing.
The device doubles as a vegetable steamer.
You can store leftover pasta, pasta salad, vegetables, etc. in the fridge.
Extras include a stay-cool handle that doubles as a spaghetti measure, and a steaming rack for cooking vegetables and other foods. And it’s dishwasher safe.
The only problem is that the stated cooking times always produce overcooked pasta. Since microwave ovens differ, you’ll have to experiment to see what times work with yours. Cook the pasta for a few minutes short of the recommended time, then test a piece. You’ll soon know what works for your microwave.
Which gets back to our overall review: We like the pasta boat. It saves time and dish washing; it’s well worth the $9.59 price (on Amazon.com) and, more importantly, the storage space.
We grew up in a pie-baking household; Mom is a great baker who loves to bake pies. She rolled out the dough, placed it in a Pyrex pie plate and added the filling. Then we got to pinch the edges. We savored the aroma of a baking pie; and counted the minutes after it was removed from the oven, when it would be cool enough to cut.
While pie-baking seems a snap to us, a recent national survey by Crisco (which Mom loves in her pie crusts) revealed that:
59% of Americans say that pie is the hardest dessert to prepare from scratch
Nearly two-thirds (65%) agree that making the crust is the hardest part of baking a pie from scratch
Only 12% say choosing a recipe is the hardest part of preparing the classic dessert
What’s your favorite pie? Bake it today!
Photo courtesy American Egg Board.
O.K., then; you know what kind of pie you’d like. Whip one up today for National Pie Day. The typical pie recipe requires just 30 minutes of prep time and 30 to 40 minutes in the oven.
Try making this apple pie recipe from Crisco. We love how the pie crust is rimmed with little stars, cut with a cookie cutter.
Here’s a video that shows how easy it is to make a pie crust.
If you have questions, call the experts at The Crisco Pie Hotline, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET. The phone number is by calling 1.877.FOR PIE TIPS (877-367-7438).
BLOOD ORANGE PRODUCTS
We absolutely love the blood orange-infused olive oil from Sonoma Farm and Stella Cadente. No matter where you use it, it adds magic.
Robert Lambert makes a delectable blood orange syrup, easy to use in anything from tea to pound cake to sorbet; as well as a marvelous marmalade of blood oranges.
Have a bloody good time digging in to these bloody-orange-good foods.
