Best Kitchen Appliances

By Tom Genung Carving a turkey is an easy process, and I'm going to highlight a couple of ways to do it. If you're a traditionalist and carve your turkey at the table in front of your guests, then the traditional approach is the one you should take. Otherwise if you are not too worried about presentation and the "wow factor" or you will be carving up the turkey in the kitchen, then the kitchen carving method may be right for you. Either way, they are both easy. The Traditional Way to Carve a Turkey Starting with the drumstick and thigh, push them away from the body until the hip joint is exposed. Slice through this joint until the thigh and drumstick are removed. With the thigh and drumstick removed as one unit, we can separate the two by slicing between the joint connecting the leg and thigh. At this point you may serve the drumstick as is, or slice the meat off of it. I always leave the drumstick as is. It comes down to personal prefe...

By E. Anthony Gove   Food:   Now that you know for sure your getting a ferret. At this point people always ask me what now Brandon. Now ferret food will need to be bought. It is important that you do not feed you ferret cat food. There are to many choices available of ferret food to buy. When you buy ferret food, you know it will have the nutrients your ferret will need. You could also make them food your self I will be adding a recipe or two eventually.   Cage:   Personally, I don't like to buy ferret cages I like to build them. My ferrets enjoy it when I make them stuff, to be honest they like it when my wife buys them stuff. This way I can customize it, make multi level, add tubing, trap doors and trick out their mansions. But not everyone likes to get out there and build it or just don't have the time to do it in most cases. there is nothing wrong with buying one sometimes it is necessary. I bought my first four or five before I took the plunge...

By Sarita Haines   If you want to take your cupcakes to the next level, there are a variety of tools under twenty dollars that will help you add a professional touch.  These tools will not only make your cupcakes beautiful, but will also save you time and help avoid messes.  They'll expand your cupcake decorating repertoire and inspire new, tasty ideas.   1. Decorative cupcake wrappers - Laser-cut paper wrappers fit around the bottom and sides of standard cupcakes. They are slipped on the cupcakes once they are cool and frosted.  Wrappers can be different shapes and colors to match your theme.  Far more elegant than your typical cupcake wrappers, these add an artistic touch to your cupcakes.   2. Food decorating pen -  For finer details and designs on cupcakes, you'll find a food decorating pen is similar to a refillable pen or pencil, only with frosting . Because it handles like a pen, it has a natural feel and gives a high degre...

There are few things you should know about handling natural grass feed beef for cooking. It is not necessary to wash meat before cooking. Any bacteria on the meat will be destroyed in the cooking process. Some recipes call for washing off meat, this is done to prepare it for a batter or dusting of flour usually and requires the meat to be patted dry using a paper towel. If you buy your beef in a health food store or at a farmer's market make it the last thing you buy before leaving. When you get it home immediately refrigerate it at 40 degrees and use it within 3 to 5 days. You can freeze the meat and if hard frozen it will last 9 to 12 months. If you freeze it in the store packaging overwrap with aluminum foil or freezer-weight plastic wrap. Best is to use sealable plastic bags. All methods help prevent freezer burn. Freezer burn comes from meat being defrosted and refrozen and if you have it on meat you can cut it away before using. You will find that when storing ...

Do you enjoy spending time in the kitchen?  If so, you really are quite like many people who have made preparing meals, dishes and desserts something of an art.  Of course, in order to succeed in the kitchen it is important that you have the most proper tools on hand.  You need to make sure that you have functional, affordable and durable kitchen cookware .  Through this informational article you are provided an overview of some points to bear in mind when you are selection kitchen cookware.  Armed with this information you really will be in the best possible position to find and purchase functional, affordable and durable kitchen cookware. As is the case with so many products and services in this day and age the Internet and World Wide Web can be a truly wonderful resource for you if you are seeking the best kitchen cookware on the market.  By shopping on the internet you will not only be able to save money on such purchases but you will be ...

In a down economy it's important to cut costs wherever you can. We all need to make the most of our income. One way to gain extra funds every week is to be careful with your food budget. Reducing the number of times you eat out and cutting back on convenience meals at the grocery is a great way to save.  There is a simple way to make this happen - a way that will save you both time and money.  You can slash your grocery budget by making freezer meals. Freezer meals are meals you can make ahead and store in the freezer.  These meals are easy to prepare in advance and make cooking dinner a pleasure each and every night.  One way to get started is to simply make a double batch of the meal you are making tonight for supper.  Store the second recipe in a freezer container, mark it and put it in the freezer.  For every night you cook you get a night "off".  This method will save you money because it gives you more options on a busy night....

Before, lobsters were considered food for the poor fisher folks, but now, it is a luxurious treat consumed mostly on special occasions. A lot of people are arguing about what part of the lobster is truly satisfying; there are those that are saying that the meaty claws are the best part, but it seems that the lobster tails are getting the most votes. How to make a scrumptious dish out of lobster tails may seem like a difficult task, but the truth is, it is quite easy to make. You can simply sprinkle a little garnish or even compliment it with an elegant side dish and voila! You might even impress you mother-in-law in the process. You can buy frozen or fresh lobster tails, depending on availability. If it is frozen, you will need to thaw them up by placing it in your microwave for a couple of minutes to defrost. Try to be very careful upon doing this because you just need to warm it up a bit and not cook it. After it is thawed, take out the meat by slicing the back of its ...

Great cheese plates can be created by focusing on the theme or the type of setting you are trying to present. Here are some for suggestions for cheese plates. The following lists are given purely as suggestions and can be altered to fit whatever occasion you may be preparing. Try to keep the country consistent. Also when choosing your cheeses try to keep in mind the taste, texture and milk differences. These differences will create a memorable experience for your guests. The main goal with a cheese board is to expand your guests cheese horizons so try not to provide only very common or tried and true cheeses. Lastly always serve cheese condiments with your plates and boards they will help to enhance and excite the flavor of your cheeses. Have fun and happy eating! French Cheese Plate (as an appetizer plate or after dinner course) 1oz of each cheese per person 1) P'Tit Basque a mild sheep milk cheese 2) Brie de Meaux, Brie Nangis or Camembert cow milk cheeses 3) Peti...

Venison is meat from deer, as mostly everyone knows, but it is also meat from elk, antelope, moose, reindeer, and caribou. Currently, white-tail deer is the most hunted and most served type of venison in the United States. What is found most often in markets is South Texas antelope, which is native to the Himalayan foothills. These antelope were brought to Texas a few decades ago, and now live on the range land of the largest ranch in the country, the King Ranch in South Texas. Large herds are regularly harvested from the ranch. They produce a very lean meat that tastes a little like veal. Venison has very little fat, so it is necessary to make some simple adjustments to the way you normally cook beef, pork, or other various types of domestic meats. When you are broiling or grilling a choice cut of tender venison, such as a backstrap, cook the meat rapidly, using a higher heat, then you would normally do with beef. What you want to accomplish is to sear the outside of th...

By Beth Brawn Grilled Shrimp is probably the most popular category of Shrimp Cuisine. You can purchase wonderful grilled shrimp entrée's at Food Establishments around the world. But, when it comes to grilling shrimp at home, many people want to know how to grill shrimp for the best results. Many expert chefs will tell you the #1 rule for grilling shrimp is to not over cook it. Shrimp cooks very rapidly. Depending on the size shrimp you are grilling, 2 to 3 minutes per side is a normal cooking time. That's it! If you want to make the best Grilled Shrimp Recipes at home, just follow these easy grilling tips. 1. Purchase Raw Shrimp. You can purchase fresh or frozen shrimp, just make sure it is raw. You are going to be cooking it again on the grill so you do not want shrimp that is already cooked. It will become tough and chewy. 2. Purchase Large or Extra Large Shrimp. Shrimp that is any smaller can fall through the grill or doesn't hold well on skewers if makin...

By Ann Richter Your garden is producing a bumper crop of tomatoes this year! Now, what to do with all of the tomatoes? There is only so much spaghetti sauce that you can eat until you get tired of eating it. It is time to put up some of the harvest by canning them so that you can enjoy the tomatoes all year long. The following tips will help you safely and successfully can tomatoes. Tomato Acidity Tomatoes are considered a high acid food that is a pH below 4.6. Some varieties of tomatoes have a slightly higher pH and need to be pressure canned or be acidified to a pH of 4.6 or lower using lemon juice or citric acid. Some of the common causes that cause reduced acidity in tomatoes are: Decay on the tomato Brusies or other damage Cracks Blossom end rot Insects Over ripening Ripened off of the vine Tomatoes attached to dead vines Every time when canning tomato, add additional citric acid, lemon juice or vinegar (5%) to the tomato product. This will...

By Billy Bristol Not too many years ago, in the first half of the 20th century, cooking fish and seafood was not that popular in Texas. Before refrigeration, cooking and eating fresh fish, and especially having a variety of fish, was rare fare for any Texan living any distance away from the Gulf of Mexico coast. Ice even had to be brought in by boat to the coast. Texans ate a little bit of freshwater fish caught from rivers, but there were no natural lakes, and man-made lakes were not available then either. Also, cooking oils were limited to beef fat at the time. All of these factors led to the fact that fish was just not a big part of their diets. Despite these limitations, cooks along the gulf coast developed a very strong tradition, which was influenced by the proximity to New Orleans. Not only that, but Texans have always loved to fry just about anything, and most fish and seafood was perfect for frying. Through the years, with the improvement of refrigeration and f...

It's that time of year again. The sun comes out and our thoughts turn to barbecues and eating outdoors to make the most of the great weather. For many of us, we unearth the old charcoal grill, still covered in old dirt, grime and grease from the last barbecue of the previous year and wonder whether to try and clean it up for one more season's use or whether we should just go out and buy a new one. More and more buyers are turning to gas grills as a quicker, cleaner and more convenient way of cooking outdoors.  Dealing with bags of charcoal, special lighter fluid and erratic cooking temperatures isn't something that appeals to very many of us. Well, you'll be glad to hear that there is a solution. Gas grills have been around since the 1960s but it's only in the last few years that they have been developed into the user friendly cooking powerhouses that they are today. The main benefits of gas grills compared to charcoal versions are: Venue - Man...

By Crecia Perez I'm a pork lover. My family has been pork lovers since before I was born. Our family prefers to serve a roast pork loin at Thanksgiving rather than a roast turkey. I have been in search of the perfect pork loin for most of my adult life. I searched the web to find recipes and cooking tips. I was surprised to also find some interesting food products for sale such as Napa Valley natural fruit purees, sashimi tuna, American Kobe Wagyu beef and a new item to me, Kurabuta pork, also referred to as Berkshire Japaneses Pork. I came to learn, this pork variety has been celebrated in Japan and around the world for many reasons, but especially for its marbling and flavor, which are its most distinctive characteristics. American Kurobuta Pork loin is lean, with small, fine streaks of marbling that make each cut sweet, tender, and juicy. Unlike traditional white pork that can have a tendency to be bland and dry, American Kurobuta pork is much darker in color an...

There are many different kinds of cookers on the market today. The top brands of quality cookers have gained their reputation by providing quality, style and diversity in their cookers and other appliances. Some of the top brands of the most popular cookers are worth some research to ensure that the functions and uses you have in mind are available in the style and price you wish to pay. When it comes to slow cookers and crock pots, some of the best brands to choose from are Kitchenaid, Cuisinart, Rival, Proctor Silex, Breville and Westbend. These spectacular brands offer a variety of sizes ranging from a small cooker suitable for preparing a meal for one to a family sized meal. Many feature carrying totes and some even have heated bottoms that can double as a griddle cook surface. Pressure cookers work by creating a pressurized cooking environment inside the pot. Great dishes can be prepared in a fraction of the time it would take to cook them otherwise. Today's top...

Grilling shrimp can be pretty simple. One of the best grilling tips for Shrimp Kabobs, or Skewers and some people call them, is to select the right size shrimp. My recommendation is to use large or extra large shrimp. The larger sized shrimp stay on the grill better, they don't fall through the grates. They also hold onto the skewer better and are large enough to thread the skewer through two spots holding them more securely onto the skewer. The next grilling tip is to soak wooden skewers for approx. 1 hour prior to using them on the grill. This prevents them from burning. Find a large enough pan to fit them into and cover them with water. You can place something on them to hold them down in the water or swish them around several times during the soak. Third tip, when skewering the shrimp, leave plenty of room on the end of each skewer to be able to grab them, this also prevents the shrimp from falling off the ends when you flip them. If making grilled shrimp re...