Rack Fleet» Cooking, Food & Wine

Tips for Using Clay Cookware

admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:27:29 +0000

If you never used Romertopf Clay Cookware, then it might be something worth investigating, especially if you enjoy cooking. While many have never heard of cooking in clay, those who do use it find they can’t live without this lovely and unique kitchenware. You might have a variety of pans that you use in the oven, made of stainless steel, aluminum, or silicone, but cooking in clay is quite a different experience. There are some important and basic things to remember about cooking with this method, including a few essential tips to always keep in mind.

Whether you’re baking a chicken, roast, stew, or side dish in covered clay baker, the first thing you’ll want to do is soak the container in room temperature water for ten or fifteen minutes before your begin placing the food inside. It’s also very important to remember that you do not preheat the oven, instead you place your filled dish into a cold oven and then turn it on. Your recipe will often require a slightly higher temperature for baking, usually around 400 degrees. Remember not to use strong detergents or abrasives on your clay to clean it, and let it dry thoroughly before placing it back in your cabinets.

Kaiser LaForme Springform Pan for the Perfect Cake

admin — Tue, 05 May 2009 23:01:00 +0000

We have quite a few food allergies in our family including egg and nut allergies, so I often end up having to make our desserts and special occasion cakes. I really don’t mind since I like knowing exactly what is in the food we’re eating, plus I tend to make healthier choices on ingredients compared to the store-bought versions. Of course, I sometimes run into problems of not having the right cake pan on-hand when I want to make a specific kind of cake. One of my families favorite cakes recently was a simple ice cream cake made with a graham cracker crust. Having to use a pie pan made the cake a little smaller than I would have liked and I realized that next time I’ll make a big ice cream layer cake instead using a Commercial-Weight Kaiser LaForme Springform Pan.

I love the quality of the Kaiser LaForme bakeware products. The pans are made of commercial-weight steel- and cook very evenly and consistenly. The 2 layer nonstick coating makes it so easy to just slide your finished cake out of the pan for perfect looking results. The buckle on the pan even has a lifetime warranty which I could have used on the other brand of springform pan I had bought years ago.

Spice Your Coffee Up With A Little Citrus

admin — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:16:41 +0000

If you’re an orange cappuccino fan, like me, you’re going to get hooked on this Orange Nutmeg Coffee Mix. By using real orange peel, there is no escaping the decidedly citrus aroma and taste. The nutmeg adds a nice warm fragrance and flavor to the coffee. Even though you can just stir this mix together, I prefer to use my blender so the mix gets nice and smooth. You might also want to tweak the sugar just a little to suit your own taste. The nutmeg is so nice, you don’t want to hide the flavor with too much sugar. You may also have your little ones drooling over your cup of coffee, so watch out!

Even when the weather is hot, I still like to finish my day with a nice, big cup of hot coffee. A sultry summer night is the perfect time to enjoy a citrus flavored coffee. With my inexpensive beverage recipes handy, I can always mix up a batch so I’m prepared to sit, relax, and watch the evening stars.

Switching to Glass Food Storage Containers

admin — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:26:09 +0000

I’ve been taking a good look at some of the kitchenware in my home and considering what items might need updating or replacing. I didn’t intend to buy new items, but it all started when I began running out of cabinet storage space in my kitchen. So I started pulling pots and pans and gadgets out to figure out what I was and was not using. I found a few items that I thought I could probably sell and other items that would be good for donation. The items that bothered me the most were my plastic containers. Many had become stained from years of use and a couple of lids had gone missing for some of them. I really don’t like storing my food in plastic anymore, so I’ve decided that it’s time for me to buy a good glass food storage container set.

I like that these containers are made of tempered glass and that they are liquid-tight, and air-tight too. Our food will stay fresher longer and I won’t have to worry about the containers aging poorly like my plastic ones do. Plus they’re microwave safe, dishwasher safe, and freezer safe too. I know I’ll get many years of use out of this food storage container set.

My First Thanksgiving Turkey

admin — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:39:06 +0000

What would Thanksgiving be without a turkey? I vividly remember the first time I got to cook the entire feast by myself. We’d just moved across country and I was more than a little nervous about cooking this big bird. Thankfully I came across a perfect roasted turkey recipe and it turned out to be great. I just wish I’d realized earlier that a 13 lb turkey is a bit much for 2 people. We must have had leftovers for a month, including sandwiches, soup and casseroles all made with plenty of turkey.

Cooking the entire meal by myself and trying out all these different thanksgiving recipes was a lot of fun, but it also taught me a new appreciation for how much work my mother and my mother-in-law put into these big holiday meals each year. Now that we are living closer to family again, we all get together and contribute to the meal, which makes things much easier on everyone involved. Which reminds me, I better figure out what I’ll be brining this year. Happy Holidays.