Friday Favorite: Kitchen Tongs

For the longest time, I only used a spatula for sauteing. I'm not sure why I got these kitchen tongs - I think I wanted to feel chef-y. I guess it worked, because now they are one of my favorite kitchen tools! I use them for lifting and turning pieces of meat, turning over veggies as I saute, and holding a hot item steady for slicing. They are really practical.

This pair has all the characteristics valuable in tongs: sturdy, scalloped points to help you grip large items, a stay-cool material on the handle, and a locking catch that keeps them closed in the drawer.

If you are adding a pair to your kitchen, check out Cook's Illustrated's Tong Recommendations. It's a good bang for not much buck.

Here's my favorite simple preparation for asparagus. Call me crazy, but I think they taste better when cut before cooking. I have no idea why this would be (ideas, cooking-science folks?). You can definitely avoid a stringy texture by cooking them this way, which is something that tends to turn kids off from asparagus.

Sauteed Asparagus
1 T olive oil
dried thai chilis, to taste (my grocery has these next to the garlic - very inexpensive)
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2" pieces
coarse salt
squeeze of lemon juice and grated Parmesan for garnish, if desired

1. Heat oil and chilis in a large skillet. Cook the chilis a few minutes to let the flavor infuse the oil (leave them whole if you want flavor without heat).
2. Turn up the heat and add the asparagus. They should sizzle and cook without liquid pooling in the pan - that way they will be sauteed rather than boiled. Cook until tender, allowing a little brown (not black) char to form on a few edges of the asparagus. This gives a sweeter flavor.
3. Finish with salt to taste and serve!
Sometimes I squeeze some flavor-brightening fresh lemon juice on top, in which case I add a little grated Parmesan to balance it out.

Friday Favorite: Misto

I have another favorite cooking item to show you!

I love my little Misto oil-sprayer. You add your oil of choice, pump the cap to build up pressure, and get an aerosol-like fine mist for all your oil-spraying needs. It is easy to use, works very well, and contains no "grain alcohol, soy lecithin and propellant" that the purchased can of spray contains. (And if it matters to you, that common brand of spray is produced by ConAgra, who can't seem to make a pot pie without including Salmonella and thinks they'll just ship them that way and you can deal with the problem yourself.)

I spray pans to make them non-stick, of course, but I have two other uses for you:

First, I recently tried the trick Keri recommends: when I don't have the time (or calorie budget) for soft-frying my tortillas for enchiladas, I can spray both sides with the oil spray, stack them up and heat them in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It works very nicely!

My final tip for use of the oil sprayer (which works with the regular spray as well) is for air-popped popcorn. Using a sprayer is a great way to get a very thin, even coating of oil on all the popped kernels so that salt will stick to them! Just spray and salt as the popcorn tumbles out of the popper into your bowl. This makes a very tasty and not soggy or greasy popcorn. Enjoy!

Friday Favorite: Sandwich and Snack Saks

Check out these awesome little reusable baggies! I found them at this shop just clicking around on Etsy (oh no, that's not a time sink...). I kept thinking I should try to make some, but (a) I didn't have all the supplies, (b) my un-done project list is way too long, and (c) the way these are made is beyond my present sewing skills. I finally just requested a custom set in greens and browns - my favorites! - and I'm so glad I did. They are working out really well.

I got one sandwich size and two snack size. They are cotton outside with a nylon lining inside and a full strip of velcro as a closure. The nylon is loose from the cotton so that it can be turned inside out and the velcro is sewn in very securely. There are several shops that sell this type of item, but I am really enjoying these!

I've been filling them with our little snack mix or crackers or sandwiches. When I use them for snack foods, I just shake out the crumbs and keep going. After a sandwhich, I either turn the nylon lining inside out and rinse it in the sink or run the whole thing through the washing mashine. In addition to being easy to use and reuse, I love that they are so easy for Zack to spot in our bag and close back up himself. And, really, seeing the fabrics makes me happy.

Friday Favorite

Do you have a favorite cooking tool? I loooove this pan. It's this one, but the thing I like most about it is the stainless steel material. I didn't want to constantly be dealing with cooked-on mess, so I got a nice quality pan, and boy is it great!

In the past year I decided I wasn't so keen on Teflon, for a few reasons. My pans were getting old and the Teflon was peeling off, making it not-so-non-stick and getting flakes in our food. My understanding (sorry, I don't have sources to cite here) is that Teflon is really not good to ingest. Even new pans shed some Teflon (you can't cook for your pet bird even in a new Teflon pan- it will poison the bird).

Also, the crust I can get on my food with a Teflon pan is just not the same. They aren't designed to cook on high temperatures (and as I've started turning into my mom, I've found I like Cooking on High, her specialty). So, I'm really enjoying the nice cripsy results of my pan. And, once I get a bunch of browned bits (uh, Cooks Illustrated points out that it's called "fond") stuck on the bottom of the pan, I can just use a little stock, water, wine or whatever to deglaze the pan and make a quick tasty sauce. By the time I deglaze, clean up is no biggie, and a little Barkeeper's Friend finishes up any stubborn areas.

I loved this pan so much that I found myself cooking in serial - making one item in it, putting it aside to stay warm, then making the next item in my one good pan. So, I asked for and received (yay!) a second size of the same pan for Christmas. One pan great - two pans fabulous!