Product Review: Baker's Mate Cooling Rack

As I have mentioned before, space is at a premium in my kitchen. There is little counter space and when I am in the throws of baking - there is even less counter space, since heaven forbid I clean as I go. This sometimes leaves me with multiple hot trays coming out of the oven, and not enough space to put them. I have accumulated enough burns to decide that I need some help in this area. I saw this cooling stand by Baker's Mate in a cooking catalog and immediately made note of it. My sister was kind enough to get it for my birthday, and I was able to put it right to work on the Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate chunk cookies.



The stand is great and works well - with one major pain in the neck. It is exceedingly difficult to close the last tier on the bottom for storage. Unless I am just missing something, it is very hard to release it from the raised metal areas that keep it locked in place. Aside from that, it is wonderful... sits on my counter and all my cookie trays - whether fresh out of the oven or patiently waiting their turn - are neatly stacked.


Ultimately, I love the space saving ability to handle multiple (hot) trays at once, but I hate the folding-it-up for storage process.

Which is why it is still sitting, all set up, on the dining room table. ;-)

**Update** 09/23/09
I figured out how to close up the bottom tier of the rack.... just push the ends towards each other, and they clear the metal piece that locks them in the open position. I knew I was missing something!

Cleaning up!

I am always inspired by the cleaning tips, motivation, and organization over at the Hyper Homemaker. I got a label maker and slew of new Lock and Lock storage containers in all different sizes for Christmas, so I knew it was finally time to get a hold on the mess in my pantry and cabinet. I included the cabinet because I store some things in there that I use while cooking (breadcrumbs and such) and some baking items (cocoa powder, baking powder, etc), but store all the reserves for those items in the pantry. That was making it hard to keep track of what I had when it was time to go to the store. Now things are placed together and I reproritized what goes in the cabinet (in the kitchen) or the pantry (a short walk away).

Here is the cabinet before...


And after!

Note: the upper right is what happens when you ask your husband to pick up some butterscotch chips when he goes to the grocery store...

Here is the pantry before and after:

Say hello to my little friend(s)...

I shoot most of my blog photos with my little Canon Powershot SD700 because, well, our Canon Rebel (now discontinued but you can find it's next of kin by the addition of all sorts of fancy letters) is like a black box to me. I shoot on automatic because that's all I can figure out, and I don't like the the way those shots turn out. The Powershot is just... easy. But, the Powershot doesn't handle low light situations that well. Being that the sun goes down at... what... 4pm these days? This doesn't make for good pictures. So I built a pretty shabby light box, which sorta helped me make somewhat not-completely-horrible pictures. Still, I wanted more. I wanted pictures I could be proud of!

Then I read this. And realized... I have a husband who has no idea what to buy me for my birthday OR Christmas. SCORE! I told him *exactly* what I wanted, and he came through for me. Two new pieces of camera equipment sat patiently while we went to California for Christmas. And then sat patiently a few days more until I had time to sit down and figure them out. If I had known they'd be this magnificent, I'd have opened them as soon as possible!! I present... my Rebel, now adorned with a Speedlite 430EX external flash (now discontinued) and a Canon 50mm 1/8 II lens.

I have a long way to go in learning how to take really great photos, but these little lovelies just gave me a HUGE boost!

Harry and David Chicken Enchilada Soup

One of my lovely gifts from the recent What's Cooking Summer Gift Swap was a jar of Harry and David Pepper and Onion Relish. Thankfully, it came with a host of recipe ideas! As soon as I saw the Chicken Enchilada Soup, I knew that is what we'd be having.
To add more flavor, we grilled the chicken using an Emeril's Essence spice rub before cutting up for the soup. Also, to cut down on the fat a little, I used one can of evaporated milk in place of the cream. It certainly isn't the prettiest soup, but wow, the flavors are great! The relish has a sweet heat to it that really makes the soup dance. I'm actually a little sad now, because I increased the recipe to use up the whole jar of relish (and to ensure there'd be leftovers!), and now I don't know how to make this without the relish. It definitely took the soup to a different level. I suppose this is where I am supposed to put my thinking cap on and start experimenting!

Chicken Enchilada Soup
Source: Harry and David

~1 Tbsp vegetable oil
~1/4 cup chopped onion
~1 clove garlic (if you read my blog with any frequency, you know I tripled that)
~3/4 cup Pepper and Onion Relish
~1 1/2 cup chicken broth
~1/2 cup cream (or one 5 oz can evaporated milk)
~salt to taste (I used about a tablespoon of tomato/chicken bouillon)
~3/4 cup Monterey Jack Cheese, grated
~1 cup cooked chicken breast, diced
~1 plum tomato, diced (my addition)

Heat oil in pot over medium heat and saute onion and garlic. Add relish and chicken broth and cook with pot covered for 15 minutes over low heat. Add cream, salt, (tomato) and chicken and simmer another 8-10 minutes over low heat. Stir in cheese and serve hot.

I <3 Penzeys!

I've been hearing a lot about this fabulous spice store, Penzeys. I happened to run out of a number of basic staple spices at the same time, so I figured I'd check this place out. Turns out they have a store not too far from where I work, but they close really early and I wouldn't be able to make it in time. I decided to order from their website, dismayed at the thought of waiting 6-8 days for my box o' spices. Much to my surprise (and delight!), the box of goodies arrived in TWO days! (I think being close to their home state is key) :-)

I am absolutely in love with them... here's what I got:
Medium Hot Chili Powder
Garlic Powder
Ground Cinnamon
Ground Nutmeg
Ground Cayenne Pepper
Ground Ginger
Vanilla Extract

Then some new things for me:
Herbs de Provence
Chinese 5 Spice Powder

The BEST part? They gave me a free 1.2 oz sample of their Southwest Seasoning! Also a copy of their latest magazine/catalog, that had a number of yummy recipes. If you are in the market for refilling some of your spice containers... definitely check them out!

Product Review: Bamboo Handled Kabob Grill Basket

I picked up these grill baskets from Bed, Bath & Beyond because I hate dealing with skewers (especially for vegetables). I saw these back when I was registering for our wedding, and finally got around to purchasing them ($9.99 for a set of 4, but always use your coupons for 20% off!). We have used them twice this weekend and LOVE them! I have found that they fit the equivalent of about one boneless/skinless chicken breast each. They are so easy... just open the cage, plop in your meat or vegetables, lock the cage and toss on the grill. I keep the bamboo handle outside of the grill, so when it's time to flip, the handle is cool and makes it very easy. When the cooking is done, just unlock the cage and empty onto a plate. E-A-S-Y! Clean up is... not as easy, but they are for the grill, so I'm just letting them... "season"

Product Review: SideSwipe Blade

My trusty Kitchen Aid beater was starting to chip after too many runs in the dishwasher (which, apparently I am not supposed to put it in). In the market for a new beater, I had heard about the SideSwipe beater and just decided to get it!

The first thing I noticed was the big set of instructions. There are a few restrictions to using the Sideswipe blade, such as: no peanut butter, no chunky ingredients like chips, only for use on low speed. The little blue fingers are firm with a little give to them, and definitely hug the bowl nicely. Cleaning can be a little tedious, getting it out of the grooves, but this is also depends on the batter... really fingers work best!

Results: Here is a video I made of the SideSwipe in action, I think it speaks for itself! I used peanut butter (oops!) and it worked just fine. Also, my mixer jostles around a bit, I think because it is not aligned properly and one side of the bowl gets hit with more pressure than the other. If tinypic is being uncooperative with the embedded video, click on the link below and you should be able to see the it.




A link for those that can't see the video

Product Review: Wilton's Bake Even Strips

I finally got around to using these Wilton's Bake Even Strips. I've had them for... probably almost a year! This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, a layered carrot cake, was the perfect time to test them out.

I have the small package, which is two strips, enough for two 8 or 9 inch round pans. The strips are soaked in cold water, and excess water is squeezed out using your fingers. On my 9 inch pans, the ends just barely cross over each other, and are secured with a pin. They came out of the oven dry (and a warm to the touch), so I just let them cool and then stowed them away.

Results: I think my carrot cake layers came out great! I certainly don't feel the need to level them off. Some edges were slightly more browned than I'd like, but that may have to do with me not turning the oven down 25 degrees for my dark, nonstick pans. Overall I think they work great!