Have you ever had ravioli float out of the water when you’re trying to cook them? I’ve been using this trick with that great little Kuhn Rikon Multi-Pot.
I use the basket that comes with the pot to hold down the ravioli. A wooden skewer or chopstick through the rungs lets me set it at just the right height to keep the pasta off the bottom but in the boiling water. Sometimes one raviolo will attempt to sneak up the side of the basket but I push that little devil right back down.
We did a post about the 4th burner pot last year! Since then, some of our friends have added one of these to their kitchen collection and have been raving just like I do.
I bought my Kuhn Rikon 4th Burner Multi-Pot from Amazon, where you can read a bunch of great reviews and get even more ideas for using it.
Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers’ comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.
Have you ever had ravioli float out of the water when you’re trying to cook them? I’ve been using this trick with that great little Kuhn Rikon Multi-Pot.
I use the basket that comes with the pot to hold down the ravioli. A wooden skewer or chopstick through the rungs lets me set it at just the right height to keep the pasta off the bottom but in the boiling water. Sometimes one raviolo will attempt to sneak up the side of the basket but I push that little devil right back down.
We did a post about the 4th burner pot last year! Since then, some of our friends have added one of these to their kitchen collection and have been raving just like I do.
I bought my Kuhn Rikon 4th Burner Multi-Pot from Amazon, where you can read a bunch of great reviews and get even more ideas for using it.
Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers’ comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.
Have you ever had ravioli float out of the water when you’re trying to cook them? I’ve been using this trick with that great little Kuhn Rikon Multi-Pot.
I use the basket that comes with the pot to hold down the ravioli. A wooden skewer or chopstick through the rungs lets me set it at just the right height to keep the pasta off the bottom but in the boiling water. Sometimes one raviolo will attempt to sneak up the side of the basket but I push that little devil right back down.
We did a post about the 4th burner pot last year! Since then, some of our friends have added one of these to their kitchen collection and have been raving just like I do.
I bought my Kuhn Rikon 4th Burner Multi-Pot from Amazon, where you can read a bunch of great reviews and get even more ideas for using it.
Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers’ comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.
If you’re still tossing your sweet corn into a pot of boiling water, you may want to consider the alternatives.
For years, I’ve been steaming our corn. I want all that flavor on our plates not tossed away in the cooking water! But recently, I saw an America’s Test Kitchen video on how to microwave corn “in the husk” that results in perfectly silk-free ears on the plate
When I told friends, they laughed because most of them had been microwaving corn for years. (As you can see, I don’t think microwave when it comes to cooking.) But most of them had also been husking the corn before they cooked it, so they did find the video helpful.
Grilled Corn & Elote
If the resident grill master is making supper, you can toss the corn (husk and all) right on the grill and get some of that lovely pop-corney caramelization going. We don’t have a safe grill space so I used a combo method to make the elote in the photo.
Elote is a favorite Mexican street food that has been showing up in Boston restaurants. A very popular version is served at Toro in the South End. There, it’s called “Maiz Asado con Alioli y queso Cotija.”
To make my version, I microwaved the corn for 2 minutes an ear (following the method in the video) and then popped the cleaned ears into a cast iron skillet to give them some color. I cut the ears in half for easier eating and stuck each half with a wooden chopstick.
Then come the toppings. Around here, most places seem to slather the corn in mayonnaise and then season. But in different Mexican cultural regions you might use butter, sour cream, crema, or citrus juice to moisten the ear.
Once you have a wet surface, you can add a Mexican cheese like crumbly Cotija Anejo, or substitute your favorite grated cheddar, Parmigiano-Reggiano, or a nice salty feta. Seasoning is the final step and that can include anything from salt to chili powder. I love a bit of smoky ancho chili powder on mine! Lime wedges, served on the side, are traditional.
If you’re having a party, you might set up all the toppings, salad-bar style, pass the cooked corn to your guests, and let them create their own version of elote.
Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers’ comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.
If you’re still tossing your sweet corn into a pot of boiling water, you may want to consider the alternatives.
For years, I’ve been steaming our corn. I want all that flavor on our plates not tossed away in the cooking water! But recently, I saw an America’s Test Kitchen video on how to microwave corn “in the husk” that results in perfectly silk-free ears on the plate
When I told friends, they laughed because most of them had been microwaving corn for years. (As you can see, I don’t think microwave when it comes to cooking.) But most of them had also been husking the corn before they cooked it, so they did find the video helpful.
Grilled Corn & Elote
If the resident grill master is making supper, you can toss the corn (husk and all) right on the grill and get some of that lovely pop-corney caramelization going. We don’t have a safe grill space so I used a combo method to make the elote in the photo.
Elote is a favorite Mexican street food that has been showing up in Boston restaurants. A very popular version is served at Toro in the South End. There, it’s called “Maiz Asado con Alioli y queso Cotija.”
To make my version, I microwaved the corn for 2 minutes an ear (following the method in the video) and then popped the cleaned ears into a cast iron skillet to give them some color. I cut the ears in half for easier eating and stuck each half with a wooden chopstick.
Then come the toppings. Around here, most places seem to slather the corn in mayonnaise and then season. But in different Mexican cultural regions you might use butter, sour cream, crema, or citrus juice to moisten the ear.
Once you have a wet surface, you can add a Mexican cheese like crumbly Cotija Anejo, or substitute your favorite grated cheddar, Parmigiano-Reggiano, or a nice salty feta. Seasoning is the final step and that can include anything from salt to chili powder. I love a bit of smoky ancho chili powder on mine! Lime wedges, served on the side, are traditional.
If you’re having a party, you might set up all the toppings, salad-bar style, pass the cooked corn to your guests, and let them create their own version of elote.
Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers’ comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.
If you’re still tossing your sweet corn into a pot of boiling water, you may want to consider the alternatives.
For years, I’ve been steaming our corn. I want all that flavor on our plates not tossed away in the cooking water! But recently, I saw an America’s Test Kitchen video on how to microwave corn “in the husk” that results in perfectly silk-free ears on the plate
When I told friends, they laughed because most of them had been microwaving corn for years. (As you can see, I don’t think microwave when it comes to cooking.) But most of them had also been husking the corn before they cooked it, so they did find the video helpful.
Grilled Corn & Elote
If the resident grill master is making supper, you can toss the corn (husk and all) right on the grill and get some of that lovely pop-corney caramelization going. We don’t have a safe grill space so I used a combo method to make the elote in the photo.
Elote is a favorite Mexican street food that has been showing up in Boston restaurants. A very popular version is served at Toro in the South End. There, it’s called “Maiz Asado con Alioli y queso Cotija.”
To make my version, I microwaved the corn for 2 minutes an ear (following the method in the video) and then popped the cleaned ears into a cast iron skillet to give them some color. I cut the ears in half for easier eating and stuck each half with a wooden chopstick.
Then come the toppings. Around here, most places seem to slather the corn in mayonnaise and then season. But in different Mexican cultural regions you might use butter, sour cream, crema, or citrus juice to moisten the ear.
Once you have a wet surface, you can add a Mexican cheese like crumbly Cotija Anejo, or substitute your favorite grated cheddar, Parmigiano-Reggiano, or a nice salty feta. Seasoning is the final step and that can include anything from salt to chili powder. I love a bit of smoky ancho chili powder on mine! Lime wedges, served on the side, are traditional.
If you’re having a party, you might set up all the toppings, salad-bar style, pass the cooked corn to your guests, and let them create their own version of elote.
Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers’ comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.
I walked into the kitchen to find my favorite wooden chopsticks drying on the counter. Ed had them resting on the cork from the wine we had with dinner. Brilliant! From now on, I'll grab a cork every time I grab chopsticks!
Do you save wine corks? Do you recycle them? Have secret uses for them? Please share in the comment section below!
A Champagne cork has a built-in groove for the chopsticks.
But, you can use any cork!
And, if you want to make a lasting set, you could trim a sliver off each cork with a serrated knife (watch your fingers) so the corks have a flat side. That would work even better. You might also choose corks from bottles of wine you've opened on special occasions to remember those events.
We've also cut corks in half on the diagonal to use as wedges to keep doors open at rental homes or to prevent tables from wobbling. I still recall the amazed look on a waiter's face the time we asked for a cork and a steak knife to solve their tippy table issue.
Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.
We have an all electric kitchen. So when we replaced our range, we opted for a smooth top cooktop. These are far easier to clean and add usable surface to a small kitchen.
I’ve figured out a few tricks to have even less cleanup to do after I cook. When what I’m sautéing will spatter and make a mess, (like the Irish black & white pudding above), I put a half sheet pan over the unused burners. This keeps them clean so they are ready to use without grease around them that might burn.
You can see how much mess stayed off the area that was covered by the sheet pan.
That sheet pan, covered by a piece of parchment or waxed paper, also serves as counterspace as I cook.
One more tip is to use a larger pot than you think you need. Especially if you’re making one of those items the owners’ manuals warn about. My Bosch manual says, “Remove dry sugar, sugar syrup, tomato products and milk immediately with the razor blade scraper.” I use a big pan to try to keep those items in the pan and off the cooktop.
We love our collection of rice bowls. They fill the dishwasher at night because we find uses for them all day long.
When we order take-out from a place like Pho Basil (where the chef really works to develop a specific flavor for each dish), we can use small rice bowls to savor each item without mixing.
In the photo, there's a portion of rice in each bowl with tangerine pork (on the left), and yellow curry with vegetables topped by crispy chicken (on the right). You can savor the sauce exactly as intended by its creator. No mixing sweet and sour with red curry!
We like white dishes but rice bowls let you go as tame or as inspired as you wish.
What's on your servingware shopping list? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.
Entertaining this weekend? How about a "build-it-yourself strawberry shortcake table" for dessert? We've done this for years, and our guests love it!
It's easy on the host and fun for the guests. Here's the step-by-step on how we do it.
Reserve the most perfect berries for dipping in chocolate and eating out-of-hand. Put a shaker of sugar near the plain berries for those who would like to sprinkle a bit on their choices
Slice and sugar the rest and allow them to form a natural sauce overnight in the refrigerator.
Collect a variety of bases– dessert cups, short cake, biscuits, ladyfingers, cookies, and angel food cake are a few I've used for this.
Since it's July 4th, add a big dish of blueberries for red, white, and blue creations.
Add a fondue pot of dipping chocolate, and you'll have guests swooning.
Arrange a selection of toppings. I've set out whipped cream, yogurt, ice cream, creme fraiche, and fudge sauce.
For something tall on the table, add wine buckets filled with bottles of sparkling wine that guests can pour over a few berries in a champagne glass.
Set up a tray of "special enhancements" (rums, liqueurs, and dessert wines) to drizzle on the cakes or sip with the shortcake. Most popular around here was limoncello.
Add big napkins to protect clothes; spoons, dishes, or wine glasses to hold your guest's creations; and let everyone have fun with the fruit.
and support this site!
over the unused burners. This keeps them clean so they are ready to use without grease around them that might burn.
and support this site!