Sweet Kitchen Tips 14

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Ok we are going to talk turkey.  Because well, in 13 days most of us will be dealing with that bird in their kitchen, so I hunted down these handy tips and now I’m passing them on to you…

But first, did you know that the turkey was domesticated by the Aztecs? I did not, so for me it was an a ha! moment there - the stuff you can find when you go a-looking.

Now I have cooked 2 full turkeys in my lifetime, being Italian and raised in a South American country, we never celebrated Thanksgiving in my house, so cooking a whole turkey around these parts was pretty much not done, but when I did my first one, it was a disaster.  

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Sweet Kitchen Tip 13

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Usually tips come to me out of necessity or because I forgot something and right there on the spot, I just use whatever is at hand.  Usually, it’s a hit or miss kind of thing.

For example did you know how clever flexible mats can be? No? well let me show you how clever and useful they can be:

I use it to cover the bottom of my vegetable bin in the refrigerator, so it makes cleaning it a breeze, as in simply lift out and wipe off.

Or how about moving that big, HEAVY food processor, which is sitting in the corner?  If you put the heavy appliance on top of the mat, when you want to use it, you grasp the edge of the mat to slide it forward from the hiding place in the back of your counter, see. right there all ready for you.

The best crafty way?

As a cake lifter!  Cut your cake, and slide your flexible mat between the layers and use it to gently ease the top layer off the bottom.  You can also use it when working pie dough and want pry the stubborn dough off your counter.

Sweet Kitchen Tips 12

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The holidays are coming up and any help in organizing yourself during the chaos is helpful. And most of us bake up a storm of cookies, cakes and breads. So by being a bit “ahead of the game” it will not feel like a mad rush. By doing this simple step, you can save some major time during a baking marathon.

Measure out and label the ingredients for each recipe ahead of time, storing the dry ingredients in zipper-lock bags on the counter and wet ingredients in plastic containers in the refrigerator. When it’s time to bake, everything is ready to be mixed.

And since the first holiday that is up its thanksgiving, then its turkey time!

You want to turn that turkey around in the oven? But know that your oven mitts will get dirty in the process… but, I got a tip for you.  Slip a clean plastic product bags over your oven mitts.  The plastic will keep the mitts from getting greasy, and there no chance of burning your hands.

And if you are ready to move that bird from the roasting rack to your carving board without it becoming a precarious maneuver, all you need is two long-handled wooden spoons.  Insert the bowl ends of the spoons into either the end of the bird’s cavity so that the handles stick out.  Graps the handles, really choking up on them so your hands are right next to the turkey, and lift the bird off the rack to your board.