Cooking Tips

In today’s world life requires convenience, with fast paced lives things need to be taken care of quickly including in the kitchen. A toaster oven is a wonder kitchen appliance that can help you make your time in the kitchen a little easier. Gone are the days that a toaster was simply a small electric appliance that toasted your favorite breads. Today the toaster has advanced, it no longer needs electricity, you can buy a toaster that only needs to be placed on a flame or hot surface.

In most homes, you will find that a toaster is part of their social life. But, did you know that it is not as simple an appliance as you thought? Well, it is important to know how it works so you have an idea how to take care of it as well as maintain it in good order. The toaster sitting on your kitchen table utilizes infrared radiation to heat the bread placed inside it. It works more or less like a normal thermos flask. This infrared radiation comes from the heat generated by the heated coil fitted on a toaster. It is this radiation that slowly but surely dries up, giving the slice of bread being toasted the charred look. But, do they all work or look the same? Yes and no. In principle, though, that is how the typical oven toaster goes about toasting. The specific features differ quite substantially. Some toaster ovens consume more power and can do more than toasting. When buying, make a point of settling for one that is made of stainless steel as this not only looks neater in your kitchen but is also easy to clean. You definitely have to note that cleaning an appliance that features a crumb tray that is a bit deep is not that easy.

There are also a number of different brands on the market today, for example the Breville BOV800XL, the Smart Oven. This is a very intelligent piece of kitchen technology that many will find suitable, especially for those that are looking for a toaster that does a little more than toast. This oven puts the best features of other appliances into one. You can use this oven to cook or reheat food or put together a warm sandwich. This toaster oven is 1800 watts and it offers 9 preprogrammed functions that you easily use. This is enhanced by the added IQ technology that improves your interaction with the appliance. This technology will allow you to easily control the amount of heat that is used depending on the food that you are preparing, plus the Element IQ side stores the commands you make to the appliance. The Breville BOV800XL, Smart Oven is step above the rest because it has an eject able wire rack. This toaster oven makes cooking easy as all the trays (pizza, cooking and crumb tray) can be taken out with ease. It has one year warranty. It is the perfect addition to any kitchen because though it has a lot to offer it is only 18.5 X 12.5X10.75 inches.

The Breville BOV800XL The Smart Oven offers all that is important in a toast oven: lower power consumption, easy heat control and cleaning as well as the compact size that doesn’t fill up your kitchen. This should be kitchen revolutionized.

There’s a reason why the size of the average kitchen has doubled since 1974. Yes, there are more appliances and they are generally much bigger. The refrigerator of today could eat the old one for a light snack. But appliances only tell half the story of why the kitchen has grown. We must also consider the influence of home cooking shows.

Before the 1970s, the average home cook could best be described as unadventurous. More often than not, the woman of the house would prepare the same meals her mother made. Meat loaf, casseroles, pot roast, and Rice Krispies Treats were all the rage. Then, along came Julia Child.

As the first real celebrity chef, Julia Child introduced Americans to French cooking. Her television program, The French Chef, first aired in 1972. It was a huge hit. Her collection of bestselling cookbooks also encouraged the amateur home cook to experiment with more complicated recipes. As you might imagine, more complicated recipes required more ingredients, more cookware and more kitchen appliances. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Julia Child was at least partially responsible for the growth of the American kitchen. In spite of its expansion, the kitchen is often the hardest room in the home to keep in order. Most home improvement centers sell dozens of popular organizers for the kitchen. There are organizers for the refrigerator, the shelves, the herbs and spices and the wine. But the number one problem when it comes to kitchen organization is cabinet space.

Finding room for the food can be a chore. When families buy too much, they often have to store dry and canned foods in the laundry room. One reason why space is so limited is the cookware. Pots and pans and other kitchen utensils take up an incredible amount of room. Most amateur cooks have cabinets full of them.

Because space is hard to come by in the kitchen, many new products do more than one job. They are a lot like the Swiss Army Knife, in that they can be used for different tasks. Today we want to talk about the Chef Basket, which is one of the most popular new all-in-one kitchen utensils.

All-in-one is a funny phrase. It implies that something will solve all of your problems. Of course, that is never true. But what an all-in-one kitchen utensil will do is perform several different tasks and save you space. The Chef Basket can handle a dozen distinct duties.

It has been marketed mainly as a time-saving device. And while that is important, we were more impressed with how much space it can save the average homeowner. The Chef Basket is a flexible, reticular basket that folds down when not in use. Did we say folds down? We meant it folds flat! The Chef Basket takes up less cabinet space than a lid from a piece of Tupperware.

When used as a kitchen utensil, the Chef Basket resembles a colander. The only difference is that it can be used to actually cook the food. Pasta can be placed in the basket and cooked in the boiling water. This saves times on clean up and improves kitchen safety. Pouring hot water into wobbly colanders is responsible for thousand of accidental burns each year. Chef Basket eliminates the need for a colander. The Pasta can simply be removed from the hot water and left to cool in the sink.

But pasta isn’t the only thing the Chef Basket can be used to cook. Shellfish, veggies, eggs and even fried chicken can all be placed in the basket. The home cook can then add water or oil to the pot or pan and wait for it to come to a boil before they drop in the Chef Basket. Best of all, the handles of the device are designed to stay cool to the touch. That means no more pot holders or oven mitts! It is even possible to go right from the pot to the plate if you so choose.

There is one food item in particular that the Chef Basket truly excels at cooking. Unless you are an experienced cook, hard-boiled eggs aren’t easy to prepare. They must be moved from boiling water into ice water in short order to get them right. Most home chefs simply spoon them out one at a time, which obviously takes time. But with the help of the Chef Basket, you can simply lift them out of the boiling water and transfer the whole batch into a pot of ice water. It’s safer, it’s faster and the eggs won’t crack.

The Chef Basket can also be used as a free-standing colander. Simply flip down the handles and place it in the sink. This feature makes the device an exceptional steamer. Add any vegetable you like to the Chef Basket, steam it in a pot of boiling water, and drain its contents in the sink. It honestly couldn’t be any easier.

The Chef Basket is the ultimate time, space, and stress-saving device.

Be the best host this Easter with easy baking recipes from George Wilkinson. Make amazing chocolate cookies with George Wilkinson bakeware.

Sometimes, chocolate cookies can be temperamental. One of the easiest, fail-proof chocolate cookie recipes is Cake Mix Cookies. As well as cake mix, you will need marshmallows.

First, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Using a large bowl, combine your cake mix, eggs along with half a cup of shortening. After this has been totally mixed together until completely, drop of shape your cookies using a tablespoon, on a lined George Wilkinson bakeware baking sheet.

Bake your cookies for around 8-10 minutes until they are clearly shaped but not completely solid.

While your cookies are baking using your George Wilkinson baking supplies, use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the marshmallows in half.

Remove your George Wilkinson bakeware with cookies on, place your marshmallow pieces, cut side down, on the cookies.

Put the bakeware back in the oven for another couple of minutes. Push each marshmallow down slightly in order to ensure it spreads out evenly over the cookie.

While your cookies are cooling, combine some powdered sugar and cocoa powder into a bowl.

Then add vanilla, milk, and melted butter and use an electric mixer until smooth, light and fluffy.

Put the mixture into an icing bag icing with a large tip, swirling it onto your cookies.

These cookies are perfect for Easter but they can be made for any special occasion using George Wilkinson baking equipment. With Valentine’s Day approaching, consider making them for someone special.

Instructions:

Preheat oven your 180 degrees Celsius. Combine cake mix, eggs, and shortening in the bowl and mix. Drop mix by the tablespoon onto your George Wilkinson bakeware and bake for about 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are ready but soft in the centre.

While the cookies are baking using George Wilkinson bakware, use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the marshmallows in half. Remove the baking equipment from the oven and place a marshmallow half on each cookie, cut side down.

Return the bakeware to the oven for about 2 minutes then push each marshmallow down.

When the cookies have cooled, combine powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a large bowl, adding melted butter, vanilla, and evaporated milk, beating until fluffy. Put the mix into an icing bag fitted and swirl onto the cookies.

George Wilkinson’s Great British Bakeware The Great British Bakeware range demonstrates not only George Wilkinson’s excellence and innovation in bakeware manufacturing but also reflects the brand ethos; designed to perform and built to last. This premium range has an innovative & exclusive long life coating.

Extremely versatile and durable, the Great British Bakeware range benefits from a ceramic reinforced triple coating, is stove top safe, has outstanding non-stick properties which means extreme easy release and is safe for use with metal tools.

Independent tests have shown it outperforms all other bakeware even those with lifetime guarantees.

What happens when you bring together fresh air and juicy, grilled food? Arguably, you get the tastiest meal in town. But what if it’s mealtime while you’re out and about, on a vacation, or traveling cross-country? Lugging around the full-size gas grill or charcoal grill is certainly not a practical option. Even so, just because you are away from home doesn’t mean you can’t fix up your own grilled specialties. With today’s portable grills, “eating out” takes on an entirely new meaning.

Portable grills, also known as tabletop grills, are increasing in popularity as grill quality and features improve. Whether you are boating on the lake, camping at the park, tailgating at a football game, or simply out for a day of family fun, a portable grill can be a welcome addition to your standard gear. Like their full-size cousins, portable grills are available in gas, charcoal, and even infrared varieties. They heat up quickly and provide you with tasty meals no matter your location.

Portable grills usually come with a variety of features. For example, while some portable grills come only with the standard grated surface, perfect for grilling hamburgers, bratwurst, or chicken, others feature a number of different grill surfaces, allowing you the option to select an alternate surface for a particular food. In addition to the standard grated surface, a portable grill may come with a grill plate, a skillet, and/or a lid that doubles as a wok. Some grills can serve as a camp stove, too, on which a coffee pot or kettle can boil water.

As the name implies, portable grills are smaller than full-size grills are are easily moved from place to place. Most of these grills have legs that either fold down or can be removed for travel. In addition, portable grills often come with a sturdy carrying bag, making it even easier to bring the grill along. Though smaller in size, a portable grill can still cook a decent amount of food on a single surface.

Perhaps surprisingly, one place where portable grills can be found more and more is not on the road, but on the back patio. Owning a full-size grill is not possible for those who live in apartments or condos and who may only have access to a small outdoor patio or deck area. Portable grills are really the only option in these situations. But, even when more outdoor living space is available, many home owners appreciate the versatility of a portable grill over the full-size option. Portable grills are often less expensive to purchase, are easier to clean, and can be stored out of view when not in use. Being able to move a grill out of the way without effort and free up valuable space on the back deck or patio is an attractive benefit. Considering the many advantages of today’s portable grills, it is easy to see why they have become an increasingly popular addition to life on the road as well as at home.

Are you one of the many cookery lovers or an individual with who feels like a novice when faced with the task of preparing new and varied meals? Well, whichever category you feel you belong to, we have just the cuisine to delight you with and help you build up your recipe book with interesting, exotic dishes and raise your skill levels at the same time by igniting the latent passion for good food – Italian style!

In fact, even beginners in the kitchen can learn how to put together a great tasting, healthy meal to enjoy with friends and family and it’s as simple as tuning in to a cookery show like Lydia Italian cooking demos!

You learn by observing the techniques, tips and approaches the Lydia Italian cooking shows offer views and need to follow simple instructions for whipping up the same delicacies in your kitchen – and just await the praise that is bound to come your way with these value additions to your cooking skills!

If you are wondering where to find Lydia Italian cooking shows, you don’t need to look further than your food network timings on the TV guide or you can choose to log on to the program’s web site after entering the term into any major search engine.

You’ll not only get all the information of shows to come with highlights of the recipes to be covered, but useful recipe links, details of past shows and live demos too!

We all know that with a little bit of play-way learning, the whole process is made more enjoyable and that’s the case with the Lydia Italian cooking show too: with an expert Italian chef guiding you all the way from picking the right ingredients, to mixing, cooking and presenting them just right and advise on entire menu planning, who knows what you can do with all the time and energy you will save on this easy to learn, enjoyable method of cookery schooling.

The best part about the Lydia Italian cooking show is the authentic recipes shown here along with variations of cooking techniques and an interesting, visual plus audio format that is easy to understand and recall; perhaps you could record some shows to watch at leisure too. Thus, it’s easy to ignite that passion for cooking great tasting and varied Italian fare by simply tuning in to the Lydia Italian cooking demo.

With a friend, the learning process is double the fun, so perhaps you can find someone who shares your passion for Italian cuisine or simply cooking – and then recipe swaps with other friends is enjoyable too! Anyone who wants to learn to be a better cook can benefit from watching Lydia Italian cooking shows and new recipes – or traditional ones with a twist besides getting to exchange fun tales on the whole experience!