Cooking Basics - Home-Ec 101

Pie Crust 101:

Heather says: Prior to having children I worked in the restaurant industry, but I was not a pastry chef. I learned all the other positions, but one lovely gentleman filled that role. He’d come in at 3am just so he wouldn’t have to put up with our obnoxiousness. I usually only saw him for an …

Bechamel, White Sauce: A How To

Dear Home Ec 101, On Sunday you mentioned you didn’t like adding Cream of Something Soup. A lot of my recipes call for Cream of Chicken or Mushroom. Am I just not supposed to make those recipes? Signed, Connie V. Nience Heather says: Not at all, there is a very easy substitute and unless you …

Refried Beans: Back to Basics

Heather says: My mom grew up in Arizona and has fond memories of a neighbor who made tortillas and refried beans. It has become a quest of mine, I want to know how these things should taste, not like Taco Bell tells me they ought to. Remember the pinto beans from last week? The leftovers …

How to Use Dry Beans in Recipes

Dear Home-Ec 101, Everyone acts like dried beans are the end all. How do I get the beans in the bag to work like the beans in the can? I’ve soaked them overnight and they still aren’t like what I get out of a can. Am I legume challenged? Signed, Baffled Bostonian Heather says: …

Walnut Crusted Roast: Beef it’s What’s for Dinner

Heather says:

Walnut roast with bleu cheese mashed potatoes, wilted walnut spinach, drizzled with a worcestshire sauce — Walnut roast with bleu cheese mashed potatoes, wilted walnut spinach, drizzled with a worcestershire sauce

I have to get this off my chest. Yum, yum, get your fork away from my plate, yum.

My husband’s grandmother recently celebrated her 75th birthday (Happy Birthday Nana!). His mother is planning a nice dinner after they return to Minnesota and she is on the lookout for a company worthy meal with low effort. Listen to me, this is it. Sure, it sounds all fancy schmancy, but the techniques are not complicated. With a good thermometer and the ability to resist the temptation to open the oven, anyone can make a good roast. The mashed potatoes could easily be switched with instant, it’s the blue cheese that makes them special. The wilted spinach? Can you heat oil in a pan? Then you can handle this. The Worcestershire sauce? If you can boil water, you’ve got it in the bag.

The recipes and nutrition information for the roast are after the jump.

Heather says: This is classic, but most of the ingredients are staples, so it can be thrown together on a night that you may otherwise say, “There is nothing to eat in this house!” Add a salad and a crusty loaf of bread and people will believe you know your way around a kitchen. Don’t …

Hop Aboard the Buttermilk Express

Dear Home Ec 101, I can’t get to the store today and this recipe calls for buttermilk, do you have an easy substitution? Signed, Sour Sue Heather says: Most recipes that call for buttermilk do so for the acidity it brings to a recipe. Sometimes the acidity is used to help tenderize meat such as …

Sautéed Cabbage

Dear Home Ec 101, Would you post about how you cook cabbage? That’s something I never cook… is it cheap and healthy? Thanks! Signed, Cravin’ the Cruciferous Heather says: Yes, cabbage when purchased in season, is both cheap and healthy. It is a great source of both vitamin C and fiber. Here in North America …

How to Debone Chicken Thighs

Dear Home Ec 101,
I’ve heard that you can substitute chicken thighs in some recipes that call for boneless skinless chicken breasts, but I am not sure what to do. How do you remove the bones?
Signed,
Boneheaded in Bonneville
Heather says:
It would be embarrassing for me to admit how long I sat here trying to think of a title that wouldn’t bring the perverts out of the woodwork. I’ve given up and decided to just say, I don’t think we’re offering what you have in mind, carry on, but thanks for the page view.
I am placing a page break for the benefit of some of our more sensitive viewers who probably don’t want to stare at raw chicken. Heck, I don’t want to stare at raw chicken. The tutorial follows the break.