Hello Everyone,

I hope everyone is having a great Memorial weekend. It is a little cold and rainy here in the Midwest. :( 

I am posting a few cooking tips that I have read or learned myself over the years. Some of these came from my Foodnetwork magazine. Or sometimes I call it better then "Brown Chicken Brown Cow" magazine. (That's is a country song by Trace Adkins).

Tonight I am fixing fried fish for supper and some homemade fries. We hardly by frozen fries anymore. I found that the homemade ones are so much better and easy to fix.

I bought a french fry cutter at Bed Bath and Beyond, a few years back. It was pretty cheap. Had to be under $20 back then. I buy the white russet potatoes. You just need to wash them and put them in the slicer and pull down. Out comes perfectly cut fries. I do leave the skins on. That's the best part. 

The secret to homemade fries like this is to fry them twice. When restaurants serve these homemade ones, and they are all crispy, they fry them twice. I fry them all up, sometimes batches because you don't want the oil to cool when you put the fries in. Cook until done. Take them out, and put on paper towel to soak up the oils. When you get all done. Start again with your first batch. This time cook until golden brown. Then take them out and put back on some fresh paper towels then season to taste. Most people like salt. My family likes to use Season Salt. 

Now, I am in search of a delicious hush puppy recipe. I normally don't like them, but I have a found a few that I do like.  So if anyone has the most amazing hush puppy recipe ever please feel free to share. 

So here is some of those cooking tips. Enjoy. Fix something good this weekend.

1. NEVER EVER EVER rinse pasta.

2. Taste Taste and Taste....Chef Anne calls it QC (Quality Control)

3. Careful with onions, esp raw. It ruins the palate.

4. For best cooked pasta drain before done like couple minutes left and cook in the sauce.

5. Get your pans hot, esp for searing meats

6. My secret weapon in my marinara sauce is dash of sugar/splenda and 1/2 cup milk. The milk doesn't take away from  flavor just makes it creamy.

7. Keep dishes simple. Don't overdo.

8. Love bacon, but easy does it.

9. Garlic adds a lot of flavor without adding fat or calories, and major health benefits

10. Keep Garlic in cool dry place; pantry or cabinet. Never in direct sunlight or do NOT freeze it will alter the taste.

11. Less Garlic flavor keep cloves whole, more Garlic flavor mince them up. (while cooking don't let them brown they will taste bitter)

12. The seasonings I typically use on most things are, Salt, Pepper, Greek and Garlic Powder

13. Paula Deens house seasonings are Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder.

14. Use fresh ingredients whenever possible.

15. Let meat rest or pasta like manicotti or lasagna for 5 minutes or more.

16. In my Italian dishes I always use sausage never hamburger

Until next time,

Dayle