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Cooking Tips

What is the easiest way to Roast Peppers?

There are a number of ways to roast peppers; all are easy. I have used roasted red peppers in all of my books and here are the instructions I’ve included to help readers make them: If you have a gas stove, turn on one burner to a low flame for…

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Need an all-purpose salad dressing ready to use in your fridge? Here’s the recipe for my favorite homemade vinaigrette with variations.

I frequently get requests for a good homemade salad dressing and now that we are all cooking more at home it seems like a good time to remind you of my favorite vinaigrette. My refrigerator is never without it. It is good on any basic savory salad and can be…

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Love biscuits but don’t have biscuit mix on hand? Here’s how to make your own.

These days we are all baking a bit more than usual and if you love biscuits, you can get them in the oven a lot faster if you have homemade biscuit mix on hand. You will find a number of recipes on line for a homemade substitute for commercial biscuit…

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Shopping for a turkey? You can find help with selecting, prepping, and serving right here.

It’s just about time to shop for, prep, and cook the perfect Thanksgiving turkey. Need some help? In Season 2 of Sara’s Weeknight Meals I did a whole show on getting ready for Thanksgiving. Here is a link to my tips for making it a perfect occasion.

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Is there an easy, fool-proof way to make caramel?

I had been asked this question so often over the years that I included my favorite way to make caramel in Sara Moulton Cooks at Home. You can find it on page 54 and an in depth explanation of why I think it is the best method on page 55.…

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Kitchen Shrink answers, “When frying breaded chicken, how do you keep the coating on the meat?”

First of all make sure the chicken pieces are dry, coat them with flour (I like to use Wondra instantized flour) or cornstarch and shake off any excess. Then dip them in beaten egg or buttermilk, or a combination of the two, and finally coat them with bread crumbs, panko,…

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I was recently interviewed for a “Tasting Table” article about all types of onions. Read it here.

I was recently interviewed by Andrea Strong for an article entitled “A Guide to Cooking with Every Type of Onion.” Check it out. You’ll find it here, on the “Tasting Table” web site.  

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My one hour holiday special, “Surviving Thanksgiving with Sara Moulton” will start airing this week.

My one hour holiday special, “Surviving Thanksgiving with Sara Moulton” will start airing on public TV this week around the country. Check the schedule of your local Public Television station to find out when the Thanksgiving Special will be aired in your neighborhood. Here are all the recipes:     Apple Nutmeg Bites…

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How do you buy and prepare Octopus?

  Grilled Octopus is a favorite on menus all across the country but people tell me that they are afraid to try to prepare it at home. I thought that would be a great topic for my show and my latest book so I enlisted the help of Dave Pasternack,…

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Kitchen Shrink: What is the easiest way to roast peppers?

There are a number of ways to roast peppers; all are easy. I have used roasted red peppers in all of my books and here are the instructions include to help readers make them: If you have a gas stove, turn on one burner to a low flame for every four peppers you want…

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What is Farro and how do you cook it?

I’ve been getting questions about farro ever since we cooked it in Season 2, Episode 211. This delicious, nutty, crunchy grain is now appearing on restaurant menus all over the country and is finally pretty easy to find in supermarkets as well. Farro can be any of three ancient species…

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Here are some tips from my discussion with Florence Fabricant and Francine Segan at the 92 street Y last week.

When I was on a panel discussion with Florence Fabricant and Francine Segan at the 92 street Y last week, I learned a few new tips. We discussed dining out and dining in and I brought some of my favorite small kitchen tools for show and tell, including a giant…

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Kitchen Shrink: What is the best way to melt chocolate?

One of the most frequent questions that come in to the Kitchen Shrink is, “How can I melt chocolate without the risk of it scorching or suddenly getting firm.” Chocolate is very sensitive to heat and it is best to melt it slowly. I like to melt it in the…

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When frying breaded chicken, how do you keep the coating on the meat?

The Kitchenshrink recently got an e-mail from Sandi who asked for help making fried chicken. She said,”the crust either separates from the chicken or comes off in the pan.” Although she used the traditional three ingredient coating method, there are a few changes in technique that may help. First of all…

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Onions and Garlic: What does a medium onion or a medium garlic clove measure when chopped?

Linda recently e-mailed the Kitchen Shrink to ask, “when a recipe calls for a medium onion, chopped, or a clove of garlic, chopped, what do they measure in standard measuring cups and spoons?” What a good question! Not everyone’s idea of medium is the same. When I wrote my second…

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Rice: How do you cook rice?

A while ago I got an e-mail from Brent asking, “How long do you cook rice?” I thought I would just send him a link to my recipe for cooking rice and discovered that although I recommend serving my Simple Boiled Rice with several entrées, the recipe wasn’t up on the…

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Shallots and Onions: Can they be interchanged?

There are many varieties of both shallots and onions within the species Allium cepa. They vary in appearance in that shallots grow in clusters attached at the bottom and each onion is an individual. But there doesn’t seem to be a consensus as to which is stronger in flavor. Perhaps…

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Cranberry Sauce: How do you make homemade cranberry sauce?

A viewer e-mailed me that he had recently had homemade fresh cranberry sauce at a holiday dinner and loved it. He added that he hadn’t known that it was something you could make at home and wondered how to do it. Homemade cranberry sauce is actually a very simple recipe. It is…

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Buttermilk: Can you freeze buttermilk?

Gloria recently e-mailed the Kitchen Shrink to ask if she could freeze leftover buttermilk, thaw and use some, and refreeze the remainder. While buttermilk producers suggest that you not freeze buttermilk for best flavor and texture, when wasting it is the only other option, I suggest that you go ahead…

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Wedding Cakes: Tips for making a wedding cake from a favorite recipe.

I recently got an e-mail from Joan saying, “Our family loves your gingerbread recipe. In fact, my daughter is getting married and I will be making your recipe as their cake.  There will be 150 people.  Any tips for making this quantity?” When I make this recipe for a crowd,…

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Chicken Soup: How can I get more flavor in my chicken soup?

I recently got an e-mail from David who said “I am making chicken soup for my picky eaters, and . . . . the soup has little chicken flavor and no yellow color. . . . how can I get more chicken flavor and a pleasing yellow color in my…

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Cookie Dough: Are all cookie doughs freezer friendly?

Liisa recently e-mailed the Kitchen Shrink to ask “are all cookie doughs freezer friendly?” What a good question. It is so convenient to have already prepared cookie dough in the freezer so you can have freshly baked cookies on the table at a moment’s notice. All butter cookie doughs freeze…

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Celery Root or Celeriac: What is celery root?

I just got an e-mail from Ron asking me what celery root is and how to prepare it. I love to use celery root, either cooked or raw and have used it in all my books. Here is what I said about it in my latest book, Sara Moulton’s Everyday…

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Chicken: How do you keep poached chicken moist?

One of the most frequent requests e-mailed to the Kitchen Shrink is, “Where can I find your method for poaching chicken breasts so they will be moist?”  I have been asked for that technique so often that I put it right up front in the “Head Starts” chapter of Sara…

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