I am always reading cooking magazines and blogs looking for some inspiration. This holiday season will have many of us doing a lot of cooking. When you are the host (or hostess) you are planning menus, decorations and music. Holidays are stressful enough without the added stress of wanting everyone to enjoy themselves. Luckily, good planning can get you through them.
Here are a few tips that I think will help you in the kitchen.
- Set up your kitchen by gathering the bowls, tools, and machines you will be using, (i.e. food processor, blender, KitchenAid) and set a trashcan right below you, or set a bowl up on the counter to throw garbage in.
- Wear clothes that you won’t be heartsick if you ruin them and wear an apron if you have one.
- Always read and re-read your recipes before starting them.
- Use gloves for cooking. This will prevent your hands from smelling like garlic (which you can never get rid of) or onions.
- Be sure to ignore the cooking time on the recipe. Always cook meat and poultry at least 10 degrees below the time it gives you. Take it out of the oven and set a thermometer in it to check how much more it has cooked. If it reads five degrees higher, your set to go.
- Indulge in a very good knife. It will cut your cooking time by a lot (pun intended).
- Taste as you go and season your food as needed.
- Pat food dry with a paper towel before cooking. This ensures your food will be crispy and golden.
- Slice your food on the grain. Look for long strings running across it. Slice perpendicular to it. It will make your meat more tender.
- Keep a second thermometer in your oven to ensure proper heating temperature (your oven may not be calibrated correctly).
- Resist the urge to turn your food as it cooks. It will not be able to sear, or you will lose the breading. If it is sticking to the pan when you try to turn it, it is not ready to turn.
- KEEP THINGS SIMPLE! Now you’ve earned that glass of wine.
This recipe will keep things simple as well. There are very few ingredients in it and it whips up in no time. If you like tahini, you will love this recipe. Basically, this is a shortbread cookie with tahini in it. I love anything with tahini in it, dressings, salads, or dips. Tahini is a paste, similar to peanut butter, but it is made from ground sesame seeds, and it is an acquired taste. These cookies are really delicious and highlight the taste of tahini perfectly. There is no reason not to make these cookies. Just do it!
This recipe is courtesy of Zahav, and will make about 30 cookies that will turn your friends into tahini fanatics in no time!
Ingredients for Tahini Shortbread Cookies:
1 3/4 sticks (7 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup tahini
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch Kosher salt
Combine the butter and sugar in a stand mixer on medium speed or in a large bowl with a hand mixer and mix until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the tahini and continue to mix until well incorporated.
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk together.
Transfer to the tahini mixture and beat until just incorporated.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. (The dough keeps well in the freezer for a few months.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Drop the batter by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared sheets.
Bake until the cookies are set, about 15 minutes.
Let cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
The cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 1 week.
It’s that simple!
