When I was growing up, my parents considered Saturday evenings sacred in our house. It was the one night of the week when mom fixed steak and baked potatoes. ...more

February 18, 2009

When I was growing up, my parents considered Saturday evenings sacred in our house. It was the one night of the week when Mom fixed steak and baked potatoes. ...more

February 18, 2009

We roasted a goose for Christmas. It was delicious, but now we have 2 cups of goose fat from the pan. Is there anything we can use it for? ...more

February 1, 2009

Is it OK to freeze pomegranates? I don't have time to make all the juice right now. ...more

January 11, 2009

What's the secret to flaky pie crusts? Mine always seem to come out tough. With a standard recipe (1/3 cup shortening or lard to 1 cup flour, plus a pinch of salt for flavor), the secret is cold. Have the lard cold. Use just enough ice water to moisten the flour to stick it together, and then handle it as little as possible. If it won't be baked right away, keep it in the refrigerator. You don't want the shortening to melt into the flour at all until the crust is baking. The little balls of shortening covered with flour are flattened when the crust is rolled out, and when they are baked, they make the flakes of a tender, flaky crust. ...more

November 30, 2008

It's the time of year when we make favorite family dishes, and some of those are pies. Treasured recipes are passed down through generations, and it's worth it to do a crust from scratch. It might seem daunting, but pie crusts are actually very simple. The first step: believe in yourself. Making a pie crust requires a little practice and "also a large dose of an I-can-do-this attitude," said Maggie Kroboth Green, an editor of the 75th anniversary "Joy of Cooking." Many cooks use a food processor to mix the dough. It is quicker, but it's easy to overprocess if you're not careful. It's important to process just until the dough starts to form large clumps and not to process until it forms a ball. If the dough forms a ball in the processor, chances are it might turn out tough. ...more

December 12, 2007