Cooking Tips #1

Welcome to the first in a series of monthly cooking tips here on my blog. You'd be surprised how many questions I get asked on a regular basis. How do I chop an onion quickly, when should I use sweet cream vs unsalted butter, how do I section out an orange..etc. Within the next 4-6 weeks I'll be doing a series of basic cooking tip webisodes. You'll be able to watch those at www.cookingwithangel.com.
In the meantime...here are some fun "Did You Know" fast facts about food:

* If you have leftover whipped cream, dollop it onto a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap and freeze. Once frozen put the dollops into a big resealable plastic bag and you'll have a quick topper for Hot Cocoa or maybe an Apple Crisp

* You can mellow out the flavor of fresh garlic cloves by peeling and simmering in a small saucepan...just for about 3-5 minutes. I store any garlic I've prepared like this in a small container drizzled with a little bit of olive oil. Don't leave it on the counter...just pop it in the refrigerator. It holds this way for about 2 weeks.

* Glass containers conduct more heat so if you can remember to reduce your oven temperature by 25 degrees it'll offset that especially when your making baked goods like cookies or cakes. Most recipes don't account for the difference between glass and metal pans

* Half the peanuts grown in the United States are used to make peanut butter

* Word has it that storing plastic wrap in the freezer will stop it from sticking to itself...however I never have enough room in my freezer to test this out!

* You'll get more volume out of egg whites if you beat them at room temperature...however heavy cream should always be as cold as possible before beating

Okay...there's half a dozen for you. Have a great weekend and on Monday, I'll be making a recipe for Shrimp Cocktail Soup on ABC4's Good Things Utah. It's from Renee...one of my Facebook Friends!