Clever Tips to Make Your Life Easier in the Kitchen

No matter how much or how little time you spend in the kitchen, finding ideas that make cooking easier is exciting. You may have read some of these tips before. But if you're like me, you think you'll remember it ... only to realize that out of sight is out of mind!

Have fun reading this information. If you have any questions or ideas to share, please let me know at tips@brunchandbeyond.com.

Cook the Perfect Egg	Bake Great Muffins	Make an Inexpensive Floral Display
Keep a Carafe from Cracking	Prevent a Sticky Situation	Clean a Vase
Brew Better Coffee	Dye Eggs with Natural Ingredients

Cook the Perfect Egg
Sometimes it's a struggle to cook the perfect egg. Here are some tips for popular preparations. Whatever method you choose, remember to buy refrigerated eggs with clean, uncracked shells. Store them in the refrigerator in the carton with the large end up to keep them fresher and help center the yolks.

Hard Cooked (Boiled) Eggs
* Very fresh eggs are harder to peel. Use eggs that have been in your refrigerator for a few days.
* Before you submerge the egg, pierce its larger end with a thumbtack. This keeps the shell from cracking as it cooks.

1. Place large eggs in a single layer in a saucepan with enough cold tap water to cover completely by 1 inch. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat.
2. Remove the pan from the heat. Cover it and let the eggs sit in the hot water for 15 minutes.
3. Immediately place the eggs into a bowl of ice water until they are completely cooled. (This step prevents the greenish ring from forming on the yolk and will keep it bright yellow.)

Yes, this tip works, but there is an easier way. A few years ago I discovered the electric egg cooker, and I love it! It makes boiling eggs (the hard or softer version) foolproof. Check out the Krups Egg Express Egg Cooker.

Scrambled Eggs
1. Beat 2 large eggs, 2 tbs. water, 1/4 tsp. salt, and a pinch of black pepper in a small bowl.
2. Melt 2 tsp. butter in a medium skillet and warm it over medium heat for 1 minute.
3. Pour in the egg mixture. As eggs set, stir slowly, forming large, soft curds. Cook just until no liquid egg remains.

Note
Higher heat helps eggs cook fast but strips them of their liquid. If you prefer fluffier scrambled eggs, try this instead to seal in the moisture: Heat 1 tbs. butter and 3 tbs. milk for every 2 eggs in a medium skillet and cook the eggs over low heat. This method raises the temperature so that the egg proteins hold on to more water.

Sunny-Side Up Eggs
1. Melt 2 tbs. butter in a medium skillet and warm it over medium-high heat for 1 minute.
2. Break 2 large eggs into the skillet and reduce the heat to medium-low.

Note
If you're constantly reforming the eggs after they've started cooking, try this to keep your circles intact: Break the egg into a small dish, then lower the dish just to the rim of your hot skillet. Quickly pour in the egg. It will form a circle with the yolk right in the center.

3. Cook until the edges turn white (about 1 minute).
4. Add 1 tbs. water.
5. Cover skillet tightly and cook until the whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken but are not hard (about 2 to 3 minutes).

Poached Eggs
The fresher the egg, the prettier it poaches. The white of a newly laid egg is more compact and will not spread as much as an older one.

1. Bring 2 to 3 inches of water to a boil in a skillet or saucepan. Reduce the heat to simmer.

Note: Many cooks would poach eggs more frequently if they didn't spread out and get runny as soon as they hit the water. To prevent this, add about 2 tsp. of white vinegar for every 2 cups of water. Its acidity binds the proteins in eggs, giving you nice round results.

2. Break the eggs, one at a time, into a small dish. Holding the dish close to the water's surface, quickly pour the eggs into the water. Do not crowd the eggs in the pan.
3. Cook in gently simmering water about 3 to 5 minutes, until the whites are completely set and yolks are firm and covered with a thin, transparent white layer.
4. Remove the eggs from the water with a slotted spoon. Drain in the spoon or place on paper towels.

Keep a Carafe from Cracking
If you've found out the hard way that pouring very hot tea or coffee into a cool container is the quickest way to shatter the glass, try this trick to absorb the heat: Stand a large metal spoon in the container before transferring the hot liquid. The metal absorbs some of the heat so that the glass will not crack.

This tip works for individual serving containers too. Before pouring hot tea, coffee, or soup into a cup or bowl, rest a metal spoon inside it.

Brew Better Coffee
To get rid of the bitterness caused by residue in your coffee grinder, run 1 cup of dry white rice through the grinder once a month. The abrasiveness scours away the buildup and sharpens blades, guaranteeing a delicious brew.

Bake Great Muffins
For bakery-quality muffins, be sure your baking soda is fresh. To test it, stir a little into some vinegar. If it foams, it's still active. If not, toss it and get a new box.

For nicely rounded muffin tops, grease only the bottom and halfway up the sides of the cups so the batter can cling to the sides and rise.

Prevent a Sticky Situation
Before putting an opened bottle of pancake syrup or honey on a shelf, put a paper cupcake cup under it to catch any drippings.

To keep jam or honey jar lids from sticking, put a thin coat of petroleum jelly inside the cap.

Dye Eggs with Natural Ingredients
To give your Easter eggs a natural look, you can dye them with common kitchen ingredients.

Onion Skin Dye: To make dye from yellow onion skins, place several skins in a large pot of water. Bring to a boil, then let cool and discard skins. Based on the number of onion skins used and the amount of time the eggs soak, you'll get warm colors ranging from gold to terra cotta.

Brewed Coffee Dye: To make dye from coffee, brew a pot of strong coffee and cool. Depending on how strong the coffee is and how long the eggs soak, colors will range from a light speckled tan to a more solid dark tan.

Cranberry Dye: To make a dye from fresh cranberries, boil 4 cups cranberries in 2 cups cold water until the berries burst. Let cool and drain the mixture, discarding the berries. Soak eggs a short time for a light blue egg, or soak longer to get a dark gray color.

Make an Inexpensive Floral Display
Use these tips to get the most from those supermarket bouquets.

1. Choose one or two varieties instead of prearranged bundles. The petals should feel crisp (not limp) and stems should be green and firm (not dark or slimy). Avoid tightly-closed blossoms that may never bloom or ones that are already completely open.
2. Cut each stem at an angle to allow better water absorption. Then strip any bottom leaves that would be under water.
3. Place the flowers in a clean vase with lukewarm water. Add floral preservative if you have it.* Top off the water daily.
4. Put the arrangement in a cool place if possible, away from direct sunlight and heating/cooling vents.
5. To prolong the life of your bouquet, change the water completely every three or four days and recut the stems.

*Make your own floral preservative by mixing a 12-oz. can of lemon-lime soda, 1 tbs. chlorine bleach, and 1 gallon water.

Clean a Vase
Is your favorite vase ready for a new bouquet? If not, here's how to get it clean and clear.

The Heartburn Method: Fill the vase with hot water, then drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets (a generic brand also works). The ingredients in the tablets create bubbles that will break up the dried plant residue.

The Shake-It-Up Method: Put 2 Tbs. of uncooked rice and a squirt of dishwashing liquid into the vase. Add warm water until it is about 3/4 full. Cover the top of the vase with your hand and shake it vigorously. The rice will scrub away the residue.