My Mother is the best baker I know. She doesn't bake with recipes. She bakes with smell, taste, texture and sight. While I've never managed to pick up all of her secrets, I do ok on my own. At least most of the time. :)

So recently when I had a little problem in the kitchen with my cakes flopping, I agonized over the solution.

"Why not call your Mother?" you ask.

Well, sometimes pride gets in the way and I don't want to admit I need help. Rather than talk with her, I talked with practically everyone that I've ever known to have baked anything to see if they had any ideas. I even searched the internet for ideas.

There are a lot of reasons a cake can flop. But, I didn't seem to be doing any of the typical things wrong.

I was using the right type of flour, wasn't overbeating, wasn't opening the oven door too soon, had my ingredients at room temperature.

So, finally, on a dark lonely night when the problem had gotten the best of me and I was tired of wasting ingredients, I picked up the phone.

We talked through all the obvious things as well, and even had the painful conversation about whether or not I forgot the flour (which I've done on occasion when I was in a hurry)...(I was really hoping to avoid that one!). But in the end, it seemed as if everything should be working fine.

Then she asked the magical question. "What temperature is your oven at?"

"350...of course"

"Are you sure?"

"Mom, yes, I'm sure. I can read. It's 350."

"I know you can read, but are you sure your oven is actually baking at 350?"

"What?! Yes, of course. I have two new ovens. They're wonderful."

"Well why don't you go get an oven thermometer just to be sure."

"Whatever. I'll figure it out. Thanks anyway."

So a few more weeks passed and I tried everything again and again. And finally, though completely convinced that I was wasting my money and time, I broke down and bought an oven thermometer.

Turns out I have to set one of my ovens at 355 to get a 350 reading and the other at 370. They are both the same make, model and age.

Mom was right...again. I've never owned an oven thermometer in my entife life. Now, I will never live without one.

My cakes are beautiful and light and airy and as close to perfect as I could hope. Just goes to show...sometimes Mother really does know best.

The Muse Gourmet

The Muse Gourmet

The Muse Gourmet

Some of the very best chocolate cakes I’ve tasted call for a most unexpected ingredient…vinegar.  It’s always been one of those things that I never understood.  I just followed the recipe (skeptically followed the recipe I might add), but have never been disappointed. 

As with most things, necessity is the mother of all invention. 

Vinegar became a popular cake ingredient during the Great Depression.  Most traditional cake recipes have an abundance of butter, milk and eggs.  But guess what ingredients were hard to come by during rationing of the post World War II era?  Who could afford to add such scarce ingredients to a luxury item like cake? 

As a substitute for costly eggs, butter and milk; vinegar was used as a recipe ingredient with baking soda to produce carbon dioxide and give the cake batter a “lift”.  It works wonderfully so long as you don’t beat the cake batter too much or let it sit too long before baking it.  Baking soda does its thing pretty quickly and your cake will fail to rise if the leavening action is lost. 

Now, whether to choose cider or white vinegar?  I’ve always just added white vinegar…but then I thought…why not try cider vinegar.  So, I did a little taste test. 

While the flavor of white vinegar doesn’t stand out in the cake batter, cider vinegar is milder and has less impact on the overall taste of the cake.  Both are ok, but cider vinegar is my preference after trying both. 

If you've read many of my recipes, you'll notice that I consistently specify unsalted butter in the ingredient list.  If you've ever wondered if it really matters, let me put your mind to rest.  It really does matter.  Or, as Anchorman Ron Burgandy would put it, "It's ah, kind of a big deal."   

One of the main reasons it's not a good idea to use salted butter is because the sodium level varies by brand.  It would be like dumping some random mixture of salt and pepper into a container, calling it salted pepper and then using it in everything you prepared.  It just wouldn't make sense.  Some things need more salt than others. 

The National Dairy Council (NDC) says that “generally, salted butter contains 1.6–1.7 percent” salt. However, determines how much to use in its product.

Here are some examples of various brands found in the grocery store and their relative sodium content:

• Kerry Gold: 50 milligrams
• Land O’Lakes: 95 milligrams
• Challenge: 90 milligrams
• Safeway O Organics: 90 milligrams
• Straus: 45 milligrams
• Horizon: 115 milligrams
• Lucerne: 90 milligrams

Additionally, salted butter has a higher water content than unsalted butter.  That isn't the end of the world in cooking, but baking is much less forgiving.  Baked goods prepared with salted butter have a doughy consistency and are mushier than goods made with unsalted butter.  Trust me on this one.  I bought salted butter for years, ignorant of the difference between the two, and found that my baked goods were never quite right.  Once I made the switch...problem solved. 

By the way, if you're looking for the best deal on butter, I did a quick price comparison of my local markets.  Costco had the best price; 4 pounds for $5.62 (that's a little over $1.40 per pound).  They beat the local grocery stores, restaurant supply stores and other discounters.

Just the thought of it slicing and dicing.  Uugh.  I know.  I've got my days too.

So, I got out my old stand by.  My Pampered Chef steamer.  I love that thing!  It makes the yummiest vegetables.  And, everything takes like 5 minutes.  So, I filled it with some broccoli, cauliflower and carrots (no water) and tossed it in the microwave.  Five minutes later, here's what I had.
 

Then I melted one stick of butter in a skillet, added 1/2 chopped red onion and some frozen pierogies.  I happened to have some of my own pierogies in the freezer, but Mrs. T's are pretty good too.  I left the heat on medium, covered them up and let them cook until they were browned, flipping occasionally.  Then I tossed in some fresh basil and a sprinkle of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper and viola.  The entire meal took no more than 15 minutes, start to finish. 

My husband wanted to add the note that a little kielbasa may be a nice addition to the meal.  :)  He's always looking out for you meat eaters.

Sunday is a perfect day to spend time with family and friends.  Most of us find ourselves busy on Saturdays getting caught up on errands, laundry, bill paying, and yard work.  By Sunday, the "must do's" are off the list and we have some time left to spend doing the things we enjoy. 

My Mother loved to bake pie.  Her pies are legendary.  Seriously.  :)  It's not just me saying that.  When I was young, my father sold real estate.  His office was in our home and my mother always had a homemade slice of pie ready to greet visitors.  People would stop by to say hello just for the pie.  I grew up thinking homemade pie was a staple.  Years later, with a different time schedule than Mom and a need to watch calories, I limit the number of pies I have on hand. 

But, when I'm feeling nostalgic, nothing reminds me of home more than the smell of a pie in the oven. I decided to make an American favorite...Apple Pie.  I've made the Dutch variety (crumbly topping as opposed to another crust)...which is my favorite.

If you're looking for a good pie plate, I've had the best luck with plates from Emile Henry.  I adore the variety of bright colors and love the fluted detail on the top. 

The first slow cooker was developed in 1970 by Naxon Utilities Corporation, which was later bought by Rival.  The Naxon All-Purpose Cooker, as it was called, was renamed Crock-Pot in 1971.  Since that time, a number of companies have made enhancements to this device and we have come to know it by its trademarked name, regardless of the manufacturer. 

There are several things to consider when chosing the right crock pot.  I think this hometopics.net article does a good job of hightlighting those considerations, so I won't reiterate.   

I've had my crock pot for several years...before some of the newer features came out.  I have a large oval Rival cooker with a removable cooking chamber for easy cleaning.  My cooker has three settings, low, high and warm.  I chose the oval cooker because I wanted to be able to fit in larger cuts of meat (roasts and chicken) and wasn't able to accomodate those in my round, smaller cooker.  If I was purchasing a cooker now, I would get one that had the feature of automatically turning itself to warm after the cooking time expired.  Just seems like something that would come in handy. 

One word about used cookers.  You may have a friend or relative who has a slow cooker and would like to re gift it.  Before you use the cooker, be sure to test the cooking temperature.  Slow cookers are designed to cook the food slow enough that you can leave it unattended, but still allow the food to reach a safe cooking temperature.  To test your cooker to be sure it heats correctly, fill you device with 8 cups of water from the tap (room temperature water). Set it to heat on low.  Leave the cooker alone (do not lift the lid) for 8 hours.  After that time, test the water temp with a food thermometer.  Be sure to take the temperature quickly after lifting the lid as water cools down very fast.  A delay on your part will cause you to get inaccurate results.  The temperature should be at 185 F.  If the temp is below that, it could mean that your cooker doesn't heat the food adequately to avoid safety issues.  If the results are above 185 F, the cooker heats hotter than most and you will want to adjust your cooking times accordingly.  If you'll notice, most recipes give you a pretty large window for cooking times (say 6-8 hours on low).  That's because the cookers don't all heat the same.  Once you make a recipe or two, you'll get the hand of how your cooker operates and can adjust your cooking times accordingly. 

Have fun!  If you learn to use your cooker, you'll find it indispensible. 

Be well.   Namasté.