How to Make Homemade Mayonnaise

  Have you ever made your own homemade mayonnaise? It's SO good! And it's not as difficult as you might think. It's actually quite easy, especially if you have a food processor. Also I think homemade mayonnaise is much better for you, since you don't have all the artificial stuff that is in purchased mayonnaise (at least, that's what I once read in an article). Anyway, it only takes a minute to make and it uses just regular ingredients that you probably already have on hand. Simple! Btw, Yes, you can do it by hand with a whisk, but that's just FAR too much work, in my opinion.
  So here you go. I explain everything in the video, but here's the recipe anyway. Thanx again to Kelsie for being my special guest, and also big thanx to AJ for being the videographer! And remember, like I always say, it's better when YOU make it!!

1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp brown mustard
2 whole eggs, room temp
2 tbs vinegar
2 cups oil

  Place all ingredients except the oil in a food processor. Turn the processor on, and then VERY slowly drizzle the oil into the egg mixture, just a few drops at a time. After you've drizzled about 1/4 cup of oil, you can pour it in a slow steady stream. When all the oil is incorporated, it's finished! Store in the fridge in an airtight container.

Tips:
 -For a little variation, add some garlic or horseradish before you add the oil Yum!
-Instead of regular white vinegar, I've tried it with lemon juice, cider vinegar, red wine vinegar. My favorite was the regular white vinegar.
 -Instead of brown mustard, sometimes I like to use Dijon mustard. Either one works!
 -If you're counting carbs, you can use Splenda or simply omit the sugar altogether. On the flip side, if you like a sweeter mayonnaise (more like Miracle Whip), you can add a little more sugar to taste.
 -If you're concerned about eating raw eggs, you can absolutely use pasteurized eggs such as Egg Beaters. It turns out exactly the same and you can't even tell the difference. Just use 1/4 cup per egg.
 -I was asked how long it lasts in the fridge, and quite frankly, I have no idea. It's always gone in no time, and then I have to make a new batch!

How to Prepare Corn on the Cob

Here's a quick little video that offers a few hints about corn on the cob. Whether you decide to roast it or saute it, I hope these tips come in handy. There's really nothing like fresh corn for your summer barbecue! Here's how I make Simply Sauteed Corn. Love it!
Oh, and btw, if you'd rather not roast or saute, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the tried and true method of boiling it. Here's the recipe that my family always uses: Corn on the Cob
SO good!!
Enjoy!

Baking Tips!

Many people ask me where I learned to bake. Yes, I watch cooking shows and I read cookbooks, but more than anything, I learned from my Mom.
When I was growing up, I used to come home from school, and more times than not, my Mom would be baking a cake. Half of the cake would be dessert after that night's dinner, and the other half would be sliced up and we'd each get a piece of cake in our lunch box for school the next day. It was a lot more economical to bake a cake for our school lunches than buying snack cakes for everyone. And since Mom had 11 of us to take care of, more economical was the way to go. Funny story...the other kids in school were always jealous that we had home made cake in our lunches and my brother Michael used to sell his. True story! Anyway....
Now that I'm an adult, I bake all the time, probably as much as Mom did. Not only do I love the yummy final product, but I also find it to be extremely therapeutic. There's just something wonderful about starting with an empty bowl, and ending with something warm and comforting. I guess that's why it always boggles my mind when I hear someone say "I love to cook, but I don't bake." I always want to say to them "Why not?". Yes, I know baking is a science, but it's no more difficult than cooking a stew or a casserole. As far as I'm concerned, there's only one thing that separates baking from cooking, and that's measuring your ingredients.
When you cook a stew or a casserole, you throw in a little of this and a little of that. With baking, you can't do that. You have to follow a recipe and measure everything as the recipe dictates. It's my guess that the only reason a good cook doesn't bake is because he or she doesn't know how to measure things properly. So, this is the reason I wanted to do this video. Not only will you see how easy it is to measure your ingredients, but you'll also see how to prepare your baking pans, and remove the cake from the pan. Mom always told me "When you bake something, follow the recipe." Hopefully this video will help you to do that. If you think about it, baking is easier than cooking, because all you have to do is what the recipe tells you. There's no guess work involved! Am I right? So, give it a shot! It's easy enough for anyone to learn and it's a great thing to share with your kids. It's one of the greatest gifts my Mom ever gave me. Thanx Mom.

So, always remember, it's better when YOU make it!

Just ask the kids in Michael's class who bought cake from him!

Big HUGE thanx to Katie and also to Anthony for helping me with the video!

Lets Talk Turkey!

OK, so, the first and most important part of Thanksgiving dinner, at least for me, has to be the turkey. It just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it! But where do I start? There are many things to consider and many steps to preparing a turkey. It can be quite overwhelming! My brother, Bobby, once called my Mom and said "ok, Mom, how do you cook a turkey?" and her first thought was to ask him "from what point?" because, like I said, there are several steps to take. She didn't know if he was asking her to start at the very beginning or if he was asking something as simple as "how long should I cook it?". So, she said to him "How much do you know?" and his response was "This is a turkey." And to that she answered "Aha. Well alrighty then.... here we go...."
Aaaaaanyway......
There are many ways to cook a turkey. You can roast it, grill it, or deep fry it. But regardless of how you choose to cook it, there's one thing you MUST do first, and that's to BRINE your turkey. It makes ALL the difference in the world and you'll wind up with the juiciest turkey you've ever tasted. I'm not even kidding. You won't even believe how juicy a turkey can be!
To be honest, I must confess, I've never even cooked a turkey. Well, maybe once, but I'm sure I had my Mom on the phone the entire time. So, I launched into "research mode". I looked up a few web sites and then I turned to an authority on the subject, my sister, Jeanie. Every year, we have quite a huge Thanksgiving dinner, which means more than one turkey. Well, actually, we do two turkeys and a turkey breast. We all have our cooking assignments and Jeanie always cooks one of the turkeys. It always turns out perfectly and she swears by brining her turkeys. If it's good enough for my Jeanie, it's good enough to recommend to you!

Below is an excerpt from an article I found at About.com. I found it to be EXTREMELY informative when it comes to brining. Do your Thanksgiving a favor and take a quick minute to read it. You'll be glad you did! Following the article, I've listed a few brine recipes. And following the brine recipes, I've listed a few links to assist you in cooking your turkey via whichever method you choose.

You can TOTALLY do this! I know it seems a little daunting, but just relax and breathe. It just takes a little planning and a little organization. It'll all turn out fine! Promise!



Brining Your Turkey

Supplies:
To properly brine a turkey you need to start the night before you plan to cook. You will need at least 10 to 12 hours (plan on 1 hour per pound of turkey), a container large enough to hold your turkey and enough brine to cover it. You'll also need salt, water, sugar, seasonings, and enough room to refrigerate it. A large stainless steel stock pot or even a 5 gallon clean plastic bucket would make excellent containers. Whatever container you choose the turkey needs to have enough room to be turned so it should be big. Both Reynolds (Oven Roasting Bag for Turkeys) and Ziploc (XL Storage Bag) make very large food safe sealable bags that are great for brining.

Turkey:
Now let's get to the turkey. The turkey should be cleaned out, completely thawed, and should not be a self-basting or Kosher turkey. Self-basting and Kosher turkeys have a salty stock added that will make your brined turkey too salty. A fresh turkey works best, but a completely thawed, previously frozen turkey will work just as well.

Brine Ingredients:
To make the brine, mix 1 cup of table salt in 1 gallon of water. You will need more than 1 gallon of water but that’s the ratio to aim for. One way of telling if you have enough salt in your brine is that a raw egg will float in it. Make sure that the salt is completely dissolved before adding the seasonings you like, making sure not to add anything that contains salt. Brines can be spicy hot with peppers and cayenne, savory with herbs and garlic, or sweet with molasses, honey and brown sugar.

Sweetening the Brine:
Sugar is optional to any brine, but works to counteract the flavor of the salt. While you may choose a brine without sugar, I do recommend that you add sugar (any kind of "sweet" will do) to maintain the flavor of the turkey. Add up to 1 cup of sugar per gallon of brine. Like the salt you need to make sure that the sugar is completely dissolved.

Set-up:
Place the turkey in a container and pour in enough brine to completely cover the turkey with an inch or two to spare. You do not want any part of the turkey above the surface of the brine. Now you put the whole thing in the refrigerator. The turkey should sit in the brine for about 1 hour per pound of turkey. Brining too long is much worse than not brining enough so watch the time.

Keep it Cool!:
Don't have room in the refrigerator? Try a cooler. A cooler big enough to hold your turkey makes a good container for your turkey and brine. The cooler will help keep it cool and allow you to brine your turkey without taking up precious refrigerator space. If the weather is cool, but not freezing you can put the whole thing outside until you need the turkey. If the weather is warm fill a half gallon milk carton with water and freeze it. Place this in the cooler with the turkey and brine and it will hold down the temperature during the brining process.

Rinsing:
When you are ready to start cooking your turkey, remove it from the brine and rinse it off thoroughly in the sink with cold water until all traces of salt are off the surface inside and out. Safely discard the brine and cook your turkey as normal. You will notice the second you start to carve your turkey that the brining has helped it retain moisture. The first bite will sell you on brining turkeys forever, and after you've tried this you will want to brine all your poultry.



Wasn't that informative? I was going to attempt to write about all of that but it seemed like a better choice to just show you the article. Now that you understand all about brining, here are a few brine recipes:


Poultry Brine

Hawaiian Style Turkey Brine

Savory Turkey Brine

Cranberry Turkey Brine


Cooking Methods:

Ina's Perfect Roast Turkey

Turkey on the Grill

Deep Fried Turkey

How to Roast Peppers

If you've never roasted your own peppers, you seriously don't know what you're missing. They have a wonderful smokey flavor that you just don't get when you buy them at the grocery store. Not only that, store bought roasted peppers cost you an arm and a leg for a measly little jar. You definitely get more bang for your buck if you roast them at home. So, better flavor, more economical.....seems like a no brainer to me! Not only that it's quick and easy to do. Basically, you just char the outsides of the peppers, put them in an airtight container to steam for about 20-30 minutes and then the skins come right off. Serve them on some Italian bread with lots of garlic and olive oil, and that's all there is to it! They're so much better than the ones you buy in a jar. Try it! You'll be SO glad that you did because it's better when you make it!

BIG thanx, once again, to Trish and also Alana for making this video possible.
And thanx to Denny for supplying the peppers!

How To Decorate a Cake

I'm so glad I got to do a video with my sister, Jeanie. She's the most amazing cook and she decorates the most beautiful cakes!!! I asked her if she'd mind showing me a few simple techniques. No, I won't go into the entire process of "this is how you bake the cake, and this is how you make the icing", etc. I figured I'd jump ahead a little and ask Jeanie to show us a basket weave design, and a few borders. Now, I know there are portions of the video where you can't really see what she's doing. That's OK. My goal is to just give you a little intro into the art of cake decorating and hopefully inspire you to dabble a little. That's what I did! I went to a craft store, went over to the cake decorating section and picked up a few of the basic supplies. I honestly had no idea what I was doing. I bought a piping bag and a star tip. Then I came home, made some butter cream icing and practiced making swirls on a plate. Before I knew it I was trying specific techniques and decorating cakes for friends. Like I've said before, I've never had any formal training in cooking and that includes cake decorating. I just like to try things and learn as I go. Jeanie, on the other hand, has taken classes and has become quite good at what she does!



Here is a picture of the finished cake from the video. She made it for Ros's birthday and I think you'll agree that it's BEAUTIFUL! Notice the shell border around the base, the basket weave up the sides, and the reverse shell border around the top. Pretty amazing, huh? With a little practice, you could do this too!

If my video isn't clear enough for you, you can learn more techniques from Wilton.com. They seem to have written the book on cake decorating.

Thanx again to Jeanie and also to Aniell for making this video possible! And Happy Birthday Ros!

How to Peel a Tomato

When I saw Kathy and Brian in the grocery store, as I was buying tomatoes for tomato pies, Kathy asked me how to peel a tomato. So this one's for you, KQ! It's simple and quick and makes all the difference in sauces and stews.
Sometimes when I'm making Marinara Sauce or Fresh and Sun Dried Tomato Sauce, I just leave the skins on (if I'm pressed for time), but I think it's a better sauce without them. Great then!

Big thanx to Trish and to Michael for making this video possible!

How To Cut An Onion

Many people ask me if I'll teach them how to cook. Well, like I always say, I'm not formally trained, but I can show you a few basic techniques. One of the first things to learn is how to cut an onion. I guess it's something that seasoned cooks might take for granted, but for the novice, it can be a little confusing. What's the difference between chopped, diced, or minced onions? It's all about how large or small you'd like your onions. A 'rough chop' is sort of a coarse cut where the onion is left in rather large pieces. 'Diced' onions are slightly smaller, and 'minced' onions are tiny little pieces. This video shows you how to dice your onions. Thanx to Daniel and Kristin for helping! If you'd like large slices of onion instead of chopped, say if you're making onion rings, you'd start with a very large onion. Peel it and slice off both ends as shown in the video, then continue making cuts in the same direction as when you cut off the ends. (slicing across the lines on the onion). You'll end up with nice large slices which can be separated into rings. To make caramelized onions, do the same exact thing as for onion rings, only start with a smaller onion, and make your cuts closer together, so that you're left with many thin slices, which can be separated into rings and sauteed for a long time over a low heat until the natural sugar caramelizes.


As I mentioned in the first video, my sister, Jeanie, said that putting your face in the freezer helps your eyes to stop burning if the sliced onions are making you cry. This little video is Daniel and Kristin doing just that. SO funny!
Special thanx to Aniell and to my Jeanie for making both videos possible!

How To Make a Lattice Top

Many of my friends call me when they have cooking questions and I'm always glad to help, if I can. When I first moved out, I used to call my Mom (almost daily) with cooking questions. Now, I'm happy to be able to pass that info along to my friends. I've never taken any cooking classes or anything. I just read and watch and learn by trial and error. Hopefully through this series of "how to" clips, I'll be able to demonstrate a few techniques that I've learned. I'm hoping to have many friends and relatives as guests in my cooking videos. Let me know if you'd like to do one with me! My best friend, Paul, was nice enough to be in my very first one. Thanx, Paul!
Today's video shows you how to weave strips of pie crust pastry to form a lattice top. It's really a lot simpler to do than you might think, and everyone is always SO impressed by it! So, the next time you feel like having some pie, don't buy one. Make one at home! You'll be so glad you did because it's better when you make it!

Special thanx to Michael and Trish for helping to make this video possible!!