The Unofficial Cook

My best kitchen gadget is the Adjust-A-Cup Measuring Cup.  This thing is so amazing you’ll wonder why they didn’t come up with the idea sooner.

This is the perfect gadget for accurately measuring messy ingredients like shortening, butter or peanut butter.  With ingredients like these, you are always guessing whether you have an accurate measure because there is always that chance there’s a bubble in the middle of all the goo which you cannot see or do anything about.  Everyone who’s made peanut butter cookies knows what I’m talking about.  So here comes this measuring cup…no more mess, no more guessing. It has a clear plastic sleeve, and the adjustment is done with a flick of the wrist.  After you’ve measured your ingredients, you push the interior canister which acts like a plunger to push your ingredients out.  Cool, huh? [Read the rest of this entry...]

For a change, I decided to stray from the usual Apple Pie and made some Apple Dumpings using Rome apples a few weeks ago.  This was my first time to cook with Rome apples and I was pretty impressed with how the apples held up in the baking process.  I love the way it retained it’s shape and didn’t turn mushy like some apples will.  And I loved the way the apple turned a bit translucent after baking.  I really should have taken a photo of the inside of the dumpling to show how lovely the apples turned out.  I’ll do it next time.  [Read the rest of this entry...]

I just love my cast iron skillet! I got it for under $25 at the ever-reliable Walmart a few months back and have used it several times since. This is a 12-inch skillet by Lodge Logic of Tennessee.  This company has been in business since 1896, so you can be assured they know what they’re doing.

There are a few things to remember about cast iron cookware so it will remain virtually non-stick. Teflon-coated pans emit harmful chemicals if not properly heated.  Yup, there’s a price for that perfect fried egg you cook for breakfast in your teflon pan. [Read the rest of this entry...]