Tiny Tidbit: When to Rinse Fresh Berries

Hi Everyone!

My family buys loads of berries during the summer. We use them in fruit salads, smoothies, desserts and popsicles! Berries are great, but they do go bad quickly. What a lot of people don't know is that if you wash all of the berries at once and then put them in the fridge, they will go bad a lot quicker. The berries will get moldy and fuzzy in about a day!

What my family does is we only wash the amount of berries we're going to use right before we eat them. That way, the berries will keep for a couple more days. Green vegetable bags help keep berries fresh a little bit longer in the frig too. Be sure to freeze fresh berries so you can enjoy them later in the year.

Post by Lizzie Marie Cuisine.

Have a great summer!

Thanks for reading,
Lizzie Marie

Tiny Tidbits: Buttering Corn Cobs

Hi Everyone!

Don't you just hate it when you're buttering freshly boiled corn and you burn your fingers and the butter falls off? Well, I've got the perfect solution! All you need is some soft butter, the heel from a loaf of bread and a corn cob. Simply butter the bread and place the corn cob in the middle of the bread. Then rotate the corn until the butter is evenly distributed over the kernels. Plus you get a buttered piece of bread! If you don't want to butter your corn, squeeze some fresh lime juice on it instead. Enjoy and have a happy summer!

Post by Lizzie Marie Cuisine.

Thanks for reading!
Lizzie Marie

Tiny Tidbits: Storing Avocados

Hi Everyone!

Sometimes I only need to use half an avocado for recipes, but the unused half turns brown within minutes. Learn how easy it is to store part of an avocado.

Post by Lizzie Marie Cuisine.

Thanks for reading!
Lizzie Marie

Tiny Tidbits: Homemade Popsicles

Hi Everyone!

Kids and grown-ups love icy cold popsicles this time of year. Unfortunately, a lot of popsicles found in stores have a lot of added sugars and dyes. Here is a super duper fast way to make your own healthy popsicles.

Post by Lizzie Marie Cuisine.

Thanks for reading!
Lizzie Marie

My Adventures in Sarabeth's Kitchen

Hi everyone!

Recently, Sarabeth Levine from Sarabeth's Kitchen contacted me through Twitter. She said if I was ever in New York City to stop by her bakery and bake with her for a day. It just so happened that I was going to be in New York City! I told her I would love to come and bake with her. A few days later I arrived at her bakery in Chelsea Market. Before I started baking I ate lunch at her bakery; tomato soup and a grilled vegetable panini. The tomato soup was delicious and non-traditional. It had chunks of tomato in it and it was served with a buttermilk biscuit that was light and fluffy. The grilled vegetable panini was really yummy; the vegetables were fresh and they were seasoned perfectly. Then it was time to bake!

Sarabeth gave me a chef's coat and an apron, telling me I would end up covered in chocolate. I had asked her if we could make Chocolate Chubbies, which is somewhere between a cookie and a brownie. I learned a lot of tips and, sure enough, I was covered in chocolate! I saw the huge ovens they use to bake, all of the pre-made pastries and I even saw some HUGE mixers! I could have fit inside of them!

While the Chocolate Chubbies were baking, Sarabeth and I started talking about whipped cream. She explained to me how to make whipped cream the right way, and then she suggested we make some. To make whipped cream, you first mix the cream with an electric mixer until it's not completely stiff with a bowl of ice under the mixing bowl. Sarabeth then added some superfine sugar and fresh vanilla bean from a pod that had been soaking in rum. She then mixed the whipped cream by hand until it was firm and fluffy. It was amazing! The vanilla bean made really flavorful, yet it still had a delicate taste.

Sarabeth brought out some buttermilk biscuits and homemade strawberry jam. We put the whipped cream on the biscuit and topped it with jam. It was the best strawberry shortcake I ever had! The strawberry jam was chunky and loose, not like the thick jelly you find in the stores. I learned about this particular batch of strawberry jam from Sarabeth's blog

Before I left, Sarabeth gave me her beautiful cookbook, Sarabeth's Bakery: From My Hands to Yours, Rizzoli 2010. Be sure to order your copy of Sarabeth's book so you can have fun making Chocolate Chubbies with your family!

Thank you for the wonderful treats, Sarabeth!
Lizzie Marie

Tiny Tidbits: Which Produce to Eat First

Hi Everyone!

When buying fresh fruits and veggies from a CSA or farmers market, be sure you know which items will spoil faster than others.

Post by Lizzie Marie Cuisine.

Thanks for reading!
Lizzie Marie

Product Review: Microplane Grater Attachment

Hi Everyone!

Are you sick and tired of shaving your fingertips off every time you try to grate small items like nutmeg or garlic on a Microplane grater? Well I have the perfect solution: a grater attachment! A grater attachment is basically a little cube that snaps on to your Microplane grater. It’s used to grate nutmeg, ginger, garlic, etc. I’ve never been comfortable grating garlic because I want to keep my fingertips intact. I heard about this grater attachment and I looked everywhere for it in Atlanta, but I could not find one.

I was so happy when www.cheftools.com asked me to do a product review for a grater attachment! I LOVE my grater attachment! My fingertips are as intact as ever and I don’t have to chop my garlic up super duper fine anymore with my knife. Grater attachments are the best kitchen tool ever, aside from maybe a spoonula. To order your very own grater attachment, click on the link above. You will never have to worry about shredding your fingertips again!

Post by Lizzie Marie Cuisine.

Thanks for reading,
Lizzie Marie

Summertime Italian Feast

Hi Everyone!

During the summer, my family loves to make crostinis. Crostinis are slices of baguette that have been toasted with olive oil and salt. We always serve crostinis with a variety of different toppings. Recently, I attended an expo and saw Giada de Laurentiis cook on stage. I bought her Giada at Home cookbook and Mario Batali’s Molto Gusto cookbook. My mom noticed a recipe for pea pesto in Giada’s book and it looked delicious! I decided to make it and cooked a three-course Italian dinner!

The first course was the crostini platter. Our crostinis were topped with Giada’s pea pesto, arugula and pine nut pesto, brie cheese, sliced tomato, fresh purple basil and an apricot paste. The pea pesto was refreshing and really yummy!

The second course was broccoli rabe in a Pecorino Romano sauce. It was really yummy, especially once we topped it with smoked salt. You only need a tiny amount of smoked salt, great flavor!

The final course was fettuccine cacio e pepe, which is Italian for fettuccine with cheese and pepper. I found this recipe, and the broccoli rabe recipe, in Mario Batali’s cookbook. The fettuccine cacio e pepe only had a couple ingredients, but it took a long time to make! In the end, it was amazingly good! When I was in New York last year I visited Mario Batali’s specialty foods shop, Eataly. Mom and I ate lunch there and I ordered spaghettone cacio e pepe, which is the same as what I made, but the pasta was thinner. It was creamy, peppery and definitely a weekend splurge. What can I say, I LOVE Italian food!

I'm so excited to be back in NYC this week!

Ciao!
Lizzie Marie

Tiny Tidbits: Watermelon Workouts

Hi Everyone!

Dad and I got a little silly filming this Tiny Tidbit. Who knew you could workout out with watermelons! Remember my motto: Have fun with your food.

Post by Lizzie Marie Cuisine.

Thanks for reading!
Lizzie Marie

Tiny Tidbits: Best Way to Wash Lettuce

Hi everyone!

Have you ever noticed that sometimes you get little pieces of dirt in your lettuce even though you washed it off? That’s because you’re not washing it off the right way. Instead of just running the lettuce under some water and calling it a day, there’s a really effective and easy way to get rid of all those annoying pieces of dirt. Whenever you buy lettuce directly from the farmer (or you buy a CSA box), there will be more dirt in the lettuce because it’s so fresh.

Personally, I don’t like eating dirt and bugs, but hey, it’s extra protein! But, if you’re like me, it’s not that hard to make sure your lettuce doesn’t contain anything but lettuce. Simply take a big bowl and fill it with cold water. Then add a touch of distilled vinegar. The vinegar shocks the bugs and makes them fall off the lettuce. Tear the lettuce into smaller pieces, add it to the bowl and press gently so that the lettuce pieces are covered in water. Soaking the leaves causes the dirt to fall off, because lettuce floats and dirt sinks. After letting the leaves of lettuce soak for several minutes, pop the lettuce into a salad spinner, give it a whirl and you’re ready for a fresh, bug-free salad!

Post by Lizzie Marie Cuisine.

Thanks for reading!
Lizzie Marie