Help for Kitchen Cooking Disasters

You are making a meal you feel is fit for a king (or Queen) and when upon tasting your culinary delights you discover something is too salty, too sweet, your gravy is too pale, thin, lumpy, or greasy, your vegetables have wilted or your cream won’t whip up, your potatoes are soggy after mashed and on and on. You need help if you are going to pull the meal off and be able to present on your dinning room table. No need to fear, even the too salty and the too sweet can be overcame putting you in a Top Chef’s light to those you are serving. Here are some tips that will get you out of skillet and back on the table.

Too Salty Soups and Stews:

• Add cut up raw potatoes to the mix and allow them to cook. They will absorb the excess salt. Before serving, toss the potatoes.


• Add a teaspoon of cider vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar to the mixture.


• Add sugar, taste each time until the salty level has lowered. Add slowly otherwise you will be dealing with too sweet soup or stew.

Too Sweet Dish:

• Add salt.


• If it is a main dish or vegetables, add a teaspoon of cider vinegar. (Word to the wise chef, if you are cooking for just two, cut the amount of cider vinegar in half.)

Pale Gravy:

• Add a few drops of Kitchen Bouquet.


• In the future, you can avoid the problem of pale or gray gravy by browning the flour well in meat dripping before adding the liquid. This will also help prevent lumpy gravy.


• Another great way to get a nice brown color to your gravy is to put some flour (dry) in a custard bowl along side your roast in the oven. Once the meat is done, your flour will have a nice brown color to it and will be ready to make that perfect beautiful gray fit to be on any dinning room table.

Thin Gravy:

• Mix flour and water, or cornstarch and water into a medium thin sauce. Make sure all lumps are out of it. Gradually add the mixture to the gravy while stirring and boiling. Watch it closely for it to thicken up (which can be rather quick) so you do not over thicken it.


• Add instant potato flakes a little at a time until you have reached desire consistency.

Smooth Gravy:

• Never have lumpy gravy again by keeping a jar in your refrigerator with an equally portioned mix of flour and water or cornstarch and water. When it comes time to make gravy, put 3 to 4 tablespoons of the gravy thickening mixture into another jar. Add some water, (about ¼ to ½ cup) lid the jar, and shake. Now you are ready to add the mixture to your gravy for the perfect smooth gravy. (Tip: When making a roast, set an extra custard cup of flour in with it so you have it to make your base thickening mixture for your gravy and never have to worry about pale gravy.)

Greasy Gravy:

• If it is really greasy, add a small amount of baking soda to it.


• Or, if time allows, pour it into a freezer safe bowl and allow it to chill. Grease will float to the top and harden to where it is easy for you to simply skim off the excess fat/grease.

Soggy Mashed Potatoes:

• Place soggy potatoes in a pan and place on a low heat and allow excessive water to steam off. If that doesn’t dry them up enough, sprinkle powdered milk on them when whipping instead of using regular milk.


• Still soggy? Add instant potato flakes to them until you reach a constituency you approve of.

Wilted Vegetables:

• If fresh vegetables are wilted or blemished, cut off any brown spots and edges, sprinkle with cool water, wrap in a towel, and refrigerate for about an hour.


• Douse wilted vegetables quickly in hot water and then submerge in icy cold water that has some apple cider vinegar in it.


• Crisp up soggy lettuce by adding lemon juice to a bowl of cold icy water and soak the lettuce for about an hour.


• Lettuce and celery can also be revived by placing them in a pan of icy cold water with a few slices of raw potatoes.

Droopy Whipping Cream:

• Chill your bowl and beaters in the freezer, and cream in the refrigerator before whipping.
  Put your bowl of whipping cream inside a bowl of ice while you are whipping it.


• Add an egg white, chill then whip.


• Still not whipping up right? Try adding 3 or 4 drops of lemon juice while whipping.


• To keep your whipping cream from separating if it will have to sit for any length of time, add a touch of unflavored gelatin (1/4 teaspoon per cup of cream).

Rock Hard Brown Sugar:

• When you need brown sugar for a dish or cookies and you find yours is as hard as a rock, you can use a hand grater to get the amount you need.


• If you are not in a hurry, you can place a slice of bread in the brown sugar bag, seal and wait a couple hours and your brown sugar will be soft again.


• Place brown sugar in a container and a cup of water in another container, place them side by side in a pan, cover, place in a low temperature oven for a while and you will have soft brown sugar again in no time.

Frozen Bread Loaves and Dinner Rolls:

• You forgot to set some bread out to thaw or dinner rolls for your meal fit for a king or queen and now need them thawed in lighting speed, yet not left dry. To thaw your frozen bread and dinner rolls out quick place them in a brown paper sack, roll it down so it has a good seal and place it in an oven at 325 degrees. In 5 minutes, you will have your bread unthawed and as soft as the day you purchased it.

ABOUT THE PICTURE
Country Shaker Trestle Table
The Country Shaker Trestle Table is available in a 42” or 48” wide unit. One inch thick top with geared slide. Self store leaf available. The top has “tapered” top corners. Available in oak, cherry, qswo, soft brown maple, maple or hickory. This table will hold up to 4, 12” leaves

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