No More Garlic Hands

I love hosting Pampered Chef parties! I love to consult at other host's Pampered Chef parties! I love Pampered Chef! *sigh*
One of the great things about getting together with a group of people who are passionate about cooking and thrilled about using high quality, affordable kitchen products, is the love of sharing. Whether it's swapping recipes or sharing kitchen and cooking tips, it's so much fun to come away from a Pampered Chef party armed with more knowledge and excited to get back into your own kitchen to put to the test the things you've learned.
At a recent Pampered Chef party, one of the guests gave me a very useful tip that I would like to pass on to you.
We all love garlic. My motto is you can never have too much garlic. Every recipe should have garlic in it. It just tastes better. But lets face it. It's a strong smelling wonderful bit of wonderful. Even though Pampered Chef has made some great products like the Garlic Press and the Garlic Peeler and Slicer Set, to keep our hand from touching the garlic and thereby coming away smelling like, well, garlic, it's inevitable that if you touch a raw piece of garlic, the scent of it will linger on your hands. But, did you know that you can wash your hands lightly with water, and then rub them along the inside of your stainless steel sink, rinse them again, and you will have eliminated the smell of garlic in your hands? Try it! It works!

12 Cup Muffin Pan

Do you like Yorkshire Pudding? It's one of our family's favorite treats. Nothing beats a roast in the slow-cooker, creamy mashed potatoes, and rich beef gravy, with a side of Sky-high Yorkshire puddings.
If you're like me, success is not always to be had when making this tricky side dish. One time you've got beautiful, fluffy Yorkshires, the next time they are flat and heavy. In the past, I have always made Yorkshire Pudding in metal muffin tins. I've tried warming the ingredients to room temperature, leaving the batter sit, heating the pans longer...you name it, I've tried it, but I still wasn't getting consistent results. Just what is the secret to a perfect, light and fluffy Yorkshire Pudding? The Pampered Chef 12-Cup Muffin Pan!

A guest at one of my Pampered Chef shows suggested I try using the 12-Cup Muffin Pan to get perfect results every time. And you know what? She was right!
I made Yorkshire Pudding and poured half of the batter into my standby metal muffin tins, which, by the way, are a real pain to clean afterwards, and I poured the other half of the mixture into my stone 12 Cup Muffin Pan. As you can see by the picture, the Yorkshire Pudding on the right which are in the Pampered Chef 12-Cup Muffin Pan are light, puffy and browning beautifully. The ones on the left, in my old metal muffin tins, are getting there, but they certainly don't have the pizzazz as the ones on the right. When I was done cooking (and eating) these scrumptious bits of goodness, the cleanup on the stoneware was a breeze! Just a little bit of hot water, the convenience of the small scraper that comes with each piece of Pampered Chef stoneware, and I was good to go. No more elbow grease or scrubbing pads will be needed whenever I make Yorkshire Puddings again!

Ultimate Mandolin

Even though today is the first day of fall, there are still many more warm days in store. That means afternoons in the park, camping trips and BBQ'ing! Who doesn't love a juicy steak, smothered in tangy BBQ sauce? And, don't vegetables on the BBQ taste so much better than when you prepare them inside the kitchen? Pampered Chef is all about BBQ! There are so many great tools to make your outside meals a breeze to make! Whether you choose the BBQ Basting Bottle, or the BBQ Skewer Set, or the BBQ Grill Basket (don't forget to use one of Pampered Chef's many rubs or savory sauces!), or even the great BBQ Turners, Pampered Chef has got you covered.
However, when I think of BBQ'ing, I don't just think of all these great products. I also think Ultimate Mandolin!
I'm finding myself using the Pampered Chef Ultimate Mandolin more and more often. Whether it's making fantastic scalloped potatoes or cutting vegetables to grill on the BBQ, the Ultimate Mandolin adds convenience and shorter prep time to many recipes. The variety of blades gives you lots of versatility and perfect results. No more undercooked or overcooked veggies! Every piece is cut to the same thickness, allowing the food to cook evenly, which results in fabulous and flavorful dishes.
The Ultimate Mandolin is a well-thought out and well designed tool. The anchor leg is coated with a rubber footing to keep it from moving while you are preparing your food. The newly designed plunger allows you to be able to use larger pieces of food to save you time and energy. The 4 different blades slide in and out with ease, and the cutting blade is adjustable without removing the blade from the Ultimate Mandolin. All 4 of the blades are designed to be flush with the cutting surface to keep from unwanted cuts or accidents. The blades are housed in a convenient clip on storage case which keeps every tool in one location. The Ultimate Mandolin folds down for easy storage. It is designed to use in a easel position, or folded down to slice food right into your Classic Batter Bowl.
Enjoy your last days of summer by getting out your Ultimate Mandolin, and preparing some easy, eye and palette appealing dishes to make in your kitchen or outside on your BBQ!

Classic Scraper

Have you been doing a lot of canning this year? Perhaps you've mastered the best tasting salsa, ever! Or maybe, you're trying your hand at all sorts of varieties of jams? With the beautiful summer we've had, maybe you've added different canned fruits or vegetables to your pantry? If you are really something, you've done all of these, all in one day, and you have my upmost respect and admiration!
A couple of weeks ago, I made my first batch of raspberry jam. My aunt gifted me with a couple of buckets of raspberries and I followed a simple recipe of raspberries, sugar and lemon juice and I got a few small jars of rich, dark, sweet raspberry jam. As it cooked on the stove, I used one of my most favorite Pampered Chef products: the Mix 'N Scraper. I have most of the family of Classic Scrapers, and I love every one. I kept the Mix 'N Scraper in the hot, rapidly boiling mixture of raspberries for the whole time it was cooking. When I was done the jam, my Mix 'N Scraper looked anything but the brilliant white it started off as. In fact, it was stained a dark red color, it was hot and sticky and I remember scolding myself, saying, "What were you thinking to leave that scraper in raspberries the whole time? That wasn't very smart!" I thought for sure that my Mix 'N Scraper would forever bear the marks of my yummy raspberry jam. I plopped it in a sink of hot, soapy water and began cleaning up the rest of my kitchen. When I returned to my Mix 'N Scraper a few minutes later, I lifted it out of the soapy water and I had this result (see right). I was more than pleased to see that with no scrubbing required, no elbow grease needed, my Mix 'N Scraper came up squeaky clean and brilliantly white once again.
As I said, the Classic Scraper family comes in three sizes: the Mix 'N Scraper, the Small Mix 'N Scraper, and the Mini Mix 'N Scraper, not to mention the Skinny and Classic Scrapers. In my kitchen, I have three different sizes and use them pretty much on a daily basis. The heavy-duty heads are fused directly to the handles, so when mixing thick cookie batter or scraping the bowl while making bread, the head of the scraper won't get stuck in your dough. They are firm enough to cut through the thickest recipes, but flexible enough to scrape every last morsel out of the bowl. Plus, they are indented, making for a perfect and convenient spoon, built right in. They won't crack, burn, melt or stain, and they are heat resistant to 650 degrees F, perfect for all of your canning and cooking needs.