Kitchen Tip of the Day- How to Make an Iced Coffee or Enjoy Fresh Brewed Iced Tea at Home..... without melting your ice

When the summer months come around, aside from a nice "adult" cocktail there isn't much I want more then a wonderfully icy cold Iced Coffee with lots of milk or a glass of Fresh Brewed Iced Tea (no instant for me!)  The only problem is the heat factor.  Did you ever wonder how to make one of these at home without watering down your beverage or having to wait forever until it cools down enough to not melt your ice cubes?

When I mentioned my little trick to some friends the other night, they said right away I needed to share it on here.  It's quite simple really, and only uses one little piece of equipment-  One metal teaspoon.  Yep, that's it!

sorry about the spill... it is tricky to pour and take a picture at the same time...haha

Fill your glass all the way to the top with ice cubes.  Stick a metal teaspoon into your glass of ice.  Slowly pour your hot coffee or tea into the glass.  Metals are the best thermal conductors, because of this all of the heat from the beverage will be attracted to the spoon, leaving your ice cubes mostly in tact and will quickly cool down your once hot beverage.  Remove the spoon and enjoy!

Basic Recipe's Everyone Should Know How to Do- Sauteed Boneless Chicken Breasts

Exciting, adventurous, new dishes are always a fun to make. It keeps life exciting in the kitchen and helps keep the weekday blahs at a minimum. But these dishes really are only great once you can master the basics. It's like the old saying goes- you need to learn to walk before you can run. I am going to post a series of some nice, basic recipes- that once you have these perfected you can basically make anything at all.

Today I am going to share a absolute necessity! Sauteed Chicken. As simple as chicken may seem, it is also the one meat that so many people are completely afraid to cook. People have this fear of under cooking it, and therefore end up cooking it to death- leaving it so dry and tough, you just may as well chew on leather. Yuck. Just like most meats, timing is everything. Watch the clock and watch the temperature of your pan. You don't want to burn the outside before the inside is cooked and you also don't want to steam your chicken at too low of a heat because this takes way too long and will dry out the meat.  If the pan is hot enough, a boneless skinless chicken breast should cook in exactly 4 minutes* a side.  *More of less depending on thickness.  It is a great idea to pound your chicken breast.  This will tenderize the meat and also ensure even cooking time.  If one side is super thick and the other thin, one half will start to dry out before the plump side cooks through.  To pound you chicken, use a meat tenderizer.  If you don't have one, a rolling pin or a heavy bottom pan would work.  place the chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap or waxed paper (to avoid splattering) and just hammer on the meat to flatten it.  Try and be careful not to tear the meat, you just want to flatten it out.  Tenderizing meats not only insures even cooking time but also reduces the amount of time you need to marinate your meats.

Ok so back to the chicken... after you have tenderized your chicken, you want to rinse and pat dry.  Trim it of any fat around the edges and sprinkle both side with salt and fresh ground black pepper.  On a plate, spread out your flour and coat the chicken on both sides, pressing to make the tenderloins (the thin strips of meat on the underside of the chicken breast) adhere. Gently shake off the excess flour; too much will just cause them to burn.

Preheat a heavy 10-12 inch skillet over medium-high heat.  Add to the pan 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter and 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil.  Swirl the butter and oil around until it smells awesome and is a nutty-brown color.  Place the chicken in the pan, tenderloin side down and saute for exactly 4 minutes- set a timer!  Do not let anything burn.  If it appears like it is too hot or beginning to burn, turn down the heat a bit.  Using tongs, turn your chicken and cook until the chicken feels firm to the touch, about 3-5 minutes more- don't be afraid to touch your meat!  Your fingers are a great judge of doneness.  A milky juice will also appear around the tenderloins.  If you are afraid, you can carefully make a small slice into the thickest part of the breast to see if the juices run clear.  but you really don't want to make a habit of this because when you cut into the meat you release juices that haven't had a chance to absorb back into the meat yet.  This is what keeps your chicken tender and moist.

And look at that- you are done!  A wonderfully juicy piece of chicken that is absolutely delicious on its own, but kicked up a notch with a nice sauce made in the pan drippings.

Serve with a side of potatoes and a fresh vegetable and you've got dinner!

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste


Stay tuned, my recipes for Crunchy Baked Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts with Shallot-Browned Butter are on their way!

Cinnamon Applesauce Muffins

Well, it has been a while since I was on my muffin kick so I thought it was time to try out a new recipe.  These are a nice, basic muffin.  Wonderfully moist and full of flavor.  They are delicious as-is, but also are lovely slathered in butter or spread with your favorite preserves.  I can easily see these being a staple in our house.

Print this Recipe

Cinnamon Applesauce Muffins
makes 7-9 muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup milk
Cinnamon sugar blend for sprinkling on top

Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease or line a muffin tin with paper baking cups.

In a large bowl, blend together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs,  applesauce, and milk until smooth.  (I used my homemade chunky applesauce so I didn't try and get the apples smooth, just the batter.)  Combine the two mixtures, blending until just moistened.  Do not over-mix for it will make for a tough muffin.

Spoon the batter in the prepared muffin cups, filling each one about 3/4 full.  Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar over each muffin.  Bake for 15-20 minutes , or until a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5-7 minutes.  Serve warm or invert onto the rack to cool completely.

*Muffin Baking Tip: fill one or two empty muffin cups with water before baking.  The steam from the water will insure a nice, moist muffin every time.

Serve warm or let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

I love how there are nice chunks of apples in my muffins since I used my homemade chunky applesauce.  You can buy a good quality applesauce or use my homemade recipe {here}.

Grilling Corn on the Cob

This is one of our most favorite ways to eat corn.  The way heat, smoke and fire from the grill effect the  ears of corn, it turns them into the sweetest, most delicious vegetable you have ever tasted.  Once you make it this way, you will never want to go back to boiling!

There a few methods for grilling corn; grilling it directly on the grill, wrapping them in foil first and also grilling them inside their cleaned husks.  Grilling the corn directly on the grill produces a wonderful char that adds a lovely, smokey flavor.  But unfortunately can dry the corn out pretty bad making it chewy and tough.  Soaking the ears for at least 30 minutes in a briny water prior to grilling can help in retaining the juices in the corn.

I have never personally tried grilling the ears in their own husks so we are excited to try that method next time.  But we have really fallen in love with the foil one. What you are virtually doing is steaming your corn, producing brightly colored kernels full of juice and sweetness.

It is super simple.  First, clean the ears of corn completely, removing all the silk and husk. Lay out a nice sized piece of foil and place the corn in the center.  Generously rub the corn in softened butter or margarine, sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper, salt and whatever other seasonings you would like.  Last night I made some with garlic salt replacing the sea salt and also a few with a Southwest Seasoning and they were delicious! Tightly roll up the corn in the foil, folding up the ends to seal.  Place on the grill, turning every few minutes to evenly cook.  They should be done in about 15-20 minutes.

Carefully unwrap from the foil, they will be HOT!  We like using these handy corn holders, especially when off the grill because the ears of corn can be so hot to the touch.

Let cool slightly and enjoy!

This is Jackson's most favorite!  Yummy!!

This corn is amazing as leftovers so be sure to make extra!  I love it best for a wonderful Corn, Black Bean and Tomato Salad- which I will be posting the recipe for this weekend, so stay tuned!

How to Choose a Ripe Cantaloupe

Here is another question from my side bar: 

"How do I pick out a good cantaloupe?"

Great question!  It is one of those fruits that is hidden underneath a hard shell.  making it a little difficult to tell ripeness.  But it is actually easier to determine then you would think.  All you need is your nose!  A cantaloupe gives off an unmistakable sweet smell when it is ripe.  Basically it should smell just as you would like it to taste!  Look for the stem end (the part of the cantaloupe that was attached to the stem) and give it a sniff.  This is the spot that will be super sweet smelling when ripe.  There is one problem when using this method though... if the fruit has been refrigerated during storage (like they are many times in a grocery store) they won't smell as strongly.  The sniff method will always work at an outdoor farmer's market, or street-side stand though.

So when at a grocery store, use the following methods in addition to sniffing to help you choose.

Cantaloupe's will also be very heavy for their size when ripe and should give a little bit at the blossom end (the end opposite to the stem).  But the entire cantaloupe should not be soft, that is a sign of it being over ripe.  Another thing you want to look at is the outer skin that is visible underneath the netting.  A ripe cantaloupe will have an orange, rosy glow to it.  If it is still a bit greenish, then it isn't quite ready.

the skin of a ripe cantaloupe

If you happen to buy your cantaloupe slightly unripe, no fear.  Just leave it out on your counter and it will ripen up in a few days.  Happy eating!

Here is a recipe for one of my favorite ways to eat cantaloupe, wrapped in Prosciutto.  Yummm!

Prosciutto Wrapped Cantaloupe
1 ripe cantaloupe (This recipe is also delicious with Honeydew Melon as well)
very thinly sliced Prosciutto 
fresh mint
balsamic vinegar

Cut your melon in half, scoop out the seeds and peel off rind.  Slice your melon into bite-sized chunks.  Wrap a piece of prosciutto around the middle of the cantaloupe and drizzle very lightly with the balsamic vinegar.  Remember, a little goes a long way,  so just a bit is all you need.  garnish with baby mint leaves and serve.  Delicious! 

Kitchen Tip of the Day- Cleaning a Messy Blender

We love smoothies in this house.  Especially since I have become pregnant, I can't get enough of them!  The only thing that stinks about making them is trying to get the blender clean- that blade wont come out and there are those tiny grooves and crevices that stuff just likes to stick to.  Well here is a little tip to get it nice and sparkly in no time flat!  

Strawberry Banana Smoothy

With the blender still plugged in, add one cup of warm water to the mixing container and blend for a few seconds.  Now add a drop or two of dishwashing soap and another cup of warm water and blend.  Let sit for a minute.  Then rinse clean! Voila!  No more sticky mess.

Reader's Question: Tips for Using Wonton Wrappers for Ravioli

I received an email today from one of my readers after making a recipe featured on here.  I felt her questions were so great I wanted to share them.  They are totally something others might run into and  could use the tips.  If any of you have any suggestions for Lindsay, please leave them here in the comments!

 Hi Amie!! Just thought I'd tell you the results of my trying the recipe for Sweet Potato Ravioli with Sage Butter....The filling and sauce was amazing and easy....but using the wonton wrappers turned into a real miss. By the time I figured out how to fold them properly, and they boiled...they stuck together after I brought them out. the taste was great...presentation not so much. any suggestions? I saved the remaining filling and figured I'd use the kitchen aid to make pasta dough and do it that way instead of the wrappers.

Hi Lindsay!
First of all, I am thrilled you are using My Retro Kitchen as a place to find new recipes!  You made my day *grin*.  Thanks!  Alright, now onto your question!  By all means, I feel that homemade pasta dough will always produce the best ravioli's!  So I highly recommend giving that a try sometime.  Have you ever made it before?  I am dying to get the pasta attachment for my Kitchen Aide, myself!!  But I have to say that when time is short, or you just don't want to have that extra step, wonton wrappers are a great short-cut.  They work especially well for delicate fillings.

Folding and sealing the wonton wrappers can be quite tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it things move a lot faster. Just do a few at a time, so they don't dry out in between. If you check out my post for Potstickers, I have step by step pictures of how I did it here. That might help a little bit.  I think the most important thing would be to not be tempted to over fill. They are more inclined to break open this way. You also want to boil them at a gentle boil, not rapid like when you boil spaghetti. I also reccomend using a sautee pan filled with water and boil them in a single layer, rather than using a pasta pot. Put them in the boiling water gently and take them out w/ a pasta strainer. They cook in no time (like 2-3 minutes) so it doesn't take much longer doing them in batches. I then transfer them to a large serving dish and keep them warm in the oven while they all cooked.

Another way to form the ravioli would be to use two sheets, one for the top and one for the bottom. Fill them the same way, seal the edges with water and you can cut them with a cookie cutter or biscuit cutter. They will look more like traditional ravioli's this way. You can try steaming them too, although I have never done it this way. I have heard though, that you absolutely need to steam them in a single layer when prepared this way.

I am glad you liked the flavor and now next time maybe you will have more success with the technical part since you will have done it all before. I love going back and perfecting recipes, trying out new ideas. Let me know what works for you, OK!  Good luck!

Kitchen Tip of the Day- Reheating Pizza

Love leftover pizza, but hate the soggy crust that usually comes along with it once you reheat it in the microwave?  Me too!  So for today I wanted to share one of my favorite little tricks to make left over pizza taste as good the next time around as it did the first....  Reheat it in a frying pan!  Simple enough, right?

Spray a little Pam in your nonstick pan, turn the heat on low (for you don't want your crust to burn before your cheese is melted) and then put a lid on it to keep the steam inside making your cheese nice and gooey.   Check on the bottom of the pizza every now and then so you can adjust your heat if it is getting too dark too quickly.

This method takes a touch longer (usually about 5 minutes to reheat, verses 2) but having a nice crunchy crust on day two makes it oh so worth the extra 3 minutes!  This tip is particularly helpful for thin crust and homemade pizzas that don't hold up in the fridge as well and get soggy faster from the added moisture.