kitchen Archives - Page 5 of 19

March 11, 2023

5 Kitchen Tools Every Student Needs

As a busy student, the idea of meal prep always sounds like a flawless and unattainable aesthetic. Something reserved solely for people who have their sh*t together and spend scads of time prepping beautiful food for themselves. Don’t even get me started on the piles of dishes that meal prepping can produce – no thanks! When choosing between cooking, ordering takeout, or just not eating at all, we all know which option is the best for us. A homecooked meal can be hard to come by for students, but I promise cooking can be a quick, painless, dare I say, an enjoyable experience! With these 5 kitchen tool essentials, there is something for every budget and skill level.

1. Chef Mike (AKA the Microwave)

Okay, I know this one seems obvious, but the microwave is a tool that is seriously slept on. Most people think all a microwave is good for is heating up TV dinners, Mr. Noodles, or dino egg oatmeal, but there are so many possibilities to produce gourmet food in minutes! Chances are you already have one in your dorm or house, so you don’t to spend any extra cash on fancy kitchen supplies. All you need to do is check out these crazy microwave hacks, or just open TikTok to discover how to make amazingly delicious microwave meals.

2. An Air Fryer (it’s not JUST filled with hot air)

If you don’t own an air fryer yet, you surely must be living in caveman ages. Air fryers are like the grown-up version of Easy Bake Ovens – but they actually work! After following Liza Koshy’s air fryer quarantine journey during the pandemic, I too became obsessed with the magical convenience that is the air fryer. Essentially a mini convection oven, you can cook single-serve meals in a fraction of the time it would take to cook inside a regular oven. On the plus side, (other than crazy time savings), there are next to no dirty dishes, and air fryers use up a lot less energy than conventional ovens, making it a much more economic and environmentally friendly option!

3. A *GOOD* Knife

Knives out, b*tches. Never underestimate the power of a good quality knife. Chopping ingredients is SO much easier (and safer!) when you have a sharp knife with an ergonomic handle. These days, you can purchase a good knife (or a knife block, if you really want to level up) at a variety of budgets. I personally swear by Sabatier knives, which you can get at Canadian Tire or Amazon; I’ve even seen them at Dollarama! Once you’ve got yourself a good knife, click here for some hot tips on how to use it!

4. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy Citrus Press

There are many different variations of citrus juicers out there, some much more expensive than others. But let me be the one to tell you which one is the best: this one, right here. A manual citrus press is a kitchen staple for anyone who likes to cook. And before you say it, let me set the record straight: using store-bought citrus juice from a plastic bottle is most certainly not okay 99.99{d2b09b03d44633acb673e8080360919f91e60962656af8ade0305d5d8b7e4889} of the time. Fresh and plastic-free is preferred! Using fresh lemons or limes means no whacky preservatives or bitterness. From topping nachos with a squeeze of lime juice to adding lemon juice to your latest stress baking creation, a citrus press is a great addition to your kitchen toolkit. And don’t forget to roll your citruses before you squeeze them! Rolling them on the counter with your hands loosens up the juices and lets you squeeze out every last drop.

5. Micro-plane grater (It’s really GRATE)

This last one is for those of you who are searching for that special zest for life. One surefire way to add maximum flavor to a dish is by grating a lil’ something extra into it. Whether it’s citrus zest, hard cheeses like parmigiano, fresh garlic, ginger, chocolate, whole spices, nuts, or horseradish, you can grate pretty much anything into a fine dust or paste and add it to a meal or baked good for a fresh kick of flavor. Be sure to get one with a no-slip ergonomic handle!

Whatever your skill level (or motivation level) in the kitchen, there is ALWAYS time for a quick and yummy meal. You are enough, and you have enough time. You deserve to take care of yourself and your basic needs. If you or someone you know is in need (or if you’re able to donate) be sure to check out the Mac Community Fridge on campus for 24/7 accessibility to food items donated by the community. Happy cooking, marauders!

March 7, 2023

How CookUnity Brings The Best Chefs In The World To Your Kitchen Table

The chefs of CookUnity Los Angeles – Cedric Nicolas, Wedchayan “Deau” Arpapornnop, Nelson Brizuela, … [+] Stacey Bareng, Dustin Taylor, & Anne Thorton

CookUnity

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many restaurants across the country encountered a situation that they never imagined. But thanks to the CookUnity, chefs were able to turn to a new platform to get their recipes and food onto kitchen tables across the country. And for many of them, they have found a new source of revenue that allows them to reach more people than they ever thought possible. I sat down with Mateo Marietti, CEO & Founder of CookUnity, to learn more about what inspired him to launch CookUnity, how they attracted chefs to the platform, and why they decided to rebrand recently.

Dave Knox: What is the founding story of CookUnity?

Mateo Marietti: The idea to build CookUnity started not necessarily connected to the mechanics of how we do it today, but the longer term and the bigger vision of building a platform that in our view does not exist today. A platform that does exist in other categories like music or videos, but does not exist for food where all consumers can find the best creators, the best chefs, the makers of the food that we all admire and appreciate and enjoy in a way that has much more accessibility.

Restaurants are an amazing way to do that, but are very restrictive to your neighborhood. And for the creator, for the chef, they can only cook for 100 – 200 people a day. So we’re thinking, “What will it look like a more modern experience where all the chefs have a much more robust infrastructure where they can just focus on what they love to do, which is cooking amazing food, building teams that are proud of that food, and the relationship with their fans?” And that was idea behind CookUnity. Food is one of the most exciting cultural experiences that we have as humans. It’s also very important for nutrition. And because of that, we believe that the future food is highly personalized and very experiential. That was the original inspiration for CookUnity. And it also how we viewed our opportunity to differentiate vs other meal delivery services on the market

Knox: How have the chefs become partners for what you’re doing, and how are you enabling their own entrepreneurial journeys through CookUnity?

Marietti: Our intention is to build a more horizontal model that provides everything chefs desire. Cooking is a unique craftsmanship that requires creativity and artisanal production. However, many chefs do not enjoy or know how to manage other aspects of running a restaurant, such as accounting, permitting, or dealing with construction. Our goal is to create a rich ecosystem that provides everything chefs need to become successful entrepreneurs. For those already on their entrepreneurial journey, we will help accelerate their growth.

We started with one facility in New York City where young chefs have the opportunity to bring their teams and cook their dishes on a larger scale while we provide everything they need. However, in the past year and a half, we have built six additional kitchens around the country. New York chefs are expanding to different cities, and chefs from cities like L.A., Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, and Seattle are expanding to New York and vice versa. Our ecosystem allows any talented and passionate chef to become an entrepreneur and have access to everything they need to succeed.

Knox: How does the process work when a consumer purchases a meal? Is the chef overseeing a team just like in their own restaurant?

Marietti: We want to be true to the spirit of the original insight and the original idea. We want to empower the best chefs. We want to massively increase their access and their scale. So that means that we’ll never attempt to change their preferred process or the way they do things. At the center of that is food, and I will say very adjacent to that, building their teams. These are real businesses; these are real teams. You go to restaurant you love and you go often there, there’s a lot of work and thought and passion behind that. They don’t just hire random cooks, they hire cooks that they love, that they know about cuisine, and they train them. They make a great culture out of that, and that’s very important. So probably a great visualization exercise is imagine a large kitchen divided in smaller kitchens. For example, our New York kitchen is more than 60, 000 square feet and there are 45 chef teams working there. So it’s like they’re all neighbors to each other. Each one of them has their own individual kitchen, but they share resources. We provide ingredients there and we can consolidate all the different recipes. So in New York we have 45 chefs on the platform at the moment. The number is always growing as we onboard more subscribers to the platform. And those 45 chef teams are offering collectively more than 400 different recipes on any given week. So it’s like a giant neighborhood of amazing restaurants but delivered to your door.

Knox: Related to that, you have some really big names in the culinary world on your roster. How’d that happen? Did you approach them? Did they approach you? What was the relationship there?

Marietti: We like to be very realistic with how it happened and honor that because it was a special moment for everyone that was during the pandemic. Imagine CookUnity first quarter, 2020. We were in our second year. We just raised our first round of funding at the end of 2019, so it was pretty significant for us, but still relatively low capital. We had one kitchen in New York, just getting started. And we were approaching some of the best chefs in the city and telling them about this model. They were reacting favorably like, “Oh, that’s very interesting. I thought about that for X, Y, and Z, and it could be good for my brand and exposure and this and that.” But when the pandemic hit, the main effect that we saw in our business wasn’t on the customer side as we were a very small company and we didn’t have a lot of advertising dollars at play back then. But the big impact was on those conversations with some of the best chefs in the city, the chefs that customers love and that we admire, that they went from, “Oh, maybe let’s consider this next year,” to, “I’m ready to try it now.”

And then we had ten of the most renowned chefs in the city join the platform and they did well, and customers love getting their meals delivered, not only to the city but the suburbs, or other cities in the region. Chefs were being more open and they had more time to try new things. And even more importantly, CookUnity resonated with them because most chefs that I met in my career have expressed a version of, “I would love to cook for more people but I don’t know how.” It’s really hard to do that through the restaurant. The restaurant is not designed for that. It’s designed for eating out, from the delightful in-person experience. So that resonated with chefs on top of what is a really meaningful and in some cases unprecedented income source being on CookUnity. We have more than 20{d2b09b03d44633acb673e8080360919f91e60962656af8ade0305d5d8b7e4889} of our chefs in the platform that make more than a $1,000,000 in profit per year today. And restaurants are not always easy. Margins are not always easy to get, and get consistently. So it’s great that they can compliment the restaurants with us.

Knox: That sort of earning potential is amazing in any industry. How does that compare to what a chef would earn on their own?

Marietti: A restaurant that does fairly well feeds around 200 people per day. We have chefs in the platform that are feeding thousands per day and in different regions. So that already is a difference there. Let’s say a restaurant that does well may do $3 – $5 million in revenue per year and margins can be anywhere between slightly negative to 5 – 10{d2b09b03d44633acb673e8080360919f91e60962656af8ade0305d5d8b7e4889}. There’s obviously a different level of complexity. You have front of the house, back of the house, it’s a full business you need to run. We try to help with everything that is not cooking and the relationship with our team. So we help with technology, with logistics, with marketing, with packaging and things like that. The good news is that these things are not exclusive. The use case of the restaurant is a use case that has existed for centuries and most people not only agree that it will exist for more centuries, but we will do our very best to be a friend and an ally of the restaurant industry. I think society needs restaurants. We need a place to stop in the middle of the day to go disconnect, connect, recharge, enjoy. We have many values, but our core brand value is connection. And we think that food is one of the best way to connect people and to connect different parts of our industry and we just want to be an ally. We think that CookUnity and the specific use case of people cooking less at home, that is a problem that CookUnity is trying to solve today. We are more of a replacement for groceries and a perfect complement to running a restaurant.

Knox: And so right now CookUnity is about to go through a rebrand of the business. What inspired that change, and what are you hoping to accomplish coming out of that?

Marietti: The rebranding process started as an internal exercise for CookUnity. Over the last two years, we have experienced significant growth, expanding our team from 40-50 members to over 200, and increasing our chef partners from 20-something to 100-plus. As a result, there were many key people within our internal ecosystem who understood what CookUnity was about but may not have had the opportunity to engage with the founding members and participate in conversations and dinners together. Scaling and expanding to different geographies made it difficult to replicate the same playbook for building culture and onboarding chefs as we did in the beginning.

Therefore, the rebranding process began as a way to fully express our vision and uniqueness in all touchpoints and relationships. We did an end-to-end redesign and review of all touchpoints to ensure we were communicating our vision, mission, purpose, positioning, brand, and values effectively. While our foundational definitions remained the same, we made minor adjustments to how we express and communicate them to internal stakeholders and the world outside.

Our goal is to tell our story to millions of people, especially busy individuals who are competing for attention. We want to resonate with them, touch their nerves, and deliver an interesting, crisp message. Our dream is to become the primary or one of the main platforms for food. We are now finalizing this exercise, ensuring that we tell our story in a way that reflects our vision and resonates with our audience.

Knox: So beyond the rebrand, what else do you have in store for 2023?

Marietti: In 2021 and part of 2022, our focus was on expanding geographically. We went from serving the Northeast to nationwide coverage, which allowed existing chefs to expand their reach and new chefs to join our platform. This expansion also allowed customers who move to continue being part of the CookUnity family and enabled new customers to join us and explore our food solutions. Our subscription model has been working well, and we will continue to expand to other cities in the US and abroad. However, our main priority for the next year is to start expanding into new types of sellers and food products.

Currently, we’ve been working on building CookUnity 1.0, which is a meal subscription service of proper meals. We offer hundreds of options with a growing assortment, providing high-quality meals at a reasonable price. Our meals are restaurant quality, but delivered to your doorstep, prepared by real chefs. By choosing CookUnity, you’ll be supporting these creators that you admire. We plan to start launching other types of food products, including sauces, family-sized portions, breakfast, desserts, and cooking classes, and all sorts of physical and digital culinary experiences. We will use the same kitchen infrastructure and technology that we have already built to expand our offerings. Our goal is to provide our customers with a diverse range of food products and experiences that cater to their unique tastes and preferences.

March 6, 2023

Best Meat Thermometers: Top 5 Kitchen Tools Recommended By Experts

Have you ever pulled out your chicken from the oven and wondered if it’s fully cooked? Perhaps you’ve taken a knife to cut into the meat to see if it’s still pink inside. But is that really the best method to check? According to the USDA, “using a food thermometer is the only reliable way to ensure safety and to determine desired ‘doneness’ of meat, poultry, and egg products. To be safe, these foods must be cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature to destroy any harmful microorganisms that may be in the food.” The best meat thermometers will easily tell you the internal temperature of your dish so you can be sure your food is safe before serving.

Using a meat thermometer is not just a way to ensure that your food is thoroughly cooked, but a great way to avoid contracting any foodborne illnesses. The CDC reports, “every year, an estimated 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from foodborne diseases.” The number one cause of food poisoning is food that has been contaminated by such bacteria as salmonella or E.coli. Cooking your food to a proper internal temperature will also kill any foodborne pathogens. A meat thermometer can also prevent overcooking, ensuring you get the best flavor from your dish.

Cinch Home Services conducted a poll with over 1,000 people where researchers looked at the ways the COVID-19 pandemic had changed the cooking habits of adults of all age groups within the past year. they found that most millenials are not up to speed on their overall cooking knowledge. The survey finds over 60 percent of all respondents failed a quiz testing their knowledge about all sorts of kitchen dos and don’ts. This quiz included asking adults about the correct temperature for cooking meat, the proper way to handle meat, basic cleaning rules, and general safety knowledge. Regardless of age, 70 percent of the poll did not know what temperature they should cook fresh beef to. Over half of Americans admit they’ve thawed frozen meat in an unsafe way.

Whether you’re a beginner cook, or someone who knows your way around the kitchen, everyone can benefit from having a meat thermometer in their arsenal of kitchen tools. If you aren’t sure which one to purchase, StudyFinds does the research for you as usual. Our list is made up of the top recommendations across 10 expert sources. If you have a staple of your own, let us know which meat thermometer is your favorite in the comments below!

Cooking rack of lamb in oven and checking temperature with meat thermometer — (© Alexey Stiop – stock.adobe.com)

The List: Best Meat Thermometers, According to Experts

1. ThermoWorks Thermapen One

The Thermapen One is the updated version of ThemoWorks’ original Classic Thermapen, and has been rated the best overall meat thermometer by many food experts. “Also handmade in England, it gives accurate readings in just one second — faster than any other meat thermometer we’ve worked with,” says Food Network.

This meat thermometer is also Good Housekeeping’s overall top performer, as well as being the winner of their Kitchen Gear Awards. Good Housekeeping states, “It activates the moment you unfold it, and the tapered probe easily pierces thin and thick meats to deliver accurate results in one second.” Another great feature of this thermometer is that it is water resistant, allowing you to fully submerge and wash the device.

2. ThermoWorks ThermoPop

“While the Thermapen may be unparalleled in its features and accuracy, it comes at a premium price. For those learning to cook or just looking for something a little more simple or inexpensive, the ThermoWorks ThermoPop has everything you need to get started, and it’s about a third of the price of the Thermapen,” reports Insider. The ThermoPop is simple and easy to use, making it a great option for beginner cooks. Plus, you really can’t beat the current discounted price of $15.99 (from $21.99) on ThermoWorks’ site.

Food & Wine shares the same notion, declaring the Thermopop meat thermometer to be best value overall: “At a highly affordable price, the Thermopop is also a frequent favorite for chefs and home cooks.”

Another thing that makes the ThermoPop “pop” out from the rest is the variety of colors you can choose from, including fun colors such as yellow, orange, and pink. Some additional pros of this thermometer include high accuracy and easy readability. “Accurate, fast, easy-to-read numbers, has a backlight, has a rotating display, can show temperatures in Celsius and Fahrenheit, comfortable for both lefties and righties to use, comes in nine color options,” states Insider.

3. Kizen Instant Read Digital Meat Thermometer

For another budget friendly thermometer, Kizen proves to be a worthy contender, priced at $19.99 on Amazon. “For such a low price, the Kizen performed surprisingly well. It registered temperature in less than four seconds,” says CNN. Some other features that earn this thermometer extra brownie points are having a manual light option, being easy to calibrate, and having a meat doneness chart directly on the face of the thermometer.

Reaching into a hot oven can be a bit daunting. This is where the Kizen shines, with its long probe length. Tech Gear Lab reports, “it does feature one of the longest probes in our review, enabling convenient temperature checks that keep your hands away from the heat.” Also, “this model features a large, easily readable LCD screen, magnetic backing, and a high waterproof rating (IP67).” So with the long probe and a large, bright LCD screen, you can keep a comfortable distance from the heat and ensure your safety.

Kizen digital meat thermometer with probe — Kizen Digital meat thermometer with Probe

4. Yummly Smart Thermometer

Consumer Reports declares this meat thermometer to be the best for novice cooks. “The Yummy smart thermometer splits the difference between the more hard-wired ThermoPro and the more advanced Meater and Meat Stick options. Of the four, the app offers the best user experience, in large part because of its simplicity.” The Yummly also includes a feature that reminds the user to flip their food midway through cooking as well as an alert of when the food is done.

As a beginner cook, you may also be looking for recipes to cook and experiment with. “For a subscription fee gives you access to curated galleries of recipes matching your tastes and dietary requirements, you can also use it with any of your own recipes. Just fire up the gorgeously designed Android or iOS app, which is awash in sumptuous photos and sleek temperature graphics, follow the on-screen instructions, and wait until you receive the alarm and alert that your food is done,” suggests Tom’s Guide.

Some other features that give this meat thermometer extra points are its sleek design, ability to charge quickly and great battery life. Plus, it can simultaneously measure both the internal and ambient temperatures of your dish. “The Yummly Smart Thermometer is one of the first thermometer probes that felt like a departure from traditional thermometer designs,” reports Smoked Meat Sunday.

5. Lavatools Javelin PRO Duo

Thermo Meats writes, “Out of all the thermometers we’ve tested, the only one that meets our criteria of ease of use, accuracy, durability, AND at a reasonable price is the Lavatools Javelin Pro Duo.”

For those who have difficulty reading a small LCD screen, you may prefer the Lavatools Javelin PRO Duo.“It has a large screen and sharp digits and a great automatic backlight,” describes Serious Eats. The thermometer’s probe can also help visibility, along with its ability to beep, which happens when it settles on a temperature. “Its folding probe lets you take readings from odd angles,” states New York Times.

This thermometer also comes with a built-in magnet, which you can easily stick onto your fridge or stove, keeping it handy at all times. So at about half the price of the ThermoWorks Thermapen One, The Lavatools Javelin is worth the consideration.

Lavatools Javelin PRO Digital Instant Read Meat Thermometer

Sources:

Note: This article was not paid for nor sponsored. StudyFinds is not connected to nor partnered with any of the brands mentioned and receives no compensation for its recommendations. The prices above reflect the retailers’ listed price at the time of publication.

March 5, 2023

Cook like Lidia Bastianich with her most-used kitchen tools

For decades, home cooks around the world have turned to Lidia Bastianich for encouragement in the kitchen. Be it from her various television shows, myriad cookbook titles, or her empire of restaurants, the Italian-American icon is beloved for her inspiration and authentic invitation to get cooking.

On every episode of her show “Lidia’s Kitchen,” Bastianich closes with her famed tagline, “Tutti a tavola a mangiare” — “everyone to the table to eat” — and for the first time, Bastianich welcomed “Good Morning America” to her table.

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Bastianich gave “GMA” a behind-the-scenes glimpse into her culinary process, shared two recipes with a shortcut you need to see and taste to believe, showed her new cookware line in action, and divulged her top tips and tools to cook like her at home.

“I want you to feel comfortable and cook well in the kitchen,” Bastianich told “GMA” of her intention with her first-ever cookware line, which includes Dutch ovens, cast iron skillets, ceramic bakeware and more. “It’s cast iron quality but much lighter — enamel outside, nonstick inside — you can roast, you can poach, you can make soup and pasta, all in the Dutch oven.”

PHOTO: Lidia Bastianich shows how to make her skillet lasagna and stuffed shells in her kitchen using her new line of cookware. — Lidia Bastianich shows how to make her skillet lasagna and stuffed shells in her kitchen using her new line of cookware.

ABC News

By clicking on these shopping links, visitors will leave Goodmorningamerica.com. These e-commerce sites are operated under different terms and privacy policies than Goodmorningamerica.com. ABC will receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Shop the entire Lidia’s Kitchen Cookware collection on HSN’s website here.

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Top tips you need to cook like Lidia Bastianich

“Get in the kitchen with confidence — think, ‘Lidia is on my shoulder’ — I’m there with you, just get in the kitchen and start cooking,” she said.

Add life to a dish with fresh herbs

“As an Italian, I can’t stress enough on how to bring a spirit and soul to your dishes: Use fresh herbs,” she said. “Whether it’s rosemary, whether it’s basil, whether it’s sage or thyme, whatever you have — just don’t put them all together because then it becomes a mix of flavors — but choose one fresh herb [and] add it to your dishes. In most cases, it will really elevate the dish.”

The power of olive oil

PHOTO: Lidia Bastianich drizzles olive oil over a broccoli and bean salad. — Lidia Bastianich drizzles olive oil over a broccoli and bean salad.

ABC News

“I always do a drizzle of olive oil at the end when I’m finished with my dish because then you really taste the olive oil in its purity. Because once you cook it, the olive oil changes a little bit, it loses a little bit of flavor. So, a drizzle of the fresh olive oil on top. It’s always a Lidia deal,” she said.

However, Bastianich also made the case for omitting olive oil when necessary. “Don’t put olive oil in when you’re cooking pasta and you’re boiling that water,” she stressed. “The oil coats the pasta and then the sauce slides off. You want the pasta that sort of kisses with the sauce, and all together is delicious. Always salt the water, no oil.”

Glossy and saucy pasta 101

“Once you cooked your pasta and have your sauce — maybe it’s not enough sauce, maybe somebody is late or the pasta is congealing, sort of — save a little bit of that pasta water, nice hot pasta water, add it to your pasta and you extend that sauce,” she said, adding that the pasta water also creates a more glossy and viscous consistency that will cling to the noodles better thanks to the starches.

Lidia Bastianich’s must-have kitchen tools

“Being a good chef is of course a lot of practice, but it’s also an art that needs its tools,” Bastianich explained.

She listed a handful of her essentials, which include “a nice pan like a cast iron skillet; a Dutch oven is always great for roasts and braising, you can even do pastas in there; a nice wooden spoon; I always like a good solid wood cutting board so I have space to cut everything; a rubber spatula if you’re doing desserts; and a ladle if you’re doing a lot of soups.”

Another tool Bastianich said she reaches for often is one commonly used across Asian cultures, “the spider,” which has “a long wide [wooden] handle with the chicken wire at the end. I love it, it’s a must in my kitchen — I fish out vegetables with it, I fish out the pasta with it. So make sure you have that.”

“You can build from there,” she added, “but get the essentials and get a sharp knife — If I don’t have a sharp knife, it is a problem. It’s difficult and you never get the right cut.”

Cast Iron Skillet No-Boil Noodle Lasagna

PHOTO: Lidia Bastianich's cast iron skillet lasagna made with her new cookware line. — Lidia Bastianich’s cast iron skillet lasagna made with her new cookware line.

ABC News

“I’m going to make two pasta dishes with no-boil pasta. You might say, ‘Lidia no … you’re not cooking the pasta or boiling it?’ No, I’m not,'” Bastianich said, sharing the first of two dishes with “GMA.” “But we’re going to compensate for that and ultimately, we are going to let them cook on their own terms.”

She noted that the marinara sauce with added water, as well as the moist filling, will help get the pasta to its perfect consistency to create an easier version of two Italian classics, lasagna and stuffed shells.

“You can add additional vegetables to this if you like,” she added. “Try browning some mushrooms — or, for heartier appetites, a few crumbled links of Italian sausages — in the olive oil before adding the sauce, or add a few handfuls of baby spinach to each layer.”

Active time: 20 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients

Extra-virgin olive oil, for coating the skillet

3 cups marinara sauce (homemade or store-bought)

1 cup fresh ricotta

1 cup low-moisture mozzarella, shredded

1/2 cup Grana Padano, freshly grated

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 cup frozen peas

2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Kosher salt

Peperoncino flakes (dried red chili flakes)

12 sheets no-boil lasagna noodles

Directions

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add enough olive oil to make a thin film on the bottom of the skillet. Add 1 3/4 cups of the marinara with 1/4 cup water and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

In a bowl, combine the ricotta, 1/2 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup grated Grana Padano, the egg, peas, and parsley. Season with salt and a pinch of peperoncino, and mix well.

Layer three of the noodles in the skillet over the sauce. Dollop a third of the ricotta mixture on top of the pasta in the skillet, and spread it out to cover the noodles; then drizzle with 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce. Make two more layers, ending with noodles. Drizzle with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of tomato sauce. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup grated cheese. Cover the skillet, and simmer until the pasta is al dente (test by piercing the center with a paring knife), about 20 to 25 minutes.

Preheat the broiler. Broil the lasagna just until the top is nicely browned, about 1 minute. Let it sit for 15 minutes before cutting and serving so the lasagna will settle and cut into portions more easily.

No Boil Stuffed Shells

PHOTO: Lidia Bastianich's baked stuffed shells. — Lidia Bastianich’s baked stuffed shells.

ABC News

“The stuffing is rather simple … just a little scallions, ricotta, a little [Grana Padano] cheese, and it’s as simple as that,” Bastianich said of the filling for these shells.

For this recipe, Bastianich used her new Lidia’s Kitchen 9 x 13-inch ceramic baker with serving tray lid.

Ingredients

1 pound fresh ricotta

1 cup low-moisture mozzarella, shredded

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 cup Grana Padano, freshly grated

4 scallions, green parts included, chopped

1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 cups marinara sauce (homemade or store-bought)

12 ounces jumbo pasta shells

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 F. In a bowl, combine the ricotta, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, the egg, 1/4 cup of the Grana Padano, the scallions, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Spread about 1 cup of the marinara in the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Fill the shells with the ricotta mixture (see headnote for instructions). Arrange in the baking dish. Stir together the remaining sauce and 1 1/2 cups water. Spoon this over the shells. Cover with foil, and bake for 1 hour. Remove, and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, until it’s browned and bubbly, about 15 minutes more, and serve.

Recipes reprinted with permission from “A Pot, A Pan and a Bowl” by Lidia Bastianich.

March 4, 2023

This Genius Kitchen Tool Makes It Easy To Cook 2 Recipes At Once With Your Slow Cooker

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A family-friendly solution to your cooking woes.

All home cooks know that precious counter space is reserved for those go-to appliances that make cooking and meal prep more efficient, like your beloved slow cooker. From one-pot meals to savory roasts, the nifty device can handle just about anything thrown its way. However, it’s not always the most convenient device. Slow cookers typically limit you to cooking one full, large-portioned meal at a time—that is, until now.

Thanks to the clever CrockPockets Slow Cooker Silicone Dividers, you can simultaneously prepare smaller and multiple portions of your favorite family-friendly recipes and maximize your appliance’s functionality. The nonstick, dishwasher-safe inserts are designed to fit 6-quart oval-shaped slow cookers, but can also work in larger units thanks to their flexibility. They are crafted from reusable, BPA-free, and nontoxic silicone that slides right into your CrockPot.

BUY IT: $39.95; amazon.com

To use, you’ll place the CrockPockets inside the ceramic dish of your slow cooker. Then you’ll put your ingredients into the individual inserts and follow your cooking guidelines accordingly. If one side cooks faster than the other, you can simply remove the pocket while the other continues cooking. Once you’re done, toss them in the top or bottom rack of your dishwasher, and they’ll be ready to use for your next meal.

Amazon shoppers have already hailed CrockPockets as “meal prep stars.” One customer raved that it was the perfect solution for picky eaters in their family. “We used to throw out so much. Now I can make diverse meals, with similar ingredients in one sitting, and everyone is happy.” They even added, “and my favorite part: No scrubbing!”

A second five-star reviewer was amazed by the high-quality construction. “The product is very sturdy and so much better than those flimsy disposable liners that always end up spilling and making a big mess. It holds 2 pounds of pecans by itself without falling over or collapsing.”

Easily transform your trusty slow cooker into a multifunctional appliance with the CrockPockets Silicone Dividers. Snag them at Amazon for $40.

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March 3, 2023

25 of the Best Kitchen Tools to Compliment Your Cooking in 2023

Photo: Slippat
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Takeout is great, but cooking helps to feed our souls. After all, what’s better than a home-cooked meal? While first-rate tools won’t instantly make you a better cook, having the right items will help you do some techniques easily and even encourage you to get in the kitchen and try that new recipe. (Plus, it never hurts to have nice things.)

The good news is that you don’t have to break the bank to get some great kitchen tools. There are durable, well-designed items out there that are reasonably priced and will offer you valuable assistance in your soups, brownies, and other goodies you create. Some brands, like OTOTO, pair quirkiness with great design to provide you with fun and function—the best of both worlds.

Here, we’ll look at multiple categories of kitchen accessories, from utensils to pans and eco-friendly ways to store your leftovers.

Are you looking to upgrade the things in your kitchen? Here are the best kitchen tools to help you make mouthwatering meals and tasty treats.

Kitchen Utensils

If you’re in the kitchen often, you’re likely reaching for a bevy of utensils. These often-unsung heroes stir, sauté, and add that perfect touch of zest. When buying a utensil, consider how many uses it may have. A silicone spatula, for instance, can stir sauces and flip omelets, while a microplane can zest and be a stand-in for a cheese grater. Getting more than one use out of a tool will help you avoid clutter and help keep your kitchen tidy, which is the cardinal rule of cooking—a clean workspace.

Silicone Spatula

GIR | $12.95

Utensil Rest / Lid Holder

IYOOH | $10.95

Pans and Trays

Buy good quality pans and trays—and treat them well—and they will last a long time. You might have the standard 9″ x 13″ dish or a sheet tray, but consider how other items can enhance what you like to make. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, check out the all-edges brownie pan. It is ingeniously engineered to only bake the crispy edge of a brownie, which is always the first to go.

3-Inch-Tall Cake Pan

Wilton | $11.99

All Edges Brownie Pan

Baker’s Edge | $54.99

Silicone Muffin Pan

Caketime | $8.59

Handheld Sandwich Grill and Panini Press

Toas-Tite | $34.95

Single-Job Kitchen Tools

Although it’s good practice to buy things that can be used in multiple ways, there are some things that have one job to do and do it well. Often, they will make your life easier by making the things you do all the time in cooking—such as stripping herbs—a more efficient process. To avoid filling your kitchen with things you only use occasionally, consider what tasks you perform on a regular basis and get things to support that.

Boiled Egg Peeler

NEGG | $14.99

Egg Timer

NobleEgg | $7.99

Herb Stripper

Chef’n | $14.99

Emulstir Salad Dressing Mixer

Chef’n | $18.99

Strawberry Huller

Chef’n | $8.99

Meat Tenderizer

Chef Master | $28.50

Mandoline Slicer

OXO | $74.26

Large Salad Spinner

OXO | $29.95

Digital Meat Thermometer

ThermoPro | $13.59

Grizzly Hot Pot Trivet

OTOTO | $16

Non-Stick Silicone Baking Mat

Slippat | $24.99

Eco-Friendly Storage and Composting

Plastic zipper bags and cling wrap are convenient, but they are disposable and not great for the environment. Luckily, there are plenty of eco-friendly alternatives that will help keep your fruit fresh and your salad crispy. In place of cling wrap, for example, get a set of beeswax wraps. These versatile seals can cover open containers or be used to wrap an avocado you want to keep green.

Stackable Lunch Container

Bentgo | $16.99

Food Saver Set

Food Huggers | $16.99

Reusable Storage Bag (set of 4)

Stasher | $54.99

Bee’s Wrap (3 Pack)

Bee’s Wrap | $16.14

Kitchen Compost

Bamboozle | $39.99

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