15 Kitchen Hacks, 2

Hey Amanda,

Here you go, the remaining 14 kitchen tips leftover by Part 1.

Random Tricks

2. Don't bother with any of those Don't-Cry While Cutting Onions tricks--they don't work

I guess this is kind of an anti-hack, but it will save you time. And it will prevent you from looking stupid. If you cry like a teenager at the end of The Fault in Our Stars everytime you cut onion--Don't bother with the candle, turning on a burner, chewing gum, or holding a toothpick in your teeth like a complete moron.

The only thing that actually works is contact lenses. 

But if you're quick with a knife it sucks so much less to mince up an onion, so work fast. Here's the tutorial I watched to gain my mad knife skills (haha, I don't have mad knife skills, but legitimately I am much, much better than I used to be). 

3.Cooking in cast iron increases the the amount of nutritional iron in your diet

...crazy. But true 

4. Cook with acidity

Add a squirt of lemon juice or vinegar to your dishes.. It will make your cooking taste a whole 'nother level of complex and delicious

....also  cook with MSG. It's the original umami bomb. It's not going to kill you, and it's not illegal.  (You can find it in the Hispanic section of your local grocery store in a little red box. Look for the brand Sazon Goya---it comes in a saffron flavor. Ritzy.) Yep, not winning any Crunchy Mama recipe contests any time soon. 

Knives

5. If you're a normal home cook, you only need 3 knives

A long, serrated bread knife

A chef's knife

A paring knife

That is unless you want to get into artisanal pork butchering or something  

6. Strop Your knives like an Old School Barber

Strop your knives  on a cheap leather belt every time you use them, and they will be wicked sharp every, single time. 

7. Sharpen once a year

You can get oilstones online, or you can take your knives to your local sewing shop to be sharpened by the knife/scissor guy that comes twice a month. In any case, a sinisterly sharp knife is a safe knife. 

Perfect Deviled Eggs

8. Set eggs out overnight for perfect peeling

Eggs age nearly hundred times faster at room temperature than in fridge temperature. And "old" eggs have a looser membrane attached to the shell. This means the shell comes off without creating nasty craters in your egg whites.

Just put your eggs on the counter overnight before you cook them. Don't worry, from a food safety perspective, this is completely fine, just make sure there's no cracks in your shells. 

9. No nasty green-grey yolks: Boil. Turn off heat. Set timer. 

Put eggs in pot and cover with cold water, bring pot to a rolling boil. Turn off heat. Put on lid. Set timer for 12 minutes (electric stove) or 17 minutes (gas stove). Drain water and fill again with cold water. Bam. Perfectly set, buttercup yellow yolks, every time. 

10. Add adobo sauce to your yolk mixture

That lovely goodness they seal in with canned chipotle peppers is the secret to the tastiest devilled eggs you've ever eaten. Also, softened butter instead of mayonaise...

Brownies!!!

11. You're Oven is lying to You

No joke, I set my oven to 425 to get it to read 350 on my oven thermometer. Ifyour oven is more than 7 years old your oven is likely just as bad as mine---buy an oven thermometer!

12.Never put vegetable oil in your brownies again. 

Cut fat in recipe/box directions by 1/3 and replace with melted butter.....so dreamy. 

13. Oh and Don't use Pam

Grease pans with a butter wrapper. Save them in a ziploc baggie in the fridge. It's free! Basically every time I do this I feel like my depression era foremothers are smiling at me from Beyond. 

14. Use Medium Eggs for fudgey brownies

When recipe calls for two eggs, they really meant to write one medium egg and an egg yolk. Mmm delicious. Because who likes cakey brownies anyway? (don't answer that, I don't want to put you on my list of possible cyborgs)

15. Actually just buy medium eggs every time

You will always, always, always (almost) pay less per ounce of egg by buying a dozen medium eggs versus large ones. Then you'll always be ready to make brownies.

Plus, lets have some mercy on the poor hens. ;)

-Steph