Idea for a new Cooking TV show

An awesome idea for a new TV show, since I currently don't own a TV ..

Ok, I'll never get around to making this TV show, so I'm putting it out for the first blog-reading network executive to steal. Go nuts with it, just don't mess it up! Stupid network executives.

Anyway... here's the premise: A cooking show -- an actual cooking show -- that is also a sitcom.

Here's how it would work: every episode, a cooking show would take place. The theme I thought of is awesome meals that you can prepare for less than $10 per person served. Hosted by some young attractive person. Over the course of the show, viewers will actually get enough info to prepare an awesome meal for under $10/person. BUT, the show is not really live, it's all staged. A sitcom is based around the cooking show, and the behind-the-scenes shenanigans and awkward situations that the cast and crew get into. Kind of like the muppet show, in that it presents the performance, but also presents a plot based around the staging of the performance.

Anyway, there it is. It's a freebie, I got a million of 'em.

How to Bake: Muffins (with recipes)

Muffins are a mainstay around our house. They are as nourishing as they are good to eat. They are quicker and easier to make than cookies and usually contain much less sugar and fat. We usually eat them for breakfast but like them with any meal. (For Easter, we served cranberry nut muffins with a ham dinner.) They work well for snacks and desserts as well. Extras can be frozen and heated in the microwave for hot muffins anytime.

Today we will make muffins using the “muffin method”. (Just as there are two major makeup methods for quick breads, there are two methods for muffins—the muffin method and the creaming method.) In the muffin method, the liquids and the dry ingredients are mixed separately and then stirred together until just combined. We will include tips and instructions to make the perfect muffin and some streusel and topping recipes to crown your creations with.

To make muffins using the muffin method, choose a favorite muffin recipe that does not call for the creaming of sugar into the fat. (Look for a recipe that calls for oil or melted butter.)

In preparation, grease the muffin tins. We like the spray oils from an aerosol can to reach the corners of the tins. Be sure to cover the top edges where the muffins will flow when baking. (You can use paper liners but since the batter adheres slightly to the paper, you will have slightly less volume to the muffins.)

Set the oven to preheat. Temperature is one of the secrets to those nicely domed muffins that you find in the better bake shops. Commercial ovens use precise heat settings and timers. In the kitchen, we can approximate those results by:


• Making sure that the oven is completely heated before baking. We like to let the oven sit at full temperature for at least ten minutes before baking so that the heat is well-absorbed into the structure of the oven.

• Closing the door as quickly as possible to keep the heat trapped.

• Setting the temperature at a higher initial setting and lowering the temperature later. The higher heat creates a burst of steam that lifts the batter.

• Placing the muffins in the upper third of the oven where it tends to be hotter and more constant.


Always measure flour precisely using a scale if you have one. Muffin recipes are sensitive to the ratio of flour to liquid. Too much flour and the muffin will not rise properly and will be dry. Too little flour and the muffin will flow over the edges of the muffin cup rather than dome nicely. If you need to fine tune your favorite recipe, change the flour by a tablespoon or two.

To make cake-like muffins, use a lower protein flour—cake or pastry flour. Higher protein all purpose or bread flours will make a muffin that is chewier and more bread-like.

Back to the mixing:

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl to make sure that the baking powder and other ingredients are well combined. Set aside.

Whisk the egg in a separate bowl with a French whip or fork. Add the other liquids and whisk again. (Some recipes will instruct you to stir the sugar and salt into the liquids, rather than add them to the dry ingredients, to make sure that they dissolve completely and are evenly dispersed. We prefer to do this with all muffin recipes that are not creamed.)

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the liquid all at once. Stir with a spatula until mixed well and moistened—some lumps will remain. Do not over stir—stirring too much will develop the gluten in the flour and the muffin will not be tender and crumbly. To avoid over stirring, we prefer a spatula to an electric mixer.

If you are using fruit in your muffins, fold them in gently at the end of your mixing with a minimum number of folds. Fruit crushes easily in the thick batter and the juice will stain the batter.

Fill the muffin tins with a large spoon or ice cream scoop. Make sure that the muffin tins are evenly filled so that they bake evenly. Most recipes direct that the muffin tins be filled 2/3's full to allow room for expansion. If your batter is at the right consistency, you can fill the tins for a nice dome on the muffins.

Bake the muffins until they are a light golden brown. The muffin top should spring back when gently pressed with the finger and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Over-baked muffins will be dry and tough. Under baked muffins may be moist and heavy.

It is easy to tear apart hot muffins trying to lift them from the tins. Instead, let the muffins sit for a few minutes and you should be able to easily lift them out intact. Place them on wire racks to continue cooling.

Muffins are best served hot and do not keep well beyond the first day. Freeze any extras.

Now for those streusel recipes that we promised:

Brown Sugar and Nut Streusel Topping

1/2 cup walnut pieces

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon cold butter

1. Chop the walnuts into small pieces.
2. Stir the walnuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon together.
3. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry knife or two table knives.
4. Spoon the streusel mixture over the muffin batter evenly before baking.

Cinnamon-Sugar Topping

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon good quality cinnamon

6 tablespoons butter, melted

Mix the cinnamon and sugar together in a bowl. When you remove the muffins from the tins, dip the still hot muffins in the butter and then roll the tops in the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Dennis Weaver is the general manager at The Prepared Pantry with recipes, ideas, and the best selection of mixes and ingredients. Visit the free Bakers' Library for more articles like this, free baking guides, and tested recipes.

Foods That Freeze Well

"Can I freeze it?" is a question often asked in our homes, and for good reason. Probably most of us, at some point or another, have attempted to freeze a particular food only to find out that it did not freeze well and either spoiled or became inedible. Here are some foods that are "freezer-friendly"...

• Cooked poultry in casseroles

• Most vegetables in recipes containing a sauce

• Baked meat loaf

• Cooked dried beans, cooked rice or pasta

• Vegetables freeze better than meat, seafood, or fruit.

But some, such as peas and spinach, freeze better than broccoli or cauliflower. (Cauliflower becomes watery when frozen.)

As long as your foods are properly prepared and stored prior to the freezer, and you select foods that are amenable to freezing, you should have no problems. This simple tip can easily save you time and money for just a few minutes of preparation. Enjoy!

The author owns her own website and is a member of a number of organizations for women Netpreneurs and business owners and lives in Las Vegas, Nevada USA with her two dogs. You can contact Michele at news@ebooksnstuff.com or visit her website at: www.ebooksnstuff.com

To Fry Or Not To Fry?

Here's a little known factoid - did you know that KFC changed its image by retiring the slogan Kentucky FRIED Chicken. Instead, they became known as serving up Kitchen Fresh Chicken. Long are the days of Wesson Oil commercials that proudly encouraged yummy fried chicken for dinner. When was the last time you saw a splatter screen? How about a Fry Daddy? It must be a pretty big sin to eat fried foods these days. Or is it?

Look at the menu at Long John Silvers; nothing but fried foods. Look at any menu for that matter, deep fried beer battered shrimp, fried clams, french fries, fried potatoes, fried eggs. Outback restaurant has the Blooming Onion, that puppy is soaked in oil. Fried Fried Fried.

So perhaps no one is trying to say that fried foods are good for you, but nations sure are indulging in the grease laden foods, especially Americans. Perhaps this isn’t a good time to bring up the Obesity statistics. But here’s the kicker, "It tastes so good!" Granted, some fried foods are just too greasy, but a majority of them just taste delicious. That’s why loads of indulgers treat themselves to a so many artery-closing delicacies!

First there were the french fries, now there are deep fried dill pickles and deep fried Oreos? How did THAT leap happen? Don’t forget deep fried ice cream and deep fried peaches. Of course what menu isn’t complete without the deep fried mushrooms, deep friend cheese sticks, and deep friend cauliflower? Perhaps if you deep fry vegetables, it’s a little healthier? Is that how it works? Or if you deep fry already fattening nibbles, such as ice cream and Oreos, then it doesn’t really matter because you’re already cheating?

Nevertheless it continues. There’s deep fried strawberries, Snickers, potato salad, zucchini, tofu, cheesecake, rice balls, bananas, corn, shrimp, and even deep fried turkey. Product flyers claim the winged bird is "so much juicier when cooked in a deep fryer!" So we got rid of the little table top Fry Daddy and went for the floor model turkey fryer. Umm, ok.

Then there’s the big decision about what kind of oil to use? Olive, peanut, vegetable, canola, lard, butter, margarine or Valvoline 10-40? Certainly don’t forget to check out your saturated fats against your polyunsaturated fats versus the monounsaturated fats.

Maybe you should say fats. Did we ever decide if fried was a bad word? Perchance the better word is Sautéed. Indeed. Sautéed Oreos - much healthier!

Eileen Church is the webmaster for www.finechickens.com, a wonderful resource on the subject of all things chicken. Be sure to visit http://www.finechickens.com for more information on chicken!