The Prefect Meatball

The Prefect Meatball

A good meatball is something every man should know how to make. There is a reason they’re popular. Meatballs are a people-pleaser. Meatballs are one of my favorite things when I was a kid. I think people lean more towards things—especially in their older age—that remind them of their childhood, the things that are most comforting to them.”


Pork meatballs

Ingredients5 pounds pork shoulder (or ground pork)
3 eggs
½ pound pancetta
½ bunch parsley
Salt
2 cups bread crumbs
1 tablespoon fennel seed
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon chili flakes
½ cup ricotta

MethodMix well and roll onto 2.5 ounce balls
Roast at 450 for 5 minutes

Tips for Making Meatballs

Fat is goodFor beef meatballs, buy a fattier ground beef, preferably ground that day.

Use fresh bread crumbs
Do not buy dry bread crumbs. Take the old bread you have at home, leave it out for a day and put it in food processor for a few seconds. The more rustic and coarse, the better.

Don’t use the whole egg
Just use the yolk

Let meatballs cook throughCook them to medium at a high temperature, then pull them out of the oven. They will continue to cook with the heat trapped inside the ball.

In sauce
Brown them in the oven, then put them in the sauce. Pour any meat juices on the tray into the sauce as well. Fat is flavor. Cook slow and low.

Which Bacon is Healthier

So have you ever wonders whats better for you 'real' bacon or turkey bacon, well Prevention.com has the answer with this handy dandy Health Food Face-Off

How to Fold Towels

How to Fold a towel

It may seem like a small detail, but the way you display your towels can have a significant impact on the appearance of a bathroom or linen closet. To store your towels so that they're accessible, tidy, and aesthetically pleasing:

• Use a flat surface to lay the towel out lengthwise.
• Fold the towel in thirds lengthwise. Make sure to keep the edges as even as possible.
• Fold the towel in half lengthwise.
• Fold the towel in half again.

Once they are folded, simply stack them in neat piles on a countertop or stored away in a linen close

Make Towels smell like the day you bought them

Have you ever noticed that after a while your towels start to have the 'Not so fresh smell'? if so this is caused by the build up of softeners & laundry soap, which also causes them to no longer absorb like they did when you brought them home from the dept store.




Here is a simple solution to the issue:


Run thru a wash cycle w/ only Hot water and 1 cup of white vinegar (DO NOT ADD LAUNDRY SOAP)


Run thru a wash cycle again, this time using Hot water and 1/2 cup baking soda. Again DO NOT ADD LAUNDRY SOAP


This process will strip the build up of softeners & laundry soap and cause them to be as fresh as the day you bought them. You will also notice they will absorb better.

Cleaning Solution for your carpets

Here's a really good and simple cleaning solution for use in your Carpet Shampooer:

Ingredients:

1 Cup Oxyclean*
1 Cup Febreze*
1 Cup Distilled White Vinegar

Mix Ingredients completely before adding to your shampooer and add hot water to fill the tank completely. there will be a slight vinegar smell but once its completely dry you will then get the febreze smell that everyone loves.

How to keep an Avocados fresh

How to keep an Avocados fresh

Avocadoes are packed with healthy fats and potassium—but who hasn't put an unused avocado half in the fridge, only to find the fruit turned a totally unappetizing brown the next day? It's one of the most frustrating things about loading up on avocadoes—but luckily, there's an easy solution.

Just cut a red onion into fairly large chunks, throw the pieces an airtight plastic container, and place the avocado half—with the pit—on top. (The skin should be touching the onion chunks.) Put the lid on the plastic container, throw it in the fridge, and brown avocadoes will be a thing of past. How does the trick work? The onion emits sulfur gases, which help stop the oxidation process that turns avocadoes brown.

9 Mistakes at the Farmers' Market not to make

9 Mistakes at the Farmers' Market not to make

August may be the absolute best time of year to go to the farmers’ market: The stands are overflowing with tomatoes, zucchini, melons, flowers, and fresh herbs. You might feel tempted to buy every good-looking peach or bunch of kale you see, but before you do that, our test kitchen has some advice on how to shop at the farmers’ market—and the mistakes you should avoid.

1. It’s Lunchtime—Let’s Hit the Farmers’ Market!
 If you want the best of the best, go as soon as the market opens, like chefs do. (The crowds usually don’t arrive until late morning or afternoon.) If the afternoon’s the only time you can get there, by all means, go! But if you can wait until the market’s final hour, there’s a different perk to be had. Lots of farmers want to sell their goods so they don’t have to haul their wares back home, and they can do so by slashing prices.

2. All Stalls Are Created Equal
There are a lot of stands at the farmers market, don’t go for the first good-looking produce you see. Doing a lap to see who’s got what, testing the quality by sampling everything you can. You’re going for the best peach or best kale or best apples you can find, and those might not all be at the same stand.

3. It’s 2014—They’ve Got to Take Credit Cards
"Make sure you bring enough cash!", while many farmers are starting to use Square (or something similar) to take credit cards, not all do. Make sure you’re armed with green to pay for those pretty squash blossoms. And when you do pay, have your cash ready and “get off your cell phone and interact,”.

4. It’s All Organic, Right?
Don’t assume everything at the farmers’ market is organic,“It’s not.” For a farm to get certified organic, it takes a long time and a lot of money. While some farms at the market probably do use pesticides, some farms are using alternative farming methods without the use of pesticides or practice integrated pest management (a multi-layer system for controlling harmful bugs). If you’re concerned about that kind of thing, ask your farmer about his or her farming techniques before buying.

5. Socializing Is for Facebook, Not IRL
“Make friends with your farmer!”, they’ll set their best aside for you, or sometimes give you things like an extra bunch of turnips. Bonus turnips? We’re in. Chances are, your farmer’s operation is close to where you live, “If you make friends, he or she might invite you up to see the farm. It’s good to see where your food comes from.”

6. Boneless, Skinless, Farm-Raised Breasts Are Best
 When buying meat at the farmers’ market, consider the off-cuts. “Farmers desperately want to get rid of the byproducts that inevitably come from whole-animal butchering." Think a pound of chicken livers for $1 or a lamb neck for $3. If they have stuff like that, you can most likely get it for cheap. Those chicken livers are great in fried rice (really!) and make a great pâté. That lamb neck will be meltingly tender in a braise. And it’s all less than what you paid for that large cold-brew.

7. The Stands All Have Plastic Bags—I’ll Use Those!
 Actually, it’s better to bring your own canvas bags—and not just to be environmentally friendly. Yes, you’ll probably want to avoid the judgey stares of marketgoers, but ultimately, canvas shoulder bags are roomier and sturdier, allowing you to carry your loot comfortably. It ain’t easy toting around a multitude of small, cheaply made, overstuffed plastic bags while you shop.

8. I Can Eat the Whole Farm
“It’s easy to go overboard when there’s so much great produce,”, sadly, that often leads to waste. Go in with a plan. But be flexible, “If you’re looking for Swiss chard but the kale is looking better, go for the kale.” And when it comes to buying things like beets, carrots—any vegetables with stems—it’ll be in your interest to ask your farmer to cut off the leafy parts if you’re not going to use them. “It’ll make much more room in your bag, and nine times out of ten, that farmer is going to compost those leftovers.” (Although, of course, you can use them: carrot-top pesto, anyone?)

9. Oops! I Spilled Berries. Better Make a Run for It!

It’s inevitable: Your canvas bag full of  fennel will swing the wrong way, and you’ll spill a pint of berries. Or upset a precarious pile of potatoes. When this kind of thing happens, don’t run off to the next stall. “Own your actions,” be apologetic and offer to pay for it. Chances are the produce won’t be that messed up anyway—just rinse it off and use it!

Perfect Biscuits

Make Perfect Biscuits

This time of year, the simplest foods seem to taste the best: bright spring salads, veggie-packed pastas, elegantly dressed fish, and of course, light, flaky biscuits -- smothered in butter, coated in jam, or drizzled with honey. But, as good as we are at devouring them, mastering the art of biscuit making is trickier. With brunch season fast approaching, Here are some tips on making perfectly flaky biscuits from scratch -- and they delivered.

• Don't break up the butter too finely when you work it into the flour, Just like with pie dough, small chunks of butter help make flaky layers.
• Some swear by substituting leaf lard in place of butter to achieve the ideal biscuit texture. 
• Try using crème fraîche instead of buttermilk, its higher fat content and helps enhance other fragances and flavors that are incorporated into the dough.
• The dough should be "so wet that it sticks easily to your hands and the board or counter, unless you flour them first. Don't use too much bench flour -- just enough to keep the dough from sticking." 
• Check the expiration date on your baking powder, if the recipe calls for it. Leavener loses its strength over time, and you don't want to waste your breakfast on a stale box.
• When in doubt, follow Julia Child's advice: "Pat the dough out into a rectangle and give it a couple turns like you are making puff pastry. Then, I usually make a rectangle, fold it in thirds, pat it out again, fold it in thirds again, pat it out one last time, and cut my biscuits. The turns will make your biscuits flakier and rise higher."
• For the tenderest biscuits, use low-protein ("Southern") flour. If you can't find it, or don't want to buy it, you can reduce the protein content of regular all-purpose flour by adding some cake flour to it. 

Make Your Own Bacon

How to make your own Backon

Just buy a first-rate slab of pork belly, trim it into a rough rectangle, rub in a salt cure, and wait. A week later, you'll have the most delicious, versatile, long-lasting hunk of meat your fridge has ever known, ready for thin-slicing, chopping into lardons, or even roasting for a main course. To get a belly of mind-blowing deliciousness, track down a local operator raising heritage breeds with healthy feed (check out eatwild.com to search for a hog farmer in your area, or order direct from heritagefoodsusa.com). The only specialty item you'll need is curing salt, which you can also find on the Web ($2; butcher-packer.com).

Ingredients

• 1 lb kosher salt
• 2 oz pink salt
• 8 oz brown sugar
• 12 oz cracked black pepper
• 3 oz cracked juniper
• 20 bay leaves, crushed
• 1.2 oz nutmeg
• One 3–5 lb slab pork belly, skin on
• 1 bunch fresh thyme
• 10 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled

Step One Mix all the dry-rub ingredients
(everything above except the thyme, garlic, and the belly itself) in a bowl and set aside. You'll have more than you need for one belly.

Step Two
Trim the belly into a rectangular slab. Put 2 cups of the dry cure and the thyme and garlic into a one-gallon Ziploc storage bag, add the belly, close the bag, and then shake and rub until you've massaged the cure into the entire belly.

Step Three
Refrigerate for seven days, flipping over the bag every day or two. After a week, poke the belly with a finger: If it feels firm throughout, it's cured. If it still feels a little squishy in parts, put it back in the fridge for a couple more days, or until it does feel firm.

Step Four Rinse off the cure and dry with paper towels. You now have what's called fresh bacon, and if you want, you can skip the

smoking and just slice it up, slap it in a skillet, and fry it crisp.
Step Five

To smoke, soak 2 cups of hickory wood chips in water for 30 minutes, place in a pouch made of aluminum foil with holes poked in the top, and set over a gas-grill burner on low. When the chips begin smoking, place belly over a nearby unlit burner. Close lid and keep heat around 200?.

Step Six
Once the belly reaches an internal temperature of 150 F, remove it from the grill and let it rest overnight. Then, after slicing it, panfry or crisp in the oven on a baking sheet at 350 F. Homemade bacon will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, or in the freezer for two months.

How to Soften Butter FAST

How to Soften Butter FAST

When you need softened butter for baking, or to make herb or garlic butter, or just for easier spreading, you can leave the stick on the counter and wait forever (it seems) or you can tempt fate in the microwave and end up with melted butter instead.

There is a better, faster way.

If you have a rolling pin and a smooth, cool marble, granite, ceramic tile, or corian counter or slab (wood is okay but will take slightly longer), you can produce marvelously pliable, chilled butter in less than 1 minute or soft butter at room temperature (or anything in between) in less than 15.

Here’s how:

1. Set an unwrapped stick of cold butter on a piece of plastic wrap on the counter or slab. Cover the butter with another piece of plastic, and start whacking it with a rolling pin to flatten it somewhat. Flip the butter and plastic wrap over, and whack until the butter is about 1/2 inch thick all over.

If all you need is pliable butter, stop after step 2. For softened butter at room temperature, continue on through to step 3. -- but don't forget to read the fine print below.

2. Continue whacking the butter. Uncover and fold it in halves or thirds, then cover again and either knead it with your fist or continue to whack, repeating until the butter is suitably pliable. It will still be quite cool.

3. Roll the butter -- already whacked to a 1/2-inch thickness -- gently with the rolling pin to make it flat on both sides and slightly thinner, about a generous 1/4 inch. Let it rest for 5 minutes. Flip it over to a new spot on the counter and let it rest another 5 minutes. Put the butter into a mixing bowl now. If it's not quite at room temperature yet, it will be in a matter of minutes; if you were to leave it on the counter, it would get too warm.

The Fine Print
Old-fashioned pound cakes and butter cakes often call for room temperature butter (68 to 70° F) -- so that it can form a perfect emulsion with other ingredients, also at room temperature. The butter is beaten or “creamed” for several minutes with sugar before the other ingredients are added in two or three parts, alternating with each other. If the butter is too cold, it will not form an emulsion with the other ingredients and the batter will curdle. If the butter is too warm it will not be plastic enough to survive a lengthy beating without breaking down (so to speak!); the batter will not trap air and the cake will not have a beautiful crumb. In these very finicky types of recipes, both the temperature and texture of the butter are very important.