April 2003 “Cooking Tips” Winner —
Kim Russell

Nobody in my family likes to eat the end slices of bread. I save them in the freezer. Once I have about 6 slices, I defrost them. I mix a quarter cup of oil & my favorite spices (garlic powder, oregano, cayenne, thyme, seasoned salt and a pinch of sugar). I cut the bread into small cubes and scatter the bread cubes on a foil lined baking sheet. I cook them in a 300 degree oven until dry and golden, about 15 minutes. I serve these croutons in salads and soups. Homemade croutons are so superior to the store bought brands. My family loves them.

Kim Russell

Prize:

• Cooking tips:
  Truffle & Porcini Pasta
  Cuisine Perel

April 2003 “Cooking Disasters” Winner —
Mary Beth Isaac

Four years ago we had moved from an apartment with a working kitchen to a house with a larger family kitchen. I was starting to enjoy cooking after settling in. Two months after moving into the house I was cooking an eggs and bacon breakfast for my daughter and while I was cooking she started to fuss about the VCR tape, which needed to be rewound. I was used to cooking regular bacon which takes a while to cook and thought that the turkey bacon I was trying would take the same amount of time. I went in the family room to rewind it and sat down until it was finished. When I heard it complete, I got off of the couch to go start the tape but first turned and noticed that the pan on the stove was smoking heavily. I ran to the kitchen to pull the pan off of the stove and when I did, flames started shooting everywhere. I panicked and ran to put the pan in the sink. On the way there the pan dripped and left a grease fire trail on the kitchen floor. I remember the flames shooting all over when I placed the pan in the sink. In terror I started screaming for my husband and my daughter started crying. Even though he was asleep, when he heard "FIRE", he quickly awoke. He ran down the stairs, grabbed the pan and ran it outside where he put the fire out. He asked me why I turned the water on and I said that I didn't. I knew that you should never put water on a grease fire but apparently in my panicked state I did. We had to replace the linoleum on the kitchen floor, repaint the walls and scour the sink to get the burn marks to disappear. To this day, I am still not allowed to cook bacon and never hear the end of how I almost burned down our brand new house.

Mary Beth Isaac

Prize:

• Cooking Disasters:
  Chocolate Chardonnay Raspberry Fudge Dessert Topping
  Cuisine Perel

Previous Winners

Click here to see our previous "Cooking Tips" and "Cooking Disasters" contest winners!