November 2003 “Cooking Tips” Winner —
Michael Muscarella

Use standard ingredients for special things: add some herbs and a splash of wine and olive oil to mayonaise and stir. Add peanut butter to chicken curries. A handful of chopped sun dried tomatos, capers and olives makes regular tomato sauce sparkle. Jams and jellies thinned with wine and salt and pepper make great glazes for grilled and roasted meats.

Experiment - remember you pass on your food habits to your kids.

Michael Muscarella

Prize:

• Cooking tips:
  Pasta Sauce Blends
  Pasta Partners

November 2003 “Cooking Disasters” Winner —
Nanette Hulscher

I had my very first elegant dessert party planned and couldn't come up with a recipe. I wanted a recipe that was simple yet stunning. Then while watching PBS with my kids, I found it, the perfect recipe. Chocolate ice cream bowls. Of course I wouldn't just serve ice cream, nope I'd serve ice cream drinks...but still the premise was the same - fancy little handmade bowls created out of melted chocolate. Besides it was on a kids show...how hard could it be? All I needed to make the bowls was chocolate chips, shortening, and balloons. Very simple - dip the balloons into the chocolate after I'd melted it in the microwave. My goodness weren't my guests going to be impressed!

Well it started off pretty badly! I bought large balloons and only blew them up part way so the bowls wouldn't be huge. It seemed like it was working pretty well until the chocolate had set up and I tried to pop the balloons to remove them. They didn't want to come out! Even after they had popped they just clung to the chocolate and kind of caved in. The balloon wasn't blown up taut enough to let go of the chocolate when it was popped. So out I went and bought the small water balloon size balloons. The first batch worked perfectly! I was even able to roll the balloons in the chocolate to give them a kind of tulip shape. They were beautiful. So then I reheated the chocolate for the 2nd batch. One by one as I dipped the balloons into the chocolate they exploded, splattering chocolate all over everything and everyone...and I mean exploded with some serious splatter power! It was on all four walls, the ceiling and the appliances. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong so I just kept at it. My poor 5 year old son just happened to be walking by the kitchen counter as one went off, plastering chocolate across his face and in his ear. The dog was in heaven, he didn't care that he was covered in chocolate...he was too busy cleaning everything he could reach. When I finally figured out what the problem was I was in tears, my poor kitchen looked like a war zone, and all because I had over-heated the 2nd batch of chocolate...it was melting the balloons!

Nanette Hulscher

Prize:

• Cooking Disasters:
  Sicilian Selection
  Pasta Partners

Previous Winners

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