Wizard Recipes

Please note that melting chocolate is not the same as tempering chocolate. Tempered chocolate has been subject to certain temperatures and techniques that alter its chemistry. Tempering produces the texture and sheen we expect from fine chocolate candies. To temper chocolate, consult a candy cookbook.

The enemy of melted chocolate is water. Even a hot and humid day can ruin your efforts. Be absolutely sure that hands, utensils, bowls, surfaces - everything that comes in contact with the warm liquid chocolate - are bone dry. One drop of water in warm melted chocolate will cause it to seize (bind, clump and turn grayish in color).

The second nastiest enemy of chocolate is too high heat. It’s so easy to scorch! No matter what method you choose to melt chocolate, use patience. Do not take shortcuts.

‘Light’ olive oil refers to the light color and milder flavor - it is not lower in fat.  ‘Light’ olive oils also have a higher ’smoke point,’ so they may be used for high heat sauteing or frying.

Light olive oils have the same calories as other olive oils, about 120 calories per tablespoon. There is no official definition for ‘light’ olive oils.

Virgin Olive Oils are best used in uncooked foods, such as marinades and salad dressings. Pure olive oils may be used for sauteing and frying at medium heat.

Store olive oil in a cool dark place for up to 6 months, or refrigerated for up to one year.  Refrigerated olive oil will become thick and cloudy, but will return to normal at room temperature.

I have a stainless steel frying pan that occasionally gets stains from cooking. Instead of scrubbing my fingers to the bone, I first remove the food particles and then add about 1 cup of white vinegar and let it soak, sometimes over night.

After soaking, my pan is stain free and clean with almost no effort. I wash it out with a little soap and water and my pan sparkles. This stuff works great!

This is one of my favorite cooking tips because it works so well. I use this technique often as we eat chicken frequently.

The best way to take the skin off chicken parts is to use a paper towel to grab the skin with and pull. The paper towel gives you a great grip and the skin comes right off. This is especially useful for the leg which can be the most difficult skin to remove.