So here’s the gods honest truth: I used to boil the ever-loving crap out of eggs. To be fair, Easter was about the only time we ever boiled them growing up. After we’d dyed them, peeled them to reveal the tie-dyed ellipses beneath, and mixed the yolks with a generous amount of mustard and Miracle Whip (an ingredient I’ll defend to the death when making Deviled Eggs), the gray-green, sulfury halo around the yolks didn’t really seem to matter much.

On the rare occasions that I ate straight-up, un-deviled hard boiled eggs, I only ate the whites. And small wonder! I was, however, flummoxed: how come the yolks in some store-bought eggs looked so, well, appetizing I decided to actually look up a recipe, and what do you know: other people have already figured this out. But since I was TWENTY-NINE before I actually learned to do this right, I thought you guys might want some tips too. The big secret Hard boiled eggs don’t actually need to boil for more than a moment.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Get some eggs. Fresh eggs are the hardest to peel, so this is a great way to use up the end of an older batch.

2. Place the eggs in a single layer in a pot large enough to accommodate them. Cover the eggs with at least an inch of water.

3. Bring the pot to a boil over medium-high heat. (You’re probably won’t be as foamy as this… one of my eggs broke early in the process, which makes a big ugly foamy mess.)

4. Once the water comes to a full boil, turn off the heat and cover the pot. Leave the pot on the burner (I have a glasstop stove, so I put the pot half off the burner since those suckers NEVER cool down) and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your eggs and how hard you want the yolk. I want my yolks to be solid, and I generally use large to extra large eggs, so the full 15 minutes works for me. If you are nervous about going to far, boil an extra egg so you can check one after 10 or 12 minutes. I can think of worse things to do with 70 calories.

5. Drain the hot water off the eggs and add cold water to the pot, along with a big handful of ice cubes. You’ll want to wait until the eggs are completely cool before peeling.

6. Peel the eggs. Eat the eggs. Love the eggs!

I realize that I’m a month or two late for the PUMPKIN-EVERYTHING craze that annually arrives in September, but I finally gathered the time, the initiative, and the pumpkins to try my hand at making my own pumpkin puree. I’ve always been a big fan of Libby’s, but I’m pretty pleased with both the results and the ease of making this myself. Right after Halloween, it’s easy to find pumpkins for just a couple dollars, so it’s a great time of year to stock up for all your coming holiday desserts, as it freezes wonderfully.

And it’s sooooo easy. I urge you to give it a try for your own pumpkin recipes this year! Here’s how it’s done:

1. Select 1-2 small-ish pumpkins, or as many as you want to make in one batch. You can definitely puree pumpkins of any size, but they flavor and texture will be better from smaller pumpkins. These are often sold as “pie pumpkins” or “sugar pumpkins”.

2. Preheat oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the stem-end of the pumpkin off, slicing off as little of the orange part as possible. Then, cut each pumpkin in half.

3. Use a metal spoon or a pumpkin scraper to clean out the cavity of each half. And don’t pitch the seeds! They make a delicious snack when they’re roasted.

4. Place the pumpkins cut-side down on the parchment paper. You can also place them cut-side up, but you’ll want to add a tablespoon of water to the cavity of each half.

5. Bake the pumpkins for 45-50 minutes. To ensure they are done, flip one half over and prick the flesh with a fork. It should be soft and easy to prick.

6. Use a metal spoon to scrape the flesh off of the skin of each half. Place the flesh in a food processor or blender. I work with one half of the pumpkin at a time to help the pureeing go quickly.

7. Empty the puree into a separate bowl and continue until all of the pumpkin flesh is pureed.

And that’s all! My sugar pumpkins yielded about 32 ounces of puree per pumpkin, or roughly the equivalent of two cans.

You can use this puree immediately if you have a dish ready to cook. Or, keep it in the fridge for up to five days.

I, however, freeze mine. I like freezing it in eight-ounce baggies. Just use regular zippered sandwich bags and a food scale to add the puree, then press them flat before freezing to maximize your storage space.

Looking for new ways to feature pumpkin at your festivities this year Try these Mini Pumpkin Cream Pies, Pumpkin Cake with Maple Cream & Sugared Pecans, or Pumpkin Chiffon Pie for dessert. Or! Kick off the party with Sweet & Savory Pumpkin Dips. Then when you’re done eating them, the dip bowls will make you another great batch of pumpkin puree.

A couple months ago, while trying to develop some easy, fairly-healthy meal options that also allowed me to keep the oven on for an hour in an effort to ward off Midwestern winter, I made baked potatoes for dinner one night. Not as a side, but as the whole damn meal. And you know what It was AMAZING. Why was this not part of my regular meal routine It is now, by the way: I’ve repeated this tasty dinner several times since the inaugural attempt, and I’ve learned a lot about baking a delightful potato in the meantime.

Here’s how it’s done:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Scrub as many Russet potatoes as you want to bake and pat dry. Russets make the best baking potatoes because of their low moisture content. Those light and fluffy insides can’t be light and fluffy if they are full of water, like Yukon Gold or a red potato. Use yellow and red for mashed potatoes, use russets for baking and french fries.

Also, you may notice that I’m baking six potatoes, WAY more than two people need to eat for dinner. I’ve found that I love using leftover baked potatoes later in the week, either reheated just as they are, or chopped into coins and pan-fried (recipe coming later), or even cubed and transformed into home fries. It’s a great way to consolidate the work of multiple meals into one evening of cooking.

2. Pierce each potato with a fork 6-8 times to allow steam to escape as the potatoes bake.

3. Lightly rub all potatoes with olive oil, then sprinkle generously with flaky or coarse salt on all sides. This will help the jacket stay crispy and flavorful. We’re not going to wrap them in foil, as that would create a soft and soggy jacket.

4. Place potatoes directly on the oven rack. You can also place them on a baking sheet if you prefer, though you might lose some of the crunchiness of the skin on the bottom of the potato. I love that crunchiness, so I put them right on the racks.

5. Bake for 55-65 minutes. While the potatoes bake, you can prepare your toppings or any other components of dinner you have in mind. Or just sit on the couch and wait for them do finish, your call!

6. Remove potatoes from the oven. Potatoes should be somewhat springy when you squeeze them and a fork should pierce them without resistance. Larger potatoes or a large quantity of potatoes may take longer to bake.

7. Add toppings as you like, and enjoy! My favorite combo of late is thick-cut bacon, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and green onions. Chili is divine. I also love them with simply butter, salt, and pepper.

How do you dress up your potatoes?

For the first several years of my training as a cake decorator, I used an icing composed primarily of Crisco and powdered sugar. And I’ve gotta admit, for someone decorating 1-2 practice cakes (and in later years, simply styrofoam cake forms) every month, there was nothing better: it’s snow white, doesn’t take long to bring to room temperature, holds it’s shape  and consistency even as it gets warm in the piping bag, and seemingly never spoils.

That icing served me well for a long time. But as I grew older I started to grow wary of the mysterious ingredients in Crisco, and the gritty texture of the powdered sugar irritated me more and more. I started to think perhaps it was time to up my game in the icing department. And it only took a teensy bit of digging around the cake-baking community to know that I needed to learn, above all other things, the art of Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

And boy am I glad I did. Each batch I make reaffirms my obsession with this icing: impossibly smooth and creamy, light and airy, shiny and stable, and delicately sweet. It freezes well, so it can be made in large batches even if you only have a small cake to bake. Because the sugar is dissolved, there is no grittiness whatsoever. It’s stable once applied, gives strength to your cakes, and is gorgeous enough to be used as an outer icing with no need for fondant. Plus, it can be adapted to just about any flavor you want.

I’ve now used this buttercream for two wedding cakes, a birthday cake, cookie icing, cupcake icing, and dinner party cakes. It’s extremely versatile and soooo tasty.

So today, I want to share it with you. And it’s not scary! Though it is a bit time-consuming, it’s pretty straight-forward to make. So let’s dive in and make some SMBC!

The first step is to gather your equipment. A stand mixer (I’m sure you could do this with a hand mixer, but it would be a LOT more work), a whisk, a food scale, and a candy thermometer are the primary tools you’ll need that you may not already have. You’ll also need some measuring spoons and a small pot, but we’ll get to those in a minute.

Daub some white vinegar on a paper towel or napkin and wipe down the mixer bowl, the whisk attachment, the whisk, and the candy thermometer. You’ll be using them all to create the meringue, and meringue doesn’t create very well if any grease is on your equipment. Best to make sure, or you may not end up with a strong meringue for a base of your icing.

Next, gather your ingredients. It’s a simple list: egg whites, granulated sugar, vanilla, salt, and of course, a lot of butter. A lot. Now as you can see, I use bottled egg whites (not to be confused with Egg Beaters). It turns out that one pint is the exact amount needed for a batch that perfectly fills my mixer bowl. I’ve heard some people say that bottled egg whites don’t create a strong enough meringue for SMBC, but I’ve been perfectly happy with the results of these. If you want to use fresh egg whites, you’ll need the whites of 15-16 eggs.

To measure out the sugar, it’s significantly easier to measure by weight. If you don’t already have one, a food scale is a GREAT investment for your kitchen. You can zero out the scale with the mixer bowl already on top, and easily add your 750 grams.

Once the sugar is measured out, add the egg whites and candy thermometer to the mixing bowl. You can set them aside for now.

Next, it’s time to chop all that butter – all 10 sticks – into pieces. I generally go with pieces about a tablespoon in size. The butter should still be cold at this point. By the time you’ve made your meringue, it will be about room temperature when you add it to the icing. Make sure you don’t take your butter out of the fridge too early, or it will be too soft to make good icing. Once you’ve chopped up all the butter, set it near your mixer and turn back to the sugar and egg whites. It’s time to begin cooking!

Pour about an inch of water into the bottom of a small pot and place it on the stove. You don’t need much, in fact, you won’t want the bottom of the mixer bowl to touch the water. This is called a bain marie, which basically means a pot of simmering water. Set the mixer bowl onto the pot and turn on the stove to medium-high. Once the heat is on, whisk constantly until the mixture reaches 160°F.

Once the mixture has reached 160°F, remove the candy thermometer and transfer the mixer bowl immediately to the mixer. Attach the whisk attachment and beat on medium (about a 4 on the Kitchen-Aid) for 2-3 minutes, then increase to high speed (all the way up!) You’ll whip the meringue for about 15-20 minutes until stiff peaks form and the sides of the bowl have cooled to slightly above body temperature.

Now what you have is a beautiful and delicious meringue! And this would be good to eat all on it’s own. But! We have quite a lot of butter to add, so onward and forward. Shake and scrape off any meringue that is on the whisk attachment and swap it out for the paddle attachment. Begin mixing at medium speed and start adding butter, one cube at a time, allowing each cube to be mixed in before adding the next. I usually wait about five seconds between each one.

As you add butter, the meringue will begin to deflate and look thin. This is normal, just keep adding butter.

Once you’ve added all the butter, don’t be discouraged if your icing doesn’t look, well, right. The photo above has all the butter added, but the mixture still looks rather disgusting. But now is the time for the true magic of SMBC to occur. Be patient and just keep whipping that icing, and you’ll watch it transform from something resembling curdled milk to shiny, creamy buttercream.

After a few more seconds, the icing will begin to look even worse. But be patient! It’s almost time!

Suddenly, magic! I urge you not to look away during the final seconds of whipping the icing, it really is fun to watch it come together.

Once the icing has reached this consistency, it’s time to add vanilla and salt, as well as additional flavors.

A word on vanilla: I love using real vanilla extract whenever possible. But as you can see, real vanilla extract will DEFINITELY affect the color of your icing. As it is butter-based, you’ll never have pure white icing when making SMBC, but using real vanilla extract will give an even stronger ivory tint. When I want a lighter, whiter icing, I use clear vanilla flavoring instead.

However you color or flavor your icing, there is really very little you can do to make this unappealing. Holy mother buttercream.

Now beyond making the icing itself, here are a few extra tips I’ve learned about Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

Spreading/Base Frosting
SMBC can be spread with a knife or easily piped. For spreading, make sure you have more icing than you’ll actually want on the final cake. It’s always easier to smooth your icing by having the ability to scrape some off rather than trying to work with a minimal amount. Slather it on thick and then remove the extra as you smooth.

Piping
Though it’s not quite as easy as the Crisco-based icing I learned with, SMBC does pipe very well. The biggest tip I can offer is not to fill your piping bag very full. Because it is butter-based, the heat from your hands can melt the icing a little too much. I’ve found that this not only affects the texture, but the color. Start with small amounts in your piping bag, and it doesn’t hurt to make sure your hands aren’t too hot!

Storing
I love using this icing the same day I make it, but it can also definitely be stored. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three weeks, or up to three months in the freezer. When you’re ready to use your stored icing, make sure you allow plenty of time for it to come to room temperature before you use it. If you’ve frozen your icing, let it thaw in the fridge overnight and then remove it from the fridge 3-4 hours before you want to actually use it. Even at room temperature, you may need to re-whip the icing with the paddle attachment for a few minutes.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Adapted from Sweetapolita

Makes about 15 cups, enough to ice and fill two 8-inch, three-layer cakes

750 g sugar, about 4 cups
1 pint/450 g liquid egg whites, about 15-16 egg whites
10 sticks  (2.5 pounds) unsalted butter
2 T vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

Lightly wipe the bowl of a stand mixer, a whisk, and the mixer whisk attachment with white vinegar to remove all traces of grease. Measure sugar into the mixer bowl using a food scale. Add the egg whites to the sugar and position the candy thermometer into the mixer bowl. Set aside. Cut butter into cubes about one tablespoon in size and set near the standing mixer so that the butter can come to room temperature while you prepare the meringue.

Add about an inch of water to a small pot. Place the mixer bowl onto the pot and place the pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Whisk the mixture constantly until it reaches 160°F. Remove the candy thermometer and place the mixer bowl on the standing mixer. Use the whisk attachment and whip until mixture is thick, glossy, and the outside of the bowl is only slightly warmer than body temperature, about 15-20 minutes. Switch over to the paddle attachment and turn to medium speed. Add butter one cube at a time about five seconds apart, allowing each to mix in.

Once all the butter is incorporated, increase speed to medium-high and whip until the icing is a silky, smooth texture. It will look curdled along the way, but keep whipping! Once it has reached that silky texture, add vanilla and salt and mix well.

If desired, add a few drops of icing color to tint the icing.

Flavor Variations
Here are a few variations on flavor that I’ve tried. There are, of course, countless others.

Espresso Buttercream: For every 5 cups of buttercream, combine 2 tablespoons of hot water and 1 1/2 tablespoons of instant espresso in a small bowl. Add to buttercream and whip until thoroughly combined.

Raspberry Buttercream: For every 5 cups of buttercream, add 1 c fresh raspberries and mix until desired coloring is achieved.

Blackberry Buttercream: For every 5 cups of buttercream, add 2 c fresh blackberry puree and mix well.

Almond Buttercream: Substitute 1 T almond extract for one of the tablespoons of vanilla extract in the last step.

I don’t have a rice cooker. I also don’t let that stop me from making fluffy mounds of rice. And since I appear to be in the mood for cooking dishes that work nicely with this versatile grain, I thought I’d tell you how I go about making a batch of rice quickly, easily, and without anything you don’t already have.

Rice, as you know, starts as solid grains with the potential to develop into light, airy morsels of goodness when cooked well. The internet seems to be full of horror stories about rice cooking that turn these grains into batches of starchy paste or edible kernels still solid in the middle and decidedly un-fluffy, and rice cookers are offered as the suggestion for remedying these problems. I learned to cook rice, from my mom, with nothing more than a pot and a lid, and I’ve always been pleased with the result. Plus, the method is really easy: in fact, the hardest part is leaving it alone so the rice can do its job.

Here’s what to do:

1. Start with a medium-sized pot that has a lid. You’ll also need a dry measuring cup and, you know, some rice.

2. Add rice and water to the pot in a ratio of 1:2. I usually use one cup of rice and two cups of water. Add a big pinch of salt and give it one stir.

3. Place the pot, uncovered, on the stove over medium heat and bring to a boil. Once the water  has reached a rolling boil, reduce the heat to a low simmer and cover immediately, allowing the rice to stay warm while it absorbs the water. Do not stir the rice. Let me repeat that: DO NOT STIR THE RICE. Stirring the rice at this stage will release the starches, giving you a gooey, sticky mess.

After 18-20 minutes, remove the lid and check the bottom of the pan with a fork to ensure that there is no standing water in the bottom.

4. Once you know the water has all been absorbed, replace the lid and remove from the heat. Allow to rest for about 5 minutes.

5. When you are ready to serve, fluff the rice with a fork and serve warm. The result is a pot full of light and fluffy rice that’s done in less than 30 minutes!

Don’t worry if you make too much for dinner… you can always turn the leftovers into a fantastic breakfast.

What is your favorite way to use rice?

I can’t really express in words how much I love pizza. The enormous quantities of free pizza I ate at college events (and, let’s be honest, continue to eat at college events) has never quelled my craving for crispy pizza crust topped with any manner of sauces, cheeses, meats, pineapple, spinach… gaaaah. I really love pizza.

And I really love that I can make it at home. No, I don’t have a 900°F pizza oven. And yes, I do have a pizza stone. But! I didn’t until only a couple years ago, and though I really love my pizza stone, I’m here to tell you that you can cook beautiful, crispy-bottomed, bubbly-topped pizza at home TONIGHT with no pizza stone.

Here’s how:

1. Take two large cookie sheets and nest them together. Place them on a center rack of a cold oven upside-down. Heat the oven to 475°F. Preheating the pans in this way will allow the pizza to cook from the ambient heat in the oven but will allow the crust to become crispy from contact with the hot pan, similar to using a pizza stone.

2. Prepare your pizza dough (I have a wonderfully easy recipe here). While it rises, cut a sheet of parchment paper the size of the cookie sheet and place it on a cutting board. Sprinkle with corn meal.

3. Roll out the pizza dough on a floured surface and transfer it to the cornmeal-sprinkled parchment paper.

4. Add toppings to your pizza as desired. Leave about half an inch of space around the edges of the crust.

5. Open the oven and slide the rack with the trays out slightly. Gently slide the parchment and pizza off of the cutting board onto the cookie sheet bottom. Don’t worry, you can bake parchment paper!

6. Bake the pizza for 10-15 minutes until the edges of the crust are browning and the cheese is bubbling and developing golden-brown spots. Remove the pizza from the oven and carefully slide the pizza onto a cutting board. Slice into pieces and eat!

See that That is a crisp, beautiful pizza crust. The pre-heated cookie sheets help to form this crispy treat, while the ambient heat in the oven cooks the rest of the pizza.

Now if you have the space, I do recommend buying a pizza stone. I really love mine, and it’s great to make a round pizza every once in a while. There are a whole bunch of other tips to help you work with a pizza stone, but that will make for another How To’sday!

In the meantime, even without the stone, you can still make a dang good homemade pizza.

What are your favorite pizza toppings Do you have a favorite pizza crust recipe?

Butternut Squash is a rather new ingredient in my culinary arsenal. Having really discovered its magic last fall when I cooked up a giant bath of Butternut Squash Soup, I’ve since been quite fascinated it. Harvested in mid- to late-fall, these squash can store unrefrigerated for months, which makes them an ideal winter staple.

I’ve seen this squash for sale in the produce section, pre-peeled and cubed. Like most pre-cut fruits and vegetables, it is wildly more expensive to buy it that way than to buy the squash whole. Plus, it requires refrigeration and will quickly go bad if not used. But it doesn’t take long to go from a whole squash to a beautiful mound of orange cubes ready for cooking, and without much special equipment. You can totally do this.

Here’s how it’s done:

1. Collect your equipment! You’ll need a cutting board, a sharp knife, a vegetable/carrot peeler, and a spoon.

2. Chop both ends off of the squash. You’ll want to chop at least half an inch off of each.

3. Use the vegetable peeler to peel the rind off of the squash. You should peel off enough that the orange flesh is visible, removing all of the yellow inner-rind.

4. Once the squash is peeled, cut it in half lengthwise.

5. Use the spoon to scrape out the seeds and pulp from the cavity of each half of the squash. Pretend for a moment that it’s Halloween and that you’re carving a pumpkin!

6. Turn each half of the squash over so it is flat-side down on the cutting board and rotate them ninety degrees. Cut the squash into segments about 3/4″ wide.

7. Working with about six sections at a time, slice the segments in the opposite direction, again with each cut about 3/4″ inch apart.

8. If any pieces are too large, cut them in half. All pieces should be roughly the same size.

And voila! Fresh-cut butternut squash, straight from its natural long-term storage into your dinner.

What’s your favorite way to use butternut squash?

When I started this blog, I knew that a huge part of the story would reflect my growth and learning in the kitchen, through successes and failures. I’ve learned, sometimes through trial and major error, to make pie crust, homemade cheese, fresh yogurt, beef jerky, canned tomato sauce… the list goes on and on.

And I’ve loved sharing these stories with you. But every once in a while, I am reminded that not everyone is learning the same things at the same time that I am. On one of my earliest posts, someone asked for clarification on how to separate an egg. Other readers have asked for advice topics ranging from tempering chocolate to selecting produce, from substituting ingredients to finding equivalents in other countries.

I don’t profess to be a master of all kitchen knowledge, but in a lifetime of baking and cooking, I’ve picked up quite a few tips and tricks that I now take for granted when I step into the kitchen to start a project. Why should I keep them all to myself?

So without further ado, I am pleased to introduce How To’sdays! Each How To’sday post (which I’ll publish only on Tuesdays, for obvious puntabulous reasons) will be just what it sounds like: a How-To tutorial of some little kitchen tip that may make your life easier, more delicious, or more manageable.

Some upcoming topics, just to whet your appetites, include:

How to Fake a Pizza Stone
How to Bake Flat, Level Cakes that Come Cleanly Out of the Pan
How to Cook Bacon Without Burning the Crap Out of It
How to Substitute with Whatever Dairy You Have On Hand
How to Cook Rice in a Regular Pot You Already Own
How to Store Fresh Herbs

And more! And of you, dear readers, I now ask YOUR advice: What do you want to see on How To’sdays What are some of the tricks you have that you think should be shared with the world What do you want to research but don’t have time for so you’re totally willing to let me do it and publish it for all the land to learn As far as I am concerned, no topic is too basic, so don’t be shy! Chances are that if you are wondering how to do something, someone else is too.

I’m excited to test out this new adventure. I believe successful kitcheneering is not about having the top-of-the-line equipment or the most expensive ingredients or the biggest box of recipes. In some cases, it comes down to basics, to experience, and to word-of-mouth shortcuts that will save you time and energy on all your cooking endeavors. And that’s what How To’sday is all about!

Let’s learn stuff!