Wake the Lakes “Life Hacks for the Week” 11-13-23

Life-Saving Thanksgiving Cooking Hacks:

–Add a little baking powder to make mashed potatoes extra fluffy.  Apparently, the heat of the potatoes triggers the baking powder’s chemical reaction, and the CO2 produced = extra fluffiness.

–Bake stuffing in muffin tins to maximize crispy surface area and make easy single servings.

–Freeze rolled-out pie crusts so they hold their shape in the oven.  Just pop them in the freezer for 20 minutes to an hour while you make the fillings, then bake (without thawing). This will let the gluten in the dough relax and minimize shrinkage during baking. This is mainly for single-crust pies like pumpkin and pecan; if you’re adding a top crust you don’t really have to worry as much about shrinking.

–Microwave potatoes instead of boiling to save time.  You’re going to mash ’em anyway, so there’s no real reason not to do it this way.

–Use a wine glass to cut out biscuits.  Maybe you’re a true biscuit believer who keeps a metal cutter around, but if not,  this will do just fine. Make sure to dip the glass in flour after every few to keep the dough from sticking, and push straight down without twisting to make sure the biscuits can rise.

–Make gravy instantly great by adding a spoonful of soy sauce.

–Ice down the turkey’s breast before roasting to keep it from drying out.  My source says this actually works! By starting the breast at a slightly lower temperature, you solve the problem of white meat cooking faster than dark.

–Grate frozen butter straight into pie or biscuit dough.  You can use any normal cheese grater. This way the butter stays cold, which you want to keep everything tender and flaky, but you don’t have to give yourself an elbow injury cutting it into the flour.

–Prep all your vegetables a day or two ahead and keep them in the fridge.  You can peel potatoes and carrots, chop onions, wash greens, and do basically any other prep steps called for in the recipes you’re using. This is the kind of thing that will feel crazy when you’re doing it, and AWESOME the next day when you realize you already did.