Kitchen Tricks

 { Grate your own cheese. }
     I used to buy pre-grated cheese. Then I was inspired by an off-hand comment on The Pioneer Woman's cooking blog to try grating my own cheese in the food processor. She mentioned something about it being life-changing or something... and it really is! Just as an example, I credit grate-it-yourself cheese with this beautiful bubbly brown cheesiness. Trust me; your mac & cheese, pizzas, enchiladas, and a host of other dishes will be noticeably more awesome if you make this extra effort.
     Of course you can always grate by hand, but I find that using the food processor's shred tool is easier. I grate my Parmesan cheese by hand using a fine grater, and I do everything else (cheddar, mozzarella, pepper Jack, etc.) in the FP. And now for a tip within a tip: To make hand-grating parmesan easier, set out your block of Parmesan an hour or more in advance to let it come to room temperature. This will soften the cheese, making the grating process easier on the wrists.

{ Get a strawberry huller. }

This is a kitchen gadget worth having.

{I like to pull off the leaves before hulling.}

{ Take your bread's temperature. }

When baking homemade yeast bread, use a thermometer to check for doneness. It's the only way to know for sure. Soft, pillow breads that contain fats should read 180-190º. Drier, crusty breads should read 200-210º. {This guy got done 15 minutes early!}