Crispy sheets

Good cookware is important.  It really is.  It amazes me how long I've tolerated old, worn out or just plain cheaply-made cookware.  Good, quality cookware makes so much difference in my ratio of successes in the kitchen and my level of enjoyment.

A few months back I bought two new baking sheets at a local discount mart.  One of them is a large, sturdy metal one made by Wilton.  The other one, which was half the price of the first one, was a no-name brand, thin, flimsy piece-o-crap.

I hate that baking sheet.  It's going to get handed down to the Honey-Hub for him to use in the garage-man-cave.

I LOVE the Wilton sheet and every time I would bake up a batch of bacon (see recipe below), I had to do two rounds in the oven as one sheet is never big enough for a whole pound of bacon.

I really love every product I have ever bought from Rachael Ray's line of cookware so I decided to go see what she offers in the baking-sheet-arena.  SCORE!

I am now the proud owner of TWO of her Oven Lovin' 11"x17" Crispy Sheets.  I've used them once now to bake up a batch of bacon and they worked perfectly and cleaned up easy.  I would definitely buy them again or give them as a gift.  The orange rubber imbedded in the handles make grabbing the sheets an easy, no-slip process.

She also offers it in a 10"x15" size and I will probably add two of those to my collection in the near future.  And for those of you who want a whole set, well, she makes that too although the set does not include the large crispy sheet that I bought.

Baked Bacon

(forget frying!  Why deal with the mess?)

• Preheat oven to 350 or 375 degrees.
• Line large shallow baking sheet with foil.  Do not use the air-bake sheets that have no lip on them.  You need the lip to keep the grease in.  To do a whole pound of bacon at once, you will need two large sheets.
• Lay bacon slices in sheets close together but not touching.
• Bake for 10-15 min until done to desired crispiness. I let it go for a good solid 10-11 minutes and then I check on it every minute or so.
• Transfer to plate lined with paper towels to drain.  Pat down firmly on top with paper towel to soak up extra grease.
• Clean up is a snap.  Just carefully fold up the foil, keeping the grease inside and throw away.  If you want to keep the grease, pull, the foil out and let the grease drip back in to the pan and then pour it in to your desired container.
• Wash both sheets.  
• Pour a drink of some sort and eat your bacon!

Putting the pot on to simmer

Photo credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=345

Welcome to my new blog!

I'm a work-at-home accountant by day and a wife by day and night.  I handle most of the grocery shopping, meal planning and cooking for my husband and myself.  Over the past few years, I've started to take a lot more enjoyment out of cooking great meals.

I *think* I'm approaching the status of "gourmet cook."  I believe in high quality ingredients and cookware.  If we had a better kitchen, ie more room and a gas-powered range (vs the electric one we have) I do believe I could achieve that coveted "gourmet" status.  Until then I suppose I shall be an "almost gourmet."

The older I get, the more picky I am about what we eat, what I take the time to prepare, what ingredients I use and the equipment I use to cook it.  I find that as we age, food becomes more of an experience to savor and less of a means to supply our bodies with energy.  We become more selective about what we eat, choosing quality over quantity.  And as our budgets grow and allow, we are much more likely to buy (and use!) that $30 bottle of rare, aged balsamic vinegar over the (much!) cheaper stuff out there.  A high-quality aged balsamic can add so much depth to a recipe.

My mother was a true gourmet cook when I was growing up and she taught me much of what I know with the basis to not be afraid to be adventurous and try new ideas.  As a result of that, I am very confident in the kitchen and I am often composing completely new recipes in my head.  I rarely follow a recipe completely and often change or add ingredients.  99% of the time, the recipe is improved.

I often post on Facebook about what I am cooking and many of my friends seem to enjoy my posts.  So, I decided to start writing this blog as a diary of my cooking adventures with pics and recipes.  I enjoy writing and this will be a nice diversion from my busy accounting life.