Al Dente

How To Get Rid of Fruit Flies (Low-Tech Version, High-Tech Version)

The downside of juicy, ripe summer produce? It attracts swarms of pesty fruit flies, which soon multiply into mega-swarms.

The remedies I've tried in the past? Failures. I've been told to leave out a glass of wine, or try a few drops of dishwasher liquid in a container of water. What did I get? House parties of flies who seemed to particularly enjoy a nice Cabernet.

This summer, though, I found the key. The first trick was a variation on the wine-glass method. Fill a jam jar with an inch or two of wine, but then cover the top with plastic wrap. (I know. Seems obvious now.) Secure the wrap with a rubber band, then poke a few holes through it. Flies get in, but can't get out.

Then Terro, the pest control company, sent over a sample of its new fruit fly trap. The trap is a little apple-shaped plastic ball, filled with a non-toxic compound (more or less vinegar and dish soap, looking at the ingredients). It operates on the same theory as the jam jar, and also works quite well. Bonus points to the Terro device for looking a lot nicer on the countertop than a rubber-banded jam jar. I'm tempted to ding it because the contents stained my counter when my curious toddler turned it upside down... but with enough scrubbing, the stain came out, and a red wine spill would have caused problems too. 

Customer reviews of the Terro are interesting -- people seem to either love it (17 five-star reviews) or hate it (9 one-star reviews). As you would figure, the lovers say it solved their infestations; the haters say it didn't work for them. Count me among the lovers, because my kitchen is now fly-free -- I may even have the nerve to set my compost container back on the counter. 

Short of calling in the Very Busy Spider, how do you get rid of a pesty (fruit) fly?

-- Rebekah Denn

Food Safety at Summer Barbecues (and Beyond)

A colleague at a catered barbecue last week, squinting at his burger, asked if I thought it was cooked through.

Luckily, I could tell him the burgers were fine -- not because I was any better than he was at gauging the level of pinkness in the meat, but because I had seen the catering staff poke each patty with a digital thermometer and check the numbers before releasing it to a bun. After years of reading professor Doug Powell's "BarfBlog," a sharp and scientific (and highly entertaining) blog on food safety, I know you can't trust the color of meat to tell you whether it's cooked. You need to make sure the internal temperature is high enough (160 degrees, in the case of ground beef) to kill any microorganisms.

Testing the temperature of my home-grilled burgers, which I always do, serves two purposes: For one, I'm reassured that the burgers are safe. For another, keeping an eye on the thermometer ensures that I don't overcook them. (I know some disagree, but the 160-degree burgers taste plenty juicy to me.)

How do you judge your burgers? By feel, by appearance, or by the numbers? 

  -- Rebekah Denn

Sweet Deals At Farmers Market Makes For Incredible Ice Cream

I love a good bargain... almost as much as I enjoy supporting local producers by shopping at neighborhood farmers markets. Those two quests are often at odds. And while I'm willing to pay a premium for pristine fruit and veggies picked fresh hours before they go into my shopping bags, it's a challenge for me to fork over $18 for a half a flat of half pints of raspberries destined for the blender.

Recently, I mentioned my conundrum to the young woman manning one of my favorite fruit stands: "I really want to make some raspberry ice cream, but just can't bear to pay the price."

"Come over here," she whispered. I stepped behind the booth and there was a bucket of squashed and bruised fruit, too damaged to sell, but perfect for a raspberry puree. "I can sell this to you for cheap," she said.

Score!

I used an easy recipe from a nifty new book, The Joy Of Jams, Jellies, And Other Sweet Preserves by preserving whiz Linda Ziedrich and made some spectacular ice cream in my wonderful Kitchen Aid ice cream maker. The berry flavor was intense! Like summer in a bowl.

The very next day, while at The Pike Place Market, I hit up a vendor at the end of the day, asking if there were any seconds for sale. The counter jockey pulled out two big bags of slightly dinged up white peaches and charged me $2. Hello Peach Sorbet!

Now, those are the kind of deals I can really sink my teeth into!

Raspberry Ice Cream, from The Joy Of Jams, Jellies, And Other Sweet Preserves

1 cup cream

3 egg yolks

1 cup raw raspberry puree (1 pound raspberries pressed through a fine sieve)

2/3 cup sugar

Instructions

Whirl ingredients together in a blender. Freeze the mixture in an ice cream freezer, according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Yields: About 2 1/2 cups.

-- Leslie Kelly

Every Kitchen Needs a Nice Rack

I'm always amazed when I walk into someone's home in Italy and see the size of their kitchen. Postage stamp. Nonetheless, they are able to churn out amazing multi-course meals. The key to their success is organization and multi-functional/smartly designed tools. Like this for example:

Wilton Excelle Elite 3-Tier Cooling Rack by Wilton Industries Inc. 

I've been eying rack similar to this in the King Arthur Flour catalog for a while. A stackable non-stick cooling rack, that can be disassembled, and guarantees maximum space efficiency when working on large kitchen projects. Genius. And highly-rated by Amazon customers. Now adding this to my wish list.

--StellaCadente*

Follow me on Twitter @pomodorista

Kitchen Indulgences: Do You Need A $400 Ice Cream Machine?

Do you need a $400 ice cream machine? It's something of a trick question. First, Amazon is currently discounting the machine in question, the Cuisinart ICE-50BC, so $260.99 is the true financial bar. Second, as my Depression-era grandmother would argue, few things in life are actual needs. 

Now that that's out of the way, let me say that I bought one of the ICE-50BC models (partly thanks to a generous gift certificate) for my own kitchen a few years back, in what friends have come to call "The Summer of The Perfect Scoop," when we went wild making batches of ice cream from that wonderful cookbook by David Lebovitz. 

The machine culinarily seduced me at a friend's house, when they used a similar model to toss together a spur-of-the-moment batch of chocolate mint ice cream. They started it just before we sat down to dinner; it was ready in time for dessert. 

The ice cream itself is excellent, but the spontaneity is a big part of what makes the machine worth the price tag to me. I don't have room in my freezer to keep a bowl from a standard machine at the ready, and I don't usually plan ice cream far enough in advance to clear out the freezer space and get the equipment ready. You can also make several batches in a row with the built-in compressor freezer, which has come in handy on more hot summer nights and for more parties than I would have guessed. (The only negative for me is that, as some reviewers have noted, the machine can be loud. But my dishwasher and fridge are equally loud, so my kitchen is already in a constant state of noise pollution.)

Ice cream maven Lebovitz owns the machine and recommends it highly, also offering good advice on less splurge-y options.

Sound crazy to you? Consider this: There's also a $700 ice cream maker, which boasts glowing Amazon ratings. (I did consider this review a recommendation: "Everyone in my family proceeded to gain 20 pounds soon after (t)his purchase.")

Aside from my KitchenAid and a Le Creuset Dutch oven, versatile workhorses which get constant use, my ice cream machine is the only piece of kitchen equipment I own that required such a financial investment. I haven't regretted buying it for a minute.

What's your biggest kitchen indulgence?

Kitchen Tools with Cook's Illustrated's Seal of Approval

I just received my September/October issue of Cook's Illustrated, and thought I'd pass along the list kitchen tools that met their stamp of approval this issue, since I trust Christopher Kimball and his team implicitly.

1.Taylor Digital Oven Thermometer with Remote Pager

Really? A thermometer that pages you. I love this idea. Cook's Illustrated tested three brands and this came out the winner. The pager doesn't display temperature, but it buzzes a first time when your food is 10 degrees away from being done, and a second time when it has reached the desired temperature.

2. Polder 898-95 Clock, Timer and Stopwatch

Tell time the Test Kitchen way. Cook's Illustrated swears by this one so much that each one of their kitchen testers uses this Polder timer to monitor their experiments. I'm thinking this would be a good one for my hard-of-hearing mother, who never seems to hear the timer go off if she's more than a few feet away from the kitchen.

3. Metrokane Flip-Top Cocktail Shaker with Built-In Strainer

Cook's Illustrated touts this Metrokane their new favorite model, and with  improved functionality over the sleeker looking Metrokane Bullet (wow, that's pretty!). Our customers, however seem to give this one mixed reviews. I wonder if A.J.'s had a chance to test this one out? Holler if you have, A. J.

4. Progressive International Easy Reach Steamer Basket

This compact model was their top pick for steaming (perch upon a pot of simmering water) due to its size and addition of the handle in the middle, which makes for easy removal from the pot. Speaking of steamers, this reader tip caught my eye earlier in the issue: When grilling hamburger buns, place them in a steamer (such as the above) on top of the grill. Your buns should be at the perfect height to toast, not burn. Remember to use tongs when removing the basket, or have a bucket of ice water and a burn kit handy.

--StellaCadente*

Follow me on Twitter @pomodorista

Mickey Mouse Foods, Inc.

If you were/are/will be one of an estimated quarter of a million visitors to one of Disney's theme parks this summer, perhaps you've caught Disney fever. One way to draw out the happy memories for you and your family is in the kitchen. Here is a list of top customer-rated Disney-themed kitchen items, perfect for keeping the dream alive for big and little kids alike:

Mickey Mouse Kitchen Timer - Style 12214

5.0 out of 5 stars Mickey Mouse Kitchen timer--not just for cooking,February 12, 2010 By  Amy Bumpus - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Mickey Mouse Kitchen Timer - Style 12214 I bought these for my boys to use for timed homework activiites. They love them. We set the timer for how many minutes of reading or math practice homework and it just makes homework a little more fun.

VillaWare V55200 Cinderella Waffler, Blue

5.0 out of 5 stars Princess Waffler made me Queen of the Kitchen,September 16, 2009 By  S. Leaphart (West Columbia, SC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: VillaWare V55200 Cinderella Waffler, Blue (Kitchen) Sure, the purchase seemed a little "hokey". But I'm a Cinderella fan and needed a treat to commemorate my first visit to DisneyWorld with my family. Disney is very overpriced so I opted to wait until I got home to make my purchase - so glad I did. Found just what I wanted and didn't blow my budget for treats on just one item. I also purchased the toaster :)  My girls love it and so do their friends!  The Queen reigns in the kitchen with her new Princess Purchases! Wilton Disney Pixar WALL-E Cake Pan 5.0 out of 5 star Better than Lunch In A Cup!, February 7, 2009 By  A. Moody "wannabe pastry chef" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: Wilton Disney Pixar WALL-E Cake Pan (Kitchen) Cakes of course are only as good as their makers. Daunting at first the instructions for Wall-e were pretty simple to follow. My finished product looked and tasted amazing. My little ones were thrilled. If you have ever hesitated in buying a themed cake pan don't! In todays economy it makes more sense to spend a little more time to make something then to get it store bought.  Only thing I'd recommend is this. If it's your first time using the black food coloring/gel go very easy with it. For the wheels to 'pop' here you really need to get that right contrast between the blacks and greys! Disney 20-Pc. Mickey Mouse Flatware Set 5.0 out of 5 stars Love this Mickey Mouse flatware!, April 2, 2010 By  Connoisseur of Mickey Mouse (Redmond, WA) - See all my reviews This review is from: Disney 20-Pc. Mickey Mouse Flatware Set I bought this Mickey Mouse flatware set a couple years ago and soon wished that I had bought more. So I'm buying two more sets now. The set has lasted very well. I like the subtleness of the Mickey design. The spoon and salad fork are smaller than you'd expect compared to the other pieces, but I like them. They are just right for children, and they encourage me to take smaller bites. Pop Art Disney Mickey Toaster 5.0 out of 5 stars Very fun product, June 30, 2010 By  Cheryl L. Forst "Rachel Forst" (Ohio usa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: Pop Art Disney Mickey Toaster (Kitchen) I just got this today, it cooks the toast very well. I just wish there was a bigger selection of plates, still it's the cutest thing ever. I read on a site that you can have custom plates made so maybe I will have one of my sisters friends draw me a Jack skellington plate for my toaster. The four plates incude, mickey, Minnie, Pluto and Donald. I can't wait to see what other disney kitchen stuff comes out later on.

For more Disney kitchen items, click here.

--StellaCadente*

Follow me on Twitter @pomodorista

Geekiest Grilling Gadgets?

How well do I speak geek? Let's just say that I once took an elective class in Fortran. So naturally, I tuned in when Scott Heimendinger, the Seattle Food Geek, posted a list of "5 Grilling Tools Every Food Geek Should Own". I admit that his first selection, extra-long barbecue tongs, struck me as practical more than geeky, and #2, the TurboQue Turbo-Charged Smoker, tiptoed closer to the realm of the fanatical. But he won me back with #3, the infrared thermometer, and #4, the instant digital probe thermometer. (Did I mention that my dad, a chemical engineer, once used his lab thermometer on our Thanksgiving turkey, roasting it to six significant figures?) 

Best of all was geek gadget #5, onion goggles. This tool, meant to "protect the eyes from irritating onion vapors," is purchased about half the time as a gag gift, half as a serious purchase, a saleswoman once told a writer for Saveur. The Saveur writer counted herself among the serious fans. Amazon reviewers, as you can see, also love them, bestowing a slew of 5-star ratings. As one reviewer put it, "The bad news...you'll look totally silly wearing them. The really great news...they work!" They're not just for onions; reviewers praise them for other uses too. 

Scott neatly summarized it this way in his grilling post: "The foam-lined glasses are highly effective at keeping the smoke out of your eyes, and keeping girls from ever talking to you."

Check out Scott's full discussion of geeky grilling gear here. And if you want to go beyond grilling and just focus on the geek part, look out for this upcoming book, "Cooking for Geeks," or check out one of my all-time favorite cooking reference books, the one that makes us realize that cooks should be geeks, Harold McGee's "On Food and Cooking".

McGee, by the way, has this to say about the eye-watering sulfur compound released when we chop onions: "This volatile chemical escapes from the damaged onion into the air, and lands in the onion cutter's eyes and nose, where it apparently attacks nerve endings directly, then breaks down into hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, and sulfuric acid. A very effective molecular bomb!" He recommends chilling onions for 30-60 minutes in ice water before chopping them.

-- Rebekah Denn

Giving 'Light' Foods A Whole New Meaning

My hubby's going on a week-long backpacking trip, tromping around Glacier Peak in Central Washington. He's spent days organizing meals, always keeping weight in mind. I bought him a cool book that offers super lightweight dishes, The Well-Fed Backpacker by June Fleming.

Hit the trail with bouillabaisse, Cashew Rice Curry, Mountain Stew, Shrimp Creole or Wild Goulash.

His buddy who's sharing the load offered to dehydrate some ingredients. Of course, you can buy dried fruits and veggies, but doing it yourself makes for tastier stuff. That was especially true for a batch of Vidalias. Those sweet onions are a key to the curried lentils and Chili Mac. He's also got dried bell peppers, tomatoes and celery.

It took this exercise in trying to keep things light to get me thinking that I really need a dehydrator, another way to preserve cherries, strawberries, pears, apples and apricots and more. Any tips for successfully drying food?

-- Leslie Kelly

Not Your Madre's Water Bottle, But Maybe Your Abuela's . . .

Having trouble choosing an eco-friendly water bottle? I've just found one that you may not have heard about.

It's been used for hundreds of years, and it's still used today in the hottest parts of Spain, where temperatures over the summer routinely reach 100 degrees F. and the sun is so bright sunglasses aren't for fashion, they're for survival.

The water bottle I'm referring to is called a botijo, and not only does it keep water cold, it's environmentally friendly too. As soon as the botijo, which is made of unglazed clay, is filled with water, the water will begin to seep out of the porous clay, wetting the outside of the jug. As the water on the surface of the jug evaporates, it cools the water inside. No Freon necessary!

Now the botijo is not a bottle you'll be snapping to your backpack. Even without water it weighs a ton. Keep your botijo in one place, outside in the shade of a tree is best, and you'll have cool water to quench your thirst all day long.

--Tracy Schneider