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KITCHEN HACKS
or Sunday when you have a little more time,
cut up some things you know you’ll need
later in the week — onions, garlic, carrots
or celery — and refrigerate them in plastic
bags. You can freeze them, too — just
make sure you label the bags with date and
amount. If you buy heads of lettuce, wash as
much as you think you’ll need for a few days.
If you store it in a bag or container with a
damp paper towel, it will last for three or
four days. Another important time saver is
to eat the skins — they are full of nutrients
and fiber! Wash carrots, sweet potatoes or
beets and roast with the skins on.
If you really don’t think chopping
vegetables is going to happen this week,
pick up packages of fresh-cut produce at
Rouses.
Burger up:
Dealing with a frozen lump
of meat is no fun. When you buy ground
beef or turkey at Rouses, season it, form
the patties and freeze them. Later in the
week before you rush out the door in the
morning, you can pull out a few burgers
and let them defrost in the fridge until you
get home.
Stock up:
To really get the most out of
a weeknight menu, think about stocking
your kitchen with some timesaving foods:
• Cooked chicken wings, turkey
meatballs and frozen cooked shrimp
are easy ways to add a little protein to
a salad or pasta.They also work well for
little kid dinners!
• Refrigerated, prepared piecrusts,
phyllo dough or puff pastry are perfect
for making a quick quiche or pulling
together an appetizer on the fly.
• Prepared or frozen egg rolls added
to some chicken wings and meatballs
gives you an instant Pu Pu platter.
• No-boil lasagna noodles, jarred pasta sauce and prepared pesto
make assembling an Italian meal super easy. Hint: pesto is really
good in scrambled eggs or spread on baguettes.
• Roasted red peppers (either in the jar or on the salad bar) or
canned whole chilies can be used on pizzas, chicken breasts and
even sandwiches to bring a weeknight meal to life.
• Dried rice noodles (just dip in hot water to soften) and peanut
satay sauce can be mixed with any types of meat or veggies you
have in the fridge.
Thinking a little ahead and stocking up on some basic ingredients
will go a long way towards saving time and trouble in the kitchen
— even when there’s not a professional chef around.
Restaurant Cypress
The best chefs and cooks shop at Rouses, including Stephen
Huth. Stephen and Katherine Huth’s Restaurant Cypress is
located at 4426 Transcontinental, just a short drive from
Rouses #14 (5245 Veterans Boulevard). The slow smoked
duck is served with an andouille and cornbread dressing and
huckleberry glaze; the sautéed veal with Portobello mushrooms
and crabmeat. There’s Rabbit Sauce Piquant, rosemary
chicken, salmon, steak and roasted eggplant with crawfish
and crabmeat butter. It’s a great restaurant with a great menu.
Just ask New Orleans food critic Tom Fitzmorris, who wrote
of a recent meal: “I had the best Cypress dinner ever to pass
through my lips. It has always been good, but tonight, the chef
outdid himself. I don’t think I’ve ever used that cliché phrase,
but it perfectly captures the eating here tonight.”