When you cook filled pasta (ravioli, tortellini, etc) a big red sauce can dominate and hide the flavor in the pasta. Try serving them in broth, to let the tortellini come through undaunted. I like to line the bowl with lightly steamed spinach before putting in the pasta and broth.
Rather than using a separate steamer, I put the spinach in a strainer and lay it across the top of the broth pot. A pot lid fits the top of the strainer.
The secret is knowing which type of cooking (hot and fast or low and slow) works for your cut of meat is important.
In general if the meat is lean, cook hot and fast.
if the meat has lots of connective tissue or fatty cook low and slow
Examples:
lean = pork chops, steak
Connective tissue = brisket, pork shoulder or pork butt, ribs, short ribs
As has been mentioned before pull the meat out at least 5-10 degrees F before the desired final temp. The latent heat will allow the meat to coast the desired temp.
Second the suggestion to buy a digital probe thermometer.
Allow steaks to rest before serving to allow juices to redistribute in the meat. This will put more juice in the meat, and less on the serving platter.
Learn how to brine. Poultry, pork both benefit a huge amount by being brined.
Basic brine
1 Cup Kosher salt
1/2 Cup brown sugar
! Gallon water.
heat about 1 quart of the water and dissolve the salt and sugar in it. Add the rest of the cold water.
Add meat and place in the fridge. The larger the cut of meat, the longer you want to brine it.
Pork Chops maybe and hour or two.
Whole chicken / chicken parts 4-12 hours
Whole turkey 12-24 hours.
Above is a rough guide, and YMMV
I did this last night, and thought of this thread. Put a strip of lemon peel is the water for steaming vegetables like asparagus and broccoli. Just the yellow part, not the white pith. Your kitchen will smell lemony, and it adds a lot of flavor to the veggies. Then squeeze a bit of juice over them right before serving. No need for butter!
I like to add fresh chopped parsley and cilantro with a bit of good olive oil to cooked rice. The heat really brings out the flavor of the herbs.
This thread is great!
Yes, and I agree with everything you subsequently said, except to add that for some things, either way works fine - I’m thinking of, say, venison - cooked so as to sear the outside and leave the inside pink is lovely, braised very slowly with wine and onions is also lovely, but anything in the middle will be like eating shoes.
They’re good for sprinkling on stinky garbage in the garbage can to neutralize the smell.
Sorry to hijack folks, but Life, could you please, please, please email me a how to for the hand soap??? It sounds WONDERFUL - I’d love to make some!! Email is in my profile - Missy2U@gmail.com.
I’ve sent the directions to Missy2U but I’ll post 'em here too - it’s really super-simple.
Buy melt & pour glycerin soap base and melt it in the microwave. Throw in a handful or so of fresh dry coffee and a couple drops of orange (or lemon) oil - also found in the soapmaking aisle at craft stores. Important part: stir it continuously until it starts to set up, THEN pour it into a soap mold. Otherwise the coffee will sink to the bottom of the mold. Sometimes, if I think of it, I pop a Vitamin E capsule and squirt it into the mix too. Let is set up completely and then unmold.
(Ooops - Missy, I think I wrote “Vitamin A” capsule in the email. I meant “E”.)
Mucho thanks!!
A mini food processor like this one is worth its weight in gold.
I’ve used one of these more than any other thing I got from my wedding (besides Mrs Labtrash). 
Oh yes, I love mine! Great for stuff like minced onion, and finely chopped carrots. Carrots are a pain to chop 'cause they roll all over the place! Good for chopping nuts, too.
I remain convinced that you cannot make pesto without one of those, actually.
This little baby, a simple nut chopper, ain’t bad either for chopping small quantities. I mainly use mine for chopping nuts for salads and waffles, etc., but you could use it for onion, pepper and the like … for your ziplock-bag omelet.
You left out the : in http://
Very odd, seeing as it was a C&P! Thanks.
So this thread has convinced you to keep around whole nutmeg-nuts instead of ground nutmegs? But you don’t have space for a nutmeg grater? Just grate your nutmeg with a little knife. Scrape the knife over the nut, of hollow it out a bit. Fresh nutmeg, no mess.
I keep my nutmegnuts in a little jar with a bit of salt. The salt keeps the nutmegs fresh.
On the subject of nutmegs… Microplane makes a neat little gizmo that has a grater on one side, and a little nutmeg storage compartment on the other. Really useful!