36 - Wednesday, March 4, 1992 ~ North Shore News FOOD Experience is a great teacher NEW COOKS are often unsure of their skills. They lack confidence in several areas — just putting a meal on the table every night is the first and worst. ‘‘What’ll I make for dinner?’’ is a frequent call for help. Answer: Make rough menu - plans for a week. When you shop, keep these in mind by using a list. Buy the extras you need to pull the meal together such as the rice, pasta, vegetables and tins. Also stock an emergency shelf with ali the makings for at least one meal when ali else fails. Afraid you’re getting in a rut? We all do it — if it’s Tuesday it must be meatloaf. For inspiration, most good cookbooks have menu suggestions and you can get a lot of inspiration to try new combina- tions. Also, the magazine: Woman's Day, sold at grocery check-outs - includes a whole month of menus for every day. These take advan- tage of a lot of convenience foods which are hardly Budget Beaters but cheaper than dialing | for delivery Dont feel that you have to be female te buy a women’s maga zine —' men are discovering that there’s a lot of good information there that they'll never ° find ‘in Playbcy. _ The next worry is timing. ‘How can I get a whole meai on the table — hot and at the right time?” Answer: Planning and ‘pre- preparation. Pity the poor rattled - cook.who has every burner on the stove. busy’ with a pot, the oven full and the counters a mess. - - The novice cook is wise to skip “the. mashed Potatoes and substitute a potato casserole that only needs re-heating. Why try to time a vegetable souffle when a pre-made vegetable casserole will - cook with the potatoes? Salads can be made ahead and refrigerated. Rare roast beef is a ” . challenge to serve. You can over- cook pot roast, roast pork or ham andno one will know the dif- ference. ‘Experience is a great teacher. Don't expect to be able to cook like’ mom -— she’s earned her degree. Instead, specialize! Learn ~ to make a few dishes that you can - produce with confidence. Add a few personal touches — a home- made salad- dressing, raw mushrooms in the salad, attractive garnishes, a special frozen dessert that you can make weeks in ad- vance. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Try .a new recipe. Watch your family and friends as they cook — you’ll learn what not to do as well as positive things. Above ail, keep your kitchen cleaned up.as you go..Keep a bag for garbage at counter level and toss refuse as it collects. Wipe up spills immediately. Wash dishes as you dirty them or ziack in. the dishwasher. I suspect that anyone who says, “¥ hate to cook”’ is a person who makes such a mess in the kitchen that he never wants to face it again. Here are two examples of potato dishes that can be prepared a day ahead and serve a crowd: Potatoes Romanoff This serves 12 generously. You'll need one large — 10”? x 12”’ x 2’ casserole or two smaller ones. \% package - 250 g - bacon, cooked and crumbled 2 bunches green onions, chopped (including green) 2 cups sour cream 3 cloves garlic, crushed 12 medium potatoes % cup butter Barvpara NicCreadie BUDGET BEATERS salt ard pepper (I use seasoned salt and freshly cracked pepper), 2. cups grated ‘medium or old 7 cheddar Prepare the bacon and chop the, onions. Stir the garlic into ‘the sour cream, Peel potatoes and cut into quarters. Cook until barely tender — don’t let them get mushy. Drain and chop coarsely — I slice them in the pot by draw- ing a knife through. Toss with butter and seasonings. Add bacon, ‘onions and sour cream. Turn into sprayed casse- role and‘ top. with cheese. Cover tightly and refrigerate until an hour before serving. Bake at 350° — covered — about 45 minutes. Uncover and: let the cheese brown a bit. . Hint: Instead ‘of peeling the potatoes, choose 12 huge poiatces and bake them. Scoop out the in- sides and use for Romanoff. Cut up the skins, leaving about %’’ of potato clinging. Dip the potato insides. in melted butter, sprinkle with lots of grated cheddar and seasoning salt. Bake in a hot oven — 400° — about 10 minutes. Serve as an ap- _ petizer with a sour cream dip. - I know that it’s repetitive to. serve both potato~ skins . and Potatoes Romanoff at the same meal. But, if you’re having friends over on Saturday night to watch TV, serve the skins. Give your Sunday dinner group the Romanoff. The secret of this next dish is preparing all the ingredients, refrigerating and combining at the last minute. It’s easy to prepare and great with any barbecued meat. Believe it or not, you can dump the whole thing into a cas- serole and bake it instead of serv- ing it cold. Mustard Potatoes 24 new potatoes - about billiard- ball size % tb. deli corned beef or Black Forest bam 2 bunches green onions, chopped 2 cups diced celery 1% cups ceal mayonnaise ¥% cup Dijer mustard salt and freshly cracked pepper herbs: omit if you’re going to heat this! Y2 cup snipped parsley Y cup finely snipped basil garnish: Tinned pimento strips Steam the potatoes in their skins until tender. Refrigerate well covered. Chop the meat and vegetables and refrigerate. Whisk together the mayonnaise and mustard and refrigerate. To serve, cut the potatoes into “%"" cubes, skin on. Toss everything together and garnish. METRO ; MOTORS saul, HOUSSER & TUPPER, f io j LTO. BCSugar VANCOUVER WHARVES LTD. @ORPAC Deloitte CATES __ Touche Gray Beverage Inc. “McCarthy Tétrault BARRISTERS & SOLICITORS - PATENT & TRADE MARK AGENTS ae GROSVENOR INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LIMITED BENEFACTOR Eari’s Restaurants itd. North Shore News Red Robin Restaurants of Canada Ltd. Sodican (B.C.) Inc. 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