Meet Sophie and The Winner is…

Meet Sophie

I slipped away to my calming blue-walled office to do some blog reading and commenting.  A few clicks here and a couple of comments there, I noticed a slight rustling sound just outside my office door.  Since I was the only person on the second floor of the house, I went back to clicking and commenting.  Then I heard a slight whimper that sounded like our new puppy Sophie.  I stepped into the hallway to be greeted with a soft fluffy mound lying in front of a floor-to-ceiling mirror as she gazed at her own reflection in wonderment.  That little stinker actually figured out how to climb up the stairs by herself!

Sophie is a young Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier puppy we adopted just before Thanksgiving.  While she has only been in our care for a few days, we have seen a wonderfully mild-mannered animal with an extremely intelligent mind emerge before our eyes.  She trusts people yet cautious about her surroundings.  Picks up direction well, yet still has the stubborn attitude of a young teenager.  I think over time she will grow to be a ton of fun and the focus of many interesting stories for years to come.

And the Winner is…

It was exciting to see the wonderful response from the Ask Culinary Cory series.  It is now time to announce the winner of the cookbook giveaway.  And the envelope please…

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

#4:  Thérèse-Marie

Rather than plunk them in my dishwasher, I always wash my good and sometimes expensive chef knives by hand in mild detergent and hot soapy water and then rinse well. I dry the knives thoroughly before putting them away in a knife block or knife roll. I try not to let them soak in the hand wash water, as that can warp wooden handles.

The harsh chemicals of the dishwasher soap and the extreme high temperatures of a washer itself can damage the blades and the wood or composite handles.

The expansion and contraction of the handles can loosen the rivets causing the blade to shift in time.
In the dishwasher, the knife blades can also be accidentally nicked when coming in contact with other silverware or dishes and lose their edge.

Even though’ it can be a pain at times, taking the extra effort to care for my knives has rewarded me with knives that remain sharper, safer and newer looking longer (I have had some knives for 15+ years). It has also saved me a bit of cash, as I have to make fewer trips to the professional knife sharpener.

Congratulations Therese-Marie!  Thanks again for sharing your wonderful tips about knives.

I also wanted to highlight two comments I found to be the most intriguing and well worth featuring.

Amanda: One of my favorite tips, and I have many LOL, is before you eat or use (in a recipe) an orange, lime or lemon, zest the rind first. Put the zest into a zipper bag and squeeze out all of the air. Store in the freezer for later use.

Pamm: A great and easy way to fill taco shells is to put a muffin tin, upside down on a cookie sheet that is lined with parchment. You put the taco shells inbetween the dividers. So easy because the taco shells stand up.

I look forward to kicking back into high gear with more new and flavorful recipes in the very near future.

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