Food Fact: Phyllo

Delicate Dough: Phyllo, also spelled filo, is a paper-thin pastry dough commonly used in Greek and Middle Eastern cusines to create crisp crusts and pastries. You'll find it in your supermarket's freezer section near the puff pastry. Before using, thaw the dough overnight in the refrigerator, in its original packaging.

How to Use it: The dough dries out easily, so remove phyllo from its package only when you're ready to use. As you work, keep the phyllo you aren't handling covered with a damp paper towel or cloth. Most recipes call for stacking sheets of phyllo with melted butter or oil brushed between each layer to help them stick together and brown.

Cooking with Phyllo: Use Phyllo to make crusts for meat or spinich pies. You can also create a lighter top crust for a chicken potpie. For desserts, it can be used to make baklava or other sweet pastries.

Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine

Food Fact: Strawberries

The Basics: Buy strawberries that are bright red (with no white or green around the stem), fragrant, and plump, with no soft spots.

To Store: If using right away, it's best not to refrigerate them. Otherwise, lay the berries flat on a paper-towel-lined plate and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Do not rinse or hull until ready to use.

To Use: Strawberries are delicious raw in a range of desserts and sweet treats. Because they are sensitive to heat, the berries are rarely cooked except when used in jams and pies.

Recipe: Chicken Satay Skewers

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 to 8 ounces each), thinly sliced lengthwise into 12 pieces

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

coarse salt and ground pepper

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

vegetable oil, for pan

In a bowl, toss chicken with sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic and 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes.

Season with salt and pepper.

Thread each chicken strip lengthwise onto a skewer.

Make dipping sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, and 2 to 3 tablespoons water.

Heat grill pan over high.

Working in batches, brush pan with oil, and cook chicken until opaque throughout, 1 to 2 minutes per side.

Serve chicken skewers with dipping sauce.

NOTE: I did not have skewers and do not have a grill pan. I still cut the chicken up in slices, as it says, and used a regular frying pan on the stove top. It still turned out yummy!

Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine April 2009

Recipe: Blueberry Oat Muffins

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 egg whites

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Topping:

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients.

In another bowl, beat egg whites, water, and oil.

Stir into dry ingredients just until ingredients just until moistened.

Fold in blueberries.

Fill paper-lined muffin cups or muffin cups coated with nonstick cooking spray and fill with batter 3/4 full.

Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over muffins.

Bake at 400 degrees for 18 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Makes 1 dozen.

Food Fact: Rhubarb

In season: May

The Basics: Also known as pieplant, rhubarb has a tart flavor and bright color.

What to look for: Thin, red, crisp stalks have the best texture. If stalks are floppy, it indicates they were picked too long ago.

To Store: Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

To Cook: Because it's so tart, rhubarb should always be cooked with a sweetener. It's usually used in baked desserts like crumbles, cakes, and pies. You can also toss it with honey, roast briefly, and then add to salads or serve with meats.

Goes With: Apples, pears, berries, sugar, honey, ginger, fresh cheeses, yogurt, vanilla, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, ham, duck, trout, salmon, and arctic char.

Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine

Kitchen Tip: Freshen Up

Any time you have an abundance of fresh spearmint or peppermint from the store or your garden, grind some sprigs in your disposal once a day and the disposal will smell fresh and clean! It's a refreshing aroma!

Taste of Home Cooking for 2 magazine

Fall 2008