By: K. Miller

I know this first technique may sound unrelated to Southern Cooking , but you will see the connection as we proceed. Here's the first tip, which should be applied to all your recipes, not just Southern Cooking.

The Chinese figured this out long ago. Combine sweet and sour in your cooking. That is, in a dish that is intended to be sweet (deserts), add a pinch of salt, vinegar or hot spice. In a dish that is intended to be sour (not sweet), such as vegetables, chili, meats, add sweet. I prefer syrup or molasses rather than regular sugar to add sweetness.

As an example, in Southern Recipes, I add a teaspoon of molasses to greens (turnip, collards, mustard), green beans and breakfast gravy. One exception to the adding sweet to sour is in cornbread. If you want real Southern cornbread, never put sugar in it. Sorry, that's not cornbread, it's cake (or Yankee cornbread.) I also add a teaspoon of regular sugar to my cole slaw and chili.

Likewise, in all deserts I cook I add a pinch of salt. You are probably aware that most desert recipes call for this anyway.

I have discussed the next technique at length in my other articles and on my websites, but it is so important I want to repeat it here. You must use cast iron cookware for most Southern dishes, especially cornbread. First, it is the traditional way to cook Southern. Additionally, the cast iron transfers heat unlike any other material, making it uniquely suited for Southern dishes. So, please use cast iron.

This next technique is employed in many Southern recipes. Southerners use cornmeal in many fried dishes to coat the food. This produces a crunchy texture and adds flavor. When frying chicken, coat (batter) the chicken in flour, but add cornmeal to the flour mix at a 3 to 1 ration. In other words 1/4 cup cornmeal to 1 cup flour. Also, fried okra should be coated in a pure cornmeal mix (with salt and pepper, no flour.) Here's the point...experiment a little. When a recipe calls for flour or just because you have always cooked it that way, try substituting cornmeal for flour.

Here's something I remember from my grandmother's kitchen. She was a great cook of traditional Southern food. She made the best biscuits I ever tasted. At first, I thought it was her recipe, until I found out there was nothing unusual about it (I think she got it off a bag of flour.) It wasn't the ingredients that made them so good. It was the size of the biscuits. I always knew she made bigger biscuits than I was use to but I didn't make the connection until after I found out her secret was not the ingredients. Larger biscuits will have more of the soft insides and a larger area outside for the brown crust. They are especially good with gravy or anytime you will be using a sauce. Here's what she did. She rolled out the biscuit dough to about 3/4 inch thickness. Then she used a biscuit cutter that was a little over 3 inches in diameter (who knows where she got it...it was probably a hundred years old.) A word of caution if you use this technique for your biscuits, do not make the dough over 3/4 inch thick. You may think that if 3/4 inch is good, then 1 1/2 inches should be better. Not so. The 3/4 inch rule seems to be the optimum for Fat Biscuits. If you make them much thicker the tops will crack and they will have a doughy flour taste. So, if you are one that has always made slim 2 inch biscuits, give these a try. And, try out the other techniques mentioned for real Southern Cooking.

Author Bio
Ken Miller is a free lance writer and webmaster for itzalgud.com

Southern Cooking - Southern Recipes, where you can get free recipes for authenic Southern favorites.

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By: Rick Kaestner

Data loggers are modern digital devices that document temperature. Many people use them to monitor the temperature in a freezer or in a pharmaceutical storage facility, but the are also used to monitor oven temperature and other manufacturing processes.

A high temperature data logger (a logger with sensors capable of measuring high temperatures) can be used in laboratories, manufacturing plants and even bakeries. Literally any place where temperature plays a role in producing a product or affects the life of stored inventory is a potential spot where a data logger can be employed.

Data loggers are priceless tools for museums and art galleries where they monitor and document temperature and humidity. Art works and paintings must be maintained in rigidly controlled environments or they deteriorate. They can also be employed for investigating building operational problems, checking voltage and amperage in energy lines and many, many more. The only thing that limits them is which sensors are installed.

Humidity monitors
Temperature/RH data loggers such as the ThermaViewer can be used to monitor and alert personnel if temperature moves outside a 'safe' range. Knowing the relative humidity (RH) is important in every place where there are any moisture sensitive goods stored. Cigars, musical instruments and clothes - all these goods may be damaged or even destroyed by rapid RH changes. Drums' heads can split, guitars can fall apart and paintings can darken - all because of improper RH level.

High temperature
High temperature sensors can increase the data loggers' usefulness. Wherever there are heaters or ovens to monitor, a high temperature data logger will be handy. They can be used for temperature monitoring of ongoing experiments in a lab as well as for checking the temperature in ironworks' furnace. Data loggers (even high temperature ones) are relatively inexpensive and can be used by small businesses, like pizzerias and bakeries.

Author Bio
Rick Kaestner is the President and CEO of Two Dimensional Instruments; the worldwide leader in providing technology to monitor, measure, record and document temperature and humidity. For more information please visit their website at www.e2di.com

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By: Stephanie Foster

"There are two kinds of people in the world: those who love chocolate, and communists." - Leslie Moak Murray

I can't help but love that quote. When I was a kid, my grandpa always called any store bought cookies that somehow made it into the house "Commie cookies." For him, it was Grandma's homemade cookies or none at all.

There's just something special about homemade cookies, especially chocolate chip cookies, so far as I'm concerned. It's a great family activity, something even children can help with, and everyone loves eating the results.

Here's an easy recipe for chocolate chip cookies I think you'll enjoy:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 package butter pecan, chocolate chip, chocolate fudge, devil's food, German, chocolate or yellow cake mix
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine -- softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 1 (6 ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup)Heat oven to 350°. Combine half of the dry cake mix , butter, vanilla and eggs in large bowl and mix until smooth. Stir in remaining cake mix, nuts and chocolate chips.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are set (centers will be soft). Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Author Bio

Stephanie Foster is the owner of Gimme Chocolate and offers a range of gourmet chocolate products as well as chocolate recipes on the site. For more recipes, please visit www.gimmechocolate.com/recipes/

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