We dropped by the posh restaurant Central on Sunset Boulevard to cull a few tips from chef Jamie DeRosa about how to correct common kitchen mistakes. Here's what we learned:

A touch of apple cider vinegar will tame the overt sweetness in cloying, sugary sauces.

Flaccid whipped cream will benefit from a little egg white beaten into it (Fig. 1) and you can create a perfect environment to whip your cream by filling a bowl with ice, setting it on a rolled up towel bent into a "U" and then putting your cream in an identical bowl and placing that in the bowl with the ice - sort of a double boiler type situation only using ice instead of boiling water (Fig 2).

Burn your rice? Try dropping the heel from a loaf of bread into the pot for a little while, it will soak up the burned flavor, then be sure not to scrape the burnt rice off the bottom of the pan when dishing up.

We showed Jamie a trick or two as well:

The potato is the superhero of the kitchen! If you've over salted your soup, drop a few slices of potato in it. The potato will soak up the salt. Be sure to discard it before serving though.

If your lettuce or celery is droopy, put it in a pan of water for a little while with a few slices of potato and it will firm right up.

If you don't have a salad spinner handy, try putting your damp lettuce in a clean pillow case and whirling it around. The centrifugal force will drain it of water. You can even store the lettuce in your pillow case in the fridge for a few hours until you need it.

Episode 211 Main Page