When melting baking chocolate, place it on a piece of aluminum in its own wrapper and put into the oven while it is preheating or into the top of a double boiler. The chocolate will be ready when you need it.

Always add a little salt to recipes containing chocolate. It brings out the flavor.

If a recipe calls for brown sugar, use light brown sugar unless otherwise specified.

To soften hardened brown sugar , place a crisp lettuce leaf or a slice of fresh bread in the container. Or, place package in a 250 degree oven for 10 minutes, the roll out the lumps with a rolling pin or press them out with a spoon or fingers. When heated, the sugar must be used immediately.

Heavy cream doubles in volume when whipped. 1/2 cup of whipping cream will make 1 cup of whipped cream.

A pinch of salt added to heavy cream will make it whip faster.

Slip a piece of wax paper over the mixing bowl when whipping cream. Have the beaters poke up through a hole in the center. No splatters!

Freeze dollops of whipped cream on a cookie sheet. When frozen, transfer carefully to a box for storage. Nice for garnishing.

*Sprinkle strawberries with sugar and pour a bit of brandy or orange juice over them. Chill for several hours. Before serving, pour pink champagne over the strawberries and garnish with mint.

If custard curdles, pour it through a sieve.

*Fill the center of honeydew melon halves with lime sherbet for a delicious dessert.

*Honeydew is marvelous filled with strawberries and fresh pineapple with a sauce of beaten vanilla ice cream and brandy poured over.

Serve crystallized ginger or powdered ginger with any melon.

Nice garnishes for puddings, cakes, pies, etc:
Chocolate shavings made by using a parer on semisweet or cooking chocolate squares.
Frosted grapes made by dipping grapes into slightly beaten egg whites and coating with granulated sugar. Allow to dry on wax paper.
Melt semisweet chocolate and paint onto the backs of small leaves. Refrigerate. When
cool, peel off leaf. You will have a chocolate leaf.
Toast almonds, finely chopped or slivered, in a hot skillet or on a cookie sheet in a slow oven. Be sure to keep almonds stirred for an even medium brown.

Pretty mint garnish for berries can be done by brushing them with egg white and dipping into fine granulated sugar.

Excellent ready-made pie crusts (regular, chocolate and graham cracker) are available in most grocery stores. The mixes are also very good.

Roll pie crust in wax paper. Turn upside down over pie plate; roll off wax paper.

Put another pie plate on top of crust when baking pie shell so that it does not bubble up.

To prevent a deep-dish pie from bubbling over, turn a custard cup upside down in the center of the dish. Pour the fruit in; top with the crust. Cup also lifts the pastry so it won’t get soggy.

Two-crust pies should be frozen with no vents. They can be cut as soon as the pie thaws as it is baking.

Try adding a little cheese to the crust of an apple pie.

A nice pie shell can be made by mixing 1 1/ 2 cups gingersnap crumbs with 6 tbs butter and a bit of 10x sugar. Chill 1 hour before serving. Also try Oreo cookies (18 cookies plus 4 tbs butter) or vanilla wafers for and interesting variation.

Pies will be brown and glossy if brushed with milk before baking.

Never use all butter in pastries – it will be tough.

To measure shortening, fill cup with warm water less the amount desired. Add shortening. Pour out water.

Too much moisture in pastry dough will make it tough and the pie will steam instead of bake.

Custard-based pies (pumpkin, too) may be made ahead and frozen unbaked. A frozen 8″ pie will bake in 1 hour at 400 degrees.

Always remove refrigerator pies from the refrigerator 20 minutes before serving to remove the chill from the crust.

To prevent fresh pared apples from discoloring, submerge them about 1 minute in cold water with a little lemon juice added to it.

For perfect non-weeping meringue on your pie, use 3 egg whites, 1/4 tsp cream of tartar, 3 tbs sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Beat eggs at room temperature with cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually add sugar until stiff and glossy. Put meringue on pie and seal all edges. Cool away from drafts after cooking about 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees. If you want an extra high meringue, add 1/2 tsp baking powder along with the cream of tartar.