Cooking tips for your holiday home
You’ve rented a beautiful house in your favorite holiday destination. At the local market, you bought the tastiest sausages, wine, vegetables and fruit. Once back at your holiday home, you open the cutlery drawer: nothing but blunt knives—and where’s the corkscrew? These tips will save your holiday.
Your own knife
This small bit of preparation will bring you so much joy: bring your own knife. Why use serrated knives with orange plastic handles when you can bring your own small, compact—and above all sharp—knife? This knife from Pallarès Solsona cuts through everything and is small enough to take with you. Not in your hand luggage, of course.
How to make the ultimate cacio e pepe
Most-used items
In any case, it’s useful to think about which kitchen tools you use most often. Does not a day go by without using your Microplane, or are you more attached to your whisk? Pack that stuff. Your entire suitcase shouldn’t end up filled with kitchen utensils, but bringing one or two tools along to the sun is perfectly fine.
No corkscrew?
The biggest panic you can experience on holiday—or in life—is finding yourself without a corkscrew. The solution? Remove the capsule (the wrapper) from the bottle and place the bottom of the bottle inside a shoe. Hit the wall with the sole of the shoe (and therefore the bottom of the wine bottle), and the cork will come right out.
Another option is to use a spoon. Insert the bottom of the spoon into the cork at a 45-degree angle and unscrew it that way. Still not entirely clear? Check out this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFQeVbwKtO0
No rolling pin?
Craving pastries or planning to make pizza yourself, but can’t find a rolling pin? Use the wine bottle you’ve just opened and emptied. A full one works too, of course.
No coffee machine?
Has your day not begun until you’ve had a big cup of coffee (or two), but is there nothing in the kitchen to satisfy this need? Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the coffee once the water is boiling, and turn off the heat immediately. Cover the pan and wait about 5 minutes until all the grounds have sunk to the bottom. Now simply scoop the ‘filtered’ coffee from the top of the pan into your cup. With this method, use a little more water than you need, because some of it will remain in the pan.
No sieve?
But do you have coffee filters? Rinse your rice, quinoa or whatever else in a coffee filter. It’s a bit of a hassle, but it works.
No can opener?
Bought beans, corn, tuna or confit de canard but there’s no can opener at your destination? Use a spoon to open the lid, as shown in the video below.
