Helpful Hints from My Cottage Kitchen 2

I started writing a periodic blog post called "Helpful Hints from my Cottage Kitchen" back in April of last year.  Here is the post where I wrote about one of my favorite pans.  Since that time, I have neglected the project but haven't forgotten about it.  While we were in Charleston for the New Years Holiday, we girls spent one day shopping in the historic downtown area.  Across the street from the place we had lunch ( High Cotton) was a wonderful cooking store called Charleston Cooks!   They had so many unique gadgets that we all came home with something.  Jackie got a butter keeper.  It keeps butter at room temperature in a sealed container on your counter.  I have one and it is so nice to always have room temperature butter to spread on toast or bread.  Barbara got a salt pig.  Again something I already have.  Kosher salt in a protected porcelain "thingy" right at your fingertips.   This is what I got.

Sometimes when I prebake a pie crust before I add the filling, the fluted edges get too brown when the pie goes back into the oven with the filling.  All of the self-help cooking manuals tell you to cover the crust with pieces of aluminum foil.  I'm sorry, but that just doesn't work for me. It is too clumsy and hard to get the aluminum foil around the edges of the dish.  These silicone pie shields are genius!  They fit just right, even over highly fluted edges.  The package includes 5 pieces.  I only needed 4 for a standard 9" pie, but if you have a 12" pie dish you are covered.  This was worth the $8.00 I had to pay for it.

The pie shields are great.  I made this quiche recently and realized that the edges were browning too quickly.  I plopped the silicone shields on it and all was well.  Here is the source for them from Charleston Cooks!  But I am sure you could also find them on Amazon.  I hope you find this helpful.  I know it has made me very happy.  But then it doesn't take much to make me happy.  My husband is grateful.