Cooking Up A Press Kit

Press kits, like any dish, may include different ingredients depending upon who will be consuming them. A good press kit can be used with potential investors or clients, just as it can for editors. The contents should be developed based upon your audience.

Let's review some common elements you will find in press kits aimed at journalists. A letter of introduction - or a pitch letter - often is attached to the outside of the press kit folder. This could include an overview of kit contents and your contact information. Now, let's go inside the folder:
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The Backgrounder. This is an overview of your company that may include its history and a profile, company locations, as well as brief bios of key company officers.

Product/Service Information. Include product and service spec sheets or brochures, as well as any reviews you have received from neutral third parties.
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Art. Photos, charts, graphs and illustrations often help sell the story. Editors and are always looking for ways to visually illustrate news and feature items. Including art gives you a leg up.

Recent Coverage. If you have received editorial mention elsewhere, include it. This gives an editor a little more confidence that your story or company has merit.
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News Releases. Now, I'm not saying you should include every release you have written since the dawn of time, but include some that are pertinent to the subject at hand.

Article Layout. Laying out a story using text and visuals in what is known as mat format often can result in additional coverage. Editors can pick up the entire layout and drop it into the publication. This is more likely to happen with small newspapers and trade magazines than with major media. But it can even give major media editors ideas on how to illustrate a feature.
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FAQs and Facts. Frequently asked questions and bulleted fact sheets also can spur coverage.

Harry Hoover is managing principal of Hoover ink PR. He has 30 years of experience in crafting and delivering bottom line messages that ensure success for serious businesses like Brent Dees Financial Planning, Focus Four, Levolor, New World Mortgage, North Carolina Tourism, TeamHeidi, Ty Boyd Executive Learning Systems, VELUX, Verbatim and Wicked Choppers.

Simplicity and Traditions in Cooking

Cooking is a way of connecting with your family and having a shared experience with them. In order to maximize the amount of time those experience happen we strive to make cooking easy and fun. The simpler and more enjoyable the process the more times you can connect with your family. I ran across an interview with in cookingschools.com with renowned Italian chef Walter Potenza that states these ideas very elegantly.

First, let's look at the impact of simplicity on cooking. Chef Potenza states:

"I feel that a return to uncomplicated cooking is a must. Chefs have to return to the basics and lead their protégés through intensive programs of training. American Chefs have to learn the art of simplicity… My suggestion to students: search for your culture and identity. Study it well, study it forever and put it on the plate."
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Chef Potenza also makes the argument cooking is a way to share an experience with your family. He even goes further by saying cooking connects generations. His take on tradition exemplifies this:

"I personally enjoy a style of cuisine that reaches for the past. Trends come and go but traditions will be here forever. I made a step forward in cooking by going back in time, and to me it means very much... I have always believed that traditions are like umbilical cords. They will always take you back to your grand mothers no matter how many times your roads in life may change."
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Finally, I always like to stress cooking must be fun so you are compelled to do it often. When asked what he most enjoyed about cooking Chef Potenza replied:

"Pleasing the guests. It is the best reward to be able to cook and please everyone's palate and create experiences for guests to treasure forever."
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This master of the kitchen agrees with me that cooking should be easy and fun. This in turn will help families and generations come closer together. I believe this will help everyone live a richer more rewarding life. So join me in this adventure and experience how simple and fun great cooking can be for you.
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To learn more visit Hugo Felix at The Minute Gourmet, making great cooking easy, today! Also visit Hugo's blog for some lively discussion on making fast cooking great.

Steak Cooking Tips

These great steak cooking tips will help you cook the sort of steak that you thought only professional chefs could create!

· One of the most important steak cooking tips is to start out with a good steak in the first place! A poorly cooked steak that is of prime grade will still likely taste better than a low grade steak that is cooked well.

· Look for a steak with marbling throughout. This will ensure that it is flavorful and remains juicy.

· For a great steak, get a great cut of meat like top loin or filet mignon.

· Refrain from cutting open your steak to see if it is done! Doing so will release valuable juices.
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o To see if your steak is done, touch it! A firm steak is well done, a springy steak is medium, and a soft steak is rare. The more often you cook your steak, the more obvious this will be.

o If you have a meat thermometer, use it! A medium rare steak will be about 145 degrees. · Ditto on turning your steak with forks - you want to keep all of the juice and flavor contained in the steak. Instead of using a fork, use tongs (long-handled ones are best… then you do not have to get too close to the heat).
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· Realize that if you have a large and thick cut of meat, it will continue to cook, even after you have removed it from the oven. Therefore, take it off a little early or serve them immediately!

· Do not be worried about cooking and serving a rare steak. Once you have browned all sides of the steak, you have effectively killed off any bacteria. This is because the steak can only be contaminated with bacteria on the outer service. Therefore, you simply need to make sure that the outside of the steak has been thoroughly cooked.
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· Use seasonings and marinades to enhance the flavor of your steak, not to mask it. You may find that you do not need any seasonings beyond salt and pepper! A good steak will already be tender.

· When grilling, be sure that the grill is extremely hot. When it is very hot, it will sear the outside of the meat and lock in the juices. (For the same reason, preheat your broiler if you are cooking your steak in it).
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· If cooking your steak in a pan, be sure to oil your steak rather than the pan.

· Once you are done cooking your steak, take it off the heat source and let it "rest" for at least five minutes. This will allow the juices to spread out.

Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, fashion, cooking, and home decor. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles on cooking and meats, please visit Big Sky Filet Mignon.

Cooking Spices and Herbs

Have you ever wondered how you can improve the taste of your recipes? Cooking with spices and herbs can really help you achieve great cooking results. The following are some tips to improve your use of herbs and spices.

Webster's defines herbs and spices as:

An herb (pronounced ûrb in American English and hûrb in British English) is a plant grown for culinary or medicinal value. Typically, the green, leafy part of the plant is used. Herbs are distinguished from vegetables in that they are used in small quantities and provide flavor rather than substance to food. By contrast, spices are the seeds, berries, bark, or other parts of the plant. Spices are strongly flavoured or aromatic parts of plants used in small quantities in food as a preservative, or flavouring in cooking.
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Storage

In general, whole spices can be stored longer than ground spices which last about the same as leafy herbs. To know if they are good crush them, if no aroma is detected, the seasoning needs to be replaced. In general, whole spices can last two years and crushed spices 6 months but remember fresher is better. Whole herbs and spices last more than crushed or ground spices. However, many consumers prefer to buy the whole form and crush or grind as needed for greater freshness. You should be one of them. The mortar and pestle is my favorite tool for crushing herbs and spices.
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Cooking Tips

A quarter teaspoon (a pinch) of spice per pound of meat or pint of liquid is sufficient when creating recipes. For stronger seasonings such as red pepper and garlic use 1/8 teaspoon. Ground spices release their flavor faster than whole. Use strong spices in long cooking and mild herbs at the end of the cooking process. Always remember adding more is easier than trying to fix the recipe when you have added too much. If you double a recipe increase spices and herbs only by one and a half, then add more to taste. Most of the time 1 and a half will be enough. Cooking spices and herbs will raise the volume on your recipes.
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Finally

Experiment cooking with herbs and spices and you will have better tasting dishes that are healthier to boot. Use these guidelines, vary your use according to your family's taste and remember to accept the accolades graciously.

Hugo Felix is a cooking and time specialist specializing in making great cooking easy. To learn more about him visit The Minute Gourmet. For some lively discussion on making great cooking easy also visit Hugo's blog.

10 Cooking Tips for Smart Cooks?

Below is some guidelines for smart cooks:

- Keep on hand food items you use often. Group similar items on shelves. This speeds selection and you can see at a glance when it's time to buy replacements.

- Organize your refrigerator so there's a certain space for leftovers. Then you can easily see what's on hand and what needs to be used promptly - thus cutting food waste.

- Mentally check your menu plans for the day. Be sure you don't have too many last-minute tasks. Then, think through your preparation schedule, planning to dovetail activities whenever possible.

- Learn to read recipes carefully before you begin. Do you have all the ingredients? Is there something you should do first - melt chocolate, beat eggs, make pastry ?
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- Turn on oven, if needed, when you start preparations, so it will reach correct temperature by the time food is ready to be baked.

- Assemble ingredients and utensils before beginning recipe - you'll save time and effort!

- If more than one menu item calls for chopped food, do all your chopping at once. Remember, too, chopped onion and green pepper freeze well for use later on.
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- Use kitchen shears to snip parsley, chives, dates, etc. It's quicker than a knife.

- In planning your menu, remember flavor, temperature, and texture contrasts keep meals from becoming humdrum. For example, serve a crisp cold salad with hot soup.

- Meats and poultry may make a more stunning presentation on the platter when they are whole, but it's much more practical to serve them sliced.
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- Serve hot foods hot, cold foods cold!

-A smart cook plans a surprise in every meal - some little extra, like a special muffin, an unusual relish, a tasty trim, a favorite dessert served in a new way.

-Clean up as you go. Wash utensils as you finish using them; soak stubborn pans. Take care of leftovers right away.
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The author is a big fan of cooking recipes. Visit the following website for more info about health and cooking recipes.

http://www.101cookingrecipes.com http://www.101vegetarianrecipes.com http://www.herbs-spices-recipes.com

Hurricane Power Outages and Cooking Your Coffee

Have you consider what you will do if you have failed to all honor the mandatory evacuation by law for the next large catastrophic and large category hurricane? You need to think of some of the essentials in some of your daily endeavors. For instance in the morning most Americans drink a cup of coffee and it is almost like the ritual.

However, after a large category hurricane hits like the ones we saw during the 2005 Atlantic tropical hurricane season, generally the power is out and there is no way to make your coffee. You cannot boil water in your microwave because there is no power. You cannot plug in your Mr. Coffee because there is no power, but you will have to find a way to boil water to make coffee or a way to make your coffee maker work.
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There are many ways to do this for instance you can get a portable generator and just turn it on for a few minutes to make your coffee each day or perhaps you can boil water by making a fire out of the debris left in your yard from the hurricane.
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There are little devices that you can buy to put over your coffee cup and pour on the hot water and although this may not be as good as your used to, it will suffice until the power is back on. Can you imagine a day without your morning cup of coffee; many Americans cannot imagine such a horrific event. Please consider this in 2006.
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Lance Winslow