Kitchen Shortcuts Make Entertaining Easier

Colin Cowie Suggests Several, On The Early Show

(CBS)  A lot of us would invite our family and friends over more often, but entertaining can be a lot of work.

There are shortcuts that make it so much easier, and The Early Show's master party planner, Colin Cowie, shared a bunch that will save you time and lower the amount of stress on you.

His advice is good whether you're preparing an intimate dinner, or soiree for two dozen!

ou don't have to be a chef to cook like a pro in the kitchen. With a few of Colin Cowie's helpful entertaining tips and some tried-and-true shortcuts you'll save yourself time and energy, and look like a pro at your next dinner party.

Prevent Dark Rings on Egg Whites

When boiling eggs, an unsightly dark ring can develop on the egg white. To keep that from happening, poke a hole in the bottom of the egg before you cook it. That enables the pressure created by the heat to escape. Use either a pin or sharp end of a knife; there's even a kitchen tool now that's specifically made for this.

Easy Devilled Eggs

In place of a pastry bag, use a zip lock-type bag to apply yolk mixture to halved egg whites. Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, and mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, and mash again to mix thoroughly. Then cut the tip of the baggy (you can also insert a cake frosting tip) to squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done. Easy clean up!

Peeling Tomatoes

An easy and time-saving way to skin tomatoes is to bring some water to a boil (either on the stovetop or microwave), pour into a bowl, then score tomato lightly on two sides and submerge in the water for 40 seconds. The skin will slip right off!

Coring Strawberries

Core and trim a strawberry using a drinking straw. Simply press and twist straw through the bottom of the strawberry's center. Then retract straw to pull out core. You get less "wasted" strawberry than if you trim with a knife.

Slicing Bananas

When slicing bananas, there's a great way to make them uniform in size. Use a butter slicer or egg slicer - just cut the banana in half crosswise to fit the slicer. It works great for dehydrators, fruit salads, or banana cream pie.

Grease Disposal

Pouring cooking oil and grease down your drain can clog it. So what do you do with it? One solution is to line a mug with some leftover aluminum foil, making sure there are no rips, and pouring the hot grease into the foil cup. Let it harden, then just lift the foil out and throw it away.

Homemade Ice Pack/Ice Bucket

Whether you're transporting beverages and or food to someone's home or for a picnic, you can keep either cold by using homemade ice packs. However, you'll need a vacuum sealer. Simply fill a plastic bag with ice cubes, then use the sealer to suck the air out and seal the pack. You can also turn the bag into an ice bucket for wine.