Secret to professional-looking cheesecake

Question: I am having a dinner party and would like to make cheesecake for dessert. Can you tell me if I can quadruple my cheesecake recipe and bake the cake in a large rectangle pan? Love your books! — Brittany

Answer: Not a good idea: the cheesecake will brown on the sides and the center will remain under-baked. You are better off using a round springform pan and baking several cakes (one at a time).

Here is another cheesecake tip: After baking cheesecakes, partially freeze them. Doing this will make cutting easier and you will end up with professional-looking slices.

Question: I have some favourite baking sheets and muffin pans. They are shiny aluminum, but they tend to become brown, and have developed a sticky coating over the years. Because they are my favourites, I would really like to clean them and make them shiny again. Is there any way to do that? Thanks for your help. — Carol

Answer: You can clean your baking sheets by using a combination of baking soda and dish soap. Scrub with an abrasive cloth. If the shiny finish is gone, you will likely not bring it back.

In the restaurant business people use steel wool to scrub non-coated aluminum baking sheets. Some people had great results by cleaning sheets with oven cleaner in a ventilated area, but test on an inconspicuous area first.

To make cleaning easier (in the future), line pans with parchment paper before baking, or spray pans with non-stick coating, grease pans with oil or purchase a silicone sheet.

Question: What can I use to clean billiard balls. Any help would be great. P.S., I read your column every week. Thank you. — Doug

Answer: Some people have had great results by putting billiard balls into the dishwasher. However, due to the bleach in dishwasher detergent, this seems a little risky.

All you really need is dish soap and water. Rinse and wipe dry. You can also use window cleaner to get them clean. Or purchase professional cleaner, which costs about $50 per bottle. Yikes!

Tips of the Week!

• After baking or frying bacon, place a few pieces of bread inside a pan. Lay the bacon onto the bread. Doing this will absorb the bacon grease. Discard bread.
• Speaking of bread: save bread ends to make your own croutons (or breadcrumbs). Brush both sides of bread with melted butter (or olive oil), sprinkle on garlic, parmesan cheese and parsley. Cut bread into cubes. Arrange the pieces on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
• Poke holes in homemade pizza dough crusts before baking. You will have crispier crusts.
• Bake rice in the oven: it takes longer, but you will not end up with half of the rice sticking to the bottom of your pan if you grease the pan before adding rice.

Note: Every user assumes all risks of injury or damage resulting from the implementation of any suggestions in this column. Test all products on an inconspicuous area first.

Reena Nerbas is a popular motivational presenter for large and small groups; check out her website,reena.ca. Ask a question or share a tip at reena.ca