Squeaky Clean: Tips for the Home Cook

[soft, melodic music]

Baked ziti is one of those dishes,

it's comfort food,

so it makes you feel warm and safe

and of course involves some sort of creamy cheese sauce.

I'm gonna try not to get this on my apron, but if I do,

I would immediately put it in the washing machine

so the stain doesn't set.

This is so good.

I know it makes a ton of dishes, but it's totally worth it.

As you can see I need to get started on mine.

My first tip would be, clean as you go.

Do as I say, not as I do.

Let's get started.

When I have a dish that has a lot of excess grease,

a pot or a pan, I try and pour off the extra fat into a jar,

I wipe the pot or pan out

and then I clean it with soap and water.

Otherwise you're just gonna be fighting

excess grease in your sink,

and it's not good for your pipes.

When it comes to cleaning

different surfaces of pots and pans,

I really use almost the same method

and that's soap and water and a little elbow grease.

Sometimes you have to just scrub a little bit harder

on something like cast iron,

in which case I would generally

just try and use water and a brush.

When you're cooking a gas range like this one,

you want to get into all those nooks and crannies.

I like to use a brush to kind of get the top grates clean,

then I take those off and I use a sudsy cloth

to clean the smooth surface.

If you have an induction burner,

those are nice and smooth

so you just wanna wipe those down with a sudsy cloth.

I like to put a sheet tray underneath the ziti as it bakes

so in case it boils over it'll catch everything,

making for easy cleanup.

So when it comes to loading your dishwasher,

I actually don't rinse my dishes.

I use a plastic bristle brush and I just scrape the food off

and then put it right into the dishwasher.

I find it more effective than water

and you're not wasting any.

[plopping] Oh my gosh. [laughs]