Hot Dish

There is no worse kitchen job than grating citrus zest. It's such a thin line between the peel and the pith and it would be a Shylock's deal to promise you could get all the zest without losing some of your skin. Fortunately, if you just want a dash of orange or lemon flavor, you skip the real thing and buy essence of lemon or orange at Williams-Sonoma. It's expensive, but worth it, and you only need a drop. Try a drop of lemon oil in your blueberry muffin mix and see what I mean. Your fingertips will thank me.

--Mary Brown Malouf

Williams-Sonoma, 51 Highland Park Shopping Village (Mockingbird and Preston), 696-0348