Today I want to share with you 16 of my favorite cooking tips. They are random and I hope they help you enjoy your time in the kitchen even more!
1. We've all heard that we need to taste as we go. Right? It's the only way to know if the flavor needs to be adjusted. I do this. I taste the liquid I am cooking rice in. I taste each component of dinner separately and combined. Sometimes I just taste because I am really hungry and it tastes good. I will admit that I double dip when I am tasting things at my house. What is the point of using 12 different spoons to taste the same sauce? We share the same germs anyway. Well, I can't do this when I am cooking for other people. I think it is gross to think that before dinner got to your mouth, it touched mine first. It's even more important when your guests are watching you cook. Well, I learned a trick in culinary school that cuts down on tasting spoons and still keeps the food sanitary. We would use the spoon normally to taste the first time and turn it around and use the handle to taste the second time. This is perfect sample size for sauces because you are just trying to get a small taste.
2. Don't overcrowd your pans. I am guilty of overcrowding my pans when I am in a hurry. It is never worth the time and I know this, but I still did it every week until I got a bigger pan for Christmas. Changed my life. I can't tell you the difference in my cooking. My husband even notices the differences. Food is able to caramelize better instead of just steaming. The cooking is more consistent because there is more of a hot surface area. Plus I made three eggs yesterday at the same time. I didn't have to make just one at a time. Do you know how much time that saves? A lot. If you don't have a giant pan yet, please take the time to cook in batches. It's worth it. Trust me.
3. We hear this one all the time. Make sure you prep everything you need to cook with first and then start cooking. Oh, do we all have uninterrupted hours to cook every single meal? No? Then learn to multitask. In an ideal world, of course we would have everything prepared before we start cooking. Since life isn't always ideal, we learn to make do. For example, when I make stir fry, I always start by cutting the vegetables that will take the longest to cook and then cook things in batches. (See how this works out?) Let me give you a run down of how this could work.
1. Put the pan on medium heat, add the oil, onion, and bell peppers when it is hot.
2. Cut some carrots, stir the onions and bell peppers, cut some more carrots. If your pan is big
enough, add the chopped carrots. If it isn't, take the onions and bell peppers out and put them in a
bowl. Start cooking the carrots.
3. Cut celery. Stir the stuff in the pan. Continue in this manner until you've added all of your
vegetables.
4. I know you will be surprised by this, but I cut and cook the meat last. That way I don't have to
worry about cleaning up after cooking chicken before I can even start cooking the vegetables.
Before I cook the chicken, I put all of the mostly cooked vegetables in a bowl. After the chicken is
cooked, I combine it all. Done.
If you find that you aren't cutting as fast as the food is cooking, there is a magical knob that turns the temperature of the pan down. Don't be afraid to use it.
4. Don't be afraid to alter recipes! This one seems so obvious to me. There are a million roasted potato recipes out there that include rosemary and since I don't like rosemary, I substitute something else like thyme, basil, or parsley. The person that wrote the recipe will not show up on your doorstep if you substitute green bell pepper for red or omit raisins. You get to make food that tastes good to you. Recipes are great guidelines, but as you learn to make substitutions, you make them your own. You are creating instead of copying. (Yes, you have my permission to edit any and all of my recipes. Take them as your own.)
5. I love making soup! It's such an easy way to clean out the fridge at the end of the week - leftover chicken, a couple of vegetables, and some chicken stock. You're done! To speed up the process, I always sauté the vegetables in butter before adding the liquid. It increases the flavor and reduces the simmer time. We call that a win-win where I come from.
6. I love cooking, but there are some days when I am just not in the mood. The only things that can motivate me are the knowledge that this is one of the ways I can serve my family and music. I love listening to music while I am in the kitchen. It makes the time pass by faster and helps keep me moving! Plus I can sing and dance around and that makes everything better!
7. I think that one of the worst parts of cooking is cleaning up afterwards. In my dancing around the kitchen, I usually spill once or twice, but I don't always clean up right away. It's always a big mistake. So my tip for you is to clean as you go. Even if it is just filling a dirty bowl with hot water, it will make your job so much easier! I find that if I rinse dishes and keep them in one side of my sink, it makes filling the dishwasher so easy and fast that I really don't mind doing it. I find that if I run the dishwasher at night and unload it during the day while I am cooking, it doesn't seem like I am just doing dishes all day. The same goes for spills - on the stove, in the fridge, on the floor - clean as you go and it will make "deep cleaning" super easy.
8. When I make cookies, I always keep the dough in the fridge between batches. You want the butter to stay cold so it gives the cookies a chance to rise a little in the oven. Otherwise, the butter just melts and you end up with flat cookies.
9. While you want cookies to be cold, you want the pan you are using on the stove to be hot. Once it is hot, add the oil/butter/duck fat and then add whatever you are cooking. (If you are using duck fat and making potatoes, please invite me over.) There is a reaction that takes place between food and heat that you don't want to miss out on by letting them come up to temperature together.
10. If you want to try something new, read a little about it and then TRY it! For me this week, it is about tempering chocolate. I am going to try a million times until I get it right. Learn from your mistakes, and don't be afraid of making mistakes. (That reminds me of a "delicious" meal I made my parents once. I was trying to make Thai food for the first time and found a recipe for chicken with peanut butter sauce. It was the grossest thing I ever made. While I haven't tried that recipe again, I love Thai food and am not afraid of trying out new recipes.)
11. I love making sauces. I think that I would call them my favorite thing to make. (Weird, I know. You can't just eat sauce by itself, but it completes meals. It is the thing that ties it all together.) I am going to do a separate post on sauces, but I wanted to share a secret with you. Chefs strain their sauces. Once. Maybe twice. That's why they are smooth and shiny and perfect. Straining a sauce takes about a minute and it is super impressive to have a beautiful sauce.
12. Ever fight to keep your cutting board in place? The tip I read most often about fixing this is using a wet towel. (Have you ever heard that bacteria thrives in damp, warm environments? Think about that the next time you put a breeding ground for bacteria under your cutting board...) Ok, well, technically that is true, but it works and you can throw the towel in to be washed right after you are finished with it. I have an easier way. Use the grip shelf liner. You know what I am taking about? The mesh non-stick rubbery stuff you put in your cabinets so your plates don't roll around? (haha!) It is perfect for underneath your cutting board. Cut off a square, confine your cutting board to one place while you use it, and then you can wash the liner! Just make sure to dry it and you can roll it up to use next time. Genius.
13. One of the questions I am most often asked about it knives. Which knife it the best? Which brand is the best? How many knives should I have? Well, I will tell you the answers.
1. There is no such thing as the best brand. People have different opinions about which knives are
the best. I like Mercer branded knives (you will be shocked at the prices compared to some of the
big name brands) because that is what we used in school. After cutting for what could have been
hundreds of hours, my hand is used to using them. I like the way they feel and have never had a
problem keeping them sharp. If you think about it, Mercer is the brand given to most culinary
students. Seems like they are more than sufficient for home cooks. So, first of all, you don't have
to buy crazy expensive knives because of the brand.
2. I will never recommend that you buy a full set of knives. It doesn't make any sense. I use a 10"
chef's knife, an 8" serrated knife, and the occasional paring knife. I have a boning knife which is
great if you break down fish, but I don't do that often. Beyond that, you can have steak knives on
hand (these don't have to be expensive either, by the way), but I don't use any other knife. I
always recommend having a steel to keep the edge on your knife. As long as you take care of
them (hand wash only), keep them sharp and keep them out of the food disposal, you're set!
14. I think one of my favorite inventions is the freezer. You can preserve food in your house. Can you imagine trying to store food for longer than a couple of days without one? I am so grateful I live in a time when we can freeze food. Not kidding. I love the concept of buying in bulk, especially when we are talking about meat. When meat is on sale, I stock up my freezer so I never have to pay full price. For instance, chicken breasts at the grocery store I usually shop at cost between $2.69 and $2.99 per pound. Every 3 months or so, they will go on sale for $1.99. I stock up and freeze most of it to use in the next couple of months. The same happens with pork and beef roasts, pork chops, steaks, etc. The important thing to note is that you want to take it all out of the original packaging and put it into portion sizes in freezer bags. This will keep longer. Also, make a habit of labeling things. (For example, boneless pork shoulder 1/14 will tell you all you need to know about the meat hanging out in your freezer. Don't be afraid to freeze loaves of bread, cheese, deli meat, chocolate bars, cookies, and fruit/vegetables that are in season. Freeze pesto, homemade chicken stock, and ginger to keep them fresh. I am going to try making my own vegetable stock by freezing the unused portions of my vegetables and making stock when I have enough saved. I am pretty excited about this. The trick with defrosting anything is to put it in the fridge the night before you want to use it. It will become routine and will keep you motivated to cook since you already have something out and ready to be used. (Exception: I don't defrost bread in the fridge. I just put it out on the counter.)
15. Food Network (specifically Rachael Ray) made this tip famous. Using a garbage bowl. I laugh so hard when I hear them taking about this. "There needs to be a bowl specifically set aside to hold your garbage. Then you must clean it and store it." If only there was something we could put our garbage in to keep it contained. Oh wait, we do. It's called a garbage can. Plus I don't have to clean it every time I put something in it and I don't have to take up valuable storage for it. So, thanks for trying to be clever FN, but I think we can handle storing our trash without buying one of your branded bowls.
16. This final tip isn't about time saving or making food taste more delicious, but it is one of my favorites. When I know people are coming over, I fill a saucepan with water, add orange, lime, or lemon rinds. Then I add complementary spices like cinnamon sticks, cloves, rosemary (I don't eat it, but I like the smell, go figure!), or any other spice you have on hand. Bring it up to a boil and let it simmer. It makes your house smell SO good. you can put it into a sealed tupperware dish in the fridge and use it again 2 or 3 times. Just don't let it simmer so long that all the water evaporates. Just add new water each time. It's super easy and makes your house smell like a home.
I loved coming up with this list this week! I hope something here helps you out or makes you laugh! Enjoy your time in the kitchen! Feel free to share any of your favorite tips in the notes!
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