Once you understand the basics of cooking, it can be such a freeing and rewarding experience to create a simply delicious meal or baked item. The smells in your home and the faces of the people who you share it with are priceless. This article will give you some great tips on how you too can be an extraordinary chef.
To improve your level of convenience in the kitchen, one of the things that you can do is to freeze the excess sauces that you create, in ice cube trays. This will allow you to reheat them when you need sauce again and also to save money on the excess sauce that you kept.
When it comes to cooking a good habit to do after preparing garlic is to rub your hands on the stainless steel sink vigorously for about 30 seconds. This will remove the unwanted odor from your hands. Washing them less than 30 seconds will not take all the odor away.
An electric mixer is a blessing when you have to make your dough, but even this relatively easy task can turn into a nightmare when the dough sticks to the dough hook. To avoid the sticky mess, spray the hook with vegetable cooking spray and your dough will never stick to your mixer again.
For the moistest banana bread ever, peel and then freeze the bananas slated for the next loaf. Bananas placed in a covered container in the freezer will absorb moisture from the freezing process and that little extra “juice”, goes a long way. Not only will your bread be more moist, it will also have a more intense banana flavor.
Fresh herbs can add a great deal to most recipes. Herbs can be tricky to handle, though, because they need to be chopped so finely. Sprinkling salt over the cutting board before chopping herbs can cut down on mess. The salt encourages herbs to stick to the board instead of flying off.
Drinks are an essential part of every meal as you will want to have the appropriate wine with your dish if you are eating meat. Make sure that you choose a fine red wine if you are having a quality meat, and this is sure to maximize the quality of your experience with friends and family.
If you are making meatloaf or meatballs it is a good idea to test a small piece before you make the rest of it. Make a little piece and fry it in a frying pan. Then you can taste it, see if it needs any more seasoning. It is a small thing to do that will go a long way to making a better tasting meal.
When cooking around small children, safety is imperative. Get in the habit, even when children are not around, that you keep knives, breakable dishes and other objects that could fall and injure a young child, well back on the table or counter. You might just prevent a child from being seriously injured because of sheer carelessness, on the part of the cook.
Cutting onions does not have to be a crying matter. The keys to success with onions are easy to follow and minimize tears. Chill the onions first before cutting, use your sharpest knife for cutting and turn exposed cuts down on your board. As you cut, be efficient, quick and constantly turn the largest exposed cuts down against the board. Running your vent hood will help circulate air as you cut as well.
If you are preparing a whole chicken or turkey, take the time to season under the skin as part of your preparation. By gently sliding your fingers between the skin and meat in the breast area and thigh area, you can create room for seasoning. Blend your preferred herbs and spices and slowly rub them against the meat under the skin. The skin will lock in juices and allow your seasoning to absorb into the meat.
Make homemade vinaigrette dressings instead of purchasing them from the store. Your homemade dressing not only tastes better, but it uses fewer ingredients and is often healthier. You can easily whip these up by just dumping all the ingredients into a sealed contained and shaking it up vigorously, and voila! You have delicious tasting dressing for marinades and salads.
A good kitchen requires good knives. Besides letting you work faster, a sharp knife is actually less likely to cause injury. You are less likely to harm yourself with a sharp knife than a dull one.
To avoid wasting chipotle peppers when you need only a couple from a can, puree the remaining peppers and adobo in a blender or food processor, then transfer the puree to an ice cube tray lined with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer. When the puree is frozen, move the cubes to a freezer bag. You can use the chipotle cubes in soups, sauces, taco meat and more.
To ensure that your shells stay firm when making twice baked potatoes or loaded potato skins, use thick-skinned potatoes, such as russets. Red potatoes are not suitable, because their skin is not thick enough and the filling may break through.
When pressing sticky ingredients into a pan, such as marshmallow treats or cheesy casseroles, coat the back of a spoon with non-stick cooking spray before using it. This prevents the goo from sticking to the spoon and makes it possible to evenly smooth the food into the pan. You can reapply spray as needed.
So you might not be a food network star, but you can have the awe and respect of your family and friends as you whip up gorgeous and succulent meals for them. This article has given you those tools to be the best cook you can be. Go out and make a dinner to die for.
