10 Things

[SOteric]

I have learned over the course of my lifetime about cooking.

1. Prep your ingredients. Have everything ready to roll before you actually start cooking. It will make you more efficient. It will make your cooking more enjoyable. And you won’t have that pesky, last-minute “oh damn, I’m completely out of (insert vital product here)!” which always seems to occur ¾ of the way through the recipe.


2. Use your sense of touch to determine the doneness of cuts of meat. Sticking a thermometer, a fork, a knife, etc. into them just causes all the lovely juices to run out into the dirtied pan. You want them in the meat.


3. Use coarse salt. Kosher salt and sea salt have a much better flavour than ordinary table salt. Kosher salt dissolves most swiftly, so if you’re looking for expediency in finishing a sauce, there’s your choice for you. Sea salts have the best flavours, so if you’re not in a hurry or you’re palatte is exceptionally discriminating, that’s your best option.


4. Start with the best ingredients you can find. Imported parmigiano reggiano is so much better than American domestic Parmesan that the two can’t even be compared; excellent chocolate with the proper ratio of fats will make the difference in cakes and pastries; and USDA prime will yield a moist and flavourful roast even if a few small things go horribly wrong.


5. Pay attention to how ingredients are measured. “One cup flour, sifted” is not the same as “one cup sifted flour.”


6. Have a really good chef’s knife. Stop chopping garlic with a paring knife or one of those gimmicky little garlic presses. Once you get used to a chef’s knife (also called a French knife), it’s longer, wider blade will give you speed, control and confidence.


7. Choke up on your chef’s knife. For better control, choke up on the handle even to the point of putting your thumb and the side of your index finger onto the side of the blade right above the hilt.


8. Keep your knives sharp. A sharp knife makes slicing and chopping easier, neater, and quicker. Dull knives are dangerous, - and they make cooking a chore.


9. Cook your onions more. Burn the bottoms a little. Go on, get some colour on them, it softens and sweetens and renders complex the flavours. Leave ‘em crisp or under-transluced and they actually sting the palatte. Transluce them only and they’ve got almost nothing to offer your dish.


10. Cook your garlic less. It actually burns quite easily and adds an unpleasant flavour to a dish if it’s added too early or cooked at too high a heat for too long a period of time. It needs to be sautéed to infuse properly, but keep it brief. No longer than the time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday."


- Okay, - now it's your turn!

[GOPisEvil]

1. This seems so simple, but a lot of people don't know this.

If you are cooking veggies, say in a stir-fry, and you want said veggies to cook in approximately the same time, CUT THEM INTO THE SAME SIZE PIECES. :-)

Reseason after adding ingredients. Season in layers.

Generally speaking, fresh herbs and spices are better than dried.

[SOteric]

4. Fresh herbs really do make a tremendous

burst of flavour in a dish. Even the simplest pasta dish with a bit of fresh chives or some parsley.

Dried have their uses, too. They're just different. You can get a more intense flavour using dried herbs.

And yes! same sizes on vegetables, but also, - don't put your soft ones in at the same time as your hard. Carrots will not cook as fast as zuchinni, even if they're the same size.

[GOPisEvil]

7. Oh, I agree on the type of veggies!

If a recipe calls for a certain amount of spice, make sure what the recipe writer means. If they mean dried, and you have fresh, you ahve to use more of the fresh. And vice versa.

My favorite pasta is simply tossed with butter and fresh sage. :9

[SOteric]

14. Nummers!

I'm growing sage in my garden this year. It's flowering.

[carols]

2. #11

Stouffers is much better than Banquet?
Carol

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. Excellently said!

I agree with everything you said.

11. When cooking meat, remember that it will continue to cook after you take off the flame. That includes beef, fowl, and pork. Take your meat out of the oven/out of the pan accordingly, so that it doesn't get overdone before you carve it.

12. Never use pre-ground pepper. ALWAYS grind it fresh, right as you need it.

13. Eschew white button mushrooms. Tasteless, for the most part, and you can get far tastier mushrooms for only pennies more (portabella and portebellinis, for instance)

14. Only butter, no margarine. Margarine is evil.*

15. Plain rice, not "converted". Rice SHOULD be a little sticky.

16. hard time peeling and mincing garlic? Slam it with the flat side of the chef's first to get the peel off, then smash it with the chef knife with the heel of your palm, and move the knife a few inches. You'll "smear" and break up the garlic a bit, and it'll be super easy to mince.

17. Beef cooked anything more than medium might as well be thrown straight in the trash. Personal opinion, maybe, but there's a giant loss of taste after medium.

18. Creme Fraiche.

19. Any lettuce but iceberg.

20. If you are cooking with wine, cook with the same wine you will serve at the table. Never use cooking wine. Never use a wine you wouldn't drink.

21. Yes, there is a big difference between making your au poivre with brandy instead of cognac. But in a pinch, brandy will still do. And use cognac or armagnac in your French Onion soup.




* (Disclaimer - writer is related to the dairy industry, so there is a bias, but it's true - no margarine. Doesn't cook. Bad for you. Tasteless. Causes testicles to explode and faces to turn bright blue)

[SOteric]

6. Great stuff! - And:

Remove excess grease from soups, sauces and stews. It’s bothersome and it takes a few minutes, but the cleaner flavour is worth it.

[Rabrrrrrr]

13. Thanks - and yes, get rid of the grease

USe a skimmer, or even use bread to soak it up (the only thing that Wonderbread should ever be used for, perhaps), or use one of those bitchen gravy pitchers with the spout on the bottom.

[GOPisEvil]

15. You could use a really, REALLY fine hand-held strainer...

...just rinse it out between skimmings.

[SOteric]

18. I use the skimmer

for homemade soups, stocks and broths, and I have one of those 'bitchen gravy pitchers with the spout on the bottom.'

[Rabrrrrrr]

21. You continue to rise up in my estimation, SOteric!

Not only witty and clever and liberal, but a determined and thoughtful cook as well!

I like people who respect the food they are going to eat.

a :toast: to you!

[SOteric]

25. Thanks Rabrrrrrr!

I come by it honestly. My mother was a Cordon Bleu-trained chef (and my brother learned at the CIA) and my father is an importer of fine and gourmet items which he distributes to various shops, restaurants and emporia of fine cuisines. You don't grow up around it without learning a few things.

[Rabrrrrrr]

29. Wow! Yours would be the family to get to know...

I toured the CIA two years ago - after years of hearing about it on TV, I really wanted to see it, so I went up for a "second career" possible-students day. Great food, but mostly I amleft with the knowledge that it truly is a first-rate incredible school. Top notch equipment, excellent treatment of students, very well maintained.

Would love to study there some day, but I wish they would offer week or two week long seminars. I don't want to be there for two years.

Holiday dinners with your family must be outrageous!

[GOPisEvil]

9. Butter rules!

Use the real stuff. Can't beat the taste, and um, IT MELTS!!! That hydrogenated fat crap is horrible.

[Rabrrrrrr]

17. Another one, regarding chowder:

22. Making chowder? Crumble up a good handful of Ritz crackers and throw into the onions before you add the stock if you don't have any authentic new england biscuit thingies, which I never seem to have on hand. Also, you are a special person, and your ingredients are only the best - you and your chowder deserve cream (or at minimum, half and half). You are too good for skim milk in chowder. make your chowder a day or two in advance, if you can.

[buckfush2]

5. Tombstone beats Tostino's

every time

[pansypoo53219]

8. measure?

that's not how we do things, except for cookies.

[JewelDigger]

10. Never 'soften' butter in the microwave

no matter how 'carefully/slowly' you try to do it, it will always separate to some degree and the result will not be the same/as good as if you allow it to soften naturally/slowly to room temp.

The best things take time :-)

[Sentath]

16. I must disagree ... a little

This is the only instance that I know of though.

For the Alton Brown chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe the seperated moisture actually seems to help develop the glutins.

[JewelDigger]

22. I stand corrected and agree

...there should always be room for 'the exceptions' to the rule :-)

[Ilsa]

11. Great tips. I learned a few things.

Get the kids out of the kitchen. Snack them up an hour before you start cooking so they stay safe and out of the way.

Learn to cook in bulk, including not to overcook pasta for dishes headed for the freezer (they get mushy tasting after freezing if not al dente), or just add the pasta later. Cooking in bulk helps you have a healthy homemade meal when you need it most: when you're too tired to cook.

Compare contents of packages thoroughly; use products that haven't been processed so much that they have to add vitamins back in. Some additives (artificial stuff and preservatives) are petroleum-based.

Don't serve your guests ice cream made with breastmilk. They tend to freak out and vomit on the floor.

The last one was a joke.

[short bus president]

12. have you ever

used "moon salt?"

:7

[SOteric]

19. Also:

Reduce liquids to concentrate flavour. If you’ve braised meat or vegetables, take the main ingredient out when it’s done and reduce the sauce a bit more before serving. When you deglaze a pan, be sure to reduce the added liquid by boiling it over high heat. Reduce homemade stocks before use, too. Just remember not to salt or season until after you’ve finished the reduction.

[GOPisEvil]

20. Argh! Mini-rant on Jamie Oliver!

OK - Jamie is making a quick homemade cheese. No problem. He boils up some milk and adds vinegar. No problem. So, he passes the pixture through a sieve, and says something like, "There's the water part there." WATER PART?!?!?! THAT IS WHEY, MORON!!!! :argh:

[SOteric]

23. Hah! That boob!

Let's don't invite him to dinner!

[GOPisEvil]

24. Actually, he's not horrible...just kind of a fake.

The dish was interesting, actually. Fried fresh cheese curd, basically.

[GOPisEvil]

26. Oh, and he can't be all bad...

...you do know his wife's name, right?

[SOteric]

27. I've done the same thing with lemon

in an unpasturised whole milk cheese. It's how most of the Mexican cooks of my acquaintance make queso blanco.

You can buy kits on the internet and make your own mozzarella fresca (it's even easy).

I don't care about Jamie Oliver, but he is a slightly better trained cook than Nigella Lawson. She still more fun to watch, though.

[GOPisEvil]

28. I can't see her.

I'd have to upgrade to digital cable to see her. I hear she's quite fun though. She's my type of gal...

[fishnfla]

30. OK, I'll bite-get it, "bite?"

sorry

1.one thing I learned the hard way-get an early start, don't drag your feet watching the football game when your guests are expecting the Thanksgiving dinner. Set a time for serving and stick to it! Things are hot off the stove and you can tell the kids to stop with the snacking already.

2. Guys who cook-clean as you go. It makes your woman extra happy. A great meal can be ruined by a messy kitchen


3.Asssign some detail duties to dinner mates and guests, set the table, open the wine, make the salad, chop some veggies. They dont mind, really. Compliment their handy work.

4. good bread with every meal, fresh warm bread. It should be a law.

5. Sometimes simple meals are the best.

6. If you like to cook, always cook for a sick friend, neighbor in need, kids teacher, etc. It is something that they will remember for forever.

[SOteric]

32. All excellent points!

Time tables are indispensable and fresh bread is a heavenly thing!

[JaySherman]

31. When cooking pasta

It is always best served fresh. Try to time noodles so that they're finished cooking at the same time everyone sits down at the table. Always leave them a little al dente. If the directions say cook for 10 minutes, cook for 8. If you drain, never drain all the water or they'll stick. Leave a little water, just enough to keep them moist, but not too much to make them soggy. Some people use olive oil to solve the latter problem, but I find it makes noodles too starchy. Keep any unserved noodles covered. I personally never use a strainer. Those large pasta pots with the holes in the lid are great. It's a difficult balance but nothing spoils a great pasta dish faster than soggy spaghetti, or linguine that sticks together.