Cooking is a very difficult skill to learn. If you are just learning the basics of cooking, start with simple recipes that include some of your favorite ingredients.
Make dishes you already feel confident cooking if you have invited a special guest to dinner. Cooking a new recipe is a bad idea since you have not yet worked out any quirks in the recipe. Preparing a meal that you are comfortable with can really help to reduce your stress level.
You can reduce the fat and calorie content of regular mashed potatoes by substituting part of the potatoes with mashed cauliflower. This won’t affect the taste but it adds a handful of nutrition. Cauliflower’s subtle flavors blend in with the potatoes and other ingredients easily. You’ll still be able to enjoy mashed potatoes, but with less fat and calories!
Are you going to cook with fresh basil? Store the basil in a jar. Add water to cover the stems. It will remain fresh for a good amount of time just sitting on the kitchen counter! Change the water every few days to keep it fresh, and you might even see your basil leaves sprouting some roots. Cut or trim basil occasionally so it grows more and you get fresh herbs every time.
There are many things you can do ahead of time to save time during your meal preparation. Examine recipes and identify which preparations can take place well in advance without risking spoilage. There are a lot of things you can prep the day before you need to cook. The most complicated recipes can be transformed into easy, enjoyable kitchen work with advanced preparation.
Mushrooms soak up water that you don’t want to be added to the recipe. Wipe them off with a damp cloth to clean them.
Garlic is a wonderful ingredient in recipes, but the smell is quite difficult to remove from your hands. After you are done working with garlic and any other odoriferous ingredients, try rubbing your hands firmly on the inside of your stainless steel sink. This process removes the odors from your hands and keeps you from transferring them to the next piece of food you work with.
Ice trays can be a great tool for freezing sauces. This makes it easy to prepare a quick meal by reheating the sauce using a saute pan. Freezing the sauce in this manner will keep it fresh and ready to be reheated.
Soak wooden skewers before cooking with them. They need to sit in water for about half an hour before they are used. Being soaked in the water prevents them from getting burned when exposed to the cooking heat. Keep food from falling off of your skewers by using two parallel skewers instead of a single one.
Never throw away turkey leftovers. Try cutting them up, storing them in a container that is airtight, and then place them in the freezer. The turkey meat will keep its freshness and can later be used for making sandwiches or as a salad ingredient.
Having a clean and organized kitchen is essential to cooking a great meal or dessert. Being organized with your cooking station can make it more productive. Unorganized cooking stations may mean you lose money and valuable food that is better suited to eating.
Let your food rest a bit before sitting down to eat. Most people are unaware that it’s a good idea to have a meal sit out for a few minutes before eating. Many of us prefer to simply serve a dish right out of the oven. If you do this, you aren’t getting the full experience associated with your food. Therefore, it is always best to allow the juices to redistribute by allowing for a cool down period.
When you are planning to make quite a detailed meal, do some of the prep work the day before to reduce some of the stress involved. Locate the ingredients, cut up and measure herbs and spices and look through your cupboards to make sure you have what you need. When the time comes to make the meal, all you need to do is put it all together and cook it!
Start with the preparations prior to cooking. This way, you can prevent distractions like hot oil in pans or other distractions. You can also save on gas and heat by not turning on appliances before you are ready.
To find out if your meat is cooked properly, measure the temperature with a meat thermometer. All of the different meats require a certain internal temperature in order for it to be safe to eat. There is bacteria present in the meat, and to make sure you do not get sick you will have to cook it thoroughly.
The act of using string to tie the turkey is called trussing. This pulls the legs and wings close to its body so that it can cook evenly. If you do not do this, the wings or legs will burn easier.
By using a few tips from the above article, you will easily be able to improve your culinary skills. Armed with new knowledge, you now just need to get in that kitchen and cook! With so many new ideas, you are sure to turn out delicious dishes that everyone will enjoy.
