Easy Cooking Tricks

Cool thread Dave!

4. Ratio to oil to vinegar in salad dressing is always 2:1 or more.

5. Hot pans are not always better.

6. Cook fish skin down first, and cook it 75% before turning to finish.

 

7. Salted water for boiling broccoli makes it retain its lovely bright green color.
8. Lemon juice in mayo takes the bland out of a sandwich.

 

9. Put a lid on a pot to help it boil faster...
10. Microwave lemons or limes for a few seconds before juicing...
11. Use kosher or sea salt, you get more flavor for less sodium...
12. Line a sheet pan with foil and bake bacon versus frying....much easier and cleaner.

 

13. Any time you use a baking sheet always use parchment paper- easier clean-up and no sticking
14. Slow cookers are a great thing for almost anything- when you have the time
15. Tofutti sour cream for anyone who has issues with lactose, makes a great alfredo sauce without the whole cream and butter

 

7. 1a) Salted water for boiling (blanching) any vegetable is a must to retain crispness and color. You make actually see green beans or asparagus get greener.

16. When cooking pasta, do not rinse cooked pasta with cool water -you want the starch to coat the noodle, it helps the sauce stay around.

17. When cooking pasta, you want a lot of salt in the water. In the restaurant biz, pasta is cooked in a water that you would swear came from the nearest ocean - its the best way to season the noodle itself.

 

1.) make roux ahead of time and store in the fridge. 1/1 fat and flour.
2.) 2/1 wine to recipe ratio....2 for you, one for dish.

 

18. Never skimp on ingredients (use 2% cheese, etc).
19. Bake fries versus frying. Taste better and better for you.
20. Shop at restaurant supply for basic food ingredients (cheaper and better).
21. Spend as much on your knife sharpener as you do your knives.
22. Wipe your mushrooms clean, don't rinse them.

 

Foil works well for some things too. Just remove the foil and throw it away!!

 

23. To make perfect rice on the stove-top simply add the rice to vigorously boiling water, stir once, turn the heat down to very low, cover it and DON'T TOUCH it again for 15-20 minutes. Seriously, if you even lift the lid it won't turn out right.

 

(##) - if you're forced to use canned vegetables (corn, French cut green beans, etc.),
always add olive oil to the saucepan you heat them in... no matter what the canned stuff is, it'll taste a lot better.

 

I would go 3:1 minimum.

 

BTW, that's by weight, not volume.

 

...or get a rice steamer.

 

And not just any olive oil, either.

http://www.californiaoliveranch.com/

MUCH better than most of the imported engine oil pan garbage. Cheap and available at Wally World.

 

Very good point.... not all olive oil is created equal...

Jedi

 

Avoid all meat products and dairy if cancer runs in your family.
Avoid all artificial sugars (aspartame) and MSG.
Avoid soft drinks and sodas as they make you obese, leach calcium out of your bones and teeth and cause diabetes.
Avoid acrylomide rich foods like donuts and chips.

Instead learn to cook organic vegies, brown rice, using different fresh herbs and spices.

Have big lunches during the day and have a small (meat free) meals for dinner. You will lose wight and sleep like a baby.

Never add dairy milk to teas as hey cancel out the antioxidants, if you must use milk, add soy, almond or rice.

 

Don't forget about eating lots of twigs for fiber.

 

Celebrate the new USDA guidelines (if you'd been paying attention to such drivel previously) and have a nice thick pork chop seared on the outside and pink in the middle. Thankfully, Big Brother now says we don't have to kill all the flavor and texture of pork - no need to cook beyond 145 F!

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/pink-pork-wont-kill-you-according-to-the-usda-2488054/

 

Pork is a poor choice of meat regardless.

Chicken or turkey, or here in Australia, kangaroo is pretty good.
Then again, the less meat you eat, the better overall your health is, especially processed meats which are sodium nitrate rich.

 

Dry meat before searing, and it will actually brown.

 

Fer shure.

Tip: When frying pork brains always use lard. And lots of salt.

 

Yes, this is the classical proportions. however depending on the acid, 2-1 can work. usually in a citronade the ratio is 2-1.