Do you enjoy foods of all varieties? Do you have a sweet tooth? Do you enjoy delicious ethnic dishes? Would you like to know how to cook exotic dishes at home? No need to wonder anymore! Use the following tips as a helpful guide to preparing great tasting meals.
After finishing up your Thanksgiving dinner, don’t just discard the leftovers. Instead, cut it into smaller pieces, and place in the freezer in airtight containers. Frozen turkey will keep for weeks in the freezer and can be unfrozen and used for a variety of dishes.
When planning to barbecue, don’t forget the lead time necessary to get the grill hot when you are ready to use it. It takes approximately 30 minutes for the grill to heat to the proper temperature for cooking. Your coals should be covered in ash and of a medium temperature. Once the coals have reached this point, they have reached the prime grilling temperature.
Sprinkle a small amount of salt over your cutting board surface before chopping your herbs. Doing this not only adds some flavor, but it also ensures that the herbs are right where they need to be, which is on the board. Don’t over-salt your foods. The salt that you sprinkle on the board sticks to the herbs and gives them just the right amount of flavor.
Use beef or chicken stock as a substitute for water, in order to give extra flavor to a variety of dishes. Another option is to place bouillon cubes into the water. This keeps your foods moist but more flavorful.
Ketchup can be used to batter foods before they are fried. Ketchup is a tasty condiment when used for dipping finished foods, but you can also dip chicken, veggies, or other breaded foods into it before rolling them in breadcrumbs. The ketchup makes your fried foods tangier, which will make your friends and family wonder how you achieved such a flavor infusion.
Chicken Broth
Add some chicken broth to your pan when cooking vegetables. Not only will chicken broth help to keep vegetables from getting stuck to the pan, but they will add some nice flavors to the dish. Chicken broth is very inexpensive, and can be purchased at just about any local grocery store.
Try this quick and handy trick to salvage your efforts. In a small bowl, combine two tablespoons of water and 3 teaspoons of corn starch. Stir the solution into the simmering thin sauce to make it thicker. Add your starch solution slowly to ensure just the right consistency.
If spices and herbs are used regularly in your cooking, keep them somewhere dark and cool in order to keep their fresh flavors. If the spices are stored in cabinets by the stove or near other warmer places, this could result in their flavor loss and a money loss for you.
If you are working with foods that have strong odors, such as fish, garlic or onions, remove the smell from your hands by rubbing them on something that is stainless steel, prior to washing them. Rub your hands on a spoon, or on the sink for instance. Wash your hands with soap afterward.
When you are trying to cook dried beans, don’t add garlic or salt until the beans are soft. Salt and garlic can both cause your beans to stay hard instead of softening up, and this is even more likely to happen if you are using older beans. Add seasonings once the beans have reached the texture you are looking for.
There are a few ways to heat up tortillas. For the first method, set your oven’s temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. The tortilla is then placed directly on the oven rack until it reaches your desired crispness. Another way is to use your gas stove top, placing the tortilla directly on the grill above the flame. These methods give you crisp, fresh tasting tortillas.
When you do this, the mushroom will become absorbent and soak up the water. Instead, get a wet, clean cloth and wipe off the mushroom by hand.
Waxy Potatoes
Make sure you use the correct potatoes in your recipes. There are three different classifications of potatoes, all-purpose, mealy, or waxy. Potatoes that are described as mealy have a texture that is dry and somewhat crumbly. This is the type of potato best used for mashed potatoes. Russet potatoes are a common kind of mealy potato. Yukon gold potatoes are perfect for any dish, as they are considered to be all-purpose potatoes. You can boil or steam waxy potatoes because they maintain their shape well. The most common types of waxy potatoes are red and white potatoes.
Use airtight containers for flour, sugar and baking mixes in the kitchen. Putting your food in these kinds of containers will prevent insects from getting into the food and prevent them from going bad from air exposure. You can find decorative airtight canisters for staples, like flour and sugar.
Have you ever struggled to determine the time it takes to grill your meat? A meat thermometer, digital if possible, is always a great idea. This way you can ensure that the inside of the meat is also cooking well. Meat that is thicker than an inch and a half should be cooked with the lid of the grill closed.
The best way to cook any roast quickly is to simply not go through the trouble of taking out the bone. The roast will get done sooner because the bone will direct the heat right to your roaster. After the cooking period is completed, simply remove the bone and proceed as usual.
There are few things as delicious as cooking a fish that you caught yourself. They will enjoy the benefits of having tasty fresh fish and of taking pride in having provided for their own needs.
The article you just read gave you plenty of great meal ideas to try. Live on the wild side and add some new sauces and spices to your cooking. You could even discover a new favorite unexpectedly. Use these tips and your own taste guide you into finding the perfect dishes.