Your own kitchen can seem boring at times. Enhancing your cooking knowledge can really invigorate you to try new things, and help your kitchen to inspire you, rather than bore you. Your kitchen then becomes a place where your time spent leads to yummy meals that everyone can enjoy anytime. Here’s some advice to give you some ideas.
It’s natural to want to impress others with something original, but you’re better off sticking with what you know when you are cooking for an important guest. A fancy gourmet meal that you make yourself is one way to try and make a good impression on your boss, in-laws or a new love. Cooking a dish you have already mastered will be sure to impress them most.
Always measure your oil when you are cooking. If you want to lower the fat in your home cooked meals, you need to carefully measure any oil that you are going to use rather then just guessing. Measuring the oil will let you closely examine how much oil you are using.
To make potato skins or twice baked potatoes, use baking potatoes for a firm shell. Red potatoes are too thin-skinned to hold up to a dense filling.
Leave the bone inside the roast if you want to cook it faster. The bone inside of the meat acts as a conductor of sorts, helping the meat to cook faster. As soon as your roast has finished, simply slice around the bone before you serve.
Prepare your meal ahead of time so you can leave it sitting for a few minutes. A lot of people aren’t aware that flavors will improve if a meal can rest a bit before being served. Many people are tempted to rush food to the table when serving a meal. Unfortunately, this may cause you to miss the full effect. Let your food, particularly meat dishes, rest for a few minutes prior to serving.
If you cooked with a sauce, save the leftover sauce in an ice cube tray that you can freeze. When you feel the need to create another meal, you will have them handy to heat up. Sauce cubes made this way are safe and will taste great!
Get creative to make cooking fun. Following a recipe exactly is boring and stale. Adapt recipes to your tastes by adding or removing an ingredient, or even creating something from scratch. Now that is a real cook!
If you are looking for a nutritionally beneficial way to cook your vegetables, try sauteing them in a small amount of chicken broth. The vegetables will take on the broth flavor, and reduce the oil that is used when sauteing. Try this next time you cook vegetables for a great meal.
If you are preparing dried beans, refrain from adding any salt or garlic to the water before the beans are soft. These ingredients can keep your beans from softening as they cook, particularly if you’re using old beans. So instead, allow the beans to cook partially before you add the seasonings. Then you will get the desired texture.
This type of seasoning is commonly used on other foods besides meat. Use it with roasted pumpkin seeds for a wonderful snack, or go ahead and add some to scrambled eggs. You can cultivate a reputation as a mysterious wizard of flavor just by using a judicious dash of such seasonings.
Let the preceding tips multiply in your head and generate new, personal cooking ideas. Soon you’ll be making meals that your family and you will love and look forward to. If you cook as a hobby, it can help your life and your diet. The kitchen should be the centerpiece of your home.