Learning to cook is an investment of time and effort that will pay for itself many times over. Everyone loves a nice home-cooked meal. Unfortunately, not everyone is born with the inherent ability to create elaborate meals. In this article, you will learn some helpful advice to improve your cooking skills.
While it’s natural to want to impress guests with a fancy meal, stay away from new recipes when you will be serving someone important. You don’t want to put off a date, a coworker, or even the dodgy in-laws with substandard food. You are sure to please them if you cook something you are already familiar with.
Making a simple dish of fried rice is a great way to make use of the leftover meat and vegetables in the refrigerator. Day old rice serves as the best method for fried rice, but you could also make fresh rice so long as you use a little less water. You can cook the vegetables and meat in a small splash of oil, and then mix in rice, soy sauce and other flavorings such as ginger and garlic.
Try to cut down the amount of oil used when cooing if you are trying to lose weight. There is a lot of fat that are not needed in butter and oil. To achieve the same results without resorting to unhealthy oils, you can use nonstick cooking spray instead.
If you are left with extra sauce after a meal, find a clean ice cube tray to pour the leftovers into and store the tray in the freezer. Take them out to use on another night when you’d like a no hassle home cooked meal. Simply reheat the sauce cubes slowly in a medium pan on your stove top. And don’t worry, your sauce will still taste great even after freezing.
Take care of your wood cutting board. Excessive moisture, dryness, or heat all affect wood cutting boards and can cause them to split and change shape. Do not immerse the cutting board in water, but instead, wipe it off with a sponge using warm water and soap. Try oiling your damaged board regularly in order to restore it. Make sure that your board is completely dry before you use it.
Buying quality knives is an important investment in your kitchen. It will help you to save time if you have cutting utensils that are not dull and it also adds safety to your kitchen because dull knives can cause you to cut yourself accidentally. Many cuts and accidents are caused by dull utensils.
To make potato skins or twice baked potatoes, use baking potatoes for a firm shell. Don’t use red potatoes, their skin is too thin to help a dense filling.
Dab away excess moisture from ground meat before cooking it. You want to do this with a paper towel to get rid of any moisture that is in your meat. When ground meats are cooked, excess moisture can be released. The moisture will dissolve. The meat, which is suppose to sear, may steam instead.
Leave the bone in your roast if you are pressed for time. The meat cooks faster this way due to the fact that the bone carries the heat right to the interior of the roasting pan. After it is finished, simply avoid the bone as you cut the meat.
As you can see, cooking can be easy. With the right techniques, creating delicious dishes for family and friends can suddenly become a breeze! Now that you have been introduced to these great tips and tricks, you just need to make the time to go and give them a try!