Everyone loves any activity that involves eating. Learn how to cook and prepare great meals everyday and help your family enjoy this special moment. Whether you are just beginning or are a practiced cook, you can find good advice here to make your cooking even better.
Try to prepare your ingredients before you cook to ensure that your cooking environment is a stress free area. By doing this, you’ll never be at a loss for an ingredient when half way through the recipe. Gathering the ingredients first may seem like an extra step, but it really isn’t. It will save you time and trouble.
If you know that you are going to have a busy day the next day, you may want to prepare some of the ingredients for the dish you will be preparing ahead of time. Chopping up veggies or preparing a lasagna before hand can help to save you stress for the next day.
If it seems overwhelming to cook the family dinner, prepare some of the ingredients the evening before. You could pre-cut the vegetables, pre-mix the sauce, or even prepare the meat marinade prior to heading off to bed. Your stress levels will be lessened, and you will be more ready to whip up your meal!
When making your own chicken stock, prepare more than you need up front. If you make a large pot of stock, you can freeze it and store it for future use. A rich chicken stock makes a savory base for soups, stews and other dishes. Simply cool the stock, and then freeze it into Ziploc, heavyweight freezer bags.
Fix your pie crust. By handling your pie dough too much, you might get some cracks. Put a little cold water on the cracks, then very gently with your finger, rub the dough. Cracks in the fragile top crust of a pie are no problem, either; just brush on a dash of milk and sprinkle the area with sugar. This will give your crust a shiny, glazed finish that will distract from any cracks.
If you want to eat healthier and lose weight, it’s really important to use fewer oils in your cooking. Many unnecessary fats are found in butters and oils, so decreasing them is a healthy way to lose weight. If you want to prepare your food in essentially the same fashion, substitute a non-fat cooking spray for the oil. These sprays are non-stick, and many have the flavors of your favorite oils infused.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that every potato is like the others. Waxy potatoes are great for boiling and potato salads while other potatoes are better for making french fries, baked potatoes and mashed potatoes. Russet potatoes are more suited to those applications because of their fluffy texture.
Sharp knives are an essential tool. Dull knives are difficult to use and they are dangerous to cut with too. If you are putting too much pressure onto the knife due to its dullness, the likelihood of having an accident is increased.
Garlic, like lots of other foods, has the unfortunate characteristics of absorbing into 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 will remove the scent from your hands and stop it from transferring.
When you sit down for a good meal, the feeling of bliss when you take a bite is unmistakable. Becoming someone who is skilled in the kitchen does not take unobtainable skills or training that spans many years. Any person really applying themselves can become a good cook. Your family will appreciate everything you have learned, so go show it off and cook!