Cooking is a form of art. You should be creative and unafraid of trying new things in the kitchen. Creativity is great and so is practicality. Below you will find practical tips for making your cooking experiences better. The more you know, the better the chef, you will soon become.
Use a tried and tested recipe when entertaining. When you have guests over for a meal, always prepare something tasty that you have made before. This is not the time to test a new recipe as it could turn out to be a disaster! Also, remember to find out if your guests have any dietary requirements or allergies, or if they simply don't like a certain kind of food. This will ensure that your evening is a success.
Cook your pasta one minute less than the package suggests, then finish cooking it in a pan with sauce. Your pasta will absorb more of the flavor of the sauce without having an over cooked texture. This can be a quick and effective way to prepare a pasta meal.
Freezing meat slightly before cutting it will help you to get a nice, even thin slice. This works great when you are cutting steak thin for philly's or if you need to cut pancetta into thin slices or strips. Do not freeze it solid; freeze it just enough that it is slightly firm.
Save sauces in ice cube trays. If you make several meals during a week, consider saving sauces from them in ice cube trays. This will allow you to add some interesting variety to any dishes you might be making later in the week. It will also make the process simple.
Apples are used in cooking mostly during the fall, but you must make sure they are properly kept so that they do not rot. To avoid rotting, store apples in open-mesh bags or baskets in a cool basement or in the produce drawer of your refrigerator. Keep an eye on them though, because one rotten apple in the bag will spoil the rest of them in no time.
Let roasts rest before carving to allow the juices time to retract from the surface of the meat. Slicing beef, pork, poultry or lamb immediately after roasting lets most of the juice run out of the meat which makes it drier and less flavorful. Giving the meat time to rest prevents the loss of the juices.
Cooked turkey freezes beautifully, as does stuffing. When making a big holiday meal, be sure and make plenty so you not only have enough for turkey sandwiches, but to enjoy another turkey dinner in a month or two, without all of the work. Use a spare 9" X 13" pan that you line and divide with aluminum foil into two or three compartments. Cut some turkey for one compartment, add some stuffing in another and if you would like, leftover mashed potatoes can be put in the third compartment. Drizzle some gravy over everything you desire, cover with aluminum foil and freeze. When ready to enjoy turkey again, or perhaps when pressed for time and out of ideas for dinner, grab the pan from the freezer and place in the oven at 350 degrees. Remove the foil from the top of the pan after 45 minutes, bake uncovered for another 15 to 20 minutes and enjoy!
It may not always be easy to see that cooking is one of the simplest and most fun activities that anyone can partake in. You should enjoy creating delicious food for pleasure, as well as health. Keep the tips you learned here in mind and the chef inside of you will flourish.
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