Cooking 101

When you are going to prepare a meal get everything together before starting. Check if you have the available ingredients and if you have enough of each. It’s better to do this rather than to find out later that you’re missing an ingredient or don’t have enough and then have to scramble to the grocery for the necessary ingredient/s. As long as you haven’t started cooking yet, you can still change your mind and decide to cook something else instead. The key point is to have everything available before you start cooking. That’s what professionals do.

For broiling steaks, make sure the oven is hot enough or has reached the right temperature. The intense heat will sear the meat and keep the juices in so the meat won’t become dry. Also, avoid puncturing the meat by using a fork or any sharp instrument. Rather, use a spatula or thongs as this will prevent the juices from oozing out. The key to well cooked meat is making sure it doesn’t dry out during the cooking process.

In cooking vegetables, especially green ones such as broccoli and string beans, cook only ‘til they turn a deep, rich green color. After this occurs, take them all off the pan quickly as continuous heat will overcook them leaving them limp and a not so nice brown color. You want your veggies to be a nice green color and crisp. Nutritionally speaking, overcooked veggies loose up to 75% of their nutritional value when overcooked. It would also be a good idea to use a steamer pan that fits into your pot when cooking veggies as this will allow you to take the pan out easily so as to avoid overcooking.

If you prefer fresh veggies to cooked ones, you should consider getting a salad spinner. This device comes cheap and will drain your fresh salad ingredients such as lettuce thoroughly. Although you may have grown up with the idea that green veggies are the healthiest, you might want to try red and other colored lettuce for your salad to give it more color.

When cooking with wine, try drinking some of it yourself first. If you don’t like its taste as is, you won’t want it in your meals. For recipes that require wine such as coq au vin, use a good quality white wine.

Olive oil is ideal for use on roasting and frying pans. It gives out a delicious odor that’s very appetizing.

In making thick vegetable soups such as squash or bean soup, boil the ingredients first to soften them. Then place them in a blender to puree. Put back the pureed soup in the pot and add salt and spices. You may want to add some more water as pureeing or mashing may cause soup to become a little dry.

If you don’t want soggy mushrooms, avoid washing them in water as they have a tendency to absorb liquids. Rather, wipe each one off with a damp rag.

Lastly, after having roasted that delicious chicken or pork, use the drippings or sauce left in the pan for gravy. Just add a little flour mixed in a little water to the drippings and add salt to taste.