I really didn't get into cooking until several years after college...even so, I feel like I have a lot to learn. One basic tip I learned the hard way is to get a meat thermometer and use it! I over cooked a lot of meat :/ One basic tip I learned easily was to make baked goods (esp cookies!) with room temperature butter, eggs, and milk. What are your good cooking/baking tips?
Let the pan and the oil in the pan actually get hot before putting the food in. Then, don't bother the meat until it's ready to release from the pan. It saves a lot of trouble that new cooks have.
This may be pretty basic, and or simple to some of you but the best tip that I ever taught myself, where the kitchen is concerned, is to be creative. I am creative in most aspects of my life anyway, so it is no shock that it is the same story in the kitchen. Sure, some combinations are awful. But then there are other times when you have a hunch, follow it, and then create something wondrously tasty.
Although I do a lot of home cooking, I don't actually do too much baking these days. However, I grew up baking with my Grandma and worked briefly as a chef, so I had to do a lot of baking them. The best tip I ever had was not to overwork pastry or to handle it to much and to make it in a cool environment on a cool surface. It really makes a difference and you will find that the pastry doesn't crack.
I learned that there's really no point to adding olive oil to the water when cooking spaghetti, it really just floats on the water and doesn't affect whether the pasta clumps up or not, if you're adding it for the taste, add the olive oil after you've taken the pasta out of the water and it's ready to serve.
The tip I learned over the years is to never follow a recipe all the way. Our instincts will always be better than those measurements in recipes! So, never hesitate to improvise and break procedures.
Get a potato ricer. Seriously, these things make the absolute best mashed potatoes - they come out super fluffy and you never have to worry about over mixing the potatoes which will make them very gummy and glue-y. Even better, you don't really need to even peel or cut up and boil/steam the potatoes. Just pop them into an oven whole, and bake them for about an hour or more depending on their size, then throw the whole potato into the ricer and it will squish out the insides leaving the skins behind. Of course you can still peel, chop and boil them if you choose, which gives you a lighter tasting mashed potato, the baking method retains the starch so those are much richer. To peel a bunch of garlic at once, squash the head of garlic with the palm of your hand to break off all the cloves. Then put the cloves in a metal bowl, and place another metal bowl of the same size over top of it, and shake the hell out of them for about 15-30 seconds. When you open the bowls you should see that most if not all the cloves are now peeled. Forget about using a crock pot for one pot meals, most of those recipes come out poorly because all the excess moisture dilutes everything. Instead, cook your meats in it by themselves with just some broth or water, and limited seasonings. Then take them out and drain the excess liquids, and finish cooking the meats with whatever sauces or seasonings you want, in the oven or under the broiler or on a grill. For example, slow cook your ribs in the crock pot with some water, then take them out and baste them with BBQ sauce and finish them on the grill. Use a lid on your pan when making omelettes instead of the tuck and tilt method you often see TV chefs doing. It makes the egg set on top perfectly every time without tearing the omelette. Use mayo instead of butter when making grilled cheese sandwiches, it spreads on much more easily without tearing the bread and browns up perfectly. Most pasta cooks up just fine in the microwave, and you don't need any infomercial products either, just a big microwave safe bowl. Stuff like Rigatoni, Penne, and other thick sturdy pastas work best, don't bother with stuff like Angel Hair because it will all stick together. Add some pasta to the bowl and top with several inches of water. In most cases I microwave them on high for 12 minutes, for stuff like Egg Noodles which are more delicate, only 7-8 minutes. In the time it would take you to get a pot of water boiling your pasta will be cooked and done.
Awesome tips, everyone! I've learned several new tricks. Keep them coming. Wow, those are a lot of great tips! I have been wanting a potato ricer for a while. I use a big whisk now but all of the potatoes get stuck in the middle, lol. I should go ahead and get one because they are pretty cheap and I make potatoes pretty often. I will have to use your egg tip too. I cover them when I make sunny side up eggs but never thought about doing it for omelets. Smart!
I don't do too much baking either, which is weird and should be shocking when one considers the fact that I love to eat baked goods. I am more skilled in cooking real food? When it comes to making cakes rise and making brownies and whatnot, I sort of suck. Luckily my sister is the king in that department, so I feel like we make a pretty good team. I make the food, and she bakes the desserts.
