Health and other associated issues - Tips, Information and Guides
The Top 10 Quick Tips that will save common household recipes!!!
by: Jonathan Chin 1. Making great biscuits: biscuits are great from scratch because most
recipes use only 5-6 ingredients. My personal recipe uses only baking soda,
baking powder, flour, buttermilk, salt, and butter. The most important thing to
remember to ensure that your biscuits come out fluffy is to make sure that you
use cold butter and that you leave the butter in small chunks throughout the
mixing process. A common error is to mix the butter smoothly into the mixture.
If you leave the butter in chunks, as your biscuits cook, the butter will form
layers in the dough and the result will be more rise and fluff. This also works
for making any puff pastry from scratch. Another great idea is to take the dough
and put a thin layer over the top of a bowl of soup, then to bake the whole bowl
in your oven. This will give your soups a beautifully fluffy top. Of course,
make sure that your bowl is oven safe before baking it. 2. Get a really good non-stick skillet: if you're tired of having food
stick to the bottom of your cookware, then you really need to invest in a great
non-stick skillet. The one that I have only set me back $30 and I can cook an
egg on it over easy without any oil and not break the yolk . I'm very partial to
Caphalon's commercial lines, but definitely check out Anolon, T-Fal, and
Farberware as well. Some other very important features are whether the skillet
comes with a cover, whether or not the handle gets hot when it cooks, and how
long other buyers have found that the non-stick surface lasts for. Make sure
that you don't confuse non-stick with hard anodized. Hard anodized is definitely
not non-stick and you'll get very frustrated if you get the two mixed up. The
additional bonus of a non-stick pan is that cleaning is really easy. Run your
pan under water and most extraneous food will slide off easily. 3. Grilling or pan frying chicken without getting it stuck in the pan: one
of the biggest problems with cooking chicken is trying to move it off the grill
or pan. The key is to be patient. Use a spatula and wait for the chicken to
release, because it will. Of course, if you didn't use any oil then the chicken
will most likely get stuck anyway. But all proteins reach a certain temperature
where they will release and it's just a matter of being patient and waiting for
this. 4. It's never too late to marinate: a lot of people end up eating bland
food because they think that they don't have time to marinate their food. Even
if you only have less than an hour, you can make a great marinade. Just make the
marinade twice as strong, and use strong flavors. Here's a few quick marinades
that have worked for me - balsamic vinaigrette, soy sauce and minced garlic, or
lemon juice/zest and white wine. Also try using dry rubs such as crushed red
pepper and garlic powder. 5. Use kosher salt to season: kosher salt is the what every professional
cook uses and there's good reason. Regular iodized salt breaks down right away
when added to water. In contrast, kosher salt breaks down slower and delivers a
more pronounced flavor to whatever you are cooking. If you want your steaks to
taste like steak house quality, all you need is kosher salt and coarse ground
black pepper. 6. Extra virgin olive oil is pasta's best friend: after cooking pasta,
make sure that you mix the pasta with some extra virgin olive oil immediately.
Otherwise, you'll find that the pasta will start to stick together after a short
amount of time. Don't ever refrigerate plain pasta without adding olive oil. If
you do, you'll end up pulling a big pasta block out of the fridge. Also, when
you boil pasta, make sure you add a cup of kosher salt per gallon of water. This
is what will give the pasta its flavor. 7. Making amazing french toast: the best way to make amazing french toast
is to avoid using regular bread. Extraordinary french toast is made with cakes
or specialty breads. Try slicing a pound cake from your local grocery store and
turning it into french toast the same way you'd usually do it with bread.
Another great idea is to make french toast out of banana bread. 8. Making icing for pastries. Making icing for pastries is one of the
simplest secrets in the pastry world. To make icing, all you need is water and
powdered sugar. Start with the powdered sugar in a bowl and add water slowly
until you get the consistency that you desire. Then just use the icing to make
danishes, cakes, and other pastries even more delicious. 9. Keep your kitchen knife sharp. A common misconception is that people
cut themselves in the kitchen because their knives are too sharp. The reason for
most kitchen cutting accidents is actually the total opposite. When you use a
blunt knife, the knife will slide off whatever you're cooking and this when the
knife usually cuts your hand. To keep your knife sharp, use a diamond steel and
bring your knife down the steel at an 18 degree angle. 10. Cracking an egg without getting shells in the mixing bowl. This seems
easy enough, but it's surprising how many experienced cooks still experience the
annoyance of getting egg shells in their favorite foods. The way to avoid this
is to first gently hit the egg's middle against a hard surface. Then, use two
hands to do the rest. If you're right handed, hold the egg with your left hand,
and use your right thumb to push the middle in and then pull the egg apart with
both hands. If you are left handed, just switch the directions above. Good luck with your culinary adventures!
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