Friday, March 1, 2013

Tips for the Home Cook

I have been reading a new cook book called "The 4-hr Chef" This is more than a cook book. A lot of great applications to living life more efficiently. My wife at first thought the book was a gimmick. Almost quarter of the way through and still haven't done one recipe, but I'm still learning how to get my mind in the right mentality to really elevate my skills in the kitchen. I am just going to list my top ten kitchen tips most overlooked from this book that will improve your cooking and make life in the kitchen easier.

10 TIPS for the Home Cook

1) Mise en place (or meez) = Everything must be ready & in it's place before you start.
You every notice when looking at a recipe in a cook book and they tell you to put a little of this in the pot then sit for 1hr then slice and place in the pot, put back in the oven. Just means get all your ingredients in order and prepped and out & neat before you start to cook.

2. Use cold water cooking at home. Why? Not b/c it may boil faster or slower. Hot water runs through a hot water heater, which can taint the taste of your food. (Interesting)

3. Make shift spatula, & adds flavor. Put a clove of garlic on the end of a fork. Great for sauteing in a pan.

4. Set the oven at 350 degrees. 90% of all cooking is placed in the oven slow cook at this temp. The most important part is making sure you proteins, (beef, pork, veal, chicken) have an internal temperature reaches 140degrees. So, next step helps this process out.

5. Probe Thermometer. My mom has a nice cheap metal one. I have an handheld digital one. Now with technology they have created this digital thermometer. I don't have this exact one, but u get the pt. I used to be like most people and cut into my meat to see if it was done. PLEASE please invest in $5-$25 thermometer this will save you from destroying a perfectly cooked piece of meat.

6. Basic Herb pairings as follows
Fish - fennel or dill
Beef, Pork, & Lamb - Rosemary
Lamb - mint
Eggs - Tarragon
Tomatoes - Basil for (Italian Sauce) - I knew this one, but had to add it in.

7. When adding dressing to any salad. Drizzle the dressing around the side of the bowl, not on the leaves. Then hand mix. This prevents the bulk of your dressing from getting stuck on a few leaves.

8. Nothing wet on your cutting board. This isn't rocket science. But, seriously dry off fish, chicken meat and all ur veggies before placing on the cutting board.

9. When you want to remove grease from the pot. Saying cooking a sauce, braising meat, consomme, cooking a stew. Anything that will have fat rise, flim, bubbles to the top of the pan. I used to skim the top w/ thin holed metal skimmer. Way easier to use a folded paper towel. Just drag it over the top and takes 1/10 the time and removes it all.

10. Chili and other dishes when cooking beans. Salt AFTER not during this causes the beans to take longer to cook. (Not my favorite tip really not even a tip, but I thought i should add it in anyways to get to ten.)

The book has over 30 to 50 tips, but I'm not done reading the book and other tips I read I have already applied in my kitchen. Like, How to cook the perfect steak a previous post with lots of tips included. There are lots of other tricks to help make cooking easier and better. This is just 10 I learned this week from my new cook book. Enjoy, and have a great wknd!