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Cooking TipsSummertime--and the living is easy! But the kitchen is hot!! It's time for some cool cooking recipes and tips!The Perfect Omelet(te), How to Cook It Omelet(te)sWok this Way! (Part 3 of 5) Seasoning Your New Wok Seasoning is the most important thing you can do to your wok. Only carbon steel and iron woks need to be seasoned. The purpose of seasoning is to remove the manufacturer's protective coating and coat it with a thin layer of oil. This creates a smooth cooking surface which enables food to shift and glide easily, thus preventing your food from sticking, discoloring, and picking up a metallic taste.Wok this Way! (Part 4 of 5) Cleaning and Caring for Your Wok Non-stick woks do not require seasoning, and come with simple cleaning instructions from the manufacturers, while steel carbon and iron woks require seasoning. Cleaning a seasoned wok is a lot different than a non-stick wok, and this is what we will cover here.High Altitude Baking - A Cooks Guide High altitude baking can be a real adventure for the cook, with a number of challenges to keep you on your toes. The higher you are in elevation, the less pressure there will be. How does this affect your baking creations? Low air pressure creates increased evaporation of liquids during the baking process and this can cause your cakes to fall. Baking at high altitudes means a few more adjustments so that your baked goods will come out perfectly, ready to tempt the finest of taste buds. Have you ever wondered how to cut a cake? I have had a lot of practice. When I turned 16 and requested a Spider Man sheet cake I busily honed my cake cutting skills by making concentric rectangles and then served up the master piece. My family all refused to eat stating lack of presentation skills. Since that time my skills have, thankfully, been refined. Here are tips to cutting a round layer cake.Chinese Cooking Technique: Thicken ?Thicken?, or ?Thickening? is a very common technique used in both Chinese restaurants and household kitchens. It is very easy to prepare, but if not used properly, can really mess up the presentation. Below is a brief description of ?Thickening?. You can learn more about other Chinese cooking techniques in the Techniques section of our website.Gourmet Sauces, Rubs and Marinades - Give Your BBQ a Gourmet Kick Many individuals agree that the sauce on barbecued meat is like the icing on a cake. Gourmet barbecue sauces, rubs and marinades are commonly served on (or on the side of) the finished dish. Barbecue sauces are used to add flavor and sweeten the meat for a better tasting meal. The types of barbecue sauces available throughout the world are endless. Barbecue sauces, rubs and marinades are the three basic methods of seasoning and each brings its own unique element into the barbecuing experience. French chefs plunge them into boiling water; English ones, in an attempt to appear more humane, drive kitchen knives through their skulls before doing the same thing.Grill Your Corn for Maximum Flavor There's two basic theories on grilling corn. Some people prefer wrapping the corn in aluminum foil or its own husk, maybe with a little butter and seasonings, then cooking it on the grill until done. This is essentially roasting the corn, and while its an option it's not really grilling in my book. Corn wrapped in aluminum foil doesn't get any smoke, or char, or magic grilling vapors, or any of the other things that contribute to the unique taste of grilled food.How to Care for Your Cast Iron Skillet (includes recipes) Some of the best meals I?ve ever eaten were made by my grandmothers in their cast iron skillets. Tender, flaky catfish; finger-lickin? chicken; and mouth watering cornbread were the traditional scrumptious fare. Today, we have a new generation of cooks, and they are conjuring up all sorts of new and tempting recipes to cook in cast iron skillets that have either been handed down through generations, or picked up brand-spanking-new at the local Williams-Sonoma store. But before I share some of those unusual recipes with you, I would like to first educate you on how to care for your skillet.Roasting Meat - Temperatures and Times Despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, I still see recipes that insist you should cook meat at high temperature for the first twenty minutes or so to seal it and then lower the level for the rest of the cooking time.How to Choose the Right Smoke for the Right BBQ Dish BBQ smoke is one of the easiest ways to add a nice touch of flavor to a grilled dish. You'll be amazed at how many different flavors there are! Knowing which smoke is the best match for different BBQ flavors can be a challenge though. Here's a handy guide to help.How To Eat Fresh Vegetables ? Ideas for Working More Veggies Into Your Diet Fresh, uncooked veggies are so healthy and it?s important to work them into your meal plan somewhere. The majority of American?s don?t eat enough vegetables and most vegetables consumed in the American diet are cooked potatoes in the form of french fries. American?s need more vegetables in their diet ? and not in the form of crispy fries.Buying, Storing, and Preparing Apricots When buying apricots, always look for those that are firm, plump orange fruit that gives slightly when you press with your thumb. Bruised apricots should be avoided. Like apples and potatoes, apricots contain polyphenoloxidase, an enzyme that combines with phenols in the apricots to produce brownish pigments that discolor the fruit. More Articles from Cooking Tips:1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
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School's out! And summer is a good time to introduce your child to chores in the kitchen! Compact Refrigerators Are Great When Small Is Needed The small refrigerator can be used in many places that a regular size fridge would not be practical. Many places including offices, apartments, student dorms, hotels, motels, and military housing can benefit from using compact refrigerators.Lobster, once the food of poor farmers, is now considered a special treat for many. Although some people prefer the meaty claws, I think that lobster tails are the best tasting part of this delicious creature. A great meal of lobster tails might seem like a gourmet feast to your guests, but they are actually quite easy to prepare. Add a little sprig of garnish and a fancy side dish and you're sure to impress even your mother in law. Baking Perfect Breads, Cookies, and Desserts We're all looking for that perfect pie, or cookies, or loaf of bread. It doesn't always happen. In our experience, there are four reasons that account for most of the less than perfect products.Eating Healthy with a Meat Grinder While it may be surprising, owning your own meat grinder can help you in your pursuit to live a healthier life. According to the USDA, the average American in 2000 consumed 300 more calories than the average American in 1985, a 12% increase, including a 24% increase of fat calories. The average daily fat intake was 81.4 grams and saturated fat intake was 27.9 grams in 2000 (ers.usda.gov/briefing/consumption). Americans are consuming too much fat, especially saturated fat.The Perfect Scone: Keys to Make Your Scone Just Right Ah, there's nothing like a tender, steaming scone in the morning. (Pronounced "skawn" like "fawn" or "scone" like "tone" ?Webster says either is okay.) They're quick, they're easy, and with a few tips, they are absolutely delectable.50% Less Cooking All About Baking: Quick Breads The Versatile Quick Bread10 Dishes Every New Bride or Groom Must Know How to Make! Okay, you've either gotten married or are planning to pretty soon. Congratulations! I'm sure you're aware that this means you will be responsible for at least half the meals you and your loved one will eat from here on out! Not to mention future children, your visiting family members and - of course - inlaws.How to Bake: How Long Should My Bread Rise? It depends. The best way to tell if the dough has risen enough is not by time-though it helps to set the timer so you don't forget about your dough-but by look and feel. It will look soft and bloated. When you touch the dough, it will be soft and your finger will leave an indentation when lightly pressed against the dough. If it is not ripe, the dough will tend to slowly spring back.If your cookies are too tough . . . You may have used too much flour or a flour with too high of a protein content. Unless you want a chewy cookie, do not use bread flour. Check your measurements--the cookies may not have enough fat or the amount of sugar may be wrong. How to Care for Your Cast Iron Skillet (includes recipes) Some of the best meals I've ever eaten were made by my grandmothers in their cast iron skillets. Tender, flaky catfish; finger-lickin' chicken; and mouth watering cornbread were the traditional scrumptious fare. Today, we have a new generation of cooks, and they are conjuring up all sorts of new and tempting recipes to cook in cast iron skillets that have either been handed down through generations, or picked up brand-spanking-new at the local Williams-Sonoma store. But before I share some of those unusual recipes with you, I would like to first educate you on how to care for your skillet.Substitutions for Commonly Called for Ingredients What should you do if you are in the middle of a recipe and realize you are out of an ingredient? You could send your child to the local convenience store for cream cheese and end up having to serve your caviar with Velveeta because to a 13 year old they are both soft cheeses. This really happened when my Mother sent me for cream cheese.Whisk Your Way To a Perfect Meal Every Time! The whisk. A true versatile cooking utensil. Whisks come in all shapes and sizes and surprisingly accomplish far more then what most think they do. One of the dictionary definitions for a whisk is--A kitchen utensil usually in the form of stiff thin wire loops attached to a handle, used for whipping foodstuffs. We shall see that the whisks of today can do a lot more.10 Mind-Easing Ways To Make Sure Your Childs Bag Lunch Is Safe Perishable food must be kept cold while commuting via bus, bicycle, on foot, in a car, or on the subway. After arriving at school or work, perishable food must be kept cold until lunchtime.Outdoor Chefs Choose Gas Grills How many of you remember dad trying to get the charcoal started? The mess, time and burgers tasting of lighter fluid are some reasons why outdoor chefs are choosing gas grills for their recipes for BBQs over a charcoal barbecue. A gas grill offers many advantages for BBQ over charcoal. An outdoor chef doesn't want to wait for the coals to heat up when a turn of the knob quickly gets the barbecues started. A gas grill offers the ease of a push button start, temperature control and no mess.What?s the Thick on Roux? Thickening Soups and Sauces Soups and sauces can be thickened in a variety of ways. A sauce must the thick enough to cling to the food, but not so thick it stands up on its own. Starches are by far the most common thickening agent. Cornstarch, arrowroot, waxy maize and the ever popular, roux (roo). But what is a roux and how does it work?Old-Fashioned Taffy Pull Party--How to Host Your Own Want a unique party idea for your child's birthday-or even her next weekend sleepover with friends? Try hosting your own taffy pull. It can get pretty messy, but kids absolutely love it. Just follow these steps to minimize the mess . . . and maximize the fun!A popular method of cooking chicken in recent years both in Barbeque contest as well as backyard barbeques is the beer-can chicken. Cooking a beer-can chicken couldn't be any easier but the results are worthwhile. This is a technique that delivers a moist, succulent chicken and flavorful chicken. It's also a bit of a showstopper and makes a lively conversation starter as well. Is it chicken in a beer can? Close but try beer can in a chicken. The beer is used to both keep the bird flavorful and moist, and the cook happy. By the time the bird is ready to eat, the chef will not be the only one with a beer belly! Make-up or Mixing Methods for Muffins When muffins aren't perfect, the first reaction is to change the ingredients in the recipe. Rather than changing the recipe, try a different mixing method.
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