Usually, I would pick an ingredient or a specific recipe to hack away at for this newsletter. (See apple cider donuts-turned-muffins.) But this week, I’d like to share a list of cooking tips and tricks that are cross-recipe. Some you’ll know, some may boggle the mind, all should be tried at home. Any lessons learned in your own kitchens that you’d like to share? Please do!
These are not in order of importance. They are an amalgam of lessons learned and honed written by Yasmin Fahr (of baked feta fame), Julia Clancy (of homemade ricotta fame), and yours truly (…I’m here, too).
Some Truths
We’ll start with something indisputable: Read. The. Recipe. The whole thing. All the way through before you start cooking.
The sharper your knife, the less you cry, which is both a truism in the kitchen and the name of a book I read ages ago and remember loving.
Taste as you go (if you can). Obviously, don’t taste raw meat that you’ve just seasoned, but do taste cooked things, sauces, etc. as you go
When measuring ingredients in baking, be precise. When measuring in savory cooking, eh, there’s wiggle room.
On Prep
How to mince an onion. (Master this.)
Add a tablespoon of butter or olive oil and two bay leaves to a pot of any rice or grain while it is cooking.
One side of your cutting board is for raw meat, onions, garlic. The other side is for cooked meat, fruit, veggies, everything else. Label them so you don’t eat an onion-flavored mango.
Different oils are for different things. No need to memorize smoke points, just separate them into how they’re best used.
Salad dressing/finishing oils: fancy olive oils, roasted sesame oil
Oils for sautéing, baking, roasting: olive oil, grapeseed oil, safflower oil
Oils for frying: vegetable, canola, peanut
Never wash mushrooms! Use a damp cloth to remove any visible dirt, otherwise you will water-log them and they will never get golden brown and beautiful.
Save your pasta water. Add around 1/4 cup or slightly more to whatever sauce you’re making. It really makes a difference. (Also, salt the water before cooking pasta, but you knew that.)
A Little of This, A Little of That
And on that note… Grated parmesan plus a little bit of pasta water makes for a great impromptu sauce. Stir in some spinach or arugula at the end for a delicious weeknight dinner
Olive oil does go bad. It won’t hurt you, but it’ll taste rancid. Check the dates (Note: This is my favorite everyday olive oil.)
For salads: Make the dressing at the bottom of the bowl, then add the other ingredients rather than using another bowl
If something is too salty, add a pinch of sugar, lemon juice, or a quick hit of dairy to smooth it out. (Which you choose depends on what would work in the dish itself.)
If your tomato sauce is too acidic, add a pinch of sugar or 1/4 teaspoon baking soda or a splash of wine
If a dish is too spicy, dilute it with more of the non-spicy ingredients you’d already used, or try adding acid or a pinch of sugar
Food can taste under seasoned when it’s lacking in acid. Make sure you're adding an acid, such as lemon juice, lime juice, orange juice, wine, tomato paste, before adding salt to see if that fixes it (except for tomato sauce, since that’s already acidic. See above)
How Do They Do That?
Dry meat thoroughly before cooking to get it gorgeously caramelized and browned. (This doesn’t apply if you’re adding meat to soup/stew or marinating it.)
Coating fish in some type of protection, whether it's a yogurt marinade, herb-filled oil, or something of that sort prevents it from drying out in the oven
Use an ice cream scoop for muffin batter and cookie dough.
Two words: Meat thermometer (using one means avoiding cutting into meat to check its doneness)
Condiments are meal-savers: having a jar of pesto, chili in oil, mustards, various hot sauces, and so on, in your fridge can turn a plain grilled cheese (or whatever) into something magical.
Yes, you can swap in a shallot for an onion and vice versa.
Ohhhh…
The broiler is like an upside down grill and is a great way to cook or finish off dishes. Char tomatoes, peppers. Quickly cook a thin/delicate fish under the broiler. Chicken skin not quite crispy enough? Stick it under the broiler. Want cheese to get bubbly, melty, crispy? Sprinkle it on pasta, vegetables, toast and stick under the broiler. (On that note, always pat your chicken dry for crispy skin. Seriously…see above.)
When baking something that needs to rise (muffins, cupcakes, cake), do not overmix once the flour goes in. Stop mixing the second there’s no more dry flour visible. If you kept going, you’d over-develop the gluten and get a dense texture.
Save soft herb stems (cilantro, basil, parsley) in a bag in the freezer and add them to stocks, stuff them in the cavity of a whole chicken with a lemon for roasting, or layer them under big cuts of roasting fish.
Nothing is more dangerous than a dull knife. More likely to slip off an edge or cut yourself with one that’s dull than one that’s sharp.
A Most Important Reminder
Don’t save the good stuff. Open the champagne. Use that good olive oil. Buy that cheese. Stir in the better chocolate chips. Don’t wait for an occasion, the good stuff is the occasion.
As for what we’re cooking lately…
Miso glazed eggplant with brown rice (Alternately, give this miso flavor treatment, plus garlic, to green beans, charring them on the stovetop…Mmmmm.)
Greek salad for lunch, on repeat
Thai-style lettuce wraps for dinner, on repeat
Chicken puttanesca (above) makes a great fall dinner for your pod/bubble/crew
Shiitake (or any mushroom) tartines to upgrade grilled cheese cravings
I must make this banana bread at least monthly
Yasmin’s dippy eggs are the gooey indulgence we’re all looking for right now
I know I’ve lauded it before, but I made this vegan chocolate mousse the other night and paired it with the rest of a bottle of sparkling rosé and it was a big win.
Signing off with trial, error, and love,