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| various potato dishes: potato chips, hashbrowns, tater tots, baked potato, and mashed potatoes (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
When you store your spices and herbs, keep them in a place that is cool and dark. Heat, light, and a large amount of humidity can ruin spices and herbs. It has been found that ground herbs and spices maintain their flavor for roughly a year. You may retain your spice's flavor for about 5 years. The length of time that they stay fresh depends on how they are stored.
By staying organized while cooking you can avoid making mistakes, such as burning your food. Having all your kitchen tools handy and organized will help you turn out a good meal. Stay organized, as it will help you keep up with what you have and you won't be wasting food or money.
For a simple way to add interest and complexity to your corn on the cob or dinner rolls, try mixing up a flavored butter. Allow the butter to be at room temperature when serving. Then mix in some herbs, sauces or spices to add some extra flavor. Honey, lemon juice, chipotles or BBQ make a great combination with butter.
In many cases, you can mistakenly put too much salt into your recipe before you taste it, but this is not a lost cause. Simply drop a couple of peeled raw potatoes into the sauce, and allow them to simmer for approximately 15 minutes. The potato pieces will soak up the extra salt. Tomato-based dishes can be helped by just adding more tomato pieces. Cook until these are tender to dilute extra saltiness.
Down winter greens by the handful. Kale, collards and broccoli rabe taste much sweeter after the first winter frost. You should always remember to choose only greens with a bright, rich color. Make sure you avoid limp and discolored leaves. Since the greens can be covered in dirt, take care when washing them. You need to submerge the greens within a bowl of very cool water. Shake off the excess water and then place them under the running faucet until you notice that nothing is falling into the sink but clear water.
It is important to have great cutting utensils at your disposal in your kitchen. Sharp knives are less time consuming, easier, and safer to use. Dull knives actually cause more cut fingers and accidents than sharper ones.
A great way to cook is brining. Soaking turkey, chicken, duck or goose in a brine for an hour prior to prep can help accentuate its flavors.
Potatoes should be mixed with hot milk (not boiling) when they are ready for mashing. Your mashed potatoes should come out fluffy and light. This technique also minimizes lumps. Who wants dull and lumpy mashed potatoes?
If you plan to prepare food outside for a cookout, make sure the grill itself is prepped beforehand. At least half an hour before you plan to cook, prepare the grill in readiness. The charcoal should have a light coating of ash at medium heat when they are ready to use. This is the best grilling temperature.
Let the preceding tips multiply in your head and generate new, personal cooking ideas. Fix awesome dishes that everyone in the family will love and talk about for days to come. Cooking can be a lifelong passion, and you are never done learning. The kitchen should be the centerpiece of your home.
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