What's the best cooking tip you ever got? (stainless steel, dressing, expensive)

[andrew.mensch]

Add a tablespoon or two of vodka to homemade ice cream... lowers the freezing point and prevents crystals.

[Caligula1]

Don't cut your fingers off!!

[noregon98]

Someone mentioned putting oil in with the pasta and water to keep it from sticking, which is kind of a no-no, as the oil can prevent the sauce from sticking to the finished pasta as well.



Best tip for baking with chocolate (brownies especially) is to slightly under-bake and let the residual heat do the rest of the baking outside of the oven.

The rule of thumb is, if you can smell the chocolate in the kitchen, it's probably too late.

[5-all]

Never fry bacon when you're naked. Learned that through experience.

[TabulaRasa]

Sliding thinly sliced lemons, sprigs of rosemary, and pats of butter under the skin of chicken pre-roasting.

[TabulaRasa]

Originally Posted by Blinx

Similar to this... Save the water you drain away from cooking veggies to use when making gravy (from roasts or chicken). Gives it extra flavor.

A cleanup tip: After you've mashed potatoes, rinse the masher/beaters immediately, or else it will harden and be difficult to clean off. Works for anything you've made that's starchy.

Soaking anything you've cooked oatmeal in immediately is a necessity.

[deckdoc]

since you are retired I'm retired too. Had to learn to cook myself and I personally think I'm a better cook than she was. She still gets to clean the kitchen as I'm pretty lax.

[hellpaso]

Have everything chopped, pans ready--everything in reach when you are ready to start actually cooking. There's a reason pros do it that way. Mise en place

Never add oil to a cold pan.

Fatty foods need a lot more salt than non-fat foods. And fat is flavor.

[Gerania]

Originally Posted by Caligula1

Don't cut your fingers off!!

I used to cut a slice off of my left thumb once a year. I wonder what that print looks like.

I'd wrap it in a paper towel, put a plastic bag over it, secure it with a rubber band and keep cooking. What? It's only a flesh wound.

[mainebrokerman]

Cook to what YOU like

Not one way of cooking food


Don't over season. Enjoy the taste/flavors of the food you are cooking