What are your cooking secrets? (ingredients, restaurant, hamburgers, frozen)

[Mikala43]

I have cooked many a dinner that sounds great, and turned out like doo-doo due to poor technique. It can be a fine line between cuisine and chow.

For example, I made a quiche that sounded great, but do to cooking the frozen crust in correctly, it was trash can fodder.

What are your secrets for awesome food?

Mine?

Season each part of the meal. For hamburgers? The meat, the avocados, the tomatoes, are all seasoned individually. The buns? TOASTED!

Soups and stews? The toppings are crucial. Herbs, citrus, nuts, chilis.... they all make a difference.

Please share your tricks of the trade that elevate your foood!

[IheartWA]

Secret’s in the sauce!

[Debsi]

Fresh herbs from the garden row my boat -- especially basil, italian parsley, dill, and rosemary. Just a bit sprinkled on anything from tuna salad to meat marinade to roasted vegetables etc etc really elevates the dish.

[silibran]

Practice. Just keep making stuff. Honestly, I think constant cooking throughout my adult life is my “secret.”

And get a couple of good basic cookbooks.

[mainebrokerman]

keep things simple.....taste the food......the natural flavors use restraint against too much spice...

how often have we seen/tasted even simple dishes over seasoned ......or conflicted herbs.

i make my own sausage, jerky, use a slow cooker often....and rotisserie.
keep it simple taste the food.......... not overspiced

[gentlearts]

I have two secrets I learned from my dad.
I put black coffee in lamb gravy, and I put ketchup in deviled eggs.

[mr.magoo]

When I was young I loved ( still do) Italian food.

I dated Italian girls whose parents/grandparents were good cooks and learned THEIR secrets.

I also got a part time job at a restaurant as a Bus Boy in High School, I learned a lot of techniques and secrets from the Line Cooks and Chefs.

Most were really happy to share tips with someone who genuinely showed an interest in what they were doing.

I also learned how to make a Reservation at a restaurant.

[VTsnowbird]

When making pasta salad, potato salad, or cole slaw, use ranch dressing in place of some or all of the mayo.

[Threestep2]

Freeze your pie crust, preheat oven, have filling ready - enjoy. Fat molecules explode and make it flaky. Use cream cheese instead of butter in your crust.

[Lodestar]

I think you're right, Mikala, that technique makes a huge difference in the results. The order you add the ingredients, the size and shape that things are cut, consideration of color in the ingredients.

I love the answers here and know I'm among people who love to cook by the responses.

Chef Daughter says not to make anything to eat when you are angry, that food needs to be made with love to taste good. That sounds like woo but I know what she's talking about. Patience, thoughtfulness and generosity can find their way into our kitchens and show through in the end result.

DH says, "Even a peanut butter sandwich tastes better if you make it for me."