A Smorgasbord of Cooking Tips

Here is a listing of lots of tips and tricks I use in anything related to cooking. Hopefully one is relevant for you. Send me your tips and tricks so I can make another post with your idea.

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Bread

I freeze bread. Sliced bread can stay frozen and since they are pre-sliced I can remove only the slices I need. Defrosting works well via toasting the bread before eating. Stale bread can be crispy again by sprinkling water over the bread, and reheating in an oven to re-crisp by the steaming of water and a hot oven.

Bread Crumbs

Bread crumbs are easy to make, just bake old bread so it is thoroughly dried and thus crispy. Then put in a large plastic bag (or blender) and crunch (or pulse) them up to the size you want, bread crumbs are very small while Panko types are larger.

But you are not limited to just bread. My son Sterling used nut crumbs one night as a coating on broccolini and it was great. I have used garbanzo flour and also rice flower for that crunch on vegetables and chicken. You can also use instant mashed potato flakes.

Caramelize Onions

This cooking process takes much longer than you think, and the onions need to have turned almost brown, to achieve caramelization. But do so on medium-low since the goal is not to burn the onions. I also tend to add a bit of butter to the oil.

Chicken, Whole

Several years ago I was introduced to spatchcocked (aka butterflying) chicken via The Barefoot Contessa. Ever since then, I have always spatchcocked whole chicken before cooking it.

This process can be done two ways, either cut out the entire backbone of the chicken with a sharp knife, remove extra fat, the breast plate, wish bone, neck, and some rib bones. Tuck the wing tips under, then season and cook the chicken.

Or, my way, which requires minimal handling and allows the whole bird to roast or grill so that when broth is made from the leftovers it contains some of that roasting flavor so important to well cooked chicken. I first do not use a knife but kitchen scissors. Then I only cut one side of the back bone so it is all intact, flip the bird over and using both hands will press down on the breast bone to crack it, so that the whole bird lays flat. Then I remove the extra blobs of fat, the tail, neck and wing tips. Then I season the chicken, place those cut off parts and any giblets under the chicken to elevate it in a roasting pan and then cook.

Crispy Foods

To maximize crispiness, maximize surface area. So tear tofu bits, cube bite-sized salmon, grate potatoes, etc.

Make sure what your cooking is not wet. The dryer it is the crispier it will become.

Heat for Cooking

I think I was a short order cook in a prior life, because I tend to cook very hot and quick. Terrible for my ceramic and non-stick cookware, and terrible for some of my food. The real key to cooking well is to cook with as low heat as is feasible for the dish you are making.

To cook hot means you are trying to trigger the Maillard reaction, which is a complex chemical reaction that starts at 285°F (140°C) and is optimal at any temperature between 285°F and 320°F (140°C and 160°C). What it does is create that chemical reaction between amino acids and sugars to spark an aromatic and flavorful crustiness, or char, to food.

Cooking too hot can risk having the ingredient raw in the center while crispy on the outside. The only time to cook on high heat:

• If you are searing a meat or other ingredient.
• Crisping an ingredient after it has been properly cooked.
• You are an expert at cooking stir-fry dishes over an actual wood or propane flame.
• You are making pizza or any other type of flat bread.
• To heat a pan and oil quickly, then turn down.
• To boil water for any reason. Then bring the heat down to low-medium for a simmer.
• etc.

Microplane

This is one of my tools any kitchen of mine will always have in the drawer. A microplane is a type of grater that has very fine blades, allowing us to shave more finely and consistently than a traditional box grater. The very sharp blades makes it easier to use and produces very fluffy results.

One secret: is that I use a specially made glove to protect me from grating off my finger tips. Prevent the OUCH.

• Create smashed garlic, ginger, wasabi, or horseradish.
• I also use it to grind up lemongrass. It is then easier to integrate in foods.
• Use to make feather light strands of nutmeg for drinks and pastries.
• Also can create small slivers of chocolate for toppings to pastries, hot drinks, etc.
• It makes perfect zest for lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit, etc.
• When I want a light, find grind on hard cheese like Parmesans as a topping.

Pasta

First, use lots of water to boil pasta in, then second, salt but do not add oil to your water. Third, do not dump your cooking water, reserve a cup or two depending on the amount of sauce you are making; then add that to your sauce to introduce a smooth starchy water to the sauce. Finally, finish cooking the pasta in the hot sauce (with heat off) and mix it well. Serve from the sauce pan.

Potatoes, Baked

Baking a potato takes patience and proper steps if you want a crispy skin and very fluffy interior. The message is do it low and slow.

• Perfect Baked Potato
  • Scrub the veggie well, then oil the potato.
  • Poke a few holes around the spud with a fork and kosher salt it all over.
  • Place the unwrapped potato on a parchment lined baking sheet and put it in a preheated 350F oven for 3 hours.

What happens then is that the water in that potato starts to expand as it is heated. Instead of blowing up, the holes will allow the escape of steam. The oil will help make the skin crispy. Meanwhile, this low heat cooking will cook the spud to fluffy perfection.

Reserve Liquids

I am a frugal person, especially with things I buy in jars that contain a sauce. That means I do not throw out all that liquid that remains after I have used up Kalamata olives, or dill/sweet pickles, or vinaigrettes used in jars of artichoke hearts, Italian anchovies, etc. Instead what I do is reuse the liquid to pickle other foods, use in part for a salad dressing, or a dressing for a fish meal, and so on.

First I read the ingredients carefully so I understand what the sauce includes. Then I give the sauce a taste and keep the ones that would be good to use for another sauce or as a way to preserve veggies. In most cases, I reuse these brines only once and then toss. But I have read people reuse pickling brines several times, so long as the brine continues to look clear. At the sight of anything murky, toss that brine and the food in the jar.

Salmon Substitute

Yes there is a fish substitute to the ever-loved salmon. The name is Arctic Char (or Charr), a cold-water fish in the family Salmonidae, native to alpine lakes, and arctic and subarctic coastal waters. This freshwater fish is firm and flaky like salmon, is similar in fat, has a little less protein, but is a good source of omega-3 and is also cheaper than salmon.

Healthline reports that its color can be dark red or pale pink and raising Char creates less pollution than fish farmed in coastal waters. 

Smokey Flavor

I do not like Liquid Smoke, nor the Smoked Salt everyone here has tried to use. They taste artificial and are usually too strong. So the question is how to add smokey flavor without using a smoker or those two options.

Dhungar is an ancient South Asian finishing method used to introduce buttery and/or smoky flavors to finished food. This is not really a cooking method as it does not heat or cook anything, but rather a way of introducing aromas and flavors by smoking. In Indian cooking, a plum-sized all-natural hardwood lump of charcoal is burned until glowing, then placed in a metal dish in the center of the food, a bit of ghee (1-2T) is added and the dish covered. The buttery, smokey flavor is then embedded into the food. I have seen this done, but have not cooked this way myself.

• Indian: dal, chicken curry, and raita
• Thia: rice dishes and the curried potato filling of Thai-style curry puffs

This technique could also be used to ”smoke” regular baked chicken by placing cooked and rested chicken around in a big pot on your stovetop. In the center place a whole, peeled bowl made from a yellow onion. Then place one small natural lump hot charcoal inside with 1-2T ghee (with or without herbs or spices), OR some dampish hickory wood. This will induce smoking, so quickly cover and let it smoke.

• How long to smoke depends upon the size of your dish and how strong a smoke you want
• If smoking a meat dish, make sure the meat is cooked and has rested
• Use cooked food as this will not cook anything
• If done on stove top use no additional heat, turn on exhaust fan and open windows for the smoke
• NYT writes that research has found that levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a hazardous component of smoke, are minimal if wood smolders (as it does in stovetop smoking), and doesn’t flame.

Tomato Paste

To make tomato paste richer, and a touch smokey, cook the tomato paste in some oil in the pan rather than just plopping it into a sauce. This caramelization process will provide a nice umami depth the the tomato-based sauce you are cooking. The way to know you are caramelizing the paste is once it has turned from a bright red to a darker burgundy color.

Buy tomato paste in tubes, they will last longer than tomato paste in cans. Additionally, acidic ingredients in cans have been known to leech materials from the can, so I prefer tubes.

Vanilla Powder

I use Vanilla Powder (Pikes Market, Seattle) and Vanilla Sugar (German product) in baking. Only recently did I find out these whitish powders are not just ground up vanialla bean.

TastingTable writes the more commonly found white or beige powders labeled “vanilla powder,” are not true, pure ground vanilla bean powder. Instead, they are a variety of different sugar and/or starch combinations that have been sprayed with extracts of vanilla and mixed with anti-caking agents to produce an affordable, easy-to-use vanilla powder (via JL Gourmet Imports and Singing Dog Vanilla). 

Real, brownish vanilla powder, are a one ingredient product with a depth of taste and aroma unmatched by the pretend stuff.

• Make your own Vanilla Powder
  • Dry out the whole vanilla bean on the kitchen counter (be sure it is completely dry and brittle)
  • Place in your clean spice grinder to produce a fine powder.
  • Place powder in a clean, tight lidded glass container and place in the pantry not the refrigerator.

Conclusion

The are just some of the tips and tricks regarding cooking. I will keep writing down suggestions and occasionally will print up the newest ones I have found to be helpful. Let me know of any you rely on so I can share.

—Patty

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