#1
Remember to pat dry all proteins if you’re trying to get a sear or caramelization on the meats (Maillard reaction). Beef steaks, roasts, prime ribs, primal cuts all take far more salt than you think.
If you want those bright green, restaurant style veggies, then blanch them first by doing a quick boil in rolling boiling water, then quench in an ice bath. Shake dry in a strainer then saute them quickly in a little fat (oil or butter) with seasoning of your choice before serving.
Learn to take fish fillets and salmon steaks off the heat before they are completely cooked as they will finish with residual heat on a plate. Overdone fish is not good. Shrimp, crab, and lobster all cook very fast from a thawed state, overcooking results in rubbery seafood.
Store bought puff pastry is your friend for the fanciest and tastiest super quick appetizers and desserts.
#2
In processed foods yes. Because there's something like 400% of your daily sodium requirements in that microwave burrito.
But fresh cooking? YOU NEED SALT.
People will think your cooking is amazing simply because you used some salt.
#3
We spoke with a few experts who offered valuable insights that may help elevate your home cooking by a few notches. First, they addressed the common misconceptions about making a dish look and taste exquisite.
According to chef, culinary entertainer, cookbook author, and Dink Cuisine creator Alicia Shevetone, people think having a culinary degree is a prerequisite to making a meal to remember. But as she pointed out, it’s all about two Ps: practice and patience.
“Anyone who commits to taking their time and cooking on a regular basis will see aesthetic improvement in their dishes. We all learn that way,” she told Bored Panda.
#4
sqplanetariu:
And good to get familiar with different types of acid for different dishes – lemon or lime juice, all the vinegars (red wine, balsamic, apple cider, etc).
BaconReceptacle:
I blew someone's mind with this. She asked me to taste it because she couldnt figure out what it was missing. I immediately poured a little white vinegar in and she tried to stop me. I stirred it, and had her tasted it. She thought I was a damn magician.
#6
Dr. Carolyn Kittell, a doctor of dental surgery, has been cooking since her college years. According to her, many people believe that expensive ingredients make a dish stand out, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
“I have hosted dinner parties for more than ten years, and a dish which attracts the most compliments is the humble roast chicken with herbs I grow in the backyard of my dental office that cost me twelve dollars to prepare,” she said.
#7
The secret? Chill your dough before baking. It helps everything.
My mom argued that's not it until she tried it. She's done it always since. 🤣.
#8
#9
blackmarksonpaper:
I do it for salads. I quick pickle fine diced red onion. Then strain the liquid and use that to make the dressing. Mix the onions into the salad.
However, you may need to spend a bit more money if you want restaurant-quality pizza. According to Valentina’s Pizzeria owner Joe Carlucci, making top-tier homemade pizza comes down to the flour you use.
“I can't say enough about using high-quality flour to create restaurant-quality pizza at home,” Carlucci said, recommending Caputo as a game-changing ingredient that can elevate the quality of your crust.
#10
Get a decent knife and learn to sharpen it.
Learn your stove and the heat levels, I personally do things in 4 minute intervals and adjust heat.
Practice if you can
Take a knife skills class if you can or YouTube it.
#11
MaritMonkey:
The fact that I made a good first impression on my now mother in law is almost entirely thanks to this trick (with some hash brown casserole things).
She was mildly impressed with the food, but then found out I had cut the bottom out of (cleaned!) tuna cans to use as molds and decided she liked the cut of my jib lol.
notapoliticalalt:
In General, making food look appeal counts for something. Ugly food can be some of the most delicious food out there, but making the presentation nice can elevate your dish even if it is just so so.
#12
Buy a wand / stick / immersion blender to make smoother sauces and aioli.
For recipe creator Emily Wilson, technique is king. She is an advocate of learning as you go, especially in this day and age, where technology is at our disposal.
“If the recipe says to finely dice onions and you don’t know how to do that, look up a YouTube tutorial,” she said. “Little things like that can really affect the flavor and look of a dish.”
#13
I always salt the lettuce and tomato before putting it on sandwiches and I can't tell you how many times people tell me "it's *so much better* when you make them!"
Yeah. Cuz salt. It's why restaurants and packaged foods taste better.
You'll have a heart attack before you're 40, but you'll be well fed.
#14
#15
Unlikely-Macaroon-85:
This is a trick I use when I make buttercream and it splits. Works like a charm!
cabbageboy78:
Same with reheating cream sauce based leftovers. no matter how good i have made it, have a perfectly balanced roux etc. there is always someeeeee seperation if youre microwaving leftovers at work. so ill usually toss it in for 30 seconds let it warm up, throw a splash of water in and shake it up, go another 30 seconds (or until its warm enough for ya) and bam, that alfredo is almost as good as the night before.
Unfortunately there is no saving the really separated stuff.
Our experts were also kind enough to share their own cooking hacks. Carlucci is a fan of mixing sweet and savory ingredients, as seen in Valentina’s “The Carlucci” pizza. Apart from the mozzarella base, goat cheese, and caramelized onions, it also has house-seasoned bacon and candied walnuts.
“It’s always a conversation piece when it hits the table,” Joe proudly said.
#16
Stop over crowding your pan to avoid food from steaming instead of roasting. You will taste a whole new set of flavour profiles.
Lpt for indian food : use fresh ground spices instead of pre ground spice powders. This is more expensive and time consuming to do regularly. So this is a optional tip only for people who regularly cook indian food.
#17
Take a block or two of cream cheese, score it on top, season it on all sides, then put it on folded foil and into a pellet smoker at 200 degrees for 2 hours. Maybe add some hot honey in the last 15 minutes. Eat with pita chips or crackers, etc.
Basically no restaurants make it and everyone raved about it. Very unique flavor.
#18
For Dr. Kittell, it’s playing around with contrasting temperatures. According to her, she drew inspiration from a chef in her hometown who combined scalding soup with frozen dollops of cream.
She has been serving piping hot butternut squash soup with spoonfuls of ice-cold mascarpone or gazpacho, and considered it her “dinner party superpower” ever since.
“I have played this game at about eighty different parties,” she said. “(Guests) are aware that something out of the ordinary has occurred, yet have no idea what I did differently than all of their past experience of soups that they have ever had.”
#19
#20
The biggest secret to cooking is learning how to make something.
Take mac and cheese for example. If you want to make your own cheese sauce you start with a basic roux. Equal parts some type of oil(usually butter) and flour. You whisk that together over medium heat 'until the raw flour smell goes away'. This usually means for a few minutes. Now you turn that roux in to a bechamel. To do this you slowly pour in milk. If you pour it all at once it will break and be completely ruined. You start with a bit. It's going to turn in to this weird gloopy dough looking thing, that's what it's supposed to do, keep stirring. After mixing that together you pour in some more milk. As you pour it's going to thin out, just keep adding a bit at a time until you're poured it all in. Once it's to desired consistency, which is unfortunately something you only learn by making it over and over again, you can then add your cheese to it. Congratulations, you've now learned some incredibly useful fundamentals that cover a variety of dishes. The next time you see a recipe with 'roux' or 'bechamel' in it, you'll immediately know how to do that.