Making Great Meals: Tips, Tricks And Advice

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Are you enamored with many kinds of foods? Is your sweet tooth always looking for more? Maybe you are a hardcore carnivore that loves to experiment with meat dishes. Do you want to know how to cook like this in the comfort of your own home? Get out of dreamland and get into the kitchen! Follow the tips below to learn how to create delicious meals.

If you are cooking dried beans, wait until they have softened before adding garlic or salt. Both of these ingredients could stop your beans from being softer as they are cooked, especially if you are cooking old beans. Wait to add spices until the beans are close to the texture you’d like they to have.

There is a way to save your dish and you can use it immediately. Combine 2 tbsp. of water with 1 tbsp. of corn starch in a bowl. Stir this into the sauce to thicken it up. Add the mixture slowly and keep stirring to make sure it does not thicken too much.

TIP! Use only a very small amount of fat when sauteing a food. It will add too much moisture, which steams the food and doesn’t allow it to saute or get crispy.

Make dishes you already feel confident cooking if you have invited a special guest to dinner. Don’t attempt a dish that is new or very far out of your experience level. This will take the stress out of the cooking.

Make sure you have everything you need before beginning to cook a dish. This will make sure that you do not end up halfway into a recipe, then find out you are missing something. It does not take any longer to get everything you need together beforehand, but it saves you time and aggravation in the long run.

Looking for a fresh, new way to enjoy oysters? The most common way to eat oysters is raw with lemon juice, there are many alternatives. Place opened oysters on top of a broiling pan while covering it with cream. Try putting a little Parmesan cheese and pepper on them until they are bubbling. You can also saute them. You can dredge them with a small amount of flour and fry them in hot butter until they turn golden in color. Bake the oysters while they are still in their shells. Plop it in a rectangular dish, add a tiny bit of butter, then sprinkle some breadcrumbs on the oysters. Once you do all that, put it in the oven at 425 degrees and let it bake for 4-5 minutes. When the juices and butter both bubble, it is time to serve it. Serve it before it cools down. A toasted baguette should accompany the dish.

Sprinkle salt on your cutting board before cutting fresh herbs. The salt will give the herbs more flavor and prevent them from sliding of the board as you cut. To avoid serving a dish that is too salty, do not add extra salt to the meal you are preparing. Some of the salt will adhere to the herbs and add flavor to your dish.

Fresh Basil

Are you using fresh basil to cook with? Put some fresh basil into a glass. Make sure the stems are covered with water. This way it will stay fresh for days, even weeks, right on your countertop! If you occasionally change its water, it will sprout roots. Trim your basil plants back a bit to encourage new growth, and keep enjoying your basil for a long time.

It’s very important to have good, sharp knives for cooking. If you try to cut using a dull knife, you will have a lot of difficulty, and it can also a very dangerous. With a dull knife it is easy to slip and cut yourself because it is harder to slice the food, but a knife that is sharp makes much smoother cuts.

One unique grilling option is fruit. Consider grilling your favorite fruits on a skewer. Grill on a clean grill until grill marks appear. Serve the fruit atop ice cream or a grilled cake.

TIP! When baking a cake, be sure not to over or under cook it. Many factors can affect the cooking times for cakes.

Put some thought into layering a salad when you are preparing it in advance for later that day. Put the ingredients with the most juice, including tomatoes, near the bowl’s bottom. Place leafy greens and other ingredients that lose freshness quickly near the top of the bowl.

With the above information in hand, you can easily start to prepare delicious fare for any occasion. Be courageous, and experiment with various seasonings and sauces You may even discover a new favorite dish! These tips and your personal taste should aid you in becoming an even better chef!

Fresh Basil

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