Bake, Broil, Fizz And Fry: Food preparation Guidance For All

If your family doesn't run to the table, maybe it is time to take an honest look at your cooking routineand see if you have fallen into a menu rut. Generate some mealtime enthusiasm and put a smile onyour family's faces with some fresh new ideas that are sure to please.

You can always save the sauce that you put so much effort into. Try mixing in 1 tablespoon cornstarch and another 2 tablespoons water in a container. Stir the mixture into a warm thin sauce tothicken it. For a sauce that's too thick, add more liquid.

One of the things that you will need to realize when you are making meats or fish is that you need tospread your seasoning evenly. Adding too much seasoning in one area of your food can reduce theflavor or lead to a tangy taste that will reduce the quality of your meal.

An electric mixer is a blessing when you have to make your dough, but even this relatively easy taskcan turn into a nightmare when the dough sticks to the dough hook. To avoid the sticky mess, spraythe hook with vegetable cooking spray and your dough will never stick to your mixer again.

Trying to cook with little children running around under your feet? Give them something to do. Anysmall and simple task will make them feel like they are helping with the meal, and it will keep themout of trouble for a little while as you try to finish up the dish that you are working so hard on.

You should use nonstick cooking spray when cooking a meal or snack. The nonstick cooking spraykeeps food from sticking to a pan without adding unneeded fats and calories. There are some spraysthat are flavored, so that you can get the same flavor as if you had used butter.

There is an easy way to peel garlic. There are many tips and techniques for peeling garlic, but thereis a simple way that doesn't involve any fancy gadgets. Take a rubber jar lid gripper and lay it on thecounter. Place a clove of garlic on it and fold it over. Using a little pressure, simply roll the garlicclove around a few times inside the rubber gripper, and the skin will instantly be removed.

If you plan to use wooden skewers when cooking, soak them in water for about thirty minutes priorto use. Being soaked in the water prevents them from getting burned when exposed to the cookingheat. To ensure that your food stays on the skewers, use two skewers instead of one to hold the foodfirmly in place.

When preparing chicken stock, make a large amount. Instead of making just what you need, make ahuge pot so you have some to freeze and use later. A rich chicken stock makes a savory base forsoups, stews and other dishes. Simply cool the stock, and then freeze it into Ziploc, heavyweightfreezer bags.

If your family tends to eat a lot of chicken and often, remember to always brine the poultry as it willlock in flavor. Otherwise you are left with a dry piece of chicken that merely has whatever spices andherbs you chose coated on the outside rather than penetrating every bite.

While cooking is fun, generally, the cleaning up that follows, is not. To avoid having to deal with abig mess after a day of experimenting or meal preparation in the kitchen, keep your sink filled withhot soapy water (refreshing when necessary) and clean up as you go along. Besides keeping yourend of day cleaning down to a minimum, you will also have clean hands as you touch and prepare

food throughout the day.

Check your meatloaf or meatballs by test cooking a small piece. You want your meat to taste perfect,so when you make a mini hamburger patty, and fry it up to taste it, you can decide if the seasoning isjust right or if you need to add more flavor. Doing this ensures your meatloaves and meatballs areperfect when you pop them out of the oven.

To save money and time consider throwing a beef roast or pork roast in the slow cooker. This makesa delicious meal the first night, and the leftovers make tasty sandwiches the rest of the week. Packthis in your lunch instead of deli lunch-meat, which is packed full of preservatives.

How to 'un-seize' melted chocolate. If the chocolate you are melting suddenly gets lumpy or grainy,this means it has 'seized', and it will ruin a recipe. Remove the pan and add 1/2 to 1 tsp of shorteningor cooking oil (not butter or margarine). Stir until the mixture becomes smooth again. To preventseizing, make sure the pan is completely dry before trying to melt chocolate.

A foolproof way to clarify butter. Melt several sticks of butter over low heat in a heavy-basedsaucepan. When you see froth on the top, solid particles on the bottom, and a clear yellow liquid inbetween, remove the pan from the heat. Skim the froth off the top, and strain the clarified liquid intoa container, leaving the milk solids behind.

If you are unsure of your boiling potatoes are done it would help if you stuck them with a knife. If thepotato comes out of the water stuck on the knife then it means that they are not ready yet, but ifthey slide off easily then they are done.

Get more out of your small kitchen appliances by considering alternate uses for them. Waffle ironscan make a great grilled cheese sandwich or sunny-side-up egg, for instance, and your coffee makermake a wonderful stand-in for a kettle to heat water for tea, soup, oatmeal or anything else that youjust need to add hot water to.

Use pita crisps in place of tortilla chips. Rather than using store bought tortilla chips, tryhttp://cakescakescakes.com/Cake_Gallery/Home.html making your own pita crisps. Simply split 6pita pockets, making 12 rounds. Combine 2 cloves of pastry recipes minced garlic with 1/4 cup ofolive oil and a little salt and pepper. Brush the mixture over the top of the split sides. Stack and cutinto 6 to 8 wedges. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet, and bake at 400 degrees until goldenbrown and crispy (about 5 minutes). They are absolutely delicious with guacamole, salsa or hummus!

A great way to save money by cooking is tosubstitute similar items. For example, let's say thatyou want steamed green beans at dinner. Freshgreen beans cost about $1.50 a pound even duringthe season, but frozen green beans, which havemuch the same color and texture, cost less than adollar a pound.

As stated above, cooking is not just a task that islimited to the best chefs with high culinary training.Anyone of any skill level can cook; the key to theirsuccess is proper cooking knowledge. If you follow the advice found in this article, you too can be a

good cook.