Tips & Tricks

While I enjoy cooking and believe that it should be fun, I can be pretty serious about some things.  I strongly believe that certain aspects of cooking cannot be rushed and shortcuts can result in lack of flavor. That said, there are some tips and even shortcuts that can result in more flavor in less time.
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​Here are a few of my favorite tips, I will add to this from time to time. 
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• (Almost) ALWAYS save your pasta water - When cooking any sort of pasta or noodles place a bowl in the sink underneath the colander or strainer to collect the starchy leftover water.  When the pasta cooks the water gets thick with the starch from the pasta and this can be used to add to your (usually cream based) pasta dish to thin it out versus just using water and therefore losing flavor.  Some dishes I like to make that I always save my pasta water for are, creamy sundried tomato tortellini and spaghetti carbonara.  While these are the two main dishes I will save my pasta water for, I always save it just in case and then pour out if not used. Note: This tip doesn't work for pasta dishes using a red sauce.
• ALWAYS use salted butter - Recipes that call for butter will often denote wether you should use salted or unsalted butter.  Land O Lakes tells the difference in the two: Both salted and unsalted butters are made of the very same Grade AA quality butter, but salted butter has salt added to it— that’s it! That's pretty straightforward. I never promised this blog would promote healthy cooking and this is no exception.  Butter, when needed in a recipe, just shouldn't be substituted and salted is the way to go.  You will immediately realize why one day when you accidentally buy unsalted butter.
• Brown butter is better butter - Oftentimes when cooking a recipe will call for melted butter.  Think pies, stews, creamy dishes or casseroles and more.  I even like to brown butter for things like french toast. Essentially whenever a recipe calls for melted butter I will ask myself, "Will this taste even better it has the flavor of golden browned butter?" The answer is always YES! Browning butter is simple but a little tricky because it can go wrong very quickly.  To brown butter, simply place the desired amount of butter into a skillet and turn heat on medium to medium high.  It is crucial that you watch closely and stir often to avoid burning the butter.  As the butter melts you will begin to notice little flecks of what appear to be tiny bits of flour.  What you are seeing are tiny toasted milk solids!  This is where all of the buttery goodness is stored!  As the butter browns these little flecks will begin to turn golden.  You will want to totally remove from the stove once those flecks are like the color of golden toast.  Don't just turn off the stove, but pour the butter out of the pan, scraping out all of those yummy flecks.  This will keep the butter from browning more than you want.  This can take a bit of trial and error but if you will watch closely and go "low and slow" with the heat you will get the hang of it.  
  • While we are on the subject of butter - I like to keep a stick out on the counter in a butter dish.  Butter won't go bad at room temperature and having a soft stick handy is great for toast or making grilled cheese etc, just make sure it's salted. 😂
• Pre-toasting bread - When making something that involves a bun or hoagie and a sauce or cheese always pre-toast your bread.  A sauce, cheese or warm piece of meat will turn a roll or hoagie soggy very quickly, likely before your second bite.  By pre-toasting your bread you are creating a buffer from the soggier item and the bread.  I do this by placing the bun, roll or hoagie on a cookie sheet and placing under the broiler (maybe 450°) and watch closely until lightly browned.  To really step it up you could brush with butter and sprinkle a little garlic salt on before broiling.  This would depend on what your recipe is, but works great for sliders, chicken parm subs and more.

I will add more tips here as they come to me!

​Love,