How Cast Iron Pans Are Made
On today's episode of HTMI, chef Katie Pickens is at Roloff Manufacturing Company, learning the whole process of making cast iron pans.
Pastry Chef Attempts To Make Gourmet Oreos
Pastry Chef Attempts To Make Gourmet Oreos
What makes the oreo the king of the cookie? Claire attempts to find out as she makes a gourmet version of the greatest sandwich cookie of all time.
Silent Culinary Series Shows You What’s Cooking
Silent Culinary Series Shows You What’s Cooking
Silently Cooking is a self-descriptive blog and culinary video series that quietly shows rather than tells what’s cooking in the kitchen. The pace of each recipe is calming and the only sounds that are emitted are from the recipe itself. The idea of a silent cooking series was conceived by Connor Nelson, a non-professional cook who became overwhelmed/annoyed by the ongoing commentary in many cooking videos.
While there are some fantastic internet cooking videos out there in the world, I found the majority of them to be frustratingly long and crammed with banter. Silently Cooking is an option for those of us who want to skip through all that. As an added bonus, I try to make these as relaxing as possible! I like to think they’re fun to watch, and even more fun to listen to.
https://twitter.com/SilentlyCooking/status/1011721710725459970
You Suck At Cooking Potatoes
You Suck At Cooking Potatoes
Potatoes are one of the vegetables that grow inside the ground. You suck at cooking them. Facts are facts man.
Jamie Oliver’s New Book '1 Ingredient Cooking' Is A Simple Approach To Busy Life
Jamie Oliver’s New Book '1 Ingredient Cooking' Is A Simple Approach To Busy Life
It’s here! Jamie’s brand new concept in cooking - 1 Ingredient Food. You loved Quick & Easy 5 Ingredient Food so much, but Jamie knew he could make it even quicker, and even easier! There are some amazingly simple recipes in here, from fantastic toast to simple tinned soup and even a boiled egg... It’s everything you could want for simple, easy, simple food - simple!
MISCELLANEOUS QUIZ / 10 TO 1: COOKING
MISCELLANEOUS QUIZ / 10 TO 1: COOKING
QUIZ: Can you pick the cooking-related terms that fit each category?
Why Calzones Deserve More Love
Why Calzones Deserve More Love
Calzones are a staple of the pizza-parlor menu, but too often the dish doesn't get the respect it deserves. That's too bad, because the calzone is a near-perfect food: According to Mathieu Palombino—the owner of Motorino Pizzeria in NYC—these wood-fired pizza pockets allow ingredients to stay ultra-moist and flavorful while cooking inside the oven. Stuffed with a mixture of sweet and spicy sausage, and held together by globs of melted Pecorino Romano cheese, Motorino's calzone is a worthy alternative to a classic pie.
The Essential Kitchen Tools You Need To Outfit Your Kitchen With
The Essential Kitchen Tools You Need To Outfit Your Kitchen With
Chef Andrew Rea explains the handful of tools you need to kick off your cooking.
The Garbage Plate Is Every Drunk College Students Favorite Meal
The Garbage Plate Is Every Drunk College Students Favorite Meal
This is any drunk college kids best friend. It is a mixture of meat, carbs, and more carbs piled onto a foam container found in Nick Tahou's and "hots" food joints all over the Rochester area.
Ingredients
- 1 -1 1⁄2cup cooked macaroni
- 1⁄4cup mayonnaise
- 2tablespoons diced celery
- 1tablespoon chopped carrot
- 1⁄4teaspoon salt
- 1⁄4teaspoon pepper
- 1large potato, baked and cubed
- 1tablespoon butter
- 2hamburger patties
- 2slices cheese
- mustard
- horseradish
- ketchup
- hot chili sauce (OR SPECIAL SAUCE)
- 3slices Italian bread
- chopped onion (optional)
- refried beans (optional)
-
SPECIAL SAUCE
- 1medium onion, chopped
- 1garlic clove, minced
- 1tablespoon oil
- 1lb ground beef
- 1cup water
- 12ounces tomato paste
- 1⁄2tablespoon brown sugar
- 1teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3⁄4teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1teaspoon chili powder
- 1 1⁄2teaspoons paprika
- 1⁄2teaspoon ground cumin
- 1⁄2teaspoon allspice
- 1⁄4teaspoon cinnamon
- 1⁄2teaspoon powdered clove
Directions
YUM, every drunk college kids dream food.
How To Make The Legendary Deep Fried Twinkie
How To Make The Legendary Deep Fried Twinkie
You think your taste buds are prepared for this? Think again! This recipe is only for the legendary! Only the greats may taste the sweet ambrosia that is a deep fried twinkie! If you are fool enough to try then here is the recipe! Go forth brave ones! Be prepared for overwhelming flavor!
Ingredients:
- 6 Hostess Twinkies
- 6 wooden popsicle sticks
- vegetable oil, enough to cover twinkies
- flour
-
BATTER
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 cup flour (mix to consistency)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
Directions
‘COOKING WITH BILL – DAMASU 950′ IS BY FAR THE WEIRDEST THING YOU WILL SEE TODAY!
‘COOKING WITH BILL – DAMASU 950′ IS BY FAR THE WEIRDEST THING YOU WILL SEE TODAY!
Last week, Neill Blomkamp’s Oats Studio surprised everyone with the early release of their first experimental short film Rakka. Today, Blomkamp delivers a short parody of cooking infomercials with Cooking with Bill – Damasu 950.
How To Make The Best Chinese Barbecue Pork
How To Make The Best Chinese Barbecue Pork
Learn how to make a Chinese Barbecue Pork (Char Siu) Recipe!
Why Do We Cook So Many Foods At 350 Degrees?
Why Do We Cook So Many Foods At 350 Degrees?
This isn’t new. The latest kitchen machinery merely builds on a longstanding obsession with culinary exactness—a fixation that’s long been shaped by emerging technologies. Microwaves count down by the second. Ovens automatically preheat to 350 degrees with the press of a button.
Or, they seem to, anyway.
In fact, different ovens set to the same temperature can vary by as much as 90 degrees, according to an investigation by Cook’s Illustrated magazine. And even when an oven says it’s at 350 degrees, the temperature can shift up and down quite a bit—dipping to 300, rising to 400—as something’s cooking. (Plus, some ovens simply wear out over time.)
So how did 350 degrees become the sweet spot—in so many recipes, and as an oven preset—in the first place?
“Without Maillard chemistry we would not have a dark bread crust or golden brown turkey,” wrote the authors of a Royal Society of Chemistry book about the reaction, “our cakes and pastries would be pale and anemic, and we would lose the distinctive color of French onion soup.” The Maillard Reaction—which actually entails a series of reactions—isn’t all toasty goodness, however. It’s also responsible for making apples turn brown, which many people find unappetizing “despite negligible effect on flavor,” the authors write.
Louis Camille Maillard, the chemist for whom the reaction is named, didn’t set out to do culinary research when he first described the browning effect in 1912. But his name is still evoked frequently among chefs, nutritionists, scientists, and others interested in how proteins and sugars together unlock tasty new molecules in a variety of foods right around 350 degrees. (There’s some debate about the exact temperature; some put it closer to 335 degrees.)
Maillard aside, 350 is simply a moderate temperature—another reason it works well for many recipes. It’s hot enough to cook things fairly quickly but no so hot that your dish burns.
But many chefs aren’t fixated on any one temperature, and instead think of their craft in terms of ranges: “Really low, under 275 degrees; moderate, between 275 and 350; high, over 350 but under, say 425; and maximum,” the cookbook author Mark Bittman once told Slate. It wasn’t until the 20th century that recipes routinely included precise temperatures—even in the 1950s, it was common to see terms like “slow oven” and “moderate oven” in place of any number. The very concept of cooking at a constant and precise temperature is technologically driven, an extension of a device that seemed miraculous at the time it was introduced: The regulator.
The device was located on the oven, and usually involved a wheel or pointer you could turn to the temperature of your choice. This was connected to a thermometer-and-valve contraption that would expand as the oven got hotter, and prevent the temperature from going up when the upper limit was reached. Today, the ability to set a constant temperature seems so inherent to the concept of how an oven works—it’s just what ovens do. But when regulators were new, they were a marvel of automation.
“This is a simple device which means freedom from oven watching,” the Lansing State Journal wrote in 1932. “They permit hours of leisure away from the kitchen that could not otherwise be managed.”
In the decades that followed, temperature regulators became standardized—and their displays eventually digitized. These days, most ovens preheat with the touch of a button rather than the turn of a wheel or dial. But even the first rudimentary devices were an improvement upon old-school methods when cooks had to develop their own inventive ways of testing an oven’s heat. “For instance, when baking bread they sometimes throw a piece of white paper in the over, and if it turns brown the oven is at the proper temperature,” the Indiana Weekly Messenger reported in 1903. “Or, when baking other things, they will throw a little cornmeal or flour into the oven in order to test the heat.”
The best temperature gauge in those days was far more primitive—yet still allowed for “marvelous accuracy,” the newspaper wrote. “You take a man who is an expert in the business, and he can tell what the temperature of the oven is by simply touching the handle of the oven door. In nine cases out of ten he will not miss it the fraction of a degree.”
That’s an awfully precise statistic to put forth for an unverified skill, yet the larger point stands: The human hand was a different kind of instrument for the bakers of generations past. Their modern counterparts may have lost this ability somewhere along the line. But even in an era that prizes precision, amid the computerized ovens and internet-connected kitchens, a fraction of a degree hardly matters.
The $3 Ingredient-In-A-Tube That'll Make All Your Food Taste Better
The $3 Ingredient-In-A-Tube That'll Make All Your Food Taste Better
And then go nuts. Here’s where to start:
Salad Dressing
This is a classic use for anchovy paste. It’s one of the ingredients in a typical Caesar salad dressing, but you can add a little squeeze to any vinaigrette: simply combine three parts oil to one part vinegar, then add a squeeze of mustard and anchovy paste, plus salt and pepper to taste. Just make sure you whisk the anchovy paste into the dressing thoroughly.
How To Cook Your Steak Sous Vide With Nothing But An Old Beer Cooler
How To Cook Your Steak Sous Vide With Nothing But An Old Beer Cooler
The most pretentious way to cook your meat doesn't actually require anything that pretentious at all.
The Great Parmesan Cheese Experiment
The Great Parmesan Cheese Experiment
Yes, you can afford to put real Parmesan (Parmigiano-Reggiano) on your pasta! I hope you enjoy this Parmesan costing demo!
ENJOY THIS STIR FRY WEAVER ANTS EGG RECIPE
ENJOY THIS STIR FRY WEAVER ANTS EGG RECIPE RECIPE
Weaver Ants eggs are a highly prized delicacy in Thailand. Weaver ants produce their eggs only once a year during the cooler months December to January, during this time, the time consuming, and sometimes painful task of collecting the eggs take place, they are then wrapped in banana leaves and sold at local markets.
Locals prepare these eggs with shallots, lettuce, chillies, lime and spices and serve with sticky rice to provide a dish rich in nutrition and good flavor.
Stir Fried Weaver Ants Eggs Recipe
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 clove of garlic
1 stick of lemongrass, finely chopped
5-10 small Thai chilies
1 large mild red chili chopped into medium size pieces
3 chopped green onions
3 Thai eggplants
3 small red onions, (shallots)
2 handfuls of ant eggs (Kai Mod Daeng) Click here to order
Approx 1 to 2 teaspoon of fish sauce
1 kaffir lime leaf rolled and sliced thinly into slivers
Method:
Over the hot embers of a charcoal BBQ fire, place the egg plant, garlic, and chili to roast. You can use a standard home oven if you wish but BBQ’s taste better.
When they are cooked remove them from the BBQ or oven and allow them to cool.
Remove any black burnt pieces from the vegetables, then pound them to a pulp with a mortar and pestle, this paste is called ‘kheuang’ in Thailand.
Prepare the red onions by chopping them into regular pieces.
Place half of the cut onions, three crushed and diced garlic cloves, chopped lemon grass and 2 tablespoons of oil into a skillet or wok. Stir fry until the garlic starts to turn brown.
Add the fish sauce, ant eggs, three quarters of the green onions and the roasted pulp (kheuang) and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the kaffir lime leaf pieces and give the dish a final stir over high heat, then transfer to a serving bowl.
Add the remaining red and green onion and mix it together or simply throw them on the top of the dish as a fresh garnish.
Serve immediately with glutinous (sticky) rice. It is eaten by rolling small balls of sticky rice and dipping them in the stir fried ant’s eggs.
This dish shouldn’t be over-cooked after the ant eggs are added. The texture of the eggs should be comparable to a soft boiled chicken egg.
Now you can enjoy this unique northeastern Thai dish.
These Guys Made A Burger Using A Miter Saw, A Wood Chipper And Other Power Tools
These Guys Made A Burger Using A Miter Saw, A Wood Chipper And Other Power Tools
At Long Last, Someone Made A Pizza Topped With More Than 100 Kinds Of Cheese
At Long Last, Someone Made A Pizza Topped With More Than 100 Kinds Of Cheese
It's hard to think of a single bad thing to say about pizza. But if we had one quibble, it might be: Why isn't every slice topped with 100 kinds of cheese?
The pie-spinners at Scottie's Pizza Parlor in Portland, Oregon, apparently had a similar thought at some point, because they just broke the world record for most cheeses on a pizza with the Centouno Formaggio, which boasted 101 kinds of cheese (and perhaps as many as 103, depending on the final count). At $2 per slice, that's about 2 cents per cheese. A simply unbeatable deal.
“The Centouno Formaggio pizza is inspired by the Novantanove Formaggio (99-cheese) pizza which was depicted in 2014’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film,” according to Scottie’s website. “The year of the film’s release, world champion pizzamaker Johnny di Francesco of 400 Gradi Pizzeria in Melbourne, Australia created a 99-cheese pizza, simply to provie that it was not a ‘culinary impossibility,’ as exclaimed by Donatello in the film.”
While they didn't get an official Guinness Records judge to confirm their feat, Scottie's still plans to seek an official ruling on their cheesy innovation. In the meantime, they've also listed every kind of cheese found on this monster.
“All the cheeses in the 100 cheese pizza are really nice cheese,” owner Scott Riviera told the Huffington Post. “Our cheese supplier is a huge cheese buff and worked really hard selecting them for us. He tasted every single one.”
“There’s twelve of us including me and my wife and we were all just working so hard non-stop,” Rivera added. “Everyone worked overtime that week. My wife and I were up until 4 a.m. shredding cheese.”
No wonder they needed a break afterward.
How To Make A Giant McDonald’s Egg McMuffin Sandwich
How To Make A Giant McDonald’s Egg McMuffin Sandwich
JP Lambiase and his wife Julia of HellthyJunkFood demonstrate how to make a giant version of McDonald’s tasty Egg McMuffin sandwich. They shared the full recipe on the HellthyJunkFood website.
This sandwich is the reason why I get frisky for Mickey D’s. Don’t ask us how we pulled this off. Just watch the video. Ronald, please tell me I’m worthy. I’ve loved you since the day I started to hate clowns.
Chill Out For A Moment While This Guy Makes Beer-Battered Fish And Chips Without Uttering A Word
Chill Out For A Moment While This Guy Makes Beer-Battered Fish And Chips Without Uttering A Word
Did you just get ASMR from french fries and the sound of a beer can opening? Probably.
22 BRILLIANT LIFE LESSONS FROM ANTHONY BOURDAIN
22 BRILLIANT LIFE LESSONS FROM ANTHONY BOURDAIN
For anyone drafting a list of "jobs everyone in the world wants," Anthony Michael Bourdain's gig would be on the shortest of short lists. He generally lives the dream of anyone who's ever Googled "Where is the furthest place from where I am right now?" inside the claustrophobic grip of their cubicle. Must be nice.
But it wasn't always this way -- Bourdain rose from the depths of an NYC kitchen to become a celebrated author, TV personality, and all-around enviable human being. You want his advice. If you didn't, you wouldn't have clicked. So warn grandma there might be some cussin', and enjoy this brief insight into the mind of a modern-day renaissance man who doesn't mind getting his hands dirty. Or his beak (considerably) wet.
1. "To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living."
2. "Under 'Reasons for Leaving Last Job,' never give the real reason, unless it's money or ambition."
3. "YOUR BODY IS NOT A TEMPLE, IT'S AN AMUSEMENT PARK. ENJOY THE RIDE."
4. "If I'm an advocate for anything, it's to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. Walk in someone else's shoes or at least eat their food. It's a plus for everybody."
5. "Skills can be taught. Character you either have or you don't have."
6. "TRAVEL IS ABOUT THE GORGEOUS FEELING OF TEETERING IN THE UNKNOWN."
7. "Assume the worst. About everybody. But don't let this poisoned outlook affect your job performance. Let it all roll off your back. Ignore it. Be amused by what you see and suspect. Just because someone you work with is a miserable, treacherous, self-serving, capricious, and corrupt asshole shouldn't prevent you from enjoying their company, working with them, or finding them entertaining."
8. "I don't have to agree with you to like you or respect you."
9. "As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life -- and travel -- leaves marks on you. Most of the time, those marks -- on your body or on your heart -- are beautiful. Often, though, they hurt."
10. "THE WAY YOU MAKE AN OMELET REVEALS YOUR CHARACTER."
11. "It's very rarely a good career move to have a conscience."
12. "Basic cooking skills are a virtue... the ability to feed yourself and a few others with proficiency should be taught to every young man and woman as a fundamental skill. [It's] as vital to growing up as learning to wipe one's own ass, cross the street by oneself, or be trusted with money."
13. "LUCK IS NOT A BUSINESS MODEL."
14. "When dealing with complex transportation issues, the best thing to do is pull up with a cold beer and let somebody else figure it out."
15. "Without experimentation, a willingness to ask questions and try new things, we shall surely become static, repetitive, and moribund."
16. "Maybe that's enlightenment enough: to know that there is no final resting place of the mind; no moment of smug clarity. Perhaps wisdom... is realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go."
17. "There's something wonderful about drinking in the afternoon. A not-too-cold pint, absolutely alone at the bar -- even in this fake-ass Irish pub."
18. "I'M NOT AFRAID TO LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT."
19. "Without new ideas success can become stale."
20. "I learned a long time ago that trying to micromanage the perfect vacation is always a disaster. That leads to terrible times."
21. "I'm a big believer in winging it. I'm a big believer that you're never going to find perfect city travel experience or the perfect meal without a constant willingness to experience a bad one. Letting the happy accident happen is what a lot of vacation itineraries miss, I think, and I'm always trying to push people to allow those things to happen rather than stick to some rigid itinerary."
22. "DON'T TOUCH MY DICK, DON'T TOUCH MY KNIFE."
This Everything Bagel Pizza Is The Ultimate Hangover Breakfast
This Everything Bagel Pizza Is The Ultimate Hangover Breakfast
The requirements for hangover food are very simple. You want something with carbs, to soak up all that alcohol. An egg is important to make you feel one with everyone else who's eaten breakfast that day, even if your first meal is starting at 3 p.m. Cheese is nice, and a little grease never hurt anybody. That's it — and that's exactly the formula Chef David DiBari followed to create the popular everything bagel pizza at his Dobbs Ferry, NY, spot, The Parlor.
"My dirty shame place right now is an everything bagel with cream cheese and maybe an egg," says DiBari of the food that inspired his breakfast pizza. The pie starts with The Parlor's standard dough. It's capable of doing magic things in the oven when left untopped, but chefs first sprinkle it with mozzarella (handmade in the restaurant), black pepper, a little parmesan, olive oil and an egg. There's just one egg, but it's cracked in the middle so you get a little of that ooey-gooey yolk no matter which slice you grab.
After a quick zap in the oven, the pizza's ready for the everything spice. DiBari and his chefs are secretive about the ratio of seeds and spices that are in the mix. It's different than what you'll find everywhere else, they say, but they'll reveal the main ingredients: sea salt, garlic, onion, caraway seeds, poppy seeds, and sesame seeds.
How To Make The Easiest Cookies Of All Time
How To Make The Easiest Cookies Of All Time
GET THE RECIPE HERE.
Macaroons — NOT French macarons — are the easiest cookies of all time to make. You only need THREE ingredients: egg whites, sugar, and coconut. And there's hardly any measuring required. Just dump, stir, drop and bake. The coconut treats are hands down the best part of Passover (notice they're flourless!), but really, everyone should be making them much more often.
To make the batter (it's not quite a cookie dough), whisk together egg whites and sugar until frothy. For one 14-oz bag of coconut, you'll need three egg whites and 1/2 to 2/3 cup of sugar, depending on how sweet you like you desserts. It's not required, but we recommend adding some vanilla extract and a tiny pinch of salt too. Then just mix in the coconut, scoop into small mounds and bake. After about 25 minutes, you have adorable little toasty macaroons.
BUT, if you like chocolate, then there's an easy way to turn the humble coconut macaroon into a Death By Chocolate monster. When you're whisking the egg white mixture, add some cocoa powder and melted chocolate too. It takes no work at all to make an already delish cookie over-the-top indulgent ... in a very good way.
20 Common Cooking Mistakes You're Making Without Even Realizing It
20 Common Cooking Mistakes You're Making Without Even Realizing It
No matter if you're a professional or an amateur, everyone makes mistakes in the kitchen.
Whether it's overseasoning or overcrowding the pan, chances are that if you cook you've made most of these mistakes at least once.
Keep scrolling to see some of the blunders that could be sabotaging your home-cooked meals.
You're using the wrong oil
Experiment with other oils besides extra virgin olive oil.InaTs / iStock
Extra virgin olive oil works well for cooking many things, but not everything. If you're cooking something that requires particularly high heat, you're better off using a different oil, since EVOO has a low smoke point — i.e. it starts to burn at a low temperature.
You're cooking meat that's not at room temperature
Let your meat sit out before cooking it.Frédérique Voisin-Demery / Flickr
Meat that's at room temperature will cook more evenly than meat that's coming straight out of the fridge. It's best to let meat warm up for about 30 minutes before cooking it to ensure that all parts of it cook all the way through.
You're not using enough water when boiling pasta
Make sure to use enough water and your noodles won't stick together.nosonjai / Shutterstock
Are your noodles sticking together? Contrary to popular belief, adding olive oil to your water won't help.
What will help is making sure you're cooking your noodles in plenty of water — probably more than you think you need. For every pound of pasta you cook, you should use about five quarts of water.
You're using dried herbs instead of fresh herbs
Dried herbs are more potent than fresh herbs.Monstruo Estudio / Unsplash
Dried herbs are more potent and will add more flavor to your cooking than fresh herbs will. If you do end up having to sub dried for fresh, use only about one third of what the recipe calls for when you're working with very fragrant herbs.
For more mild, less fragrant herbs, use a little more than a third.
You're not tasting food before serving it
Make sure you like what you're serving.vadimguzhva / iStock
Sitting at dinner surrounded by your guests isn't the ideal time to be tasting the food you're serving for the first time. You want to make sure you like what you're serving and that you're confident in serving it to others before you put it out on the table.
If you taste your food as you cook, you can make small adjustments along the way, which will most likely lead to a finished product that you like.
You're not cutting your meat the right way
Slice against the grain, not along it.Steve Johnson / Flickr
Slicing meat along the grain seems logical, but in reality it will only get you chewy meat. You'll enjoy your piece of meat a lot more if you cut across the grain, laterally.
You're cooking garlic for too long
Add garlic into your pan last.Matthew Pilachowski / Unsplash
If garlic is the first thing you add to your pan, chances are it'll probably be the first thing to burn as well. If you know you're going to be cooking minced garlic over high heat, try adding it in last instead.
You're trying to cook too many things in one pan
Avoid covering the whole surface of your pan.Bob Peters / Flickr
One pan meals are efficient, but cooking too many foods in too small of a vessel can prevent those foods from cooking the way you want them to.
When the whole surface of a pan is covered, heat becomes trapped, which leads to steam. Steam prevents browning, which is essential for keeping foods juicy and flavorful.
Instead, cook in multiple pans at once, or cook in batches.
You're cooking scrambled eggs over too high heat
Too much heat will result in dry eggs.robynmac / iStock
Cooking scrambled eggs over high heat means that your eggs will be done quicker, but it also means that they'll most likely be dry.
To ensure that you end up with moist, fluffy eggs, scramble them over medium low heat, and remove them from the heat just as they're starting to look done. They'll continue to cook even after you remove them from the stove.
Adding a little water can also help to make sure you get the right texture.
You're flipping your food too often
Let your meat cook before flipping it.Oleksandr Briagin/Shutterstock
This especially applies to steak. Cooking steak at home can be difficult, and if you flip the meat before it's ready, you might not get the sear you were hoping for. The fewer times you flip it, the better.
You're boiling when you should be simmering
A simmer and a boil aren't the same thing.Ivana P. Nikolic / Shutterstock
Boiling and simmering are not synonymous. If a recipe says you should let your bolognese sauce simmer, that means only one or two bubbles should pop up occasionally. Boiling, on the other hand, means lots more bubbles popping up a lot more frequently.
Follow directions, or risk ending up with some very tough meat.
You're not reading the recipe completely
Know what you're getting yourself into before you start cooking.Kenneth Lu / Flickr
No matter if you're making something for the first time or the fifth time, it's always a good idea to read the recipe completely, so when it comes time for cooking, you know what you're doing.
Read it before you even go to the grocery store, that way you know what you're getting yourself into, and you won't be in the middle of cooking only to find out that you're missing a vital ingredient or need to let something marinate for a few hours.
You're not using a meat thermometer
A meat thermometer won't be wrong.Christina Xu / Flickr
Looks can be deceiving; you might think you're pulling your steak off the grill at the right time, only to find out that it should have stopped cooking long ago.
Do yourself a favor and get a meat thermometer; it'll take human error out of the equation.
You're not adding enough seasoning or adding too much
What is a "pinch" of seasoning, exactly?p_ponomareva / iStock
Seasoning too much or not enough is easy to do; does anyone really know how much a "pinch" of salt is?
To avoid food that's over or under seasoned, make sure to sample what you're cooking as you add seasoning to it.
You're not preheating the pan before cooking
Make sure your pan is hot before adding anything to it.Steven Depolo / Flickr
You should be heating up your pan for a few minutes before adding any food to it. Otherwise you'll end up with soggy fish or meat that's not properly browned.
You're not letting meat rest before cutting into it
Be patient and let your meat sit before digging in.Nitr / Shutterstock
As you cook meat, its juices converge in the center. Letting the meat rest after it's done cooking gives the juices time to spread back out across the meat.
Resting time differs depending on how large your cut of meat is. For a full bird, 20-30 minutes is a good amount of time. For a chicken breast or piece of steak, five minutes is enough.
You're not cooking your hard boiled eggs for the right amount of time
It's all about timing when it comes to boiled eggs.Joseph Gonzalez / Unsplash
No one likes a hard boiled egg that's too hard and dry or too soft and liquid-y. Before you start boiling, decide what you're going for — soft boiled or hard boiled.
If you're looking for soft, try cooking for six minutes. If you're looking for hard, try nine minutes.
You're chopping vegetables with a bread knife
A bread knife isn't for vegetables.Wollertz/Shutterstock
There's a reason a bread knife is called a bread knife — it should be used to cut bread. For vegetables, stick with a chef's knife. It will give you more leverage and control.
You're not drying your greens before sautéing them
Your greens should be dry when you put them in the pan.Logan Ingalls / Flickr
Excess water on greens or vegetables (like mushrooms) when you're cooking them in oil in a pan is not a good thing. Besides splattering everywhere, water will cause steam, which will result in soggy veggies.
You're not using an oven thermometer
You should always know what temperature your oven is really at.djedzura / iStock
Unfortunately, not every oven is as reliable as you would like it to be, which means the temperature your oven is telling you it's at isn't always its actual temperature.
An oven thermometer, however, is much less likely to show an inaccurate temperature.
A Genius Method To Reduce Sandwich Filling Slippage
A Genius Method To Reduce Sandwich Filling Slippage
You take the time out of your busy day to craft a stacked sammie and, oh boy, does it look delicious. As you raise that fine delicacy to your face and take a big chomp, suddenly — heartbreak! The tender vegetables pour out onto your lap with the pressure of your bite.
Thankfully, the fine folks at Cooking Channel have finally figured out a solution to this age-old First World Problem. Check it out below.
We found a solution to sandwich fillings falling out. Hint: #science!
Watch more food hacks from @thesporkful: https://t.co/EnAbp1HcgL pic.twitter.com/os12gC85fA— Cooking Channel (@CookingChannel) April 5, 2017
How To Make Homemade Naturally Fermented Dill Pickles
How To Make Homemade Naturally Fermented Dill Pickles
Ingredients:
2 pounds very fresh Kirby cucumbers, washed thoroughly
Handful of fresh, flowering dillweed
For the brine:
8 cups cold fresh water
8 tablespoons Kosher salt (By weight, you wants exactly 80 grams. The brand of kosher salt I use weighs about 10 gram per tablespoon, but yours may not, so it’s best to use a scale if possible.)
4 cloves peeled garlic
2 teaspoons whole coriander seed
2 teaspoon black peppercorn
3 or 4 bay leaves
4 whole cloves
- Ferment at room temperature (I hear that between 70-75 F. is ideal) for about a week. Check every day as these can ferment fast. They are done when you like the taste. If you go too far, they start to get soft, and the inside gets hollow. Keep the brine level topped off.
- This makes extra brine for topping off.
The Ancient Mongolian Method Of Cooking A Goat Inside Of Itself
The Ancient Mongolian Method Of Cooking A Goat Inside Of Itself
This Is How To Make A Crunchwrap Supreme At Home
This Is How To Make A Crunchwrap Supreme At Home
It's official: We're living in a Taco Bell-obsessed world. People are actually choosing to get married at the fast food chain. Our love for cheesy gordito crunch, chalupa supreme and crunchwrap supreme is strong. Most especially for the crunchwraps. For those, people go absolutely cray.
The great news is that you don't need hit the drive-in to get your crunch on. You can make your own! The pleated and stuffed quesadillas look crazy hard, but they're actually crazy easy. Honestly the hardest part may be finding tostada shells. If your grocery store doesn't have them, fry your own! Little corn tortillas crisp up like a dream in a shallow pool of hot vegetable oil.
How To Make A Cubano Sandwich So Good It'll Make You Break Into The Mambo
How To Make A Cubano Sandwich So Good It'll Make You Break Into The Mambo
12 Things Fast Food Employees Will Never Tell You
12 Things Fast Food Employees Will Never Tell You
Fast food is now thoroughly embedded in our society, and resisting its temptations is something not everyone is capable of.
a list of 12 tricks that fast food restaurants use to attract customers through their doors and sell them as much as possible.
1. Every product has the exact same taste.
© vvoennyy/depositphotos.com © arskajuhani/depositphotos.com © chasbrutlag/depositphotos.com © nioloxs/depositphotos.com
Fast food chains know exactly what kind of tastes people like the most, which is why all their food has the same underlying feel to it. This way, they can satisfy their customers’ wishes straightaway.
2. Burgers are cooked in an instant.
In the largest fast food chains, the most straightforward burger is prepared in just 30 seconds. The reason for this? They’re simply frozen before being taken to the kitchen.
3. Their food is designed to be eaten quickly.
In a fast food restaurant, you swallow a piece of food after chewing it 12 times on average. Outside the restaurant, you generally chew things 15 times. The less we chew food, the less satisfied we are, and so we eat more.
4. The color scheme is designed to increase your appetite.
© radub85/depositphotos.com © Romas_ph/depositphotos.com © lucianmilasan/depositphotos.com © lucianmilasan/depositphotos.com
Red and yellow color schemes are used for a reason by fast food chains. They combine perfectly, and at a subconscious level they make you want to stop and grab a bite to eat. This is sometimes referred to as the "ketchup and mustard theory."
5. The overriding goal is to sell you more.
Experts have found that it’s much more difficult to refuse something when it’s offered to you directly. 85% of people order more than they originally intended to do so when employees in fast food restaurants suggest they buy more.
6. A standard cola is a large cola.
A simple way that greater quantities of drinks are sold is by increasing their size/volume. People instinctively choose medium-sized drinks, but because of this, "standard" drinks are actually large ones. Moreover, if you don’t specify which size you want, you will always be provided with the largest option.
7. Grilled meat is an illusion.
Burgers eaten at fast food restaurants are prepared beforehand in large factories and then frozen. Fast food chains often add an artificial aroma of smoke to make it seem as though the meat has been grilled.
8. Salads aren’t always the healthiest option.
Many fast food chains offer salads now as a "healthy" option. But because of the additives they often use to make them, such a meal choice can turn out to be the one with the highest calory content. What goes into the salad dressings, meanwhile, remains a mystery even to employees.
9. The coffee doesn’t stimulate you.
Some chains provide styrofoam cups rather than paper ones for their coffee. This contains a chemical that, when mixed together in hot conditions, can have an effect on the nervous system, causing depression and reducing concentration.
10. Eggs aren’t simply eggs.
The egg that sometimes features as an ingredient in breakfast meals in fast food chains contains both real egg and a "premium egg mixture": a mixture of glycerine, dimethylpolysiloxane (a form of silicone), and the food additive E552. Better to just cook your own eggs at home.
11. The cola isn’t really any better.
Some people find the carbonated drinks at places like McDonald’s tastier than the real thing you buy in the shops. They’re actually the same, but fast food chains often mix the concentrate and water together right on the premises before serving, which makes them taste "fresher."
12. Don’t eat their food on the go.
Most meals served in fast food restaurants are meant to be eaten in a very short period after preparation. French fries, for example, stay fresh for just 5 minutes, and after that they begin to lose their taste. By the time you’ve got home with your burger, it won’t taste as good.
A Divorced Guy's Guide To Making Fettuccine Alfredo Without Crying
A Divorced Guy's Guide To Making Fettuccine Alfredo Without Crying
This Video Of A Cowboy Deep-Frying A New York Strip Steak Has Us Drooling
This Video Of A Cowboy Deep-Frying A New York Strip Steak Has Us Drooling
We've had deep-fried Oreos before, but a deep-fried steak, sandwiched between two crispy, buttery layers of crust, is a goodness we don't deserve.
How To Whip Up Buffalo Wings That Even The People Of Buffalo Would Approve Of
How To Whip Up Buffalo Wings That Even The People Of Buffalo Would Approve Of
Anthony Bourdain Reveals How To Make The Perfect Scrambled Eggs
Anthony Bourdain Reveals How To Make The Perfect Scrambled Eggs
Anthony Bourdain knows food like Snoop Dogg knows weed. The 60-year-old is a world renowned chef whose knowledge of the culinary industry has made him an international celebrity. That’s why when he gives tips about cooking procedures, it may be best to lend an ear. In an interview with Tech Insider, Bourdain revealed how to whip up the ultimate scrambled eggs–Fluffy, airy, and rippled. He stresses that scrambled eggs are about the egg–therefore no milk, water, or cream necessary. I’m going to respectfully disagree here and say that scrambled eggs are a way to get exorbitant amounts of cheese in your face hole, but I’ll defer to the professional.
According to one of the world’s best chef’s, here is the best (and very simple) way to make scrambie eggs.
1.) Bourdain advises using a hot pan, but not too hot. Touch it to make sure it’s the right temperature. Just kidding, do not do that.
2.) Crack eggs on a flat surface and put them in an “intermediate vessel” (more commonly known as ‘bowl’ for us non-assholes).
3.) Beat them with a fork to achieve a ripple of white and yellow throughout, not a homogenous yellow. Be sure not to overbeat them like you do your penis you sick fuck.
4.) After beating the egg, IMMEDIATELY put it in the pan heated with plenty of hot, foaming whole butter. Letting the eggs sit gets you this “odd, greying, stippling effect that you may recognize from a greasy spoon.”
5.) Add salt and pepper.
6.) Let them form up a bit, and then push them around using a figure-8 pattern to fold. This will avoid those annoying tiny little egg bits as final product.
There you have it. Impress your Tinder date the morning after with some bomb ass scrambled. And don’t say I’ve never done nothing for ya.
8 Kitchen Gadgets Put To The Test
8 Kitchen Gadgets Put To The Test
2 Hot Dog Dicer
3 Strawberry Huller
4 Grape and Tomato Slicer
5 Tomato & Grape Slicer
6 Bottle Emptying Kit
7 Kiwi Cutter
8 Avocado Saver
Everything You Need To Know About Buddha Bowls
Everything You Need To Know About Buddha Bowls
GET THE RECIPE HERE.
If you've heard of Buddha bowls, you know they're healthy, trendy and beautiful, but beyond that, you may not know what, exactly, is in them. Considering they're going to be a BF deal in 2017, according to Pinterest, you should.
THE SECRET SNACKS CHAIN RESTAURANT WORKERS MAKE WHEN YOU'RE NOT LOOKING
THE SECRET SNACKS CHAIN RESTAURANT WORKERS MAKE WHEN YOU'RE NOT LOOKING
Fast-food workers are sick of eating their own restaurants' fast food. Between dealing with insane customers and being inundated with brainwash-y "feel-good" music, employees gotta eat to have the energy to deal with whatever crisis comes their way. But think about it -- In-N-Out's menu has approximately two items, and those employees have no choice but to eat them day In and day Out. It's no wonder that some of them get creative and use the ingredients that are already lying around to make new and interesting dishes.
We tracked down employees who transform and remix their restaurants' food to make brand-new, usually off-the-menu meals. (But you can absolutely order some of them!) Here are all the secret food items fast-food and chain restaurant employees are making for themselves when you're not looking.
Applebee's
Migas de Applebee's
The casual restaurant that sells neither apples nor bees (what a jip!) employs staff that's cooking breakfast before any guest arrives. "Before the lunch service starts in the morning, we like to make our version of migas," says Thomas, an Applebee's cook in Los Angeles. "We scramble together a few eggs with corn tortilla chips, our house-made chipotle lime salsa, and smoked bacon. It's really good with some pico de gallo on top." But our boy Thomas is not done spilling the (Apple)beans on what the employees eat. Family meal is what the chefs make for the staff before they work a long shift, and you certainly won't find those dishes anywhere on the menu. "Our family meal is usually some combination of grilled protein and fresh veggies (like zucchini, grape tomatoes, yellow squash, red bell peppers, red onions) -- it's whatever we're in the mood for," he says. "There's no real name for the dish, as everyone customizes it with different sauces or toppings, like pico de gallo or black bean corn relish."
Sonic
Sonic Sunrise
If you don't get a crazy soft drink when you go to Sonic, it's like going to Walt Disney World and not getting Belle from Beauty and the Beast to sing a Céline and Peabo Bryson-style duet with you. There are 1.3 million different drink combos at Sonic, and Mackenzie in Oklahoma City has a good one. "My favorite is Sprite, Orange Juice, real cherries, and fresh lime," she says. "We drink it in the morning for a carbonated and citrusy morning boost.” She has plenty of other sippable concoctions in her arsenal, too. "I also like to combine Sprite, vanilla syrup, sweet cream, and then add different flavored syrups," she says. "I'll add blue coconut to make it a 'Blue Gentleman,' or cherry for a 'Pink Lady.' Both are sweet, creamy, and addictive.” You could also bring your own maple syrup and turn it into a 'Canadian Lumberjack.'
McDonald's
Bacon grilled cheese
Mickey D's has a ton of secret menu items we've already told you about, but the ones here come with a twist. Jasmine Nathaniel, a McDonald's employee, wrote in a Quora post that she likes to take the secret menu grilled cheese and throw some bacon on it. We recommend getting it on a sesame seed bun… because where else can you eat a sesame seed bun grilled cheese? Nowhere. She also says that she's made herself a ton of quesadillas. Since McD's already has a tortilla for the sausage burrito, you can order one without the egg and sausage, and have a decent quesadilla made with cheese, green chiles, and onions.
Chipotle
Crunchwrap Supreme
While Chipotle employees will usually make a customer a quesarito (even though they hate doing it), it's unlikely you'll ever get to eat this reinvention of the Taco Bell gem. We spoke to an ex-manager at a Chipotle who said his store liked making a Crunchwrap Supreme, which included a honey-infused barbacoa burger with bell peppers and a bun made of tortillas. That same manager also talked about actually selling a Mexican pizza to customers, made from two open-faced tortillas with medium salsa, cheese, and steak cooked on the grill. He said he'd be fired if upper management got wind of it, so don't expect to be able to order that anytime soon. But we can dream.
Chick-fil-A
Pickle-filled grilled cheese
The dill pickle chips are the secret weapon in Chick-fil-A's beloved chicken sandwich. The buttered bun ain't bad either. Kyle, an employee in San Jose, California, says that a grilled cheese is a filling secret item employees order "when they're extra-hungry," but it can also be ordered up by regular folk. He recommends piling on those pickles, bacon, and plenty of cheese between that buttery bun. If the cashier gives you a look, Kyle says to ask them to charge you individually for each component, and you should be good to go.
KFC x Taco Bell
Mexican-style KFC dinner
Fair warning: This must be done at a combination KFC and Taco Bell. (Not a combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, no matter what Heems says.) Since employees in both restaurants are swamped all shift long, it's tough to make anything elaborate, a KFC worker/Reddit user says. On the plus side, this fast-food hybrid is something you can easily replicate yourself. Simply buy popcorn nuggets and seasoned potato wedges at KFC, then head three steps over to TB to cover 'em in nacho cheese and spicy ranch sauce. This is the fast-food equivalent of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson -- a beautiful marriage bound to stand the test of time.
Arby's
Sub-turkey options
Though it's the only national fast-food joint that carries venison, Arby's isn't exactly known as a place that's loaded with healthy options. After all, it has a sandwich called the Meat Mountain. But Gary, an employee in a Los Angeles-area location, says that it's fairly easy to make an Arby's meal relatively healthy if you do some swapping. "I try not to eat a lot of red meat," he says. "So I make a brisket sandwich using turkey instead. It still has BBQ sauce, onions, Gouda cheese, and mayo." He also says turkey is fantastic in the Fire Roasted Philly, which has Italian seasoning, provolone, red and yellow peppers, and a roasted garlic aioli. "It almost tastes the same," he says. "But it's a little healthier." No big deal, Gary's out here dispensing secrets and potentially saving people from heart disease. Just another day in the life of a fast-food employee.
WHEN HOME COOKING GOES HILARIOUSLY WRONG
WHEN HOME COOKING GOES HILARIOUSLY WRONG
How do turkey work?
"My great aunt was unmarried and had a group of friends who rotated hosting holidays as an alternative to feeling like a fifth wheel at the homes of married relatives. They always had a nice get-together and enjoyed each other's company, but she had one story about the early days of their gatherings.
"Several years into the tradition, one of the women who hadn't hosted before insisted it was her turn and she would handle the whole meal -- nobody needed to bring anything. They were a bit worried because nobody had ever seen her cook anything, but everyone agreed, and come Thanksgiving Day they all showed up at her house for dinner. Everyone gathered and chatted in the living room as they showed up. My aunt said that something seemed off, but she couldn't place what it was… until the host stood and said, 'Goodness, everyone is here, I expect I'd better start cooking the turkey!' and wandered toward the kitchen.
"Over dinner at a thankfully open Chinese place, the group explained to the erstwhile host that 25lb turkeys don't cook in an hour." -- Jack Roloson
"What's the worst that can happen?"
"When we bought our house, it had an old, cool '40s-vintage gas range. The stovetop pilot lights were the kind that always had little flames burning, and they were prone to being blown out. But the real hazard was the oven, which didn't have a pilot: Every time you used it, you had to light the burner with a long kitchen match.
"This is the kind of oven you could stick your head in when you wanted to commit suicide. One day, we had a bunch of family visiting from out of town and a relative was helping me in the kitchen. She did what any modern-day American would do: She turned on the oven to preheat. At some point I noticed that she had done this; naturally she didn't know to light the burner. So it was just pumping gas into the oven compartment. How long had it been on? One minute? Five minutes? Who knows? The smart thing to do would be to open the oven and all the windows and let it air out. But I was trying to impress or something, so I'm like, 'Let me just light the burner right away. What's the worst that can happen?'
"One second, I'm leaning down to light the burner, and the next I'm about 10ft away, because let me tell you, you can really move (apparently by leaping backwards) when you see a bright-orange fireball aimed at your head. In the end, I singed my eyebrows and a little hair, and the oven was fine. Not my best moment." -- Rachel Bielema
The Grinch's turkey
"My wife and I were having my family over for Thanksgiving dinner. Unfortunately, she got stuck having to work, so she left me to cook the turkey. Her instructions were simple enough: Get a cloth napkin from the cupboard, soak it in the melted butter, cover the turkey with the napkin, put the turkey in the oven, and check it in 90 minutes.
"What she failed to specify was that I should use a plain, un-dyed napkin rather than the pine-green napkin that was on top of the stack. When I took out the turkey and lifted off the napkin, the turkey was brilliant green and and the bottom of the roasting pan looked like it had a quart of NyQuil added to the drippings. I rinsed the turkey in the sink and most of the green dye washed off. I cleaned the pan, put the turkey back in covered with a plain napkin, and finished cooking the bird.
"Everyone thought the turkey was delicious. When my wife got home later, I told her of the green turkey and she nearly peed herself laughing. Then she worried that my entire family would end up sick. Unfortunately, they didn't." -- Kyle Peterson
"My boyfriend and I are avid home chefs (I use that word loosely), and one of our favorite quick-'n'-easy meals is nachos. Pretty simple. We've made these dozens of times, and I like to finish them off under the broiler (I feel it's just a bit quicker).
"Now, the top rack in our oven is barely low enough for me to slide the nachos in, but I get them in without touching the broiler… or so I think. It takes all of about three minutes for smoke to start rising from one of our burners. I think the burner is broken, but my boyfriend has the smarts to realize that it's the oven.
"He looks through the glass and yells, 'The nachos are burning!' then proceeds to run around grabbing the oven mitts, turning the broiler off, etc. I take a look through the glass and see flames. Our nachos have literally caught fire, and the smoke is coming through the burners on the range. There may not have been enough room between the nachos and broiler. Oops.
"I start yelling, 'They're ON fire, the nachos are ON fire!' which makes my boyfriend panic even more. Neither of us knows what to do. I start yelling that I'm going to call my Pop (what I call my step-dad) because he used to be a fireman and then head of safety in a refinery unit. My boyfriend hears COP.
"So he's screaming at me not to call the cops, I'm yelling at him that of course I'm going to call my Pop. My Pop is on the phone by this time, very confused and shouting whatever instructions he knows based on what little he's getting through the phone. It's chaotic. Finally, my boyfriend grabs the nachos (bare-handed, because he's a hero) and throws them into the shower and runs the water.
"Through all of this, the smoke alarm never goes off, not once. We trashed the soggy nachos and decided to go to Whataburger instead." -- Kerry Myers
Jay's lasagna
"I have a friend named Jay who believes to the bottom of his poor, stupid soul that he can cook. I'll never forget the time he made 'lasagna.'
"He invited me over and raved about how awesome this lasagna was going to be and how easy it was to make. As soon as he set it in front of me I knew something was wrong, because it was all waxy and weirdly yellow on top. He spooned out a piece and just as I was asking about the weird yellow top, I saw a bunch of elbow macaroni fall out as it settled on the plate.
"I looked him dead in the eye and demanded to know what he had done to this poor lasagna. After much argument, he finally said he had to make some substitutions because he didn't want to go to the store.
"They were as follows:
"Pasta sauce = ketchup and honey.
"Lasagna noodles = elbow macaroni.
"The various cheeses found within a lasagna = Kraft Singles.
"As a bonus, baking it in the oven turned into 15 minutes in the microwave." -- Hal Makers
FASCINATING FACTS OF THE DAY: 12 FACTS THAT ARE 'FOOD' FOR THOUGHT
FASCINATING FACTS OF THE DAY: 12 FACTS THAT ARE 'FOOD' FOR THOUGHT
21 Absolutely Invaluable Kitchen Hacks
21 Absolutely Invaluable Kitchen Hacks
We’ve gathered together some life hacks for preparing food, cleaning and organizing your cooking space. Some of them you may have never suspected.
Cooking Hacks
1. How to remove seeds from vegetables quickly
To quickly remove seeds from pumpkins or zucchinis, use an ice-cream scoop. Its sharp edge easily scrapes out seeds from veggies. You can also use it to make a thinly sliced salad.
2. How to remove excess fat from cooked food.
If a dish you’ve cooked turns out to be unexpectedly rich, you can easily remove excess fat using a couple of ice cubes and a paper towel. Wrap the ice in the towel and wipe it over the top of the food. The ice will act as a magnet, drawing floating fat towards it to congeal on the tissue.
3. Use film wrap like a professional chef
Does your plastic wrap stretch unevenly and rip? Keep it in the fridge, like professional chefs do. Cold food wrap behaves better, sticking and tearing less, leading to less of that familiar feeling of exasperation.
4. Peel Citrus Fruits Easily
Is peeling oranges, lemons or satsumas too much of a fath? Don’t want to ruin your manicure digging into that hard, thick rind? Stick them in the microwave for 20 seconds and it becomes much easier to separate these fruits from their wrappings.
5. Make peeling boiled eggs easier
Add soda or vinegar to the water you boil the eggs in. These substances get inside the shells and make it easier to peel them off.
6. How to squeeze more juice out of your citrus fruits
To squeeze the last drops out of a lemon, first cool the fruit in the fridge, and then zap it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds.
7. How to grate soft cheese with less mess
Bung it in the freezer for half an hour before grating. The cheese hardens, and doesn’t stick to the grater. It’s easier to sprinkle it too.
8. How to cut onions without tears
The freezer will help you here too. Put the onions in for 30 minutes before chopping them. Bear in mind that it’s only worth doing this if you plan to cook the onions; don’t subject them to this treatment if you want to make a salad with them or they’ll lose their crunch.
9. The smart way to boil pasta
If you don’t want the pot to boil over while you’re not watching it, put a wooden spoon or stirrer over the top. The wood will stop the foam from going over the edge.
10. How to roast a whole chicken
When your roast a chicken (or other bird) whole, lay it on its breast. This is because the breast contains most of the meat; the closest it is to the source of heat, the quicker it will cook through.
11. Parchment paper for cupcakes
If you don’t have special molds for cupcakes, use parchment paper instead. This method has the added benefit of producing non-standard cupcakes, which look much more interesting.
12. The right way to warm up baked items
When warming up pizza or other baked items in the microwave, put a cup of water in alongside it. The moisture will stop the pastry from drying out too much and preserve crunchy crusts.
13. Making perfect basted eggs
Break the eggs into a pan as if you’re going to fry them, but instead of vegetable oiladd some water and then put the pan on the heater. As a result, you’ll get the perfect eggs with liquid yolk.
Storage Hacks
1. How to keep cooking herbs
If you freeze herbs in an ice-cube tray, their vitamin content is preserved. Try freezing them in water or olive oil.
2. The right way to store shelled nuts
Freeze shelled nuts to preserve their nutritional properties, taste and aroma. Pack them into sealed containers before placing them into the freezer. It isn’t worth roasting the kernels first, or they’ll be no good for anything. The nuts must be raw and unprocessed. Nuts kept this way won’t acquire the bitter aftertaste of shelled nuts which have been hanging around at room temperature for a while.
Cleaning Hacks
The right way to clean a cast iron frying pan
To stop a cast iron frying pan from rusting over time, avoid washing it using regular dishwashing liquid. Use table salt instead. This method will also rid the pan of persistent odors from spices used during cooking.
2. How to rid your hands of unpleasant odors
To remove stubborn garlic or onion oders from your hands use table salt or lemon. Just rub them into your hands and rinse with water.
3. How to return metal kitchenware to its previous shine
To restore sheen to stainless steel kitchenware, wash it in a mixture of vinegar and water. If there are no metal parts a better effect can be achieved by soaking overnight in the same mixture.
4. Restoring wooden spoons to life
Over time wooden spoons and spatulas lose their looks and acquire an unpleasant odor. It would seem that the only thing to do is to chuck them out. However, if you are loath to part with your favorite kitchen helper, there is a way out. Boil the wooden spoons in plain water and leave them to dry in the sun. This will remove unpleasant odors and give them a new lease of life.
5. The right way to clean wooden chopping boards
To remove odors and food residues from wooden chopping boards rub them with coarse grain salt and leave for 10-15 minutes. Then wipe with half a lemon and dry. This procedure is guaranteed to get rid of unpleasant smells.
6. How to keep your recipes clean
When we cook, we often use a recipe book or our own notes. It can be a bit difficult to put the book on the worktop open on the right page without getting it splashed and stained. To protect cook books from this fate, use a regular trouser hanger to keep the book open on the page you need and suspend it over the work surface, where it’ll be quite safe.
One-Pan Breakfast Potatoes You Need To Make
One-Pan Breakfast Potatoes You Need To Make
One-Pan Breakfast Potatoes
Here’s a video that shows you how to make it:
INGREDIENTS
Servings: 4-6
3 russet potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small white onion, diced
Olive oil, to taste
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
PREPARATION
1. Preheat oven to 500˚F/260˚C.
2. Place potato pieces, diced red bell pepper, and diced onion on a baking sheet.
3. Drizzle olive oil over everything and season with rosemary, garlic, paprika, salt, and pepper. Mix until evenly coated.
4. Spread coated potatoes, peppers, and onions out into an even layer.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes.
6. Serve with your favorite breakfast sides.
7. Enjoy!
You Will Love This Recipe For Personal ‘Pretzel’ Pizza
You Will Love This Recipe For Personal ‘Pretzel’ Pizza
If you love pizza, you’ll adore our chorizo pretzel pizza!
This yummy take on a classic personal pizza is so easy to make, and the end result is absolutely mouthwatering! Pizza in any form is pretty darn delicious — just check out this melty and gooey Crock-Pot pizza! Still, this recipe looks extra scrumptious!
I’m a huge fan of any recipe that puts a bit of a twist on a classic. Chorizo pretzel pizza is just a hop, skip, and jump away from a traditional “sausage, pepper, and onion,” but it’s a little bit different. For one thing, this yummy recipe has a bit of a kick to it, thanks to the spicy chorizo sausage.
For another, this recipe uses baking soda and salt to give the dough a crackly crust, just like a pretzel. The end result is a personal pizza that’s chewy and gooey, with a nice crunch to the crust and a hint of zippy spice!
Print out the recipe below to make it at home!
Ingredients
- 1personal-size package of premade pizza dough
- 1 Tbsp.baking soda
- 1 cupwarm water
- 1⁄2 Tbsp.olive oil
- 1⁄4 cupchopped yellow bell pepper
- 1⁄4 cupchopped red bell pepper
- 1⁄4 cupchopped onion
- 1 tsp.dried oregano
- 1chorizo sausage, sliced
- 1⁄2 cupshredded cheese
- 1 tsp.sea salt
- Shredded fresh basil, to taste
- Roll out pizza dough on floured work surface.
- Stir baking soda into warm water. Dunk pizza dough in solution. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil and add peppers, onion, oregano, and chorizo. Sauté and set aside.
- Place a thick layer of cheese on pizza dough. Add sautéed toppings over cheese.
- Bake pizza 15 minutes at 400 °F.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle with shredded basil if desired
- Serve and enjoy!
Cheesy Garlic Bread Meatball Ring - YOU NEED THIS
Cheesy Garlic Bread Meatball Ring - YOU NEED THIS
Cheesy Garlic Bread Meatball Ring
INGREDIENTS
Servings: 8-10
Meatballs
1 pound ground beef
¼ cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
½ tablespoon salt
½ tablespoon pepper
1 egg
1 batch pizza dough
1 cup marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt, to taste
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
Extra marinara for dipping
PREPARATION
1. Preheat oven to 350°F/180˚C.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, egg, salt, and pepper until evenly combined.
3. Pinch off a ball of the mixture, roll between your hands to make ping pong ball-sized meatball.
4. Cook the meatballs over medium heat, turning to brown each side. Remove from heat and drain on a paper towel.
5. With your hands or a rolling pin, flatten out the pizza dough rounds and top with a tablespoon of marinara and mozzarella cheese.
6. Place one meatball over the dough and wrap the dough over the meatball pinching at the seams to close.
7. Place the balls in a circle, seam-side down, in a cast-iron skillet.
8. Mix the melted butter with garlic, salt, and Italian seasoning. Brush the balls with the garlic butter mixture.
9. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool for 5-10 minutes.
10. Place a bowl of warm marinara sauce in the middle of the skillet. Sprinkle the balls with parsley.
11. Enjoy!
60 EPIC FAILURES IN THE KITCHEN
60 EPIC FAILURES IN THE KITCHEN
Some people don't belong in the kitchen...
Food To Celebrate The Super Bowl With
Food To Celebrate The Super Bowl With
super easy & affordable recipes that your friends & family will LOVE at your upcoming super bowl party!!
A Mouthwatering Look At How Chocolate Bonbons Are Made
A Mouthwatering Look At How Chocolate Bonbons Are Made
If you need help rationalizing an after-work dip into your local chocolate store after watching this video, we're pretty sure we've heard that there are some antioxidants in them or something healthy like that.
