Are you a kitchen guru? Maybe you are just a kitchen veteran? Or like many others, you may be a novice. Whatever the case may be, helpful cooking advice can add some fresh ideas to your cooking. Take some time and learn a few things that can splash some new fun into your kitchen routine.
After you have cooked your favorite pasta, grate fresh Parmesan or Romano cheese on it while it’s still hot and then toss it into your sauce. This will not only act as a great thickening agent, but it will also give the sauce something that it can really stick to.
Keep greens like arugula and herbs fresher longer by wrapping them in a damp paper towel and placing them in a zippered storage bag in the refrigerator. This technique keeps the leaves from shriveling and drying out, and may extend the life of your herbs or greens for an extra four days.
Add salt when boiling pasta. Not only does it shorten the cooking time by increasing the temperature of the water, it also adds great flavor and keeps the pasta from tasting bland. A general rule is to add one and a half tablespoons of salt to each pound of pasta.
If you have used entirely too much salt in your soup pan, all you have to do is add a raw potato into the mixture. One whole potato should suffice, unless you went way over board, then add two. This will help absorb some of the extra salt in the pan and save your dinner!
When cooking pasta to use with sauce, reserve about a quarter to a third of a cup of the pasta water before you drain the pot. Adding this starchy water to the sauce will help the sauce to thicken slightly and become a bit stickier, which allows it to better adhere to your pasta.
To enjoy delicious baked potatoes when you walk in the door from work, cook them in your slow cooker all day. Wrap washed and dried potatoes in aluminum foil with salt, pepper, butter, onion or other seasonings and place the wrapped potatoes in the slow cooker on low for six to eight hours. Place a variety of toppings on the table for a make-your-own meal that’s ready in no time.
Advice is great when you can be hands on with it. Cooking can be lots of fun and with the advice you have read in this article, you will see that you can enjoy your time even more. Take these ideas and use them and maybe even experiment while you are at it. The kitchen is a great place to try new things with the right help.