Tastier, Cheaper, Healthier Food In Just A Few Simple Steps
Tuesday, November 15th, 2011The holidays are right around the corner, which means it is time to start preparing your menus. Cooking for the holidays can be a daunting task, which can take a lot of hard work. Your holiday cooking does not have to be an impossible task, though. Just follow the advice from this article and you will breeze through it.
If you can’t purchase fresh legumes, commonly called beans, your options are dried or canned servings. However, canned beans will contain extra salt and is never desirable. To reduce the salt in canned legumes, just rinse with cold water to wash away preservatives and salt. Be sure to read the instructions on the dried legumes so that they will reconstitute back to their original plumpness.
Clean up made easy! Don’t make washing up a chore – if you have a dishwasher you really don’t need to hand wash the dishes first. Simply rinse off the large chunks of food with warm water. The hand-washing detergent used on dishes can leave a film inside your dishwasher. Load the machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions, turn it on, and relax!
Make hard-boiled eggs using older eggs rather than fresh ones, if possible. Fresh eggs are much more difficult to peel, while eggs that are a couple weeks old peel much easier. Run the egg under cold water after cracking the shell to help the membrane separate from the egg white.
If you use baking mix to make biscuits, replace the milk with a half cup of sour cream and a half cup of lemon lime soda to every 2 cups of baking mix. The biscuits will have a slightly sweet flavor and an extra-rich texture, and they make excellent vehicles for breakfast sandwiches.
If you accidentally add too much salt to a soup or sauce, you can reduce the saltiness by placing a whole peeled potato in the pot for a while. The potato will absorb some of the salt and make the soup more palatable. Just remember to remove the potato before serving the dish.
To get perfectly cooked salmon that is not too dry, remove it from heat when the fish is opaque and it flakes if you press gently with the back of a fork or spoon. Salmon dries out quickly and is easy to overcook, and because it stays pink, color is not an accurate indication of doneness.
To avoid burning food, when you cook on the stove or in the oven, use a loud timer to help you remember to check on your food. Also, set the timer a little early so that it will give you extra time to grab the potholders and the cooling racks. If you need extra cooking time, don’t forget to reset your timer.
Rather than pouring out leftover wine, pour it into an ice cube tray, then place the wine cubes in a labeled bag in the freezer. You can add these cubes to sauces, roasts, soups and other dishes for extra flavor, and wine that you don’t drink fast enough doesn’t go to waste.
Use oils for flavor. When using oil in uncooked sauces or dressing, be sure to use a high quality oil. The flavor of regular cooking oil will ruin your dish. Extra-virgin olive oil, with its fruity flavor, is a must for uncooked sauces such as aioli, or raw tomato sauce. A green salad will benefit from a simple dressing of extra-virgin olive oil and vinegar. Hazelnut and walnut oil have a delicate flavor that is suitable for ‘light’ sauces and dressings.
As we previously mentioned, upcoming holidays means lots of cooking. A lot of people do get scared to get started on their holiday menus, because they are so vast. However, the tips and tricks you read in this article will make your cooking woes and inhibitions disappear and get you ready to conquer that holiday cooking!