HOW TO/TIPS

I fully complete all of my other pages and recipe posts before I put them on my website. This is the one exception. It’s always going to be a work in progress. Check back for more how to’s and tips in the future.

I write and cook my own recipes, as well as photograph them. I would love it if any of you prepare the recipes and provide feedback or take pictures of your dishes. Thanks! 🙏

Pro tips

  • Never ever measure ingredients over your dish. Maybe that salt or cayenne pepper shaker lid isn’t screwed on all the way? Maybe you thought the bottle of vinegar had one of those silicone inserts that allow you to sprinkle only a little at a time? Yikes!
  • Go easy when adding salt. It’s sad how many posts I see asking how to make a dish less salty. You can’t. You can always add more salt and correct the seasoning near the end of the recipe.
  • Always add freshly cracked peppercorns towards the end of cooking, otherwise it can add a bitter flavor.
  • Always taste the dish every time you add a seasoning.
  • Aim for different flavors: sweet, sour, bitter, umami; and textures: smooth, crispy, crunchy, chewy.
  • Always use a cast-iron skillet over high heat to sear foods and don’t crowd the skillet or the food will steam.
  • Finish dishes with some acidity, such as lemon, lime, or vinegar. Add a grind or two of black peppercorns. Perhaps some finely chopped herbs or spices, such as paprika.

Homemade stocks

  • Bone broths are now available in stores. Use those. Unsalted if possible. Even better, make your own. Very easy if you have an Instant Pot.
  • Always wait until the last 30 minutes before adding aromatics to your homemade stock. Otherwise it will impart a bitter flavor. Stock simmering times:
    • vegetable: 30 minutes
    • fish: 1 hour
    • white meat (poultry, game birds): 4 hours
    • white stock (veal, meat, game meat): 8 hours
    • brown stock (veal, meat, game meat; roasted first; add tomato paste with aromatics): 8 hours
  • For a thicker, more gelatinous stock add unflavored gelatin. Use 1 1/2 teaspoons per cup of stock.

Knife skills

The more you practice the better you will get!

Use a high quality, sharp chef’s knife and a high quality cutting board.

Learn the knife cuts, use a sharpening steel every time, and a ruler such as a food scraper with measurements.

  • Baton – 8mm sticks. The largest stick cut, such as for french fries. Medium dice is batons cut into cubes.
  • Batonnet – 6mm sticks. Good for vegetable sticks for dipping. Make a rectangle by slicing off rounded sides, cut lengthwise into 6mm thin rectangular slices, then cut into 6mm sticks. Small dice is batonnets cut into cubes.
  • Julienne (matchstick) – 3mm sticks. Make a rectangle by slicing off rounded sides, cut lengthwise into 3mm thin rectangular slices, then cut into 3mm sticks. Brunoise is julienne cut into cubes. Good for making sauces or as a garnish on dishes.
  • Paysanne – a thinly sliced vegetable, but according to its natural shape, without squaring it off.
  • Chiffonade – thin ribbons of herbs or leafy greens. Stack all the leaves together and roll them tightly. Hold with one hand and slice the leaves perpendicular to the roll.

Plating

People definitely eat with their eyes. It is worth it to, after you’ve spent the time to cook a delicious meal, present it on the plate in an appealing manner that showcases the star of the dish. Who hasn’t put a little parsley on their dish at one time? You don’t have to get super fancy, unless you want to. If you are a home chef, you are already an accomplished artist! Congratulations. Really. It took time and practice to get to this point. Here are some things to keep in mind when you decide how to serve your dish.

  • Choose the right dish, if you happen to have more than one option. Always err on the bigger side so the plate never looks overcrowded.
  • Remember what is the star of your dish: if you just made a beautiful roasted chicken breast, you don’t want to completely cover it in sauce or gravy. Plus, in this case, it will turn your nice crispy skin soft so plate your sauce first and then add you’re beautiful, crispy skin, roasted chicken.
  • Rest your protein before cutting it. Not only do you want to keep the juicy deliciousness inside but you don’t want it to bleed all over the plate. Show off the seer.
  • Composition: color, symmetry, heights, etc. Place the star of your dish, unless it is a soup or something, slightly off center. If you choose to add garnishes use odd numbers. For some reason your brain find these things pleasant. Possible garnishes are curled and flat parsley leaves, cilantro leaves, celery leaves, sesame seeds, blistered whole or half cherry tomatoes, preserved or pickled fruits and vegetables, edible flowers and their pedals, small edible plant leaves, small slices of fruits, candied fruit peels or edible plant leaves (try mint, it is really fun), freshly grated citrus zest, caviar, yogurt, sour cream, cheese, smoked salts, anything powdered (spices, powdered sugar, instant hot cocoa mix, etc.), chocolate chips, chopped or whole nuts. Use the garnishes to create a little height on your dish. Look up the color wheel on the internet. Colors that are opposite each other create vibrance and colors that are next to each other look good together. Things to keep in mind about applying garnishes; the most important is to be sure to garnish ties in with the dish and it’s something that can be eaten, never put down a garnish for the sake of having a garnish, take care not to take away from the star of your dish, and just be happy with you’re garnishes after you put it down. The more you mess around with them the worst it’s going to look. There is always another dish to garnish.
  • Balance: proportion of the components, including any sauces. Again, try not to take away the star of the dish.
  • Shapes: whether as part of the dish or garnishes the shapes add to the aesthetics of the dish. Think nice round sliced radishes, cucumbers sliced lengthwise into rectangles, or avocado fans. If you are skilled enough or practice until you are, you can make beautiful cut garnishes such as radish or strawberry flowers.
  • Textures: soft, creamy, firm, hard, brittle, crunchy. Bobby Flay always finds a way to add crunch into his dishes. In his hamburger restaurant he puts potato chips on the hamburger. Break up some tortilla chips and sprinkle them over your chili.
  • Wipe the rim of the plate before serving.
  • Get inspired. Have fun!

Wash vegetables

This has always been confusing to me. You keep hearing how you should wash your fruits and vegetables before eating but they never tell you how.

Mushrooms – brush lightly, never wash.

For any other produce, always first wash your hands thoroughly, then submerge and wash all fruits and vegetables in COLD water and rub using a brush or a cloth. Use either a vinegar or baking soda solution in your sink or washing container. White vinegar is a great disinfectant and can be used safely to kill bacteria. I also use it on my wooden and plastic cutting boards. The recipe is 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water. Soak your fresh vegetables and fruits for 10 minutes and then rinse them with cold water. If you don’t buy organic, baking soda is not a disinfectant but it is very effective in cleaning off pesticides. Use 1 teaspoon baking soda to every 2 cups cold water. Soak fresh produce in this solution for 5 minutes and then rinse it off with cold water.

Don’t clean produce until you’re ready to use it. Washing fruits or vegetables before storing them makes them more likely to spoil, because dampness encourages bacteria growth.

Don’t store fruits and vegetables next to each other. Many fruits produce ethylene gas, which acts like a ripening hormone and can speed spoilage. Poke holes in the plastic bags of vegetable; they need space for air circulation or they’ll spoil faster.

Pay special attention to the ‘dirty dozen’ and try to buy these organically raised so they don’t have pesticides:

  • Strawberries
  • Spinach
  • Kale, collard and mustard greens
  • Nectarines
  • Apples
  • Grapes
  • Cherries
  • Peaches
  • Pears
  • Bell and hot peppers
  • Celery
  • Tomatoes

Food safety

  • No more than 4 hours between 40°F and 140°F. Easy to remember!
  • Minimize touching raw chicken to anything. Wear food preparation gloves, don’t wash it, use a plastic cutting board and wash and sanitize that before using it again. If I’m roasting a whole chicken I’ll open the package right in the Dutch oven while wearing my food preparation gloves. Always cook it to 165°F using a very good instant read thermometer to measure, unless you’re cooking it using sous vide and then use the safe cooking charts.
  • Use separate cutting boards for chicken and everything else. Or, you can flip your cutting board over.

Shuck a raw oyster

Learn how to shuck a raw oyster here.

Watch cooking shows

Watch your favorite chef’s. Two very informative shows are:

  • Worst Cooks in America Don’t laugh. Anne Burrell teaches a lot of great cooking skills.
  • Beat Bobby Flay A lot of recipes and techniques in a short and fun show.
  • Good Eats informative descriptions of the science and history behind the foods.

Buy cookbooks

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*