Flavorful Grilling
Always use tongs to turn meat on the grill to avoid piercing the meat. This helps to keep the flavorful juices inside the meat.
How to peel a tomato
To prepare tomatoes, bring water to a boil over medium-high heat. Take tomato and remove core; using a sharp knife, mark an "X" on skin at opposite end of tomato. Place tomato in boiling water for 1½ minutes; remove from water and place in an ice water bath. After tomato has cooled, remove from water, peel skin away, using the "X" area as a starting point to grab skin tag.
Cooking with Anchovies
It is preferred that you use anchovy fillets preserved in salt; these fillets should be rinsed well under cold tap water before use. Remove bone and spine.
Combining flour and liquids (for roux, etc.)
When combining any liquid to flour, the mixing ingredients should be at a different temperature than the flour. For instance, combine room temperature flour with either warmer or colder water, but not room temperature water. The difference in temperature significantly aides ingredient dilution. It is always advisable to sift flour first so that it does not create lumps when added to liquids.
Cleaning artichokes
Artichokes require some special attention and preparation before cooking. First, artichokes have sharp barbs on the ends of their leaves. The barbs must be removed before cooking and may be snipped using kitchen scissors. Artichokes also have a tendency to discolor when they are exposed to air. To keep artichokes color pale green, tie lemon slices to the cut surface to keep them from turning color. The tying will reduce the likelihood of the artichoke falling apart during cooking and will give the vegetable a neat, compact shape.
How to tie meats
With standard cooking twine begin at one end of meat to be tied, and hold leading end with forefinger, hand behind meat. Wrap meat slowly while rotating meat in the opposite direction of hand movement. Continue tying twine in a spiral with spaces between rows of about 1 inch. Twin should be fitted snugly enough to prevent meat from coming apart, yet not so tight as to break the surface. Do not tie too loosely as meat will shrink during cooking.
Using Italian Parsley
Italian parsley, is a plain flat leaved parsley, with darker green leaves than curly leaved parsley, and a stronger but less bitter flavor. It is best to add it during the last few moments of cooking for the best flavor, or sprinkled raw on salads, soups, fish, meat, etc. Parsley is best stored in a glass of water in a cool, light place out of the sun.
Tastier Eggplant
Keep them covered in salt after they have been sliced, for 20 to 30 minutes so they lose their bitter taste.
Selecting Fresh Fish
To recognize fresh fish it is important to look for certain characteristics. You can tell if fish is fresh by the smell, which should be light, then by its bright, metallic color and shining, transparent eyes. It should also have close scales, damp gills, a stiff tail and firm flesh tightly attached to the spine.
Fish that is not fresh has a strong unpleasant smell, and is dull, with sunken, cloudy eyes, the scales are wrinkled and fall off easily, the gills are dry and dark, the tail is floppy, and the flesh limp and falling away from the backbone.
Fresh Herbs
It is always best to use fresh herbs for optimum results. For example, when making a hot sauce, the herb of your choice should be added when the food is already cooked. The heat should be switched off and the preparation left to stand for 2 or 3 minutes so that the sauce takes on the desired taste and smell. This way the color of the herbs remains unchanged, too. Always use a knife, rather than a food processor to chop the herbs, otherwise they heat up and oxidize.
Preserving Fresh Sauces
It is advisable to keep sauces such as fresh tomato sauce or pesto covered with a layer of oil in the refrigerator so that is does not go bad. This also adds significant shelf life to the sauce.
