20 Cooking Tips

Here are 20 tips to help your cooking go smoothly, be enjoyable, and flavorful.

1. Plan your menus in advance.

OK, I know it sounds really boring and methodical, but it's necessary when you have a family to feed. If you don't plan in advance, chances are you'll have a hungry child (or spouse!) at dinnertime and no idea what to feed him. That's not a good feeling... Then you'll be scrambling to find something, to prepare something. I've been there. But now I'm in the habit of planning. I do two big grocery trips a month. So when I plan my meals, I'm planning enough to last me until the next big grocery trip, 2 weeks away. So I plan for 2 weeks of meals. How many meals that equates to is different for each home, depending on the size of the meal cooked (are there leftovers, for example?), how many meals are eaten that are not prepared at home during that 2-week period, etc.

Make a list of dishes you plan to cook on one side of paper and the ingredients you'll need on the other side. Add to the list of ingredients any other staple items you will need to replenish (eggs, milk, cheese, coffee, for example). The list of ingredients will serve as, you guessed it, your shopping list. When you write your ingredient list, group things as you find them in the store: produce, meat, dairy, frozen, canned goods, baking supplies, grains... This will make it easier to verify that you have gotten everything on your list.


2. Use cookbooks to help simplify meal planning and keep meals diverse.

I love looking through good cookbooks, and I have a lot of great ones. I collect cookbooks, in fact. So when I am thinking of the next week's meals, I start thumbing through my books to see what catches my eye. When I decide to prepare a dish from one of my cookbooks, I list the said dish on my piece of paper along with the cookbook and page number. Although I hardly ever follow a recipe verbatim, the diversity of recipes I have via my cookbooks keeps my cooking new and fresh. We're always eating different stuff. My family never feels like they're eating the same old thing! I borrow cookbooks from the library on a regular basis. The ones I can't do without, I purchase online and add them to my collection. You can do the same, especially if you want to cook some new things. Try borrowing cookbooks on the types of food you'd like to cook. Is it Indonesian cuisine you'd like to try your hand at? What about African food? Whatever it is, there's a cookbook with some spectacular recipes out there for you to try. You've just got to look for it.

3. Think about your children when you plan meals, but don't think ONLY of them.

I recently ran across a great quote: "My mother’s menu consisted of two choices: Take it or leave it." — Buddy Hackett

When I was younger, some of the things that my Mom cooked, I didn't like. I was not a fan of chicken with bones (hated seeing the veins or dark spots near the bone), so although her baked chicken thighs with cream of mushroom soup were perfectly yummy, I opted to eat vegetarian on the nights when she cooked them, for aesthetic reasons. She didn't cook anything different for me on the nights when I chose not to eat what she had prepared. And neither were her feelings hurt by the fact that I had rejected a dish she'd spent time and love preparing. I try to live by the same principles with my children, with some exception. Here's the exception: when cooking something rather gourmet or that I have feeling will not be well suited to the "immature" palate, I have a second option ready to give them if/when they complain. For example, the braised fennel that I had on my menu list is, admittedly, not for everyone. So I kept that in mind and made sure I had an alternative vegetable for them, although I generally let them try everything I cook. Sometimes they surprise me by what they like (like the ginger and balsamic roasted beets I prepared recently). And I get excited and think, "Now, we're making some progress."

4. Think and thaw.

Always be at least a meal ahead when it comes to what you're going to eat. If you can be a day ahead, that's even better. At breakfast, I'm thinking about lunch. At lunch, dinner's on my mind. Generally, I try to think about meals the night before. For example, at this moment I know precisely what will be served for tomorrow's breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I already took out the salmon and put it in the fridge to thaw for tomorrow's dinner. I'm thinking ahead now and taking care of any necessary preparations (like taking meat out of the freezer), so I don't have to think about it later.

5. Do Ahead.

Many times in cooking, there are things you can do ahead. You don't have to wait until it's near dinner-time to prepare everything for dinner. Sauces, vinaigrettes, desserts, breads, can be prepared in advance. You can even prepare the whole meal in advance and freeze or refrigerate it, if you'd like. There are some things that need to go from oven to table for best flavor. But there are many dishes that taste just as great reheated. When you have small children, it's especially important to cook when you find pockets of time. When the children are playing contentedly together, I will be making preparations for lunch or putting lunch together, so I can reheat it if need be (usually it's still hot or warm, though). During naptime, I'm usually starting dinner. And I am renown for taking out the mixer and whipping up a cake, baking bread, making tomorrow's lunch, or something, once they are in bed. When you have small children who count on you for their every need, you can be pulled away from cooking (or any other task) at a moment's notice, so I work when I can and I work as quickly as I can.

6. Let your children assist you when possible and convenient.

Young children love to help. Take advantage of it!! Seriously, you can create really positive food memories for children when you let them help in the kitchen. When your kids work with you in the kitchen, they see how raw ingredients are used and combined to form the finished product. They are better able to appreciate the finished product. You can also teach them about kitchen safety as you go. There's a whole world of learning at their fingertips when they're in the kitchen with you. When baking with my children, I always leave the oven light on so they can watch the baking take place. Their eyes light up. It's priceless. I love sharing what I enjoy with my little people.

7. Explore, be creative, and cook with love.

Cooking really is fun! There are some rules, but there is so much room for creativity. That's why I love it. Experiment with flavors. You may never know if certain flavors will or will not compliment each other if you don't try. There's always something new to try and something new to learn.

Love what you do! It's an important job nourishing your family! Take pride in it and you will be rewarded with smiling faces and empty plates.

8. Prepared ingredients can help save time in the kitchen.

This is one that I find myself struggling with, from time to time. Now that I make bread, pizza dough, jam, etc., at times it's hard for me to justify buying it. "But I can make it myself, cheaper, tastier", I tell myself. However, I've told myself that just because I CAN make it and ENJOY making it doesn't mean that I HAVE to make it ALL the time. There are times when I don't want to take the time or have the time to let my pizza dough rise (during those spur of the moment decisions to make pizza). So on those occasions, I whip up a dough that uses baking powder and requires no rising time, or I buy a pizza dough mix, or a ready made pizza dough. I've recently tried out the new Fleischmann's pizza yeast, which requires no rising time. It's not bad, but not nearly as good as a dough that is allowed to rise. Another example is roasted peppers. If I don't roast them myself, I have no problem using the bottled roasted red peppers. They have wonderful flavor, I've found. So take advantage of the prepared ingredients in the grocery store, like the ones above and countless others. You may not always want to make your own salad dressing just because you can...

9. Clean up as you cook.

I can not work in a messy kitchen. I must have a neat (albeit not spotless) kitchen before I start cooking, and I try to keep it as orderly as possible while cooking. Thus, while I'm cooking, I'm loading the dishwasher with dirty bowls and spoons, hand washing those items that require it, wiping counters down, whatever I can do when I have breaks in my cooking process. If something is simmering, baking, and doesn't require my time, I'm cleaning or tidying up. Sometimes I simply stop what I'm doing to clean up some if my kitchen is getting too cluttered. So when I'm done, I never have a huge mess to clean up.

10. Write down your recipes so you can duplicate them.

This one is something I've only recently began to do. I'm notorious for doing something creative, not writing it down, and not being able to duplicate it the next time. For years, my husband asked, "Why not write it down?" I thought it was such a bother. Now I really do see how doing this makes me a better cook.

No matter how good a memory you have, you probably won't be able to remember exactly what you did, the exact amount of ingredients you put in. It really does help to write it down. So when you create a recipe, write down (or record it into your digital voice recorder) the ingredients and steps as you go, or at the latest, right after you finish the dish (while it's fresh in your mind). You would hate to come up with something fabulous only to find you're not able to make it come out the same way the second time.

11. Present your food well and have the necessary tools.

I love pretty things to cook/serve my food in. I feel like if I invest time in preparing good food, I also want to present it well to my family. Food can look even more enticing when it's in a pretty dish. So the next time you're in a store and see some pretty stoneware or a gorgeous enameled cast iron dutch oven, don't pass it up if you can afford it. I've grown bored with my Pyrex dishes and am using them less and less as I have more interesting options.

I have an affinity for cookware and kitchen appliances/gadgets/tools. They are both necessary and can really simplify cooking. Whether it be a nice set of stainless steel cookware, sharp knives, a food processor, a stand mixer, a pasta machine, a meat grinder, or the smaller apple corer and vegetable peeler, they are all welcome (and used)in my kitchen.

12. Taste as you cook (but don't double dip :)).

I've never seen a chef who didn't taste his food as he was preparing it. This is how you know it's seasoned properly. For most foods, if you wait until your dish is complete to season it, it's too late. Flavors mesh during the cooking process. Salt has time to melt and harmonize with other spices. A dish that's seasoned beforehand also continues to develop flavor after cooking is finished. There are so many things that taste better the next day--soups, some desserts, bean salads, lasagna... Flavors continue to come together and juices are absorbed by the beans, pasta, etc. If you put your spices/seasonings in after cooking has taken place, chances are your food will just taste salty and out of balance.

Taste your raw ingredients and smell everything. You will find that this helps you to be able to naturally choose complimentary flavors in your dishes.

13. Make a list and check it twice...

Keep a running list of items you are low on. When you go shopping, make sure these items are on your shopping list. You'd hate to be out of something you need for cooking and have to run and get it in the middle of meal preparation.

14. Cut bacon and grate ginger while frozen.

Frozen ginger grates effortlessly and frozen bacon is easily chopped. I keep mine frozen, so they don't spoil and just cut off what I need for cooking.

15. Buy or make your own flavored oils.

Flavored oils add huge flavor to vinaigrettes, sauces, pasta, and more. I love tossing my pasta in a little bit of sesame and basil oils. I use lemon and orange infused olive oils to make vinaigrettes for my salads...They are easy to make and a little goes a long way.

16. Read about cooking and watch professional chefs.

In order to improve and learn, it helps to educate yourself. Use your local library to check out books about cooking. Watch cooking television. Read cooking magazines, articles. Watch cooking videos online. Buy DVD's.

17. Grind and toast.

Buy your dried herbs/spices whole when possible and grind them yourself in a coffee grinder that you use only for this purpose (or your coffee will taste like spices). This results in a fresher, more pungent product. Toasting spices, seeds, nuts, etc., intensifies their flavor. This is very important in Indian cooking, but can be done in other types of cuisine for the same effect.

18. Improvise when necessary.

Cooking is about learning and experimenting and no cook is a perfect cook. When things don't go as you hoped, don't dismay. Save the day! I experiment A LOT. I can't help it! When I'm cooking, I often hear a little voice that says "try this" or "why not do this instead". And almost always, I do...

At my most recent dinner party, I prepared a skyscraper coconut lemon cheesecake. It had a thick layer of lemon cheesecake, a thick layer of lemon spongecake, and in between the layers were whipping cream and lemon curd...Absolutely one of my favorites...delicious. Anyway, I made the lemon curd differently than I had in the past. The result? It wasn't as thick as it should have been--too runny even after it had chilled for several hours. So I saved the day, and dessert! I put the curd back in my stainless steel saucepan and added a cornstarch/water mixture to thicken it to the right consistency. I allowed it to cool enough so I could assemble the dessert. Worked beautifully. This is an example of saving the day. When something doesn't go as plan, think of how you can save it. Your creativity and common sense can go a long way. Remember if you don't experiment and try new ways of doing things, you won't have the pleasure of learning what DOESN'T work.

19. Get the first pickings.

Wherever you shop for food, find out when they restock and do your shopping at that time. During the restocking period, new items are placed on the shelves, the fresh produce comes out... I prefer to go shopping during this time when I can because I know I'm getting the freshest product they have available and someone is always around so that I can ask questions or have them go fetch me something in the back. Restocking normally occurs during the non-busy store hours and, for me, this is also a bonus, since I hate shopping during peak store hours. I love being able to walk leisurely around the store without the crowded aisles...Heaven! I'm able to get my shopping done more quickly. I love it. It truly is a win-win situation for me.

20. Don't forget the wine.

Thank God for wine! Not only does wine facilitate the digestive process, but this ancient beverage has medicinal properties, health benefits, and there are some beautiful, artistic examples of it all over the world! I admit that I'm fascinated by it. I love the fact that every single bottle is unique and that when you have a good bottle you can be transported by the senses to the land from which it came--this is what the French refer to as "terroir" in wine terminology.

When wine is exposed to high temperatures in cooking, the alcohol evaporates and the flavors of the wine become more concentrated. Thus, if you add a sweet wine to food, it lends sweetness to the final dish, an herbaceous wine would contribute a certain herbaceous quality, and so on... As a fan of wine, it's not surprising that I enjoy the flavor it adds to food. I use it in marinades, sauces, and as braising liquid. And it's not just for meat. Some vegetables and desserts are very wine friendly, as well.

À votre santé (cheers) et bon appétit!