Techniques
A collection of articles about various cooking techniques.
When Cooking - Be Clean!
One thing that you always to remember is to be clean when you’re working in the kitchen. Use common sense since germs and bacteria are easily spread when you’re preparing food. Here are some tips for working in a clean kitchen. Wash your hands frequently with warm water and soap while preparing and cooking... »
Southern Fried Chicken
There are a lot of recipes that claim to be “traditional” or “authentic” Southern Fried Chicken. I cannot honestly make any arguments to support the claim that this recipe is the real thing, but I can tell you that it is used a lot, both in the Southern United States and elsewhere in the world. Before I... »
Enhancing Food Flavors, Part 4
Why do we use salt? What is it about salt that makes us use it in so much food, and so many preparations? Salt is an amazing thing. It is chemically-speaking the most simple molecule that we eat (2 atoms as compared to three in water), and along with water is the only non-organic substance that we consume... »
Amazing Butterscotch Sauce
I know I have posted about carmelization before, but I wanted to make a special post about this beautiful butterscotch sauce because I made it the other night, and I really nailed it. I made a brief mention of this in answer to a comment in an earlier post as well, but this way... »
Enhancing Food Flavors, Part 3
It is time to continue with my series on enhancing flavors of foods, and today’s entry is all about soaking your food before you cook it. There are more combinations of liquids that can be used to soak various foods than can be counted, but they come in three basic varieties: brines, marinades and... »
What are Aromatics?
I have used the term “aromatics” frequently in my posts, so I thought it was high time I explained it in more detail. Aromatics are simply vegetables that have a lot of flavor and aroma that can persist throughout long cooking times. Different regions of the world have different combinations that are traditional, but... »
How to Make Crispy Bacon
This is one of the tough questions of all time: how do you make your bacon crispy? Despite not being suitable for either vegetarian or Kosher diets, bacon remains one of the most popular foods on the planet. Nearly every Western culture has its own version of it, from various cuts of pork, and with... »
Cook an Entire Meal Without Pots or Pans!
Yes, it’s true! You can cook an entire meal without the use of pots or pans! What’s more, you can cook individual meals customized to each personyou are feeding! I find that this works well with kids, and it allows them to pick and choose the kinds of things that they like to eat.... »
Pot Roast Extraordinaire
Roasting is a method of cooking meat that is larger and thicker than what would be served individually. The goal is to get the middle of the meat cooked to an acceptable temperature without overcooking the outside, or making the meat too tough to eat. There are three basic methods of roasting: dry, wet... »
Eggs Benedict
I saw an amusing article on CNN today. It seems that scientists in the U.K. have been working on a way to help people cook the perfect boiled egg. It is still in development, but the intent is to use heat sensitive ink that will appear when the egg has reached the perfect desired... »