Got any kitchen magic that sets your cooking apart from others?
Inspired by the recent cast iron pan posting, I am wondering about the things Serious Eats cooks might use on a daily basis in their kitchens that they know set their cooking apart. I love my cast irons, which I started using after the Teflon news and which I now absolutely adore and use for everything I can. Just great heat and versatility, for me.
I'm also in love with my Herbamare seasoned salt, having finally rediscovered it after many years, and use it as an all purpose seasoner to pretty great effect. It enhances the natural flavors of vegetables and is not too salty. It comes in a couple of variations as well - I could only find a U.K. link, not sure why. I used to use Herbes de Provence all the time, but find I don't need to with the Herbamare.
I also love Sambal Oelek - the Indonesian style spicy chili paste punches up any number of dishes, from sauteed vegetables like broccolini, to soups, spaghetti sauce and so on.
I am wondering what similar short cuts other readers might use on a virtually daily basis? Things you swear by, your own little tips and tricks you love, day in, day out?
Thanks for sharing!
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17 Comments:
High heat, almost always. Drives my Mom nuts, but after years in restaurants, I cook FAST!
That experience has also brought me to "don't sweat the small stuff": crumbs on the floor? The broom will still be there tomorrow. Missing ingredient? Something else will do just fine. Two more people? Great, I just get to cook more.
Cary at 4:38PM on 10/06/08
As for ingredients...salt and butter. Liberally and often, almost everywhere.
Cary at 4:42PM on 10/06/08
I totally second you on salt! I'm a nut about seasoning everything correctly! Vegetables, fish, meat, pasta, grains...it all needs salt!
Oh, and butter doesn't hurt either :) Yep, salt and butter are definitely the secrets behind a few of my best pasta dishes
ChristineB at 5:03PM on 10/06/08
Besides the fact that I cook from raw ingredients rather than boxed crud?
Well, for one thing, I've sworn off of grocery store spices, and now I buy from places like Penzeys, or in the summer I use home-grown herbs if I have them.
And although it's the long way around instead of a shortcut, I bake bread at least weekly.
dbcurrie at 5:07PM on 10/06/08
Sea salt, butter, anchovies, truffle salt, sauteed tomato paste.
bessfour at 5:09PM on 10/06/08
Oooh, @bessfour, what are you doing with anchovies? I live in a small seaside town where apparently we can catch anchovies early in the morning right off the local docks and I have been thinking about just maybe doing that, but am not very versed in even the ordinary tinned anchovies. Thoughts?
also what are you doing with the sauteed tomato paste? I have used it some, in one dish, but.... would love to know more!
Tobey at 6:06PM on 10/06/08
Salt - I read the essay in Elements by Ruhlman about what several chefs said about salting food - salt it early and a little more than you might think necessary. It makes an enormous difference. I've switched to gray (Celtic) salt and it too has made a difference - minerally and flavorful rather than just saline.
Patience - I'm more than willing to make recipe components from scratch (ketchup, Worcestershire, etc) to really make the recipe/dish mine.
@bessfour - I'll plead ignorance - sauteed tomato paste? Sauteeing commercial paste(s) or sauteeing tomatoes and reducing them to a paste or something altogether different?
renoles at 6:39PM on 10/06/08
Timing makes the biggest difference in my cooking, I think. This comes from restaurant training. Everything that can possibly be done before guests arrive is parcooked a little in advance and then finished in the oven (or by whatever method is applicable) once they get there. That way I'm not a stressed-out basket case who has to get up from the table every two seconds to chop something or take care of something on the stove.
frenetica at 6:54PM on 10/06/08
@renoles -- i'll answer that. if you caramelize your tomato paste {i use the amore sun dried in a tube} before mixing it into whatever you're making with it, the result is a much deeper flavor. i learned that from mario batali. just push aside whatever else is going on in the pan, and brown that blob of paste.
i do the same thing to my paprika -- push aside whatever's in the pan to toast it. the smell alone is worth it.
cybercita at 8:10PM on 10/06/08
for pasta, its finishing cooking pasta IN the sauce with some cooking water. it absorbs the sauce and the water makes the sauce much silkier.
megannesta at 9:03PM on 10/06/08
I agree with everyone else, salt, butter, garlic makes almost everything taste better.
Make it yourself, even if it takes longer it will be worth it, and buy good quality.
My best kitchen tip ever would be visit your local farmer's market early and often, or grow it yourself when possible.
Lastly I'm chronically ill, and it's not always possible for me to run out to a store if I don't have an ingredient, because of the energy that I'd expend, so I prefer to have a well stocked kitchen, pantry, and chest freezer. That way I can always know I can whip something up with what I've got, and make shopping trips when I'm feeling well.
bobcatsteph3 at 9:11PM on 10/06/08
I love to use a lot of garlic, lemon pepper, fresh cracked pepper, bay leaves, butter and olive oils.
pjracz10 at 5:58AM on 10/07/08
Love, baby !!!! You can't ruin anything if you're cookin with love! Besides that,bacon grease is always helpful.
onepercent99 at 10:41AM on 10/08/08
@onepercent99 - really!
What do you use your bacon grease for, how do you store it, and what kind of bacon are you using?
Tobey at 10:55AM on 10/08/08
My apron. Just my apron. ;-D
izatryt at 11:05AM on 10/08/08
For any kind of pasta sauce, it's well-toasted garlic. I think there are many folks who are petrified of burning it and so add it to their recipes at the very last minute -- to me, that sort of feels like "cheating" the garlic out of its natural, edgy-but-mellow magnificence.
jeninewsbite at 12:06PM on 10/08/08
@Tobey---
i just buy regular bacon from the store,and after I cook the bacon,wait till the grease cools off a little,filter it thru some cheesecloth into a canning jar and keep it in the fridge.Whenever I'm sauteeing something I like to use a little bacon grease for flavor,also I like to use it along with shortening when I make biscuits.
onepercent99 at 7:53PM on 10/09/08