A lot of good cooking is in technique. What’s something that you discovered or was told that really changed something meaningful for you? For me, I had struggled a lot to make omelettes. They always wound up becoming scrambled eggs because I sucked at flipping them over to cook on the other side (I like my eggs cooked pretty well so this was important to me.) Finally, watching someone else make an omelette, I noticed they didn’t flip it. They put a lid on the pan, turned the heat down, and let the top cook that way. I tried it myself and now I make almost perfect omelettes every time. Have you had anything like this happen to you? If so, what was it?
the actual technique of using stainless steel pens changed everything for me. Proper pre-heating with minimal oiling and knowing to wait until SS cookware “lets go” of food, followed up by using liquids to separate “stuck” pieces and turning them into delicious sauces. I can fry a sunny side up egg on SS pan in a pinch, but prefer cast iron for that.
Buy a proper instant read meat thermometer and learn about carryover heat. Seriously, just cooking meat to where it needs to be and no more makes such a difference when cooking.
Along with that, learning when things need to be cooked to higher temps for structural reasons.
Finally, learning how to get good browning or crust formation. Its all prep and heat control but damn a steak with a good crust is life changing.
I’ve taken up bringing an instant read with me when I expect I may have to cook at someone’s house. Nothing worse than trying to make a prime rib at someone’s house, a getting handed one of those analog dial thermometers that doesn’t even have numbers on it, just “rare, medium, well done”.
Making a proper (?) French omelette. Watched Julia Child do it on TV. Changed my Sunday morning breakfast game big time. Beat two eggs. Heat a 10" non stick pan over medium heat. Throw in a tbsp of butter. When the butter bubbles up, the pan is hot enough. Dump in the eggs. Shake the pan over the flame to move the eggs around. I also use a set of chopsticks to help stir it up good. The eggs set in about a minute or so. Once set, I use a spatula to flip (roll) the egg from the edge of the pan, 2 times. Then plate. Watching a video of her doing it probably makes more sense than my description. Multiple new techniques for me. It’s fast. They are light. Everyone likes them.
Smash garlic cloves with the side of a big knife to make the skin much easier to remove
Canned tomatoes usually taste way better than fresh tomatoes
When cooking pasta, save some of the pasta water to add to the sauce if it’s too thick, thins it out but the starch keeps it nice and saucy or something - acts as an emulsifier or something
Yeah, pasta water has been a game changer for me for the last couple years. I had never known it before but it’s kind of irrelevant for marinara sauce. Now I’ve switched from always marinara to never. I prefer pesto, and the pasta water turns it nicely creamy. My teen prefers a lemon butter garlic sauce, which also does really well with pasta water.
Now if only I can remember to save some pasta water more reliably
Smash garlic cloves with the side of a big knife to make the skin much easier to remove
not a technique per se, but whole garlic bulbs are usually significantly less expensive than the jarred minced, with shitloads more flavor (and more you can do with it.). and an extra-fine microplane grater will turn that clove into paste in seconds. (or ginger, super fine zest, super fine cheese if you wanna nice melty shred.
as for tomatoes… the reason canned tomatoes taste better is that the canners set up shop near the farmers, so they don’t have to pick them green. same with a lot of frozen fruits/veggies. with fruit, you tend to loose some texture (strawberries going ‘soft’ is an example,) but, if you’re not needing the whole fruit, they’re going to be better.
Mise en place makes things soooo easy. When I meal prep I chop up all my veg on Saturday and stick it in the fridge, then cook on Sunday. Makes the whole process less overwhelming than doing everything in one sitting.
