(many not all) things with savory sauce: a bit of chicken liver mixed in with the meat. Works great for spaghetti bolognese, and I’ve done it successfully in chili.
My gradma’s secret to cooking turkey was to let the bird decide when it will be done. Know your method, trust your method. And use the rule of thumb to start it. But everyone will cook differently.
But once it’s cooking don’t try to speed it up or slow it down. Fiddling with the temperature to get it on the table by 4:30 sharp just makes part overdone and part raw. Stick to the known plan, and start the other things based on how it’s proceeding. But thanksgiving dinner was always a window of time, not a strict appointment.
Add LOTS of salt to the water when hard-boiling fresh eggs. It makes the eggshell easier to peel.
There is a huge difference in salts. Use celtic sea salt as a “finishing salt” for sprinkling on a dish after it as been cooked. Use ordinary table salt for salt that is added in cooking process.
A little fresh dill weed perks up soups, cottage cheese and salads.
I add mint chutney to pea soup. Not enough to taste the chutney but just a bit “brightens” the flavor of the soup without overwhelming it.
Popcorn:
Pop kernels in a pot on the stove in coconut oil - that’s what movie theaters use. Periodically give the pot a shake to work the unpopped kernels to the bottom and keep the popped kernels from sticking to the sides and burning. You also need a vented lid to let the steam from the popped kernels escape, otherwise they come out kinda chewy. That’s the basics, add other flavors per your taste (I prefer just salt and butter).
Granted, it’s not the healthiest way to make popcorn (coconut oil is pretty close to 100% saturated fat), but popcorn is an occasional snack, not a dietary staple.
Define “LOTS”.
For one mug of perfect hot chocolate:
Mix all* the dry ingredients in a mug. Use a bit less sweetener than you think you’ll need, because most sweeteners will dissolve nicely but cocoa powder won’t, and you can adjust to taste at the finish. Add a little bit of very hot water or milk, just enough to produce a slurry when stirred in. Make sure every little pocket of dry powder is incorporated - including any lumps on the spoon - before adding milk, leaving some room to put in more if needed. If the milk is cold, microwave the mixture in one to half-minute stages until it’s at the desired temperature. Add more sweetener or milk as neccessary.
*“All” because in addition to cocoa powder and plain old sugar, I put in ground cinnamon and a pinch of ground coriander. Ever since I took a chance on an imported chocolate bar last year, I’ve been a fan of this flavor combination.
Make custard in a pressure cooker. Seriously, it’s the best ever, it’s quick and it’s so easy.
I’m not much of a cook but I often wondered how many other things can be made better, easier and quicker in a pressure cooker
Besides the Colonel’s 11 Herbs and spices pressure frying is the other secret to his chicken…
I’ve always liked the flavor and convenience of Bisquick pancakes and waffles, but not the dense, biscuit-like texture. Found a recipe over the weekend that calls for 2 cps bisquick, 1.5 cups of club soda, and egg, and 1/2 cup of oil. This makes nice tender, light, pancakes and waffles (but the waffles stuck to the iron like a mofo).
So, pancake tenderizers…soda water.
more than a tablespoon
More:
Use organic celery; it tastes much better IMO. When adding celery to dishes, don’t add the joints to the leafy bits. They’re more bitter than the stalk above or below the joint.
Dill pickle juice.
It’s vinegar, salt and seasoning all in one. Excellent for finishing off sauces and soups. Try to add a bit to your next bowl of chicken soup. You won’t be sorry.
Actually, use olive oil, and add a dab of crushed garlic to the oil when you add the kernals, and finish with sea salt. Sea salt is so that you can use less than you normally use in regular iodized salt, and popcorn with garlic and olive oil is great, you can even sprinkle italian herb blend on the pop corn if you don’t want to use salt.
Curry: Brown the onions properly. It’s not enough to simply fry them for a minute or two - they have to almost dissolve. Then add ginger, garlic, spices, etc.
I would note that chik-fil-a and El Pollo Loco also uses the same “pressure frying” technique for their Chicken, and have become a serious pain in the Colonel’s ass with marketshare. I think KFC has done everything they can to distance themselves from the Colonel’s vision and that is their biggest mistake… instead of quicker, more homogenized, and corporate they should embrace the Colonel’s true meaning… they could easily crush their competition if they got back to basics.
Any marinated meat: Kiwi fruit, blended, rubbed on each piece by hand, then left to sit for 30-60 minutes, refrigerated, before adding the marinade.
Any fruit contains enzymes that is a natural meat tenderizer. However, I prefer Kiwi because the taste is imperceptible compared to fruit like pineapple. Also, it seems to have stronger enzymes than other fruit, and 1 kiwi can tenderize over 5 lbs of meat.
…by that, I mean, why not open a few test markets for an" Original Colonel Sander’s KFC" in the McCafe ouvre… Use a retro Southern Gas Station architecture and design. Serve family style one price chicken dinners Keep the pressure fried chicken, actually use the 11 spices and herbs in your coating, prepare realmashed potatoes with butter and milk, slat and pepper, nothing else, real gravy made with drippings and the colonel’s best damn gravy recipe but no extensions and artifciial flavorings and preservatives. Real fresh cabbage and slaw ingredients, real fresh vegetable sides… maybe the Zehnder or various amish family style dinner’s business model… The best sweet tea, in a family environment… maybe put in a jukebox with only period Southern Music. I mean it’s not rocket surgery, it’s embarassing having to point out to them how they can become real restaurants instead of these corporate perversions… they have so little respect for us that they think we wouldn’t know and appreciate real potatoes and gravy because so many people have become brainnwashed to their old crappy mash and gravy.
When making cocoa from prepared mix, do not use water. It makes it taste like crap. Use milk, or cream.
Cheesecake: make sure the cheesecake is softened all the way through. Much creamier in the end if it’s not lumpy or cold in the middle when you start blending it.
Chili with beans: Instead of using ground beef, use either stew meat or pork sausage of some kind (Jimmy Dean or Bob Evans breakfast sausage is great; so is Mexican [soft] chorizo, and sweet and/or hot Italian sausage). Also, try adding some masa harina to the mixture towards the end of cooking. It makes all the difference.
Also also: A pinch or two of ground cinnamon and Dutch process cocoa powder never hurt anyone.