UKC

Got any cooking tips to offer?

Cheers muchly

You can microwave baked beans but not in the can.

In reply to The Lemming: Cut your toenails before cooking....

In reply to The Lemming: careful - stuff gets hot.

In reply to The Lemming:

Real men dont wash up Until every last item of cutlery and Crockery is dirty. About once a week should Suffice.

Use old cardboard Boxes as plates. Recycling and no Washing up.

Line roasting Trays with tin foil. Throw away foil, hey Presto, no washing up.

Never wash up tea cups. The minging Tannin Look is in. And guess what, no...

Well, you can see where that ones going.

In reply to The Lemming:

If you move in with a new partner, ruin everything you cook for the first week, and smash their emotionally Valuable heirloom Crockery From their Beloved Departed Grandmother.

After that week, youll be excused cooking and washing up chores.

Ps make sure it all Looks Accidental.

Chilli sauce, or failing that black pepper, improves every dish

In reply to Owen W-G:
even porridge

In reply to The Lemming: there are very few foods that are not improved with the addition of cheese.

In reply to mike123:

Except cake. Oh, hang on...

In reply to The Lemming:

When it's brown its cooked.

When it's black it's f@&ked.

In reply to The Lemming:

To the Keyboard Warriors, why did you trash this thread?

In reply to The Lemming: Probably because it's a ridiculously broad question. But here you go anyway - keep your knives sharp.

In reply to The Lemming: Keep your cupboard/spice rack well stocked up.

I spent a small fortune on pretty much everything the supermarket had in the little herb and spice bottle aisle, now I find I pick a herb/spice out and make something around that rather than around the meat/veg I have available. It has widen my diet enormously.

Also get some good quality knives, chopping is a chore with bad blades.

In reply to The Lemming:
good knives, kept sharp. Not neccessarily expensive, plastic handled ones fro a catering supplier are good.
if you chop stuff: usually keep it the same size. make life easy for yourself and cut a bit off veg to get a flat surface for it to rest on while you hack it up.

seemingly contradictory points, but experiment..
good quality simple ingredients: pasta, olive oil & lemon zest work. Add capers, (pine) nuts, courgettes, basil, chilli (careful!) as you see fit for subsequent attempts.

learn the difference in taste when you cook fast or cook slow; baking vs frying vs stewing vs steaming.

brown sauce and tomato ketchup as ingredients might surprise you. have a look at the ingredients to see what works.

Sugar in tomato dishes. Vinegar in others.

Guardian 'how to cook' and 'best of..' are interesting reading for different techniques/ingredients http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/food-and-drink

and while Jamie Oliver is a bit annoying, his simple recipies are worth looking at

In reply to The Lemming:
similarly, Delia Smith ...have never followed any of Nigella's..too annoying!

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/series/how-to-cook

In reply to The Lemming:

I'm not a great cook, but my tip would be to taste things as you cook them and add what you think they need.
People surprisingly often don't taste what they are cooking until it's on the plate in front of them.

In reply to The Lemming: There is a great book called Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. I think chapter two talks about how to cook like a chef. I forget most of it, but some tips that come to mind are:

- buy one good chefs knife
- use good saucepans. The test is to hit someone on the head with one. If the head comes off worse than the saucepan, it is good to use.
- use shallots instead of onions
- put butter in your sauces just before you serve
- put sauces in those squeezy bottles in order to dress the plate

It is a good read if you like that sort of thing.

In reply to The Lemming:
quick meal..tin of tuna and
packet of 2 minute noodles .
takes about er....2 minutes

In reply to The Lemming:

Sorry. I took it in a viz top Tips Kind of way.

Find your Nearest pan Asian supermarket, one Which the restaurants and Takeaways Use. Much cheaper than Usual supermarkets for many things like Rice, herbs, Spices, sauces, oils, and many Other things.

Personally i use Just a Microwave, a wok, and an oven Tray. Theres nothing you cant cook with Just Those.

In reply to The Lemming:
If you don't always want to follow a recipe, but still want to come up with interesting food, I can strongly recommend this book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flavour-Thesaurus-Niki-Segnit/dp/0747599777
It basically gives you loads of paris of flavours that go well together, normally with some brief examples of the sort of dish where that combination is important.

In reply to The Lemming:

Read this book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ratio-Simple-Behind-Everyday-Cooking/dp/1416571728

In reply to The Lemming:

What did you expect?

You have requested tips regarding the application of heat to raw ingredients.

If you wanted serious responses why not give your audience a little context.

Are you looking for tips on basic one pot meals for one?
Are you planning to do the Christmas dinner this year?
Are you looking to impress someone?
Are you planning Blackpool's finest dinner party?
Are you looking for advice store cupboard essentials?
Are you looking to broaden your horizons by experimenting with Pacific fusion cuisine?
Do you have a fruitarian coming to stay?
Do you want the latest trends in macrobiotic meals for the lactose intolerant vegan in your life?

Your question is like asking for advice on eating, drinking or breathing.

In reply to TMM:



Keeping my question open ended, I am now getting helpful and useful tips that I never knew about.

In reply to ByEek:
excellent book, great fun.
very much. better one great one that is well balanced, fits your hand & holds an edge than a set. depending on your style & 'physique', anything from 8" to 12" (large sizes are probably overkill for domestic use). The traingular shape of the blade can be wide or more shallow. I prefer wide.



'Monter le beurre' ('adding butter', not 'mounting a donkey' )adds richness and gloss & well worth trying. whisk rather than stir.
Without butter, one of the best bit of advice given was : 'when the sauce looks shiny, it's done' (a basic tomato sauce for pasta).

you don't have to chuck a ton of things in to affect the taste - and certainly taste while cooking & before serving.
A little garlic, salt, sugar, pepper, celery, nutmeg whatever can transform a dish without you noting it's actual flavour. Fermented fish sauce is an excellent example

In reply to The Lemming:
Pesto is your friend...