Cooking Tricks

Over the years I've accumulated a number of cooking tips, such as laying a chopstick across the top of a pan to help keep whatever from boiling over. Or a pinch of baking soda in the water used to cook asparagus*, broccoli, green beans, etc. to keep the green color bright. I'm sure y'all have more tricks.

*Speaking of asparagus, all of us have asparagus pee smell after eating it due to some volatile compounds passing through, but only about half of us can smell it because of a quirk in our evolution. Some years ago I mentioned it to a friend. He had no idea what I was talking about.

[Robin Garr]

In many dishes that call for the addition of raw chopped garlic (pesto, hummus, baba ganoush, f'rinstance), I gently sweat the garlic in a little olive oil instead. Tames the raw heat, adds more complex flavor.

I had been cooking Chinese for several years before I took Chinese cooking lessons. Perhaps the most important thing I learned was to determine the volume of the scoop and ladle used during stir-frying, and to use those utensils to measure out ingredients. If you go to a Chinese restaurant with an open kitchen you'll see that this is how the pros do it. Before I started using this technique, every time I cooked Chinese I ended up using practically every measuring utensil in the house. This technique can save a lot of washing up afterwards.

-Paul W.

Good idea.

Decided to make arancini the other night as I had some cooked arborio on hand.
Spread enough on some cling wrap popped a little boccini in the. Centre and used the cling film to form and firm the balls before chilling. And crumbing.

[Jenise]

Nice way to do it, Barb. I use cling film by the yard. My friend in L.A. that we just spent time with has a box of Stretch Tite that's so old it didn't come with a zipper cutter. I've used at least six boxes of it since she bought that, and she won't run out in her life time at the slow rate she's going through it. She containerizes EVERYTHING and has a strong Chinese aversion to waste. If it can't be washed and re-used, she's against it.

Decided to make arancini the other night as I had some cooked arborio on hand.
Spread enough on some cling wrap popped a little boccini in the. Centre and used the cling film to form and firm the balls before chilling. And crumbing.

Is that all there is to it? (...and then a quick saute to brown those crumbs, I suppose...)

Decided to make arancini the other night as I had some cooked arborio on hand.
Spread enough on some cling wrap popped a little boccini in the. Centre and used the cling film to form and firm the balls before chilling. And crumbing.

Is that all there is to it? (...and then a quick saute to brown those crumbs, I suppose...)

Yep,pretty much that’s it Jeff. Leftover risotto with cheese. it is better to deep fry to keep the shape and get even colour. I use a smallish wok with enough oil so I can just turn them once and be done

Decided to make arancini the other night as I had some cooked arborio on hand.
Spread enough on some cling wrap popped a little boccini in the. Centre and used the cling film to form and firm the balls before chilling. And crumbing.

Is that all there is to it? (...and then a quick saute to brown those crumbs, I suppose...)

Yep,pretty much that’s it Jeff. Leftover risotto with cheese. it is better to deep fry to keep the shape and get even colour. I use a smallish wok with enough oil so I can just turn them once and be done

Thanks, Barb! I don't have any leftover risotto but I do have an unusably-small amount of arborio (and cheese aplenty).

Jaeff, good use for that Arborio. Cook it in stock if you can to get some flavour into the rice.

[Jenise]

Or, keep it vegetarian, cook the rice in salted water and season it with the zest of oranges and limes. KILLER, I promise you.