COOKING TIPS

This page is a hodge-podge of cooking tips, listed in any order and without rhyme nor reason. After cooking with many friends at their homes, I have found some very easy fixes which would improve on anyone's cooking skills.

If you have any tips and would like to share them, please send us an e-mail.

1. Garlic Salt--THROW IT AWAY!  If possible, use fresh garlic. if not, use frozen minced garlic or minced garlic in a jar. As a last resort or for rubs and such, use garlic powder. But never use garlic salt.

2.  Salt--for almost all uses, choose kosher or sea salt.This is a huge upgrade over regular salt.

3.  Olive Oil--for salads and such, use whatever oil you like. But for recipes, use a hearty olive oil such as kalmata. I do love some of the California or Italian olive oils, but a good Greek kalmata oil can stand up to any recipe.

4.  Olives--keep a jar of pitted kalmata olives handy. They can bring out the olive taste in any dish, or when added to salads, make it seem very special.

5.  Always keep stock on hand. I use reduced stock from Gateway gourmet, but you can get frozen stock at many gourmet stores. A dab of stock will make sauces much, much better.

6.  If you need good balsamic vinegar for a dessert or a great salad, you can take less-expensive vinegar and slowly reduce it over low heat. You will be surprised at how much it will taste like a $100 per bottle vinegar when done.

7. If you are grilling steaks and wonder what cuts to get, if you like steaks rare, you might be happier with a New York. If you like them more well-done, then you might be happier with a ribeye.

8.  Next time you sauté onions and mushrooms for a topping, use red wine if putting them on steaks, use tequila if making tacos, and use bourbon is making burgers. Add the alcohol when the onions are almost done and cook until the alcohol has evaporated. This extra step will yield huge dividends.

9.  Marinated artichoke hearts make a great addition to pasta sauces, to chicken recipes, and to salads. This simple additions gives a zing to otherwise ordinary dishes.