One of the Great Cooking Tips: Just Cook

There’s a list on the Food Network of the 100 Greatest Cooking Tips (of all time!). You read that right… OF ALL TIME.

Anyway.

I reviewed the list and am going to give you the ten best because 100 is a lot to read and do you really have that much time? That’s what I thought. Clearly, I do (but that’s because I read so FAST, duh).

1. After working with garlic, rub your hands vigorously on your stainless steel sink for 30 seconds before washing them. It will remove the odor.
2. For best results when you’re baking, leave butter and eggs at room temperature overnight.
3. Instead of placing a chicken on a roasting rack, cut thick slices of onion, put them in an oiled pan, and then place the chicken on top. The onion will absorb the chicken juices. After roasting, let the chicken rest while you make a sauce with the onions by adding a little stock or water to the pan and cooking it for about 3 minutes on high heat.
4. Do not use oil in the water when boiling pasta: it will keep the sauce from sticking to the cooked pasta.
5. Rest, rest, rest! Always let your meat rest – especially off a hot grill!
6. If you’re cooking cauliflower, add a bit of milk to the water with salt to keep the cauliflower bright white. Shock it in cold water to stop the cooking and then serve.
7. When making mashed potatoes, after you drain the potatoes, return them to the hot pan, cover tightly and let steam for 5 minutes. This allows the potatoes to dry out so they’ll mash to a beautiful texture and soak up the butter and cream more easily.
8. Cook more often. Don’t study; just cook.
9. Cook with other people who want to learn or who know how to cook.
10. Always start with a smokin’ hot pan!

Americans Don’t Cook Much

The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development told me something. That’s right, they told me. They told me that they’d done a study recently, polling 29 different countries. Of all of those countries, the United States won something. Know what they won?

Least Time Spent in the Kitchen.

Congratulations. I hope there’s a cool trophy for that.

Americans came in third place for another category. This one was title something along the lines of: Wolfing My Food Faster Than You. I’m totally a sucker for this category and if I finish my dinner before the others at the table, perhaps I might let you know: “I won.”

The stats are these: Americans spend 30 minutes each day cooking and only an hour and 14 minutes eating. Turks win the Most Dedicated Home Maker trophy, cooking for 74 minutes each day.

On a lighter note, something that the Organisation did not tell me: the United States is the most giving nation, taking home the gold medal for citizens willing to volunteer their time, give money, and assist strangers. Hurry and finish eating so you can get out for that charity run.

How much time do you spend each day cooking? How about sitting down to eat? Where do you eat dinner? At the table? In front of the TV? In your car?