Paper Palate

It’s quite appropriate that I write today’s Chicago Tribune pick on locale. I am currently back in the sweet city where I grew up and content to be getting my rare and necessary fast food fix: deep dish pizza (Ranalli‘s); Vienna all-Beef hot dogs (Wiener‘s Circle); ribs (grillin’ ‘em) and custard (Scooter‘s) (A friend recently moved here and states she can no longer fit her “New York City” clothes!) Of course, standard sightseeing and beach bumming is in order too, so I will return fat, content and tan, no worries.

Today’s article that caught my eye was Basic Training by Bill Daley. It discusses how many of us learn cooking from watching others. Whether it is our grandmothers, fathers or celebrity chefs that work their magic at the counter top, cooking is made easier when we finally see the light described and inspired by others. With that though, there are some basic ideas that can be easy to forget, but should always be kept close at hand. Be you amateur or expert, these kitchen tips will take you farther if you keep them in mind. (I have taken the tips and added my own commentary to them, see the article in the Chicago Tribune for more from the experts.)

1. BE ORGANIZED
Oh, how this minimizes pain if we follow this simple advice. It is so much easier to not only know where everything you will need lives in the kitchen, but even to have it out and ready for the go.

2. LEARN KNIFE SKILLS
Makes the process of chop, slice, julienne and crush worlds faster. In the long run, you’ll save your wrists and hands from pain too.

3. KEEP KNIVES SHARP
A fella once posed a question: What’s the most dangerous object? An axe, a machete, an ice pick, a chain saw or a dull knife. The dull knife, of course. We all know that as knives dull it becomes harder to practice our knife skills, making us lean into our work more and upping the possibility of slipping and slicing (or hurting) our own fingers. Bring knives in to be sharpened or buy a sharpener and keep up on this.

4. TASTE EVERYTHING
I once interviewed a chef who told me he never tastes anything before he sends it out. I could not believe this. Possibly he has never tasted the finished and completed dish, okay, but nothing? No sauce as it’s warming? If you watch food shows, you’ll hear it all the time, take a taste, you’ll learn how the flavors you add alters a dish and ultimately know where something goes wrong, if you need to start over or if you need a little more of such and such.

5. MASTER TECHNIQUES
I think this is more important if you really want to get into cooking, but not necessary for the amateur who wants to remain so. Otherwise, take courses, read books, peruse the newspapers and be inventive.

6. TAKE TEMPERATURES
Especially important for meat. You don’t know how many dishes I have overcooked before I got a thermometer. Never go by a book in terms of hours to cook per pound, always by a reading, not all ovens or grills are the same. Certain sauces, custards and candies need thermometers too.

7. LEARN FROM MISTAKES
Important to keep in mind and expand your vocabulary. Don’t be afraid to admit that you have made a mistake, attempt to understand what went wrong and correct it for the next time.

8. PUT THE PAN ON THE FIRE
Understand heat and what it does on your pan. Too many people use hot heat for everything and don’t understand what fire does to your pan. Whether it’s overcooking eggs or under heating oil for frying.

9. WARM UP FIRST
Bring ingredients up to room temperature before you begin cooking; eggs, meat, and cheeses should be brought out of the cold depths of your fridge before you use them.

10. READ THE RECIPE
Always make sure you have everything important on hand. You can even figure out what needs to be substituted, but make sure you have what is important readila available. Nothing more miserable than to have to make a last minute run to get something at the store.