food fun and love

As a followup to our cooking class post, I thought I'd share with you some of the most common cooking mistakes and how to make some simple corrections that will lead to success!

#1 Not Shocking Your Green Vegetables
Greens continue to cook even after you have boiled or par-boiled them. If you are going to serve greens immediately after cooking, perfect. But most recipes have another stage which means that the greens will overcook if they aren't shocked to stop the cooking process. To do this, after you have boiled your greens in salted water for three to seven minutes, immediately plunge them into iced water. This prevents them from turning that ugly army green color. This can also be done a day in advance. Refrigerate the vegetables and use when needed. When cooking a complex meal, this step will take away some pressure and you will find that the veggies will have a toothsome crunch and bright color and that remains even after a short warm-up in the microwave.

#2 Overcrowding the Pan
Overcrowding a pan results in soggy food that doesn't brown well. Because food releases its moisture as it cooks, you need to leave room for steam to escape. It is easy to overcrowd a pan, but the brown, crusty bits are crucial for flavor, especially with lower fat cooking. This browning principle applies equally to quick-cook foods like crab cakes and longer cooking items such as chicken breasts. If you need to speed things up, use two pans at once.


#3 Mishandling Egg Whites
If egg whites are beaten or roughly handled, they won't whip up, producing flat cake layers or souffles. Properly beaten egg whites are voluminous, creamy and glossy. To achieve this, take care when separating the whites from the yolks -- let the whites slip through your fingers, keeping the yolk intact. Even a speck of yolk in the whites may prevent them from fully whipping. Another secret is to let the whites stand for a few minutes until room temperature (better than cold). Using clean, dry beaters at high speed just until stiff peaks form -- that is until a peak forms when you lift the beater out of the bowl. Don't over beat the eggs. That could cause them to separate or become grainy and dry.

#4 Turning the Food Too Often
Learning to leave food alone is one of the hardest lessons in cooking. It's so tempting to turn, poke and flip. But when you turn food too often, you interfere with the sear. Breaded chicken or steak will not develop a nice crust unless you allow it to cook, undisturbed, for the specified time. One sign that it is too early to turn -- you can't slide the spatula cleanly under the crust. When ready, whatever you are searing will release from the pan on its own.

#5 Not Carving Beef Correctly
Carving beef seems pretty straight forward but there are a few tricks that will help you get the result you want. First, with tougher cuts such as flank steak and skirt steak, carve against the grain. Second, rest meat once it's cook. All the delicious juices will leave the meat if it's carved too quickly. Third, let the meat stand to room temperature before cooking. Otherwise it will cook unevenly or the outside will be over done, leaving the inside rare. Finally, use a thermometer. This is one way to achieve a perfect roast because looks can deceive but temperature never lies.