Cooking Tips 104

Tender Meat
A good way to ensure that your meat stays tender is to marinate it in something acidic. Depending on the flavors of the recipe you're using, this could include worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, or even orange juice. A little olive oil never goes amiss either. Just be creative!

Sanitary Surfaces
When preparing vegetables and meat for the same meal, an important thing to keep in mind is the order of that preparation. Any surface (counter top, cutting board, plate, container ect...) or utensil (knives and other implements) used for raw meat should not be used for raw vegetables or other produce immediately afterwards without properly washing said surfaces and utensils. This will prevent the spread of harmful bacteria. The easiest approach is to prepare all the vegetables first (as long as the recipe allows it) and then move onto the meat, so everything only has to be washed once.

Cooking Tips 103

Cooking rice
One important thing to remember when making rice is to stir it as little as possible. Once or twice to break it up a little is fine, but excess stirring will make it mushy and stick together.

Potato patties
If you have leftover mashed potatoes lying around, make them into croquettes! Just form the potatoes into patties, heat up a frying pan with a little oil (see 101 for an oil tip), crisp them up on both sides, and you've got a tasty treat!

Sweet Sauces
If you plan on using sauces, marinades or other flavorings in your recipes that contain significant amounts of natural or refined sugars (such as fruit preserves, chutneys, certain kinds of teriyaki and BBQ sauces ect...), just be aware that those flavorings can caramelize and burn very easily when exposed to direct heat. Just be conscious that the outside of whatever you're cooking doesn't get too crispy for your liking.

Cooking Tips 101

Many years of watching cooking shows and practicing in the kitchen have led to the accumulation of many helpful tricks that you may not pick up elsewhere. Here are a few choice ones:

Cooking with oil
To check that oil has reached the right heat for cooking, splash a few drops of water into the pan. If the oil sizzles and spits, it is ready (just be careful not to burn yourself).

Marinating fish
Because of the delicate texture of some types of fish (salmon, tilapia ect...), marinating them in liquid for longer than 10-20 can make them soggy and crumble in the pan when cooking. A thick fish steak like tuna or swordfish can be marinated for significantly longer periods.

Washing strawberries
The best way to clean strawberries is to wipe them with a damp towel. They are porous by nature and will soak up a lot of liquid. If rinsed under running water and not eaten soon afterward, they can rot more quickly.

More tips will undoubtedly come, so stay tuned!

Greetings From Mexico

For as long as I can remember, food has been a significant part of my life. When I was growing up, home-cooked meals were a mainstay in my house at least four times a week (although the takeout we sometimes ordered wasn't half bad either). My mother has always been infamous for hosting large dinner parties and family gatherings for holidays and special occasions, and in the last bunch of years I have become her "sous chef" in preparation for these big gatherings (so much to do, so little time).

More recently, I have been fine-tuning my own culinary skills and hosting parties of my own. I like to cook whenever I can and enjoy experimenting with new recipes, techniques and ingredients. I have absorbed many helpful hints working alongside my mother over the years, and the Food Network and the newly created Cooking Channel are common staples of our evening entertainment. In addition, I'm always excited to discover a new restaurant and sample its many delicacies. Whether a simple sandwich shop or the fanciest of French bistros, New York City certainly has no shortage of these palate-pleasing wonderlands. Overall, I think I can safely say I am comfortable with calling myself a "foodie".

The following recipe not only comes from the Food Network website (always a great source for gastronomic inspiration), but was perhaps the most difficult recipe I have tried to date. I have never been a fan of the "Tex-Mex" style of food, and this culinary concoction has turned me onto the authentic flavors of Mexico. Although very delicious, a word of advice: if you want to attempt to make this recipe, CLEAR YOUR DAY!!!

Yucatan Marinated Chicken Skewers with Peanut-Red Chile Mole Sauce