tip

Do you want to make sugar taste even better? Then grind up one vanilla bean with approximately ½ cup of sugar. Vanilla sugar keeps for ages and goes great with coffee , French toast, as a … [more]

Ever wonder how those short order cooks at the diner always serve up perfect eggs ‘over easy’? It’s not their flipping skills. The secret is to add a few drops of water to the pan … [more]

Add a dollop of mayonnaise to your cake batter to ensure a moist product. Mayonnaise is made of egg yolks and oil. The yolk brings a richer taste and the oil helps with the moisture. [more]

Use a spare coffee grinder to grind spices. Although it doesn’t look as nice as a mortar and pestle, it is a lot faster. [more]

Add a touch of balsamic vinegar to gravy to create a depth of flavor. It gives a little tang as the vinegar brings a hint of acidity. [more]

Use Silpat (silicone mats) to roll your dough out onto. The surface is non-stick and it is easy to pull up and maneuver. If your recipe requires any cutting, take extra precaution as the Silpat can … [more]

If you are using cinnamon sticks, heat them in the microwave for a few seconds to release the oils. They will become more aromatic. Cinnamon is the inner bark of either cassia tree (common in … [more]

Store vanilla beans in vodka to keep them moist. It you allow them to sit for several weeks you will both create a very tasty vanilla extract but also have moist and soft beans. This makes it easy to … [more]

Here’s a tip to help keep your fish from sticking to the grill. First clean your grill well. Once the grill is good and hot, dip a paper towel into a small bowl of canola oil and wipe across … [more]

When cooking fish over a high heat source I recommend covering the fish with thick cut lemon slices. Not only do the juices infuse down into the fish, but they help keep the moisture from escaping. [more]

A great tip for making a large number of sandwiches efficiently is to do the following: Place a loaf of bread in the freezer for 10 minutes (this makes it easier to slice). Remove the crusts to leave … [more]

Ever wake up with the smell of chopped food from the night before still on your hands? It often seems impossible to remove. Yet, the solution is right at your, well, fingertips! Simply rub your … [more]

According to Alton Brown , our beloved TV chef, unless you are sure the shrimp is today’s catch, only buy frozen shrimp. Alton says, “Ice block shrimp is best, but individually frozen is … [more]

Here’s a list from the Monterey Bay Aquarium of farmed and wild caught fish to avoid. While not all farmed fish are bad for the environment or the consumer, some generate more waste, … [more]

Conventional wisdom says that farmed fish is a dirty word, but farming can be a good thing. As a general rule of thumb if the fish is vegetarian than farming is probably good, if the fish is a … [more]

Frozen fish can be a good thing so pay no heed to the myth that fresh is necessarily best. Think about it. Fish is often caught way out in the ocean by a trawler that’s out to sea for weeks at … [more]

Here’s a tip that will make you look and feel like a professional bartender while adding that extra burst of flavor to your drink. To sugar a cocktail glass Pour some sugar into a small plate … [more]

To tell if an egg is fresh: place it in a bowl of cool, salted water. If it sinks, it’s fresh - if it floats, throw it out. [more]

This is the one of the exceptions to the baker’s creed that ingredients should be at room temperature. Cream whips up faster if the cream and the utensils used to whip are chilled. [more]

If adding sugar to cream, wait until the whipped cream reaches soft peaks to add sugar. This way you will get more volume from your whipped cream. [more]