Master Two Basic Cooking Techniques - Sauting and Cooking Pasta
You may roll your eyes at the title, but everybody has got to get the fundamentals right before they can progress up the cooking ladder. If you ignore the basics, be prepared to suffer through frustrating times in the kitchen. To get your essential skills down, the following are some useful tips.
Saut Sizzle
In French, the word saut translates to "to jump". This is an accurate translation as the food literally jumps as it cook over a hot flame. Using a bit of oil or butter to keep vegetables and meat from sticking also gives the process its distinctive flavor. When sauting meat, it is best to trim off the excess fat since you will be adding oil or butter anyway. A light coating is best and too much can ruin a dish. With vegetables, chop or dice them so that they will be easy to mix and cook.
Start by placing the pan over high heat and melting a piece of butter. You'll know if it's ready when the butter starts to foam a bit and turn slightly brown. Add the meat first so that the released flavor will infuse with the rest of the dish. Keep everything moving and add the vegetables in next. This is a great way to make steak toppings or soup bases.
Pasta Perfection
While you would think that this is a rather simple task, how many times have you had a pot boil over on the stove? There are few tips to keep this from happening and to make sure you have the perfect pasta when you're done.
You can avoid a common mistake by using a large pan. Using something that is too small will make stirring difficult and boiling over more frequent. Four to six quarts of water for every pound of pasta seem just right - make sure that your pan can accommodate this much liquid. Make sure that you add in a teaspoon of salt to the water.
To keep the pasta from becoming one sticky mess, add a tablespoon of oil to the pan. You can omit this if you watch it closely and stir continuously. However, it is still advisable to do so because a bonus to adding oil is that it keeps the water from boiling over.
Bring the water to a full rolling boil. Add your pasta and stir continuously for the first two minutes. This will give some of the starch a chance to boil off and you'll be much less likely to wind up with a clump of noodles stuck together. Cook for the recommended time, but stir every minute to two minutes while cooking.
Begin checking the pasta for doneness about a minute before the time is up. You can do this a couple of ways. First, you can remove a piece of pasta with a spoon and taste. Be careful - it's hot! Secondly, you can try to pin a piece of pasta with a spoon against the side of the pan and see if the spoon cuts through it easily.
You would want to attain a level of "al dente", meaning the pasta is firm to the bite. Even if you have drained the water, the pasta will continue to cook, so be aware of that. You can run it under a faucet to stop the cooking process and immediately add it to salads or your favorite sauce. If you plan on serving it later, adding some oil or butter and lightly tossing it will keep it from sticking.
Saut Sizzle
In French, the word saut translates to "to jump". This is an accurate translation as the food literally jumps as it cook over a hot flame. Using a bit of oil or butter to keep vegetables and meat from sticking also gives the process its distinctive flavor. When sauting meat, it is best to trim off the excess fat since you will be adding oil or butter anyway. A light coating is best and too much can ruin a dish. With vegetables, chop or dice them so that they will be easy to mix and cook.
Start by placing the pan over high heat and melting a piece of butter. You'll know if it's ready when the butter starts to foam a bit and turn slightly brown. Add the meat first so that the released flavor will infuse with the rest of the dish. Keep everything moving and add the vegetables in next. This is a great way to make steak toppings or soup bases.
Pasta Perfection
While you would think that this is a rather simple task, how many times have you had a pot boil over on the stove? There are few tips to keep this from happening and to make sure you have the perfect pasta when you're done.
You can avoid a common mistake by using a large pan. Using something that is too small will make stirring difficult and boiling over more frequent. Four to six quarts of water for every pound of pasta seem just right - make sure that your pan can accommodate this much liquid. Make sure that you add in a teaspoon of salt to the water.
To keep the pasta from becoming one sticky mess, add a tablespoon of oil to the pan. You can omit this if you watch it closely and stir continuously. However, it is still advisable to do so because a bonus to adding oil is that it keeps the water from boiling over.
Bring the water to a full rolling boil. Add your pasta and stir continuously for the first two minutes. This will give some of the starch a chance to boil off and you'll be much less likely to wind up with a clump of noodles stuck together. Cook for the recommended time, but stir every minute to two minutes while cooking.
Begin checking the pasta for doneness about a minute before the time is up. You can do this a couple of ways. First, you can remove a piece of pasta with a spoon and taste. Be careful - it's hot! Secondly, you can try to pin a piece of pasta with a spoon against the side of the pan and see if the spoon cuts through it easily.
You would want to attain a level of "al dente", meaning the pasta is firm to the bite. Even if you have drained the water, the pasta will continue to cook, so be aware of that. You can run it under a faucet to stop the cooking process and immediately add it to salads or your favorite sauce. If you plan on serving it later, adding some oil or butter and lightly tossing it will keep it from sticking.
About the Author:
Michelle is undoubtedly an accomplished article writer whose specialty is writing about simple, but delicious, household cooking. Her articles typically stress the added benefits of crock pot recipes just like slow cooker recipes, which is considered one of her favorites.