Cooking

Cooking

A delicious choice of simple sandwich filling, heirloom tomatoes are a type of tomato for which the seeds have been passed down through generations, hence the name. Unlike hybrid tomatoes, the seeds for heirloom varieties are open-pollinated and not engineered for an extensive life. As such, they are quite special, boasting a unique appearance and taste. Heirloom tomato season typically spans between later summer and early fall, meaning this specific sandwich selection will be dependent on the time of year.

The rice cooker is, without a doubt, one of the greatest inventions known to man - or at least the home chef. Once you've mastered the essential steps of using a rice cooker, you're guaranteed to have perfect, fluffy rice for life. However, even regular users of the kitchen gadget might err, and one of the most common rice cooker mistakes is leaving rice on the "keep warm" setting for too long.

Lentils are an inexpensive source of protein, and they can take on many flavor profiles easily and without much effort. The tiny legumes are great in salads, but they really come alive when simmered with alliums, vegetables, spices, and a flavorful broth. Lentil soups and stews can be simple or extravagant, depending on how you garnish the soup, but they always make for a hearty, satisfying meal.

Your spice cabinet is like a passport of sorts, allowing you to sample the flavors and ingredients of different cuisines and cook dishes from around the globe. As such, building a robust collection of both staple spices, and more underrated and unique ones is important. If you're shopping for new additions to step up your seasoning game, look no further than garam masala and ras el hanout. Although these spice mixes may have similar colors and ingredients, there are some major differences between the two that warrant adding both to your spice cabinet.

Spills and splatters are a kitchen eyesore that nobody wants to see - but tackling them is not just an aesthetic issue. If ignored, dry debris and food crumbs might serve as a midnight feast for a wide array of insects and rodents. Wet spills, meanwhile, can cause you to lose your footing as you juggle hot pans by the stove. As tempting as it might seem to deal with it later, kitchen spills demand your daily attention.

Tasting Table talked to George Madosky, sous chef at a.kitchen+bar D.C., about how he cleans a fresh cob of corn. "We use a clean, dry kitchen towel and work with separate bowls so the cleaned corn stays away from any stray silk," Madosky says. "This method is gentle, effective, and avoids adding unnecessary moisture, which can make silk cling and spread."

At the risk of editorializing, few things in life are better than peanut butter and the rich, comforting, gooey pleasure it brings, which needs so little in order to be enjoyed - two slices of bread will do, or if you're feeling particularly indulgent and lazy, sometimes just a spoon. This uncomplicated charm is well demonstrated by the fact that perhaps the best peanut butter cookies you will ever taste require only three ingredients, all of which you probably already have in your kitchen.

Seasoning cast iron involves coating the pan with a thin layer of fat (typically oil) to create a protective barrier. When the oil is heated, the fatty acids inside of it link together and bond to the iron, producing that invisible, non-stick barrier that's necessary for successful cooking.

Because fried rice already contains scrambled eggs, vegetables, and usually meat, you can customize your dinner-inspired dish with all the breakfast staples you enjoy most. For example, use the residual grease from frying up bacon or sausage as the base fat in which to fry your vegetables and cooked rice. Add a portion of butter or olive oil to the mix as needed.

There are so many delicious ways to turn eggs into a hearty, protein-packed meal, and one of our favorites is whipping up a fluffy, golden omelet. In its simplest form, this fuss-free brunch dish can be made by cooking beaten eggs in a buttery skillet, sprinkling over shredded cheese, and folding everything in half. But, there's also plenty of opportunity to craft something even more satisfying by throwing in a selection of veggies, proteins, and bold flavor-boosters.

It's important to always use fresh, ripe broccoli and not frozen, so you have better control of what you're using. Additionally, according to Ramsay in this YouTube video, rich, dark green broccoli with tightly packed florets comes highly recommended. However, you don't want any of them to start opening yet. To ensure only the best parts get into the soup, Ramsay holds the broccoli stem up and trims in a circle to remove the florets while avoiding the thick, woody stalk,

Dunking a crusty piece of bread into soup certainly makes the meal even better, but adding the bread inside as it simmers yields a more velvety product. Given its propensity to disintegrate when cooked in broth, bread is the perfect addition to make soup more filling - this is particularly true of rye bread. The baked good is earthy and thick, adding flavorful and textural depth to soup.

It's insanely creamy. It starts with a base of refried beans, which are already creamy on their own. Then, I mix in some sour cream or Greek yogurt to make them even creamier and richer. It's super tangy, thanks to the sour cream, canned green chiles, and melty cheese on top. It couldn't be easier to make. Just stir together the base ingredients, top with cheese, and bake for a bubbly, crowd-pleasing appetizer!

Some chefs pride themselves on blurring the lines between food and art. For Executive Chef Andrew Oh, Momoya SoHo has become revered for putting beauty on plates, such is the case for the restaurant's beautiful wine glass parfaits. However, Oh is known for sushi creations that are equally impressive. We asked the chef for tips on sushi-making (known as one of the most difficult culinary techniques to master) so that our next batch of caterpillar rolls look more professional than problematic.

When it comes to homemade pumpkin pies, George shares her experience from a self-instigated baking extravaganza. "I put myself to the test myself by baking 12 different pumpkin pie recipes (mostly from food bloggers, with a couple from cookbooks)," she explains. Only one of the recipes required puréeing fresh pumpkin, so it was easy to distinguish the results compared to the other 11 pies. In her opinion, all the extra work didn't justify the time, mess, and effort.

The step is coating blueberries with cornstarch before adding them to your mix. "Blueberries leak a lot as they bake, and that juice can mess with the crumb or make things a bit wet," Daud explains. "The cornstarch soaks up some of that moisture, so the berries stay more contained." Dredging in cornstarch gives you more control over the berries and resulting texture of your bake, as it keeps them intact and their moisture in check.

Not unlike pot roast, another Boomer generation classic, beef stroganoff transforms an unglamorous combination of stew meat and mushrooms into an elevated, rich, stick-to-your-ribs, Russian culinary institution. In fact, beef stroganoff's old-school, vintage feel was already centuries old by the time it became a Boomer favorite. The dish is named for the eponymous Stroganov family, nobility tracing back to 15th-century Imperial Russia who served as the viceroys of Siberia as contemporaries of the heralded Romanov family ("Anastasia" Broadway musical fans, rise up).

"Even just a few minutes makes a difference," Daud explains. "Resting lets the excess steam escape and gives the starches time to settle, so the rice ends up fluffy instead of wet or clumpy." Daud adds that the go-to time is 10 minutes for a standard amount of rice, but larger batches can require a longer rest. "If I'm making a bigger batch for a dinner party," she says. "I usually give the rice around 30 minutes to rest." However, when making certain "cultural dishes" like maklouba, Daud notes that she will "let it rest up to an hour or even a bit more before serving."

Don't over-process the mixture in your blender. 15-20 pulses does the job, resulting in a smooth batter. Yes, you need to use parchment paper. Spread the batter across your sheet pan gently, to a uniform thickness. Too thin, it is more likely to crack. Bake until the wrap is very golden on the bottom, this is right around 30 minutes in my oven. This is the color you're after, or even a bit darker!

Protein-rich, savory dishes like pan-sauteed pork chops are classic cold-weather food because they don't just fill your belly with something incredibly satisfying - they also fill your kitchen with wonderful, comforting aromas. They're especially flavorful when topped with apples and shallots simmered in butter and perfumed with fresh sage. This recipe comes together in a flash - less than 20 minutes - making it a perfect dish for busy school nights or after a long day in front of the computer.

I love using parchment paper for transferring any sort of raw dough onto a cooking surface,

From the Crofton kitchenware line, Aldi's Gold Pizza Pan costs just $4.99, about the price for one or two slices from your local shop. In a nearly identical color to Williams Sonoma's Goldtouch Pro Nonstick Pizza Crisper ($29.95) and 16-inch Pizza Pan ($39.95), this Aldi dupe has the same look and function. While exact product specifications are not available for the Crofton version, previous pizza pan releases from Aldi have come in at a little over 15 inches.

Soft tortillas filled with crisp, colorful vegetables and drizzled with a tangy peanut sauce make this an easy, no-cook, pick-up-and-go dinner. Everything comes together in minutes, with no stove time required, making it ideal for busy evening. The creamy peanut sauce adds bold flavor while the vegetables provide crunch and color, creating a light yet filling meal that's perfect when dinner needs to move at your pace.