Cooking Tips from Food Network Magazine!

I brought my food network magazine with me to work today to flip through during lunch.  So far, I am loving the May issue!  There are 100 of the "greatest cooking tips" and I just had to share some of the ones that I am really excited about.

#9 - My good Korean friend had taught me this one, and it really works!  "Rub your hands vigorously on your stainless steel sink (my friend uses a spoon) for 30 seconds before washing them" to remove the odor of garlic! 

#13 - "When you deep-dry, hold each piece of food with long tongs as you add it to the oil.  Hold it just below the oil's surface for five seconds before releasing it.  This will seal the exterior and stop it from sticking to the pot of the other food."  Genius!  I am totally trying this next time I make tonkatsu :)

#15 - "When chopping herbs, toss a little salt onto the cutting board; it will keep the herbs from flying around"

#21 - "For an easy weeknight meal, save and freeze leftover sauces from previous meals in ice cube trays."  This is also genius!  I always save them in plastic bags or tubs and then you have to defrost it all even when you don't need to use all of it, then refreeze.  This takes care of that problem!

#53 - "Fresh basil keeps much better and longer at room temperature with the stems in the water."  I am always looking for ways to keep things fresh for longer.

#61 - "When making mashed potatoes, after you drain the potatoes, return them to the hot pan, cover tightly and let steam for 5 minutes.  This allows the potatoes to dry out so they'll mash to a beautiful texture and soak up the butter and cream more easily."  It would have been nice to know this when I was making them last night.

#63 - "For better tasting asparagus, cure the stalks: Peek them, roll in equal parts sugar and salt, and let them sit for 10 minutes, then rinse off and prepare as desired."  Again, this would have been nice to know yesterday, but luckily I still have half left.

#64 - "When you grill, pull your steaks out of the refrigerator one hour ahead of time so they can come to room temperature."  I will remember this for grilling season coming up!  This is sort of like the tip to let store bought sushi sit out for maybe 30 minutes before you eat it so the rice isn't so hard.

There are obviously many more tips, but these were my favorites that I will be trying out soon!  I heart Food Network Magazine!