Quick Tips for the Kitchen

Wear an apron-Aprons may feel kind of fussy, but I think they help. A lot of speed in the kitchen is connected to confidence – knowing where you’re going, and not going there willy-nillly. Think of an apron as your armor: No need to worry about splashing yourself with hot sauce as you aggressively season your wings. Go ahead and put your energy into whisking, droplets won’t ruin your shirt. Also, having an easily accessible place to wipe your hands is absolutely key.

Use a trash bowl –Use both a trash can and a compost bucket, which happen to be on opposite sides of the room. You spend a ton of time gathering waste – garlic skins, plastic wrap, pepper seeds – and taking them to their appropriate bins. I suggest that you add two bowls to the workspace, one for trash and one for compost, to save time. That way, much less moving about.

Sharpen your knives…-I think the thing that takes the longest in their cooking process is the chopping. Having sharp knives can really speed up the process of cutting something as simple as an onion, and using sharper knives is actually safer. A lot of kitchen stores offer knife-sharpening services, or you can DIYKnife skills.

Spend a few minutes learning how to chop your most-used ingredients. Like onions and garlic. Spending just a few minutes seeing how the pros do it can save you hours in the run.

Don’t fear high heat.-If you’re cooking on an electric stove, it can take quite a while for the burners to heat up. Don’t be afraid to crank the heat to get things going, then turn the burner down when you need to. If you want a good sear – like steaks, don’t be afraid go to high heat.

Read the recipe twice.-Especially when you’re cooking something for the first time, it’s helpful toreally internalize what you’re going to do. Read the recipe once, then read it again so you can keep track of what you’re doing – should you to prepare a marinade, then prep your vegetables before combining everything on the stove? There’s nothing wrong with re-reading.