https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 21 Apr 2026 05:11:05 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/cooking-tips#post-81810 Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:43:14 +0000 mrs. wagon 81810@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Keep your grapes on the stems until you eat them. They last so much longer. </p> <p>I do not cook with cookie sheets or baking pans without lining them with aluminum foil first. I think I've only had to wash the pans like 10x in 10 years.</p> <p>Meat and candy thermometers are lifesavers!</p> <p>@Crumbs: I once put too much kiwi in my kalbi (korean bbq beef) marinade, OVERNIGHT, and the meat was completely disintegrated the next day. oops.</p> <p>I use a ladle to pour pancake batter and I always get comments about my "perfectly shaped" pancakes! I like to make tall stacks and they are all exactly the same shape and size. Wait until bubbles start to form in the batter then flip ONLY once, do NOT press down on them at all or they will be like hockey pucks. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/cooking-tips#post-81805 Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:38:46 +0000 mediagirl 81805@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've heard (though don't remember where) that you should wash your fruit right before you eat it, not when you first get it home. </p> <p>Dry your meat before you cook it and always heat your pan before cooking vegetables or meat.</p> <p>Use a meat thermometer if you're not sure about your temperatures!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/cooking-tips#post-81801 Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:36:33 +0000 mediagirl 81801@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Crumbs: for the eggs, I do that and also stir with a rubber spatula the entire time they are cooking. Leads to super fluffy and delicious eggs! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/cooking-tips#post-81465 Fri, 24 Feb 2012 10:38:40 +0000 Boogs 81465@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Red: Ah good to know, thanks! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/cooking-tips#post-81303 Fri, 24 Feb 2012 05:10:24 +0000 Red 81303@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Boogs: Actually, Alton Brown disproved that on one of his Good Eats episodes. He weighed the mushrooms before and after washing, and there was no weight change. Of course, Bobby is right that you need a dry mushrooms to get good grill marks though :).</p> <p>Some great cooking tips on this site.<br /> <a href="http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking-101/techniques/cooking-questions-tips-00400000064986/print-index.html@Boogs" rel="nofollow">http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking-101/techniques/cooking-questions-tips-00400000064986/print-index.html@Boogs</a>: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/cooking-tips#post-81302 Fri, 24 Feb 2012 04:59:17 +0000 SugarplumsMom 81302@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Salt before searing, even if it's just a little, it makes a difference. If you're making a sauce with ground beef, add a little flour once it's mostly brown (and let it continue browning) - not only will it thicken the sauce, but it adds favor.</p> <p>Kiwi is a strong and natural meat tenderizer. Try it on tougher cuts of beef by simply rubbing it in (but don't let it sit for long or it'll turn into textureless goo).</p> <p>Add a little liquid to your scrambled eggs (milk, water, etc) and they're instantly fluffier. Fry it in an already hot pan. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/cooking-tips#post-81301 Fri, 24 Feb 2012 03:40:34 +0000 looch 81301@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Don't crowd your pan! Too much food in there lowers the temperature overall and you don't get the nice searing, which is a waste if you've spent time heating up your pan.</p> <p>I also found that if I put a tiny bit of water in the pan when browning ground beef, it separates better, so you don't have to stand there and break it up with a spoon. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/cooking-tips#post-80864 Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:22:58 +0000 Boogs 80864@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I was watching Not Your Mama's Meals last week and Bobby Dean said to not rinse mushrooms (he was working woth portobello) because they absorb the water and won't get the nice grill marks on them that way. He instead just wiped them off with a moist paper towel. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/cooking-tips#post-80856 Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:17:52 +0000 Maysprout 80856@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I learned a good one from this recipe this week<br /> <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/michaels-best-button-mushrooms-recipe/index.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/michaels-best-button-mushrooms-recipe/index.html</a><br /> Don't move the mushroom until they've caramelized on the bottom or they lose juices. Simple recipe but so much better than the way I'd been cooking mushrooms. </p>