I don’t know about you, but I love food, and believe it or not I also enjoy cooking. Well, I enjoy cooking most of the time – there was that one time when I tried to make homemade pizza. I had these visions of amazing pizza. I could see it, my kids would be chanting my name and my wife would think I was the best thing since diamond jewelry. That day, I made the dough from scratch as well as the sauces – it was going to be epic. But no one mentioned two very important things to me:
the first was that I needed to have some kind of flour (corn meal really) underneath the pizza while I was making it so that it would slide off onto the grill easily;
and two, that I really needed a pizza stone or a pizza oven to cook it properly.
So here is what happened…
I made up the most amazing grilled chicken with alfredo sauce pizza and the went to transfer it to the grill, but the pizza dough stuck to the surface of the board and all the ingredients came tumbling off onto the grill. Grrrr! No problem I had two others that I somehow pried loose from the board onto the grill, although now they looked like Catalina Island rather than the moon. But here came the second problem, it would not cook evenly. I ended up with dough burned on the outsides and raw in the middle. I was sooooo mad! My kids started laughing at me and I go so mad I threw the spatula I was using across the room. As soon as the spatula landed, my son picked up a piece of pizza and took a bite of the raw section and said, “Dad this is really good!” They still talk about the pizza incident.
Anyway, in order to save you from some of those catastrophes I wanted to pass on some life hacks that will make everything you cook taste better. If you have any of these kinds of hacks yourself please feel free to pass them on to us as well. (I found these in a Buzzfeed article)
1. Chop ingredients uniformly.
Remember: If it looks the same, it cooks the same. When prepping, slice ingredients so they're all about the same size. This ensures everything cooks evenly and consistently — and lets you avoid overdone smaller pieces, and still-raw larger ones.
Read more: The Complete Guide to Basic Knife Cuts
2. Don't add ingredients to a pan until the oil is hot enough.
If the oil isn't ready, food will soak it up instead of sizzling in it — and the end result won't taste as good. You want oil hot enough so that it swirls or ripples when you move the pan, but not so hot that it smokes. Learn more about how to spot the difference here.
Read more: How to Master Heat & Oil When Cooking
3. For the best sear, dry meat off with a paper towel first.
Meat can carry a layer of moisture on the outside, so it's important to get rid of that if you want the sharpest sear when the protein hits the pan. The quickest way? Dry it with a paper towel.
Read more: How to Cook Salmon Fillets
4. When working with aromatics, add garlic last.
Because garlic burns easily, many recipes tell you to add it last, and that's a great blanket rule — especially if it's minced or chopped.
5. Clean as you go!
Plant a scrap bowl right on the counter so you don't have to sidetrack to the trash, and load dirty plates straight into the washer instead of stacking them in the sink. Keeping things neat makes the cooking process easier — and cuts down on cleanup afterwards.
6. Season things like mushrooms and zucchini after they brown, not before.
Both carry excess water — and salt draws it out even more, causing the food to get soggy. Instead, let them pick up some color first and shed their extra liquid. Then add salt. (Also, make sure they're totally dry before they hit the pan!)
7. Brine chicken breasts before baking to make them extra flavorful.
Brining — or a quick soak in salt + water — helps meat retain moisture and stay juicy and flavorful. This method is worth it every time, and it can be done in as little as 15 minutes. (Or: The time it takes the oven to heat up!)
8. Season as you cook, not just after.
Every time you add a new batch of ingredients to the pot, you'll want to season it appropriately. This way, you're building layers of flavor as you go. (Don't forget to taste as you go, too!)
9. And if you added too much salt, add acid.
Salt is key to a final dish — but acid is a close second. Acid (like vinegar or citrus) helps elevate and counterbalance flavors. If your dish tastes flat and you've already added salt, try a squeeze or spoonful of acid to round things out.
10. Don't skip deglazing.
The brown bits that collect on the bottom of the pan are called fond — and they're packed with flavor. The easiest way to scoop up that flavor is by deglazing your pan, or using liquid to dislodge the fond, then folding it back into your sauce or meal. Don't waste it!
Your turn to share your hacks!
I appreciate the the background "why" for each step. It's easy to follow instructions that tell you to do each step as you describe, though they don't usually give you the reason you're doing each step (e.g. drying off the meat or fish, laying spices each tiime you add new ingredients, etc.)
I can't wait to hear how your next pizza night goes - using a corn meal base as you roll-out the dough, and cooking it with a pizza stone. It sounds like you got the flavors perfect!
I love this! Thank-you Gary! Great pizza story and wonderful memories made. 🍕 One thing that I learned how to do during the pandemic was making my own sourdough starter. I had a white flour and a wheat flour starter each growing in a mason jar. We were encouraged to name them. 😳 lol. With the help of my granddaughters (Hayden & Jordyn) they are Elsa and Anna 😊. I ended up loving the process of feeding E & A, kneading the dough, and all that goes with it. It is a very relaxing and gratifying process.. I didn’t want to eat all that bread 🥖 so we would drop off whole loaves to friends and neighbors. I have no…