Prepare what you need before you start. It’s how the pros do it and it simplifies the process when you are scrambling to put it all together.
When using a broiler to cook steaks, preheat oven until it’s really hot. This will sear the outside of the meat and keep the juices in. And don’t use a fork to turn the steaks, use thongs or a spatula to prevent juices from leaking out.

Buy yourself a potato ricer for mashed potatoes. It a great gadget to have in your kitchen, it looks like a giant garlic press, costs about six bucks, but there’s nothing better for smooth airy mashed potatoes.

A folding steamer platform that sits in almost any pot works great for your steamed veggies. Important, be careful not to overcook the broccoli, you want it to be crisp but tender.

Invest in a salad spinner. They’re inexpensive and work great. There’s nothing more unappealing than soggy lettuce. And speaking of lettuce, you may have grown up on iceberg, but try some red or green leaf lettuce for a little diversity.

Never cook with any wine you wouldn’t drink! You can substitute 1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary leaves with 1 teaspoon. of dried, but fresh is better. Try using a spray olive oil to coat your roasting pan.

Any brine-cured black olives can be substituted for Kalmata and remember to tell your guests there are pits so they don’t break a tooth.

To roast garlic, sprinkle the bulb with a little olive oil and white wine, salt and pepper, wrap it in tin foil and roast in a 350 degree oven for approximately one hour.

Try using a hand blender to puree the soup….it’s easier than transferring to food processor.

Mushrooms should be wiped off with a damp cloth and not washed under the faucet since they are like sponges and will absorb the water.

Make sure your roasting pan is the correct size and is placed on the middle rack.

When roasting, save the pan juices for your gravy.

Leeks are full of hard to get at sand and dirt, chop them first, then give them a bath in cold water and drain in a colander.

Try using carrots instead of sugar to sweeten your sauces.

Cracked pepper corns: I opt for putting the peppercorns in a zip lock bag and cracking them on my cutting board with a hammer. Noisy, but it worked. Otherwise, set your pepper mill to course grain instead.

When buying cabbage, look for heads that appear heavier than their size with crisp leaves.

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In the current culinary frenzy, the joys of simple green salads are often forgotten. A little selectivity at the market and proper preparation can yield a salad worthy of lingering over. A good salad is a mixture of textures and flavors. Instead of just plain iceberg lettuce, mix a soft butter lettuce with a crispy, mild flavored romaine or a stronger flavored leaf lettuce. Additionally, it just takes a few leaves of bitter radicchio, arugula, watercress, or baby organic greens to make the salad even more interesting. After bringing your greens home, wash them in cold water and spin them dry. Besides diluting your dressing, moisture will spoil greens more quickly. Store the greens in reusable bags or plastic containers with a slightly dampened paper towel at the bottom to maintain humidity. If you are serving the salad within a few hours, place the dressing in the bottom of the serving bowl and lay the serving utensils crosswise over the dressing. Pile the greens over the utensils, cover the bowl with cellophane and refrigerate to keep them crisp and flavorful until service. The addition of some freshly chopped herbs such as parsley or chives just before serving will also boost the salad’s flavor.

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Opening Coconuts:
Open the coconuts by flinging them onto a cement or rock surface (this is how the monkeys do it!) Don’t worry about losing the liquid, as it’s not the coconut milk called for in cooking. Each coconut should break in 3 to 4 pieces. It is also possible to open a coconut by piercing the eyes of the coconut with a screwdriver or ice pick, draining the liquid through the holes and placing the coconut in a 400 degrees F oven for 20 minutes. Wrap the coconut in a towel and hit it with a hammer to loosen the shell and split it into pieces. Pry out the white meat and then pare off the dark skin.

Grating Coconut Meat:
To grate the white meat, put the meat through the grating disk of a food processor or use a hand grater. You should get about 7 cups of grated coconut from the two coconuts, which will keep in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.

Coconut Liquado:
To make the coconut milk, combine the remaining 3 to 4 cups of loosely packed grated coconut with the milk (use 3/4 cup of coconut for each 1 cup of milk) in a heavy saucepan. Heat slowly, bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat and cool. Strain the milk, pressing down on the coconut meat to extract all the liquid. Squeeze all the coconut through a towel to get any last drops. Discard the coconut.

If you are tired of your vegetables losing color, texture, and flavor before you serve them, then blanching may be the solution. Prolonged exposure to heat deteriorates vegetables. Blanching lightly cooks only the outer layer of their flesh. To blanch vegetables plunge them into boiling salted water for a short period of time, and then immediately stop the cooking process by placing the vegetables into ice water until they cool. Green beans and other fibrous vegetables retain their crispiness and color. For other vegetables and fruits, such as tomatoes and peaches, a brief blanching loosens the skin while keeping the flesh firm, making them easier to peel. In all cases the color is set and the flavor is retained. You must remember not to overload the pot because this will increase the cooking time. Blanch in batches if necessary. The vegetables can be used immediately in salads and other cold dishes, or they can be stored or frozen for later use. A quick sauté or stir fry is all that is needed to finish cooking the vegetables, and if they are being added to a dish such as a soup or stew, adding them during the last few minutes of cooking will insure colorful results.

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