The idiot's guide to the Kitchen.

For every cook or anyone who's made themselves adept at the kitchen territory, what little knick-knack tricks and simple methods up your sleeves can you share?

To make it easy, I'll lead by example:

Trick #1 - Cutting an Onion
Disclaimer - the standard "use a good, sharp knife" should always be assumed when dealing with anything revolving cutting. This goes the same for cutting onions - the duller the knife, the tearier the whole fiasco.
Put the onion in the freezer for about 5 - 10 minutes. This causes the molecular density of the onion juices (the stuff that makes you tear) to condense and allows the onion to not spray so much of it as it is being cut. The same trick can be applied by heating the knife rather than making the onion cold, but as heating the knife takes away the edge and tends to worsen the condition of the knife, I prefer making the onion cold. (The knife heating trick is a different mechanic - the hot knife will evaporate the juices as it comes in contact with the surface) Also, more of a "duh" thing, but practice makes perfect - the less time you spend cutting (i.e., "cut faster") the better.

Trick #2 - Peeling a Tomato
Don't like the skin of the Tomato? Cut a X-shape or cross-shaped incision (just enough to get through the skin) on the bottom of a tomato and stick a fork onto it (one with a wooden handle would be better). Have a bowl of ice-cold water ready. Hover the tomato over an open flame of your stove, until the skin turns slightly orange-ish in color or starts to blister. When you got this over most of the tomato (should only take about 20 seconds at most), dunk the entire tomato into the bowl of ice cold water. Same can be done with peaches, but as peaches are more delicate I recommend using a pot of boiling water over the flames. This takes longer (fruit needs to sit in the boiling water for about 2 minutes or so), but the result is prettier.

Trick #3 - Peeling a Garlic
Ever see one of those plastic tubes you're supposed to put the cloves of garlic in and roll it to peel your garlic? Don't reach for it at the market, save your $4. All you need to do is gently crush the clove with the side of your knife on a flat surface. No need to smush it to smitherines, just apply a gentle nudge of pressure and it should be all enough so that the garlic clove is slightly crushed the outer layer will peel away easily.

Trick #4 - Pasta, flavored fast
As you boil your pasta, add the veggies you plan to serve with it. For dried ingredients, you can boil the pasta in the stock. For example, add dried shiitake mushrooms to a pot of water and heat until it comes to a boil. Add the pasta (oil + salt if you must), and take out the mushrooms and cut it up (while the pasta is still cooking), and add it back in to the pot. Drain together, and voila, you have mushroom-flavored pasta. Add butter, hefty load of cheese of your liking, some red pepper for flavor, and serve. If you're using fresh ingredients like carrot, spinach, broccoli, asparagus, just add to the pot after you've added the pasta to the water. Cooking times would vary, so just subtract the amount of time to put in the vegetable from the total cooking time. For example, a standard (dry pasta) spaghetti serving takes about 8-9 minutes to cook. Broccoli only needs about 2-3 minutes. Put the broccoli in the pot 5 minutes after the pasta goes in, and drain together when they are done.

Trick #5 - Leftovers.
- Potato Salad:
a) roll into balls/patties, flour it, and add eggwash + bread crumbs (aka breading) and fry. Instant croquette! (disclaimer: This is probably better done with plain left over mashed potatoes / yam (oooh Thanksgiving left over ideas); avoid doing this with potato salad that is sour or has lots of mayonnaise / relish as it's likely too runny).
b) Sandwich. Add a lettuce leaf or two between the bread if you wish.
c) Or if you wish to elaborate, you can also make a) and then make that into a sandwich. Very yummy.
- Left over roast/ steam vegetables.
a) Soup: add 1-2 cups soup/chicken stock and combine roasted veggies into blender / food processor, and blend away. Add butter, cream, salt/pepper to taste depending on your liking.
b) Tempura. Yes, this is possible. And the lovely thing is since the veggie inside is already cooked you're basically just flash-frying so the greasiness is down to minimal.
- Thanksgiving Turkey
a) You can do the standard cold turkey sandwich
or
b) save the carcass & bones, stick it in the biggest bot you got (literally), add water until it completely covers. Then add a whole carrot, a peeled whole onion (cut in half), and couple of stalks of celery, a bay leaf or two, and let it simmer over night (or 4 hours minimum). In the morning, take out the carcass and veggies, add some freshly cut onions, carrot, potatoes, salt/pepper + herbs, and let simmer until potatoes are soft. Add in pasta bits / rice if desired.

Disclaimer - notice, the standard reaction from this post/thread is what I'm generally going after. But if you can add to the cause, feel free to it.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Nice! I knew 'bout the garlic one (never actually do it when I use garlic though; dunno, guess I like peeling it traditionally), but not the pasta or tomato/peaches one. Sweet leftover tips too, thanks~

I found a better remedy for the onion online:

When you cut the onion, have the gas burner on (full/mid power, I think), and cut nearby it. Fire consumes oxygen, and it takes it from the atmosphere. (if you didn't know this, then it's back to the drawing board for you) And since the onion juice particles are airborne...

After I tried it, I didn't have a single tear! (except when I turned the burner off before I moved the onions onto a pan haha) This trick's a godsent for me, since I LOVE eating onions, but can't cut them worth shit.

Let'see, I can't recall a lot of cooking tips I've made but something I learned in home-ec:

When using a knife to chop, hold the foodstuff securely with your opposite hand. place only your palm and tips of the fingers on the surface; your fingers should be arched, and the last digit should be pointing away from the knife. With the knife, cut with a "rocking" motion (bring the knife down and foward, then bring it back up and back), and a part of the blade should ALWAYS be touching the cutting board. As you finish the cut (the blade coming up and back towards you), shift you hand slightly for the next one. The curved fingers act like a guard for your cute fingers and as a way to measure the size of the cut.

It's also important to cut slow and first; get a rhythm down, and soon you'll be cutting like a champ (I have yet to cut like a champ D: )

I like making hodge-podge stew with leftovers; just make some beef broth, add any new stuff like fresh vegetables and herbs, and your good for a warm and hearty meal!

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Acacia

I found a better remedy for the onion online:

When you cut the onion, have the gas burner on (full/mid power, I think), and cut nearby it. Fire consumes oxygen, and it takes it from the atmosphere. (if you didn't know this, then it's back to the drawing board for you) And since the onion juice particles are airborne...

NO. No. No. No.

Regardless of whether this trick is scientifically sound, any chef with an ounce of common sense knows that any open flame invites danger. In a kitchen, no flame should ever be left uncovered and unattended. Even if you're standing directly next to the flame, your focus is upon the onion, not the burner. It's far too easy to accidentally knock something onto the burner and start a fire while your mind is diverted. Even experienced chefs become distracted.

Chill the onions. It works just as well and isn't a safety hazard.

And don't give people dangerous cooking tips.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Crash Landon

NO. No. No. No.

Regardless of whether this trick is scientifically sound, any chef with an ounce of common sense knows that any open flame invites danger. In a kitchen, no flame should ever be left uncovered and unattended. Even if you're standing directly next to the flame, your focus is upon the onion, not the burner. It's far too easy to accidentally knock something onto the burner and start a fire while your mind is diverted. Even experienced chefs become distracted.

Chill the onions. It works just as well and isn't a safety hazard.

And don't give people dangerous cooking tips.

D:

You could....put a pot of water on it to boil pasta then...?

How about lighting several candles?

Or maybe cut onions near a fireplace?

I tried a lot of the cutting onion tricks (freezing them, chilling them, putting them in water, cutting them in water, getting them 'fresh', whistling, wearing goggles, the list goes on), but none of them really worked, so I think I'll continue to do the burner method, sorry. (But hey, if my flat does catch on fire and/or I die a hideous death by suffocation, you can say "I told you so, dumbass!")

A kinda-sorta trick I learned yesterday was to put a little bit of water on your knife before you put into a hard-boiled egg. (this post is not much of a contribution, sorry)

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