Month: October 2022

Home › Cooking ChickenHow to cook chicken
Preparation Methods – Cooking Methods – Cooking By Cut

Chicken has always been one of my favorite foods.

No matter what the time of year, there’s a great way to cook chicken. Summer? Chicken on the barbecue, skewered, marinated in teriyaki sauce. And that first roast chicken in the fall – with mashed potatoes, peas, and carrots – always feels like an extra special treat.

But… you need to know how to cook chicken if you want it to be delicious.

Knowledge… It’s the difference between ending up with burnt, dry chicken, and ending up with a perfectly seared, juicy chicken breast.

And hey! It’s a lot more fun to spend time in the kitchen when you know you’ll end up with a fantastic meal.

There’s a lot to know about cooking chicken. How to prepare baked chicken breasts, barbecued chicken wings, whole roasted chicken. How to fry chicken, how to braise it, how to grill it. There are endless possibilities.

Not sure what the best way to cook a particular piece of chicken is? Go ahead and keep reading this page. You’ll find links to a series of articles that I’ve written on cooking chicken. Just pick one of the three categories:

Just looking for quick and easy chicken recipes? Click here to visit our chicken recipe collection.

I hope these articles help you learn how to cook chicken. It’ll make your life easier and your kitchen life a bit more delicious and a bit more fun.

 

Preparation Methods

There’s more to cooking chicken than the actual cooking part. You can make your meal better before you ever turn on a burner.

In this section, I’ll go over various preparation techniques – things you do to your chicken before cooking it. A little bit of effort goes a long way!

• If you’re going to roast a whole chicken, it’s worth learning how to truss chicken.
• Brining is a technique that you use before cooking the chicken. It really improves the taste and texture of your chicken. Check out our article on brining chicken to find out how to do it!
• Planning on making delicious fried chicken or oven-fried chicken? Well, the first step is to bread the chicken. Find out how in our two part article on breading chicken:

Cooking Methods

After going through all the preparation steps, it’s time to learn how to cook chicken!

In this section, I’ll go over various cooking methods for cooking chicken, from frying to roasting. Just click on the links to reach any article that catches your eye – or your taste buds!

Fried Chicken

If you’re looking for juicy, delicious fried chicken, you’re in the right place. We even have an article on making a healthier oven fried chicken!

• Before frying chicken, you have to know how to bread it. Find out how to do it in our two part chicken breading guide:
• Once you know how to bread it, you can fry it! Learn how in this two part article:
• Looking for a healthier alternative to fried chicken? Find out how to make oven fried chicken.

Roasted Chicken

One of my favorite meals is a whole roasted chicken. There are lots of great ways to do it. Check out our article on roasting chicken – it’ll tell you everything you need to know about it from different cooking methods to all kinds of ways to season the chicken.

Pan Fried Chicken

Pan frying is a super versatile way of cooking chicken. It’s just one method, but you can literally make dozens of unique, delicious recipes with it. In this article on making pan fried chicken, I’ll show you how to make perfect golden chicken, with an awesome sauce to go with it.

How To Cook Chicken By Cut

Different cuts of chicken need to be cooked differently. In this section, I’ll go over how to cook chicken by cut – for each cut, I’ll talk about the best ways to turn it into an awesome meal!

Whole Chicken

One of the best way to cook a whole chicken is to roast it. Check out our article on roasting chicken to find out lots of ways to season and cook a whole chicken.

Chicken Breasts

A great way to cook boneless, skinless chicken breasts is to pan fry them. Find out how to get a beautiful golden crust and a tasty pan sauce in this article on making pan fried chicken.

Using Cooked Chicken

Chicken leftovers are a great thing. And one of my favorite ways to use them is to make a delicious, easy chicken pot pie.

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Once you’ve got the cooking techniques down (or even before!), check our easy chicken recipes.

Home › Cooking Vegetables › How To Cook Brussels Sprouts

How To Cook Brussels Sprouts:

Brussels sprouts probably have the worst reputation of any vegetable. They’re the classic example of the vegetable hated by both kids and adults, only eaten because they’re so good for you.

But the truth is, if you know how to cook Brussels sprouts properly, they can really be delicious. Which is especially awesome, because part of their reputation is actually deserved – they really are that good for you!

So what’s the deal? Why does everyone hate Brussels sprouts? Well, it’s a historical thing. There was a time when people felt that the only right way to cook a vegetable was to boil it until it was just about mushy. And for Brussels sprouts, that’s a recipe for disaster.

Brussels sprouts contain things called glucosinolates. They’re compounds that actually have all sorts of health benefits, but have the unfortunate tendency to release lots of sulfur the longer they’re cooked. The result? The taste of overcooked Brussels sprouts might remind you of rotten eggs.

So no matter how you’re doing it, rule #1 of how to cook Brussels sprouts is don’t overcook the sprouts! And if you follow that rule, you’ll find that a perfectly cooked Brussels sprout actually has a wonderful taste with a bit of a nutty tone to it. So get ready to forget all you knew about “icky” Brussels sprouts!

Of course, “don’t overcook” doesn’t tell you all you need to know about how to cook Brussels sprouts. In this article, I’ll go over how to prepare Brussels sprouts for cooking. Then, I’ll talk about five different ways to cook Brussels sprouts: steaming, boiling, braising, sautéing, or roasting. Each method has its own advantages and brings a different quality of this little veggie into the spotlight.

Preparation Steps

Before learning how to cook Brussels sprouts, there are a few preparation steps, no matter which cooking method you pick: washing, trimming and cutting.

Washing

No matter what kind of Brussels sprouts you get, it’s a good idea to wash them. Washing the sprouts helps gets rid of any dirt, insects and pesticides that might still be on the surface or inside the tightly packed leaves.

• You can let the Brussels sprouts soak in lukewarm water for about 10 minutes. Any dirt will just sink to the bottom. You can gently stir the sprouts once or twice to help dislodge any dirt, but be careful not to agitate the water too much – you want the dirt to stay at the bottom!The disadvantage with this method is that your sprouts can end up being a bit waterlogged. If you’re planning on sautéing them or roasting them, you’ll need to let them dry first.
• Instead of soaking, you can also just rinse them under lukewarm water. It’ll get rid of the surface dirt, but may not get everything on the inside. Not all Brussels sprouts really have dirt between the leafy layers though, so this method is usually perfectly fine.Just rinsing the sprouts keeps them dryer, which is much better if you’re planning on making sautéed or roasted Brussels sprouts.

Notes

• When you’re washing vegetables, lukewarm water gets rid of dirt and chemicals better than cold water.

Trimming

Alright, the next step in learning how to cook Brussels sprouts. Once the vegetables are washed, you want to make sure they look good! And that means a few things.

• You’ll want to remove any yellow or brown leaves from your Brussels sprouts. They’re wilted and won’t be any good. Just keep the nice, tight, bright green sprout!
• After a while, the Brussels sprouts’ stem can get kind of tough. You can trim a little bit of the stem off to get a more tender sprout. Don’t take off too much though – not much more than an eighth of an inch – or the leaves will just won’t hold together anymore.

Cutting

Finally, once the sprouts are clean and trimmed, you may need to cut them up a little bit. It’s important that the sprouts not be too big, or it’ll take too long for them to cook. And then by the time the center is cooked, the outside will be overcooked and will release that nasty sulfur smell.

It’s also important that your Brussels sprout pieces all be about the same size, for just the same reasons. If some pieces are much smaller, they’ll be overcooked by the time the bigger ones are done! And that’s no good.

So here’s what you need to do:

• Any Brussels sprout that has a diameter much bigger than an inch and a half should be cut in half.
• If you have a variety of sizes, cut the medium sprouts in half, and the bigger ones in quarters, so that all the pieces are about the same size.

And that’s pretty much all you need to do! And we’re ready to learn how to cook Brussels sprouts.

Steaming

Steaming is a really easy way to learn how to cook Brussels sprouts. It lets you get the sprouts perfectly tender, without overcooking them. And because you’re not immersing the vegetables in boiling water, they don’t end up soggy or waterlogged.

Here’s how to cook Brussels sprouts by steaming.

1. Prepare the Brussels sprouts, as described above. Be sure to cut them into even sized pieces, if needed.

2. Fill a pot with an inch or two of water, and bring the water to a boil.

3. Place the Brussels sprouts in a steaming basket, and place the basket over the boiling water.

4. Cover the pot, leaving a little gap for steam to escape. It’ll help prevent the sprouts from losing their bright green color, but will keep most of the steam in the pot to cook them.

5. Steam the Brussels sprouts until a knife stuck into the stem slides in easily. It should take 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the size of your sprouts.

And that’s how to cook Brussels sprouts by steaming them! And once the sprouts are cooked, you can serve them with a bit of butter, lemon or orange juice, salt and pepper, or even a bit of mustard. They’ll be delicious!

Boiling

Boiling is another super easy way to learn how to cook Brussels sprouts. By immersing the vegetables in boiling water, you do leech out some of the flavor – but that can make the sprouts a little milder tasting, which isn’t always a bad thing.

Here’s how to cook Brussels sprouts by boiling:

1. Prepare the sprouts, as described in the preparation section, being sure to cut them into even sized pieces if needed.

2. Bring a pot of water to a boil. The more water, the better – it’ll help the water come to a boil again faster after you add the sprouts, reducing the cooking time.

3. Once the water is boiling, you can add a bit of salt. A half teaspoon per quart (liter) of water is usually about right.

   • Adding the salt when the water is hot helps it dissolve right away, rather than pooling at the bottom, where the salt crystals can damage your pot.

4. Add the Brussels sprouts to the boiling, salted water. Boil them uncovered for 5-10 minutes, until a knife inserted into the stem slides in easily.

And you’re all done learning how to cook Brussels sprouts by boiling! If you’re not going to serve the sprouts right away, be sure to shock them in a bath of ice water, to stop the cooking process, or they could end up overcooked.

Like steamed sprouts, you can served boiled Brussels sprouts with butter, salt and pepper, or a bit of citrus juice or mustard, to dress them up a little.

Notes

• Some people like to cut a little “X” into the sprouts’ stems. The idea is that the slit will help the core cook faster, so that there’s less chance of overcooking the outside while trying to get the inside cooked. I’ve done it both ways, and they’ve both turned out delicious, but I’ve never actually gone ahead and tested to see if it really does cook faster!

Braising

Braising is sort of a cross between steaming and boiling. When you braise Brussels sprouts, the vegetables are partially submerged in the water, but not completely. So they’re partially cooked by boiling water, and partially cooked by steam. The water helps the sprouts cook fast without getting them waterlogged.

Here how to cook Brussels sprouts by braising them:

1. Take a pot big enough to hold all your Brussels sprouts in a single layer, and fill it with about an inch of water.

2. Bring the water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, you can add a bit of salt, if you like.

3. Add the Brussels sprouts to the boiling water. Cover the pot, but leave a little slit for some steam to escape.

   • Normally, when you braise food, you don’t want any steam at all to escape. But for green vegetables, covering the pot can make them turn a dull, olive green because of the interaction of dissolving acids and chlorophyll. Leaving a little slit won’t make you lose too much steam, but it’ll keep the vegetables a nice, bright green.

4. Braise the sprouts for about 5 to 10 minutes, until a knife inserted into the stem comes out easily.

Notes

• Just like boiling, you can cut an “X” into the base of the sprouts to help them cook faster.
• Since you’re only using a small amount of liquid, you can actually replace the water with something more flavorful, like chicken stock. It’ll give the vegetables a bit of extra flavor.
• Once the Brussels sprouts are done, you can use the liquid left in the pot to make a quick and easy sauce. Try adding a bit of butter, mustard, fruit juices, or herbs and spices. Then let the sauce boil down till it’s just the right taste and consistency, and serve it with the sprouts.

Sautéing

Sautéing is a different and delicious way to enjoy Brussels sprouts. Cooking them in the pan just doesn’t seem to break down the compounds in the sprouts the same way that boiling, steaming or braising does.

That means it doesn’t smell as strong when you cook them, and it’s also a lot harder to overcook the sprouts.

When you’re sautéing Brussels sprouts, you can also let the sprouts caramelize a little bit, which really brings out the sweetness and delicate nutty flavor.

Here’s how to cook Brussels sprouts by sautéing them:

1. Prepare the Brussels sprouts, as described above. It’s especially important that the pieces not be too big, so halve or quarter the sprouts if you have to.

2. In a pan big enough to hold the sprouts in a single layer, heat some oil over medium heat.

3. Once the oil is hot, add the sprouts to the pan and stir them to coat them in oil.

4. Cook the sprouts until they’re browned, but not burnt, stirring every so often. It’ll take 10 to 15 minutes to cook them.

5. Season with a bit of salt and pepper, and they’re ready to serve!

Notes

• Try sautéing a bit of onion or garlic in the oil before adding the sprouts. It’ll give a great flavor.

• You can also cook a bit of bacon, crumble it up, and add it to the sprouts. Or prosciutto, or ham, or anything else similar. It’s an amazing combination!

• Once the sprouts are cooked, try sprinkling them with a bit of grated cheese, or with some lemon juice or even some slivered almonds. It’s a simple way to dress up the dish.

• Instead of sautéing whole or quartered sprouts, you can split the sprouts into leaves.

  • Just slice a bit off the stem, and then peel the leaves off from the bottom up. When you can’t peel any more leaves off, try slicing off a bit more of the stem. When the core is too tight to split into leaves, just slice it thinly.

  • Splitting the sprouts into leaves really gives the dish a whole new taste and texture, and can easily convert a Brussels sprout hater into a die-hard fan.

Roasting

If you want to know how to cook Brussels sprouts so that even Brussels sprouts haters will enjoy them, then roasting is a great option. Roasting vegetables just gives them a different flavor, by caramelizing their natural sugars and bringing out the vegetables’ natural sweetness.

And it works the same for Brussels sprouts. With just a bit of oil, salt and pepper, you can make an amazing side dish everyone will love.

Here’s how to cook Brussels sprouts by roasting them.

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.

2. Prepare the Brussels sprouts as described above. Be sure to quarter them or halve them if they’re too big.

3. Toss the sprouts with a bit of oil, salt and pepper. You can also add some herbs or spices to the mix. Garlic is especially good!

   • Each sprout should be coated in oil, to keep it from drying out, but it doesn’t need to be very thick at all. In fact, the thinner the better!

4. Place the Brussels sprouts in a roasting pan in a single layer.

5. Roast the sprouts for 35 to 40 minutes, until they’re starting to get nicely browned. Stir them halfway through the cooking time.

6. Serve, and enjoy!

Notes

• During the last 5 to 10 minutes of cooking time, you can add a bit of grated cheese, or some cooked bacon or ham, or some pine nuts or almonds, to dress up the sprouts a bit.
• Try adding a bit of balsamic vinegar to the sprouts about 10 minutes before they’re done. Stir them well, and put them back in the oven.

And that’s how to cook Brussels sprouts! Trust me, it really is worth a shot. You might find out that you really do love this great little vegetable after all.

Home › Cooking BeefHow to cook beef
By Cut – By Method

When I think about cooking beef, the first thing that comes to mind is a big, juicy steak cooked on the barbecue, with a baked potato and some greens on the side. Yum, mouth-watering!

Steak is probably my favorite way to eat beef, but there are plenty of other cuts that I love to cook… and eat! Pot roasts, ribs, beef stews, hamburgers… there are so many fantastic options.

But all these options means that there’s a lot to know about cooking beef. In this series of articles, you’ll find everything you need to learn how to cook beef. No more tough, dry results – just delicious, tender beef.

But first, a little about beef in general.

First, I’ll talk a bit about what beef is made of: all the different things that make up beef, and how they affect cooking and the meal you end up with. Then I’ll talk about the two types of cooking: dry heat and wet heat, and how you can use these to get the best possible beef.

Finally, I’ll talk about how to actually cook beef. I’ve made two categories:

 

What’s beef made of?

The first thing to know is what makes up a piece of beef. There’s actually quite a bit going on in there! But to know how to cook beef, the main things you need to worry about are:

• protein. The protein molecules go through a bunch of changes when you cook your piece of beef.

  The first thing that happens is that they bunch together into fibres. Then, as you cook the beef, the fibers lose moisture and shrink, making your meat tougher.

• Every piece of beef has some fat in it, some more than others. Is that a good thing? Well, it’s tough to say.
  • Fat has a bit of a bad reputation, right? Too much fat in your diet can cause health problems, so sometimes it’s best to go for a leaner cut.
  • On the other hand, when you cook your piece of beef, the fat creates a protective layer around your protein fibers, which helps prevent the meat from drying out. It also adds a lot of flavor. So it’s your call whether you go for the cut marbled with fat or a leaner cut.
• Meat is actually mostly made up of water. A piece of beef is at least 60%, and up to 75% water! When you cook a piece of beef, some of that water is lost. The less water you lose, the juicier the beef you end up with, so it’s important not to overcook your beef.
• Collagen and elastin are connective tissues. They’re produced by the muscle when it works hard. They both make the meat a lot tougher.
  • The good news? Collagen melts when you heat it, so a piece of beef that has lots of it can be tenderized by cooking. The only catch is it needs to cook for a long time to melt all the collagen. The best way to cook a cut of beef that’s high in collagen is to cook it slowly at a low heat.
  • Unfortunately, you can’t break down elastin the same way. The only way to do it is by physically breaking the bonds. You can do this by pounding the meat or grinding it. In fact, cuts of beef that are high in elastin often end up as ground beef.

What it all means

The two cooking types:
dry heat and wet heat

There are lots of different ways of cooking beef. But they all boil down to two main types of cooking: dry heat, and wet heat.

Dry Heat

The second thing that happens is that the beef loses its moisture. It evaporates from the surface first, and then the moisture from the inside moves outward. This gives the meat a more concentrated flavor.

Unfortunately, losing too much moisture can make your beef pretty dry. So be careful not to overcook it!

Wet Heat

How To Cook Beef – By Method

In this section, I’ll go over different methods for cooking beef – from roasting to frying up steaks. I’ve split these up into dry heat and wet heat methods.

Dry Heat Methods

• Grilling.
• Roasting. If you’re wondering how to cook beef for special occasions, try cooking roast beef. Start with a large tender cut, and end up with slices of pure deliciousness!
• Pan-frying. Find out a great way to cook steak in our article on how to pan fry steak. It’s a great alternative to grilling on cold days or if you don’t have a grill!

Wet Heat Methods

• Braising beef is a great way to cook some of the tougher cuts and end up with a tender, delicious meal.

Each cut of beef has its own particularities. If you have a cut of beef and you don’t know what to do with it, just browse down. Our articles will tell you what to do!

Ground Beef

There are so many delicious ways to cook ground beef. To find out how to cook beef into delicious dinners, check out our ground beef articles:

• Learn how to make a hamburger in this guide. It’s not hard, but there are still a few little tricks to it.
• Tourtiere is a delicious meat pie made from ground beef or pork (or both). Find out how to make it in our article on making tourtiere.

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Confident that you know how to cook beef? If you’ve got the cooking techniques down (or even if you don’t!), check out our easy beef recipes.

Home › Christmas Dinner › How to Cook a TurkeyIt’s a good idea to learn how to cook a turkey when the holidays roll around. After all, if turkey is on the menu for Thanksgiving or Christmas, you want it to be perfect, right?

Cooking turkey can be kind of scary. If you have lots of guests coming over, you want to impress them. But there always seems to be a lot going on, which means you can’t give all your attention to your cooking turkey.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Learning how to cook a turkey is definitely tricky, but when you understand what’s going on and know the tricks, you’ll find that it’s not so hard after all!

In this article, I’ll show you how to cook a turkey so that it’s perfectly moist and tastes awesome. I’ll cover four topics:

 

Choosing The Right Turkey

The first step to learning how to cook a turkey is picking the right turkey. And there are a few things to keep in mind when you’re selecting a turkey.

Size

You want to be sure that you have enough turkey for everyone, and some leftovers, too!

• If you count about 1lb per person, you’ll have a medium amount of leftovers. For more leftovers, count a bit more.
• If you’re buying a frozen pre-stuffed turkey, keep in mind that the stuffing is counted in the weight.
• Smaller turkeys tend to be more tender than a really big one, so you might want to think about getting two small ones instead of a big one, if presenting a big roast turkey isn’t an issue.

Enhancements

Some turkeys have been enhanced. That means that they’ve been specially treated to make them juicier or better tasting.

• A lot of times, you don’t know exactly how they’ve been treated. They could be brined, or self-basting, or any number of things. But generally, it means a tastier turkey.
• When you’ve learned how to cook a turkey, you can do all of those enhancements yourself, with as good or better results. And then you know exactly what’s in your turkey – all natural goodness. Keep reading to find out more.

Type

There are a few kinds of turkeys you can get, like heritage, organic, or just a regular turkey.

• Heritage turkeys are raised to have a more natural lifestyle, closer to wild turkeys. They have a richer taste, but it can be kind of gamey if you’re not used to it.
• Organic turkeys have been raised according to certain agricultural practices, which generally involves more natural feeding, fewer chemicals, and that sort of thing.
• It’s up to you what you like best and what fits your budget. I think they’re all tasty. I’d feel a bit better getting an organic turkey, because I know it probably had a better life, but I can’t always get one.

That’s pretty much all you need to think about when picking a turkey. If you have a brand you know you like, then that’s a great choice!

And now, let’s move on and find out a bit more about how to cook a turkey.

Choosing The Right Pan

Alright, let’s move on to step 2 of learning how to cook a turkey —picking the right roasting pan. Here are the things you want to look for in a roasting pan.

Weight

Your roasting pan should be solid enough to safely hold a turkey, and light enough that you can lift both the pan and turkey easily.

• Porcelain covered steel, like a Graniteware roasting pan, is a lot lighter. It can easily handle medium sized turkeys. It’s not as sturdy as stainless, but it gets the job done.

Size

Knowing how to cook a turkey is about finding the right size roasting pan, too.

• Your roasting pan needs to be big enough so that the turkey fits inside completely, with at least an inch of space between it and the sides.
  • That way, all the drippings end up inside the pan. That gives you a great basis for a gravy, and avoids any accidents.
  • Having a bit of space between the pan and the turkey is important because it gives better airflow around the turkey — and you need airflow for it to roast evenly.
• If your pan is way bigger than the turkey, the drippings will be spread out over a larger area. That’ll make it easier for them to burn, so you’ll have to keep a close eye on them.

The Sides

The roasting pan needs to have sides that are high enough to contain all the drippings with no spills, but low enough to let air flow around the turkey.

• 3 inches is generally a good height for the sides.
• If you have a rack the lifts the turkey off the bottom of the pan, the sides can be a little higher.

A Rack

Some roasting pans come with racks to place your turkey in. They’re useful for a few reasons.

• By lifting the turkey off the bottom of the pan, you’re letting air flow all around the turkey. That helps the turkey cook better and more evenly, and keeps the bottom from getting soggy.
• If you want to flip your turkey while it’s roasting, a rack is a huge help. The turkey is a lot less likely to stick to a rack than to the bottom of the pan.
• Racks have disadvantages, too. If they’re not really solid in the pan, they can make handling the turkey and pan tricky. And they can be a pain to clean, too.

Handles

Really, they’ll make your life much, much easier. It’s so much easier to get a turkey out of the oven when the roasting pan has handles, and it’s a lot less dangerous.

The pan you like really depends on you. I have a really nice stainless steel one with a neat rack. I absolutely love it. But I got that from my mom because she hated it, and went back to her old Graniteware that she’s always used and loved.

So you never know what you’ll like! Part of learning how to cook a turkey is figuring out which roasting pan works for you.

Preparation And Seasoning

Before we go over how to cook a turkey, we need to go over a two little steps first: preparation and seasoning.

Preparation

Let’s go over the preparation steps you need to know to know how to cook a turkey.

1. If your turkey is frozen, you need to thaw it, and you need to thaw it properly. For more detials, check out our article on how to thaw a turkey safely.
2. Once your turkey is thawed, remove the giblets and neck. You can use them for turkey stock or gravy.
3. The next step is optional. If you don’t already have an enhanced turkey, you can brine the turkey.
4. After letting the turkey brine, you can season and stuff it, but we’ll go over that in the next section.
5. And finally, you can truss the turkey.

And now let’s move on to the next step of how to cook a turkey: seasoning.

Seasoning

And now, an important part of learning how to cook a turkey, seasoning.

When it comes to turkey, I usually feel like less is more. Turkey is more flavorful than chicken, and doesn’t really need as much seasoning to be delicious. But still, sometimes it’s nice to have something a little different.

So what are the different ways to season a turkey?

• Season the cavity. Seasoning the cavity helps season the meat by releasing flavors inside the turkey.
  • If you’re cooking stuffing inside the turkey, that’ll help season the meat. And the turkey will flavor the stuffing, too!
  • If you’re not stuffing the turkey, you can rub some herbs and spices on the inside, or add things like onions, celery, carrots, lemon wedges or orange wedges.
• Season the skin. It’s the simplest way to season a turkey. Just sprinkle some spices like salt and pepper all over the turkey.
  • Unfortunately, the skin will prevent the seasonings from really penetrating the meat. You’ll get tasty skin, but it won’t really affect the flavor of the meat much.
• Season under the skin. This is my favorite way to season a turkey, but it does mean you have to handle the raw turkey a bit more.
  • Start on the breast side near the opening, and you should be able to lift the skin right up. You may need to cut a few membranes here and there.
  • Then, rub the herbs and spices directly on the meat. Without the skin keeping out the seasonings, they’ll be able to flavor the meat a whole lot more.
• Buttering the bird. You can rub a little bit of softened butter over and under the skin.
  • The butter on the skin will help the turkey brown more evenly and more easily.
  • The butter under the skin will seep into the turkey and baste it. So you end up with a moist and juicy self-basting turkey.

As I said, turkey is pretty tasty all on its own, especially if you brined it. Salt and pepper under the skin, and a bit of butter are really all you need. But you can use any seasonings you like if you want something a little bit different: garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage… it’ll all be good.

And that’s how you season a turkey. It’s not hard, and you really don’t need much. And now, let’s learn how to cook a turkey.

Cooking The Turkey

Alright, we’re almost done, and we’ve reached the most important part:how to cook a turkey.

There are a lot of things to keep in mind when you’re cooking turkey. Learning how to cook a turkey makes it easier to adjust your cooking to end up with the perfect turkey. So what’s important when cooking a turkey?

• The water evaporating from the meat intensifies the flavor. But it also means less moisture in the turkey and drier meat. It’s important to find a balance between too much and too little evaporation.
• Generally, people prefer a nicely browned turkey with crispy skin. The trick is to get it to brown nicely, but not to let it burn.
• The drippings are really important, too. They’re the basis for an awesome gravy. As the drippings pool at the bottom of the roasting pan, they’ll cook and become more flavorful. But you don’t want them to cook so much that they burn.
• You want to be sure that the turkey cooks evenly. If the dark meat and white meat finish cooking at the same time, you won’t end up overcooking or drying out either one.
• The turkey needs to cook in a reasonable amount of time.

In this section, we’ll go over the different ways to make sure you control all those important factors, and then we’ll go over how to cook a turkey in our easy turkey cooking instructions.

Choosing The Right Temperature

Learning how to cook a turkey means knowing how hot to set your oven. It helps you control how fast and evenly the turkey cooks, how crisp the skin gets, and what kind of drippings you get.

And the best temperature to set your oven is 325F, or 350F, but no hotter. Why?

• 325F is a great balance. If you set the oven any cooler, it can take a really long time for the turkey to cook. But it’s not so hot that the outside will burn and get dry before the inside is done.
• It’s also great for the drippings. They’ll cook and become more concentrated, but they’re less likely to burn than if you set your oven to 400F.
• Sometimes, the turkey doesn’t quite brown at 325F. If you’re having that problem by the last hour or so of cooking, turn up the heat to 400F until the skin is as crisp as you like it.

To Cover Or Not To Cover

A lot of roasting pans come with a lid so that you can completely cover the meat. But do you want to use this for turkey? Or do you want to use a foil tent to cover it? Or nothing at all?

Knowing when to use a lid is an important part of learning how to cook a turkey. So here’s what happens when you cover turkey.

• When you cover turkey with a lid, you seal in all the steam and juices. Instead of roasting the turkey, you’re steaming it.
  • Steaming helps keep the turkey moist, because there’s not as much evaporation going on. Unfortunately, evaporation makes the turkey more flavorful, so you might end up with a blander turkey.
  • Steaming helps cook the turkey faster. If you’re in a rush, you can cover the turkey for at least part of the time.
  • The turkey won’t brown as easily if it’s steamed instead of roasted.
  • Because it can’t escape, the steam ends up in the drippings. The good news is you’ll have more drippings and they won’t burn. The bad news is they’ll be very diluted and won’t be very flavorful.
• You can also cover the turkey with foil. A foil tent doesn’t do the same thing as a lid at all, because it doesn’t seal any of the steam in. You’re still roasting the turkey.
  • The shininess of the foil tent helps reflect heat away from the turkey, which means it won’t cook as quickly.
  • It’s perfect if your turkey is browning too quickly for your taste. Just cover the part that’s browning too quickly with a piece of foil, or if the whole thing is cooking too fast, cover it with a loose foil tent.

Using a Rack?

Some roasting pans come with racks, and they can be a huge help when you’re learning how to cook a turkey.

• Lifting the turkey off the pan helps air flow all around it. That helps it cook more evenly, which means you don’t have parts that are overcooked and dry when others are just barely done.
• If you want to flip the turkey, a rack makes it a lot easier. If the turkey’s directly on the pan, it could stick and tear when you flip it, but it won’t stick much to a rack.
• If your roasting pan doesn’t come with a rack, you can make your own by placing a bunch of carrots and celery underneath the turkey. It’ll keep it off the bottom and let air flow.

The bad thing about using a rack is that it can leave marks on the turkey, where it was pressed up against the bars. It’s especially noticeable if you cooked the turkey breast side down for a while.

In my family, we always carve the turkey before bringing it to the table, so it doesn’t matter, but if you bring the turkey to the table whole, it might not look quite as good.

Breast-Side Up Or Down?

The usual way to cook a turkey is to place it breast-side up in the roasting pan, and let it cook. But let me tell you how to cook a turkey a little differently: breast-side down.

• If you cook the turkey breast side down, all the juices will seep down to the breast meat, and that’ll keep it moist and juicy.
• It does prevent the breast side from browning, so you need to flip it back breast-side up for the last third of the cooking time.
• You have to be careful. If you have a very heavy turkey, or one full of stuffing, flipping it might be a bad idea. It’s very hot, so unless you’re sure you can handle it, don’t. Better safe than sorry.
• You might need a V-shaped rack if your turkey isn’t stable breast-side down. The last thing you want is for it to wobble. That can be dangerous.

Learning how to cook a turkey breast-side down is a great trick for delicious, juicy turkey.

All About Basting

Basting means pouring liquid over the meat while it’s cooking. You can use the drippings and cooking juices, or just stock, water, juice or some other liquid. So is basting an important part of how to cook a turkey?

• The main goal of basting is to keep the skin from burning, and help it brown more evenly. If you see your turkey getting a little too brown, you may want to baste a bit.
• Basting doesn’t really do much to keep the meat moist and juicy. Most of the juices run off to the bottom of the pan, and they don’t penetrate very deeply into the meat.
• Opening the oven door to baste makes the temperature fluctuate, and that can make the turkey cook less evenly and more slowly. So if you do baste, do it once per hour, max.
• Instead of basting, you can rub a bit of softened butter under the turkey’s skin. That’ll make the turkey self-basting, keeping it moist without affecting the oven’s temperature.

My advice for how to cook a turkey is to use the butter trick. Don’t bother with basting unless the turkey is getting too brown.

Turkey Cooking Instructions

Now that we know all the important things about how to cook a turkey, here are some step-by-step turkey cooking instructions.

1. Preheat your oven to 325F.
2. Season the turkey lightly. I recommend just a bit of butter on and under the skin.
3. (Optional) Stuff the turkey.
4. Truss the turkey — you can just tie the legs together, and tie the wings down to the body.
5. Place the turkey in the roasting pan.
   • Generally, you’ll get better results if you let the turkey reach room temperature before putting it in the oven. Don’t let it sit out for more than an hour, but try not to put it straight from the fridge to the oven.
   • If you want, you can place the turkey breast-side down for the first two thirds of the cooking time, and then flip it breast side up. It’ll keep the breast meat moist. Just be sure that’s it’s stable, and that you can flip it safely while it’s hot — it shouldn’t be too heavy, or stuffed.
6. Place the turkey in the oven, uncovered, and let it cook.
   • If the whole turkey is browning too quickly, you can baste it, or cover it all with a loose foil tent.
   • If parts are browning too quickly, like the legs or breast, just cover those parts with a bit of foil.
   • If you’re not getting enough drippings, or the drippings are burning, cover the turkey with a lid, or add a bit of liquid (stock or water) to the bottom of your roasting pan. Remove the lid after an hour or so.
   • Knowing how to cook a turkey means being able to watch for these signs and react to them. So keep an eye on that bird!
7. Cook the turkey until it’s done. That means using a meat thermometer to tell when
   • The thigh meat is at 180F, and
   • The breast meat is at 170F, and
   • The stuffing, if any, is at 165F.
   • The turkey’s temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees after you take it out of the oven. So you can actually take the turkey out when the meat is at 165F or so.
   • For an estimate of how long it’ll take, check out our turkey cooking time chart. But be sure to at least check up on the turkey 45 minutes before the chart says it’s done, to avoid overcooking.
   • Some turkeys come with a pop-up indicator to let you know when it’s done, but they usually pop up late. It’s best to learn how to cook a turkey with an accurate meat thermometer. But leave the indicator in, or you’ll create a hole and lose lots of the juices, giving you a dry turkey.
8. Remove the turkey from the oven. Cover, and let stand 20-40 minutes before carving.
9. Carve, serve and enjoy!

And that’s how to cook a turkey that’s perfectly moist and delicious. Enjoy!

Home › Making Soup › Homemade Vegetable SoupA homemade vegetable soup is a wonderful thing. It’s just so much better than anything you’d get in a can. For one thing, only ingredients that you like end up in the soup. Plus, you have the opportunity to make it much healthier. And, well, making something yourself is just more satisfying.

Making your own homemade vegetable soup is one of the easiest things in the world. And it’s just so versatile. There are a ton of different kinds of vegetable soups — like minestrone, cabbage soup, chicken noodle,beef barley… and so many more.

Vegetable soup is also a great way to empty your fridge before the next trip to the grocery store — you can put almost any vegetable in a good old fashioned vegetable soup.

But if you don’t know how to do it, you can end up with something less than spectacular… it’s not just vegetables boiled in some water and poured in a bowl!

In this article, I’ll go over how to make an awesome homemade vegetable soup. I’ll talk about the different elements that make up a vegetable soup and how they all fit together. Here they are!

 

The Broth

The broth is one of the most important parts in any homemade vegetable soup. In fact, for the most part, you can think of a vegetable soup as being made up of two parts: the broth, and all the rest of the stuff that goes in the broth.

So what exactly is broth? It’s the liquid part of the soup. If you look up a proper definition, it’s water in which vegetables, meat or fish have been simmered, until they give flavor to the water.

But for this article, I’ll use broth as the liquid part of the soup — it can be much more than just the standard definition of broth! It’s a combination of a whole lot of things: stock, flavoring liquids, and a mirepoix.

Stock

The most important part of the broth is stock. A stock is made from meat and bones simmered in water for a very long time. It can be chicken, beef or fish bones. For a vegetable stock, you just simmer some vegetables in the water.

• You can use any kind of stock in a vegetable soup.
• If you want a vegetarian soup, you’ll have to go with vegetable stock, but chicken, beef and fish stock add a lot more body to a soup. They contain gelatin, which helps the flavors blend better, and has a really nice texture.
• If you’re planning on adding meat to the soup, pick the corresponding stock — so beef stock for a beef and barley soup, chicken stock for chicken noodle, and so on.
• A homemade stock beats a canned stock any day of the week. Find out how to make some by checking out our article on making chicken stock.

Extra Flavors

A homemade vegetable soup broth can also have lots of other flavoring liquids in it. The stock is the main body; the flavoring liquids add a little extra something.

• You can add any kind of liquid to the broth to add flavor. If you think it’ll taste good, try it out! You can always test it in a small amount of stock to see if it’s good.
• Wine can be a nice addition. Just be sure to simmer it a little bit to give the alcohol a chance to boil off.
• Some soups have a tomato base. Just add a bit of tomato juice or even a vegetable juice like V8.

The Aromatic Mirepoix

The last element in a broth is a mirepoix. A mirepoix isn’t anything complicated — it’s just some chopped aromatic vegetables, sauteed in a bit of oil or butter.

• Just dice up some celery, carrots, onion, and maybe a little bit of garlic. Saute for a bit, and you have a mirepoix. The longer you saute, the more intense a flavor it’ll have.
• A mirepoix doesn’t just add flavor to a broth, it also helps enhance the broth’s flavor, and the flavor of your homemade vegetable soup.
• How much should you add? As much as you like. Even a single carrot and celery stalk can add a lot of flavor to a whole pot of soup, but you can easily use more without overwhelming other flavors. Just be sure to have plenty of room in your broth for the other ingredients in your soup.

Making the Broth

The only element I’d say is really necessary is a good stock, even better if it’s homemade. If you have that and you’re short on time, you can skip the rest. You’ll still end up with a great homemade vegetable soup.

Putting the various elements together isn’t hard. Here’s how you do it.

1. If desired, chop up some celery, carrots, onion and garlic, and saute them until the onion starts to get soft — this is your mirepoix.
2. If you’re adding wine to the soup, add it now. Let it simmer gently until it’s reduced by 1/4 or 1/2.
3. Add the stock and other flavoring liquids.

Meat, Poultry or Tofu

Even though it’s a vegetable soup, that doesn’t mean it has to only have vegetables. Some chicken pieces, chunks of beef, or even little squares of tofu can turn a light homemade vegetable soup into a very satisfying and wholesome meal.

So what kind of meat can you add? Just about anything!

Leftovers

Soup is great for leftovers. If you have some leftover meat, you can just toss it into the soup.

• I tend to make my soup from a homemade chicken stock made from the bones of a roasted chicken, so I usually have a few pieces of cooked chicken leftover to add in the soup.
• You can add any kind of meat you like — beef, lamb, etc… just avoid mixing different kinds, because that can taste kind of weird.

Cooking Meat

If you don’t have any leftovers, you can also cook the meat (or tofu) directly in your old-fashioned vegetable soup.

• If you want, you can just cut up the meat into pieces and toss it into the broth. You just have to make sure it simmers long enough to fully cook the meat.
• A better way to do it is to sear the meat before boiling it. It adds flavor, and it looks a lot more appealing.
• Before making the broth, sear the chunks of meat in your soup pot. Take them out, then make your broth, and toss them back in. They can finish cooking while the soup is simmering.
• This is the best way to add ground meat to a homemade vegetable soup.
• If you dredge your chunks of meat in a bit of flour, they’ll sear more evenly, and it’ll thicken the broth a little bit.

Notes

• You can add as much meat (or poultry, or tofu) to your soup as you like. It depends on what you feel like. The more you add, the more filling it’ll be, but then you won’t have as much room for nutrient-packed vegetables.
• It’s best to add small pieces of meat rather than big chunks.
  • First of all, you never want to have to cut anything in a soup with a knife and fork. You just need a spoon!
  • Second, it’s nice if the pieces are small enough that they’ll fit on a spoon with a few other veggies, too. An old fashioned vegetable soup is all about blending flavors!

Beans, Grains and Pasta

Just like a bit of meat, poultry, or tofu, beans, grains, or pasta can make your homemade vegetable soup a lot more filling. Beans and grains add a whole lot of nutrition, too. And of course, if you’re vegetarian, you can add as much as you like!

Beans, grains and pasta are a little bit trickier than meat though:

• Beans and grains can take a while to cook, especially if you’re starting from dry beans.
• Beans, grains and pasta absorb some water as they cook, making the soup thicker.

So here are a few tricks to making a great homemade vegetable soup with beans, grains or pasta:

• Try pre-cooking them, then adding them to the soup (discarding the cooking water). This is the simplest way, but for beans and grains it means throwing some nutrients down the drain with that cooking water.
• Start with more broth than you think you need to compensate for whatever will evaporate or be absorbed.
• Keep some extra stock on hand to add to the soup if you feel it gets too thick.
• Canned beans are already cooked/soaked, so they don’t mess up the liquid content of your soup.

Some beans and grains that work great in soup are barley, rice, chick peas, lentils, and quinoa. But you can try it with anything you like.

Vegetables

It wouldn’t be a homemade vegetable soup without some vegetables! But what kind of vegetables should you add? And how many? And how long should they cook?

Well, here are a few simple guidelines to follow when adding vegetables to your homemade vegetable soup.

• You can add any vegetable you like to a vegetable soup. But it’s a good idea to pick vegetables that go well together.
  • If you add some bitter vegetables, like broccoli, brussel sprouts, or turnips, try to balance it with sweet vegetables like sweet potato, carrots, or peas, and vice-versa. It’s not necessary though, if you’re going for a “sweet” soup.
• A lot of people don’t like overcooked vegetables. If you want to avoid overcooking vegetables, just figure out how long each vegetable needs to cook to be just right.
  • Add the veggies that need to cook longest first, letting them cook a bit before working your way to adding the vegetables that take the least time to cook.
  • Personally, I don’t mind overcooked vegetables in a soup one bit. If they’re soft, I’m happy. So if you don’t mind either, don’t be too fussed about cooking the vegetables for the exact amount of time.
• Be sure to cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
  • A soup is all about blended flavors. If you use smaller vegetable chunks, you can fit a few different kinds on a spoon and get a better taste experience!
  • Smaller vegetable pieces cook faster, too, so it cuts down on your dinner preparation time.
• The only rule to how much to add is that you should have enough broth to cover all your vegetables. Other than that, just do what you feel.
  • If you want a lighter soup, just add fewer veggies.
  • If you want a soup that’s more of a meal, pack it full of vegetables so that each spoonful is full of veggies.

You can really add anything you like to a homemade vegetable soup. It’s a great time to empty out the fridge.

Try carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potato, peas, corn, brussel sprouts, tomatoes (canned or fresh), shredded cabbage, mushrooms, asparagus… anything, really!

You can even be adventurous and try adding some fruit like apple or pineapple.

My dad always added whole garlic cloves to the soup. Simmering for a long time made them pretty mild, and my brother and I always loved getting a whole clove, or an “eyeball” as we called it. And it’s so good for you, especially if you’re coming down with a cold!

Seasonings

The last thing that makes up a homemade vegetable soup is the seasoning you add in, the herbs and spices.

Again, you can add any kind of seasoning you like, but just be sure to pick something that goes well with your vegetables, meat, and grains.

Here are a few tips to adding seasoning:

• The broth in your soup will tend to reduce the longer you cook the soup. That means that any seasoning you add will get more intense as the soup cooks.
• However, some seasonings need time in the soup to really give some flavor, like fresh herbs, bay leaves, or star anise.

There are plenty of seasonings that go great in soup. Try ginger, rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, cilantro, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, cloves or cinnamon.

Really, you can try out any seasoning you like. If you’re not sure it’ll taste good, just try it out in a bit of broth before adding it to the pot.

My dad often adds a pinch of cinnamon to his chicken soup. He makes a thick soup with lots of vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and sweet potatoes, and the cinnamon gives it a special warm autumn meal feel. You never know what’ll be good!

And that’s really all there is to it. You can put as much or as little as you like into your homemade vegetable soup. The real key is to use these basics to experiment and find something that you truly enjoy!

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Home › Bridal Shower Menu › Guacamole DipGuacamole dip is one of those foods that once you make it yourself, you’ll wonder how you ever, ever bought it from a store. It’s super easy, takes about 5 minutes to make, and homemade guacamole tastes better than anything you can buy in a store.

Plus, when you know how to make guacamole, you basically have a thousand guacamole recipes in one. It’s super versatile – it can be chunky or smooth, hot or mild, and made with as much or as little seasoning as you like. You can make it just the way you like it.

And you have complete control over what goes into your guacamole dip. Guacamole is actually a really healthy snack, if you make it yourself. The main ingredient, avocados, are great for you – but some of the store-bought kind aren’t even made with real avocados!

So here’s how to make guacamole dip – easy, healthy, and delicious. In this article, we’ll go over the ingredients you’ll need, and how to make the dip.

 

Ingredients For Guacamole Dip

The first step to learning how to make guacamole dip is figuring out what ingredients you’ll need. Guacamole is so versatile. There are lots of ingredients to choose from to make a dip that’s just right for you. Make it as simple or as complicated as you like!

We’ll go over four categories: avocados, vegetables, seasonings, and texture-changers. Pretty much any ingredient you can add to a guacamole dip falls under of those.

Avocados

There are a lot of different ingredients you can use in a guacamole dip. But there’s just one ingredient that you absolutely must have: avocados. After all, guacamole is an avocado dip!

The most important thing you need to know about avocados is how to pick a good, ripe one, because an unripe avocado is really unpleasant – bitter, hard, and a real pain to peel.

• A ripe avocado has deep dark green skin, almost black.
• A ripe avocado is firm, but if you press it, it’ll yield just a bit.
  • If the avocado is very hard, it’s not ripe.
  • If the avocado is squishy when you press it, or it feels like there’s space between the peel and the flesh, the avocado is too ripe.
• The skin on a ripe avocado peels off really easily.
• If you can’t find any perfectly ripe avocados, you can get one that’s not ripe yet. It’ll ripen at room temperature in a few days. You can use it as soon as it ripens, or keep in it the fridge once it’s ripe.

If you’re planning on making guacamole dip, it’s a good idea to get your avocados ahead of time. Some grocery store carry ripe avocados, but some don’t – you have to buy them ahead of time to make sure they have time to ripen.

Notes

Just like apples, avocado goes brown really quickly once it’s peeled. Air causes it to oxidize. It’s not harmful, but it affects the taste a bit, and of course it doesn’t really look nice. So don’t prepare your avocado too far ahead of time.

Vegetables And Aromatics

Technically, guacamole doesn’t need to be anything more than just mashed avocados. But you can add a ton of flavor with just a few vegetables. Here are some possibilities:

• • Tomatoes. You can dice tomatoes and mix them into the mashed avocado to add a bit of juicy freshness. Make the chunks as big as you like. If you like smaller pieces of tomato, try using cherry tomatoes.

• Onions add a ton of flavor, and make a really yummy guacamole. The best way to add onion is to mince is very finely, so that it blends in really well, and adds lots of flavor, without any overpowering chunks. If you’re using red onion, though, you might want to leave bigger pieces in, for color.
• Garlic is always great in guacamole. You don’t have to add it, but a bit of minced or crushed garlic goes a long way. I love garlic, so I always add about a cloves per avocado.
• Peppers. What kind? Pretty much any kind. Hot peppers like chile or jalapeno add a nice bit of heat if you prefer something spicy. But bell peppers can be a nice addition, too. They’re not spicy, but they’ll add color, crunch and flavor to your guacamole dip.

These are just a few things you can add. The fun part about learning how to make guacamole is experimenting and finding out what you like best! So don’t be afraid to try different veggies.

And don’t be afraid to try out different quantities. Start by adding a little bit of each vegetable, and then taste the dip. You can always add more if you need to. And the more you make guacamole dip, the easier it’ll be for you to figure out just how much to add.

Seasonings, Herbs And Spices

I find that avocados are delicious all on their own, so I generally go light on the seasonings. But it’s true that avocados are kind of mild flavored, and the right seasonings can really go a long way towards making your guacamole dip outstanding.

Wondering what to add? Here are some ideas.

• • Most guacamole dips have some lemon or lime juice in them. It doesn’t just add flavor – it helps prevent the avocado from oxidizing, so that your guacamole doesn’t turn brown as fast.
    • You can add anywhere from a teaspoon to a tablespoon per avocado, depending on what you like.
    • Some people swear by lemon juice, others lime. It all comes down to peoples’ tastes, and you can’t argue with that! Try both out, and see what you like best. I prefer lime myself, but it’s delicious with lemon, too.
  • Salt doesn’t just add saltiness. It enhances all the other flavors in the dip. So you definitely want a bit of salt in the mix. The amount you need depends on the size of your avocados and how coarse your salt is, but a 1/4 teaspoon per avocado is a good guideline

• Cilantro is a really popular herb for guacamole. My husband and I can’t stand it, so it’s banned from our house, but if you like cilantro, it’s goes great in guacamole dip. Just chop some up and add it to the dip.
• Other herbs, spices or seasonings you can use are cumin, cayenne pepper, chile powder, black pepper, or hot sauce. But you can experiment with any seasoning you like. It’s always easy to make more guacamole!

Notes

When you’re adding a seasoning, remember that it’s always easy to add more, but it’s not always so easy to take it out of the dip. So start with a bit, mix it in the guacamole dip, and then add more only if you feel it needs more.

Texture

A lot of people like their guacamole to keep the nice texture of mashed avocados. But sometimes it’s nice to try something a little different. If you want a creamier guacamole, try adding sour cream, yogurt, or a bit of olive oil.

Just stir it into the mashed avocados a bit at a time until the taste and texture is right.

How To Make Guacamole Dip

Alright, now that we know what ingredients can go in the dip, it’s time to find out how to make guacamole. And it really couldn’t be any easier.

Here’s how you do it.

1. Slice the avocados in half and split them apart. Cut the half that still has the pit in half again – you should be able to pull the pit right out. Peel the avocados, or scoop out the flesh with a spoon.
2. Mash the avocados. You can do this in lots of different ways, depending on how chunky you like your guacamole dip.
   • Mashing with a fork lets you leave it chunky or smooth, depending on what you want.
   • A potato masher will give you pretty smooth results.
   • You can also use a food processor or a blender for the creamiest results. I find that it’s usually not worth the clean up, especially since I like a chunkier guacamole dip!
3. If you’re using olive oil, yogurt or sour cream, stir it into the guacamole until the texture is just right.
4. Mince, chop and dice your vegetables and seasonings, and add them to the guacamole.
5. Mix well, and you’re done!

Storing Your Guacamole Dip

Guacamole is an awesome snack, but it doesn’t keep very well. Any contact with air will make the avocados turn brown after a few hours. It won’t taste quite the same, and it won’t look nearly as nice, either.

Since it’s so easy to make, the best thing to do is to make your guacamole dip right before you plan on serving it, but if you really need to make it ahead of time, here are a few tricks.

• If you’re not serving it right away, keep the guacamole in the fridge. If you don’t like cold guacamole, you can let it warm up to room temperature before you eat it.
• Minimize the guacamole’s exposure to air. You can cover it with plastic wrap (if the wrap touches the surface of the dip, it’s even better), place it in a Tupperware, or even in a Ziploc bag with the air pushed out.
• Lemon and lime juice help slow down oxidation. So the more you add, the longer it’ll take for the dip to get brown. Obviously you don’t want to affect the flavor too much, but even a bit of citrus juice will keep the guacamole green for a few hours.

Guacamole dip really is super fast and easy to make. It doesn’t take much more than 5 minutes, and doesn’t need a whole lot of cleanup. A perfect, healthy snack!

Home › Cooking Vegetables › Glazed CarrotsThink you’re tired of cooked carrots? Before you give up on them, try braised or glazed carrots. You might be surprised when you taste a vegetable side dish that outshines the rest of the meal.

Braising is a cooking technique where you cook food by partially immersing it in liquid. Depending on the liquid you use, you’ll get different results. And with different herbs and spices, you have an almost infinite number of possibilities.

Glazed carrots are just braised carrots, but with the cooking liquid reduced to a delicious glaze.

Braising is an especially nice way to cook carrots – sweet liquids add to the carrots’ natural sweetness, and savory liquids make a nice contrast.

In this article, I’ll talk about how to make braised and glazed carrots. First, I’ll go over preparing the carrots, seasonings and cooking liquids. Then, I’ll talk about how to braise the carrots. Finally, I’ll show how to turn the cooking liquid into a yummy glaze.

Here we go!

 

Preparing The Ingredients

When you’re cooking vegetables, the first step is always to prepare the vegetables. But when you’re making braised or glazed carrots, you also need to gather your seasonings and your cooking liquid.

Preparing The Carrots

The first thing you need to do is wash the carrots. No matter where you get them from, there might be dirt, chemicals, or micro-organisms left on them, and a bit of lukewarm water will help get that off. Just scrub them gently.

You can also peel the carrots if you like. Sometimes it’s better not to, though, since carrots have a lot of flavor and nutrients right up near the surface – you don’t want to peel that away! But if you feel your carrots need a good peel, go for it.

The last step is to cut up the carrots. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

• Smaller pieces cook faster.
  • If you don’t have a lot of time, small, diagonal slices will cook very quickly.
  • If you prefer bigger pieces, you can do that too. They’ll cook just as well and won’t burn or anything, but it’ll take longer. Whole carrots can take really long, unless they’re baby carrots, so it’s best to cut them up a little!
• Smaller pieces have more surface area. That means that they’ll caramelize more if you decide to sear them, and they’ll absorb more flavors from the sauce or glaze.
• Some cooking methods, like boiling, leech out nutrients and flavors from the carrots. The smaller the pieces, the more they lose. But when you’re braising, you can use the cooking liquid, so there’s really hardly any loss at all.

Once the carrots are cut up and ready, you can look at seasonings.

Picking Seasonings

The seasonings are what’ll make your braised and glazed carrots really stand out. With just a few herbs and spices, you can turn carrots into something really amazing.

There are a few different ways to use seasonings.

• Sauté them while you sear the carrots. This works best with aromatics like onions, shallots, or garlic, but it can also bring out the flavors of certain herbs and spices. Rosemary and thyme are wonderful when you heat them up a little!
• And them to the cooking liquid. This works wonderfully for most herbs and spices. It releases their flavor in a gentler way than sautéing. You can also add other seasonings like mustard, honey, sugar, salt, or pepper to the cooking liquid.
• Sprinkle them on top of the cooked carrots. This works best for fresh, chopped herbs like chives, parsley, chervil or dill. You get a nice fresh flavor that contrasts with the warm, braised carrot taste. You can also sprinkle some coarse sea salt on top of the carrots for a bit of crunchiness.

Don’t be afraid to be creative with your seasonings. The worst that can happen is you have a dish you don’t love… but you may also discover something amazing!

Notes

• If you want to make glazed carrots, you’ll need to have some kind of sugar in the sauce. You can add honey or sugar, or just use fruit juices as the cooking liquid. It’ll help the sauce boil down to a nice glaze-y consistency.

Picking A Cooking Liquid

One of the great thing about braised carrots is the different blend of flavors you can end up with. Seasonings give some variety, but the cooking liquid you pick also makes a huge difference. And it’s the base for your sauce or glaze, so it really influences the taste of your glazed carrots.

Some liquids that go especially nicely with carrots are orange juice, vegetable or chicken stock, white wine or a bit of melted honey. And you can combine them, or add a bit of balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, lemon juice or chili sauce for a little extra kick.

Again, never be afraid to try out different things. For example, there are lots of different fruit juices you can try out, and you may end up with a really nice surprise if you experiment. Orange juice will give you wonderful orange carrots, and a delicious blend of flavors.

How To Make Braised Carrots

Once you’ve gathered and prepared your ingredients, you’re ready to start cooking and make braised carrots.

Here’s how you do it.

1. Heat a bit of butter in a pan over medium high heat.
   • You can also use oil or a combination of oil and butter to prevent burning, but butter gives a nicer flavor in a sauce.
   • Try to use a pan that can fit all your carrots in a single layer. Braised carrots are much tastier if more of the carrots are immersed in the sauce!
2. Add the carrots and seasonings you want to sauté to the pan, and sauté them until they’re browned to your liking.
   • You don’t have to sear the vegetables at all. If you don’t like the caramelized flavor, then don’t worry about this step!
   • The goal is to just get the surface to cook, not the inside. You want the carrots to finish cooking in the liquid so that they get more flavorful.
3. Add the cooking liquid and other seasonings, and bring it to a boil.
4. Place a fitted lid over the pan. You want the steam to stay trapped so that it can help cook the carrots. Lower the temperature a bit so that you have a light simmer.
5. Cook the carrots until they’re as tender as you like them, then remove them from the liquid. I find a slotted spoon is the best tool!
6. Set the carrots aside. We’ll go over making the sauce or glaze in the next section.

And now you have some braised carrots! Read on to find out how to turn them into delicious glazed carrots.

Making A Sauce Or Glaze

Braised carrots are pretty delicious all on their own. They get really yummy and flavorful from the cooking liquid and seasonings. But you can make them even more outstanding with a sauce. Or, you can even turn that sauce into a glaze and make amazing glazed carrots.

After removing the carrots, you’ll find you have some cooking liquid left. That’ll be the base for your sauce. It’s full of great flavors, and any nutrients the carrots might have lost ended up in the liquid. It’s perfect!

Here’s what you do.

1. Taste the cooking liquid. If you find it needs a little extra something, go ahead and add it.
   • You can try a bit of vinegar or soy sauce, some fruit juice, spices, anything you like. Or don’t add anything at all.
   • Go easy on the seasonings. As the sauce reduces, the flavors will get more intense, so it’s best to start with something that’s not too strong tasting.
2. Bring the liquid to a boil. Let it boil down until it starts to thicken.
   • If your sauce has lots of gelatin (from a good chicken stock), or lots of sugar (from honey or just sugar added to it), the sauce should thicken on its own.
3. If the sauce doesn’t thicken, mix about a teaspoon of flour or cornstarch with a bit of water. Mix it really really well, and then add it to the sauce. Stir it in well. As the sauce boils it’ll thicken.
   • You can use more or less flour as needed, but remember, it’s better to start with less and add more, because once it’s in the sauce, you can’t take it back out!
   • If your cooking liquid has enough sugar in it, it’ll turn into a glaze. Otherwise it’ll be more of a sauce. Either way, it’ll be delicious!
4. Spoon the sauce over the carrots, or place the carrots back in the sauce or glaze, toss to get them coated, and simmer them a few minutes.
5. Serve, and enjoy!

And that’s how to make braised carrots, and take it one step further to make glazed carrots. You’ll love it!