You’ve probably never had cooking mistakes and mess ups in the kitchen, have you? I mean, everything I have ever touched in the kitchen always turns out perfectly. (Yeah Right!) Actually, I commonly burn things because I have the heat too high (or I forget about them) and I’m really good at leaving ingredients out of recipes because I don’t have it on hand. A lot of times recipes are forgiving, but sometimes they’re not. So here’s some tips that I’ve picked up along the way to help me out with some of the most common problems I’ve been known to have in the kitchen. Maybe, they’ll help you, too!
1. Your Pasta Clumps Together
The solution? Use more water! or a bigger pot! Pasta needs room to release starch and cook evenly. If they don’t have that room, the noodles will stick together and sometimes be as sticky as glue! Be sure to stir the pasta right after you dump it in so that it all spreads out nicely.
2. Your Breading Falls Off
This happens to me every time I try to fry something. Do you want to know what I’m doing wrong? 1). Your pan needs to be warmer. A cool pan grabs the breading and won’t let go causing whole pieces of breading to slide right off. 2). Dip in flour first, then dip in egg and finally dip in bread crumbs. 3). Shake off excess at every stage to keep the coating even. 4). Let it cook on Medium-High heat for a few minutes before touching it. The sooner you touch, the more likely your breading will fall off. 5). Finally, don’t use tongs. Tongs will tear that breading off, too. Who knew there were so many rules? Now we both do!
3. You Boil When You Should Simmer
This is one of the most common mistakes. The question is, do you know the difference between boiling and simmering? With simmering, a bubble comes up every second or two, but with boiling there are more vigorous bubbles coming up. If you cook things too fast, then you are lible to have tough meats and lose out on some taste.
4. You Overheat Chocolate
Honestly, I don’t cook with chocolate that much…..as I will EAT IT! 🙂 But, when I do, I have been guilty of overheating it! If you’ve not seen the mess that makes, you don’t want to. It gets all grainy and separates out, and really becomes unusable! But, to get it right, take it slowly and remove it from the heat before it’s completely melted. If you’re microwaving, try stopping every 20-30 seconds to stir. If you use a double boiler, make sure the water is not boiling, but simmering.
5. You Don’t Read the Entire Recipe Before you Begin
It’s happened to the best of us. You decide to make this awesome cake recipe for your guests and once you get into the recipe, you realize you were supposed to refrigerate the cooked cake for 2 hours before you can finish. “We don’t have 2 hours!” So, we do our best to make it anyway and while it still tastes OK, it’s not the best that it could be. After all, there are directions for a reason. It’s for the taste factor.
6. Your Lettuce Goes Limp
Keep lettuce moist, but just barely. The best way to do this is to wrap it in a slightly damp paper towel and seal into a zip-loc bag. Store in your crisper drawer which is the best spot for the most consistent humidity. Last, but certainly not least, don’t wash it until you’re ready to use it! Confession time: When I forget to put it in my crisper drawer, I have been known to put it in the one spot where my fridge freezes things! Hate it when that happens! You’d think I’d learn….
7. Your Pizza Crust is Soggy
The trick? Preheat your pizza stone or pan and spread the dough onto a warm pan. This sets the crust. For veggies on your pizza, try sauteing them first to remove some of the water that releases while it’s cooking. Hold back on layering the toppings too much, as the more toppings you have on there, the soggier it will become.
8. You Don’t Know Your Oven’s Quirks
Guilty as charged! I now my oven’s main quirk. It tries to deceive me. I open it, to check to see if something is done and it doesn’t look done at the front so I let it cook until the front looks done. Then later, I pull it out and it’s actually nearly burnt towards the back of the oven. I hate it when that happens! What I really should be doing is turning it halfway through the cooking time so that it will all be baked evenly. What quirks does your oven have?
The good thing about all of these mistakes is that we can learn from them!
erickajen says
for pizza crust i spread it in the pan then i bake it for 6-7 minutes before adding any toppings. this really makes sure that i get a cooked non soggy crust! 🙂
Cheryl says
Good advice. I have been guilty of not checking the recipe and have discovered I didn't have the time or materials. (That's when "improvise" becomes an important part of my day. I may rely on that too much.)
What temperature would be considered "warm" for the pizza stone/pan? I usually pre-bake my crust before adding sauce and toppings but am interested in trying something new. Is it too warm to touch? How long do you keep it in the oven.
Sidetracked Sarah says
I would say yes, too warm to touch. You'd want to spread the dough out carefully and with a rolling pin if possible. Keep it in for 2-3 minutes if the oven was preheated.