The Dominic Milner Blog » Cooking Tips

In The Heat Of The Kitchen

Dominic — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 11:00:06 +0000

The exciting, new book by Gordon Ramsay, star of “Hell’s Kitchen,” the hot reality show airing now on Fox. Gordon Ramsay, the temperamental and demanding star of “Hell’s Kitchen,” which is airing on Fox this summer, is known around the world for his culinary expertise. How does he achieve such success? Ramsay’s brand-new cookbook, In the Heat of the Kitchen, reveals all, from techniques and short cuts to clever cooking tips. This is also a collection of superb recipes, every one tested to ensure success in the home kitchen, including gorgeous full-color photographs of finished dishes and

Top 5 Things You Need in Your Kitchen

Dominic — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 08:42:15 +0000

If you are just starting to cook, or are moving in on your own, chances are, you don’t have much in terms of cooking equipment. Here is what we recommend for you to get, as you are starting out. As times goes by, you will, of course, get more kitchen gadgets. But here are five that we recommend starting out with:

- Chopping board. This is something very basic, as you can’t chop anything without having a chopping board. It is very versatile, as you can chop pretty much anything on it – onions, potatoes, tomatoes, meat, herbs, etc.

Some people prefer to get separate chopping boards to meat, dairy items, vegetables, etc. Others get differently sized chopping boards, and use them depending on the volume of things they need to chop. Start out with one, and see what else you need.

- A knife. Again, this is very basic, but you will not be able to chop or cook anything without a knife. A good, sharp knife goes a long way to help you prepare food. You can go to some stores, and hold the knives in your hand, so that you know which one you are comfortable with.

- A big pot. You need a pot for pretty much anything – from boiling pastas to making soups to stewing to pretty much anything else. Some pots come with colander inserts, which makes it easier to cook pasta. Or, you may get a colander separately, and use that.

- A saute pan. We love saute pans, and use them all the time. Again, they are very versatile, and we recommend getting ones without wooden handles, so that you can put the saute in the oven as well.

Use the saute pan for preparing stir fries, sauteing meat and fish, cooking vegetables and much, much more.

- Roasting Pan. These are perfect for preparing things in the oven. From roast to roasted chicken to roasted vegetables, a roasted pan can help you cook your favorite dishes in the oven.

Don’t be scared – cooking is fun. Start getting a few things that we recommended, and add to your collection of kitchen equipment as time goes.

Thanks for reading my blog post and in the meantime if you would like to read more of my fantastic cooking tips and food recipes you can subscribe to my RSS feed or join my free online Ezine.

To your food heaven

Dominic

Easy baking with the kids during the february break

Dominic — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:51:24 +0000

It is now that time of year again and the kids are breaking up for what will be february half term. My son will be off school with his carnival festival and will dress up as a superhero and have lots of fun with his fellow friends.

One thing that should be on every parents agenda during half term is to find some lovely things to do with your kids that don’t cost the earth but are still great fun.

One of my personal favourites is baking and I love cooking up a storm in the kitchen with my eight year old son. However we all hate the mess of the cooker so I have put together a great alternative.

It is my half term mints and they don’t even involve any actual cooking so it is perfect for your little ones. So get reading and plan your time with the kids when you can make these lovely mints.

Ingredients:

1/3 c Soft butter

1/3 c Light corn syrup

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Flavouring

3 1/2 c (1 lb ) sifted confectioner’s sugar

Large bowl

Wooden spoon

Paper plates

Pencils

Method:

This is a no-cook recipe the children can mix with their hands. Flavour it with any of the liquid flavourings in the supermarket, such as strawberry and lemon. If you want, you can instead divide it into three portions and add a few drops of food colouring to tint it yellow, red, and green.

Then knead a small amount of flavouring into each one. This recipe makes about 1 1/2 lbs of candy. Help the children measure all the ingredients into the large bowl. They can take turns stirring it with the wooden spoon until it becomes too stiff. Then they can knead it with their hands.

They should continue kneading until the dough is smooth. Give each child a paper plate and a pencil. Tell them to turn their plates OVER and write their names on the Bottom to prevent pencil lead from getting on their mints. Help them hold their pencils correctly.

Make sure they use upper and lower case letters. Give each child a portion of dough on his or her plate. The children can pinch off pieces, roll them into balls, and press them lightly with a fork

to make a fancy butter mint. Children who cannot roll the candy into balls can make snakes, cut the snakes into pieces, and press the pieces with a fork.

They might eat the pieces with the fork, but that’s ok too. Leave the mints on the plates and refrigerate them for 30 minutes, until they become firm. Easter Mints taste even better the second day, if you can keep everyone from eating them all on the first day. Cover with plastic wrap and keep them in the refrigerator.

Thanks for reading my blog post and in the meantime if you would like to read more of my fantastic cooking tips and food recipes you can subscribe to my RSS feed or join my free online Ezine.

To your food heaven

Dominic

Powerful Tips to Keeping Fresh Herbs

Dominic — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:57:05 +0000

Harvesting Fresh Herbs: Recap

Let’s take a step back and quickly cover what we learned about harvesting fresh herbs from your home herb garden:

Harvest herbs before the hottest part of the day. Preferably morning after dew has dried
Harvest no more than 30% of the leaves from a herb plant at a time unless you are harvesting an entire annual herb garden plant like cilantro
Rinse leaves in a bowl of cool saltwater to remove insects and dirt

The Best, Little Known Tips to Preserve Fresh Herbs – Tip 1: Herbal Ice Cubes: Little Flavor Bombs

Lightly mince the leaves of the herbs
Place a measured amount (see below) rinsed herb leaves in an ice cube tray
Fill ice cube trays with water and freeze
Make sure to label the trays so you can identify your herbs later

*Uses and tips for freezing herbs in ice cubes

By preserving fresh herbs in ice cubes, two very useful benefits are achieved. The first benefit, of course, is that your valued herbs from your home herb garden are easily and effectively saved for later use. The second benefit is that each ice cube contains a pre-measured quantity of fresh herbs. Each herb-filled ice cube becomes an incredibly convenient “flavor bomb” that you simply drop into your soups, stews, sauces or other fresh herb recipes.

What quantity of fresh herbs per ice cube? I recommend placing a tablespoon of fresh herbs (lightly minced, so it fits) in each ice cube. This is a common measurement for your recipes. If your sauce or soup recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of oregano, then, “flavor bombs away!” with 2 oregano ice cubes.

Tip 2: Making Herb Flavored Salt

Of course, salt has been used for centuries to preserve food. But most people think of salt being used to preserve meat and fish. Using salt to preserve fresh herbs, especially from your own home herb garden, once again, gives you two nice benefits . The first benefit is that herbs preserved in salt can last for months. The second benefit is that the salt itself becomes intensely flavored from such close contact with the herbs. Herb salt becomes a useful and delicious addition to your spice rack. Here’s how to do it:

Spread a layer of salt in a tray
Add a layer of fresh herbs of your choice
Add a second layer of salt covering the fresh herbs to “sandwich” them between the two layers of salt
Store the tray in a cool dry place for a month or more

At this point, you have a choice. You can separate the herbs and place them in an airtight container and place the salt in other containers. Or you can leave the salt/herb mixture together and place them together in air tight containers.

Whichever you choose, make sure to label the containers so they are easy to identify later in your spice rack or on your counter.

Final thoughts about preserving the harvest of your home herb garden

Using herb flavored salt, is actually a great way to decrease the amount of salt in your diet. How’s that? The flavor of the salt is so much more complex and intense, that very little goes a long way in flavoring your new and more delicious diet.

Remember, eating healthier is achieved, not by depriving yourself and your family of the good things in life, it is achieved by rediscovering the even better things in life!

I invite you to continue this article for more great tips for using the herbs from your home herb garden including my popular free 10 part mini-course and my exact blueprint for growing the absolute fastest and healthiest herb garden.

Melanie Stark has been growing fresh herbs and creating home herb gardens for 30 years. For more information about Melanie and her gardens, visit http://www.herbsandgrowingsecrets.com/home-herb-garden/

Thanks for reading my blog post and in the meantime if you would like to read more of my fantastic cooking tips and food recipes you can subscribe to my RSS feed or join my free online Ezine.

To your food heaven

Dominic

How to cook the perfect steak

Dominic — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:12:49 +0000

A good steak meal could mean many different things, but people are still asking how to cook the perfect steak. For every person, that is going to be a little different, but these tips can be a big help for anyone who wants to make their meat better. Let us take a look at some of the basic techniques that will help you make great steak.

The Wow Factor in Beef – Grass Fed and Finished Beef

Step one is thinking about the cut of meat you will be using. Good beef that is produced in a humane way is getting more popular for its greater tenderness and flavor. Even traditionally tough cuts of meat from quality producers may be better than the better cuts from a large commercial producer.

The good news is that it is getting a lot easier to find a good steak, so do not be afraid of asking for it. For many people, grass fed and finished beef is tastier and has a stronger flavor, making it preferable. Just remember that beef from these producers is not as reliable or consistent as beef from the big factory farms.

Beef Cooking Methods and Their Differences

Once you know you have purchased good beef, it is time to pay attention to the heat source. Charcoal grilling remains a great and popular choice, but grill pans on a stove stop, broilers, and other options are still great choices. Use steak cooking charts and high heat to get a piece of beef that is done throughout.

Now, you will need to prepare your steak. Do not brush your grate or pan with oil, lightly oil the steak. That keeps smoke down. Next, season your steak lightly. Just salt and pepper will do it, though there are lots of marinade options out there for those who would like to get a little fancier with their beef.

Make it Hot and Make it Right

When the steak goes on the grill or in the pan, the surface needs to be hot enough for the meat to sizzle. The steak should never be turned more than once, since it is important for the meat to cook most of the way on just one side. Do not turn too early, but do not wait too long, either. Turn a rare steak three to four minutes into the process, before you see red juices forming on the upper surface. A medium rare steak should be turned when you first see those juices, and medium well steaks ought to be turned when the juices begin to run together.

The other side of the steak should generally be cooked for about two minutes less than you spent cooking the first side. Of course, the temperature is what really counts. Use an instant read thermometer to find out if your steak is ready to come off the heat.

After you have successfully cooked your meat, it is time to rest the steak. Place it fat side down and standing at ninety degrees to the pan it was cooked in, or to a plate. The pan should be away from the heat source. Propping the steak up keeps the juices in and allows them to redistribute. Steaks should be rested for half the time it took to cook them.

Looking for quality steak recipes and tips that will improve an already great steak? All you need to do is take a little bit of time and turn to EasySteakMarinades.net, a site that’s chock full of the kind of information you need to make your high quality steak even better. Marinades, cooking tips and more are found at this site, and they do not even have to be complicated. Take some time to check it out.

If you are looking for some great recipes or tips on cooking steak and recipes of your own, the site will be very helpful. Whether you want a quick and spicy steak, mild marinade, or sweet and spicy marinade we have a wonderful selection of steak marinades and easy steak marinades to choose from.

If you are in the mood for a great steak tonight why not find out the best steak cooking methods and just how long to cook steak with the use of our handy steak cooking charts before you set out to barbeque that expensive cut of meat and find out how to make it tender and juice each and every time. This is just some of the helpful information and wonderfully delicious steak marinade treats on our site. If you love steak, you want to be able to cook it properly. Do not settle for a steak that is just so-so. For something, that is more than edible, and actually delicious, check out the great recipes and steak cooking tips we have. You will not be sorry you did.

Thanks for reading my blog post and in the meantime if you would like to read more of my fantastic cooking tips and food recipes you can subscribe to my RSS feed or join my free online Ezine.

To your food heaven

Dominic

101 Cooking Techniques – Bring your cooking to the next level

Dominic — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:44:37 +0000

I have this amazing free ebook for you to download right now!

If you were ever looking for free cooking techniques this is it – there is over 100 great cooking techniques for you to improve your own cooking skills for good.

You can download your free copy at:

http://www.dsmfoodlimited.com/freegifts/cheftechniques.html

Thanks for reading my blog post and in the meantime if you would like to read more of my fantastic cooking tips and food recipes you can subscribe to my RSS feed or join my free online Ezine.

To your food heaven

Dominic