Some General Cooking Ideas and Basic Procedures

Potato Trick in Reverse

It's an old trick to reduce overshot salt by cooking a few potatoes in your dish; taking that in reverse: cook potatoes to be added to stews and soups separately, add them when they're almost done.

White Sauce

Traditionally, white ("Cauliflower") sauce is made by melting butter in a small pan on the stove, mixing with flour, let it rest (to reduce the floury taste), then heat and add milk (in small amounts at first), stir well, till desired consistency is reached, add grated cheese an/or ground nutmeg if you want.
Nowadays, I put white flour in a bowl (say 100g, 2/3 cup), add 3-4 TBsp olive oil, mix and let it rest, then add milk, in small amounts at first, keep stirring well, and heat in the microwave, still add cheese (grated, swiss) and nutmeg.

Muchrooms eh Mushrooms

Preparing mushrooms, I put a little olive oil in a large frying-pan over medium heat, cut off some of the mushroom stems, then cut them in four or six pieces over the pan; saute covered, stirring from time to time till the released water is evaporated and they just start to turn brown, grind some black pepper over it and add some soy sauce.
Some stores have mushrooms m clean and ready, washed and rinsed. That's very convenient.

Don't Cook The Ham

I think the taste of good ham is cheapened by heating, so I add it at the last moment or on the plate.

Onions & Garlic

Peel onion, cut through and slice thin; heat olive oil in a skillet, sautee over high heat for a few minutes, add minced garlic, then cook some ten more minutes over medium heat.
I used to think that long, slow cooking of onions would reduce gas, but that's wrong, it seems the long, slow cooking makes it worse.
Ease the peeling of garlic cloves by hitting them with a heavy object like a knife or your hand (not my hand!). I have the impression that minced and squeezed garlic taste differently, and I prefer minced.

Measuring Oil

After 35 years of cooking I started mesauring the oil I put in my skillets, and I wish I'd started that earlier. I think I always used too much. For a large skillet I use two tablespoons. Heat up non-nonstick skillet before adding oil.

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