A Truly Showstopping Grilled Beef Tenderloin
Peter calls such cooking 'Maillardian,' a tribute to the early 20th-century chemist Louis Camille Maillard, who first described the chemical reaction created as the sugars and amino acids on the surface of food combine in the presence of high heat. That chemical reaction creates all sorts of fascinating, delicious results. (Try this grilled pork and peaches situation and you'll see.)
But not all live-fire cooking is about the Maillard reaction, as you'll discover if you follow Peter's lead, and make his new recipe for lomo al trapo (above), a spectacular Colombian preparation of beef tenderloin.
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It's simple stuff, in the way that jumping off a high cliff into deep water is simple stuff. It's not so much difficult as scary. You crust the beef with mustard, herbs and a ton of kosher salt, then wrap it in a clean, wine-soaked dish towel, tie everything off and … lay the package directly on a bed of glowing coals.
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Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
For the Best-Tasting Chicken, I've Memorized This Perfect 3-Ingredient Marinade
When you want to take chicken to the next level, a great marinade can do all the heavy lifting for you. With the right mix of ingredients, these marinades are easy, bold, and ready to transform whatever cut you're working with. We've got the easiest 3-ingredient marinade for juicy grilled chicken, and an all-purpose fajita marinade that's perfect for sizzling chicken fajitas on a weeknight. There are also super-flavorful blender marinades like a citrus-chile marinade that packs tangy heat, and a creamy tamarind-yogurt marinade that gently tenderizes chicken. Whether you're firing up the grill or just planning ahead for meal prep, these homemade marinades are here to make your dinner better. Here are 15 easy and flavorful chicken marinades to add to your roster. The Ultimate Chicken Marinade The right marinade for chicken guarantees two things: flavor and juiciness. Marinades are always some combination of an acid (think: lemon juice), some fat, and some sweetness. This lemony chicken marinade is guaranteed to leave you with juicy chicken hot off the grill. Go to Recipe Citrus-Chile Blender Marinade This easy marinade is made with orange and lime juices, canned chipotle peppers, onion, and garlic. Go to Recipe 3-Ingredient Yogurt Marinated Chicken Yogurt makes boneless, skinless chicken infinitely more tender, and a yogurt marinade is as easy as one-two-three: one cup of yogurt, two citrus fruits, and three garlic cloves. Go to Recipe Easy Vinaigrette This all-purpose dressing is thick with just the right amount of tangy, savory flavor, and a hint of sweetness. Balsamic, red wine, and white wine vinegar are all great choices here, although any type of vinegar works. The best thing about this vinaigrette is that you can use it as a marinade, too! Go to Recipe Spicy Lemongrass Blender Marinade This versatile marinade is made with lemongrass, fresh ginger, chile garlic sauce, shallots, and lime juice. Go to Recipe All-Purpose Fajita Marinade Sizzling chicken fajitas are exactly what your weeknight needs. This fajita marinade is made with freshly squeezed lime juice, sliced onion and bell pepper, and flavor-packed dried spices. Go to Recipe Greek Salad Dressing This salad dressing does double duty as a bright and flavorful marinade. It has just the right amount of tang from a combo of red wine vinegar and lemon juice. Best of all, you can mix it together in less than five minutes and it's the perfect marinade for Greek chicken. Go to Recipe Tamarind-Yogurt Blender Marinade This easy, tangy blender marinade is made with tamarind paste, yogurt, garam masala, shallot, and garlic. Go to Recipe Homemade Italian Dressing This zesty dressing beats out any store-bought version, and it makes a perfect marinade for flank steak or roasted vegetables! There is acidity from white wine vinegar, richness from olive oil, savoriness from herbs, a touch of sweetness from sugar, and a hint of umami from Parmesan. Go to Recipe Vietnamese-Inspired Blender Marinade This salty-sweet-sour marinade, which is directly inspired by the Vietnamese sauce nuoc cham, is perfect for grilled or roasted chicken. Go to Recipe Lemon Vinaigrette This citrusy vinaigrette takes less than 10 minutes to make and you may already have all of the ingredients you need on hand. It has a bright and fresh flavor that you can't get in a bottled salad dressing. Plus, it makes a great marinade. Go to Recipe Easy Garlic & Herb Marinade With just the right balance of tart lemon and pungent garlic, this is a bold-flavored marinade that's versatile enough to pair with anything you're cooking (whether it's grilled chicken breasts or grilled chicken thighs), and it comes together in mere minutes. Go to Recipe Christine's House Dressing This versatile vinaigrette, inspired by Caesar dressing, is packed with anchovy, garlic, and lemon. Use it as a marinade for chicken breast or grilled fish. Go to Recipe Miso Lime Vinaigrette Miso is the star of the show here. White miso is mild in flavor compared to other types of miso, which makes it perfect for a marinade base. Its subtle sweetness complements the acidity of the rice vinegar and enhances the overall vinaigrette with its umami flavor. Go to Recipe Korean BBQ Marinade This sweet and salty marinade is perfect for grilled chicken, but it can also be used on beef short ribs, extra-firm tofu, or even vegetables. Go to Recipe Buffalo Wings Further Reading We Used Our New 'Room Plan' Tool to Give This Living Room 3 Distinct Styles — See How, Then Try It Yourself The Design Changemakers to Know in 2025 Create Your Own 3D Room Plan with Our New Tool
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
I made over a dozen Ina Garten pasta recipes and ranked them by deliciousness
Ina Garten has published many pasta recipes, and I've made 13 from her repertoire so far. Her mac and cheese is creamy and comforting, while her lemon pasta is ready in 10 minutes. Garten's easy and rich penne alla vodka takes my top spot. From a comforting mac and cheese to the quick pasta, pesto, and peas, you'll find a variety of pasta recipes spread across Ina Garten's 13 cookbooks and her Barefoot Contessa site. I started cooking Garten's recipes after I spent a day following her quarantine routine in May 2020. At the height of the pandemic, I often turned to her pastas for simple but comforting dinners. I've now made over a dozen of Garten's pasta dishes. Some are vegetarian and take almost no prep, while others are loaded with meat or cheese. Here's how they all stack up. In 13th place is Garten's broccoli and bow ties pasta. Garten's broccoli and bow ties recipe was the first Barefoot Contessa pasta I ever made. It was also the first recipe Garten shared with her Instagram followers after much of the US went into lockdown in 2020. The Food Network star promised this pasta was "crazy easy" and could be easily adapted with whatever was in your pantry. The simple recipe includes garlic, lemon, butter, and Parmesan cheese, along with the pasta and broccoli (or, in my case, Broccolini). Garten's broccoli and bow ties recipe has a light sauce that makes it perfect for spring. The sauce is made with just lemon zest, butter, olive oil, and minced garlic, which all work together to give the dish a burst of flavor. The sharp Parmesan cheese also adds a nice hint of richness. While I loved how bright and healthy this dish tasted, I would soon discover other pasta recipes that were far more memorable. Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's pantry-friendly pasta here. Taking the 12th spot is Garten's simple three-ingredient lemon pasta. Garten says her three-ingredient lemon pasta is "just about the fastest weeknight pasta meal you can make," and she's not wrong. The recipe consists of just pasta, unsalted butter, and the juice and zest of two lemons. Better yet? You'll have dinner on the table in 10 minutes or less. Garten's lemon pasta has a lovely, bright flavor, but it doesn't stand out enough to be the main course. There's not much depth of flavor in Garten's three-ingredient pasta. I whipped up her dish for a dinner party, and my friends agreed that it worked better as a side. "The pasta had me mad at myself for every time I've bought a $20 pasta limon from a restaurant when it's so simple to make," my friend Tyler said. "But if we were just having the pasta on its own, I would have been a little disappointed because it wasn't anything too special." I would serve Garten's lemon pasta alongside her incredible "outrageous" garlic bread, which goes well with just about everything, and would give this meal some more flavor and heft. Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's three-ingredient lemon pasta here. Garten's spring green spaghetti carbonara takes the 11th spot. As with all the recipes in her "Modern Comfort Food" cookbook, Garten wanted to give a traditional dish — in this case, spaghetti carbonara — a modern twist. Garten's carbonara comes packed with green veggies, including asparagus, scallions, and two types of peas. Garten's spring carbonara is deliciously light and creamy. I was pleasantly surprised by this pasta, which I think is perfect for spring or summer. The carbonara sauce is creamy without being too heavy, and it's balanced perfectly with the fresh flavors from all the veggies. The pancetta also adds a nice crunch and savoriness to the pasta — I only wish there had been more! I served the dish to my parents, who both loved it. My dad called it "light and lemony," while my mom thought it'd be ideal for a barbecue. Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's spring green spaghetti carbonara here. In 10th place is Garten's comforting baked rigatoni with lamb ragù. Garten's baked rigatoni with lamb ragù is also from her cookbook "Modern Comfort Food." It's one of Garten's more complex pasta dishes. The recipe is packed with a long list of ingredients — including two types of cheese, red wine, and plenty of veggies — and takes almost two hours to make. Garten's baked rigatoni with lamb ragù is super delicious — but it's a lot of work. The rich sauce has that comforting, traditional Italian taste thanks to the carrots and other vegetables, and the rigatoni noodles are perfect for capturing a nice helping of ragù with every bite. I made this dish for friends who thought the pasta was worth the wait. "The dish reminded me of a cross between Bolognese and a baked ziti!" my friend Sara said. "Definitely a labor of love but, to someone not cooking, highly worth it!" My sous chef, Zach, also loved the taste, although he didn't agree that it was worth the extra effort in the kitchen. "As Prue would say on 'The Great British Bake-off,' it was worth the calories — but I wouldn't say it was worth the time," he said. "While it was definitely fun cooking it, I think you could genuinely make a dish that was 90% as good with just focusing on the ragù and broiling the pasta, versus fully baking it." Next time I make this dish, I'll follow Garten's tip to make the ragù a day in advance — which you can refrigerate before baking and serving. Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's baked rigatoni with lamb ragù here. Garten's rigatoni with sausage and fennel takes the ninth spot. On a 2017 episode of "Barefoot Contessa," Garten said this rigatoni with sausage and fennel was one of her "all-time go-to dinners." "You can make the whole thing in one big pot, bring it to the table, and everyone loves it," Garten told her viewers. Garten's recipe is packed with exciting ingredients. In addition to sausage and fennel, the pasta features dry white wine, heavy cream, parsley, tomato paste, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Garten's sausage rigatoni looks beautiful, and it's perfect for cheese lovers. Garten's rigatoni with sausage and fennel has a gorgeous golden color, and there's a richness to it that I didn't expect. The rigatoni noodle perfectly captures the delicious meaty sauce, and I thought the sweetness of the sausage helped balance the saltiness of the Parmesan. While I think this pasta is perfect for cheese lovers, it may be too rich for some. I'd recommend using a quarter cup of Parmesan and tasting the sauce before adding more. But I love that Garten's rigatoni is a one-pot dinner, and I think it's perfect for cold days when you need something super comforting. Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's rigatoni with sausage and fennel here. In eighth place is Garten's "grown-up" mac and cheese. Garten makes her "grown-up" mac and cheese in an early episode of "Barefoot Contessa," calling it a "cozy and comforting dinner for Jeffrey and me." "When it comes to comfort food, I'd say mac and cheese is pretty high on everybody's list," Garten says at the beginning of the episode. She's not wrong! Garten gives the classic dish her "grown-up" twist by adding blue cheese, thick-sliced bacon, freshly chopped basil, and homemade croutons. Garten's "grown-up" mac and cheese is packed with delicious flavors. The velvety cheese sauce, smoky bacon, and satisfying tang of blue cheese make Garten's "grown-up" mac and cheese comforting yet unexpected. It's sure to be a crowd-pleaser on any dinner party or holiday menu. I made Garten's "grown-up" mac and cheese for my family before our last Thanksgiving dinner, and everyone loved this satisfying dish. But surprisingly, this isn't even my favorite mac and cheese from Garten. Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's "grown-up" mac and cheese here. Taking the seventh spot is Garten's orecchiette pasta with sausage and broccoli rabe. Garten calls her orecchiette pasta with sausage and broccoli rabe, which appears in her cookbook "Foolproof," a "whole dinner in one pot." "It's a terrific thing to make on the weekends because it reheats beautifully for a quick midweek meal," she writes in the description. The recipe features sweet and hot Italian pork sausages, crushed tomatoes, dry red wine, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Garten's orecchiette pasta is full of beautiful flavors. Garten's trick of mixing two different types of sausage in the pasta gives this dish so much depth. It's hearty and garlicky, with a deliciously savory red sauce. My friend Kristen also loved it. "The orecchiette was perfect for scooping up delightful, balanced bites of spicy and sweet, with a robust finish from the red wine," she told me when I asked for her review. And as Garten promised, this dish was even better the next day as the pasta soaked up more of the sauce's flavors. Who doesn't love great leftovers? Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's orecchiette pasta with sausage and broccoli rabe here. Garten's overnight mac and cheese takes sixth place. Garten's overnight mac and cheese is a bonus recipe in the reissue of her first cookbook, "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook." I tested it for a Thanksgiving dinner. The simple but comforting dish features both Gruyère and sharp white cheddar cheeses, along with heavy cream, breadcrumbs, and cavatappi or elbow macaroni. Garten's mac and cheese will impress your friends and family. Garten's mac and cheese needs just 25 minutes in the oven, and it comes out a beautiful golden-brown color. The dish also stole the show at my Friendsgiving (as did Garten's incredible corn bread). The breadcrumbs gave each bite a nice crunch, and the sauce was creamy and decadent without overpowering the pasta. And since you can make it a day or two ahead, Garten's overnight mac and cheese is perfect for a dinner party where you'll be juggling quite a few things — or a quick but easy dish to delight everyone at a potluck. Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's overnight mac and cheese here. Garten's favorite weeknight pasta rounds out the top five. Garten shared the recipe for her favorite weeknight pasta in her cookbook, "Go-To Dinners," which was released in October 2022. "Everyone needs a few quick pasta dinners in their repertoire, and this one is really adaptable," she writes in the recipe description. "It's wonderful as is, but you could also serve it with veal meatballs one night and with a big dollop of ricotta the next. The pancetta and red wine give it fantastic flavor." The dish features spaghettoni or bucatini, San Marzano tomatoes, and freshly grated Italian pecorino cheese. Garten's weeknight pasta reminded me of one of my favorite Italian restaurants in New York City. There's a rustic charm to Garten's weeknight pasta that took me right back to Cotenna, one of my favorite Italian restaurants in New York City. I loved how the rich pancetta paired with the earthy basil and Chianti. The dish also had a subtle sweetness from the San Marzano tomatoes that delighted my taste buds. The red pepper flakes gave each bite a nice kick, and the pasta looked lovely on the plate. Overall, I was surprised by how elevated Garten's dish tasted despite minimal prep and effort. I'll definitely make this pasta again. Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's favorite weeknight pasta here. Garten's summer garden pasta takes the fourth spot. Garten's summer garden pasta is one of her simplest, yet it has some of the richest flavors of any that I've tried. While the "Barefoot Contessa" star's dish only has five main ingredients — angel hair, Parmesan cheese, cherry tomatoes, garlic, and basil — it has one very important step. You need to soak the tomatoes, garlic, and basil in olive oil for four hours. That extra prep resulted in some of the most incredible tomatoes I've ever tasted. I could honestly eat Garten's olive oil tomatoes as a snack every day. Even though I usually love heavy red-sauce pastas, these tomatoes carried the entire dish on the strength of their intense and rich flavor. You also can't beat how pantry-friendly this dish is. I almost always have tomatoes and basil in my kitchen, making Garten's summer garden pasta an easy dinner staple. This is one Barefoot Contessa dish I know I'll be returning to repeatedly. Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's summer garden pasta here. Making the top three is Garten's creamy (and dreamy) five-cheese penne. I first made Garten's five-cheese penne when temperatures started to dip and discovered it was the perfect fall or winter dish. Garten's pasta includes pecorino Romano, Italian fontina, Italian Gorgonzola, fresh mozzarella, and ricotta cheese, along with penne pasta, crushed tomatoes, basil, and heavy cream. Garten's five-cheese penne is incredibly comforting. The penne turns into a beautiful golden color after baking it in the oven for 17 minutes, and there are inviting chunks of mozzarella poking out from the top. I initially expected five different cheeses, plus all that butter and cream, to be too heavy. But Garten's penne strikes the perfect balance of being rich and soothing without being overwhelming. I can't wait to make this dish the next time I need a comforting meal again. Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's five-cheese penne here. My second favorite pasta dish is Garten's weeknight Bolognese. The weeknight Bolognese is another recipe that Garten shared on Instagram. She told her fans that the dish can be made with a variety of meats or veggies, making it especially pantry-friendly. Plus, the rich and flavorful dish — which includes ground sirloin, orecchiette, and dry red wine — will only have you in the kitchen for 30 minutes. Garten's weeknight Bolognese is a quick and delicious twist on a classic recipe. The weeknight Bolognese has the comfort of Garten's five-cheese penne and the richness of her baked rigatoni, but with far less work in the kitchen. It's a modern twist on a classic, and Garten's little tweaks all work perfectly together. The orecchiette shells catch some of the sauce in every bite, and the freshly grated Parmesan cheese melts beautifully into Garten's warm sauce. Garten's recipe has so much flavor, but it's also far less heavy than some of her other pastas on this list. I'd happily make the weeknight Bolognese on any night of any season. Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's easy weeknight Bolognese here. Taking the top spot is Garten's penne alla vodka, which tastes as amazing as it looks. Garten's penne alla vodka was inspired by one of her favorite dishes, the Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola from Nick & Toni's in East Hampton. Joe Realmuto, Nick & Toni's longtime executive chef, showed Garten how to make the dish on an early episode of "Barefoot Contessa." The dish features penne, vodka, Parmesan cheese, and fresh oregano leaves. Garten's penne alla vodka is the most beautiful pasta I've ever made. It took me over a year to discover a pasta I loved more than the weeknight Bolognese, but Garten's penne alla vodka changed everything. The dish looks stunning on the dinner table and tastes even better. The vodka sauce is creamy and smooth, and Garten's trick of roasting the tomato sauce in the oven infuses each bite with so much depth and flavor. While you'll need some extra time, Garten's easy penne alla vodka doesn't require too much effort. It's the perfect dish when you need to make an impressive dinner but can't spend too much time doing extra prep. And when it's super chilly, this dish will bring you tons of comfort. Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's penne alla vodka here. Read the original article on Business Insider Solve the daily Crossword
CNET
7 hours ago
- CNET
I Asked Pro Chefs: What Are the Biggest Kitchen Blunders Most Home Cooks Make?
It's easy to become overwhelmed in the kitchen, especially for new home cooks. Between selecting ingredients, preparation work, and actually cooking, most any culinary endeavor can feel daunting. Seasoned pros encounter setbacks regularly, but the kitchen serves as an ideal laboratory for experimentation -- a place where failures become valuable lessons and each attempt builds better technique and an expanded recipe repertoire. Understanding pitfalls before you begin can make all the difference. To suss out the biggest blunders to avoid in the kitchen, I spoke with accomplished chefs from various culinary practices to gather insights on key areas for improvement, essential skills to develop, and practical ways to advance your abilities. Don't miss any of CNET's unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome. The biggest mistakes that amateur cooks make Culinary instructor Stephen Chavez suggests doing as much prep, measuring, and recipe reading as possible before starting a new recipe. JulPo/Getty Images We are often guilty of placing unrealistic expectations on ourselves in the kitchen, attempting to model a meal after memorable Michelin-star dining experiences. And while it's admirable to aim high, it's also important to be realistic about the years of training that go into perfecting award-winning cuisine. Stephen Chavez, senior chef-instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education's Los Angeles campus, is no stranger to educating and working with amateur chefs. Though he's practically seen it all, these are the biggest cooking mistakes he comes across most often: 1. Starting a recipe unprepared "This can be conceptualizing what you're going to cook, whether the flavor profile, cooking technique, or formality of the meal, or by making sure that proper 'mise en place' has been done," he says. "'Mise en place' is a French term that means 'everything in its place.' This means all ingredients and equipment are prepared and ready prior to cooking, and that all the ingredients and equipment are clearly accessible and ready to be used. Being prepared will enable you to serve food at its best quality of texture, temperature and flavor." For the perfect chop, see our list of the best chef's knives in 2025. 2. Not measuring and scaling dishes or learning how to use a scale "Why does restaurant food always taste better?" he asks. "Mainly because everything is prepared in the proper proportion every time. We do not use a little of this and a little of that. We know exactly what ingredients we are using, and in the proper proportion, in order to make a dish its best." Here are the best kitchen scales, as tested by CNET. Prepping ingredients the right way allows you to breeze through a recipe.3. Not learning basic cooking techniques These include actions such as braising, sautéing, frying, grilling and roasting. "Once you learn each cooking technique and which items are best suited for each, you can apply that technique to whatever food you want," he explains. "For example, if you want to grill in the summer, medium cuts of meat and vegetables are best suited for the grill, whereas small cuts are best suited for sauté, tough cuts are best suited for braise, and large cuts are best suited for roast." 4. Ignoring their instincts Derek Simcik, executive chef of Four Seasons Hotel Nashville, echoes these sentiments but adds that too many amateur chefs simply aren't trusting themselves or the process. "Cooking should be intuitive. If something tastes under-seasoned or feels like it needs more of an ingredient, trust your instincts; your gut is usually right," he says. Professional chefs make mistakes, too Professional cooks have their own pitfalls to avoid. FX on Hulu Even the most world-renowned chefs can make mistakes. The art and profession of cooking is an ongoing education and evolution to keep up with worldwide trends, techniques and emerging ingredients. Roshan Gunarathna, executive chef of luxury Maldives-based Sun Siyam resorts, blames overconfidence and egos for lackluster food. "Some chefs rely too much on their past success," he says. "They skip critical steps, stop tasting dishes, ignore feedback and assume everything will turn out fine just because it has before." This causes these chefs to also neglect opportunities for growth. "Once they master their technique and style, some chefs stop learning. If you don't stay updated, your food becomes dated and disconnected from what guests want today," he adds. Petar Obad, executive chef of Dubrovnik's gastro-forward Hotel Excelsior, agrees, noting that chefs who gain fame and fortune often slap their names on a project and step away from daily service. "Staying hands-on is key to keeping standards high and staying connected to the team and the food," he says, adding that it's also important for professional chefs to surround themselves with "better, younger talent" to keep a pulse on current food movements and provide different perspectives. "Great chefs build strong teams. If you're not hiring people who challenge and push you, your kitchen won't evolve," he stresses. How to expand your cooking skills Cookbooks aren't just for gathering new recipes. Many also school the reader on cooking techniques and how to best use certain ingredients. Created by Katelyn Chedraoui using Canva Magic Media AI There are plenty of resources available to amateur cooks when it comes to enhancing their skills and expanding their weekly menus. Cookbooks tend to dominate this list, with detailed tips and tricks scattered among fleshed-out recipes with accompanying imagery. But with society's newfound dependence (and, frankly, addiction) to social media and technology, there are other avenues to consider when it comes to attaining knowledge. Read more: I Tried this AI Recipe Generator to Create a Restaurant Quality Meal at Home As a professional food educator, Chavez unsurprisingly promotes classes to find "new ways to make food interesting and fun." He is also a big fan of TV shows like PBS's America's Test Kitchen and Christopher Kimball's Milk Street Magazine. "The recipes and techniques are always tested and actually work," he says. "There is nothing more frustrating than finding a recipe that looks good on a show, in print or on the internet, only to find that it doesn't come out at all like the picture looks." "They also include equipment, product, and cooking technique suggestions, as well, and have books and magazines associated with their programs." Chavez suggests perusing cookbooks and magazines like Milk Street to beef up your skills. Milk Street Magazine Apps like YouTube and TikTok can also be great resources. "Just make sure that the creator is credible and remember that quick videos often leave out steps to show you the perfect 'after,' which may not actually be the case when you make that item," he reminds. Lastly, it's also important to travel and gain inspiration from around the world. Kenneth Tufo, executive chef of The Urban StillHouse by Horse Soldier in St. Petersburg, Fla., notes that most of us may be accustomed to American fare, which encompasses influences from many parts of the globe. "Finding unique spices and foods from other cultures [via travel] is a great way to expand knowledge," he recommends. This will also give most travelers an appreciation of where certain familiar flavors originated and why. Dishes and cooking techniques worth mastering Mastering a few cooking fundamentals and recipes can make anyone feel like a pro in practically no time at all. Roasting a chicken to proper doneness without overcooking is a skill that transfers to other dishes. Crowd Cow David Koehn, executive chef of Chicago's famed Mon Ami Gabi, is an expert in French cooking, which is considered the foundation of modern gastronomy. His top three tips include: Learn how to make a good chicken or beef stock. "And, from there, a reduction sauce, a velouté, a great soup or a braise. It all starts with stock: That's the workhorse behind a French kitchen. I still get a tremendous amount of joy from stock-making, which, in theory, is very simple, but it makes a huge difference in the final outcome of a lot of French dishes." Learn how to brine, truss, and roast a whole chicken. "It's economical, you can feed four to six adults with it (and some sides), and it hits all of the things we love about French food: 'simple' luxury, a gesture of generosity, nostalgia and, when it's done correctly, is really, really delicious." Learn how to blanch and roast vegetables correctly. "A properly blanched green bean, or a properly roasted pearl onion says a lot more about someone's ability to cook than putting a dollop of caviar on something. Good vegetable cooking is my new 'caviar,' and it's a lot more rare." Additionally, Nashville's Simcik, whose Mediterranean-inspired cuisine can be found on his Riviére Rooftop menu, suggests practicing knife skills and mastering a simple egg omelet, arguing that the latter is a gateway dish to learning how to avoid overcooking and burning edges. Don't forget to take a breath There's no reason cooking shouldn't be enjoyable. If a recipe has you confused or flustered, it might be too advanced for your current kitchen skills. Nastasic/Getty The next time you want to throw spaghetti against a wall out of sheer frustration (and not to see if it sticks), remember that cooking is a skill that develops with time and patience. While anyone can conquer the aforementioned basics (which you should as a human who must eat to survive) and venture beyond the microwave, it's equally important to enjoy the journey and everything you will learn along the way. After all, nothing tastes more delicious than sweet success.
