You can become a great cook with less effort than you may think. It is okay to find your strengths through experimentation while cooking. By using these techniques, you will learn how to be a be a corporate holiday event planning cook and give you the opportunity to experiment with new ideas. You can grow as a chef by implementing these suggestions when you cook.

Cut meat thinly across the grain when you are stir-frying. However, this can take a lot of time while also being very tricky. Once the meat is firm, not frozen, cut across the grain at a 45-degree angle.

Save sauces in ice cube trays. If you make several meals during a week, consider saving sauces from them in ice cube trays. This will allow you to add some interesting variety to any dishes you might be making later in the week. It will also make the process simple.

Cook pasta for one minute less than instructed on the box and then place the pasta in a sauce pan. By making pasta this way, the sauce will absorb into the pasta and the overall quality of your meal will be better. You can even add some spices into the saucepan.

When cooking a meal for vegetarians and non-vegetarians, make separate sauces can be the best way to make sure everyone has enough to eat and knows what they can eat. Make rice or pasta, then let guests choose from a meatless sauce and one with meat. A dish with multiple components saves you from having to make two separate meals, and it makes both meat-eaters and vegetarians happy.

Cooking tip " sweet treat for smelly fingers! Cleaning fish or shrimp is a messy task and leaves a distinctive smell on your hand for at least a day. There is an effective way of removing the smell. Squish a few fresh strawberries between your fingers for a couple of minutes and rinse your hand with soapy water. The smell will disappear instantly!

Write out a list for all of the ingredients that you will need for a recipe before you go to the grocery store. This way, you will not forget anything. Many people forget one or two important ingredients for the recipe, which causes them to not be able to make the meal.

When cooking with herbs and spices, add them sparingly to your foods. The goal is to compliment the dish you are making, not to overpower its natural flavor. It is impossible to remove spices once you have added them, so start off with a small amount and then add more to taste.

You may or may not have heard of schmaltz, but it is a very useful component when cooking. Schmaltz, otherwise known as chicken fat, is very rich. The flavor of schmaltz is deeper than duck fat and can be used for many things, such as cooking meats or poaching fish.

Next time you make a dressing at home, swap half of the amount of mayo with an equal portion of Greek-style yogurt. This increases not only the richness of the dressing, but it gives it the creamy and smooth texture that we all love to see on our salads and other dishes.

After you have cut up meats on your counter, be sure to thoroughly wipe the counters and chopping boards down with a disinfectant. You need to disinfect knives also. Keep separate chopping boards for uncooked and cooked foods. Many people get salmonella poisoning each year because they ingested food that was prepared on an unclean counter or chopping board. This is especially important if you prepare food for children or the elderly.

When it comes to cooking the fresher the better. Sure the bottled and shaker spices cost less but there is no taste comparable to the taste of fresh cut spices such as garlic and parsley. So make sure that you spend the extra fifteen minutes cutting your spices, instead of shaking them.

When you are deep frying foods, try not to fry too much food at once. Overcrowding the deep fryer, will cause the oil temperature to drop and the food will not be as crispy. The key to successful deep frying is to keep enough oil around the foods to keep up the temperature.

When you have decided what you want to prepare for the evening meal, make sure you have left yourself enough time to prepare it. This includes the prep time, as well. If this is the first time you are making this particular recipe, you may want to add on 10 or 15 minutes to the directions just to be sure you aren't rushed at the last minute.

Have you ever looked for a specific recipe only to come up short? This is why it's a good thing to have a recipe box or book to hold all those valuable, family favorites. You can categorize them by appetizer, pasta, soups, meats, casseroles, etc. The categories are endless and should be done in a way you will easily be able to find them. You don't want to lose Grandma's famous chocolate chip recipe, right?

Try out the tips provided and see how well your cooking abilities improve. Try each of these tips to see if they work for you. Practice them and perfect your cooking skills. If you are committed to changing habits and learning these tips, you can quickly become a much better cook.