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15 Things you can do to cook like a 3-star chef in your own kitchen!

– “The green beans are $14? How could they charge that much? Are they dipping them in gold or something? –

We’ve all been there. The food is way more expensivethan you want it to be, but when it arrives, suddenly it’s all worth it. “I’ve never made a green bean that good!” might be a true statement, but it doesn’t have to be true for long. The techniques being use in the worlds best kitchens can include some very complicated processes and science, but most dishes are still made using a combination of techniques that you can learn at home with minimal equipment.

1. Salt

Salt isn’t a technique, but it is the biggest difference between the food you eat at a restaurant and the food you make for yourself. The food may not taste any saltier, and it may not be. The reason why restaurant food often tastes better than your own down-home cooking is because salt is used in every part of the dish, not just on top. 

Next time you make pasta try making your water as “salty as the sea” before adding the noodles. If your flame grilled filet is flavorful enough, sprinkle a little flake salt on top. When cooking from scratch or with low-salt ingredients, make sure you salt every layer of the dish, tasting as you go to ensure you don’t go overboard.

2.  Broil It!

Almost every professional kitchen has a broiler. It’s how they make super-fast nachos, melt up your french onion soup, or even get a good sear on the outside of a piece of meat. If you’ve got an oven, chances are it has a seldom-used broil setting – try it out! 

The broiler gets super hot, so make sure you have hood fans on and a well-ventilated kitchen. And keep an eye on your food! In the broiler, things happen fast. Your toast can go from golden-brown to burnt in a matter of seconds, so be careful!

3. Get Your Own Flat Top!

Stove-top griddles are fairly common, but few people use them fo anything other than pancakes and eggs. A large cooking surface provides certain advantages over a frying pan that can make all the difference when cooking some dishes. 

Are your homemade cheeseburgers really… wet? Cooking them on a big piece of steel allows the cooking surface to stay a consistent temperature to get a good sear and cook of more of the juices that come out. Fried rice always mushy? A flat top might solve your problem! The huge surface area will stay hot and cook every grain of rice without steaming it too much. Even toast tastes better coming off of a flat top! If you don’t have one yet, options today are plentiful and inexpensive.

4. Add lemon juice to everything.

Okay, well, not everything. But almost everything. Seriously. This is a technique I learned working in nicer kitchens that has become essential in most of my dishes. It’s not necessarily lemon juice every time – I use lots of vinegars and other fruits as well – but maintaining a good level of acidity in a dish is something that most home cooks don’t think about. 

Green vegetables benefit particularly from lemon juice. Stir fry some broccoli and garlic, make sure its good and salty, and then hit it with a squeeze of lemon juice before it gets out of the pan. It’s a whole new vegetable! Why doesn’t your grilled salmon salad “pop”? Try carefully applying a dose of lemon juice. I truly cannot stress enough that almost every time I made a vegetable, sauce or dessert in a professional kitchen I used lemon (or vinegar). Balance in food is key, and that’s why the best restaurants pay careful attention to the acidity of each dish.

5. Sous Vide

The sous vide machine, not used by many outside of the industry, is a truly magical piece of equipment. It heats a water bath up to a selected temperature and maintains that temperature consistently for as long as is needed. Simply insert your ingredients into a vacuum sealed bag and submerge in the water. 

A sous vide machine will revolutionize your steak game. Cook the steak in the sous vide with aromatics until it almost reaches the internal temperature you desire, then quickly sear the sides of the steak in a hot pan before resting. This is probably the most expensive technique to practice on this list, but in my opinion, it will yield you the biggest noticeable difference in your home cooking – a foolproof way to cook your filet.

6. Spoon Push

Have you ever wondered why the pureè underneath your steak looks like someone vomited it onto the plate? The answer is simple – you need to do a spoon push. Spread your sauce around the rim of your bowl or push a streak across the middle. Simply put a scoop of a viscous sauce or puree where you want to start the smear and press the bottom of the spoon into it lightly. Spread the sauce in the direction that you want – rotate the plate or bowl with your other hand if you want to spread it on the rim, maintaining enough pressure to spread the sauce evenly until the end. You can make a straight line, a half-moon, even a nike swoosh if you want. It’s all about presenting the main part of the dish as elegantly as possible!

7. Grease, lots of Grease

We all eat too much sometimes, but there’s a special kind of “full” that one experiences after a huge restaurant meal. The portions looked smaller, but you’re way more stuffed than usual. The answer? Probably butter. High quality, healthier oils such as olive, avocado and canola are common for frying and sautéing everywhere, but in many western cultures, butter is ubiquitous. Restaurant’s I’ve worked at usually used at least 25 pounds of it every week. That steak? Basted in butter. The Mashed potatoes? Extra butter. The buffalo wings are better than usual? You guessed it – butter. It’s not good for you, but it works.

8. Deglaze!

That brown stuff that’s sticking to the bottom of the sauté pan? That’s where the flavor is. But how do you get it off? It’s easy, you deglaze the pan. Just pour some liquid (wine, beer, vinegar, anything flavorful). You don’t have to use a lot, just enough to soften the fond and scrape it off the bottom of the pan and incorporate back into the mix. If you leave it all in the pan, you’re missing out on a layer of flavor that can really kick your dinner up another notch.

9. Blanche Your Veggies

Blanche your green veggies, don’t boil them. Not only does this technique allow the vegetables to retain more of their nutrients than boiling, it locks in the bright green color as well. Don’t grill your asparagus until its burnt, give it a quick water blanch then finish cooking them on the grill! to blanch a vegetable, get a big pot of salty water, bring it to a boil, and submerge your veggies in the water for a short time. Take them out and immediately put them into a bath of ice water and leave them there until cool. Blanche them longer for softer veggies and shorter for firmer veggies, and remember that different veggies take different amounts of time to cook. Green beans may take up to five minutes, while broccoli only takes two. The blanching time of all your favorite veggies is readily available on the internet, so don’t worry!

10. Taste As You Go

This may just be the most important technique on this list. Tasting is another technique that’s not really a technique, but more of a basic practice in professional cooking. I’ll bet you can conjure an image of an Italian grandma taking the spoon out of the red sauce and sipping from it. It’s not gross, it’s just how the best food gets made. Every high-end restaurant you go to has a kitchen full of chefs taking tiny bites of food all night long. Don’t wait until your food is on the plate and dump a bunch of table salt on top, taste your food every step of the way through your recipe and make sure things stay seasoned and tasty. Obviously you shouldn’t taste your raw chicken, but you can taste the marinade. Is your meatball spicy enough? Cook up a tester and be sure of it. Oh, and if you’re not cooking for yourself, remember to use a clean spoon every time!

11. Mise En Place

Literally French for “things in place”, is standard practice in all kitchens around the world. Dumping a few things in a crockpot and walking away is easy, but if you want to make something a little more involved, is helps to have your miss en place. 

Before you even think about cooking, get all your ingredients out and in front of you. Measure out the amounts you need and transfer them to containers. Cut your veggies and set them aside. Dice your aromatics and have them at the ready. Get your steaks tempered and primed for the pan. Before you actually let the meat hit the metal, you need to have everything prepared for the execution of your entire recipe. This will ensure you have enough time to focus on making whatever your cooking as delicious as possible. It sounds complicated, but it makes things simple.

12. Temper

We’ve all taken a piece of meat out of the fridge, slapped it on the grill and cut into it only to find it’s still raw in the middle. The first step you can take to prevent this is to temper your meat. Remove your meat from the fridge about an hour before cooking and allow it to come up to room temperature before putting it on the heat. This will leave your pan or grill with half the work it would have to do if the meat started out at 34 degrees and far less if it was frozen. An even cook equals a better steak – and tempering your meat takes another variable out of that equation.

13. Use Fresh Ingredients

This is probably a given, but it needs to be said nonetheless. A tasty, fresh vegetable or cut of meat gives your dinner a figurative shoulder to lean on. You can undercook your carrots, but at least they wont be soggy, recently-thawed and bland. There’s no reason to buy an unreasonably expensive bag of frozen potato product when you can do so much with a dirt cheap raw russet. Freezing meat and fish can offer certain benefits with a diminished effect on quality, but fresh is always best. It’s summer and there’s no Brussels sprouts on the shelves? Try something in-season instead! You may even find that you like some vegetables more than you thought you did before.

14. Braise That S**t

Do you want a tender, fall off the bone pulled pork sandwich but don’t have a smoker? No problem! Just braise it. Braising is among the laziest of all cooking techniques, but it results in some of the most delicious food. Just cover your pork shoulder in a flavorful, seasoned liquid like stock or beer and simmer at a very low temperature till the cows come home. 

Braising meats and meat substitutes for a long period of time not only breaks them down, making them more tender, but also lets the flavor of the braising liquid fully infuse with the ingredients in the pot. If you’ve used a crockpot to make something other than soup, chances are you’ve already braised some meat. It’s a great low-effort option that most home cooks haven’t even considered.

15. Dehydrate

Ok – this might be lazier than braising – but it’s not really cooking. Dehydrating your ingredients can be much more than just a way to preserve your veggies and herbs, it can transform your ingredients into something completely new – Dehydrate your home-grown chili peppers to make a delicious powder for your winter chili. Marinate and dehydrate some pork loin and shred it to make Chinese pork floss. Dehydrate out very thin slices of citrus to create an elegant cocktail garnish and grind the peel up to use in a seasoning mix. You can do dehydrate in your oven, but home dehydrators are widely available, not too pricey and make the process much more efficient.

Now that you’re equipped with a few more ways to take your homemade meal to the next level, go forth into the kitchen and practice! Most of these techniques can sound difficult to those who are beginner cooks, but with just a little practice they can be mastered by just about anyone. Good luck and remember to taste your food!

Some application questions for a Food Writer position at Buzzfeed. Did not get the job.

06/15/2021

Q: Tell us about your food x quarantine experience: What was the best thing you cooked, ate, and/or watched? How did your cooking or eating habits change (or not change)?

A: I was a chef before the pandemic hit. I was cooking 8 hours or more every day but I wasn’t enjoying it at all. When I was laid off (for the first time) in March of 2020, I actually didn’t panic. The pay wasn’t great, the hours sucked and my lifelong love of cooking was starting to fade. The opportunity to get out of high-end professional kitchens gave me the energy and metaphorical space to really dive into some of the experiments and ideas I wasn’t able to at work. Along with making 3 meals for my girlfriend and I every day, I tested out a variety of new ideas and ended up with a handful of pandemic recipes born out of my own boredom including a squash pie, a ale-onion tart, several varieties of muffins, and a near-perfect replica of the dominoes medium 2-topping pan pizza. However, my favorite culinary accomplishment of the quarantine was my Butternut Squash Butter. 

The idea was simple—When you have too many apples, you make apple butter (right?). If you have too much butternut squash…— so I peeled enough squash to fill my slow cooker, dumped in a bunch of sugar and some water and let it ride. When the squash broke down I blended it into a purée and put it back in the pot. Eventually, it started to caramelize around the edges. I would nearly let it blacken before scraping it off the sides and mixing it back in. After about 36 hours, I wound up with a deep, burnt red colored paste with the consistency of homemade ketchup—perfect! The resulting “butter” tasted just like its color, if that makes sense—robust, dark, and warm. It first was used as a glaze for a grilled pork tenderloin before it ended up in breads and sauces, on ice creams and even as a “syrup” in a remarkably good iced latte. 

The quarantine changed my cooking and eating habits in the way that suddenly, everything was up to me. I may have indulged too much, as many have, but I also managed to get some of my creative energy back and adda few more staples to my recipe book.

Q: What are the 3 best cooking tips you’d give to a beginner? How about a seasoned home cook? What’s the smartest or most underrated kitchen hack you know?

A: Firstly, I would give a beginner the same #1 tip that pro cooks get in pro kitchens—taste your food! Set it and forget it can be nice, but the only way to make sure it’s just the way you like it is to eat some. Secondly, season every layer of the dish. This goes hand in hand with the first tip, but it’s easy to forget. Even “seasoned” home cooks forget to salt their pasta/blanching water. Lastly, I would tell them to start out cooking the things that they like. Dinner doesn’t have to be fancy to be good. If you know what good chicken fingers and fries tastes like, try to make some good chicken fingers and fries. Your mistakes will be far more edible!

For a seasoned home cook, the first advice I would give is to invest in nicer equipment. Not all at once, but overtime it’s good to accumulate an assortment of reliable appliances (and knives) that allow you to make anything that pops into your head. Second, I always recommend keeping a fully stocked spice cabinet and all of your basic baking essentials (butter/oil, sugar, flour, eggs, milk) on hand. It’s always helpful to have the building blocks for most dishes at arms reach. Thirdly, practice plating! Your friends say they would pay for your food at a restaurant, make it look like it actually came from one. It can be challenging, but all it takes is some practice really impress your guests.

Q: Tell us about a few food-related things you’re obsessed with. (Could be: Under-the-radar IG or TikTok accounts; TV shows, podcasts, or newsletters; secret menu items; small businesses, etc)

A:

1. Morning Light Bakery—Winooski, VT

– This is a great Hong Kong style bakery that was opened by an immigrant family in town a couple of years ago. They have awesome baked and steamed buns, homemade mochi and bubble teas.

2) Instagram: mattymatheson

– Matty Matheson is always doing wild stuff, but his obsession over and public exhibition of the under-appreciated Buffalo-style pizza the last few years has been wonderful to witness.

3) Instagram: rwmckinlay

– I have a number of Canadian friends and out of respect, I try to keep up with the general CanCon of the day. My current favorite chef up there is Rob McKinlay. He does an awesome job of showcasing Canadian ingredients and mind-bendingly cool techniques of butchery, classic and modern.

Black Flannel Brewing Company – Black Flannel Brewing Co. serves superior beer and liquor paired with farm to table cuisine, all crafted in-house, for folks who notice the little things. Come enjoy our huge storefront in Essex and watch your food and drink be prepared before your eyes.

Taglines:

“We pair well with people.”

“Best Burger and Beer in a Burger and Beer State”

“

Willard Street Inn – The Willard Street Inn is a grand Victorian style mansion situated the heart of Burlington, Vermont, which hosts up to 34 guests in classic luxury. Guests may take in the history of the building, have a walk around the beautiful grounds or eat their breakfast in the vegetable garden outside, all before they even leave for the morning.

Taglines:

“Everything Exactly How It Should Be”

“Burlington’s Best Bed and Breakfast. Emphasis on the Breakfast.”

SGETI TRUCK – The city’s ONLY spaghetti-based food truck run by a REAL Italian. He’s got the attitude, he’s got the accent, and you KNOW he’s got the sauce.

Taglines:

“SGETI. Five Dollars.”

“You want it or not?”

“Red sauce by the Boss”

Mr. Lasagna makes his own beats, does his own graphic design, writes his own copy and sucks his own nuts too. Bump a little bit of the Midwestern sound at your next party and get horny to Bruce Lasagna’s LMB&SMD Vol. 1, available for $3 over at brucelasagna.bancamp.com

1. What about a stockbroker that’s blind and he has to do the stocks in braille lol

2. Jesus “Jack” Christ

3. What about like a guy that’s a cowboy but he has an italian accent

4. What about Italian Luchadors and instead of taking off their masks its a mustache instead

5. What about fried cured pig cheek (guanciale) and some herbs and a nice olive of melon

6. Cant think of anyone who has a problem with Maine

I’ve never really been into cookbooks. I peek at a recipe now and again for guidance, or on occasions where I’m making something totally new, but I cook mostly using techniques, not recipes. I learned by looking, tasting and doing, not by reading. And when I do need a recipe for reference, hundreds of options are available on my phone within seconds. Moreover, these recipes are almost all free to access and rated by popular consensus. It’s really convenient, but it comes with the caveat that you have to scroll through a poorly formatted ten-page blog post littered with ads to actually get to the recipe. Cookbooks can be the same way–pedantic, long winded, personal–though more care is taken with the writing. Hardcover cookbooks often give a glimpse into the life and philosophy of a well-known chef or personality that drives people to purchase them; the best ones are as much “book” as they are “cook”. But that still hasn’t been enough to get me to buy one for myself, let alone read one I’ve gotten as a gift cover to cover. Why read and look at pictures when I could listen and watch famous chefs cook with mown eyes? I don’t have a great answer to that question–I just haven’t found it.

What I do have though is a disheveled mental archive of the recipes and techniques that I’ve learned or created over the course of my life. Writing a proper cookbook would be an exercise in regulating my creative process to a standard that normal, non-chef types can work with. I can deal with that, but I’d rather not. I’d also rather not try to sell my recipes on a gimmick–like using AAVE to sell mediocre food to white people–or from behind a wall of shitty blogging about how much I love Parker House Rolls. People enjoy the things I cook (they said so). They also ask me for cooking advice, which I enjoy giving; I learned to cook the exact same way. I don’t know everything, but it can be hard to relate to someone who knows everything.

My idea is this: an ongoing, casual, recipe first (on the page) online cookbook. I like to eat foods that make my brain feel good and don’t cost half of your paycheck to eat. I also don’t like being told what to do or adhering to strict rules. I know there are other people out there who feel the same way stuck in a habit of eating frozen tendies and take out. My goal, if you could call it that, is to remove some of the hesitation or mental blockage preventing people from cooking for themselves. Included are the people who want to cook, but just think they don’t know how. I want to show people that as long as they like when food tastes good, they can make food taste good for themselves too. If you need another reason, knowing how to cook also makes you more attractive to everyone I think.

There’s a time for frozen tendies and a time for Chinese takeout. There’s also time to make a pot of rice and make your own sesame chicken. Why would you not want to spend fifteen dollars and fifteen minutes of your time to save money on a week’s worth of pulled pork sandwiches? Doesn’t really make sense to me. I want people to be able to get as much out of the food that they eat as I do. Not nutrients, but the good brain chemicals–the drugs ones. Just buy a meat thermometer if you undercook your chicken, get out a spoon for tasting and don’t get too scared of burning stuff because sometimes burnt stuff tastes good.

Bonus Paragraph: I’ll update posts with pictures as much as I’m able. Also–if you have any questions or troubles or even want to request that I do a post about a specific food you like you can literally just text me or email me, send a pigeon, etc.

Hello! Welcome to my first-ever web site. Please reference the menu on the left to view my writing, or just keep scrolling on down to read the last thing to come out of my brain.