With holiday meals in mind

Culinary tips from top chefs

Preheat the pan.  Pan roasting is a popular restaurant technique rarely employed by home cooks. Preheat a cast-iron or stainless-steel pan on the stove with a bit of olive oil until you see wisps of smoke rise. Add your chicken, steak, or fish, and cook until one side is nicely browned—about 3 to 4 minutes. Then flip it and place the entire pan in a 400°F oven to finish cooking.

Zap citrus fruits in the microwave.  More pucker for the price!  Zap lemons, limes, or oranges for 15 seconds in the microwave before squeezing them. The fruit will yield twice as much juice. Another round of G&Ts, anyone?

Know when to shake and when to stir.  Great cocktails need serious shaking. Bond was wrong—martinis (and other drinks) that are made with clear spirits should be stirred. Shake only cocktails made with fruit juices.

Save your Teflon.  Teflon coatings can deteriorate on high heat, so save your nonstick pans for gentler tasks like cooking omelets and sautéing fish.

Blend butter and olive oil.  Try cooking with a 50:50 mixture of butter and olive oil. Butter brings big, rich flavors, but it burns and blackens at very low temperatures. Oil prevents the milk solids in butter from charring, allowing you to ratchet up the heat.

Refrigerate with caution.  Never store tomatoes in the refrigerator. And keep peaches, potatoes, onions, bread, garlic, and coffee out of there, too. Cold temperatures compromise the flavor and texture of these staples.

Water down your pasta sauce.  The secret to great pasta sauce? The cooking water. Save a cup of the pasta's cooking water before you drain it, and add the water to your sauce as needed. The starch in it helps the sauce adhere to the pasta, creating a creamier, more flavorful final product.

Make your own vinaigrette.  Bottled dressings are a waste of money and calories. Make your own vinaigrette by whisking together three parts oil (olive, canola, or sesame) with one part vinegar (balsamic, red-wine, or rice), plus salt and pepper. Build extra flavor by adding minced shallot, Dijon mustard, fresh herbs, or honey.

Let meat rest.  If you slice into your meat right after it comes off the grill, those precious juices, still circulating with residual heat, will bleed out onto your plate. Let the meat rest: Wait 5 minutes before biting into burgers or grilled chicken, 7 minutes before cutting into steaks, and at least 15 minutes before carving a turkey or a larger roast.

Salt and refrigerate raw chicken.  Nothing beats crispy chicken skin. Buy a whole chicken the day before you'll cook it, sprinkle on a tablespoon of kosher salt, and leave it uncovered in the fridge. The air and salt will draw out excess water.

Don't overcrowd the pan.  For deeply flavored foods, don't overcrowd the pan. Ingredient overload makes a pan's temperature plummet, and foods end up steaming rather than caramelizing. This adds cooking time and subtracts taste. All ingredients should fit comfortably in one layer, so use a pan that's big enough for the job, and cook in batches if necessary.

Counterbalance salt with vinegar.  Oops—too much salt? Use a splash of vinegar to provide a counterbalancing punch of acid and sweetness.

Lose your saltshaker.  Proper seasoning is paramount. First, lose your saltshaker.  Pinch kosher salt straight from a dish. The coarse grains and the touch of your fingers give you maximum control. Add a pinch, taste, and repeat if necessary.

Preheat the pan.  Pan roasting is a popular restaurant technique rarely employed by home cooks. Preheat a cast-iron or stainless-steel pan on the stove with a bit of olive oil until you see wisps of smoke rise. Add your chicken, steak, or fish, and cook until one side is nicely browned—about 3 to 4 minutes. Then flip it and place the entire pan in a 400°F oven to finish cooking.

Puncture your meat.  The problem: Dense meats like steak, pork, or chicken legs can burn on the outside before they're fully cooked on the inside. The solution: Insert a clean stainless-steel rod or nail into the thickest part of the meat, and finish cooking. "The nail will act as a conductor, drawing in heat and cooking the meat from the inside out," says Roland Henin, CMC, U.S. coach for the 2009 Bocuse d'Or Culinary Olympics.

Pat meat and fish dry.  Pat meat and fish dry before cooking. Surface moisture creates steam when it hits a hot pan or grill, impeding caramelization. If your fish has skin, use a sharp knife to squeegee off the water trapped within it.

Drain pasta prematurely.  If you want perfect al dente pasta, adapt the box directions. Drain the pasta about 1 minute before the package tells you to. Dump the noodles back into the pot and stir in the heated sauce. The pasta will finish cooking in the pot.

Cook fish skin side down first.  Always cook fish skin side down first. The skin keeps the flesh of the fish from drying out and provides a crunchy counterpoint to the tender meat. Cook your fillet undisturbed for 75 percent of the time on the skin side (about 5 minutes), and then flip it to the flesh side to finish.

Prepare plates beforehand.  Warm food served on a cold plate is a ROOKIE MISTAKE. Heat your dishes in a 150°F oven for 10 minutes before plating a meal. On the flip side, lightly chilled plates (use your freezer) boost the freshness of cold dishes like summer salads.

Revive overcooked meat.  Overcooked meat? Salvage dinner: Slice the meat thinly, put it on a plate, and top it with chopped tomato, onion, and jalapeño. Add olive oil and fresh lime juice (or a few spoonfuls of vinaigrette; see #6). The acid and oil will restore moisture and fat to the mistreated meat.

Brighten and balance flavors.  Keep a spray bottle of sherry or rice vinegar on hand while you're cooking. "Misting a scallop, a piece of fish, or even a salad really helps brighten and balance all the flavors," says Wylie Dufresne, chef at New York City's wd-50.

Salvage wilted produce.  Freshen up limp vegetables: Drop your aging produce into ice water before cooking. Plants wilt due to water loss; ice water penetrates their cells to restore crispness.

Time your salting.  Time your salting well. If you add salt to vegetables as soon as they hit the pan, the sodium will draw out moisture. (They'll steam, not brown.) For deep, flavorful caramelization, add salt at the end.

Bake your bacon.  The secret to perfectly cooked bacon: Skip the pan or the skillet. Bacon's tendency to scrunch up makes for uneven cooking. Instead, place no more than a half pound of bacon on a 12 x 18 baking dish or baking sheet with sides and roast in a 375°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, for that perfectly crisp (but not too crisp) texture.

Excerpted from an article sent by Barb, thank you!  Some great tips here.