Celebrity Chefs’ BestCooking TipsTHESE SMART SKILLS AND CAN’T-MESS-UP RECIPESWILL HELP YOU FEEL LIKE AN ACE IN THE KITCHEN
Make Better Burgers
You can’t taste your burgers before they’re cooked, but you
can test the seasoning. Make a little patty about the size
of a quarter, and place it in a hot skillet—it’ll cook in less
than 30 seconds. Now you can make sure the burgers have
the right balance of ingredients before cooking them all.
—Rachael Ray, host of Rachael Ray ShowDeclutter Your
Cookware
Don’t buy a ton of different
pots and pans for your
kitchen. All you need are
something for boiling,
braising, sautéing
and roasting—anything
else is too much. Also,
most important,
keep your knives sharp.
—David Chang, chef and
author of the upcoming
memoir Eat a PeachUse Up Leftover Bread
When your bread is about to go
stale, stick it in the freezer to harden.
Then run it against the large holes
on a cheese grater to make your own
bread crumbs. Store it in a bag in the
freezer, and you’ll always have a
homemade batch when you need it.
—Alon Shaya, chef-owner
of Saba in New Orleans and
Safta in DenverBring Out the
Sweetness in
Tomatoes
If you’re making a tomato sauce or
soup and the tomatoes aren’t ripe
enough, add a pinch of sugar and a
splash of red-wine vinegar. They will
help to bring out the natural flavor.
—Andrew Jones,
executive chef at Sugar Beach,
a Viceroy Resort, in St. LuciaRachael
recommends
cooking
burgers in a
cast-iron
skillet: ‘The
flat surface
creates great
caramelization’Peel Mangoes
Without a Peeler
Take a slice of mango, and
place the fleshy side against
the rim of a drinking glass.
Press gently and slide the
slice down the glass—it should
remove the skin cleanly!
—Ayesha Curry, lifestyle
expert, who will launch her
own magazine in May73
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