73. Cooking fresh pasta. Fresh pasta needs less water than dried
pasta. To cook fresh pasta, have a large saucepan of rapidly boiling water
ready. Make sure you have enough boiling water for the pasta to cook in.
Add a little oil to the water, so the pasta doesn’t stick together. Add pasta
to the pan, ensure the water stays boiling and stir slowly for 10 seconds to
separate the pasta. Boil pasta for 2-4 minutes depending on the type you’re
using.
74. Untangle spaghetti before serving. If you have allowed your
spaghetti to cool for too long and it becomes tangled, toss it back into the
hot water and stir with a large spoon. Then, drain and rinse the pasta in
cold water immediately. You can add some olive oil if you’d like, but it’s
not a necessity.
75.Al dente pasta. Al dente means “to the tooth”. When it’s cooked, pasta
should be soft but still firm when you bite it. The easiest way to tell
whether pasta is al dente is to remove a piece from the saucepan and test it
between your teeth. The pasta should have some texture when you bite
into it, but it should not be dry and hard in the middle.
76. Cooking dried pasta. The most common mistake when cooking
dried pasta is not having enough boiling water. Have a large saucepan of
rapidly boiling water ready. Add a little oil and pasta to the pan, and stir
for 20 seconds to separate the pasta. Boil for 10-14 minutes depending on
the shape of the pasta and the flour used. Drain it and eat immediately
without any extra oil or butter if you’ll be having it hot. For cold pasta
rinse it under warm water and then cold water.
77.Perfectly cooked pasta every time. For perfect pasta, do not boil the
noodles! Instead, boil the water and then turn off the fire and add the
pasta. Cover, and stir the pasta every five minutes for twenty minutes.
Your pasta will never overcook, and it will be perfect every time.
78. Make fluffier rice. For fluffier rice, add one teaspoon of lemon
juice to the water before adding rice. It won’t change the flavor but it will
plump up the grains to give you perfect rice.
79. Add flavor to rice. Instead of using plain water when boiling rice,
try chicken stock, beef stock or even tomato juice. Serve it as is or add even
more flavor by sautéing some vegetables in olive oil and garlic and adding
them for a delicious and healthy side dish.
80. Reduce the stickiness of pasta and rice. The starch in pastas
and rices often cause them to stick together. Avoid this by adding a splash
of vinegar when boiling them. The result will be perfect, stick-free pasta
and rice every time.
81. Make the fluffiest baked potatoes. Start by choosing a potato
with a high starch content. Russets and Idahos are both good choices.
Before placing your potatoes in the oven, pierce them several times with a
knife in order to let the steam escape during baking. Never wrap your
potatoes, as it will cause them to steam rather than to bake. When serving
your baked potatoes, cut a slit in the top and squeeze the sides of the
potato before adding toppings.
82. Soften up the skin on baked potatoes. Do you like to eat the
skin along with your baked potatoes? Make it soft and delicious by rubbing
the outside of your potatoes with some vegetable oil before placing them
into a hot oven. Add a little butter and sour cream – even some shredded
cheese if you like – and you have a perfect side dish!
83. Make perfect mashed potatoes. Whether you like them on
their own, smothered in butter or drowned in gravy, mashed potatoes are
an excellent accompaniment to many different meals. To make them like
the pros do start by putting several whole garlic cloves in the water with
the boiling potatoes. The garlic will cook and once the potatoes are mashed
it will give them a wonderful flavor. While mashing, add buttermilk, cream
cheese, sour cream, butter, or a combination of these. Experiment to find
the taste that you like best!
84. Bake potatoes in a flash. Need them fast? You can microwave
potatoes but they’re always nicer in the oven. To bake them quickly, slice
your potatoes in half lengthwise and bake them with the flat part facing
down. Be sure to grease the baking sheet, and them simply place into a
375-degree oven for about half an hour.
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