Things I've learned in the kitchen

This is a roasted chicken, sun dried tomato, arugula and goat cheese panini I recently made.

I've been doing more cooking recently and thought it would be useful for me, and maybe someone else, if I wrote out some tips and tricks I've learned while in the kitchen. Some of these things have been told to me but most of them I've learned by doing the opposite and not liking the outcome.

• Set out all the ingredients before you start cooking. It's easier to remember everything in the recipe and it makes cooking quicker.
• Think about the entire meal before you start cooking anything and make a game plan. Figure out when you need to put the pasta in the water, or put the asparagus in the oven so that all the dishes are finished around the same time.
• I always put the water on to boil or turn the oven on first so that they are ready and waiting on me, not the other way around.
• This is probably Jim's biggest pet peeve that I don't always do, but try to clean as you go. If you have an extra minute while some onions are browning then wash the cheese grater or mixing bowl you just used. 
• Try to start cooking with an empty sink. If you start dirtying dishes when the sink is already full you're just going to be overwhelmed with clean up when the meal is done.
• The difference between a wonderfully savory broth or soup and something that tastes like dirty dish water is salt. Salt is so important in cooking.

Let's talk about lessons in knife safety that I have learned the hard way.

• Wipe your knife down after cutting things like potatoes, garlic, mozzarella or herbs. If I don't get the residue from these ingredients off the knife right after using it they take forever to scrub off later, and I've had a few accidents while vigorously scrubbing a knife which leads me to the next lesson learned...
• When washing a knife, leave it laying flat on the sink bottom and scrub it there rather than holding it in the air with one hand and scrubbing with the other. I have cut my knuckle down to the bone twice (yes twice, the first time I didn't learn my lesson) because I was holding the knife in the air while scrubbing and it slipped. I actually have some numbness in my finger because of it.The look on Jim's face when he came into the kitchen and saw what happened was something I hope not to see again. 
• Put a damp paper towel under the cutting board to keep the board from slipping or moving while cutting on it.
• When chopping something; instead of moving the knife around on the board, use your free hand to feed the ingredient into the knife's path. The knife should pretty much go up and down on the same spot of the board when chopping. 
• You would think that you are more likely to cut yourself with a sharp knife, but actually a dull knife can be more dangerous because it can slip off of the ingredient and onto your hand easier. Always use a sharp knife. 

When I keep these tips in mind my cooking experience and the meals I make are always better.

Lexi