1) Extra Virgin Olive Oil, or Olive Oil
OOPS! Wrong one!
I mean:
I use extra virgin olive oil, or EVOO like Rachel Ray likes to say, quite often when I cook. So I keep it nearby.
In a pretty, clear glass bottle.
Which happens to be in the sun.
Next to the stove.
No, no, and no!
It seems that there is a reason that the olive oil comes in a darker colored glass (usually green) bottle (if you buy a more expensive brand). Both light AND heat can deteriorate the oil faster. So if I still want to transfer the oil into my pretty bottle, at least I'm going to keep it in the pantry!
2) Zest of a lemon
When a recipe calls for the zest of a lemon, I usually don't think twice. I just pick up the lemon in one hand, my microplane grater in the other, and zest away.
But the other day I DID, in fact, think twice. Shouldn't I really wash this lemon before I zest it? I never think about washing the lemons because usually I'mjust using the inside, right? But there are times I'm using the outside, too. And I SHOULD be washing it.
And, yeah, I've lived this far with eating dirty lemon zest, but from now on, I'm washing my lemons!
3) Seasoning a steak
When I read a recent article in Real Simple magazine about the different cuts of beef and how to cook them, I was happy to see that I was doing something right. When cooking a steak, you should always take the steak out of the refrigerator 30 minutes in advance and let it rest on the counter. Check.
But here's where I went wrong. I would season immediately. That's a no-no. You should season right before grilling because otherwise the salt will draw out some of the juices. Good to know.
Fess up! Any mistakes you've made lately?
you've successfully made me hungry. specifically for either and incredible medium rare steak, french bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, or lemon pie. I think I'm going to have to make all three this weekend.
ReplyDeleteWell, I don't like a lot of clutter in my kitchen so the olive oil is in the cabinet. I wash everything. The steak seasoning, sometimes I do it way ahead of time....I'll stop doing that now, thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteI recently opened the wrong side of a black pepper container and dumped about half of the can into a casserole. Fortunately most of it I could scoop out. It was still a little spicy.
I wash everything now, you hear such awful stories about contaminated foodstuff. I didn't know that about the olive oil. My bottle of Berio has a new home now, in a special basket. It's a recent move, only made because it looks prettier. Prior to that it was in a shady place. Never noticed any deterioration. Would I?
ReplyDeletenice...you are teaching me...have you heard all the canteloupe deaths? craziness...nice hit on the steak...
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! Especially the lemon one...I wash almost Everything...Especially fruit and lettuce.
ReplyDeleteHave you heard about the chopped Romaine Lettuce listeria thing yet? 3 states so far affected.
hughugs
thank you, I learned something today :) I make many mistakes, as Im sure you know if you follow my cooking blog...lol
ReplyDeletei just wanted to take a bite of that steak.
ReplyDeleteit was that enticing!
thanks for the tip, we're having steak tonight.
Thanks for the tips!
ReplyDeleteYikes! I've been seasoning my steak too soon!
ReplyDeleteHow about if I drop by and you cook me up one of those bad boys then I'll let you know how good they are? Ha!
ReplyDelete