Tag: Cooking

Using a Charcoal Grill

So you have decided that you want to start barbequing. What more, you have done your research and decided that a charcoal grill is the right type of grill for you. So now you have to pick out the charcoal grill that suits you best.

One of the first things to consider when purchasing your first charcoal grill is what you will be using it for. If you plan on traveling and using your charcoal grill, you will want something small enough to travel with you. Smaller charcoal grills are ideal for cookouts, camping, and tail gate parties, but would not be useful if you were cooking for a larger amount of people. Smaller grills that are easy to transport usually cost under 20 dollars, so you may want to consider purchasing a separate grill for smaller occasions.

Safety should also be a major concern when you are picking out your first charcoal grill. Since you grill will contain hot coals, the number one concern should be whether or not your grill is sturdy. Look for a charcoal grill with a sturdy structure and sturdy legs. If you grill does now have sturdy legs, its chances of falling over is much greater. When a charcoal grill falls over, it send hot coals flying. Many charcoal grills also have built in safety features such as a water reservoir and smothering valves. Undoubtedly, when you are cooking with fire, accidents can happen. In the case that your grill gets out of control or becomes to hot, these safety features will prevent potentially dangerous fires.

One of the most noticeable features when using charcoal is the flavor of the food you cook. To cook with a charcoal grill, you must buy charcoal briquettes and lighter fluid. Charcoal is a one use item, and will need to be discarded after each use. Charcoal can be picked up at your local superstore, gas station, or grocery store, and is typically pretty inexpensive. Charcoal must be light and allowed to burn until the charcoal is no longer on fire, but is red embers. The best way to get the pile to burn is by stacking it in a pyramid.

While no one likes to clean their grill, it is necessary to maintain your grill if you want it to last its intended lifetime. One problem you will face is the fact that Charcoal grills stay hot for a long period of time. You can remedy this situation 2 ways. First you can leave your grill open, allowing it to burn out. This method typically burns a lot of the grease off, but can potentially cause problems if you are not near your barbeque grill. You do not want to start a fire. Another way is to completely close off your grill and deny the fire oxygen. As soon as the grill is cold, or cold enough not to burn you, you will want to clean the grill. Leaving the grill dirty for any amount of time will cause the buildup to become hard, and may make it harder to remove. Use a wire brush to clean off the surface areas of your grill, and then spray cooking oil on the surface. Take the racks off and clean them with dishwashing soap. Dawn or other brands that have degreasers work best. Rinse the racks off, and replace them in the grill.

What’s Special about Rachel Ray Receipes

Rachel Ray receipes are special because they’re recipes that almost everyone can make. You don’t have to be an expert cook to make many of her 30 minute meals recipes. And even her more complicated recipes are much simpler than you’ll find with some other TV chefs.

With Rachel Ray’s meals, you get a very basic recipe at the core. While some recipes do have a few exotic ingredients that everyone won’t have in the pantry, most do not. This shows that Rachel understands what the average home cook is looking for.

How many times have you been watching a cooking show and been disappointed, This is a common problem with many recipes you’ll find on television. The finished product is beautiful and looks delicious, but only a chef can actually make it!

Often, the recipes are exotic things that few ordinary people would even try. When there are more than a couple of ingredients that you don’t already have, it’s easy to get discouraged. And when there are expensive ingredients that you would buy and never use except for that recipe, it’s unlikely you even want to try it.

Rachel Ray recipes, however, are full of ingredients that are common. Basic ingredients like pasta, vegetables, fruits, cheese, milk, extra virgin olive oil and things you probably have on hand are the staples in her meals.

This makes her recipes easy for almost anyone to try. And usually, when there is an ingredient that you might not have on hand, it’s one that you can use in many other things. Capers, for instance, aren’t something everyone buys. But if you buy them for one recipe, she’ll have several others that use them, too.

This gives even the most inexperienced cook a chance to try something new. Done this way, you won’t be stuck paying a lot of money for an ingredient with one use. This is all too often what happens when you follow other top chef’s recipes.

With Rachel Ray’s recipes, you also don’t have to buy any of her pre-packaged products. While she does have some food products available, like chicken and beef broth, her recipes don’t require that you use them. Rachel Ray’s meals are truly recipes that you can use without special knowledge or brand-name purchases.

It’s also fun to cook along with someone who’s really enthusiastic about the recipes. She actually makes the meals in 30 minutes on the television show. Unlike other cooking shows, nothing is pre-chopped or prepared in advance. So you could actually do the same thing she does and follow along.

If you’re looking for a simple and fast meal, Rachel Ray’s 30 Minute Meals can’t be beat. You can make a main dish, a side dish, and usually a salad and a dessert all in a half an hour. And since the ingredients are mostly common ones, you can find the exact things she uses.

With Rachel Ray receipes that are so simple and easy to follow, everyone should be able to enjoy her fun and healthy 30 minute meals.

Gourmet Cooking Recipes – The Basics of Gourmet Cooking Recipes

To many people, gourmet cooking seems like an inaccessible thing that only wealthy people are capable of enjoying, but with gourmet cooking recipes, this is no longer the case. There is no reason for you to feel as if you cannot take advantage of what gourmet cooking recipes have to offer, because these recipes are largely accessible and make it possible for you to create stunning gourmet meals for yourself and for your family. If you have never tried out gourmet cooking recipes or gourmet cooking before, you should not be intimidated.

With just a little bit of trial and error regarding gourmet cooking recipes, you can get a handle on this unique and enjoyable method of cooking. To begin with, you should understand what characteristics exist that make gourmet cooking recipes actually considered being gourmet. Gourmet cooking is designed to, for example, utilize ingredients that are fresh as well as of the highest possible level of quality.

For example, a gourmet chef will not call for dried or powdered garlic in their gourmet cooking recipes but rather they will demand fresh cloves instead. Herbs cannot be dried or powdered, but must be fresh and hand chopped or minced in order for the gourmet cooking recipes to be gourmet.

Another word that means the same thing as gourmet is epicurean, which is described as being someone that only likes the finest in food and in drink. Gourmet people, people who cook gourmet cooking recipes, are people that are like connoisseurs of food. Just like with an epicurean, these connoisseurs are people that understand what is good just as well as what is not good, especially in terms of gourmet cooking recipes.

The best way to learn about what makes gourmet cooking recipes actually gourmet is to go online and perform a search on the concept of gourmet food and gourmet cooking. The internet is filled to the brim with information that will benefit you on gourmet cooking and all other aspects of cooking as well. You should not be afraid to go online and ask around for help so that you can learn more about what gourmet cooking recipes are all about. There are a myriad of different communities online that are devoted to all forms of cooking and eating, and gourmet cooking and gourmet cooking recipes are certainly not exceptions to the rule.

Once you have decided to try out your own gourmet cooking recipes, you may find it enjoyable to try out specialty supermarkets and other grocers as you hunt down the unique and exotic ingredients that many of these recipes demand. Shop locally whenever you possibly can, and try an internet search for other ingredients that you cannot find nearby, like special herbs and spices for example, which can be delivered to your front doorstep quickly and efficiently when needed. Don’t be afraid to try new gourmet cooking recipes, you may find one that you really end up loving.

Finding Recipes, Low Calorie Style!

If you are one of the many people that have decided to take the low calorie leap, you are probably at a loss as to where to find recipes to cook. It is great to want to eat healthier, but sometimes you need a little guidance. If you need help finding recipes, low calorie style, here are few simple ways to locate recipes and shake up the recipes you have.

The easiest, most convenient way to find recipes, low calorie style, is to look on the internet. The information superhighway has thousands of recipes that you can access with a few clicks of the mouse. You can start your hunt by typing “recipes low calorie” in the search engine and watch the possibilities pop up. Just going through these sites will keep you more than busy and stocked up on ideas for sometime. However, if you want more, there is plenty more out there. Another idea is to look at specific websites that are focused on food preparation or have a recipe section. Look up your favorite cooking television show in the internet and see if they have a website. You would be surprised how many publish recipes they have aired or plan to air in the near future.

You can also take a stroll down the magazine aisle at your local store. There are hundreds of magazines that feature recipe sections. Pay special attention to magazines about women, family, and the home. Even if they are not specifically about cooking, many will at least throw in a few recipes. “Woman’s Day” is a perfect example of a magazine that targets women but always has several recipes inside, usually those that are low calorie.

Once you have done the first two suggestions, you should be swimming in recipes, more than you could cook in a year! However, there are still more available. If your thirst for recipes, low calorie style, is still strong, it is time to hit the bookstore. Be prepared there are roughly a billion books of cooking. Luckily, there are only several million on low calorie cooking. That may be an exaggeration, but it certainly will not seem so when you make it to the cookbook aisle! Try to focus on the healthy cookbooks so you will not be distracted by all the others on the market. Scan through a few books and look for something that may look good. This is mostly trial and error unless there is a specific chef or series of books you are interested in.

Rachel Ray Cooking – You Can Do It

Rachel Ray cooking is a type of cooking that even a brand new cook can manage. And rather than just end up with something okay, even a new cook can get awesome results right away. That’s because Rachel Ray’s recipes are designed to be easy and fast.

Her 30 Minute Meals is a top television show. It rocketed her to stardom, first on the Food Network as a chef, and then as a product spokesperson, magazine publisher and talk show host. It seems that everyone likes Rachel Ray, and even if they don’t, they know who she is.

There are dozens of top chefs who have shows on the Food Network. They all have best-selling cookbooks, their own cooking tools, their own food items and other things that they sell. All these chefs specialize in something.

One is an expert on making foods for parties, while another cooks down-home Southern food. Other shows demonstrate exotic European recipes. And Rachel Ray’s shows feature recipes that anyone at home can make without needing to go to specialty shops or take cooking lessons.

There’s no one type of food you’ll be cooking with Rachel Ray. She demonstrates Italian foods, American specialties like cheeseburgers, sandwiches, salads, Greek Food and almost every type of food. The only thing she specializes in is recipes that are delicious and easy to make.

Something that attracts people to her show is the ability to create a great meal in just a half an hour. It’s certainly not impossible to make your own meal in 30 minutes. Especially if you open boxes and cans and only have to add a few ingredients to the pre-packaged items.

But this is far from a healthy way to eat. And by Rachel Ray’s advice, if you read the label and can’t pronounce something on it, you probably should not be eating it. Her recipes feature natural foods that you’re familiar with and probably already buy.

Since she feels this way, her 30 minute recipes have ingredients that are all basic and healthful. And by using her recipes to make great meals, you won’t have to deal with harmful additives and the tons of sodium and fat found in pre-packaged foods.

Even in her recipes that might call for a jarred or canned ingredient, it’s easy to make sure it’s super healthy. Just choose the brand with the most natural ingredients. If the recipe calls for prepared pasta sauce, for instance, choose an organic brand, or at least one without things like high-fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils.

Rachel Ray’s cooking certainly won’t call for ingredients like that. And a great side benefit of following her 30 minute meals is that you get trained to do it on your own. After you’ve been following her recipes for a while, you’ll have your own ideas.

You may suddenly see how to turn a complicated recipe into something simpler, and faster to prepare. So while it’s fun to watch Rachel Ray cooking on TV, you’ll soon be making your own 30 minute meals without even looking at her recipes.