Anyone seeking their cooking certificate online is always looking for new ways to push their recipes to the limits. Since the new year is coming up quickly, why not challenge yourself in the kitchen with some resolutions based around food? There are many ways to go about this aside from the typical, “I want to eat healthier,” or “I want to cook more often” resolutions. Here are a few ways that you can really enhance your cooking skills in 2017:
Learn new ways to prepare vegetables
Many culinary artists focus on different ways to prepare proteins and think of the vegetables as a side dish. That fillet may be extraordinary, but serving it alongside a helping of steamed vegetables will make the whole meal seem underwhelming. Try experimenting with different vegetables that you’ve never had before, and enhance your old go-to dishes by learning how to roast and saute your favorite vegetables. A stellar meal consists of more than just a great entree. The whole thing should be impressive – sides, sauces and all.
“Make 2017 the year you tackle something new.”
Make things you never have
Every chef has a few dishes that seem just too intimidating to try to tackle. Whether that’s a sous vide dish, a souffle or a loaf of sourdough bread, make 2017 the year that you finally tackle it. It may take a couple of tries to master, so don’t attempt to make it for the first time when you’re hosting a dinner party or stressed out. Try making it on a Sunday afternoon, right after you got paid, so if it doesn’t work out the first – or second – time, you can order an emergency pizza for dinner! Make your goal for the end of the year to master this intimidating dish!
Don’t waste food
We’ve all had plastic containers of food shoved to the back of the refrigerator and wondered what the heck it was to begin with. However, a great resolution is to limit the amount of food you throw away. This doesn’t just include finding uses for all of your leftovers, either. Make an effort to learn how to grocery shop smart, as well as how to store all of your food so it lasts as long as possible. You’ll be surprised about how much money you save by not throwing items away at the end of the week and only buying what you know you’ll use to cook!
Make breakfast
You’re not alone if you’re one of those cooks who puts a great deal of emphasis on dinner and allows your breakfast dishes to fall by the wayside. Typically, breakfast foods have been a forgotten aspect of cuisine, despite being such a good way to get your day started. Try making some breakfast pastries this year, or mini quiches to keep in the refrigerator and heat up in the morning. Once you realize how much more alert you are when you have a hearty breakfast in the morning, you’ll wonder how you ever went without it.
Clean out your kitchen
Are there half-empty bottles of olive oil lurking toward the back of your cabinet? Old boxes of breadcrumbs that you don’t remember buying in your pantry? Make it a point to get all of the nooks and crannies of your kitchen and pantry cleaned out in 2017. This stuff that is surely no good to eat anymore is taking up space that should be lent to food that you plan to prepare and eat now!
