The document provides numerous cooking tips and tricks to help readers become better cooks. It advises following directions closely, making ingredient lists before shopping, cooking meat thoroughly to kill bacteria, not overcooking vegetables, cleaning cast iron with salt water instead of soap, repurposing stale bread as croutons or crumbs, adding oil to pans along the edges, keeping portions small in multi-course meals, using substitutions for bread crumbs, and finding benefits from home cooking.

1. Cooking is an art that many people enjoy. Many people
aspire to be the next Julia Child in their kitchens, but lack
the skills and knowledge. The following article will provide
you with a myriad of cooking tips and tricks that will get
you on the road to being as good as any top chef.

2. When one is cooking something it is important that they
follow the directions as closely as they possibly can.
Forgetting an ingredient, putting in too much or too little
of an ingredient, or not cooking something long enough
are all problems that can arise when one is not paying
attention to the directions.

3. To prepare for the meal that you are going to cook, make a
comprehensive list of everything that you are going to
need to cook your meal when you go to the supermarket.
This will allow you to stay as organized as possible so
there is no part of your meal that you leave out.

4. When cooking any meat you want to make sure that you
reach the temperature that is high enough to kill any
transferable bacteria. If this bacteria is not cooked high
enough for whatever the certain meat calls for, people can
become very ill or even get worms that were in the meat.

5. Don't overcook vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, and
Brussels sprouts. While lightly steamed cabbage that still
retains its crunch is delicious, particularly in dishes like
coleslaw, and lightly steamed broccoli is great in
salads, when either are overcooked, they liberate stinky
sulfur compounds and lose a lot of nutritive value and
texture.

6. If you're cooking with cast-iron pots and pans - never
clean with soap, unless you want to lose its non-stick
properties! Instead, use a paste of salt and water to scour
the pan, if needed, or boil some water in the pot or pan to
loosen stuck-on foods. Remove the remaining residue with
a paper towel, and rub on a thin layer of oil before storing.

7. If you find yourself with part of a loaf of stale
bread, don't throw it away or feed it to the birds.
Instead, turn it into croutons for a soup or salad by tossing
cubes of bread with oil and seasonings and baking them
until crispy. You can also turn stale bread into
breadcrumbs for many recipes.

8. Here is an important tip to use when sauteing foods in a
pan with oil. If you need to add more oil to the pan in the
middle of sauteing, simply pour the oil as stream along the
edge of the pan. You should do this rather than pouring in
the center of the pan so that the oil will heat up as it
travels from the edge to the center.

9. Keep portions small when you are serving multiple course
meals. Many people make the mistake of overdoing it
when the are portioning courses. If you fill your guests up
on salad or bread, they will have no room left for dessert.
They may not even have room left for the main course at
that rate.

10. If you are out of bread crumbs you can try these simple
substitutions in your recipe: cracker crumbs, matzo,
crushed cornflakes, grounds oats, or even potato chips.
Simply substitute an equal amount of the replacement
food for the bread crumbs. You can also make fresh bread
crumbs by finely chopping four slices of bread per cup you
need.

11. Preparing more of your own meals has numerous financial
and health-related benefits, and regardless of your
motivations for cooking, you'll see the benefits in various
aspects of your life. You'll also take a great deal of pride
and satisfaction in preparing a delicious, home-cooked
meal. So what are you waiting for? Go get to it!

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