Tips from Around the World (Wide Web)

Photo took by Mr.  P.

I don’t remember when I first learn to make pasta or fried potatoes. And for the longest time, I did them the same way. For pasta, I started with a pot full of water, bring it to boil, add pasta to it, and cook until al-dente. For deep-frying potatoes, I always wait for the oil to heat up before adding the potatoes. Well… all that changed after the Internet.

A Different Way to Make Pasta

This is how I usually make my pasta now—especially Thin Spaghetti. I would start with covering the pasta with cold water in a shallow pan and heat it up to medium high to high heat. While it cooks, I would prepare the ingredients for the sauce and stir the pasta every now and then.

I typically use the same pot to make the sauce. Sometimes, it involves simply reheating the frozen pasta sauce. If it is too thick or too dry, I would add the pasta water reserved earlier to the sauce and season it accordingly. Then, simply turn off the heat, toss the pasta into the sauce, and dinner is served.

A Different Way to Fry Potatoes

I could not find any video for this. But I read in a few places about cooking potatoes in cold oil. This is the only way I fry my potatoes now. Basically I would put a layer of cut potato in a pot, cover it in oil and turn the heat up to medium to medium high. Way less mess and a perfect for dinner for two.

Here are a couple links that discuss this method in more details:
An Easy Way to Make French Fries from NY Times Diner’s Journal blog
French Fries the Robuchon way from Matthew Kayhara

Two-Different Ways to Peel a Head of Garlic Quickly

I usually buy peeled garlic. But I find the tips above to be helpful in the event that I have a whole garlic instead of peeled garlic.

A Different Way to Make Corn of the Cobb

Can you imagine making corn-on-the-cobb without having to deal with those pesky silk? If you don’t think if that’s possible, please watch the video above. Simply amazing. The wonder of microwave.

I have to admit, internet helps me a lot with my cooking. With all the endless articles, forums, blog posts, and of course, YouTube videos, I have a lot to learn. Maybe next time I can share you my favorite cooking show on the net and, you too, can share some of the tips you learn from the world wide web.