Have you ever tasted juicy tender chicken breasts and wondered how they turned out so succulent? I was always asking other people what their secrets were for making food taste a certain way when I first started cooking. I still do that, and I learned some good tricks and tips on how to make chicken …

Piri Piri chicken is a traditional Portuguese food that isn’t very common in the United States. There is a chain of restaurants called Nando’s that serves Piri Piri chicken as its signature dish. You won’t find these restaurants all over the states, though. They are only located in Chicago and Washington, DC. You may not …

If you have never made cheese quesadillas before, you might be surprised at how easy they are to make. The trickiest part, really, is just getting the right cooking equipment for it. Flipping the quesadilla over while it is cooking can be tricky as well, but I will get to how to do that later …

Pan fried fish is one of the simplest and quickest ways to cook your haddock. I will show you how to cook haddock in a pan and make it come out beautifully crispy every time. You won’t need a lot of ingredients for the recipe I am going to show you, and you don’t need …

Who doesn’t love the crispy, crunchy taste of battered fish? It pairs nicely with some steamed vegetables and mashed potatoes or with a plate of fries. Battered or breaded fish (have you tried cornmeal instead of breadcrumbs?) filet is very simple and quick to make. It’s much easier than fried chicken, I find, cooks faster, …

One of the most challenging parts of cooking a leg of lamb can be carving it. Some people get intimidated by the work they have to do, and not having much experience in carving this particular cut of meat can make them hesitant to even try cooking the lamb. The way you carve the lamb …

Campbell’s soup is already pretty good, and even though I like to make a lot of foods myself from scratch, I don’t feel bad about popping open a can of Campbell’s and having it for a meal sometimes. But at the end of the day, it’s still canned soup, with all of its shortcomings and …

Common Burger Mistakes There are some common mistakes people make with burgers that they will keep on making until they learn a better way. I know some people cook burgers that crumble when they grill them up, and they think it is because of the quality of the meat rather than their cooking method. Yes, …

Why is it the spicy foods that tend to stick to your fingers? After cooking with chilli powder to slicing hot peppers, I can feel and see the residue on my fingers afterwards. As much as I love cooking with hot and spicy stuff, I don’t like having to struggle to get my fingers clean. …

I like the idea of a bundt cake and how the cake comes out looking decorative and is shaped differently from the traditional rectangle to simple circular shape of a regular cake. However, I have had some bad experiences with bundt cake, especially the bundt pan. It’s not the cake that is so much to …

Let me count the ways I love zucchini- I love it in zucchini bread, I love it grilled, and I love it in soup. It’s great as a kebab or as part of a stir fry, and I like to add it to salad as well to give the salad a bit of variety. Zucchini …

Why buy rosemary in the store and pay money for sad-looking herbs when you can grow it yourself? Then, you can dry the rosemary to use in your own foods, adding some flavour, a wonderful aroma, and some colour to a variety of dishes. How do you dry rosemary? I want to show you my …

If you own a convection oven or are looking to get one, you probably have some questions about how it differs from a regular oven. It will cook your food differently, so you cannot use the same recipes you would use for a traditional oven with your convection oven. Baking cake in a convection oven …

I never grew up in a home where pasta sauce was made from scratch, and I am not a big fan of making it myself. There are plenty of foods I will make using the base ingredients, but pasta sauce isn’t usually one of them because of how messy and time consuming it can be. …

Pie is my reward food when I am on a diet. I take a little slice at the end of the week if I have done well on eating what I am supposed to and avoiding what I’m not supposed to eat. I would eat more pie if I didn’t know very well what it …

Cherry peppers are delightfully sweet and so cute. I just love these little guys, and they make for some great dish once you know how to use them. They cannot be cooked and prepared the same way as spicy peppers and then you expect the same result. Because of their sweet flavour, you want to …

Can you trust your nose to tell you when a turkey is done cooking? When you smell the lovely scent wafting through the kitchen and the rest of the house, does that mean the turkey has finished cooking? It would be a shame to take it out of the oven, slice it open and find …

Brown sugar has a look and a flavour to it that takes it useful in recipes for cookies, brownies and a variety of baked goods and desserts. Dark brown sugar is even richer and browner and might not be available in stores near you. Did you know that you can make your own brown sugar …

Tri-tip steak refers to the triangle cut of the loin butt from the cow. It’s a muscular part with a bit of fatty tissue to it, so it’s savoury and can be a little tough if not cooked properly. This is of the those pieces of meat that a lot of people have heard of …

If you are growing your own cherry tomatoes or buying them in large bags to save money, you probably need to know how to can cherry tomatoes. Preserving them will help them last much longer, so you don’t feel obligated to use them quickly and you don’t end up throwing any of them away. Like …

When I looked up what dry ice is made from, I was kind of surprised, and I bet you will be surprised to learn as well that it isn’t made from water. It’s not technically ice, as it comes from a gaseous form of carbon dioxide. I thought that was so weird, and what is …

The Delicate Art of Spiciness I like a bit of spiciness to some dishes, especially Mexican foods and Cajun dishes. That heat that’s added by chilli pepper, jalapenos and other seasonings can take a dish that is simply decent and elevate it, making it more interesting. I’m a fan of adding the unexpected spiciness as …

Probably one of the best inventions after sliced bread is the boneless chicken. Since chickens are full of bones, you have to put in the work to debone them. I want to tell you my method for how to debone a chicken thigh, which is one of the tougher cuts of chicken to remove the …

You have to be careful how you reheat rice. Most people will just use the microwave, but is that the best way to reheat rice? If you reheat the rice improperly or wait too long to reheat it, you could experience food poisoning. There is a bacteria called Bacillus cereus that latches onto rice and …

When you use butternut squash to make a soup or chilli or some other dish, do you end up with some leftovers? I usually do if I used a whole squash, because butternut squash can be quite big and you don’t usually need a lot of it for an individual recipe. Even when making butternut …

I look at tomato puree as a base ingredient, as I use it to make tomato paste, tomato sauce, and tomato soup. I like to use it for a number of recipes, and having it at home and prepared to use is convenient for me. It tastes way better than the store bought stuff packaged …

Probably my favourite dipping sauce, garlic butter is great for making steak, shrimp, Italian bread, and pizza more appealing. If you make it right, garlic butter sauce can be packed with flavour and is the perfect addition to any number of meals. It can be used to transform decent or even bland foods into something …

A good marinade can really change up the flavour of chicken and make it far more savoury. The length of time you marinade makes a different, and you don’t always need to marinate for a long time for the marinade to do its job and be effective. You can also find some of our other …

One of the most versatile flatbread types is the corn tortilla. It’s not just healthy, but it can be used to make so many of my favourite dishes. I use them for burritos and enchiladas, of course, but you can also use them for pizzas, homemade corn chips, taquitos, chimichangas and more. How you heat …

The Basics of Fermented Rice When rice is fermented, it can be used to make rice vinegar, or rice wine or rice wine vinegar. All of these can be used for many of the same dishes you cook, but they don’t produce the same flavour. Your food will taste different and have different characteristics depending …

If you were getting ready to cook some steak from the fridge and then pull it out to see it looking a little suspicious, what do you do? Is it safe to eat even though it looks odd or should you toss it and save yourself from potential food poisoning? These are the hard question …

Is there a more satisfying comfort food than French fries? I sure can’t think of one. I like loading mine up with sour cream, cheese, bacon bits, and chives, but they are perfectly fine with just a pinch of salt on them too. There are tons of different ways to have fries, but probably the …

Did you know that there is a right way and a wrong way to cut flank steak? That’s true of lots of different kinds of meat. Cutting them the wrong way results in a cut that isn’t quite right. Steak is really tricky when it comes to cuts and how to slice it properly. The …

This seafood delicacy is one that pairs well with all sorts of dishes. Scallops make for a great dish on their own, but if you put them together with the right dish, that just take them to a whole new level. My love of scallops means I am always trying new pairings and seeing what …

Salmon is probably one of the most consumed fish in the world, right after tuna. It’s classy enough to go with just about any dinner but not so classy that you can’t fry it up and have it with some fries. Of course, salmon is only tasty if it is fresh, and once it starts …

Black rice might look strange and different but it tastes great. This whole grain rice goes by a few different names I found as I started to research it. This isn’t a very common kind of rice, and it may be called forbidden rice, Chinese black rice, or purple rice. It changes colour as you …

How you cut Brussel sprouts depends on what you are making with them. You can’t do the same trimming for every kind of dish you use Brussel sprouts in. They are easy enough to trim, though. Just think of them like a cabbage, but smaller. You’ll trim them in a similar way as you would …

Texas toast is thick and buttery and a perfect addition to a hearty dinner. It makes for a great side dish with pasta, chicken, mashed potatoes, or roasted vegetables. Texas toast gets its name from its supposed origins at a place called the Pig Stand in Denton, Texas. According to the stories, a bakery ordered …

If you see chicken stock and chicken broth on the shelf at the grocery side by side, you may wonder what’s the difference. Is there any difference or can you use them interchangeably? When a recipe calls for one or the other, does it matter which one you use? It does matter, and I want …

If you have a sweet tooth and have never heard of spumoni, then it’s a real shame. But you most probably have as this Italian gelato is extremely popular. What’s more, is that there’s a National Spumoni Day celebrated in the US every year on the 21st of August and Canada on the 13th of …

When it comes to tempering chocolate, there are many ways to get the job done. You can try the classic stovetop or microwave method, but if you want extra precision from the comfort of your own kitchen, then the sous vide cooker method should be right up your alley. In this article, we’re sharing a …

Reverse searing is a method used to cook steaks, especially the thicker ones. The process of reverse searing a beef steak relies on baking it in the oven then following up with searing the steak, hence the name. If you want to know how to it the right way, you’re in for a treat! Today, …

There’s hardly a food that is as versatile as dumplings. Dumplings are popular in many world cuisines and can be prepared using various ingredients, so you can definitely prepare dumplings for every occasion. What’s really impressive about dumplings is that you can always prepare them in advance and store them in the freezer until they’re …

Although the word “poached” might give you a false impression that it’s a difficult way to cook salmon, it’s actually one of the easiest methods and some ideas on what to serve with poached salmon Poaching generally refers to cooking tender meat and other food gently in a broth over low heat. Poaching a salmon …

Fruits and veggies can go bad within days if they are not tended to properly. Improper storage, a lack of care, and poor environmental conditions can cause your fresh produce to rot quickly. The tomatoes can turn brown and nasty looking, and the bananas will soon become spotted and then gooey. When your veggies and …

Inexperienced cooks may often wonder if their food is fully cooked and if it is okay to eat. Is the bread done in the middle? Is the chicken cooked all the way through? Is the beef safe to eat? Is my pie supposed to be that wobbly or is it really cooked? These are questions …

Freshly baked bread has a distinctive aroma, texture, and taste to it. When it comes out of the oven piping hot and welcomes a little spread of butter- there is just nothing quite like it. I remember many mornings that I lingered in the kitchen just to be around the freshly baked bread. Bread doesn’t …

Potato soup is probably my favourite soup, and that’s mostly because of how many tasty things you can put in it and still call it potato soup. I like to throw tons of cheese in mine, as well as mushrooms, garlic, and onions. Then, I top it off with chives, parsley, or bacon bits. Making …

I think the only tough part of making pizza at home from scratch is the dough. Anyone can spread sauce on the pizza, shred cheese over that, and add toppings by hand. These are the fun parts of making the pizza, and maybe making the dough is fun for you too, but it can also …

Pumpkin pie crust usually comes in one of two varieties. You will find pumpkin pie neatly seated in a soft, flaky pastry pie crust or in a crispy, crunchy graham cracker pie crust. You get two very different experiences, and neither one is bad. I like to mix it up and switch between the two …