Baked Potatoes

Use a potato with high starch content …it makes for a puffier baked potato. Good starchy potatoes are: russet and Idaho.

Chop apples and pears

Chop apples, pears, etc. into a bowl of chilled salted water, drain, and pat on clean kitchen towel, to keep them from discoloring for a longer period.

Icing the cake

Preferably make the cake previous night, soak with syrup or as per recipe, and ice it the next day, for a smoother, cleaner icing. Never ice a cake which has not cooled thoroughly, through and through.

Cooking pasta

Always add a tbsp. of oil to plenty of water while boiling pasta of any kind. It will keep them from sticking to each other.

Recipe notes

Once the menu is decided for any party, write down the ingredients needed, next to each recipe. It avoids a lot of last minute shopping and running around.

Oooh Too Much Garlic

If you have put too much garlic in a stew or a sauce you can neutralize the flavor with parsley (this will work with your breath as well).

Cream Brule

When making Cream Brule adds one whole egg to the yolks to make sure it sets properly.

White Cauliflowers

To keep your cauliflower white during cooking, just add lemon juice in the water.

Crab cooking

Always place your crab in cold water when cooking it; this will keep the legs attached to the body to make a perfect presentation

Flavored salts

Nowadays you can buy a range of different salts, and – like wine – each has a distinctive flavour and smell depending on where it’s come from.

Mussels cooking

Mussels should open when they’re cooked. So toss out the odd one that doesn’t.

Lentils

There are more than 150 different types of lentils, but in Cyprus we tend to use the more common red, brown, and green varieties.

Pickled beetroots

If you want to have a go at making your own version of pickled beetroot … start by removing all but about half a centimeter from the stalk from your fresh beets – this stops the colour bleeding into the water too much

Squid

Squid are fast moving carnivores, propelling themselves by squirting a jet of water. When threatened, they’ll also squirt an inky liquid. It contained in a special sack and can be used to add a rich brown colour to sauces and pasta.