Seirup Kitchen

Cooking is a “from the hip” operation. While baking can require precision, rulers have no place in a cook’s toolbox. Whenever recipes specify 1/4-inch slices, or 1/2-inch cubes, resist the urge to go find a ruler to see if you’re cutting things the right size. I’m talking to all you engineers out there.

Cooking is all about relative timing. There are often a half-dozen things going on in the kitchen at any given time. Cooking is great time management exercise. Can you chop all the vegetables while the pan heats and the butter melts? Can you get the pasta and sauce to be done at the exact same time for ideal serving? Can you boil potatoes for mashing, sautee brussel sprouts, make salad dressing, chop vegetables, keep an eye on pies in the over, mash the potatoes, baste the turkey, and talk to your guests all at the same time… and get everything on the table simultaneously with nothing raw or cooked to death? Don’t worry, you’ll hone your skills as you learn how fast you can do things, and just how long things take to cook. In fact, sometimes the most accurate way I can tell you how long onions should sautee for, is “as long as it takes me to chop the peppers and mushrooms”