What basic principles did you understand and your cooking skills greatly increased?

[celestialinter0]

Start with me:

1. The role of seasoning is to enhance the aroma, not to cover the aroma of the ingredients themselves. Eat the ingredients, not the seasonings.

2. When frying vegetables, it is recommended to stir fry to the maximum heat, and take it out of the pot when it is almost out of rawness.

[kopenhagen5]

Be subtle with flavours so you can still taste all the ingredients individually. (similar to above)

And don't shy from trying new combinations.

[countessalmirena]

When cooking potatoes, use the least amount of water; it will give the potatoes great flavoursomeness instead of losing flavour to the water.

Steaming vegetables brings out taste to the oomph degree.

[janeababe]

I haven’t boiled veggies in over 20yrs. I either steam, fry or roast them. 😋

I do prefer my veggies a tad on the crunchy side while my steak MUST be very well done (I can hear the boo-hissing from here! 😂) 

[springyzone]

I don't know that I am any type of great cook but one thing I have come to understand is that if you don't have a particular ingredient, you can quite often substitute. 

I used to often just buy ingredients but kicked up a few years back when a recipe called for Kahlua and I wasn't about to buy some just for the 1/4 cup needed. Was able to make a good substitute.

Same with some herb or spice combinations.

Google is such a boon.

[*sons_and_daughters*]

One thing my Nana taught me as a kid, if you taste something (savoury) and you think it's missing something, throw in a chicken stock cube. Had to be chicken, regardless of what you were cooking. You know, she was right!

I tried using a beef stock cube in a beef casserole that was "missing something" and it didn't work. Another time when it was "missing something", I threw in the chicken cube and it was perfect.

Same goes for baking dish gravy (no Gravox in this house!!). Even if you cook roast beef, or lamb, the gravy must have a chicken stock cube. No other flavours or it doesn't taste right.

[domino-710]

This kitchen Goddess is taking all this onboard - and - passing it on to the Chef. lol

[*sons_and_daughters*]

Trying really hard to reply to an actual post, but keep getting a message flood error.......

Edit: That worked. Trying to reply to Jane...... I'll try again........

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I prefer steamed veges, but still boil spuds. With salt!

As for the steak, no boo hissing here. People should have their steak how they like it, and shouldn't be made to feel bad for their preference. My sister likes it cremated. Personally, I prefer it on the rarer side, but lamb must be very well done. I can't do lamb anything resembling rare (which makes it hard when the spouse prefers it rare).

That said, I don't eat much meat. I just don't find it that appetising. I'd much prefer a plate of steamed veges. Unless it's snags, I love snags! I like meat in stuff, but not sit down to a plain steak or whatever.

Edit again: That worked! For the life of me, I tried so hard to reply to Jane's message, but kept getting an error. 

[tasfleur]

One of the most savagely important things I ever learned was to always make sure that water was put into the pressure cooker before even starting to gather ingredients .. "just in case".

My first "mal-experience" was watching a sausage oozing out through the vent .. it was a great learning (if not frightening) curve.

[domino-710]

OK - you lost me at pressure cooker. lol