#1

Clean while you're cooking. WHILE.

#3

Sometimes when you think something needs more salt, what it really needs is acid — lemon juice, vinegar, etc.

#5

If your towels or oven mitt get wet (or your hands are wet while using them on something hot), they will NOT protect your hands.

#7

I am not a chef but I know for a fact that you shouldn't cook something you aren't familiar with if you are having guests.

#9

Baking is a perfect example of 'don't tear down walls unless you know why they were built.' If you know the chemistry at play and what each ingredient is doing, you can get creative. Keep in mind that every ingredient does something, so add-ons and substitution can change how everything works together.

#11

Soy sauce goes on more than just Asian foods. Try a dash in scrambled eggs or towards the end of your caramelized onions. It is a savory salt flavor that compliments many dishes.

#13

'Always be cleaning' is important to end-of-meal satisfaction. It’s such a drag to look up at the end of a great dinner and see a monstrous cleaning task ahead of you.

#15

I recommend choosing an acid based on what you are cooking. Italian? Try some red wine vinegar. Mexican? Try some lime juice. Additionally, if you are working with anything cream based, add acidity literally right at the end or else your sauce/dish will curdle.

#17

Massively improve the quality of your proteins (chicken, beef, tofu, anything) with fond. Fond is the dark brown stuff that sticks to your pan when you're cooking. It's not burnt unless its actually black. To get it off the pan and on the food, pour in either an alcohol or acid to dissolve it and get the now-brown liquid to coat your protein. Different proteins work best with different alcohols. Good rule of thumb — dry white for chicken or any lighter meat. Red for beef. Lemon juice works great for almost everything.