How to Add a Brazilian Twist to a Recipe - "Brazilian Pesto"

The "Brazilian Pesto" is an easy way to add a Brazilian twist to meals.I added to the sauce of this salmon recipe (picture above) and the result was wonderful!

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How to Bake Ribs to Perfection

It took me a while to become proud of the way I prepared ribs, but after testing many different techniques over and over again I can finally share a great and easy step-by-step process.

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How to Make Oven-Dried Tomatoes

Since these tomatoes are slow cooked at a low temperature for hours, they develop the concentrated flavor of sun-dried but retain the juiciness of the fresh-off-the vine kind. They taste really sweet and add a gourmet touch to any recipe.

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How to Save Money on High Quality Ingredients

Attention to detail makes a lot of difference on how your food will taste, so buying high quality ingredients is a way to almost guarantee that the food will taste great. The problem is that high quality usually means expensive – or it used to be that way! Instead of going to a grocery store with a list of ingredients for random recipes, go to a grocery store and buy the produce and meat in season and go from there! If the product is in season it means that it will taste better, and you don’t have to spend a fortune on it!

Of course, going back home and being able to combine all of the ingredients together into a successful dish takes some cooking practice.  You can simply Google a few ingredients that you have on hand and a variety of recipes will show.  I do that all the time!  Or better yet, search my website for ingredients and you will get a list of recipes with those ingredients!

Get the Most Out of Fresh Herbs

Freezing your herbs is really a great way to make you herbs last, but the reality is that you can't always add frozen herbs to your dish. So here are a few guidelines to help you on how to use fresh herbs:

Sauces

Add frozen herbs at the end of your sauce preparation so the fresh flavor is kept.  Basil, green onions, tarragon, dill, marjoram, parsley, cilantro, mint, chives, watercress, and arugula are all examples of herbs that should be added at the very end of your recipe. 

Exceptions: Rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves should cook with the sauce so they slowly release their flavor.

Garnishing with Herbs

If you like to garnish with fresh herbs you have to keep some of them in the fridge. My advice is to garnish with herbs that are less expensive, such as scallions, cilantro, and parsley.  If part of them end up going bad, you won't lose much money.

Freeze Fresh Herbs to Make Them Last

How many times do you buy a certain amount of fresh herbs because that's what comes in the package at the grocery store? And usually that package is kind of expensive!  You end up losing part of those herbs because you don’t need it all for your dish, and they go bad really fast. 

My tip: buy your herbs and when you get home wash them, pat them dry with a paper towel, chop them as fine as you like, put them in a tightly sealed container (or a plastic bag) and freeze them.  That way they not only will be ready to go when you need them, but they will also last for months in your freezer!