Chef Kay Gadi-Carreon Makes Holiday Cooking Easier for You
By Andrew F. Loc | SAN DIEGO, 12/04/09 -- With the holiday season in full swing, chances are you're stuck balancing your time and money between cooking recipes good enough to make your mother-in-law swoon with envy and searching for the perfect presents that will make you your little nieces' new favorite uncle.
But now, 2004 California Culinary Olympic team advisor and family woman Kay Gadi-Carreon offers you some quick and useful tips to enhance your cooking so you'll have plenty of time left over for shopping... or some more cooking!
1) If you're new to cooking, start simple. "Ratatouille is a great first dish because it's all vegetables. Once you get that down, you can move on to chicken and pasta dishes," says Chef Gadi-Carreon. As we learned from the namesake Pixar flick from a few years back, you don't need to go complex to impress.
2) Think the meal through before you cook it. "In order to be efficient," she says, "You have to have your ingredients ready and know exactly what you have to do." So go ahead and chop vegetables while you preheat the oven so you won't be sitting around waiting. Multitasking will safe you loads of time.
3) Shop at Asian markets like Ranch 99 and Seafood City. "The seafood and produce are top quality and low price at Asian markets," says the chef. You don't need to sacrifice your wallet for your stomach to get quality ingredients. Just know what's out there!
4) If buying in bulk, freeze unused portions for later use. "For instance, if you have leftover strawberries, cut off the stems so they stay fresh and put them in the freezer. Later, you can use them to make a fresh smoothie or dessert," the chef says. So if you're into buying large quantities from places like Costco, be sure maximize the mileage of your ingredients and they'll serve you even past the holiday season, in addition to saving you money.
5) Too many recipes to handle alone? Bring your family into the kitchen! "Cooking promotes family time," says Chef Gadi-Carreon." It's one of the only activities that all family members can participate in together." The holidays bring families together unlike any time of year and your family's holiday spirit can get a huge boost from only a few hours in the kitchen together.
5) Feel free to experiment. " Cooking arts are very subjective because you can add your own personal touch to everything you make." Don't be afraid to add a little more something to a classic recipe; the results may surprise you!
6) Lastly, give the gift of cooking to your children! The chef works with many children as the owner of Kitchen Art Studio and also teams up with her little chef daughter KC to create some wonderful family recipes. She feels that cooking is not just a hobby, but a life skill. " If you teach your children to work with clay," she says," they eventually will leave whatever created lying around and it will get rusty. But with cooking, they can take the skills with them for the rest of their lives."
This story was provided by the Asian Journal,which you can visit here:www.asianjournalusa.com
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