Keys to Fastcook

Mami Dearest, a new reader, asked me for pointers on becoming a "Fast Cook" and I am oh too happy to oblige on the few simple key rules. I am so happy that somebody appreciates fast cooking. ha!

1. When possible, use prepared ingredients. Yeah, they may cost a few pennies more (e.g. $3.59 for a 16 ounce bag of shredded cheese as opposed to $3.29 for two 8 ounce blocks of cheddar cheese you have to shred yourself, but if you want to get in and out of the kitchen in no time fast, these things cost money). Other examples of prepared stuff includes, cooked meats that you only have to heat, vegetables in the bag that comes with their own sauces, pre-shelled peas and nuts, etc)

2. Your microwave is your friend for defrosting meat especially. Thawing for 8 hours in the fridge or 2 hours of running cold water over frozen tender loins. Me? Nahhh! That isn't even good for the environment to be wasting all that water when there is a perfectly good microwave sitting on the kitchen counter going unused. And as for defrosting meat overnight in the fridge, Arm and Hammer baking soda can only do so much to eat up the odor of Pork marinade. You don't want your slice of cheesecake protected only by a thin layer of saran wrap to smell like pork marinade do you?

3. Remember Boil-in-the-bag rice and Minute Rice taste just as good as the long grain, brown and parboiled rice that takes an extra 20-25 minutes to make. They don't call it minute rice for nothing! Throw that sucker in a pot and 3 minutes later, VOILA! PERFECT RICE!

4. BROIL. BROIL. BROIL. Not only is broiling (which essentially is the super hot flaming option on the oven dial) meats and other dishes quick, it's also healthier than frying. When the recipe calls for an item to be baked for 45 minutes at 350 degrees, for example, I bake for 15 minutes and then switch it to broil to hurry that cooking process, usually for just 5 minutes more. I am sure to constantly base the meat or food and monitor it to make sure it doesn't dry out as those high temps could quickly get out of control. I don't know about other people, but we like our food well done...almost to the point of slightly charred or burnt in my house. Yeah, it's weird, but we don't want to take any chances with half cooked meat, ya know.

5. Finally, I'd add that nothing makes a fast cook look like it took a bit longer to prepare than a good onion, bell pepper and sliced tomato sautee to sprinkle on top. Add some ketchup, or barbecue sauce, black pepper, pepper sauce and brown sugar to the mixture and you've got an instant brown sauce to drizzle over your final dish, whether it is salmon cakes, grilled chicken sausage, broiled chicken or fried croaker!