Cooking like a Chef
Healthy Eating
Healthy eating is not as difficult as it is perceived to be. It is not necessarily about eating healthy all of the time but more about making good food choices most of the time.
Cooking with Olive Oil
Cooking with olive oil is like cooking with wine. Never use a wine or olive oil that does not taste good to you. An inferior one will leave an aftertaste. If you do the taste test and compare the "pure" to the "extra-virgin" and the you'll understand the difference.
When cooking with olive oil, save your extra-virgin expensive oils for salads, dressings, and vinaigrettes. You can also drizzle it over slices of crusty bread or onto open-face sandwiches. Use it on a baked potato or add it to mashed potatoes instead of butter. Extra virgin olive oil tastes great on cooked vegetables or brushed onto fish or meat before serving.
When sautéing or frying, use either a combination olive oil (one that is simply a blend of extra virgin and regular olive oil) or a straight olive oil.
For deep frying, the olive oil grade "olive oil," is excellent because it has a higher smoke point (410º F) than virgin or extra virgin oils.
Weights and Measures
| 1 pinch = | less than 1/8 teaspoon (dry) |
| 1 dash = | 3 drops to 1/4 teaspoon (liquid) |
| 3 teaspoons = | 1 tablespoon = 1/2 ounce (liquid and dry) |
| 2 tablespoons = | 1 ounce (liquid and dry) |
| 4 tablespoons = | 2 ounces (liquid and dry) = 1/4 cup |
| 5 1/3 tablespoons = | 1/3 cup |
| 16 tablespoons = | 8 ounces = 1 cup = 1/2 pound |
| 16 tablespoons = | 48 teaspoons |
| 32 tablespoons = | 16 ounces = 2 cups = 1 pound |
| 64 tablespoons = | 32 ounces = 1 quart = 2 pounds |
| 1 cup = | 8 ounces (liquid) = 1/2 pint |
| 2 cups = | 16 ounces (liquid) = 1 pint |
| 4 cups = | 32 ounces (liquid) = 2 pints = 1 quart |
| 16 cups = | 128 ounces (liquid) = 4 quarts = 1 gallon |
| 1 quart = | 1 peck (dry) |
| 4 pecks = | 1 bushel (dry) |
Approximate Equivalents
| 1 quart (liquid) = | about 1 liter |
| 8 tablespoons = 4 ounces = | 1/2 cup = 1 stick butter |
| 1 cup all-purpose pre-sifted flour = | 5 ounces |
| 1 cup stoneground yellow cornmeal = | 4 1/2 ounces |
| 1 cup granulated sugar = | 8 ounces |
| 1 cup brown sugar = | 6 ounces |
| 1 cup confectioners' sugar = | 4 1/2 ounces |
| 1 large egg = | 2 ounces = 1/4 cup = 4 tablespoons |
| 1 egg yolk = | 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon |
| 1 egg white = | 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons |