Cooking Tips: From our House to Yours

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LAist at Home / Photo by Elise Thompson for LAist

Whenever we cook, there is a little voice that occasionally admonishes, reminds, and keeps us from cutting off a finger. (What? You guys don't hear the voices too???). Whether it was your mom, dad, neighbor or Hints from Heloise, or if you had to learn the hard way, these tips are invaluable and keep the ambulance away. Here are a few tips from LAist to you.

Elise:

Close all of the kitchen drawers before you start cooking

If the oven is on, any pots on the stove will be hot, even if the burner under them is not lit

Don't use kitchen towels as oven mitts

Try to keep from getting stabbed or stabbing anyone (This one has come up more than once)

Julie Wolfson:

Make sure you have ALL of the ingredients.

Ross A. Lincoln:

Make sure you have 1 person designated as the kitchen sommelier, whose sole job it is to refill drinks. Really, really important when your hands are covered in flour.

Zach Behrens:

If you don't have a patio or place to put a grill, the George Foreman is excellent for grilling up veggies.

Know which oils to use when and know when to use Virgin Olive Oil and regular Olive Oil.

The best ice cream you'll ever have is the one you make at home

Experiment and play. Experiment and play. Experiment and play.

More after the jump!

Beth Kopley:

Do all your chopping before you start drinking

Don't neglect to start drinking, esp. at a family event

It's never too early for a Bloody Mary -- it counts as your morning juice and goes down well with vitamins

Try not to leave burners on under emptied pots and pans

Don't make anything too fancy, not for Thanksgiving -- keep it simple

A cleanish kitchen floor is a good idea, in case you drop the turkey.

Melissa:

Holding the item you're cutting in your hand is ill-advised.

If you're going to make quesadillas while drunk, make sure you have a semi-sober person around for turning off the stove.

Your knife should be proportional to your item. Cutting a mini-bagel with a butcher knife causes problems.

Grease fires aren't put out by water, even though that is your first inclination.

Making more than three items at a time generally means that two will suck.

I have yet to find a dish that hot sauce and bacon don't compliment.

Farley Elliott

Always make sure to turn pot and pan handles parallel to the edge of the surface you are working on. Handles sticking out and over other burners are a leading cause of cooking accidents, especially involving children.

Clean as you go. You'll usually end up using less water and soap overall, and there won't be an insurmountable pile of dishes when you least want them.

Make more stuffing than you need. It's everyone's favorite, and if you have some left over you can throw some onto the next day's turkey sandwiches. Delicious.

Serve an apple pie. Yeah, its Thanksgiving and that means pumpkin pie, and cherry pie is somehow a favorite, but anyone who doesn't like apple pie is either a liar or someone who shouldn't be sitting at your dinner table.

Michael Zampelli:

Delegate! If you are making the turkey, have others bring the drinks,
salads and desserts etc.

Make sure to get a turkey that is way too huge so there will be lots of
sammiches for leftovers.

Don't forget the cranberry sauce, some of us can not stand turkey without
it!

Peel back the skin and put butter and spices under it for baked in goodness

Lisa Borodkin:

Hold a piece of bread in your mouth when chopping onions.

Samkin:

cater.