Kitchen Safety Basics
Before you jump into your first recipe, let's go over a few basics that make cooking safer and more enjoyable — nothing complicated, just common sense written down in one place.
- Wash your hands and wipe down your work surface before you start — most kitchen problems begin with dirty hands or a dirty cutting board.
- Keep raw meat, fish, and eggs separate from everything else — a different cutting board, a different knife, and above all, don't let them touch food that won't be cooked afterward.
- Always cook meat, poultry, and eggs through properly — for hard-boiled eggs, that means exactly 10 minutes at a boil, no runny center. Undercooked food is the most common way to ruin an evening.
- Watch your fingers when cutting, and always cut away from your body — better to slow down a little than to rush and be careless.
- Turn pot and pan handles inward, toward the stove, not out into the kitchen — it's easy to bump a handle that's sticking out and spill everything.
- Always use an oven mitt or towel for hot pots, pans, and baking sheets, never your bare hand — the lid and handles get hot too, not just the sides and bottom. Lift lids away from your face so escaping steam doesn't hit you.
- Don't leave leftovers out at room temperature for long — get them into the fridge within two hours of cooking.
Now let's get to the recipes — how about starting with the simplest one.