As with measuring cups, when you first begin cooking it’s important to use measuring spoons.  They come in a set, usually of 4 to measure 1/4 teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon, 1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon.  Larger sets may come with 1/8 teaspoon and 3/4 teaspoon.  You can even get spoons that will measure a dash, a pinch, a smidgen and a tad.

When using spoons, as with cups, fill your spoon to the top and level off dry ingredients with a knife or spatula.  Spoons can also be used to measure wet ingredients.  Never pour wet ingredients into the spoon while over the bowl or skillet you will be adding the ingredient to, as you can overpour into the bowl or skillet and ruin your dish.

When baking, it is essential to always measure ingredients with your cups and spoons at all times, don’t try to eyeball measurements as baking is based on the interaction of the ingredients in their proper protions.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that helps busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules by offering cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

A meat thermometer is something that I believe is essential to taking the guess work and fear factor out of cooking meat and poultry to perfection.  

There are two different types of thermometers, one has a long stem with the display on top and the other is digital with a probe attached.

All meats have different temperatures that relate to their “doneness”.  To cook meat rare the temperature should register to between 120 degrees and 125 degrees, medium rare is 130 degrees to 135 degrees, etc, turkey, chicken, lamb, pork, all have different “doneness” temperatures. 

To use a thermometer insert it  into the thickest part of the meat and wait for it to reach your desired temperature.

The stem type of thermometer, can have a very large display or a small one.  They can have the temperatures printed on the display or they can be digital.  These types of themometers are not oven safe.  The way to use them is to place the meat in the oven and cook for a period of time, open the oven, pull out the meat and place the thermomter in the thickest part of the meat.  Never stick your hand into a hot oven, learn from my mistakes, it’s not fun.

I love my digital thermometer with probe.  The probe is inserted into the thickest part of the meat and the display sits outside the oven.  Some digital thermometers have all the meat temperatures preset.  Just set the type of meat you are cooking and the doneness you desire and press start, the computer will beep when the meat reaches the correct temperature.  I highly recommed these digital thermometers over of the stem type.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that helps busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules by offering cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

A microplane is along thin razor sharp grater used to zest citrus fruits, hard cheeses, nutmeg, ginger and garlic.  I love mine and use it all the time.  They come in many shapes and sizes, some with handles, some without. 

When using a microplane for zesting citrus fruits, be sure to only take off the colored part of the peel, not any of the white as this part is bitter.  When grating small objects, such as garlic or nutmeg, it is essential to be very careful.  As I mentioned, a microplane is razor sharp, safety is essential.  When using your microplane to grate ginger or garlic keep in mind that these spices become more intense the finer they are cut.  If your recipe calls for 1 clove minced garlic and you are using a microplane, cut back to half the clove first and taste the dish after it has been incorporated.  If more garlic is needed, then simply add more.  Keep in mind, when cooking, you can always add, you can’t take out.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that helps busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules by offering cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

Your sharp chef knife is the most important piece of equipment in your kithcen when it comes to getting healthy meals on the table fast and care for your knife is important.  A knife guard is a hard plastic case that fits over the blade of the knife.  If you keep your knife in a drawer where it can get knocked around, I highly suggest you get a knife guard to protect it.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that helps busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules by offering cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

When you first start cooking, it’s really important to measure all your ingredients according to your recipe.  As time goes on and you become more comfortable, confident and familiar with what different measurements look like, you won’t need to measure as much. 

There are two different types of measuring cups, one for measuring dry ingredients and one for measuring wet ingredients.  Dry cups are separate cups for each measurement.  These come in a set which usually consists of 1/4 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup and 1 cup.  Larger sets may include 1/8 cup and 3/4 cup.  Scoop your ingredients into the cups and level off the top with a knife or spatula and you have perfectly measured ingredients.

A wet measuring cup is usually a glass or plastic cup with a handle and a spout used to measure all liquid ingredients no matter the amount.  You’ll notice it has lines across the side with the measurments.  Just fill the cup with your wet ingredient to the line and you have perfectly measured wet ingredients.

It is possible to measure wet ingredients in dry cups, but without a steady hand you’ll make a mess.  I don’t recommend measuring dry ingredients in a wet cup as it’s difficult to get the proper measurement.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that helps busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules by offering cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

If you read my blog about how to sharpen your chef knife I mentioned you need to use a “steel” and I even showed you how to use it, but I wanted to expand on this important kitchen tool.

A sharpening or honing steel is a magnetized straight piece of metal used to straighten the edge of a knife.  In my knife sharpening video I explained that you use a steel after you sharpen your knife, but in order to keep your knives in tip-top shape you should also use the steel each time you take your knife out for use.  If you do this you will rarely have to sharpen your knives.  If the knife seems dull while cutting, a few rubs on the steel should help.

How to Purchase a Chef Knife

How to Sharpen Your Chef Knife

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that helps busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules by offering cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

A cutting board that moves around on the counter is extremely dangerous. Check out this top secret chef tip you need to know

My top secret cutting board trick

When it comes to purchasing pots and pans for healthy meal prep the running theme is quality.  Quality will mean better results and with proper care and maintenance, they will last a lifetime.

There are many different materials to choose from and it can get a little confusing.  So I am going to make it as simple as possible.  First you need to decide what your budget is for pots and pans because I highly recommend that you buy the highest quality you can afford as cheap pans will warp, have hot spots or may not have flat bottoms. For the beginner cook I recommend non-stick oven –proof anodized aluminum cookware.

If you are just beginning buying your pots and pans this is where you want to buy a set.  A cookware set will come with the basic pieces you need to get started.  An eight piece set is a nice starter and usually includes an 8” – 10” skillet, a 1 quart sauce pan, a 2 quart sauce pan and 6 quart stock pot all with lids. A 10 piece set may include a 3 quart covered sauté pan.  A 13 piece set will have many extras such as a steamer basket or pasta dinner.

When it comes to the care of your pots and pans the better you take care of them the longer they will last.  Never use abrasives in non-stick cookware and never put them in the dishwasher.  Another thing to keep in mind is if you’re going to be stacking them for storage, place a paper towel between them so they don’t get scratched.

TIP: Never use metal utensils (such as spatulas and spoons) with non-stick cookware.  It will scratch the surface of your pans and it’s not a good idea to cook with non-stick cookware that is scratched.

A sharp chef knife is essential to get healthy meals on the table fast. If you’ve been reading my blog posts then you’ve read how to buy a chef knife and also that you need a sharpening stone to keep it in tiptop shape. Here is a step by step instruction guide on how to sharpen your knife.

How to Sharpen Your Chef Knife

It is essential to keep your knives sharp, it cuts down on your prep time and is much safer then a dull knife. To sharpen a knife you need a sharpening stone. A stone will have a coarse side and a fine side. Soak your stone in water for about 5 minutes and place on a kitchen towel, on the kitchen counter in front of you coarse side up. A towel is used so the stone doesn’t move around. Hold your knife in one hand at a 20 degree angle (about the width of a matchbook) to your stone with your free hand applying slight pressure along the blade. Start at the base of the knife, blade portion closest to the handle, slide the knife across the stone from the base to the tip, always keeping the blade at the same angle. Repeat this motion 10 times, flip the knife over to sharpen the other side and repeat the motion 10 ten times. Keep flipping and repeating this same motion until you have done so 5 times on each side. When this is done, turn stone over to the fine side and repeat this process. When done rinse the blade and follow up with the sharpening steel.