Tips and tricks from the Seattle DINING! test kitchen

With fall settling in, you'll probably be spending more time in the kitchen and less time out at the BBQ. Family might be along soon for the holidays so here's a few tips to make you look like the kitchen star you are and one for your pet as well.

Prep all you can first

You know how a recipe might say one hour cooking time, 1.5 hours total. Our experience tells us that's after all the ingredients have been prepped. And while we don't think that's a good enough reason to prep them all in the beginning here's one that is – a more fluid, less haphazard hair-pulling cooking experience. Use ramekins and bowls to place all the called for quantities of items into. If things are to be blended, like spices, put them all in the same container. Then when it's time to fire the burner you won't make yourself crazy trying to chop garlic when it's really time to put it into play. The French culinary term is 'mise en place' or 'putting in place.' Not a new idea, but clearly a good one.

Perfect protein cakes

Sausage patties, crab cakes and otherwise need a little TLC when they cook and need to be turned at just the right time. Begin by placing them into the pan in a clockwise order with the first in the 12 o'clock position. This way you can remember which ones went in first and flip in a logical order later.

Next, sear each patty to hold in the juices. Then allow them to heat up until they are about 100 degrees on the top raw surface area. An infrared thermometer helps a lot here. If you don't have one, look for juices to be making their way through the surface.

Now flip each one in their original order and then go around one more time to sear each patty on the reverse side. Use an instant read thermometer to read the internal temperature of the patty and remove at the recommended temp level.

Let the water tell ya

Infrared thermometers are handy for knowing when things are coming up to the right heat. But going back and forth to read a pan as it's coming to the proper heat can get a little annoying. Instead, when you begin to heat the pan place a tablespoon of water into it. Eventually the water begins to bubble. At the point it disappears your pan will be somewhere between 325 and 350 degrees. You can use a infrared at that point to verify. Think of all you can do now while you're waiting and not hassling with temp checks.

The thing about filtered water

Filtered water is a wonderful thing to have in the kitchen. No one wants to cook with all the chemicals used in the water supply, so let's not. But let's keep a few things in mind here.

Those filters needs to be changed. Most last 6 months to a year. The way to know is when you notice a decline in the volume of water the spigot puts out. That's your signal to change out the filter.

Secondly, although we might think we're doing our dogs or cats a favor by providing them with filtered water, we're not. Dogs and cats can benefit from fluoride the way the rest of us do. Without it we can wind up with some expensive vet bills or lose a pet when their teeth fail and allow bacteria to reach major organs. Water them up right off the straight tap and don't feel bad about it.

Deep fry if you can

Deep frying versus pan frying, which is better? Alvin Bunya of Ponti Seafood Grill (closed) points out that deep frying is better because the temperature of the heat surrounding the food stays steady, as opposed to pan frying where the intensity of heat is less, and thus the pan temperature drops drastically when the food is initially placed into it. That heat drop allows the food to soak in oil. In deep frying the food is literally seared on the outside, keeping excess oil out and allowing the moisture in the food to stay in.