10 Tips to Elevate Your Cooking Experience

Cooking is such a beautiful art form where we can truly savor the pleasures of the full experience.  From the sounds of a sizzle from wine being poured into a hot pan, to the tantalizing aromas of the food as it cooks, to the artistry of a beautifully plated meal, and then the absolute pleasure of the taste and  texture of the food as we consume it, food is truly a pleasure to all of the senses. For me the pleasure of cooking a meal is just as pleasurable as eating one.  That’s not to say that there are not days when I am tired or not well that I may order food or make something that is quick and easy, but on most days, I love stepping into the kitchen to prepare a meal that I know will elevate my day.

There are so many facets of cooking and endless flavor combinations that one can come up with.  However, I know not everyone has this same love of cooking as I do with some even detesting the whole thing and I can’t help but wonder if this is partly due to how they are experiencing the cooking itself.  I believe that any experience can be elevated to one that creates joy and thereby creating an experience that you will look forward to doing more often.

Here are 10 tips for you to try if you are looking to elevate your own cooking experience.

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have a cooking playlist

I think a universal truth in life is that everything is made better with some background music.  When it’s time for me to cook, the first thing I do before I even grab a pot, or a pan is turn on my Bluetooth Speaker.  I have a Cooking Playlist set up on Spotify that I have on shuffle.  My cooking playlist consists of jazzy and French inspired music which is my favorite to cook to.  When I put on my playlist, I truly feel like I am cooking in a Nancy Meyer film and enjoy the tasks at hand as the environment instantly feels more luxurious.

 

invest in pretty linens

When cooking a meal, you are going to need some kitchen towels here and there, so why not have some that you find beautiful? There are so many places that you can purchase kitchen towels and the colors and designs are truly endless.  I got these blue microfiber towels simply from Amazon, but I love their vibrant blue color as well as how soft and absorbent they are.  They make the environment in which I am cooking a more beautiful place to be.

Mise En Place

A lovely French phrase translated as “putting in place” or “gathering”.  Before I start the actual cooking of food, I will make sure to gather all of the ingredients as well as cutting boards/knives, any measuring cups/spoons and anything else needed for the cooking first thing.  Once everything is gathered, I have a specific order of operations to create ease while cooking.  I will first open any cans that I have, then I open the lids to all of the seasonings or containers/jars that I am going to use, next up I will start any water that needs to get boiling, from there I will chop anything that needs chopping (more below on this step), and then from there I will start cooking the food.  Because I opened all the cans and spices beforehand, now I can easily add them when needed without fussing in the middle of the cooking process itself.

Invest in quality knives and a sharpener

If you are going to cook a meal, then inevitably you are going to be chopping something.  Whether it’s fruits or veggies, garlic, herbs or meats, at some point you will need to cut things up and the best way to ensure you have an elevated experience is to have quality knives and a knife sharpener.  The truth is that you don’t even need a block full of knives to accomplish this.  I have two chef’s knives and a bread knife from Zwilling that I have had for nearly ten years that are still in great shape and still cuts like brand new because I sharpen them.  I got my sharpener on Amazon for $9.99 and it does a great job at keeping my knives in good working order.

Chop, Chop, Chop

And speaking of chopping, I think this task is one that some people may not be fond of.  It can seem daunting when there are multiple things to chop, so here is a tip to help make it a better experience.  If you need to chop multiple items, start with the least messy item moving up to the messiest item. Things like leeks, potatoes (if you’re leaving the skin on), broccoli, asparagus, etc. are things that I might chop first as they cause the least amount of mess.  Next, I may move on to things like garlic, herbs, onions, apples, peppers, etc.  They do release some liquid or seeds, but it’s so little that your hands and knife will still be relatively clean to move on to the next items.  The messiest of course would be things like any meats, fruits of veggies with high liquid contents or soft interiors like melons or avocados.  Chopping in this way will let you be able to expedite the process since the first thing will not be as messy, you can chop it, put in a bowl and simply move on the next item with ease.  However, if you start with the messy one first like chicken or an avocado you will inevitably have to stop after the chopping to clean either the knife, board or your hands before moving on to the next things which will only waste more time and effort.

invest in a few cookbooks

Trying out a new recipe can break one out of the cooking monotony that we can all sometimes fall into.  While I do keep a loosely set menu to use throughout the workweek for ease, I do like to try new recipes during the weekend when I have more time and energy to invest in them.  I am not a fan of online recipes due to their overly long post before the recipe itself or the constant litter of ads that often gets in the way. I instead prefer to use cookbooks as they are easier to use and read as well as visually beautiful to look at.  You can select the books of cuisine that interest you, but I personally enjoy French cuisine, everyday meals, pastas and desserts. You can get these anywhere as you do not even need to go buy brand new ones.  You can check used bookstores, thrift shops and even online used bookstores like thriftbooks.com (which is where I get my used books from).

Have a bookstand

If you take my tip above and want to use cookbooks, then a game changer for using cookbooks is to have a cookbook stand.  It helps to keep your place when you are reading since it is more eye level to you, and it also keeps you from having to look down so much while in the middle of cooking.  They can also be used as decor on a countertop if you so choose where you can put your favorite cookbook as a lovely display. You can get a cookbook stand from nearly any retail store such as Target or Amazon that comes in many styles, materials and colors.

Turn the lights down low

Take a page out of the stylized movies from directors such as Nora Efron or Nancy Meyers and turn the lights down low while cooking in the kitchen.  This will set the scene for a more intimate and cozy setting to enjoy while cooking a meal.  Make sure to turn off the overhead lights and use either under the cabinet lights that you can easily get from amazon or add some small lamps under on the countertops.  I have a combination of both and when I step in the kitchen to cook, I turn on both of these to create an inviting atmosphere full of mood lighting, jazzy tunes and the smell of delicious aromas.

decant your countertop

I am not one who is going to decant every product that comes into my house like you may see on Instagram as I do not want to spend my time and energy on this task, but for the things that I leave out on my countertop I do invest in beautiful containers to decant them.  I keep a small tray by my stove of the few things that I use most when cooking including an olive oil and vinegar bottle, a salt and pepper mill and for my flaky salt a marble salt cellar.  There are so many options you can choose for decanting the things that you want to keep on your countertop, but decanting into pretty containers makes for an elevated cooking experience as the surroundings feel more luxurious due to the beautiful objects being used while cooking.

variety is the spice of life

When it comes to cooking it truly helps to keep a little of everything on hand.  This will not be a perfect practice, but it is a worthwhile effort to have a robust pantry of many herbs, spices, sugars, salts, oils, vinegars, flours, chocolates, butters, etc. and even more helpful, if you get a lazy Susan to put your spices on for easy access.  Having what you need at hand will not only make you more confident while cooking, but it makes you feel like a woman who has her life together in a small way as it reinforces that you take pride in taking care of life’s little details, including cooking.  You can keep a shopping list somewhere right in your kitchen so that if you use the last of something, you can just add it to your list for your next grocery shop. But when you have so many options at hand, you can also experiment and make everyday dishes even more delicious by trying to incorporate some new herbs & spices into the dish and don’t be afraid to try new ones that you haven’t cooked with before as well, you may be surprised at how it elevates a meal.