How To...
Don't know how to do it? Dr. Gourmet explains common cooking techniques and the hows and whys of what they are and why they work. More Cooking Techniques
Just Tell Me What to Eat!
The Delicious 6-Week Weight Loss Plan for the Real World
Timothy S. Harlan, MD, FACP has counseled thousands of his patients on healthy, sustainable weight loss. Now he's compiled his best tips and recipes into a six-week plan for you to learn how to eat great food that just happens to be great for you.
Get the prescription for better health as well as healthy weight loss, including:
- What to eat
- How to cook it
- When to eat it
- What to eat at a restaurant
- What to eat if you're in a hurry
- and best of all....
- Why eating great food is the best health decision you'll ever make.
Cooking Techniques
Clay pot cooking
A stew recipe like Beef Stroganoff is great when it is cooked in a clay pot. Don't confuse this with the electric crock pot. Clay pot cooking means using an unglazed terra-cotta pot.
The reason it works so well is that the whole pot, top and bottom, is soaked in cold water before cooking. The terra-cotta is porous and absorbs the water. The result is a moister cooking environment for stews because the soaked pot gives off steam as it is heated. This is not at all limited to stews. Clay pots are great for roasting, making casseroles - almost anything.
After filling the soaked pot with the item to be cooked place it in a cold oven rather than a preheated one. This helps to keep the pot moist longer. Cooking foods in clay pots at a higher temperature - around 450°F.