Spending time in the kitchen is a great way to have fun, expand your skills, and try new things. When you find an exciting new thing to try in the kitchen, you can have an adventure in your own home, without too high of stakes. Take advantage of your kitchen space and put together a kitchen adventure memory!
Try a New Ingredient
There is something especially exciting about trying something new in the kitchen, so if you’re in a cooking rut, try out a new ingredient and find a few different ways to use it in cooked and baked dishes.
Everyone has ingredients they haven’t tried before, a good place to start is a new fruit, spice, or squash because they tend to be very versatile and will give you plenty of chances to experiment. Try looking up a few recipes before you purchase the new ingredient before buying so you know you will have some choices that you will enjoy. Once you have purchased the ingredient, it is a good idea to taste it and try it in a recipe or two before incorporating it into your own experiments.
Make it Miniature
Nothing is more fun than your favorite foods and treats in miniature. Tiny versions of food can be served on a toothpick and are great for pleasing party guests with plenty of variety. Toothpicks are useful for smaller dishes, especially if you need to keep ingredients together for presentation.
When you make a mini version of a dish, be sure to keep the proportions in mind so it stays cute and petite and doesn’t look clunky. Aim for taller, rather than wider if you are making a layered mini treat. For presentation, make sure to emphasize their tiny size with little plates and garnishes.
Attempt a Copycat Recipe
If there is something you love at a favorite restaurant, that makes for a great opportunity to experiment and try to make it for yourself. Start by thinking about things that you already make from home and think about which of them are most similar to the dish you enjoy. You may want to go to the restaurant and try it again to get a good idea of what ingredients it has and what techniques may have been used.
Once you think you know what’s in it, and how to make it, it is a good time to start experimenting. After your first attempt, try to figure out what may be missing and alter your ingredients to fill in the gaps and achieve the result you are looking for.
Make it a Competition
Cooking can be even more fun if you turn it into your own miniature cooking competition. If there is a particular cooking competition that you like to watch, that can provide a great format for your own competition. Choose the necessary ingredients, a time limit, and any other limitations. Cook against your housemates or friends and family to create the best possible culinary competition. Don’t be afraid to get creative and use ingredients in interesting ways to wow your judges. When you finish, be sure to have your tasters try each dish and decide on a winner. A fun prize will up the ante and make the competition even more fun.
Make a Fancy Dinner Celebration
Though it is often nice to relax and take a break in the kitchen, sometimes it can be really exciting to make a fancy dinner that will impress your guests. Start by planning out your menu and taking care of grocery shopping. When you’re planning a fancy meal, it is a good idea to use mostly ingredients you are familiar with, so you don’t find yourself overwhelmed when you are finally cooking in your home.
Make sure to pay attention to the cooking times for the different dishes in your meal so you can stagger them appropriately. There are plenty of impressive dishes that are actually super simple to make. Including at least one or two of those will decrease your workload. Start cooking early so you will be able to finish in time and be able to impress your guests without having to cook the whole way through your dinner party.
Cook along with a Cooking Show or Virtual Cooking Class
If you are looking to gain skills and shake things up in the kitchen, it has never been easier. Simply take the time to cook along with your favorite chef through a cooking show or a virtual cooking class.
Some restaurants have started hosting online cooking classes, where you can buy a kit through them directly before tuning in and cooking with them while they make the meal step by step. This can be an awesome way to get high-quality instruction from professional chefs and expand your skills and palate. Choose a restaurant that you love and want to be able to cook like for the best possible results.
Make Food Imposters
One fun way to spend your time in the kitchen is to make foods that look like one thing but actually taste like something else. Making cakes that look like grilled cheese sandwiches, or cupcakes that are actually meatloaf and mashed potatoes can be a fun way to test your culinary skills and impress guests and housemates.
Challenge yourself to make all kinds of food and to have them look like totally different kinds of dishes. This can be a fun kitchen task that will get you excited to be cooking and give you a great chance to express your creativity. There are plenty of culinary imposter examples online to give you some ideas if you aren’t sure how to get started.
There is nothing quite as fun as experimenting in the kitchen. If you love your kitchen but want to expand your skills and have more fun while working in it, you have plenty of opportunities to experiment and try new things that you will love.
Read this next: How to Teach Your Kids to Stay Safe in the Kitchen
For great recipes get your copy of the Gourmand World Award Winning book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays and Special Occasions-2nd edition
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