Cookthink

Green onions are a milder, versatile alternative to onions. The white parts are great for cooking, but mild enough to work into raw salsas and salads. The green parts work in either, too, but have an almost herbal quality when raw.To prep them, first pull off and discard any soft outer layers. It's best to rinse them after you do this. Cut off the root and and any damaged top green parts and discard them.Now just thinly slice straight across the onion. Thin slices are good to at at the end of cooking, sprinkled over a finished dish, or raw in salads and salsas.Make thicker slices for longer cooking dishes, and when you plan to sauté them first with oil or butter and spices. As with onions, a little salt at the beginning of cooking helps them soften more quickly.For stir-frys and shorter-cooking dishes where the green onion plays a starring role, slice the onions at an angle. The sharp slices look great on the plate (if you're impressed with that sort of thing).

How to slice a zucchini

Here are three common ways to slice a zucchini. The type of cut you use will vary depending on the size zucchini you have. A half-round from a medium zucchini and a full-round from a small one might be about the same size. Once you have this technique down, you can vary the cuts as you need to. Here, we happen to be prepping a medium zucchini (though we think the small ones usually taste best).For longer-cooking dishes like ragouts, braises, and stews, you can cut the zucchini into rounds of any thickness. The longer the cooking, the thicker the slices. For full rounds, cut off the top and very bottom of the zucchini, then slice crosswise.For quicker-cooking dishes, and when you want bite-size pieces, cut the zucchini into half or quarter-rounds. After cutting off the top and bottom, cut the zucchini in half lengthwise. Some zucchini are curved, making it difficult to make two even-sized halves. When deciding where to make the cut, rotate the whole zucchini until it looks straight, then slice.To finish the half rounds, slice the zucchini crosswise. For dishes where the zucchini plays a starring role, cut the rounds on the bias (at an angle).To make quarter-rounds, cut the lengthwise halves in half again lengthwise.Then slice the quarters crosswise to make quarter-rounds of any thickness. Like with whole and half-rounds, you can cut these on the bias for the sake of appearance.

How much is a thumb of ginger?

A recipe will often call for a "thumb" of fresh ginger, because the root grows in thumb-like chunks that can be snapped off from the root. So how much is a thumb of ginger? While it obviously depends on the size of your thumb, a typical piece of ginger -- one that measures 1 inch long, 1/4-inch wide and 1/4-inch deep -- will give you 2 1/2 to 3 teaspoons of minced ginger. Reference: How to peel ginger (Cookthink) Reference: How to mince ginger (Cookthink)

Do I need a digital instant-read meat thermometer?

For $10-25, you'll have the most foolproof way to ensure that the meat you cook is done to how you (and the people you're feeding) like it. It's simply the most reliable way to get meat right. Here are the temperatures to aim for. If you're going to let the meat rest before serving it (which is a good idea), take it out 3F (single pieces of meat) to 5F (roasts and whole birds) cooler than the temps listed below: Pork slightly pink: 150F Poultry (chicken, turkey, cornish hen) 160F Beef rare: 125F-130F medium-rare: 130F-135F medium: 135F-150F Lamb rare: 125F medium-rare: 130F medium: 135F Duck Whole duck: 170F in the thigh Breasts: rare: 130F medium-rare: 135F medium: 140F Sausages and ground meat: 170F Note that trichinosis (which used to be danger with under-cooked pork) is killed at 137F. Salmonella is killed at 160F. If you're worried about salmonella, cook everything to 160F.

How to cut a carrot on the bias

When you prep carrots and other vegetables for dishes where their form really stands out -- like salads and stir-fries -- it's nice to cut them on the bias. Cutting this way increases the surface area of each slice, makes a thinner cut easier and just looks better. To cut a carrot on the bias, chop off and discard the the root and stem, then slice the carrot at a sharp angle. Hold it firm against the cutting board for stability with one hand but keep your fingers tucked under and away from the blade. Recipe: Carrot Mint Salad (Cookthink) Recipe: Carrot Salad With Ginger Miso Vinaigrette (Cookthink)

What's the difference between yellow squash and zucchini?

What's the difference between yellow squash and zucchini. As far as cooking goes, not much -- just their skin color. We substitute one for the other all the time. Both are so-called summer squashes that are picked while still immature, so that their thin skins and soft seeds are still edible. A yellow squash is of course yellow, with either a straight body and smooth rind or a crookneck and bumpy skin (which looks odd but is perfectly fine to eat). Recipe: Zucchini Soup With Lime (Cookthink) Recipe: Grilled Shrimp And Squash Kebabs (Cookthink) Reference: Cucumber vs. zucchini (Cookthink)