Learn To Cook Like A Pro With These Tips Like this Start by cutting full-sized tomatoes into 1/2" slices or by halving Roma tomatoes. Set them ona rack cut side up and sprinkle lightly with salt. Heat your oven to 190 degrees and put thecooling rack with the tomatoes directly onto a cookie sheet, baking for no more than tenhours. Store in plastic bags in the freezer. You can store dried tomatoes in an olive oil filledjar. Add fresh herbs for seasoning. The jar can be stored in your refrigerator for up to twoweeks. Keep all spices stored out of the sunlight. Shelf life can be significantly decreased for thosespices which have been exposed to too much light, dampness and heat. Spices last longerand taste better when stored in cool, dark locations. Meals prepared with fresher spices aresimply more delicious. Once your meat is finished cooking, let it sit before serving it. A lot of people aren't awarethat flavors will improve if a meal can rest a bit before being served. It can be quite temptingto serve meat as soon as you pull it off the grill. Unfortunately, serving your meal immediatelycan take away from the taste and quality. You always want the meal to sit or rest for a shorttime. When you are cooking, it is important to remember that a fresh ingredient is always betterthan a frozen or dried ingredient. Your recipe will be more flavorful if you use freshingredients, and the cost can be lower as well. One of the best cooking tips you can find is to use your imagination. Cooking is about comingup with different ways of using a recipe not just following it. Sometimes making minorchanges can make the dish taste even better than it did when following the original recipe.That is the mark of a real chef! Look for interesting ways to prepare oysters. Oysters are usually eaten raw with some lemonjuice, but you can make them in a number of different ways. Place opened oysters in shellson broiler pan, then cover with a small amount of cream. Adding fresh ground black pepperand a little Parmesan will give great flavor. After adding the seasonings, broil the oysters untilthey are bubbling. You can also saute them. Coat oysters with some seasoned flour andsaute in warm butter for a couple of minutes, until they are golden. You can bake youroysters right in the shells. Put them in a standard casserole dish, add a bit of butter andfreshly-made breadcrumbs to every oyster, and allow them to bake for roughly five minutes ina 425 degree oven. When the juices and butter both bubble, it is time to serve it. Serve itbefore it cools down. A toasted baguette should accompany the dish. If cooking with skewers is something you are considering, then you will want to know certainthings. Twisted or square shaped metal skewers hold the food better than round ones will. As this article has discussed, cooking is revered by many as an excellent and enjoyablehobby. However, some people don't know where to start, in terms of picking the right recipesor using the proper techniques.