13 Of Trisha Yearwood's Best Tips For Southern Cooking
Demonstrating the way that she melts chocolate, milk, and butter together in a pan, Yearwood shared, "I'm using a double boiler, which is really helpful because you don't want to scorch the milk, and you don't want the chocolate to seize up." According to Yearwood, the latter would be a bad outcome because the chocolate can separate. As a result, the former country singer recommends using a double
Instead of adding salt and pepper to your already-fried fish, the celerity cook suggests adding some seafood seasoning directly to your frying batter. As she shared on "Trisha's Southern Kitchen" (via YouTube ), "This is just really kind of the magic when it comes to frying and cooking fish." One of the reasons that this strategy works so well is that it boosts the overall flavor of your batter itself. Ultimately, this leaves you with dough that adds taste to your fish, instead of just masking its flavor.
To make meatloaf the Yearwood way, try to shoot for a ratio of one and a half pounds of ground turkey for every egg that you add to the mix. Of this portion, the celebrity chef shared, "I've really kind of perfected the art of just enough egg to make it kind of moist, but not too much ... Nobody wants a mushy meatloaf."
Coat your fruit in flour before adding it to pancakes
Nothing says "good morning" quite like a batch of fruit-filled pancakes, but that doesn't mean they always turn out well. Oftentimes, when home cooks are whipping up a batch of fruity flapjacks, they find that the chopped apples or sliced berries in their batter sink to the bottom. Unfortunately, this will leave you with a morning treat that is completely uneven. Generally speaking, the fruit will gather toward the bottom edge of the pancake, forming a condensed jelly-like substance that will grow tough against the pan. Luckily, Trisha Yearwood has some awesome tips to prevent this phenomenon from ruining your morning meal. As she explained in an episode of "Trisha's Southern Kitchen" (via YouTube ), "If you've ever had, like, a sweet bread or a cake where all of the fruit is at the bottom, it's because the fruit has nothing to hold on to... so, if you cove
Use a graham cracker crust for your chocolate pie
Sometimes, the most delicious recipes are the ones that are the easiest to make at home. And because Trisha Yearwood is not your typical celebrity chef, her Southern cooking tips often keep things simple. Thus, when it comes to making a homemade chocolate pie, Yearwood recommends ditching the famously difficult pastry pie crust and instead preparing a simpler one, using crushed graham cracker bits. In an episode of "Trisha's Southern Kitchen" (via YouTube ), the television host explained, "Graham cracker crust is not really typical, right? I mean, I don't know how you grew up... I always had [my chocolate pie] with pastry [crust], but I love the graham cracker crust." The reason that graham cracker crust works so well with a chocolate pie is that it adds an interesting layer of texture. In contrast to a traditional pastry crust, which is light and fluffy, a graham cra
Switch out marshmallows for nuts in sweet potato soufflé
If you are sick of drowning your sweet potato pie or soufflé in sweet sticky candy, you aren't alone. Trisha Yearwood is also over the old trend of pairing sweet potatoes with marshmallows. In an episode of "Trisha's Southern Kitchen" (via YouTube ), Yearwood recalled how often these two ingredients have been served together, saying, "The sweet potato casserole from our childhood is covered with marshmallows, and I don't know. It just never really was my favorite." Instead, Yearwood suggests making a sweet and savory topping, using a combination of chopped nuts, butter, brown sugar, and flour. To take a page out of the television host's book, just whip up your typical sweet potato soufflé and then sprinkle a thick layer of her special chopped nut blend over the top. This will give you a side that provides more texture than you would normally get from your typ
When making BBQ wings, add peaches to your sauce
Wings can taste great when cooked in a tasty sauce. However, there are plenty of delicious dressings out there that are way tastier than your typical store-bought fare. Trisha Yearwood, for example, loves making a homemade cooking sauce that involves BBQ ingredients, as well as fresh peaches. As she demonstrated on "Trisha's Southern Kitchen" (via YouTube ) the country-singer-turned-celebrity-cook enjoys combining chopped peaches with tomato paste, onions, garlic, maple syrup, and vegetable stock. She then cooks down this mixture to create a thick fruity sauce that is perfect for smearing all over your chicken or turkey wings. Even on its own, this sauce is simply delicious. While the traditional BBQ elements will create a rich, tangy flavor, the peaches will provide a burst of sweetness. This will neutralize the most acidic elements of this combination, namely the to
Use hot potatoes to make gnocchi
Oftentimes in the kitchen, temperature matters, and Trisha Yearwood knows it. In an episode of "Trisha's Southern Kitchen" (via YouTube ), the television star unpacked the influence of heat on homemade gnocchi — and apparently, it's huge. Yearwood told her viewers to should start out by putting some hot potatoes through a ricer, as the colder ones will be much more difficult to shred. "I do want to tell you, if you are doing this at home, that you need a hot potato," she explained. "If these potatoes get cold, they get hard, and they're just almost impossible to push through, so you definitely want a hot potato." While this is awesome advice, not all home cooks know how to put it to use. Freshly boiled potatoes can take a while to make, and oftentimes they are so hot when they come out of the pot that it can be difficult to handle them. Instead of going to this
Make your turkey chili beautiful with white beans
When you close your eyes and imagine the perfect bowl of chili, what do you see? If it's a classic bowl of ground beef and tomatoes topped with shredded cheese, you probably aren't alone. After all, that's one of the most common types of chili out there, and it is certainly delicious. That being said, there is another way to prepare this traditional dish, using primarily monochromatic ingredients. By using white beans and poultry in her chili recipe, Trisha Yearwood manages to make a type of soup that resembles a big bowl of cream. In an episode of "Trisha's Southern Kitchen" (via YouTube ) the television cook opened up about her choice to make a bowl of beige chili, sharing that she adds two cans of white cannelloni beans. Apparently, this creates a gorgeous presentation. As Yearwood explained, "You can use whatever [beans] you like. I just thought that because this
It's okay to use store-bought pizza dough
These days, not everybody has hours to spend in the kitchen. Thanks to busy calendars packed with responsibilities, the average home chef can't necessarily commit to making every single ingredient by hand. And while plenty of celebrity chefs don't understand this, Trisha Yearwood seems to get it. On "Trisha's Southern Kitchen" (via YouTube ), the cookbook author said not to worry about making homemade pizza dough from scratch — recommending instead that her viewers buy it pre-made at the store. While this advice may be controversial in some circles, it's actually quite sound. Yearwood's loaded pizza recipe, for example, calls for two full pounds of pizza dough, which is then topped with chicken, ham, tomatoes, pepperoni, bacon, cheese, and other ingredients. In this case, the less time you spend perfecting your pizza dough, the more time you will have to chop yo
Be patient when cooking mushrooms
Not all secret ingredients can be found at the grocery store, and that's especially true for Trisha Yearwood's take on sautéed mushrooms. According to the TV chef, patience is the key to making sure that your mushrooms are cooked to succulent perfection. Speaking in an episode of "Trisha's Southern Kitchen" (via YouTube ), Yearwood revealed the way she approaches this unique ingredient: "Well, you have to be kind of patient with a mushroom." Because of this, the cookbook author advises against carelessly throwing your mushrooms into a skillet with a bunch of other veggies. After all, doing so can prevent you from giving ample time to this star ingredient. Instead, she recommends starting your mushrooms off in the pan by themselves, and slowly adding other elements in. This will guarantee that your mushrooms have the time they need to cook all the way throug
Blend feta and cream cheese to stuff your peppers
Making stuffed peppers can be a real challenge, but Tisha Yearwood is here to keep the process simple. The TV cook uses a special cheese blend to ensure that her stuffed peppers are creamy, flavorful, and easy to make. Speaking in an episode of "Trisha's Southern Kitchen" (via YouTube ), the celebrity recommended combining feta cheese with cream cheese to make the perfect stuffing. Apparently, the power of this combination is that neither flavor overpowers the other. As Yearwood explained, "I'm going to use eight ounces of chunky feta cheese, and I'm going to use some cream cheese. It kind of balances out that saltiness of the feta." Interestingly, the cookbook author doesn't stop there. When preparing this unique filling, she also adds some fresh garlic, some olive oil, and a couple of banana peppers. Here, the buttery dairy flavors of the cream cheese help neutral
Upgrade your grilled cheese with fresh winter veggies
Grilled cheese sandwiches are undoubtedly among the most popular foods out there, but that doesn't mean that you can't make them even better. While there are plenty of ways to amp up your grilled cheese ( Gordon Ramsey elevates his by adding onions ), Trisha Yearwood has a unique strategy for making hers more sophisticated: add veggies. As she shared on her show "Trisha's Southern Kitchen" (via YouTube ), she likes "elevating [grilled cheese] a little bit by adding some fresh winter vegetables to it." Per the television program, some of the greens that Yearwood likes to include in her grilled cheese include baby spinach, chopped green cabbage, and even carrots. The key is that, although each of these elements is delicious, none is particularly pungent. The earthier carrots and cabbage duo can easily hide in the background of a particularly flavorful recipe. Simi
Use a double boiler to make chocolate cake
Sometimes, the difference between a home cook and a professional is having the righter equipment — and knowing when to use it. According to Trisha Yearwood, this is especially apparent when preparing a German chocolate cake. In an episode of "Trisha's Southern Kitchen" (via YouTube ), the bestselling cookbook author revealed that a double boiler can make all the difference between a good cake and a great one. Demonstrating the way that she melts chocolate, milk, and butter together in a pan, Yearwood shared, "I'm using a double boiler, which is really helpful because you don't want to scorch the milk, and you don't want the chocolate to seize up." According to Yearwood, the latter would be a bad outcome because the chocolate can separate. As a result, the former country singer recommends using a double boiler to increase the amount of control you have over the
When frying and breading fish, season your flour
It's no secret that seasoning can make or break a dish — and fried fish is no exception. When making this treat, however, many home cooks don't do more than add a dash of salt and pepper to their final creations. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this strategy, Tisha Yearwood has an idea for taking your seasoning game up another level. Instead of adding salt and pepper to your already-fried fish, the celerity cook suggests adding some seafood seasoning directly to your frying batter. As she shared on "Trisha's Southern Kitchen" (via YouTube ), "This is just really kind of the magic when it comes to frying and cooking fish." One of the reasons that this strategy works so well is that it boosts the overall flavor of your batter itself. Ultimately, this leaves you with dough that adds taste to your fish, instead of just masking its flavor.
Don't add too much egg to your meatloaf
Trisha Yearwood is a self-proclaimed "meatloaf snob." As she revealed in an episode of "Trisha's Southern Kitchen" (via YouTube ), "I don't like it to be too dry. I don't like it to be too juicy. Both of those are not good." Because of this, Yearwood is careful not to add to much egg to her meatloaf, ensuring that it won't turn into a soppy mess. She also says that she prefers turkey meatloaf over the traditional beef version, as the meat is "leaner" and therefore less "mushy." To make meatloaf the Yearwood way, try to shoot for a ratio of one and a half pounds of ground turkey for every egg that you add to the mix. Of this portion, the celebrity chef shared, "I've really kind of perfected the art of just enough egg to make it kind of moist, but not too much... Nobody wants a mushy meatloaf."