Helpful tips for home cooks, Deborah Mintcheff, cookbook editor, writer, and Les Dames d'Escoffier Board Member

Tip #1:

Always taste dishes during cooking, so you can adjust the seasonings as needed.

Tip #2

Read recipes through at least one or two times to become familiar with them and to ensure that you have all the utensils and ingredients you need.

Personal note, tip #2, as simple as it sounds is critical. Just the other day when making the cake portion of my Bûche de Noël I had the batter in the mold and in the oven only to spy a bowl of six egg yolks off to the side which I had forgotten.  Luckily, the cake had only been in the oven for a few seconds.  There was a mad scramble as I frantically pulled out the pan, dumped the batter back in the mixing bowl and added in the yolks.  Luckily, the cake turned out perfectly but I had to chide myself for not remembering to carefully reread the recipe making sure each ingredient was had been included.