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New recipes and cooking techniques can be learned by even the most seasoned chef. Learning the best ways to prepare different kinds of foods can turn your cooking from average to spectacular. If you combine these tips, you'll be able to create all kinds of new flavors in your cooking.

An excellent way of cooking is to use brine. First soak your duck, goose, chicken or turkey in brine about an hour before you are ready to prepare it, and you poultry will have a wonderful flavor.

Set a watch timer in parallel with the oven timer. By using your watch timer, you will always have it with you and will hear the alarm regardless of where you are.

If your family regularly sits down to dinners with a standard side dish of frozen corn off the cob, now might be a good time to make a change. Experiment with adding coconut flakes into the corn if you want a Thai-flavored dish that your whole family will love.

Those of you who enjoy cooking fish should consider trying to catch your own. There is a great deal of satisfaction in cooking something that you have provided yourself, and nothing beats the delectable taste of fresh fish.

If you are working with foods that have strong odors, such as fish, garlic or onions, remove the smell from your hands by rubbing them on something that is stainless steel, prior to washing them. It does not matter if you use a spoon, a side of your stainless-steel sink, or a "soap bar" made of stainless-steel; rubbing your hand on it neutralizes the undesirable smell and freshens your hands.

Anytime you know you will be short on cooking time for the following day, give yourself a head start on dinner by prepping some of the ingredients the night before. Put together a lasagna that you can refrigerate or freeze, or chop some vegetables for stir frying, and you shave precious time off of a stressful day and still put a tasty warm meal on the table for your family.

If you are preparing a salad which will not be served until later, exercise good judgment as you layer the ingredients. Put heavier, juicier ingredients like tomatoes on the bottom and lighter ingredients like lettuce and croutons on top.

Rub your hands on stainless steel prior to washing them to eliminate odors of onions, garlic, fish and other strong ingredients. You can do this on the side of a sink or use a stainless steel soap bar and it will lift the odors from your hands, leaving them fresh.

If your hands start to smell like the fish or onions that you are cooking, take a moment to rub them against a stainless steel surface before you wash them. This strips the odors off your hands so that you don't contaminate other ingredients. There are purpose-built steel "soap bars" for this, but the sides of your sink or your spoons will work just as well.

To quickly cut herbs, bind herbs together and snip with scissors. This will prevent them from clumping together and they will be drier than when you chop them.

Regular meal preparation can seem like a major chore at times. Fortunately, there are tons of ways to make cooking easier and to make the results of your labors in the kitchen more rewarding. You can take a deep breath and relax when you plan your family's next meal.