Soak calamari in milk before cooking plus 9 other home cooking hints

CHRISTMAS is just around the corner! Feeling stressed? Here are 10 home cooking tips to help ease your anxiety levels!

WITH the festive season just around the corner Aussies will spend more time in the kitchen preparing food for family and friends than any other time of year.

Since Christmas is stressful enough news.com.au asked Best Home Chef, an online community for people to share and swap recipes and ideas, for their top 10 home cooking tips to help ease anxiety levels.

Top 10 Tips and Tricks for Home Cooking

1. Too much salt in your soup? Simply cut a peeled potato in half and place it in the dish - let it simmer for 15-30 minutes and it will absorb most of the saltiness. This also applies for casseroles, stews and curries.

2. Rest steak after cooking. This allows its juices to spread out and be absorbed back into the meat producing the maximum amount of flavour.

3. Keep the rind of an orange after peeling and add some of it a cup of black tea for a sweet citrus sensation.

4. Let risotto sit for a few of minutes. Once your risotto has reached al dente stage and you’ve mixed in your butter and parmesan cheese, let it set for a couple of minutes - this will ensure its not too sloppy on the plate.

5. Soak calamari in milk and pineapple juice before cooking. This will prevent it from becoming tough and chewy.

6. To prevent tears when cutting onions wash your hands and the onion under cold water prior to chopping. Refrigerating or freezing onions before chopping also helps.

7. Rub your hands on the kitchen sink (must be stainless steel, you can also use a stainless steel spoon) under running water to remove garlic and onion odours. Salt and toothpaste will also help remove the smell.

8. Store potatoes with an apple to keep them from budding

9. When boiling eggs, prevent the shells from cracking by adding salt to water before boiling.

10. Prevent water boiling over - when boiling rice, noodles, or pasta, add a lump of butter or a few teaspoons of cooking oil in the water to prevent it from boiling over.

Once you've got the hang of them, try this foolproof family friendly recipe courtesy of Mark Best, owner of Marque Restaurant and AEG Chef Mentor for Best Home Chef!

Mark Best's Traditional Household Roast Chicken with Aromatic Herbs

Ingredients
1 Free range Chicken
2 lemons
6 Florentine Onions
4 cloves of garlic
Salt & Pepper

Fresh Aromatic Herbs
1 bunch of Marjoram
1 bunch of thyme
1 bunch of bay leaves
1 bunch of wild fennel

Method
1. Preheat oven to 200 Degrees Celsius.
2. Cut Florentine onions and lemons in half
3. Season the chicken from the inside by grinding salt and pepper into the cavity of the bird.
4. Stuff the chicken with half of the herbs, lemon and onions (leave the rest to bake with the chicken in the dish)
5. Tie legs of the chicken together and place in baking dish.
6. Slice the leftover lemons and add them to the dish with garlic cloves and the rest of the herbs
7. Place in the oven. Position the legs of the chicken forward first to protect the breasts when cooking.
8. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and season again with salt and pepper.
9. Cook for 80-90 minutes
10. Carve chicken and place on plates with onions and baby fennel.
11. Pour roasting juices over the chicken.

Watch Mark demonstrate the dish in the video below