Is that a tincture I spy?

Sometimes, when I sit down at a bar, the cocktail list stumps me. I write about food and drinks for a living so I consider myself reasonably well educated when it comes to booze, but half the time, I feel like I’m playing cocktail roulette when I order, never quite knowing what I’m going to get before I taste it.

Do you know how this feels? Let’s demystify some of the, shall we say, very intense bar menus out there.

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The Surprising Secret Ingredient in Greek Coffee Frappés

While restaurant cooking is very different from cooking at home, there are plenty of smarts that a home cook can pick up from chefs and their shops. As part of a week devoted to learning from restaurants, I asked Andrea Lynn to share some of the little tips and good ideas she picked up in her interviews with chefs, restaurant owners, and food truck proprietors in the neighborhood of Queens.

We had a recent conversation about some of the smart tips and tricks she learned in her research that have changed her cooking, and we thought it would be fun to share with all of you. It certainly made me take a second look at instant coffee, and I am also going to stock up on the frozen lemongrass.

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   1. A Surprising Lemongrass Tip from a Banh Mi Shop

   Cooking Secrets from Immigrant Kitchens

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   2. The Surprising Secret Ingredient in Greek Coffee Frappés

   Cooking Secrets from Immigrant Kitchens

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   3. A Kosher Deli’s Secret to Perfect Potato Pancakes

   Cooking Secrets from Immigrant Kitchens

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   4. A Himalayan Restaurant Taught Me How to Intensify Flavor with Water

   Cooking Secrets from Immigrant Kitchens

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   5. Crazy-Looking Caul Fat Is the Cypriot Secret to Easy Sausage

   Cooking Secrets from Immigrant Kitchens

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   6. The Surprising Secret to Authentic Greek Lemon Potatoes

   Cooking Secrets from Immigrant Kitchens

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   7. A Filipino Restaurant Taught Me to Make a Braised Stew Even Better

   Cooking Secrets from Immigrant Kitchens

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   8. Achiote Is the Cuban Turmeric

   Cooking Secrets from Immigrant Kitchens

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   9. The Most Important Chef Tip for Working with Sticky Foods

   Cooking Secrets from Immigrant Kitchens

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    10. What a Greek Restaurant Owner Taught Me About Feta Cheese

    Cooking Secrets from Immigrant Kitchens

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Your spatulas have been warned: Achiote is the turmeric or, if you like, the saffron of Cuban and Latin American cuisine and will dye most anything it comes across a vibrant red-orange. It’s worth it though, as I discovered and cooked with this spice.

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