Jillian Fae Downing
Private Event Chef & Chef Educator
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Co-authored Articles (20)
How to
Keep Food Hot
Whether you want to keep your meal warm as you're serving it or if you are worried about food safety, keeping your food hot is an important thing to do. Luckily, there are many easy ways to do it right in your own home. ...
How to
Thicken a Cream Sauce
Thickening a cream sauce is easy! You can make a cream sauce thicker by reducing it on the stovetop. If reducing the sauce doesn’t work, or if you’re in a rush, you can use a thickener to bulk up your sauce. Flour, b...
How to
Cut Chicken Breast Into Strips
Packed with protein and low in fat, chicken breasts are a favorite food of healthy eaters. But whether you’re bored of eating the same grilled breast every day or simply want to speed up the cooking time, it’s fun to...
How to
Cook Chuck Steak
You've probably seen a chuck steak at the meat counter and wondered how to prepare this inexpensive cut. Since the chuck steak comes from near the neck of the cattle, the cut can become tough if cooked improperly. Chuck ...
How to
Balance Sweetness
Easy ways to tone down a dish that's too sweetThe key to a delicious meal is balancing flavors, so there's an equal amount of sweet, spicy, savory, bitter, sour, and salty. If your dish turns out too sweet, though, that ...
How to Brine a Flavorful Chicken Breast: Prep, Cooking, & More
Chicken so juicy it’ll have everyone asking, “Where’d you get that recipe?”Say goodbye to dry chicken forever with the help of a delectable, homemade brine. Brining your chicken before cooking adds flavor and kee...
How to
Fix Too Spicy Soup
Soup can be a delicious and comforting meal, but it can be really easy to accidentally add too many spices. If you want to give your soup a milder flavor, there are many ingredients you can add to cut through the heat. Y...
How to
Dice an Onion
Dicing an onion into small, uniform pieces is important in many recipes so they cook evenly. Luckily, there is an easy way to cut your onion so your knife doesn’t slip and so the pieces are all the same size. As long a...
How to
Debone a Chicken Breast
Boneless chicken breasts can be very expensive at the grocery store, but with a little practice, you can debone them yourself at home! Whether you need to make boneless skinless chicken breasts, debone skin-on breasts, o...
How to
Fix an Over‐Seasoned Dish
You’ve put in hours into preparing a fancy dish or even a big dinner party––only to find out that it tastes slightly off—too salty, spicy, sour, or sweet! While ending up with an over-seasoned dish can be discour...
How to
Chop Onions Without Tears
Why do onions make you cry, and how can you prevent it from happening? They're made up of a tunic of outer leaves (the brown layer), scales (the white firm juicy edible part), and the basal plate (often called the hairy ...
The Best Ways to Tenderize Chicken
Chef-backs tips for making juicy and tasty chickenTenderizing chicken is one of those recipe steps that many of us are guilty of skipping. After all, we’re eager to finish cooking and start eating. But that seemingly u...
How to
Cut a Chicken Fillet
Chicken fillets are a dinnertime favorite for a reason. Fillets are thin cuts, which make them easy to season and fast to cook. If you'd like to save money or you can only chicken breasts, don't worry! All you need is a ...
How to
Preserve Meat
Meat can be stored safely for weeks, months, or even years if preserved properly. Keeping meat cold in a freezer is the most obvious method. However, there are other ways to preserve meat -- some of which have been used ...
How to
Keep Food Warm at a Party
When you’re hosting a party, keeping your eye on the food is a challenging but important task. Food left to cool not only tastes unpleasant but becomes unsafe to eat due to bacterial growth. Fortunately, keeping food w...
How to
Boil Chicken Breasts
Boiling chicken breast is an easy way to add healthy protein to your meals. You can boil the chicken plain or season your water for added flavor. The key is to let the chicken breast boil for long enough that it cooks al...
How to
Make Garlic Cream Sauce
Garlic cream sauce is a rich and delicious addition to dishes from pizza and pasta to steaks and seafood. We've got two scrumptious recipes for you to try, and they're both quick and easy to make! Break out the butter, o...
How to Make a Curry or Chili Less Spicy
Quick and easy tips to cool down a spicy curryDon't worry that all of your ingredients and hard work have gone to waste if you make a curry that is too spicy! The spiciness of curries can easily be reduced using simple i...
The Best Way to Clean Your Knives
Knives of all types need to be regularly cleaned to keep them sharp, rust-free, and free of bacteria. They require special handling and care, depending on the type of knife and their various uses.
How to
Season Chicken
There are many different ways to season chicken, from marinades to rubs to brines. This article will show you many different ways of seasoning chicken, from simple seasonings, to elaborate mixes, marinades, and even brin...