The most important cooking skill to have is timing! I have acquired many timers throughout the years to make sure that nothing is over or under cooked. The timers with the long ring are my favorite because the ring continues long enough to redirect my attention back to the meal I am preparing. When you are preparing 4-5 dishes at once, you find that it’s easy to forget!

My kitchen is especially busy during Thanksgiving because I host 40-45 guests at my home. Timing and organization are critical and I frequently use 4-5 timers simultaneously during those insane days leading up to any family get-together. I always set the timer with a piece of paper under it that says specifically what the timer is for to organize the preparation process.

To avoid overcooking your meals, there are two things you must remember!

1. When cooking meat and especially fish, if the recipe tells you to take it out at a specific temperature, do not wait until it reaches that temperature in the oven. Take the meat or fish out when it reads 10 degrees below what the recipe directs. The recipe tells you the temperature it should be when fully cooked. However, it will continue to cook outside of the oven and your dinner will be dry if you follow the recipe instructions verbatim!

2. If a recipe calls for a specific time to cook any meat/poultry/fish, always set your timer for 1/2 hour or 20 minutes less. If it needs more cooking, set your timer to 5 minutes increments to make sure that you do not overcook! Remember to take it out before the meat/fish is fully cooked and give it time to cook outside of the oven.

It’s that simple! Thank you Simone!