More Tuesday Tips from Food Network Magazine

I haven't tried all of these, but  am always looking for ways to be more efficient and effective in the kitchen.  Check these ideas out.

• Don't just season at the end.  Taste as you go and season in stages to bring the best out of all your ingredients.
• Respect your fish.  Season it simply and cook it carefully.  And always finish it with a little squeeze of lemon juice.
• Do you grind your own beef for burgers?  Grind in some bacon for a bit of added fat and a blast of extra flavor.
• When you cook cauliflower, add a little milk to the salted water to keep it bright white.
• After you drain your cooked potatoes for mashed potatoes, return them to the hot pan, cover and let steam for 5 minutes.  They will dry out just enough to mash to a perfect texture that soaks up the butter and cream.
• When cooking pasta and sauce, reserve about 1/4 cup of your pasta water just before draining.  Add it back to the pasta as you sauce it.  It will help thicken the sauce just enough.  Just be careful of seasoning...that pasta water is likely to be salty if you've cooked the pasta the way so many of us do.
• Here's an easy way to seed a chile. Make four straight cuts down the sides.  You'll have four long pepper slivers with the cluster of seeds remaining in the center.