Another tip (or two) that might change your life

I can't really handle Anne Burrell.  I admit she has a vast knowledge of food however, her attitude completely turns me off. I find that I can sometimes handle watching her show if I mute it and read along with the closed captioning.

By doing so, I have gained two pieces of knowledge that have changed the way I do a couple of things.  They both have to do with beans.

When cooking dried beans and testing for doneness, do what she calls the "ten bean test."  Spoon out 10 beans and taste them all.  If they are all tender, the pot of beans is done.  If one or two of them are still a bit tough, give the pot another 20-30 minutes or so and check again.  It works!

Secondly, when blanching green beans (or any vegetable, really), salt the boiling water well, but also salt the ice water you use to shock the vegetable after cooking.  I did this to the last batch of green beans I made and was shocked at the boost in flavor!