Food Network Star Katie Lee Biegel’s Easiest Kitchen Tricks Deliver Big Results

The most useful cooking advice usually isn’t a full recipe. It’s the little thing someone mentions in passing that makes you wonder why nobody told you sooner.

That’s what Katie Lee Biegel delivers in the latest episode of All on the Table. As she walks through what she cooks at home, the Food Network host slips in smart, low-effort ways to make familiar food come out better. From the flour in her pancakes to the way she finishes a steak, here are five of her best.

Katie Lee Biegel Shares 5 Easy Cooking Tips

Mix your flours instead of choosing one

Biegel likes adding whole wheat, spelt, or oat flour to her pancakes, but she doesn’t replace all the all-purpose flour. “I think if you do all of the spelt or the whole wheat, it’s just a little too heavy, a little too dense,” she says. Adding some white flour gives her “a lighter, fluffier pancake.”

Her usual ratio is either:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour and ½ cup whole-grain flour
• 1 cup whole-grain flour and ½ cup all-purpose flour

You still get the heartier flavor without turning breakfast into a dense, overly wholesome situation.

Not having buttermilk is not an emergency

Biegel uses equal amounts of flour and liquid in her pancake batter: 1½ cups of each. Buttermilk makes the pancakes more tender, though regular milk can get surprisingly close. “You can either add a splash of lemon juice or a splash of vinegar,” she says. Let it sit for about five minutes, and the milk will begin to sour.

Her other fix is even easier. Whisk a couple of tablespoons of yogurt into the milk. “The yogurt will give it that tang as well, and it will help to tenderize the pancake.”

Give tomato salad 20 minutes alone

A good tomato salad doesn’t need much, but it does need time. Biegel starts with heirlooms and smaller cherry or Sun Gold tomatoes, then adds a small splash of sherry vinegar. She keeps it light because the tomatoes already bring plenty of acid. Flaky salt, a little pepper, and good olive oil round everything out.

Then she leaves the bowl at room temperature for at least 20 minutes. As the tomatoes sit, the salt draws out their juices, which combine with the vinegar and olive oil at the bottom of the bowl. That juice is the payoff, so don’t pour it off. Spoon it back over the tomatoes, or keep a piece of bread nearby for every last drop.

The order matters when making vinaigrette

For a creamy vinaigrette, Biegel begins by whisking vinegar and Dijon mustard together. Only then does she season it and add the olive oil. “It’s very important to do it in this order,” she says.

Her basic formula uses:

• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

“Whisk it, whisk it, whisk it until it’s totally emulsified,” Biegel advises. 

When she wants garlic, she grates it with a Microplane so it spreads through the dressing without leaving large raw pieces behind.

Use herbs like a paintbrush for steak

Biegel picked up one of her favorite grilling tricks from chef Adam Perry Lang. He ties fresh herbs together, dips them into clarified butter, and uses the bundle to baste the meat as it cooks. Biegel describes the herbs as “almost like they’re a paintbrush.”

Clarified butter or melted ghee can handle higher heat than regular butter while still giving the steak that rich flavor. The herbs add something more subtle. “You don’t even know why it tastes so good,” Biegel says. “It’s just perfect.”

Lang also chops herbs with oil directly on the cutting board, then places the cooked steak on top and slices it through the dressing. Every piece picks up the juices waiting underneath. Biegel loves these kinds of moves because they change the meal without making it harder. “That’s not difficult,” she says. “It’s not complicated.”

Want the rest? Listen to the full episode of All on the Table with Katie Lee Biegel, available wherever you listen to podcasts.

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