Coming up with the perfect gift for a foodie can be a challenge. They seem to have every cooking tool out there, and you want to get them something you know they’ll love and use. To help you out, here are four great food-inspired gift ideas from Hussain al Nowais.
Nutribullet Pro 900 Series
This high-powered blender makes morning meals easy. The Nutribullet Pro 900 Series chops, crushes, and purees whole fruits and vegetables better than any other standard blender or juicer. Enjoy delicious nutrient-packed smoothies that will give you the boost you need for a productive day. ($99.99 at Target)
Chef’n Looseleaf Kale and Herb Stripper
This compact, handy tool lets you easily remove the tough, tasteless stems of healthy greens like kale, Swiss chard and collards. Its small holes are also perfect for stripping herbs like thyme, rosemary and oregano to make preparing meals a whole lot easier. ($7.95 at Sur la table)
Bay Leaf Wreath
This bay leaf wreath doubles as a beautiful decoration and a cooking convenience. It’s made from fresh organic herbs, and you can hang it in your kitchen and pull the leaves to use in your favorite recipes, including winter soups and stews. ($27.50 at McFadden Farm)
Sparkling Wine Kit
Your foodie friend may have made their own beer before, but what about wine? This reusable kit gives you everything you need to make your own sparkling wine. The kit includes the ingredients to make five bottles. ($70 at Brooklyn Brew Shop)
No matter if you’re a novice cook or professional chef, everyone makes mistakes in the kitchen. Hussain al Nowais reveals five common cooking mistakes and how to avoid them.
You Overcrowd Your Pans
Browning locks in the food’s flavor and juices. Overcrowding causes an uneven distribution of heat and prevents your ingredients from browning properly. To prevent overcrowding, cook using an extra pan.
You Cook Meat Right Out of the Fridge
Are you guilty of cooking your meats immediately after removing them from the refrigerator? You want your meats to reach room temperature before cooking to ensure even cooking. Let your meats sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before cooking. If you’re meat is frozen and you have no time to let it thaw in the fridge, place it in a plastic bag and sit it in a bowl of cold water for an hour.
You Over- or Under-Season
Do you over or under season your dishes? When used correctly, seasonings like pepper, parsley and basil can enhance the flavor of foods. To avoid under-seasoning, taste test the food before serving to ensure it is seasoned properly. If you have over-seasoned a dish, you can use water, lemon juice or vinegar to dilute it.
You Overcook Meats
Always use a meat thermometer to make sure you cook meats to the right temperature.
You Don’t Let Steaks Rest Before Serving
When your steaks are finished cooking, let them rest for five to 10 minutes before serving. This allows the juices to settle for a tastier steak.
Cooking at home offers numerous benefits, from healthier meals to monetary savings. If you’re new to cooking don’t stress; most recipes are easy to follow and don’t require much experience or special skills. However, there are some general rules of thumb that you should abide by to ensure your meals come out just right.
Read the recipe twice through
Before you begin cooking, retired chef Hussain al Nowais recommends reading the recipe all the way through two times to make sure you fully understand the prep work and cooking steps prior to beginning. While this tip may sound obvious, a lot of beginners feel they can jump right into the recipe. You shouldn’t just read it before you start cooking, but rather when you decide to make the dish. This ensures you don’t miss out on something simple like marinating your meats overnight, which can really impact how the dish turns out.
Buy fresh, quality ingredients
The ingredients you use have an enormous impact on your meal. Using expired spices, poor quality meats, and old vegetables will hinder the flavor of the dish. Always use fresh, quality ingredients to ensure your meals taste right.
Let steak rest before serving
While some dishes can be served immediately once they hit the plate, others should be given some time to rest. Steak, for instance, is one of those dishes. Let your steaks rest for about five minutes before serving to allow the juices to settle and enrich the flavor of the beef.
Avoid overcrowding
Whether you’re cooking vegetables or meat, never overcrowd your pans and baking dishes. Cramming too much food into the pan prevents food from cooking properly and changes its texture. Make sure to give your food enough room to cook properly.
With the hustle and bustle of modern day life, it’s common for families to eat out often. While dining out can offer convenience, gathering around the dinner table to enjoy a home cooked meal offers numerous benefits. Hussain al Nowais explains three of the key advantages of home cooked meals.
Eat Healthier
The food offered at restaurants and fast food joints are known to be high in calories, fat, sugar and sodium and generally offer little nutritional value. Even the options marketed as low-calorie contain a lot of fat, sodium and sugar. Meals at restaurants also usually exceed the recommended portion size provided by U.S. dietary guidelines. By preparing your meals at home, you can control what you eat and cut out the unnecessary harmful ingredients.
Save Money
Eating out often puts a damper on your wallet. It’s much more cost-effective to buy groceries and cook at home than to eat out every night.
Encourage Family Bonding
When you’re always on the go, it’s beneficial to take the time to sit down at the dinner table to enjoy a meal with your family. Family meal times are linked to better family dynamics. Also, cooking at home allows you to involve the kids and teach them about meal prep and healthy eating.
From the two-hour runway holdup to the crying baby in seat 5B, there are many things you can’t control when it comes to traveling. However, with the help of these smart accessories, you can improve your overall travel experience and have a more enjoyable flight. Here are four great travel accessories from Hussain al Nowais that are worth investing in.
SleepPhones
SleepPhones are bed-friendly headphones that are worn like a headband rather than a traditional pair of headphones. SleepPhones are designed to help you fall asleep faster, sleep better, and wake up refreshed. They’re perfect for flyers because they reduce background noise and conversations, allowing you to rest and relax on a long flight. The headband has built-in speakers that connect with smartphones, mp3 players, tablets, notebooks and laptops.
Travelon Worldwide USB Adapter
If your job has you frequently traveling abroad, then you can benefit from the Travelon Worldwide USB Adapter. This adapter is compatible in over 150 countries and lets you plug in multiple devices and USBs into one convenient adapter and charger. The Travelon Worldwide is the only adapter you’ll need for your travels.
Portable Charger
At the airport it’s often impossible to find an open outlet where you can refuel your electronic devices. With a portable wireless charger, you can keep all your electronics, including your smartphone, iPod, tablet and laptop, charged and ready to go throughout your trip. Many portable chargers let you refuel multiple devices at the same time, so you don’t have to worry about any of your devices running low on battery.
Valextra Accessories Case
Store all your small electronic devices and their accessories in the Valextra Accessories Case. The ultimate organizer, the Valextra features five compartments for easy, convenient storage. Each compartment is protected by mesh, allowing you to easily view and access your belongings when you need them. The design is simple and chic, and it’s the perfect size. It provides ample storage space without being bulky or oversized.
With these smart accessories from Hussain al Nowais, you can enjoy a smooth and relaxing travel experience.
You don’t have to attend a fancy culinary school to enhance your cooking skills. There are many simple things you can do to improve your cooking. With these easy tips from former chef Hussain al Nowais, you’ll find yourself whipping up better, more professional meals.
Read the entire recipe before beginning – Before you begin your food prep, read the recipe all the way through. This will ensure you have all the ingredients and cooking tools you need, as well as help prevent you from forgetting an ingredient or performing a step incorrectly.
Invest in a good chef’s knife – You can’t prepare foods confidently without a good chef’s knife. The long, wide blade of a chief’s knife gives you more speed and control and won’t tire out your hand. For the best results, be sure to keep the knife sharp.
Cut everything the same size – Along with maintaining speed and control, you want to cut everything to precisely the same size. Whether it is chicken breast or vegetables, cutting everything to the same size will ensure each piece cooks at the same rate.
Use fresh herbs – Fresh herbs can transform a bland dish into an extraordinary meal. While dried herbs have very little to no flavor, fresh herbs add impeccable taste. Whether a recipe calls for thyme, bay leaves, parsley, garlic or cilantro, buying it fresh from the grocery store or growing it in your garden will make a huge difference.
Use your hands – Believe it or not, your hands are the best cooking tool. With your hands you can tell if dough is kneaded enough, toss a salad, smooth out lumps in sauces and check meat for doneness.
Take a cooking class – A great way to enhance your skills is by taking a cooking class. With a cooking class you can learn new recipes and cooking techniques and gain hands-on experience.
With these tips from Hussain al Nowais, you’ll be on your way to better tasting meals.
Though you have likely visited the beach numerous times, the ocean is full of many mysteries that cannot be unlocked without venturing to the depths of the sea. Aquariums, however, allow us to explore the millions of different organisms the ocean holds and unlock its most spectacular secrets. Here are the top aquariums in the country from Hussain al Nowais.
Georgia Aquarium
Located in Atlanta, the Georgia Aquarium is the biggest aquarium in the western hemisphere and was one the largest in the world, until it was surpassed by the Marine Life Park in Singapore. The Georgia Aquarium has tens of thousands of animals representing hundreds of different species, including whale sharks, beluga whales, bottlenose dolphins, manta rays, penguins and sea otters.
The aquarium holds many animal shows and special events, as well as offers several opportunities for interacting with the animals up close and personal. You can participate in three different animal encounters, in which you can learn more about dolphins, penguins and sea otters and even touch the animals. There are even opportunities for you to swim or dive with whale sharks, the largest marine animal in the world.
National Aquarium
The National Aquarium is located at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland. Here you can witness everything from sharks and dolphins to alligators, frogs and turtles. The aquarium has nearly 20,000 animals from waters around the world, representing more than 750 different species. The National Aquarium is committed to educating the public and protecting the habits of the world’s marine life.
One of the National Aquarium’s most popular exhibits is the Upland Tropical Rain Forest, which features a diverse array of plants and animals from habitats that are rapidly disappearing. Here you’ll find the scarlet ibis, two-toed sloths, golden lion tamarins, poison-dart frogs and more. The aquarium also features a multi-story Atlantic coral reef and open shark tank, as well as the Australia: Wild Extremes exhibit, which was awarded “Best Exhibit” by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in 2008.
According to Hussain al Nowais, these aquariums are the best in the country. If you haven’t already visited, be sure to add them to your itinerary.
With August quickly approaching, fall will be here before you know it. While you don’t want to see the warm, sunny weather go, the fall season brings many great things, including the foliage. In fact, since moving from New York to Miami, one of the things Hussain al Nowais misses most is the fall foliage. Fortunately, he and others like him don’t have to travel far to experience the beautiful fall foliage. From New England to the Pacific Northwest, there are many places whose trees will bear vibrantly colored leaves. Check out some of the best places to witness the foliage this fall from Hussain al Nowais.
Aspen, CO
Though Aspen is best known for its spectacular mountain views and world-class ski resorts, it’s also a great place to visit during the fall. The city got its name from the aspen tree, whose foliage peaks in late September. You can find the some of the best views of the yellow, orange and red leaves from Maroon Bells, Castle Creek Road and Cathedral Lake.
Shenandoah National Park, VA
Nestled in the countryside of Virginia, just 75 miles from Washington D.C., is Shenandoah National Park. The 2,000-acre park has tons of hiking trails that wind past magnificent cascading waterfalls to breathtaking peaks and cliffs. From the peaks you can experience the stunning view of the Shenandoah Valley. The view gets that much better in fall, when the leaves begin to turn golden yellow. You can hike one of the park’s many trails or drive along Skyline Drive.
Acadia National Park, ME
With its miles of hiking trails and remarkable views, Acadia National Park is an outdoorsman’s dream. The park is home to the Cadillac Mountain, the tallest mountain along the country’s eastern coast. Fall is a prime time to visit, and the beautifully colored leaves attract travelers from all over the world. Visit Acadia in early October to see the foliage at its peak.
The Fourth of July is an important holiday that celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. While the holiday is traditionally celebrated with fireworks and barbecues, it’s important to show your children the true meaning behind Independence Day and why we celebrate it. With these fun and educational Fourth of July activities from Hussain al Nowais, you can enjoy the holiday with your family while also commemorating its vast importance.
Learn about the Declaration of Independence – In between enjoying fireworks and the family barbecue, teach your children about the Declaration of Independence. Explain to your kids the significance of the document and about all the signers.
Wear red, white and blue – Our nation’s colors have meaning behind them. Red represents hardiness and valor, white represents purity and innocence and blue symbolizes vigilance, perseverance and justice. Teach your children about what the flag symbolizes and encourage them to wear red, white and blue or flag-themed clothing to celebrate America’s independence.
Fly the American flag – Display the American flag at your home in honor of the Fourth of July. This is the perfect time to teach your children about flag etiquette. Show them how to properly handle, fly and fold the flag.
Sing patriotic songs – Singing patriotic songs is both fun and educational. Teach your kids the lyrics to America’s popular songs, including the Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful and Fifty Nifty United States.
Make care packages for the troops – Teach your kids about the special men and women who serve and protect our country by making care packages for our troops overseas. Make a care package with goodies and homemade cards. Have your children create a handmade card or picture that explains what American means to them.
