Nonstick pots, pans, baking sheets, etc.
This is complicated. I'll do some research later. For now, just don't use them above medium heat on the stove, and pay attention to the printed maximum heat on cookie sheets (usually 400 degrees F). Don't use metal scrubbing pads to clean them. You can get plastic ones if you need to scrub them, but most nonstick surfaces aren't that hard to clean.Handles
It's easy to bump into things around the kitchen, especially when you're not the only one in it. One of the most important habits you can make is positioning all handles out of the way.Pots and pans on the stove
Always make sure the handles do not face front and extend past the edge of the stove because it's really easy to walk by and knock hot food, water, oil, etc. all over yourself and the floor. Also, don't leave a handle over a neighboring hot burner, because you will burn yourself next time you go to grab it. The best place for handles is off to the side of the stove. For example, if your pot is on a burner on the left, position the handle off to the left, parallel to the front of the stove. This will minimize the risk of injury to yourself and others, and the loss of your hard work and costly ingredients to the floor.Knives!
I love my big kitchen knife and use it even for small things, but I'm afraid of it. You should be, too! I've had two family members nearly slice fingers off with regular flatware knives because, well, who ever hurts themselves with a normal table knife? They didn't think there was any danger so they weren't careful. Knives are bad news all around in you don't treat them with respect. Always lay your knives flat on the counter or cutting board with the blade facing away from you. Do not let the handles hang over any kind of edge even a centimeter. If you were around in the 90's think about Pogs. Let's say you rested a knife on top of a bowl and you reach for something behind it. Your arm comes down on the handle, and the knife follows, flipping a bit and cutting your arm. Definitely keep knives in general away from the edge of the counter or table, because there are a million ways that could go wrong. The best position is flat, parallel to the edge of the counter, with the blade facing away from the edge. If you set it down for a moment while washing vegetables, set it flat with the blade facing away from the sink.Spoons and ladles
Don't leave these in a pot with hot liquid. First of all, your utensils won't last very long that way. Second of all, while the utensils are getting cooked with your soup or whatever, the plastic, wax, or other coating is adding flavor to your food. Third, Those handles are the triggers for hot, burn-inducing, messy catapults, especially if you have children or adults who don't know anything about cooking around the house.Chicken
Chicken is good for your health, easy to cook with because any flavor works with it, and quite delicious in my opinion. However, it is known to carry diseases so when preparing chicken you have to be careful.
Designate raw chicken dishes and/or prepare chicken last
Especially when you don't plan to cook everything you're preparing, you must not prepare anything using something that was used to prepare raw chicken. That means cutting boards, knives, the counter where chicken juice might have dropped, even your hands. The best way to deal with raw chicken is to assume everything it touches is infected and must be washed with soap and hot water ASAP. Chances are your chicken is fine, but the probability that it's not is too high to be careless. If you want to save dishes, prepare everything else before you take the chicken out, because then you don't need the cutting board, knife, or your hands anymore. I'm kidding about your hands; just wash them thoroughly after touching raw chicken or anything the raw chicken touched. It's a good idea to just get all of the chicken work out of the way at once so you only have to clean like a crazy person once. The worst thing you can do is serve raw chicken or anything that touched it. If you put raw chicken on a plate to take it to the grill, that plate is done. Get a new one for the cooked chicken. If you're making chicken salad, keep the salad far away from the sink where you wash the chicken and the board where you cut it to prevent splashing. Use common sense and treat raw chicken like a biohazard, and nobody will get sick.
Keep chicken cold, then make it hot; nothing in between
Bacteria does really well in warm temperatures. It does not do so well in cold or very hot temperatures. When preparing chicken, use cold or cool water to wash it. Do not thaw chicken with hot water or by leaving it out for a day. Put it in the fridge or in cool water. If it kind of warms up, but not enough to cook (thereby killing bacteria), it becomes a breeding ground for things you don't want in your house. The more germs there are in your chicken when it starts cooking, the better the chances a few of them will survive to make you sick. That also means that you should never bring chicken up to cooking temperature slowly. Always make sure the cooking apparatus is at cooking temp before putting the chicken in. That means the oven needs to be preheated, the grill needs to be hot and ready, and water needs to be boiling or at least at a high simmer. If you keep it cold, then very hot, you shouldn't have any issues. I've been cooking chicken for years and never had any problems. Just like knives, you need to respect that there is a risk and you'll be just fine.
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