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Welcome to the Cook's Notebook on Just Maika Cooking—your one-stop shop for everything you need to elevate your culinary skills!

This category is packed with educational articles that focus on essential how-tos, from mastering kitchen techniques to understanding ingredients and maintaining your favorite kitchen tools.

Want to know how spicy your peppers are? Check out our guide on the Scoville Scale to take the guesswork out of heat levels. Ready to get more hands-on?

Learn the best methods for Prepping Chicken like a pro. And don’t miss our detailed tips on Cast Iron Care, ensuring your pans last for generations. Search the Cook’s Notebook section and confidently refine your cooking expertise!

  • Close-up of garlic chopping on a vibrant green cutting board with a sharp knife.
    How to Use Garlic in Cooking: Easy Tips for Beginners
  • How to Use the Salad Spinner | In Many Ways
  • Best Cast Iron Skillet Care | Cooking, Cleaning to Seasoning
  • two halved acorn squash skin side up. one in whole while the other has been cut into sliced rings half way through laying on a cutting board next to a knife
    Prepping Gourds
  • cutting chicken breast into large chunks on a cutting mat for raw poultry.
    How to Cut Chicken: Large Chunks vs Small Dice
  • half thawed frozen chicken sliced on a cutting board for perfect slices.
    How to Slice Chicken Perfectly Every Time
  • different images of a cook prepping in the background with a animated clock in the front for the Save Time in the Kitchen post.
    10 Chef‑Approved Ways to Save Time in the Kitchen
  • Holiday Style Spatchcock Marinated Chicken surrounded by vegetables.
    Holiday Kitchen Safety Tips: How to Cook, Serve, and Store
  • 5 prepared dishes on a stove.
    What Is HACCP and Why Every Home Cook Should Care About It
  • pan-grilled flank steak being thinly sliced.
    Steak Grilling Times Chart: Perfect Temp & Cook Times
  • top view of the Curry spatchcocked chicken with vegetables plated in a large wide round bowl
    Caribbean Thanksgiving Meal Prep Plan Ideas | 2025
  • Jean (my son) in the kitchen helping out with washing the dishes.
    Kitchen Safety Tips for Families: A Guide for Cooking Together with Confidence
  • sesame seeds and oil being spooned over the fried sunny side egg with a silicone spoon made by GIR.
    What is Salmonella? For Home Cooks | Causes and Tips
  • slitting chicken breast on a color coded cutting board with a knife.
    How to Cut Chicken: Several Methods for Prepping Tutorials
  • showcasing all of the chicken parts on the cutting board.
    How to Cut Up a Whole Chicken | Step-by-Step Guide
  • pan seared butterflied chicken in oil in an all-clad frying pan
    Cooking Tips for Searing Chicken
  • red jalapeno held in hand.
    Scoville Scale and Chili Peppers
  • freshly picked scotch bonnet peppers held in hand.
    Meet the Scotch Bonnet Pepper: Caribbean Heat with a Fruity Twist
  • bowl of sliced chicken breast, marinating in seasonings and sliced lemons in a mixing bowl.
    How to Marinate Chicken: Tips, Quick Methods & Flavorful Shortcuts
  • two grilled lemongrass chicken breast with grill marks on one and another about to be flipped with a kitchenaid silicone spatula in a grill pan.
    Best Pans for Searing Chicken (and How Each One Behaves)
  • a butterflied chicken that has been divided into two with one half cut into thirds for small chicken cutlets
    How to Prep Chicken Cutlets for Quick, Delicious Meals
  • prepared dinners in containers.
    Listeria and Frozen Dinners: Why Food Safety Matters
  • chicken being shredded with two forks in a metal rectangular container.
    How to Shred Chicken | Easy Methods for Meal Prep
  • chef maika holding the thermoworks square dot.
    Understanding Food Temperature Safety Zones: Cook, Store & Serve Safely
  • halved chicken being pounded out with a meat mallet on a yellow cutting board
    How to Pound Out Chicken Breasts Evenly | Step-by-Step Guide
  • batch prep aromatics in whole vegetable form.
    Batch‑Prep Aromatics & Staples on Sunday Roundup
  • ingredients for the mango cookies and cream no churn ice cream on a round tray.
    Mise en Place 101: The Home Cook’s Guide to Prepping Smarter, Not Harder
  • Fresh ingredients for chicken corn chowder dumplings: corn, peppers, onions, garlic, and herbs.
    10 Grocery Shortcuts for Quicker Prep
  • mirepoix of onion, carrots, and celery sweating in a Lodge 6 quart enameled Dutch oven
    Mirepoix: The Classic French Flavor Base Every Home Cook Should Batch-Prep
  • panko breaded chicken cutlets on a yellow cutting board mat.
    How to Bread Chicken the Easy Way (Step-by-Step Guide)
  • How to Prep Sweet Peppers | Bell Peppers and More
  • whole chicken on the cutting board being cut with kitchen shears from the bottom up on the left side of the chicken's backbone.
    How to Spatchcock a Chicken: Easy Step-by-Step Guide for Juicy, Even Cooking
  • Japanese mandoline with blades
    Japanese Mandoline
  • the shell of the shrimp being peel with two hands.
    Guide to Shrimp: How to Clean, Cook, and Choose the Best
  • half way through chopping the onion.
    How to Chop Onions Without Crying (Quick Method)
  • butterflied chicken breast on a cutting board.
    How to Butterfly Chicken Breasts | Step-by-Step Guide
  • The 7 Types of Onions Every Home Cook Should Know
  • Hot Haitian Seasoning Blend in a colorful bowl.
    10 Proven Spice‑Storage Hacks (Stop Wasting Flavor)
  • Fresh ingredients ready for cooking in a well-prepared kitchen with a cast iron pan being oiled.
    15 Things to Know on How to Use a Wok
  • smooth tamarind paste in a pot.
    How to Make Homemade Tamarind Paste
  • fridge with a cautious sign overlay,
    Mastering FIFO: The Simple Method to Keep Your Food Fresh
  • 7 color coded cutting board with a knife.
    How to Prevent Cross-Contamination in Your Kitchen

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Welcome!

Chef Maika's profile photo in a chef coat and hand band with arms crossed smiling.

I’m Maika, a professionally trained chef, recipe developer, and culinary educator. For over a decade, I worked at major hotels, including the PGA National Resort, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Conrad Hilton, and W Hotel. As a lifelong passionate cook, my blog explores a world of flavors and experiments with recipes to create restaurant-quality dinners that will excite the food enthusiast's taste buds. Learn More →

Dietary Needs

Sliced Peach Piri Piri Chicken with Fonio Kale Salad on a plate.

Pollotarian

Caesar Salad with soft-boiled Egg, roasted campari Tomatoes and Chili-Infused Croutons garnished with freshly grated parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper in a wide rim bowl.

Vegetarian

Gluten-Free

Dairy-Free

Grilled Zhug Ras el Hanout Lamb Chops and Tomato, cucumber, onion Salad served with a lemon-oregano dressing served with a grilled lemon.

Grain-Free

grilled marinated tofu on top of a warm roasted vegetable couscous salad on spicy basil romesco sauce in a wide rim bowl topped with micro greens.

Egg-Free

top view of the the Easy Spicy Crispy Chicken Tacos with Cholula Sour Cream sprinkled with fresh chopped cilantr on a flat white round plate with shallow straight sides.

Nut-Free

top view and close up the Lemon Calabrian Chili Chicken Orzo Soup in a wide rim bowl .

Mediterranean

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