Some Martha Stewart cooking tips make you stop and think, “Do I really have to do all that?”

Roast the lemons first. Put vodka in the pie dough. Massage the kale. Freeze grapes for your drink. At first glance, some of these tricks can seem like extra steps for no real reason.

Then you try them.

A lot of Martha’s kitchen advice comes down to paying attention to little things that can change the flavor or texture of a dish. You don’t need expensive equipment or hours in the kitchen. Sometimes it’s just one extra step or an ingredient you wouldn’t normally think to use.

A few of these ideas might still feel like more work than they’re worth. But if the goal is better food, some are surprisingly easy to fit into your normal routine.

Here are 10 Martha Stewart cooking ideas that sound a little over the top until you taste what they do.

Marinate Steak in Coffee — Image Credit: Pexels

Freeze Fresh Herbs in Olive Oil

Fresh herbs always seem like a great idea at the grocery store. Then a few days later, you find a sad bunch of wilted parsley or basil hiding in the refrigerator. Freezing them in olive oil is a simple way to use them before they go bad.

Chop the herbs, place them in an ice cube tray, and cover them with olive oil. Once frozen, you can pop a cube into a hot pan while cooking soups, sauces, eggs, vegetables, or other dishes.

The olive oil helps protect the herbs while they’re in the freezer, and you get a ready-made little flavor boost whenever you need one. It’s especially handy for herbs you know you won’t use before they start wilting.

Marinate Steak in Coffee

Coffee might be the last thing you’d think to put on a steak, but it can actually work well in a marinade. Brewed coffee adds a roasted, slightly bitter note that pairs nicely with beef. Finely ground coffee can also be used in some marinades for even more of that roasted flavor.

The goal isn’t to make your steak taste like a cup of coffee. Instead, it adds another layer of flavor that can make the beef taste richer. It sounds unusual until you take that first bite. Then it starts to make a little more sense.

And if you’re always looking for new uses for everyday kitchen items, check out Coffee Filters Aren’t Just for Coffee — Here’s What We’ve Been Using Them For.

Butter and Salt Bread Before Toasting

Most people wait until their bread is toasted before adding butter. Martha’s method flips that around. Spread butter over the bread and add a little salt before putting it in the toaster oven or under the broiler. As the bread cooks, the butter melts into the surface and helps it brown.

The result is crisp around the edges, golden on top, and buttery all the way through. It’s such a small change that you might wonder why you never tried it before. Just keep an eye on it while it cooks since buttered bread can brown quickly.

Save the Water From Boiled Potatoes

There’s a good chance you’ve been pouring perfectly useful potato water down the sink without giving it a second thought. The cloudy water left after boiling potatoes contains starch, which can help thicken soups, sauces, and gravies. A small splash can add body without needing to reach for flour or cream.

You don’t need much. Just scoop some out before draining the potatoes and keep it nearby while you finish cooking. It’s one of those kitchen habits that costs nothing and can save you from throwing something useful away.

Add Vodka to Pie Dough

Putting vodka in pie crust sounds like something you’d only hear from a very particular baker. There’s actually a practical reason for it. A little vodka can replace some of the water in pie dough. Because alcohol contributes less to gluten formation than water, it can help keep the crust tender. Much of the alcohol evaporates during baking, so it doesn’t leave your pie tasting like a cocktail.

The trick is especially useful if you tend to overwork your pie dough or struggle with a crust that comes out tough. It’s a strange ingredient for pie, but there’s some solid baking logic behind it.

Use Frozen Grapes Instead of Ice Cubes

If you’ve ever poured a glass of wine over ice, you already know the problem: the ice melts and waters everything down. Frozen grapes solve that problem while making your drink look a little more fun. Wash and dry the grapes, pop them in the freezer, and add a few to your glass when you want something cold. They can chill wine, sparkling water, lemonade, or other drinks without adding extra water.

And once you finish your drink, you have a cold, sweet grape waiting for you at the bottom.

Roast Lemons Before Using Them

Fresh lemon juice can be sharp. Roasting the lemon first changes that flavor. Cut the lemons in half and roast them until the edges start to brown and caramelize. The heat brings out some sweetness and takes the edge off the acidity. Squeeze the roasted lemon over chicken, roasted vegetables, seafood, pasta, or anything else that could use a little brightness.

It takes a few more minutes than cutting a lemon in half, but the flavor is warmer and less harsh. If you already have something in the oven, it’s an easy extra step.

Massage Your Kale

“Massage your kale” sounds like the sort of cooking instruction that makes a simple salad feel unnecessarily complicated. It really just means rubbing the kale leaves with your hands for a minute or two.

Kale has a tougher texture than lettuce, especially when it’s raw. A little olive oil and salt worked into the leaves helps soften them, making the kale easier to chew and much nicer in a salad. Once the leaves become darker and softer, add your dressing and toppings. You won’t have to fight your salad with every bite.

Add a Pinch of Salt to Coffee

Salt in coffee sounds wrong until you learn how little you actually need. A tiny pinch can reduce the perception of bitterness, which can be useful if your coffee tastes particularly harsh. You shouldn’t taste the salt itself. The goal is just to take some of the bitter edge off.

Start with a very small amount. You can always add more, but nobody wants to accidentally turn their morning coffee into a salty drink. It’s an especially handy trick for coffee that tastes overly bitter or has been sitting around for a while.

Chill Cookie Dough Overnight

Making cookie dough and then being told to wait until tomorrow to bake it is probably the hardest part of this entire list. But letting the dough rest in the refrigerator can make a difference. As the dough sits, the flour has more time to absorb moisture, and the flavors have time to come together. Chilled dough also tends to spread less quickly in the oven, which can give you cookies with crisp edges and chewy centers.

You don’t have to wait a full 24 hours every time. Even a few hours can be useful, but an overnight rest is worth trying if you have the patience. Sometimes the best cookie is the one you had to wait for.