Home Marinate! Marinate! Marinate! It's no secret that dressing your meats ahead of time enhances the flavor tremendously. So rather than pulling your chicken or pork or beef from the wrapper and plopping it into the oven, season it and let it sit. My personal favorite? Overnight. Otherwise, four to six hours will do.
Always have a kettle of hot water on the stove while you cook. Especially when cooking on the stove top. More likely than not you will need to add water to meats for example, and the worst thing you can do is add cold water. Adding cold water hardens the meat. Adding hot water to an already hot pot help tenderize it faster.
If you need to use canned tomatoes for sauces and gravy, use tomato sauce instead of the paste. I find it works much better.
Yellow plantains. Yellow plantains are best when the skin starts to blacken. They get softer and sweeter as they age.