Before you slice into a tomato, chop an onion, pull out a skillet — before you even turn on the stove — turn on your senses. Your ability to use all your senses — to see, hear, smell, feel and taste — may be the simplest way to up your culinary cred.“To ignore that is to deprive yourself of some of the natural, most basic pleasures of the craft,” said Lauren Braun Costello, New York-based chef-stylist and cookbook author, during a phone chat. Most important, she said, is learning to taste.“You peel a carrot. It feels firm, and you say OK, it’s crunchy. You bite into it, and it’s not that sweet, it’s not that full of flavor or it has an odd texture. You’re tasting before you start cooking,” said Costello, who has written “Notes on Cooking” and “The Competent Cook.” “You’re a conductor and you’ve got all these musical instruments and you’re going to create a melody. You have to really taste and see and feel and touch and smell how all that is coming together.”For Marcus Samuelsson, chef at restaurants Aquavit, in New York, and C-House, in Chicago, that might mean incorporating vinegar or lime juice into a savory sauce to brighten its flavor.For Thomas Keller, chef at Napa Valley restaurants French Laundry and Ad Hoc, that might mean getting comfortable with touching food.“I’ve found a lot of people are afraid to touch food,” he writes in “Ad Hoc at Home.” “Touching food is good. It … gives you results impossible to achieve when you’re using long metal utensils.”

MORE TIPS:• Season as you go: “Season meat before you brown it. Season meat as it comes off the heat. Season the meat as you slice it,” Costello said.• Season correctly: “When you season food … whether the food is raw or cooked, always season from high above the food to ensure even distribution,” writes Keller.• Sweet, too: In “New American Table,” Samuelsson mixes Dijon-style mustard, maple syrup, lime juice and olive oil for brushing on grilled tuna. For salmon, a similar sauce uses honey instead of syrup. Balsamic vinegar adds its sweetness to a toasted sesame oil, olive oil and lime juice mix he splashes on grilled chicken.• Balance a plate: “The contrast and repetition of shapes, colors, textures and sizes provide a powerful form of culinary communication,” Costello writes.

CRISPY BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS—Yield: 6 servings

12 chicken thighs1 teaspoon kosher salt1/4 cup canola oil, divided1 cup coarsely chopped onion1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic3 large fennel bulbs, trimmed, cored and cut into 2- by 1/2-inch batons (about 3 cups)1/4 cup dry white wine1 cup large green olives1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes4 fresh or 2 dried bay leaves4 strips lemon zest8 sprigs thyme1 cup chicken stock1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves

Procedure:1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Season chicken with salt. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Cook thighs, skin side down, in batches if necessary, until brown, about 6 minutes per batch. Turn thighs over; cook 1 minute. Transfer to cooling rack set in baking sheet. (Add more oil to skillet if needed to cook second batch.)2. Reduce heat to medium-low; add onion. Cook 1 1/2 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Cook, stirring often, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in fennel; raise heat to medium. Cook, stirring often, until fennel is crisp-tender, about 10 minutes.3. Pour in wine; simmer 2 minutes. Stir in olives, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, lemon zest, thyme and chicken stock. Bring to simmer; cook until fennel is tender, about 1 minute.4. Taste stock; season with salt as needed. Return chicken to skillet, skin side up, in single layer (if your skillet is not large enough, use a roasting pan). When the liquid returns to a simmer, transfer to oven; cook until chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes.5. Turn on broiler; put pan under broiler to crisp and brown chicken skin, about 2 minutes. Transfer to serving platter; garnish with parsley.

Nutrition data per serving: 571 calories, 65 percent of calories from fat, 41 g fat, 9 g saturated fat, 159 mg cholesterol, 15 g carbohydrates, 36 g protein, 779 mg sodium, 5 g fiber

Source: Adapted from chef Thomas Keller’s “Ad Hoc at Home.”

TURKEY MEATLOAF WITH TOMATO-SPINACH SAUCE—Yield: 4-6 servings

3/4 cup water1 1/2 teaspoons salt3/4 cup uncooked semolina couscous3 tablespoons olive oil1 red onion, chopped8 tomatoes or 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes1 green bell pepper, chopped4 cloves garlic, minced1 teaspoon mild chili powder1 teaspoon thyme leaves1 large egg1 pound ground turkeyFreshly ground pepper2 cups baby spinach4 basil leaves, torn in small pieces

Procedure:1. Bring water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to boil in medium saucepan; turn off heat. Add couscous; cover and let sit 5 minutes. Fluff with fork.2. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder and thyme; simmer until tomatoes are broken down and softened to a sauce, about 25 minutes.3. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove 1 cup tomato sauce; let it cool. Let the remaining tomato sauce simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.4. Meanwhile, combine the 1 cup tomato sauce with couscous, egg and turkey. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Shape mixture into a loaf. Arrange loaf on parchment-lined sheet pan; bake 1 hour.5. Five minutes before meatloaf is ready, reheat tomato sauce. Fold spinach and basil into sauce. Season with remaining salt and pepper to taste. Serve sauce with meatloaf.

Nutrition data per serving: 280 calories, 28 percent of calories from fat, 9 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 65 mg cholesterol, 27 g carbohydrates, 25 g protein, 269 mg sodium, 4 g fiber

Source: Adapted from chef Marcus Samuelsson’s “New American Table”

Turkey meat loaf with a tomato-spinach sauce can be prepped in 20 minutes and bakes for and hour and a half. Photo by MCCLATCHY