So what are your cooking hacks/advice for taking a dish to the next level?

Three to begin with.

1. Typically you hear that if a dish doesn't taste right "Add salt" - this can be true for a lot of dishes but another component that generally gets missed in acids. For that extra layer, add something like Lemon or Lime juice and that can usually take the favor to the next level. This works especially well with spice heavy dishes, so stuff from western Asia and central/south Americas.

2. The vegans are figuring out some cool stuff to 'plus up' dishes and one thing they have pushed a fair bit is Nutritional yeast - AKA Nooch. In having that limitation, they are being very inventive in the food space. It is a yellow flaky substance that tastes kind of like a cheap cheese - or old socks depending on who you ask.

In the vegan community they use it for a cheesy flavor and a b12 substitute but that is not what I am here for. If you roll that way, cool. If not, cool.

It took me a long while to figure it out but any tomato based dish where I used this stuff a lot just pops! And it isn't even a direct flavor that one can pick out. Cannot get enough of it! It basically makes it super savory, and cooking.

3. Embrace yeast based spreads. These are the Marmites, Bovril, and in my case Vegemite. I get why people don't like these, they are intense flavor bombs of savory salt. I once saw a youtuber describe Vegemite as like sour milk and soy sauce and that isn't too far from the truth. Having this stuff since child means I am brain washed a little but in the same way as Nooch, this flavor can bring a lot to the table and in the oddest places.

Adding Vegemite to some of the simpler Indian dishes can really elevate them to another level, but be careful, it can also ruin some. Do experiment. Also things like Baked beans on toast with a little of this spread added. It is odd at first but after a while it can really grow on you.

So what are your hacks and advice?

"Molotov" seasoning: mix garlic powder, salt, brown sugar, ground black pepper, ground ginger, chilli powder, wasabi power. Amounts by taste, if unsure go with the same amount for everything. Store in an airtight pot, and use it as necessary. It lasts forever and it's a great "kick up" for dishes that would be otherwise bland.

Potato can be subbed with yucca in a lot of recipes, as long as you boil the yucca beforehand. It's more laborious, but it's great for variety. (Yes, this includes fries. Deep-fried yucca is delicious.)

Leftover croquettes: one egg, a cup of leftover meats and veggies (dice/shred/whatever them small), enough flour to have a thick batter. Add some grated cheese if you want, plus seasoning (salt and pepper is fine). Deep-fry them at 180°C. Waste not, want not. Works great with leftover cauliflower, rice, cabbage, roasted peppers.

The pot is always hot unless you know that it's cold.

Leftover pizza dough: mix garlic powder and warm butter, brush over it, send it to the oven.

When you're deep-frying stuff you don't need whole eggs; just the egg white is enough. Keep this in mind if you use lots of yolks for sweets, homemade mayo or something else. Also egg whites freeze really well.

If your tomato sauce is a bit too sour for your tastes, a bit of honey will make it taste less sour.

A good fish swims thrice: first in water (alive), then in wine (marinading), then in butter (before baking).

Since I got an instant read thermometer I use it for checking the done-ness of cakes, breads, meats, swiss meringue and other heat-dependant frostings and creams and generally everything that has to be heated. It really increases ones' success rate.

It might be slightly heretical but I've got a few.

• If you want some sort of caramelized onions as part of a dish, but don't want to actually go through the hassle of it, you can get away with/fake it by throwing some sugar in with the onions while cooking them down. It's obviously not exactly the same, but you can achieve a "close enough" flavor in ~5-8m this way. Especially good if they're being incorporated into something else/other flavors.

• Similar to the above, you can "quick pickle" onion (usually red onion) by tossing some salt, pepper, and lime (or probably lemon) juice in a bowl with the onion (just enough to coat the onion, you don't have to go crazy) and throwing it in the microwave for 30-60s, then letting them sit for ~10-15m afterwards. Again, isn't quite the same, but in a pinch it does the job.

I think vodka works better in an omelet than water.

They might be heavy, but you'll have to pry my enameled cast iron pots and skillets from my cold, dead hands. I've never had to worry about anything sticking unless I had the heat up too high for too long.

Cast iron everything for life! Like literally this stuff will out live all of us!

I don't use enameled but just raw iron skillets, pots and a heavy as wok. My mother in law gave me one of those ceramic fry pans a few months back, first life I lift it I almost threw it through the roof because I had become so used to the weight of those skillets.

This is the last piece I really want. After this I have all the cookware I need til the grave. https://www.lodgecookware.com.au/wildlife-series-12-inch-cast-iron-bear-skillet/

America's Test Kitchen tested ceramic skillets, and none of them could even compete with the worst ranked teflon coated pans.

The only reason I'm not using my cast iron currently is because my current apartment has a glass stovetop that I'm terrified of destroying.

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That is completely fair. Some of them weigh a stack! You get used to it but that makes the problem of when you use a typical fry pan you almost throw the thing into the ceiling because it is so light by comparison.

I'm still a fan of good stainless steel cookware. If you do things properly, they're not bad at all to clean (oil/fat in cold pan, let it preheat for ~minutes before tossing food in, scrape the nasty bits off while its still kinda warm)

I love cast iron, it does take a lil bit of extra effort to manage (sometimes more than I have on a work night), but my favorite video on the topic of how to care for it is from Internet Shaquille:

my favorite thing about cast iron is people online who genuinely think you're not supposed to clean them to preserve the "good oils"

Excuse me, but botulism is what makes everything taste better!

I got some store-bought sun dried tomato pesto. It tastes great with fried eggs (I like the yolk slightly runny), and I paired the eggs with nopales and corn tortillas (which makes sense as this pesto is like a salsa without the chiles).