I'm learning the fine art of cooking...

[Arcadio]

I am tired of buying food at take-out places and crappy restaurants. I am ready to learn the basics of cooking. I already make scrambled eggs, rice, and some basic salads and chicken recipes. Last weekend I spent $60 buying the basic condiments, spices, and sauces that I will need, according to "Cooking for Dummies"...

Anyone willing to share some beginner cooking tips?

 

[ElFenix]

bacon makes everything better

 

[Injury]

I'd help you, but you have single-handedly made a bunch of people on this site become unoriginal annoying douchefuckers and thus, I refuse.

 

[Hoober]

Originally posted by: Injury
I'd help you, but you have single-handedly made a bunch of people on this site become unoriginal annoying douchefuckers and thus, I refuse.

That was you?!?!

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: Injury
I'd help you, but you have single-handedly made a bunch of people on this site become unoriginal annoying douchefuckers and thus, I refuse.

im gonna go with this

fuck off
DIAF
TPAD
stab
.
.
.
.


you get the idea

 

[Special K]

Do you 'ave a grill?

 

[Arcadio]

I got a George Foreman grill for my birthday last year. The only thing I use it for is to make burgers.

 

[tenthumbs]

Start watching the Food Channel and experiment as often as possible. Get a good Chef's knife and don't buy into the Pampered Chef mentality of cooking. Gadgets don't make your food taste better.

 

[conehead433]

Cooking with butter makes everything taste better.

 

[PottedMeat]

Watch cooking shows. See something you like - try to copy it.

 

[Lola]

I am by no means a master chef, however, I love food, appericate the art of cooking and also enjoy trying new things.
With that here is what I can offer (just personal thoughts)

Don't ever skimp. There is a lot of talk about low fat, etc, but I have found that the recipe will turn out the best if you use what is called for. If it requires butter, use butter, not margerine. I think it is better to eat a little bit of something "bad" for you than a lot of just... "ok" food.

Never fear experimenting. Worst case, the dish turns out badly, a few dollars are spent, but as long as you learned from the expericnce, it was valuable. Remember or write down what spices you like together, which herbs work well with what meats and veggies.

Handle food with care, especially MEAT. Get cutting boards that are assigned to just meats, one for poultry and another for fruits and veggies.
Learn about food safety. Know what temps are proper for each meat. However, many temperatures for certain meats (pork for one) are a bit, over-cooked. Do some research.

When cooking most meats, when you take them off the grill/out of the oven/out of the pan, let them rest for at least 10 minutes to the juices can reconstatute and that will make your meat much more tender.

When possible, use fresh foods. In a pinch, frozen is fine, but fresh always will taste better.

That is all i can think of now... but if you have any specific questions ASK!

 

[torpid]

Get a subscription to cook's illustrated and watch America's Test Kitchen. You don't need to try the recipes or anything, they simply offer the most detailed information about why various cooking techniques work.

 

[nerp]

Buy the Joy of Cooking. It's a good manual for every type of recipie imaginable.

Learn to not press on meat when cooking. Learn timing. Learn to appreciate food that is rare to medium rare. Learn to balance flavors. Practice a lot. Don't cook everything on high. Get a good teflon pan and a 8 inch chefs knife. Read books about cooking. Go to good restaurants and order foods you normally wouldn't try. Study what you eat. Realize that most people cook very bland food and most people confuse 'heat' with 'spicy.' Avoid coating everything in condiments. Let the flavors of quality ingredients stand on their own. Get over your food hangups and pickiness. If you hate liver, buy two pounds of it and figure out how to make a couple great dishes. If you love eating giant bowls of pasta and jars of sauce, prohibit yourself from eating that for an entire month. Make your own sauce. Start a vegetable garden. Keep an open mind. Keep an open mouth.

 

[pontifex]

i have non-cooking tips...

quit posting
stop being a douche

 

[shocksyde]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
bacon makes everything better

+Bacon

 

[Feneant2]

I thought this guy was a robot posing as a uman? Why would he ever need to eat?

 

[Arcadio]

Wow... thanks for all the replies so far. Excellent tips. Special thanks to Lola and nerp. Reps.

Does anyone know a specific brand of Chef's knife I could buy? I got some cheap-o knives from Ikea...

 

[OdiN]

One of the most important things about cooking:

lys k su tt you ov is t t it ttu.


Sorry...but for a minute there my letters stopped working.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

There are 3 basic areas to master:

Ingredients - You can't cook good food if you're ingredients aren't of good quality.

Spicing - The proper application of salt and pepper will do wonders for a dish. The hard part is learning how much to apply to ingredients. My basic rule of thumb is The darker the meat the more salt and pepper is required. Don't go crazy with spices at first. Learn which ones combine well to create something greater than the sum of the parts.

Heat Control - Probably the most difficult thing to learn and most important factor. Always err on the side of caution. You can always cook something a bit longer to get it where you want it, but you can't uncook something. Once an item is overcooked there's nothing you can do about it. Certain ingredients require specific temperatures to cook properly as well. In a way it follows the spicing rule. Darker meats require higher temps while the lighter and more delicate meats need lower temps.

Also, get familiar with the basic cooking techniques and learn what each technique does to an ingredient. Searing, roasting, braising, frying, blanching, par-boiling, and shocking are all important areas of knowledge. Go slow. Work on and master one technique at a time. Soon enough you'll build confidence and can begin to experiment.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Originally posted by: Arcadio
Wow... thanks for all the replies so far. Excellent tips. Special thanks to Lola and nerp. Reps.

Does anyone know a specific brand of Chef's knife I could buy? I got some cheap-o knives from Ikea...

If you want some good quality knives, get WÜSTHOF.

http://www.wusthof.com/en/classic-knife-collections.asp

Start with a Cook's knife, a kitchen knife, and a paring knife and build your collection from there.

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken
There are 3 basic areas to master:

Ingredients - You can't cook good food if you're ingredients aren't of good quality.

Spicing - The proper application of salt and pepper will do wonders for a dish. The hard part is learning how much to apply to ingredients. My basic rule of thumb is The darker the meat the more salt and pepper is required. Don't go crazy with spices at first. Learn which ones combine well to create something greater than the sum of the parts.

Heat Control - Probably the most difficult thing to learn and most important factor. Always err on the side of caution. You can always cook something a bit longer to get it where you want it, but you can't uncook something. Once an item is overcooked there's nothing you can do about it. Certain ingredients require specific temperatures to cook properly as well. In a way it follows the spicing rule. Darker meats require higher temps while the lighter and more delicate meats need lower temps.

Also, get familiar with the basic cooking techniques and learn what each technique does to an ingredient. Searing, roasting, braising, frying, blanching, par-boiling, and shocking are all important areas of knowledge. Go slow. Work on and master one technique at a time. Soon enough you'll build confidence and can begin to experiment.

Guess what?

Spices are ingredients too.

 

[torpid]

You don't need an expensive chef's knife if you are just getting into cooking. Go with a Forschner which is nearly as good as the more expensive ones anyway.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Originally posted by: OdiN

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken
There are 3 basic areas to master:

Ingredients - You can't cook good food if you're ingredients aren't of good quality.

Spicing - The proper application of salt and pepper will do wonders for a dish. The hard part is learning how much to apply to ingredients. My basic rule of thumb is The darker the meat the more salt and pepper is required. Don't go crazy with spices at first. Learn which ones combine well to create something greater than the sum of the parts.

Heat Control - Probably the most difficult thing to learn and most important factor. Always err on the side of caution. You can always cook something a bit longer to get it where you want it, but you can't uncook something. Once an item is overcooked there's nothing you can do about it. Certain ingredients require specific temperatures to cook properly as well. In a way it follows the spicing rule. Darker meats require higher temps while the lighter and more delicate meats need lower temps.

Also, get familiar with the basic cooking techniques and learn what each technique does to an ingredient. Searing, roasting, braising, frying, blanching, par-boiling, and shocking are all important areas of knowledge. Go slow. Work on and master one technique at a time. Soon enough you'll build confidence and can begin to experiment.

Guess what?

Spices are ingredients too.

And?

 

[idiotekniQues]

yeah all you really need is a good chef's knife and a few good pots and pans.

the rest is about love and ingredients.

i would think a great way to learn is to follow some recipes that use different techniques. if it doesnt come out right the first time, do it again. as you do these recipes you will learn basics from cooking techniques to ingredient combinations. watch some of the better food network shows as they do have some good info on when to use an acid, etc.

then you can start to create a little on your own just mixing and matching your newfound knowledge to tweak or adjust things you have learned how to cook.

 

[Tim]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Injury
I'd help you, but you have single-handedly made a bunch of people on this site become unoriginal annoying douchefuckers and thus, I refuse.

im gonna go with this

fuck off
DIAF
TPAD
stab
.
.
.
.


you get the idea

QFMFT although nuking the site (him) from orbit is the only way to be sure.