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

[DisgruntledVirus]

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...

Global, Henkel, Wustuff, Shun, etc. Go to Williams Sonoma and take a look at their cutlery. Play with them at the store. See if they have things to try the knives out on (I like onion/bell peppers/fruits/etc), and get a feel for the weight/grip/style. Your knife is your tool. Learn how to use it properly. Learn to love it. Form a relationship with it. Chef's that good and travel take one thing. Their cutlery. Pots/pans/cookware/etc is much easier to adapt to then new cutlery.

Take a new food item each week, and just experiment with different cuts. Take any food, cut it 5 different ways and it will give 5 different experiences. Then take some dishes you really enjoy with that item and make it with the 5 different cuts. Most likely you will get 5 different tastes in the final dish.

Watch Food Network constantly. You learn many things especially from Alton Brown (about an ingredient), among others. Learn flavor profiles. Figure out what spices/herbs work together and what happens when you mix and match them. Take a spice and combine it with others on a dish to see what it tastes like.

The biggest thing about cooking is trying new things, and then adapting them and perfecting the dish. Try new things. The more you do it the better you will be, so just start doing it.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: 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.

i disagree. get a quality knife and never look back. they can literally last you a lifetime.
if you get crappy knives, you'll constantly be replacing them. and when you finally get a quality one, you'll realize how much time you wasted on a cheap knife.

i'm partial towards the german brands so i stick with wusthof and henckels.

 

[shopbruin]

Originally posted by: LolaDon'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.

Ahh... this is the mentality of the Pioneer Woman's Cooking Blog and I absolutely LOVE her blog. She says butter is great for cooking, and it won't kill you. Neither will the occasional use of bacon.

She also has GREAT step by step pictures of her recipes.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: 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.

i disagree. get a quality knife and never look back. they can literally last you a lifetime.
if you get crappy knives, you'll constantly be replacing them. and when you finally get a quality one, you'll realize how much time you wasted on a cheap knife.

i'm partial towards the german brands so i stick with wusthof and henckels.

Take a look at Japanese blades though . I like the Japanese blades due to typically lighter, and handle better (IMO). Wushhof is where its at from Germany though, with Henckels a close second.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: 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.

i disagree. get a quality knife and never look back. they can literally last you a lifetime.
if you get crappy knives, you'll constantly be replacing them. and when you finally get a quality one, you'll realize how much time you wasted on a cheap knife.

i'm partial towards the german brands so i stick with wusthof and henckels.

Agreed. The Wusthof's and Henckel's will maintain an edge much longer than cheaper knives. I rarely have to have my Wusthof's sharpened (about once a year), hone them once a week, and I use them every day.

Get some good cookware too. Some heavy-bottomed, stainless steel/copper pots and pans that maintain their shape under high heat are a must. Cheap pans tend to warp under high heat which will make for hot spots and uneven cooking. I use All-Clad but a cheaper alternative is Wolfgang Puck's line of cookware. It's good stuff for the price.

Edit: And stay away from aluminum cookware and non-stick coatings. Both tend to add nasty things to food that you don't really want.

 

[Fritzo]

Start with casseroles. This will teach you about what foods go together, baking, temperature, etc. It'll also give you ideas for other recipes. Try roasting too. Chicken is easy and impressive:

1 Get a large fresh roasting chicken
2 Remove giblets (if present) and put aside. Rinse inside and out.
3 Take a knife and CAREFULLY separate the skin from the meat (don't puncture the skin). It should separate fairly easily.
4 Insert a few slices of butter underneath the skin
5 Season the outside with salt, pepper, a little basil, chopped parsley, and paprika (for browning color). If you have some lemon juice, a light slash on the skin is nice too.
6 Stuff the cavity with large pieces of unpeeled carrots, celery (use tops too!), and onion.
7 Add giblets to the bottom of a large pan. If you have a rack, use it to raise the chicken above the bottom of the pan. Add a cup or two of water (to cover the bottom of the pan with a thin coat of water).
8 Roast at 350F for an hour or so. The leg meat will pull away very easily when it's done.

Make gravy out of the drippings:

1) After you remove the chicken from the pan, add a cup of water and put on a burner at high heat.
2) Stir briskly to loosen all the drippings, and bring to a hard boil.
3) Mix corn starch or flour to COLD water to make a thick paste.
4) While stirring, slowly add the mixture to the drippings. It should thicken immediately. Keep adding until it's the thickness you want.

Make some mashed potatoes and a veggie, pop a tube of biscuits in the oven, and you're gold.

It's pretty easy, low work, nice presentation, and it'll feed 4 people

 

[Circlenaut]

I'm my personal experience with learning how to cook. Find some herbs + spices that you like. Combine anything with that and it'll come out awesome. For me it's garlic, cilantro and scallions. Salmon, beef, port, chicken all go well with it.

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: 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.

i disagree. get a quality knife and never look back. they can literally last you a lifetime.
if you get crappy knives, you'll constantly be replacing them. and when you finally get a quality one, you'll realize how much time you wasted on a cheap knife.

i'm partial towards the german brands so i stick with wusthof and henckels.

Agreed. The Wusthof's and Henckel's will maintain an edge much longer than cheaper knives. I rarely have to have my Wusthof's sharpened (about once a year), hone them once a week, and I use them every day.

Get some good cookware too. Some heavy-bottomed, stainless steel/copper pots and pans that maintain their shape under high heat are a must. Cheap pans tend to warp under high heat which will make for hot spots and uneven cooking. I use All-Clad but a cheaper alternative is Wolfgang Puck's line of cookware. It's good stuff for the price.

Edit: And stay away from aluminum cookware and non-stick coatings. Both tend to add nasty things to food that you don't really want.

Forschner is a fairly high quality knife made in similar manner to the better Henckels and Wusthof knives. It is certainly WAYYYY better than the cheap Henckels. As for sharpening, it sounds like rubbish to me. I have the twin pro Henckels and they still need to be professionally sharpened just as often as the Forschners. I'm not suggesting he get farberware or anything. They sell Forschners right alongside other high quality knives at many kitchen stores. They are also highly touted on sites like cheftalk.com

 

[KeithTalent]

Henckel is overpriced shit now, go for Wusthoff or Global, or anything else, unless you can find super cheap Henckels, then they should suffice for alittle while.

OP have you thought about taking a cooking fundamentals class? You can learn a lot of the basics plus there are usually some hot single chicks in the class, so win all around.

KT

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: Feneant2
I thought this guy was a robot posing as a uman? Why would he ever need to eat?

Replicants have implanted memory.

 

[Arcadio]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
Henckel is overpriced shit now, go for Wusthoff or Global, or anything else, unless you can find super cheap Henckels, then they should suffice for alittle while.

OP have you thought about taking a cooking fundamentals class? You can learn a lot of the basics plus there are usually some hot single chicks in the class, so win all around.

KT

I've never thought about taking a class, but it sounds like a good idea.

 

[Circlenaut]

I'm my personal experience with learning how to cook. Find some herbs + spices that you like. Combine anything with that and it'll come out awesome. For me it's garlic, cilantro and scallions. Salmon, beef, port, chicken all go well with it.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: Pippy
I'm my personal experience with learning how to cook. Find some herbs + spices that you like. Combine anything with that and it'll come out awesome. For me it's garlic, cilantro and scallions. Salmon, beef, port, chicken all go well with it.

What have you cooked with port? I made a nice reduction the other day that was great on the tenderloin I was eating.

KT

 

[Strk]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: 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.

i disagree. get a quality knife and never look back. they can literally last you a lifetime.
if you get crappy knives, you'll constantly be replacing them. and when you finally get a quality one, you'll realize how much time you wasted on a cheap knife.

i'm partial towards the german brands so i stick with wusthof and henckels.

Victorinox (Forschner) is actually a great buy for knives. They're pretty affordable and they're incedibly sharp. They aren't cheap, but you can buy a santoku, chef's knife and a paring knife for the cost of one Shun or Global. I'd wait to find out how into cooking he really is before spending a few hundred just on cutlery.

Proper maitnance also plays a big role in keeping the knife as good as it was when you first got it. I suggest going to Alton Brown's website. He has a nice little video on it. It's worth noting he has a line with Shun, so he is a little biased towards them (not that they aren't good knives).

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: 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.

i disagree. get a quality knife and never look back. they can literally last you a lifetime.
if you get crappy knives, you'll constantly be replacing them. and when you finally get a quality one, you'll realize how much time you wasted on a cheap knife.

i'm partial towards the german brands so i stick with wusthof and henckels.

Agreed. The Wusthof's and Henckel's will maintain an edge much longer than cheaper knives. I rarely have to have my Wusthof's sharpened (about once a year), hone them once a week, and I use them every day.

Get some good cookware too. Some heavy-bottomed, stainless steel/copper pots and pans that maintain their shape under high heat are a must. Cheap pans tend to warp under high heat which will make for hot spots and uneven cooking. I use All-Clad but a cheaper alternative is Wolfgang Puck's line of cookware. It's good stuff for the price.

Edit: And stay away from aluminum cookware and non-stick coatings. Both tend to add nasty things to food that you don't really want.

Forschner is a fairly high quality knife made in similar manner to the better Henckels and Wusthof knives. It is certainly WAYYYY better than the cheap Henckels. As for sharpening, it sounds like rubbish to me. I have the twin pro Henckels and they still need to be professionally sharpened just as often as the Forschners. I'm not suggesting he get farberware or anything. They sell Forschners right alongside other high quality knives at many kitchen stores. They are also highly touted on sites like cheftalk.com

Nope, not rubbish. I have had my Wusthoffs for over two years and have had them professionally sharpened twice. It's getting around that time again but a quick honing and they'll still go through a tomato (which I consider the benchmark for how a knife performs) like nothing's there.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: Pippy
I'm my personal experience with learning how to cook. Find some herbs + spices that you like. Combine anything with that and it'll come out awesome. For me it's garlic, cilantro and scallions. Salmon, beef, port, chicken all go well with it.

What have you cooked with port? I made a nice reduction the other day that was great on the tenderloin I was eating.

KT

I braise lamb shanks with a port along with some chicken stock and a few spices. It's a simple recipe and they come out incredibly tender and flavorful.

 

[sandorski]

Watch "The Urban Peasant" if it's on in your area. Unlike many cooking shows that treat Cooking as a Utilitarian exercise in precision, James Barber(rest his soul) was more Artistic and creative on the fly. He didn't teach how to Cook Recipe X, he taught how to Cook without a Recipe to follow.

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: 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.

i disagree. get a quality knife and never look back. they can literally last you a lifetime.
if you get crappy knives, you'll constantly be replacing them. and when you finally get a quality one, you'll realize how much time you wasted on a cheap knife.

i'm partial towards the german brands so i stick with wusthof and henckels.

Agreed. The Wusthof's and Henckel's will maintain an edge much longer than cheaper knives. I rarely have to have my Wusthof's sharpened (about once a year), hone them once a week, and I use them every day.

Get some good cookware too. Some heavy-bottomed, stainless steel/copper pots and pans that maintain their shape under high heat are a must. Cheap pans tend to warp under high heat which will make for hot spots and uneven cooking. I use All-Clad but a cheaper alternative is Wolfgang Puck's line of cookware. It's good stuff for the price.

Edit: And stay away from aluminum cookware and non-stick coatings. Both tend to add nasty things to food that you don't really want.

Forschner is a fairly high quality knife made in similar manner to the better Henckels and Wusthof knives. It is certainly WAYYYY better than the cheap Henckels. As for sharpening, it sounds like rubbish to me. I have the twin pro Henckels and they still need to be professionally sharpened just as often as the Forschners. I'm not suggesting he get farberware or anything. They sell Forschners right alongside other high quality knives at many kitchen stores. They are also highly touted on sites like cheftalk.com

Nope, not rubbish. I have had my Wusthoffs for over two years and have had them professionally sharpened twice. It's getting around that time again but a quick honing and they'll still go through a tomato (which I consider the benchmark for how a knife performs) like nothing's there.

Same here with Forschners, which are cheaper knives. Thus, it is rubbish. Price of the knife has little bearing on quality of a knife.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: 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.

i disagree. get a quality knife and never look back. they can literally last you a lifetime.
if you get crappy knives, you'll constantly be replacing them. and when you finally get a quality one, you'll realize how much time you wasted on a cheap knife.

i'm partial towards the german brands so i stick with wusthof and henckels.

Agreed. The Wusthof's and Henckel's will maintain an edge much longer than cheaper knives. I rarely have to have my Wusthof's sharpened (about once a year), hone them once a week, and I use them every day.

Get some good cookware too. Some heavy-bottomed, stainless steel/copper pots and pans that maintain their shape under high heat are a must. Cheap pans tend to warp under high heat which will make for hot spots and uneven cooking. I use All-Clad but a cheaper alternative is Wolfgang Puck's line of cookware. It's good stuff for the price.

Edit: And stay away from aluminum cookware and non-stick coatings. Both tend to add nasty things to food that you don't really want.

Forschner is a fairly high quality knife made in similar manner to the better Henckels and Wusthof knives. It is certainly WAYYYY better than the cheap Henckels. As for sharpening, it sounds like rubbish to me. I have the twin pro Henckels and they still need to be professionally sharpened just as often as the Forschners. I'm not suggesting he get farberware or anything. They sell Forschners right alongside other high quality knives at many kitchen stores. They are also highly touted on sites like cheftalk.com

Nope, not rubbish. I have had my Wusthoffs for over two years and have had them professionally sharpened twice. It's getting around that time again but a quick honing and they'll still go through a tomato (which I consider the benchmark for how a knife performs) like nothing's there.

Same here with Forschners, which are cheaper knives. Thus, it is rubbish. Price of the knife has little bearing on quality of a knife.

Sorry, mis-read your post. I thought you were calling rubbish on having the knives sharpened only once a year. I have some chef friends that have their's sharpened on a monthly basis.

Haven't tried the Forschners yet. Might give them a shot because I'm looking around for a flexible filet knife.

 

[Arcadio]

Originally posted by: sandorski
Watch "The Urban Peasant" if it's on in your area. Unlike many cooking shows that treat Cooking as a Utilitarian exercise in precision, James Barber(rest his soul) was more Artistic and creative on the fly. He didn't teach how to Cook Recipe X, he taught how to Cook without a Recipe to follow.

What channel does that show air?

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: Arcadio

Originally posted by: sandorski
Watch "The Urban Peasant" if it's on in your area. Unlike many cooking shows that treat Cooking as a Utilitarian exercise in precision, James Barber(rest his soul) was more Artistic and creative on the fly. He didn't teach how to Cook Recipe X, he taught how to Cook without a Recipe to follow.

What channel does that show air?

It used to be on the CBC... I haven't seen it on in a while though.

 

[silverpig]

My advice: get a good cookbook and make some things from it. Once you learn a few techniques you'll get interested in cooking and enjoy it more.

Get 2 good knives: 1 chef's knife and 1 paring knife. I like Japanese stainless because it's harder than German steel, and thus gets sharper and holds an edge longer.

Get a few single pots and pans. This should consist of a heavy cast iron skillet, a frying pan, a ~1.5 gal soup pot, and some kind of roasting pan. You can expand on that (stock pot, smaller sauce pot, extra frying pans etc), but those are generally the basics. The rule of thumb with cookware like that is the heavier the better. Different materials offer different qualities.

All stainless cookware is generally durable and has good heat retention, but lacks in other areas.

Copper is probably the best material for cookware, but is extremely expensive. Copper cookware also comes lined with something else for the cooking surface as the acids in food will damage the copper. Stainless linings are popular and durable, but don't have very good heat transferrance to the food. Tin lined copper is virtually non-stick, but will mar if you use steel spatulas etc and you can't put them in the oven.

Anodized aluminum is nice because it's a great conductor (the aluminum in the middle that is), and it has an extremely hard and durable oxidized aluminum coating. It's also quite versatile as you can use it in the oven.

Cast iron takes a long time to heat up and doesn't conduct very well, but once it's hot it stays hot more easily than other materials when you add the food.

Teflon coated pans have their place, but you shouldn't get ALL teflon coated cookware. A single non-stick pan is a good tool to have around.

Oh, and the single best piece of advice: USE FRESH HERBS. Trust me, they're MUCH better than dried stuff and using the right ones (thyme is a favourite) will make your food taste oh-so-good.

 

[xSauronx]

buy: im just here for the food (alton brown) for a very good intro to basic cooking technique
im just here for MORE food (brown) if you like baked-goods of any sort
watch good eats (brown) for *a lot* of good info on cooking and food

i dont know what other shows to recommend. a lot of the really ,really good ones arent on foodnetwork anymore. Tylers Ultimate is good, and so is Barefoot Contessa. Essence of Emeril is good if you catch it, i think its far better than Emeril Live.

i think learning proper technique is of the utmost importance, because if you can master a technique and understand why it does what it does, you can cook with pretty well anything. A lot of shows and books have recipes that dont really get into this. foodnetwork doesnt have as many shows now that get into it, not like they used to.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: 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.

i disagree. get a quality knife and never look back. they can literally last you a lifetime.
if you get crappy knives, you'll constantly be replacing them. and when you finally get a quality one, you'll realize how much time you wasted on a cheap knife.

i'm partial towards the german brands so i stick with wusthof and henckels.

Agreed. The Wusthof's and Henckel's will maintain an edge much longer than cheaper knives. I rarely have to have my Wusthof's sharpened (about once a year), hone them once a week, and I use them every day.

Get some good cookware too. Some heavy-bottomed, stainless steel/copper pots and pans that maintain their shape under high heat are a must. Cheap pans tend to warp under high heat which will make for hot spots and uneven cooking. I use All-Clad but a cheaper alternative is Wolfgang Puck's line of cookware. It's good stuff for the price.

Edit: And stay away from aluminum cookware and non-stick coatings. Both tend to add nasty things to food that you don't really want.

Forschner is a fairly high quality knife made in similar manner to the better Henckels and Wusthof knives. It is certainly WAYYYY better than the cheap Henckels. As for sharpening, it sounds like rubbish to me. I have the twin pro Henckels and they still need to be professionally sharpened just as often as the Forschners. I'm not suggesting he get farberware or anything. They sell Forschners right alongside other high quality knives at many kitchen stores. They are also highly touted on sites like cheftalk.com

Nope, not rubbish. I have had my Wusthoffs for over two years and have had them professionally sharpened twice. It's getting around that time again but a quick honing and they'll still go through a tomato (which I consider the benchmark for how a knife performs) like nothing's there.

Same here with Forschners, which are cheaper knives. Thus, it is rubbish. Price of the knife has little bearing on quality of a knife.

Typical ATOT: You need to learn how to do something, but you need to buy top notch equipment before you even think of beginning.

"I want to learn how to ride a motorcycle!"

"You can't ride anything less than a BWM K1200---anything less is crap!"

 

[Howard]

Nhobody oughht tho hhelp yhou, yhou bhastard.