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If you’ve been raised on microwave dinners, you may be intimidated by the foreboding spatula, the imposing skillet, and the looming Dutch oven. Simply take a deep breath and plunge in – with these tips in hand.
 | | Imitation is how you learn. Watch the master chefs |
Invest in a few good cookbooks. Look for cookbooks have clear, step-by-step illustrations, color photographs, a glossary of kitchen terminology, a list of ingredient substitutes, and conversion tables. Here are a few good ones:
- The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer contains a wealth of classic recipes;
- Notes on Cooking by Lauren Braun Costello and Russell Reich consists of numerous tips for each aspect of cooking, and includes a list of basic equipment and appliances;
- The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters includes helpful cooking notes as well as lists of essential foods to stock on regularly.
Other basic cookbooks include The Betty Crocker Cookbook, The Good Housekeeping Cookbook, and The Pillsbury Complete Cookbook.
Get together with your culinarily gifted friends. Hang around with the good cooks in your life, and ask them questions as they prepare meals. Watch closely how they perform their work. If good cooks are difficult to find, check out the cooking channel, or watch online videos on sites such as lookandtaste.com, the Cooking School section of kraftfoods.com and gourmandia.com.
Read recipes carefully. Calculate the equipment and ingredients needed, and the time required to prepare. Look up any terminology you don’t understand.
Start simple. Start by mastering a few common dishes – scrambled eggs, pancakes, oatmeal, sautéed vegetables, grilled cheese sandwiches, cookies. If you mess up, just try again – no one’s looking.
Imitate your way to better cooking. Imitation is how you learn. Watch the masters – Julia Child, Jamie Oliver, Alice Waters, etc. – and try to do it like them.
But don’t be afraid to experiment. When you’ve mastered a recipe, use it as a starting point to try new combinations and adaptations. Pave your own culinary path, and remember that even the best chefs fail from time to time.
Get cookin’. The only way you’ll learn is by doing it, and doing it, and doing it again. Bon appétit!
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