"Cooking for Dummies"

[FarmerChick]

I have to say my experiments, many were put in the TRASH.

I can cook basic good meals, the minute I try to go crazy fancy foodie person I lose

 

[Wannabefree]

I have to say my experiments, many were put in the TRASH.

I can cook basic good meals, the minute I try to go crazy fancy foodie person I lose

You just have to figure out the flavors you like and TRY every basic ingredient you put in by itself first. I have taken a spoon of whatever I am cooking out of a dish, added a pinch of what I think will make it better, and tasted it..that told me whether to add it or not. Then the most you have to toss is a spoonful. If it turns out we collectively really REALLY like it, I write the ingredients down. Otherwise on to the next experiment.

My DH can't NOT go by a recipe. I can't be restricted to a recipe. It's all in what/how you prefer to cook. I'm pretty adventurous with food. I hid some about to go bad cottage cheese in my tacos one night not long ago....it was a hit! It's really all about "matching" flavors/ingredients in a dish. Some folks work with fabrics, I work with food.

It helps to understand all of the ways things will influence the outcome of your cooking, like what to add for fluffier breads, or what to add to thicken something, or what to add to make a piece of meat more tender.

It's ALL trial and error, and hopefully you learn tricks along the way to minimize error. My grandma taught me indirectly to taste everything you serve before you serve it, because folks have to eat that She also taught me cleanliness in cooking, I once had to eat a pot of soup myself because I didn't think about it, and put the tasting spoon back into the pot to stir without washing it first....my germs, my soup...grandma was a bit harsh at times, but I never forgot again I think I was 7 or 8 then. I was made to leave the kitchen if she caught me forgetting to wash my hands after prepping meat...and I HATED having to leave the kitchen! It was like being grounded from candy! I love to cook

 

[FarmerChick]

yea I wash my hands about 80 times while cooking a meal it seems

cottage cheese and tacos??? never would I have thought of that combo

I think cooking comes down to a basic, do ya love to do it or not.
I am a not.

Now throw me on a BBQ outside with ribs, etc....now I love to cook

I find the phrase "slave in the kitchen" to be true

 

[Wannabefree]

Then you love to cook.....just outside! I love outdoor cooking too. NOTHING better than firing up the barbecue in the snow! I cooked for a week and a half during an ice storm when the power was out...entirely on the grill!!! LOVED it! Was glad to eventually get back in the warmer kitchen, but outdoor cooking is great in winter. A grilled burger when it's so cold out...YUM

 

[FarmerChick]

WOW I can say I love to cook--outside LOL I like it

probably why I love camping so much...I cook outside almost exclusively, even tho I have a micro, stove and burners in the trailer but nothing beats that outdoor taste!

yea that grill taste when there is snow on the ground is precious!

 

[abifae]

You just have to figure out the flavors you like and TRY every basic ingredient you put in by itself first. I have taken a spoon of whatever I am cooking out of a dish, added a pinch of what I think will make it better, and tasted it..that told me whether to add it or not. Then the most you have to toss is a spoonful. If it turns out we collectively really REALLY like it, I write the ingredients down. Otherwise on to the next experiment.

I hold the spice near the food and sniff. I do it all by smell.

It's really all about "matching" flavors/ingredients in a dish. Some folks work with fabrics, I work with food.

Heh. The kitchen is my art studio, too!!!

She also taught me cleanliness in cooking, I once had to eat a pot of soup myself because I didn't think about it, and put the tasting spoon back into the pot to stir without washing it first....my germs, my soup...grandma was a bit harsh at times, but I never forgot again I think I was 7 or 8 then. I was made to leave the kitchen if she caught me forgetting to wash my hands after prepping meat...

She'd die in my house. I forget about germs more often than not.

 

[AnnaRaven]

Something that might help if you're expeimenting but don't know where to start is a book called The Flavor Bible. It's really helpful for figuring out what flavors go with what, so you can experiment with a safety net.

 

[AL]

HAHA I love reading about the experiments - successful and not so much so. I do remember as a kid I had a "Mickey Mouse" cook book - I thought it was boring so I added stuff

I really like to grill! Anytime I am somewhere having steaks they have me do them. I spent 2 weeks in Australia and learned to love the "barbie" - eggs, steak, tomatoes ... yum!

Another cool link, thanks AR!

My friend LOVES to cook and she is a master experimenter. She made a sweet pepper sauce and has no idea how she did it - but it was amazing on stuffed chicken breasts (that she...browned? sautee'd? cooked! - in a Cabernet and also some orange mango homemade soda!

She said she would love to teach me to cook, but she doesn't use recipes, so I would have to write stuff down as we go and then decide later if it was good or not

Ok - so, scratching the kitchenaid for now and listing:

good knives - paring, boning, butcher?
cast iron skillet - a big deep one and a smaller one?
a bigger sauce pan
various herbs

 

[patandchickens]

She said she would love to teach me to cook, but she doesn't use recipes, so I would have to write stuff down as we go and then decide later if it was good or not

You should consider taking her up on that, not so much for recipes as for learning processes/techniques. It is WAY WAY easier and better to learn IN PERSON how to brown a piece of meat or thicken a custard than to try to work it out thru trial and error from written descriptions and a general idea of how the eventual end product should be. And really, if you have not learned basic processes/techniques then recipes will do you only a limited amount of good, and once you HAVE learned basic processes/techniques then you don't necessarily need recipes (even if you are not going to invent new flavor combinations, you can just use ones you already know you like and pretty much ad lib it)

good knives - paring, boning, butcher?

Honestly, I cook a fair bit and have never owned a boning knife. Possibly it would be a transformative experience if I acquired one, I couldn't tell you, but I've survived real well all these years without one, so I would suggest it not be something you need to go out and buy to start with. Not sure what you mean by butcher knife.

I would suggest you get one good comfortable-in-your-hand 5-6" knife, that will serve nearly all purposes.

If you want something larger for slicing very large roasts nicely or for whacking apart Hubbard squashes, get a 10" carving knife from a thrift store or garage sale, it needn't even be superb quality as long as it can basically hold an edge.

Make sure you can SHARPEN your knives (supply-wise and knowledge-wise), an expensive dull knife is much worse than a cheapo semi-sharp one

JMHO,

Pat

 

[Wannabefree]

On good knives...nothing beats my Farberware knives I got at WalMart buy the ones that are about $5 apiece with a solid tang through the handle and nice 5 inch stainless steel blade on them!! I have 2 of those paring knives and a steel (sharpener) and that is my basic knives I use other than my bread knife..don't think I could manage without any of those 3 the rest could go to the trash for all I care as far as food prep goes. My paring knives are identical but because I have two I always have one clean.

On the cast iron I have one Lodge No. 10SK skillet and a Lodge No.8 DOL Dutch Oven....other than a couple saucepans for cooking veggies..that is it. I gave all my other skillets to my brother who had ZERO skillets in his house! I got tired of storing things I don't ever even use