# Help a cooking novice! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 10, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091 "2008-11-10T19:55:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091/21 "2008-11-10T22:02:46Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > Get a copy of _How to Cook Everything_ by Mark Bittman. Basic information on buying and cooking all kinds of stuff. Bear in mind that American cookbooks will use different terms than UK ones, especially cuts of meat and vegetable names, which might make things more difficult for him as a complete beginner. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091/22 "2008-11-10T22:17:59Z")
> [@glee](#): > > I have heard about ‘scrambled eggs’, although Rex Stout says in one Nero Wolfe book that it takes 40 minutes to do these properly. He must spend time waiting for the hens to lay the eggs. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091/23 "2008-11-10T22:32:45Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Yep. Real chefs can get a bit odd about their eggs. And whatever you do, don’t get them on the subject of salt! 😃 > > (Incidentally, if you like to know the “whys” behind cooking, _Good Eats_ is the show for you. It’s not 100% correct all the time, but it’s very good, and very why-oriented.) Yeah, gotta love AB! IIRC he said that to make proper omelettes, you should leave the eggs out, let them warm to room temp. The idea is that if you deal in the extremes—very cold eggs, very hot pan—the temperature difference they have to go through will ruin them. So, cooler heat and/or warmer eggs is the way to go. Simple appetizers: Mission carb balance tortillas (because they’re soft and can be eaten as is) Pkg pre-washed lettuce or greens (I avoid anything with iceberg in it) Spreadable cream cheese (I like reduced fat Philly sour cream and chive) Decent lunch meat\* Condiment\*\* Spices\*\*\* Spread your cream cheese on the tortilla. Add spices and condiment. Add enough lettuce or greens to cover about 1/3. Add meat to cover 1/3 to 1/2. Roll up. If you’re feeling all festive, use toothpicks, cut into little rolls and arrange on platter. Combinations I use _/ **/** _ turkey/salsa solids/garlic powder and pepper ham or Canadian Bacon/shrimp cocktail sauce/lemon pepper roast beef/brown mustard/pepper A simple lasagne recipe? Get a big jar of pre-made sauce. Also, cheese—ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella. Also get other ingredients you like in lasagne, like mushrooms, cooked italian sausage, whatever; and of course, lasagne noodles. And raid the spice rack to torque up the sauce—italian seasoning, powdered garlic, pepper, etc. Doctor your sauce as desired. Then put a layer of sauce in the bottom of your pan. Arrange uncooked noodles atop that. Then another layer of sauce, maybe some cheese or mushrooms, however you like it. Continue layering like that and be generous with the sauce. Top with mozzarella. Then, cover _well_ with aluminum foil to trap the steam that will be created as it bakes. Bake for about 75 minutes. The trapped steam will cook the noodles. If desired, remove the foil and return to the oven so the cheese on top will turn golden brown. Here’s one calling for “uncooked noodles” that I randomly got off the web to give you an idea of proportions. [http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,168,147191-255204,00.html](http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,168,147191-255204,00.html) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091/24 "2008-11-10T22:50:50Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > 'Cause the proteins denature and coagulate too quickly in a hot pan, squeezing the water out like wringing a sponge. If you denature them more slowly over lower heat, they trap the water in, instead, and you end up with moist fluffy eggs instead of tough ones in a puddle of water. Thanks for answering. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091/25 "2008-11-10T23:11:49Z")
I’m a big fan of Nigella Lawson’s book of speedy recipes–_Nigella Express_, I think it’s called. I especially love her chicken schnitzels. Fry a few pieces of bacon until crisp (she puts some garlic-infused olive oil in, but it’s really pretty optional). Pull the bacon out and put it aside. Take some very thin pieces of skinless, boneless chicken and put them in the pan. Cook a couple minutes on each side in the bacon grease, then pull them out and deglaze your pan with a cup or so of white wine. Pour the sauce over the chicken and top with crumbled bacon. Fast, simple, and OMG good. Nigella is quite fond of her infused oils, and I quite agree with her. It takes a small amount of time and effort to make them, but they keep for ages and they’re really great for adding an extra pop of flavor without extra work. My personal favorite is infusing it with rosemary and using that to make popcorn. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091/26 "2008-11-10T23:14:08Z")
**CrazyCatLady** , that sounds wonderful. How/with what does she serve the dish? ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091/27 "2008-11-10T23:19:51Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > Nigella is quite fond of her infused oils, and I quite agree with her. It takes a small amount of time and effort to make them, but they keep for ages and they’re really great for adding an extra pop of flavor without extra work. My personal favorite is infusing it with rosemary and using that to make popcorn. Making garlic oil yourself is bad ju-ju though, right? ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091/28 "2008-11-10T23:46:38Z")
Glee, listen to me. You should bake. No joke. Start with easy stuff, not bread, maybe a simple muffin or something. I am not a great baker so I don’t have recipies on hand, but baking is all about preperation and details. That being said, if you have access to some red potatos I made a great potato dish last night to go with some grilled steak. Pre-heat your oven to 425F (not sure what that is in Celcius, sorry 200? I am sure you can figure it out.) Line a baking dish with tinfoil (for easy cleanup later). rinse and quater the potatos so they are all roughly the same size (bite size). Don’t peel. Make a mixture of 2 tsp dried rosemary, 1 tsp dried tyme, 1/4 tsp dried parsely and 1/8 tsp nutmeg. Make a second mixture of 2 tsp salt and 2 tsp ground black pepper. Pour out 1/3 of a cup of balsamic vinegar chop up some garlic (6-8 cloves) and half a medium sized onion. Don’t chop too fine, just enough to break them up a bit. Green onion would be even better. Take some light olive oil an put enough of it in your largest skillet to just cover the bottom of the pan, give the oil about 30 seconds over high heat to get warm then add the garlic and onion. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until onions are just starting to turn clear. Add potatos. Turn potatos in pan with tongs until they are all covered with a bit of oil and onion. Sprinkle herb mixture over potatos a again mix with tongs. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes Uncover and add salt and pepper mixture and balsamic vinegar. Keep on heat just long enough to turn the potatos with your tongs one more time, then transfer everything to the baking dish. Make sure the potatos are all in a single layer in the dish. Cover with tin foil and bake covered at 425 for 30 minutes. Remove tinfoil cover and finish for another 10 minutes or until you can pierce the potaos with a fork and not feel any resistance (fork tender). Remove from oven remove potatoes from tin foil, pour balsamic mixture into a seperate container and drissle over the potatos. It’s fantastic, its easy, and it’s way low on prep time. Grill up some steaks to serve with it and maybe steam some veg and you are in business. The whole meal will take about 50 minutes, but you only work for about 15 of them. ETA: I should credit [allrecipies.com](http://allrecipies.com) for the basic idea behind the recipie. Particularly the addition of nutmeg, which I would never have thought to do on my own, but really made the dish IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091/29 "2008-11-10T23:56:42Z")
> [@Szlater](#): > > Making garlic oil yourself is bad ju-ju though, right? [Yes, homemade garlic in oil is a favorable environment for botulism.](http://cecalaveras.ucdavis.edu/garlic.htm) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091/30 "2008-11-11T00:08:36Z")
Cafe Society is for cooking questions. Moved. **samclem** Moderator, General Questions ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091/31 "2008-11-11T00:26:12Z")
Easy curry: Chop one apple and one onion. Fry in a couple of tbsps of oil until soft but not brown. Meanwhile cut a chicken breast or two into cubes. Add to pan when apples and onion are done. Cook briefly then add 1 tbsp flour mixed with 1 tbsp curry powder. Stir until things start to stick, then add 1 cup of water or chicken stock. Stir to mix in any of the browned bits from the pan. Cook til chicken is done. Add more water if necessary. ---
**Author:** ![beanpod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9adbd/32.png) [@beanpod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beanpod)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091/32 "2008-11-11T00:46:00Z")
Mashed potatoes are insanely easy and are SOOO much better than instant: 1 - Wash 4 large potatoes (or a bunch of small ones–any kind) 2 - Check for bruised & bad spots, chop those off 3 - Peel if you want - get a veggie peeler, it’s so much easier than a knife (For thin skinned potatoes this isn’t necessary, but if I use russet potatoes, the skins seem a bit too tough for me to leave on.) 4 - If potatoes are large, chop into quarters and throw into a pot. If small, just throw into pot. 5 - Cover potatoes with cold water, sprinkle in a little dried thyme - say 1 teaspoon. I love thyme with potatoes, but you can leave it out if you want. 6 - Put pot on medium-high heat until it boils 7 - Put a clean colander in your sink and go do something else until the potatoes start boiling 8 - After they start boiling, poke them periodically with a fork or knife to see if they’re soft. If they’re still tough, they need to cook longer. When they’re done, they’ll feel soft all the way through. 9 - Turn off the heat and dump the potatoes into the colander in the sink. Watch out for the steam. 10 - Dig out your potato masher and squish them. This looks like hard work but it’s not if the potatoes are actually done cooking. 11 - Add whatever you want to the potato goo: For a large pot of potatoes, I like to put in a little bit more thyme, salt, pepper, butter, and a dollop of sour cream. Don’t skimp on the salt, especially if you make a large batch. Stir in the spices and taste it before you add more. Go crazy and throw in some shredded cheese, too, if you want. It’s a staple side dish, and also a nice warm addition to a quick dinner like a sandwich. Great with baked chicken and a bag o’ salad (often a last minute dinner in my house). ---
**Author:** ![PopeJewish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@PopeJewish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PopeJewish)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091/33 "2008-11-11T00:52:33Z")
haven’t seen much by way of soup on here, so I’ve got a few recipes. Firstly, you gotta get a stock, using chicken or beef consomme (forget what they call it back in America, the dry cubes you toss into water) is good but they can be salty, you can buy pre-made watery stock in stores as well. I like a combination of different things but it’s all to taste. You can also get good Udon broth in packet form (dry) in a lot of asian marts, though how prevalent htose are depends on your area (I’m in Japan, so go figure 😉 ) Next, ingredients, I personally love a good Udon, and I can get fresh Udon noodles to the tune of about 50 cents a package, so I always have either Udon or Soba chillin in my freezer. I also like chicken, sometime brocolli, sometimes string beans, etc. Process: boil some water with your stock in it as a base for the broth. Cut up your chicken and toss that in. You can also fry up some onions/garlic (or the chicken) along side and toss them into the soup, or just toss them into the soup raw and let 'em boil a bit longer, depending on how you like it. Also toss in Onions and garlic at this point At this point you have a choice, I like my vegetables a bit crunchy so I wait, but if you like em cooked all the way through toss them in. Toss in your noodles and let them cook a good 2-3 minutes, at which point you can toss in your veggies if you like 'em a bit crunchie and cook 'em for a minute or two more. I cook this soup all the time, and it’s great if you don’t want to do a big thing or if you’re busy with something else. You just need to stir occasionally, and the prep time is rarely more than a couple minutes of chopping. One of my favorite cookbooks is called The International Pantry by Heidi Haughy Cusick. It’s a great book to read all the way through to actually understand a lot of the concepts behind cooking different things and understanding how tastes go together, and gives you a great background for future endeavors ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091/34 "2008-11-11T01:00:37Z")
Many thanks, Dopers. 😃 I shall study these carefully (and choose the easiest ones first 😉 ). ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091/35 "2008-11-11T01:00:49Z")
Get a George Foreman Grill. And a cookie sheet. The cookie sheet is for frozen french fries. Preheat oven, add a single layer of fries to cookie sheet, bake about 30 minutes. Halfway into the fry baking time, plug in the grill, and cook up a steak, couple burger patties, chicken breasts, or pork chops. Meat + tater = meal. If you wanna go fancy, add some bread to a corner of the cookie sheet with about 5 minutes to go. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091/36 "2008-11-11T01:39:07Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > **CrazyCatLady** , that sounds wonderful. How/with what does she serve the dish? I don’t remember what, if anything, she suggests with it in the book. I’ve served it with all sorts of stuff, though. I’m partial to green beans with some garlic salt and nice crusty bread. Or a nice green salad with a little fruit in, some mashed potatoes, whatever’s on hand that will be done by the time the chicken is ready. Another personal favorite is her bacon and brandy chicken. Cook a little bacon, mix the drippings with some brandy, and chuck the whole thing over the top of a roasting chicken and toss it in the oven. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091/37 "2008-11-11T02:17:21Z")
I won’t offer any recipes, but I will offer some general advice: The hardest part about cooking on a stovetop is realizing how easy it is. Don’t be afraid of your stove. Pick some ingredients that you like, throw them in a pan, and when it looks about right, take it off. Feel free to sample as it goes. The high heat setting on your stove is for boiling water. Fill a pan with water, bring it to a boil, then toss in whatever you’re boiling (pasta or rice or dumplings or whatever). When it’s ready (which you’ll know by tasting it, if you’re not sure), take it off. Never boil vegetables, though (other than potatoes): Most vegetables are best if steamed. If you don’t have one already, get a steamer: It’s a perforated metal thing with an iris-fold to match the inside of any sized pan, and legs on the bottom to hold vegetables above water level. Put it in the pan, fill it with water to just below the bottom of the steamer, and put the vegetables on top. Alternately, if you’re making potatoes with the meal, too, put the potatoes in the water and the other veggies on top of the taters. For anything other than boiling water, use medium-high or medium heat. Experiment with this: Lower heat takes longer, of course, but higher heat sometimes doesn’t cook some foods uniformly (the outsides get done or overdone before the middle). Low heat is for if something’s getting done too fast. For instance, when I’m making spaghetti, the sauce often starts boiling (and splattering and making a mess) before the noodles are ready. When that happens, you turn the heat down on the sauce. Some stoves have a setting below “low” called “warm”: That’s for if you want to keep the food warm and ready for second helpings, or if someone’s coming to the meal late. Most foods don’t actually strictly need to be cooked, just warmed. Some meats need to be cooked through, but other than that, if it seems like it’s good enough for you, it’s good enough. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091/38 "2008-11-11T02:33:05Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > This is the easiest recipe ever, and yet it yields a dish worthy of a snooty dinner party. OK, it takes 25 minutes, but trust me, it’s worth it! > > This works best if you have an ovenproof (ie. all metal) pan, then you can do the whole thing in one pan. If your pan is a cheap one with a plastic handle, you’ll need both a pan for the stovetop and a baking dish for the oven. It will also give you practice peeling garlic, which is a valuable cooking skill, or you can cheat and buy jarred pre-peeled garlic in oil or water. > > This is going to look like a lot of work, because I’m going to spell everything out for you. But it’s really easy, it was one of my son’s first cook-by-himself meals. > > **Pan-Seared Chicken with Garlic Sauce** > > Preheat your oven to…uh…230? (450F) > > Put the following in a small bowl: 1 teaspoon (tsp.) of paprika, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp. black pepper. (If you don’t have a teaspoon measure, it really doesn’t matter. Just keep the ratio the same in whatever smallish spoon measurement you have.) Mix them up with your finger to combine. Get yourself 1 pound (.5 kg) of boneless, skinless chicken breasts - 4 if they’re tiny, 2 if they’re large - and sprinkle the herb mixture on both sides of the chicken. Set the chicken on a plate. > > Put the pan on the stove and turn the heat to medium high. Let it sit there for about 3 minutes before you do anything else. Then put 1 Tablespoon of olive oil into the pan and swirl it around so it covers the bottom. Put the pan back flat on the burner and put the chicken breasts in it, making sure you don’t overlap them. Cook the chicken for 2 minutes without touching it. Then flip it and cook 2 minutes more on the other side. Don’t worry if some bits stick - that’s called “fond” and the French chefs go nuts for it. > > Next, throw in 12 cloves of garlic, peeled. (You don’t have to mince them or anything, whole is fine.) Then add 3/4 cup (mmm…800 mL) of chicken broth. From a can is fine. Now take the pan off the stove and put it in the oven. If your pan’s not ovenproof, then move the contents of the pan into a baking dish and put that in the oven. Leave it alone for 20 minutes. > > Go wash that plate you had the raw chicken on, if you haven’t already. Get a clean plate out. > > After 20 minutes are up, take the pan out of the oven - using potholders! Put the chicken on the clean plate and cover it with a little foil to keep it warm. Mash up the garlic in the pan with a fork. If you need a little more liquid, add about 1/4 cup more chicken broth. You want a pourable sauce, not a paste. > > Pour sauce over chicken and you’re done! Thanks very much. I made this recipe for dinner tonight. The potatoes didn’t pass muster so we were missing a starch. Would have been nice to have them, would have soaked up some of the richness of everything else. In the unwashed pan after making the chicken I sort of fried/steamed some veggies. We have this herbs de provence mix of spices we like. Not sure what all is in it, I put some of that on. The veggies were cherry tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli and diced onions with about two tablespoons of butter. 😉 The chicken was delicious, though I think I preferred it with the butter sauce than with the chicken broth sauce you recommended. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091/39 "2008-11-11T02:35:27Z")
**glee** If you do the rice dish I suggested above. You might want to consider making it 1 teaspoon per two cups of rice. Rosemary and fresh cilantro in it could be good too. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091/40 "2008-11-11T02:38:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If you don’t have one already, get a steamer: It’s a perforated metal thing with an iris-fold to match the inside of any sized pan, and legs on the bottom to hold vegetables above water level. Put it in the pan, fill it with water to just below the bottom of the steamer, and put the vegetables on top. Or, ya know, set a metal colander on top of your biggest pan and set a plate on top of it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-a-cooking-novice/472091.md?page=3)