I’m trying to learn how to cook.
Does anybody have any good “Training Recipes”, hopefully ones that will provide a bit of a challenge but still be fun to prepare. Preferably without exotic ingredients. Nothing I can’t find at Harris Teeter. Any recipes for Gnochhi would be appreciated immensely.
very popular austrian meal:
http://www.abigslice.com/wienerschnitzel.html
the recipe is a bit wrong, you must squeeze the lemon over the snitchel for a better taste.
best served with potatoes or fries
Are you learning how to cook dishes or learning how to cook? Big difference. If it’s the latter you need to learn the basic techniques first. Clarifying butter, blah, blah blah.
For the spefic case of gnocchi, google (or search engine of your choice) is your friend.
But random recipes you find have varying amounts of detail, and assume varying amounts about what the final result is and how to get there.
My generic advice is to find a cookbook aimed at beginners; I don’t have a specific one in mind, it depends where you are and what you need.
As KC hinted at above, ultimately, anyone aspiring to god cooking needs techniques (roasting, sauteeing, braising, etc…) rather than recipes, but learning to do simple recipes is a good start.
A beginner’s book that’s oriented towards techniques rather than recipes is Alton Brown’s “I’m Just Here for the Food” - he’s a bit geeky, but the book seems good. He has a TV show on US cable; I’ve never seen it. The book has lots of recipes, but even so, I’m not sure that it’s for a rank beginner; seek other sources as well. No gnocchi in the book.
Four words:
The Joy of Cooking.
Taught me everything I know.
I’m a pretty good cook if I say it myself, I have one book handy in my kitchen. If I’m unsure about something, “The Joy of Cooking”, is the best book I’ve found.
You got it right Eonwe.
Peace
Joy of Cooking…best cookbook on earth, ever! (If you are looking for the perfect gift for Christmas, this is it - especially for ex-patriots) But get the hardbound version…some good recipes (ie best ever Mousaka) are missing in the paperback.
Otherwise, two words.
FOOD NETWORK.
They show you what to do, you can tape it and you can go on line and print out the recipes afterwards.
Joy of Cooking is good, but I like Fannie Farmer better. My copy is about 20 years old and obviously there are newer editions. I find FF more informative than JoC–it’s my first choice when looking for stuff like “what cut of beef is this?” I find JoC a little pedantic. But I must say (best Ed Grimley voice) a well-stocked kitchen needs both. If you can’t find what you need in one, it will be in t’other. And ditto the suggestion of getting cookbooks in hardback. Paperbacks are too small and it’s hard to keep them open.
Of course the best way to learn to cook is to get together with somebody who already cooks well, preferably one of the appropriate gender. I seem to remember a recent thread here that went on at length about the possibilities…
Alton Brown, host of Good Eats on Food Network, has a new cookbook out called I’m Just Here for the Food: Food + Heat = Cooking. He does a good job of explaining basic cooking techniques and the principles that make them work.
He has a lot of fans online. I could swear Cecil quoted him in a recent column, but now I can’t find it.
I want Bobby Flay to give me cooking lessons!!
I’m another one to recommend Joy of Cooking–along with recipes, there are plenty of chapters giving plenty of advice on how to do the most simple and basic of things.
One of my favorite cookbooks, which I have recommended several times here on the boards is The Best Recipe which is put out by Cook’s Magazine. Again, they give great advice on the hows and whys things are done.
If you’re interested more in the actual science of cooking, check out On Food And Cooking by Harold McGee.
Start out with the easier stuff and don’t be afraid to experiment a little (especially after reading on how to do the basics).
Edouard de Pomiane’s French Cooking in Ten Minutes: Or Adapting to the Rhythm of Modern Life.
Great little book.
Screw cookbooks.
I recommend finding a cooking show you like (food network anyone) and watching it religiously.
I learned to cook by watching The Frugal Gourmet. Gave me a great idea of what ingredients taste good together, how to season, how long to leave stuff on the heat. Never learned any specific recipies, but you haven’t lived until you’ve had my calamari and spinach sauteed in olive oil with lots of garlic and a bit of lime juice, simmered oh-so briefly in dry white sherry and served over angel-hair pasta.
And I came up with that one on my own.
Check out “Fine Cooking” magazine from the library. Lots of good tips in there to try.
But short of taking a course at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America), the best way is to pick something you like to eat and try making it. Then do it again. And again.
Eventually, you’ll either get sick of cooking it, or it’ll start turning out the way you want it.
If you have trouble with a recipe, bring it on back to the Dope and ask “What did I do wrong?” There’s tons of people here willing to give you advice.
But the important thing is to get in the kitchen and start cooking. Don’t worry about the first few times if it turns out wrong. Figure out why it happened, don’t do it again, and try again. My first few omelets were used to scrub the pan, but I got better at it. You can too.
I like Thea Logica’s suggestion… if you feel adventerous, that is.
I’ve actually used very very few actual recipes from The Joy of Cooking, but sometimes I’ll think, “hey, I feel like mushrooms,” and I’ll look in Joy and find general tips on different ways to just plain cook them, cut them, wash them, what goes good with them. It’s a great resource to let you know the best ways to treat different foods.
Craig Claiborne’s KITCHEN PRIMER tells you what pots & pans & utensils to buy, how to boil eggs and cook corn on the cob, and how to make serious simple food like roast chicken and sole meuniere.
It’s short, too.
James Beard’s BEARD ON PASTA, also short, simple, and to the point, will transform your relationship with pasta. And teach you to make gnocchi, too.
Since no one’s mentioned it yet, I’ll recommend Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything which has sections on equipment and techniques as well as recipes, even recipes for really basic things. I use it all the time.
I’d like to suggest “Now You’re Cooking” by Elaine Corn. It’s aimed at the total beginner. It begins with the 8 or so basic tasks of cooking. This part reminded me of Karate Kid–chop onion, wash lettuce, wash dishes (a revelation to me. Nothing quells the impulse to cook like yesterday’s dishes everywhere). The book is very conversational and non-intimidating.
I’d also like to mention “Desperation Dinners” (authors names escape me). It’s not precisely written for the beginner, but the recipes are very easy and quick and produce excellent results. Many of the dishes produce exotic flavors, but all ingredients are available at Harris Teeter. It was suggested by several Dopers in response to my cooking inquiry and has made it possible for me to get dinner on the table almost every night. I have made about 30 dishes out of it so far, every one a winner.
I second the nomination for How to Cook Everything. I learned a lot of the basics from this book.
The Joy of Cooking is also good, but is, in my opinion, outdated. Too many recipes that prominently feature gelatin and mayonnaise.
Another way to learn is to hang out in the kitchen with someone who is a good cook and ask a lot of questions. Of course, this may not be an option for you. But I learned most of what I know by following my mother around.