Using a high-quality, sharp knife in the kitchen can save you from frustration as well as potential injuries from trying to saw away at something with a dull or blunted knife. For beginners, a chef’s knife, a paring knife and a serrated bread knife are all the cutlery you’ll need. Because you’re sticking with basic recipes, you can keep your cooking equipment simple, too. When you first start learning to cook at home, all you need is the bare minimum of cooking supplies.
My favorite Italian red sauce joint employs the magic of tomato, basil, and garlic. Many Indian recipes are built from ginger, garlic, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, and curry powder. Dashi broth or a mix of sake, mirin, and soy sauce always works. The week I figured out that shakshuka translated to a Middle Eastern-spiced tomato sauce, I also realized that leaving out the cumin and adding basil could actually make it Italian-inspired. Or adding black beans, cotija, and cilantro at the end (and serving with tortillas) made that same stew feel Mexican-style.
Baking involves dry heat applied uniformly to food in an oven, while roasting uses direct heat from either an oven or an open flame. It wasn’t until a few years ago, after a Chopped marathon, that I decided I should teach myself how to cook. The structure of the show is formulaic, and after watching enough episodes, I began to notice chefs leaning on the same few staples to build their dishes. They make compotes by reducing in a saucepan, blend ingredients to form sauces, and pulverize crumbly foods to make “croutons.” What changes are the flavors. Bissonnette recommends having a saucepan standing by while chopping up vegetables. Bissonnette chops them up, removes the seeds, and throws them in to add flavor. If you’re serving a roast for your holiday dinner, Goff recommends transforming carrot tops into chimichurri, which can act as a delicious side sauce.
Underestimating how long you’ll need to prepare a dish can cause cooking stress and grouchy diners. Grilling is similar to roasting but uses much higher temperatures, often reaching up to 500°F (260°C). Steaming leaves the food suspended over boiling or simmering water, letting the moist heat—but not the water—reach the food. And sautéeing is a light fry in just a bit of oil, usually on the stovetop. Cooks often purchase perishable items for each specific recipe.
Classic Pork Roast Recipe
My go-to fall roast this year was butternut squash plus grapes, which I folded into a farro and arugula salad for lunch and added to yogurt with honey for breakfast the following morning. In a way, cooking represents my journey with self-growth.
Others are recipes that have been a big hit with my kids and that I have perfected by trial and error over the years. Writing down the meals you plan to cook for the week can reduce or eliminate food waste. She shares her tips for small-batch cooking so you can save time and money, reduce waste, and enjoy dining at home. To start, make sure you have a frying pan, saute pan, stockpot and cast iron skillet in your cooking arsenal. As you took your time preparing the dish from the very beginning, make sure you take the time at the end to truly enjoy the meal you prepared. You were thoughtful in the presentation and can take pride in the selection of healthy ingredients you pulled together to be enjoyed by not only yourself but also those close to you. Thus, making the experience enjoyable from start to finish.
Use pans with plenty of room for your ingredients to spread out. This can also leave you space for stirring or turning your ingredients, without flopping them over the side of the pan and onto your cooktop. When you pack too much food into a small space, it may cook unevenly. Plus, overcrowding can cause steam to build up, which could prevent the food from browning as it should. Many recipes include a time estimate…but they are often referring to cook time, ignoring the prep work entirely!
Learn Knife Skills With Books or Classes
Spare yourself from purchasing a bunch of fancy kitchen gadgets and focus on mastering the cooking tools you already have instead. Read more about Cooking here. Plus, you’ll receive ongoing chef instruction and support as well as access to Rouxbe’s online community. The Kitchn’s Cooking School is 20 days and features 20 free lessons to help you learn to cook at home.
Mince the carrot tops by hand or toss them in a food processor, then combine them with olive oil, garlic, and grated onion. “I like to do that the day before or a little earlier in the day to let it really marinate like a soup,” Goff said. If you’re looking for something hearty, filling and easy to prepare, you’re in luck — this sausage, potato and pepper skillet recipe is all that and more. Mainly consisting of bell peppers, potatoes and Premio pork sausage, this skillet meal is simple and satisfying. If you can boil potatoes, saute sausage and soften veggies on the stovetop, you can have this delicious dish on the table in a snap.
Homemade Red Beans and Rice Recipe
A class could provide a valuable intro to a specific type of food, like Chinese dumplings or pizza dough. There are even classes that can help aspiring cooks practice their fundamental knife skills.
