NationStates Jolt Archive

I am not a very good cook and I want to become better. I really love good food but I feel lost at the market and in the kitchen. Can you all reccomend some good but simple recipies for a beginner chef? If not recipies than maybe just some advice, like macaroni goes well with cheese or something of that nature. I have tried some recipies I found on-line and in books but I usually can't afford to buy all the ingredients and I make my own version of the recipe that turns out bad. I also hate it when I buy some obscure spice for a recipe like crystalized ginger or something and then I never find a reason to use it again.

Also feel free to share your cooking success stories or mishaps. My greatest cooking invention is giant beef burritos I made for less than $5. They were delicious. My biggest mishap was probably when I tried to fry fish and I set the stove-top on fire. It didn't taste that great either. What about you?

Ehhh... Toast or hot dogs. That's the extent of my cooking ability.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON"T PUT HARD BOILED EGGS IN THE MICROWAVE!!!
That's from first hand experience.

Ehhh... Toast or hot dogs. That's the extent of my cooking ability.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON"T PUT HARD BOILED EGGS IN THE MICROWAVE!!!
That's from first hand experience.

Don't put anything in the microwave.
That isn't cooking, it's sacriledge.

start with simple food like steak on the broiler, potatoes boiled or baked, roast chicken and spaghetti with store bought sauce.


get used to using the oven by making break and cook cookies and biscuits from the store.

when you can cook those things without burning them, ask again.

start with simple food like steak on the broiler, potatoes boiled or baked, roast chicken and spaghetti with store bought sauce.


get used to using the oven by making break and cook cookies and biscuits from the store.

when you can cook those things without burning them, ask again.

yeah thats pretty much what I'm into now. In fact I'm broiling a steak as I write this. I think I'm ready for the next step.

Don't put anything in the microwave.
That isn't cooking, it's sacriledge.

I cook beans in the microwave, thats about it.

my biggest cooking blunder was putting tuna with crap mac & cheese... i almost vomited :headbang:


as for recipes, i'm not a great cook but i do have a knack for making food (i seem to be able to 'taste' things in my head, which helps :cool: )... here's my recipe for spaghetti bolognese, which is the first thing i learned how to cook (so its quite easy) and have perfected to my tastes over a few years :) http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=12552836&highlight=bolognese#post12552836

these days i add a sprinkling of rosemary and sage as well (no majoram any more) for a little extra depth. and sometimes some cumin or sugar to give it a lift.

edit: i should also add perhaps you could experiment with different types of pasta. for example i try to have that bolognese with capelli d'angelo or capellini (as long as i can get it), and it makes feel way more special than just the usual spaghetti *nods*

the Student's cookbook (http://www.yumyum.com/student/)
Hungry Student's Cookbook (http://www.studentservices.utoronto.ca/resources/cookbook.aspx)
and finally...
cooks.com (http://www.cooks.com/)

yeah thats pretty much what I'm into now. In fact I'm broiling a steak as I write this. I think I'm ready for the next step.

oh good. what kind of food would you like to be able to make?

Ehhh... Toast or hot dogs. That's the extent of my cooking ability.

I can cook pancakes. Top that.

Everything is better with olive oil and a few simple spices. Seriously, just by putting a touch of mayonaise on top of a baked chicken breast then covering it with dried onions creates a completely new and fancy dish.

www.foodtv.com

some great recipes for all ability levels. For some easier ones, look for Rachel Ray 30 minute meals

Stir-fry.

vegetables, meat, rice.

the only real work is chopping everything into bite size peices.
Instant rice is easy to make.
You can even use sauce from a bottle.

great food....easy to make.

Roasting Bags.

The bachelors friend.

turn on the oven..stick a hunk of meat, some potatoes, some carrots....a hour later, youve got dinner.

I can cook pancakes. Top that.

Would now be the time to mention that I have, in my life, made not only jelly, and homemade butter, but also maple syrup? I guess that could top your pancakes. :D

Mushrooms al funghi al funghi (al funghi al funghi...) al funghi.

- Funghi Secchi
- Shiitake
- Champignom
- Shimeji
- (other types of mushrooms, preferably edible)
- Olive oil
- Salt, spices.

Fry all of them together. It actually works out very well! :D

Would now be the time to mention that I have, in my life, made not only jelly, and homemade butter, but also maple syrup? I guess that could top your pancakes. :D

I have stirred cake batter. Not even Gordon Ramsey is better than that.

the Student's cookbook (http://www.yumyum.com/student/)
Hungry Student's Cookbook (http://www.studentservices.utoronto.ca/resources/cookbook.aspx)
and finally...
cooks.com (http://www.cooks.com/)

nice.

oh good. what kind of food would you like to be able to make?

I like very clean food. not greasy or heavy. I love vegetarian food. I like to steam vegetables.

Mushrooms al funghi al funghi (al funghi al funghi...) al funghi.

- Funghi Secchi
- Shiitake
- Champignom
- Shimeji
- (other types of mushrooms, preferably edible)
- Olive oil
- Salt, spices.

Fry all of them together. It actually works out very well! :D

that is really weird, I'm gonna have to try that.

I like very clean food. not greasy or heavy. I love vegetarian food. I like to steam vegetables.

In that case..uhm.
Take some carrots, brocoli(ugh..), cauliflower, and mayhaps some onions. Toss them together in a...steaming..device. Put them into a metal pot sort of thing and place them over and open flame. I think.

Or you can pick some dandelions out of your garden, wash them thoroughly, soak them in vinegar water, rinse, boil, and serve with oil/vinegar or salad dressing of choice.
Though I would advise knowing exactly what a dandelion looks like, as well as figuring out if there is any way pesticides could have leached into the surrounding soil. Do not eat if you hate bitter...bitter...bitter food.

Fries are a pretty simple side dish to make.

Just cut up some potatoes(I've found one potato generally is good for 1-2 people) into long fry-sized strips. Put these in a fairly large pan, and then pour enough oil (I typically use an olive oil or a vegetable oil of some sort) to just about cover the fries. Turn on the stove, and mostly you want to fry them much like you would bacon... shift the fries around so that all the fries get properly cooked on each side. You're done when they're a golden-brown color.

They should come out with that nice crisp on the outside. Season to taste. (I find it's good to do this while frying)

I am not a very good cook and I want to become better. I really love good food but I feel lost at the market and in the kitchen. Can you all reccomend some good but simple recipies for a beginner chef? If not recipies than maybe just some advice, like macaroni goes well with cheese or something of that nature. I have tried some recipies I found on-line and in books but I usually can't afford to buy all the ingredients and I make my own version of the recipe that turns out bad. I also hate it when I buy some obscure spice for a recipe like crystalized ginger or something and then I never find a reason to use it again.

Also feel free to share your cooking success stories or mishaps. My greatest cooking invention is giant beef burritos I made for less than $5. They were delicious. My biggest mishap was probably when I tried to fry fish and I set the stove-top on fire. It didn't taste that great either. What about you?

Most of my ckoocking ckonsists of chopping up hot dogs, ckovering them with sliced cheese, and then microwaving them.

Either that or ckoocking Ckraft Shells & Cheese Dinner. I ckan do that pretty good.

I like very clean food. not greasy or heavy. I love vegetarian food. I like to steam vegetables.

start with vegetarian stir fry then. buy some fresh veggies that appeal to you. cut them into bite size pieces.

put a little oil (sunflower, canola, or soy) (2 tablespoons) in a frying pan. make it hot. add the harder veggies first, then the softer ones. they cook pretty fast. keep stirring them around.

you need spices. soy sauce, anise seed, garlic, ginger, onions. dont use powdered. you can buy preminced garlic and ginger in jars in the produce section. you can even buy frozen diced onions (fresh is better). start with 1/4 tsp of anise, 1 tsp of garlic and ginger and half an onion. add more or less (next time for less) to suit how you like it. add them early in the frying process but after you get some stuff in the pan. that way they wont burn.

the hard veggies wont get soft but they will taste good.

dont use instant rice. *shudder*

for optimal nutrition you should make brown rice. you cook it the same way as white rice but add twice as much water. it will take 30+ minutes to cook.

if you want to add tofu you should consider marinating it first. tofu is pretty bland but if cut it into cubes and soak it in a soy sauce-ginger combination it soaks up the flavor. do this hours before you start cooking.

If you want to cook like a pro and learn to make a number of dishes that are simple, elegant, healthy and delicious, you can do no better than to look at the Dining and Wine section of the New York Times every week on their website, and to follow the video and article/recipe posted weekly by Mark Bittman, whose feature is called 'The Minimalist.'

Recently the Times archives became free, so you can view every one of Bittman's videos and recipes going back for as many years as he's done it.

Everything is easy to cook and uses a small number of ingredients, and you can watch him actually cook it in the video.

You'd do well to pick up a textbook from a culinary school on ebay or amazon also, reading it will ground you in the fundamentals of good cooking and help you prevent mistakes.

I am not a very good cook and I want to become better. I really love good food but I feel lost at the market and in the kitchen. Can you all reccomend some good but simple recipies for a beginner chef? If not recipies than maybe just some advice, like macaroni goes well with cheese or something of that nature. I have tried some recipies I found on-line and in books but I usually can't afford to buy all the ingredients and I make my own version of the recipe that turns out bad. I also hate it when I buy some obscure spice for a recipe like crystalized ginger or something and then I never find a reason to use it again.

Also feel free to share your cooking success stories or mishaps. My greatest cooking invention is giant beef burritos I made for less than $5. They were delicious. My biggest mishap was probably when I tried to fry fish and I set the stove-top on fire. It didn't taste that great either. What about you?
Put water in pot and place on stove. Turn heat to high. Watch water boil. You have passed your first lesson. :D

Buy a Wusthof chef's knife and then learn how to use it.

This is the best advice you will get on this thread.

If you want to cook like a pro and learn to make a number of dishes that are simple, elegant, healthy and delicious, you can do no better than to look at the Dining and Wine section of the New York Times every week on their website, and to follow the video and article/recipe posted weekly by Mark Bittman, whose feature is called 'The Minimalist.'

Recently the Times archives became free, so you can view every one of Bittman's videos and recipes going back for as many years as he's done it.

Everything is easy to cook and uses a small number of ingredients, and you can watch him actually cook it in the video.

You'd do well to pick up a textbook from a culinary school on ebay or amazon also, reading it will ground you in the fundamentals of good cooking and help you prevent mistakes.

thats really good advice, I've seen one of his articles before. The NY times has amazing food articles

I've got a nice biscuit (not cookie, American meaning of the word here) recipe.

2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup milk (preferably whole!)
1/3 cup mayonnaise

Thoroughly mix all ingredients. Fold in desired flavorings, such as salt and pepper, cheese and garlic, etc. Pour or spoon into a large muffin tin. Place in a preheated oven at 350 Fahrenheit and bake for about 20 to 30 minutes.


I'm a rather good cook when I care enough to pay attention to what I'm doing. I used to make lattice-top pies from scratch (crust and all) on a regular basis. I still make pizza, spaghetti, white-sauce type dishes, and various casseroles on a fairly regular basis. My latest endeavor is chili. Nothing has turned out sufficiently bad yet, but I'm still undecided on which recipe I like the best.

Buy a Wusthof chef's knife and then learn how to use it.

This is the best advice you will get on this thread.


While I admit I was sure to bring my own wusthof knife with me here to China, it isn't necessarily the best idea for the novice cook to rush out and buy one.

The money would be better spent, early on, buying ingredients or going out to eat at nice restaurants so you can get a taste for well made food and something to measure your own against.

I think a good knife is a sign of pride in your cooking, and I think it means the most to you after you've earned that pride by cooking well without it.

---

To the OP: You might also want to try and make some home-made pasta, it is remarkably easy and will enhance any pasta dish you ever eat again by a factor of two.

Its best if you can get bona-fide pasta flour, but if not, experiment with a mix of ordinary white flour and semolina flour, there are lots of ratios to be found online but its hard to screw up too bad.

Don't bother with a pasta rolling machine, just use a rolling pin.

The simplest and best pasta is as simple as just flour and water, kneaded for 5 or so minutes, let rest a half hour, then rolled out, cut up, cooked and eaten.

Most of my ckoocking ckonsists of chopping up hot dogs, ckovering them with sliced cheese, and then microwaving them.

Either that or ckoocking Ckraft Shells & Cheese Dinner. I ckan do that pretty good.

Please, don't. Pretty please?

Roasting Bags.

The bachelors friend.

turn on the oven..stick a hunk of meat, some potatoes, some carrots....a hour later, youve got dinner.

Crock pots are good, too. Put in meat, potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, cover with a good ready-made stock, put in some herbs and pepper, maybe a little salt, depending on the stock - set for 10 hours - when you get home from school or work - dinner is waiting. You don't even have to peel the potatoes, just cut them up.

As for fish, don't fry it. You can poach it in a nice vegetable stock or white wine with dill and garlic or you can bake it, either way is much easier than frying and tastes better as well.

Crock pots are good, too. Put in meat, potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, cover with a good ready-made stock, put in some herbs and pepper, maybe a little salt, depending on the stock - set for 10 hours - when you get home from school or work - dinner is waiting. You don't even have to peel the potatoes, just cut them up.

Yeah, that one's great. I've made a few decent stews doing that.
And get some crockpot liners, makes clean-up much faster (just throw out the bag!)

A book I'd recommend (that I don't think I've seen posted) is The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cooking-- For Men. When I moved out of the dorms and into an apartment off campus(and therefore off the meal plan), my mom bought me a copy. I've found it very useful.

Learn to cook with crock pots. SLow cooking is your friend because it's easy, almost impossible to overcook and fills your house with yummy aromas for hours.

:)

Crock pots are good, too. Put in meat, potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, cover with a good ready-made stock, put in some herbs and pepper, maybe a little salt, depending on the stock - set for 10 hours - when you get home from school or work - dinner is waiting. You don't even have to peel the potatoes, just cut them up.

As for fish, don't fry it. You can poach it in a nice vegetable stock or white wine with dill and garlic or you can bake it, either way is much easier than frying and tastes better as well.

Dammit! :mad:

I am not a very good cook and I want to become better. I really love good food but I feel lost at the market and in the kitchen. Can you all reccomend some good but simple recipies for a beginner chef? If not recipies than maybe just some advice, like macaroni goes well with cheese or something of that nature. I have tried some recipies I found on-line and in books but I usually can't afford to buy all the ingredients and I make my own version of the recipe that turns out bad. I also hate it when I buy some obscure spice for a recipe like crystalized ginger or something and then I never find a reason to use it again.

Also feel free to share your cooking success stories or mishaps. My greatest cooking invention is giant beef burritos I made for less than $5. They were delicious. My biggest mishap was probably when I tried to fry fish and I set the stove-top on fire. It didn't taste that great either. What about you?

Try some one pot cooking. Curry, stew, spag bol(okay thats two pots)

I learned from my mistakes as a bachelor:

Frying: Hot and fast. Keep your oil just below the smoke point, but only just. If its too cold, fried anything is nasty. And be prepaired to have it done really quick! Try scalopini as a starter.

Baking: Learn to make homemade bread. Not in a machine, but by hand. The ingrediants are cheap, and even if you screw it up, your kitchen will smell great. That will teach a lot about baking.

Slow cooking: Soup, stews, and chilli in the crock pot are awesome and easy.

Rice: Easy and the perfect blank canvas to trying out spices.

After that, just try new stuff and don't be upset if it doesn't turn out the first time.

If you like baked chicken, buy a whole chicken or part of one, soak it in a bowl of water for a while then rinse and dry. After that smother some melted butter on it and peel the skin over and put a seasoning of your choice under it, then put salt and pepper on the skin itself along with another seasoning (same or otherwise), rub it in very vigorously with your bare hands and cook at about 450F until the inside is 170F. An hour or more.

It's excellent.

If you like baked chicken, buy a whole chicken or part of one, soak it in a bowel of water for a while then rinse and dry. After that smother some melted butter on it and peel the skin over and put a seasoning of your choice under it, then put salt and pepper on the skin itself along with another seasoning (same or otherwise), rub it in very vigorously with your bare hands and cook at about 450F until the inside is 170F. An hour or more.

It's excellent.

God I hope you mean bowl.

ROFL!

God damn it, typos!!!

yeah thats pretty much what I'm into now. In fact I'm broiling a steak as I write this. I think I'm ready for the next step.

here's a suggestion.

next couple of steaks you buy, cut them into smaller pieces and experiment with different marinades and glazes.

Do the same with chicken breasts and fish. Don't be afraid to experiment.

there's also steaming, and baking

I am not a very good cook and I want to become better.
I cook. I love cooking. My wife cooks. She also loves cooking. Hell, we've even had fights - well, I hate to use the word 'fights' to describe them... let's call them spirited differences of opinion - over who is going to cook on a particular evening. Not a bad situation to be in, I suppose.

Anyway, if you want to improve your cooking I'd suggest what a couple of others have already suggested - starting with one-pot meals. There are hundreds of them, and the Internet is awash with recipes.

Other than that, I'd recommend learning how to make the basic sauces. Once you can do those you can cook almost anything and serve it with your own sauce, and then you're onto a winner.
:)

I can cook pancakes. Top that.

Crêpe Suzette. Over an open campfire. In the rain.

Please, don't. Pretty please?

The bad man made my eyes hurt.:(

Baking: Learn to make homemade bread. Not in a machine, but by hand. The ingrediants are cheap, and even if you screw it up, your kitchen will smell great. That will teach a lot about baking.

Anyone who want's to bake breads should get the Tassajara Bread Book. (literally a Zen bread cook book - you'll learn a LOT about how to approach cooking in general).

buy a big red.
http://www.amazon.com/Crocker-CookbookBetty-Crockers-Cookbook-5-Ring/dp/030709801X

I am an awful chef most of the time, but I do make a tasty omlette. If even I can whip up one of these, anyone can:

- 2 Brown Eggs
- Some Lettuce
- A Plum Tomato (You only need half)
- About A Fifth Of A Red Pepper
- One Or Two Scallion Stems
- Marble Cheddar Cheese
- Ground Coriander Seed
- Garlic-Based Seasoning (I do not like to be corpratist, but I use Garlic Plus by Club House, and I find it is superb)
- Salt
- Pepper
- Boiling Water
- A Splash Of Milk
- Bacon Bits (Mine are actually called 'Simulated Bacon-Flavoured Bits' and to my knowledge they have never come into contact with meat)
- Parsley, Chives, Or Another Garnish
- Butter (Or a substitute) For Greasing The Pan
- A Pan And An Omlette-Flipping Utensil
- Two Bowls And A Mixing Utensil (I find a fork works fine)


- Put some water on to boil in a kettle.
- Dice the tomato, pepper, and scallion into little cubes or chunks. Rip the lettuce into small bits. All of these can go together in a bowl.
- Grate some cheese over the legumes. You are going to put some in with the eggs and some in with the vegetables, so make a lot.
- Add some bacon bits to the veggies and cheese.
- Crack the eggs into another bowl. Splash in a little bit of milk and a little bit of the boiling water. This will make them fluffier. Add a hint of salt and some pepper.
- Now put in a few shakes of the garlic seasioning. You do not need much.
- Go crazy with the ground coriander seed, you need a lot, since it has to compete with the garlic stuff and is light-tasting anyway.
- Mix the eggs and spices until you have a soupy liquid with no lumps. Add in a few handfuls of cheese. This will reinforce the omlette a bit, preventing it from breaking apart (As much) when you flip it.
- Grease the pan if you have not done so before.
- Set you stove to medium, and pour in the liquid.
- Now for the most difficult part: Wait patiently. The secret to a good omlette is giving it time to cook properly.
- Use the flipper to lift the edges of the omlette a bit. Go all the way around the mass. It should lift easily and not have any bits still liquid if it is ready.
- Flip the omlette. It may be easiest to do this by rotating both the flipper and the pan.
- Quickly now, pour the bowl of solids onto the omlette. Try to get them in a line going across the still-cooking egg.
- The other side of the omlette should not take very long to be ready; it may be done by the time you get the vegetables arranged on top.
- Using the flipper, lift one side of the omlette and bend it over your vegetables.
- Serve it up, and add your garnish for some extra colour and snazz.
- Enjoy! (I recommend eating it with milk or orange juice, and with lightly toasted bread covered in either marmalade or honey).

If you want it to be less breakfasty and more suppery, you can fry up some cubes or small strips of chicken and put that in with the vegetables.

Here is a link for Easy Recipes:

http://search.go123.com/go/a.html?q=Easy+Recipes

I am not a very good cook and I want to become better. I really love good food but I feel lost at the market and in the kitchen. Can you all reccomend some good but simple recipies for a beginner chef? If not recipies than maybe just some advice, like macaroni goes well with cheese or something of that nature. I have tried some recipies I found on-line and in books but I usually can't afford to buy all the ingredients and I make my own version of the recipe that turns out bad. I also hate it when I buy some obscure spice for a recipe like crystalized ginger or something and then I never find a reason to use it again.

Also feel free to share your cooking success stories or mishaps. My greatest cooking invention is giant beef burritos I made for less than $5. They were delicious. My biggest mishap was probably when I tried to fry fish and I set the stove-top on fire. It didn't taste that great either. What about you?

Ok here is pretty much all you need to know to have a basic command of the kitchen.

Pick any kind of meat. Pick onions and one or more other vegetables that you enjoy. Put some oil or butter or margarine in a pan. Add garlic. Chop of the meat and veggies into little pieces. Then fry it all up in a pan at a medium heat until it is done.

If you want to make the above a little more interesting, add a little wine to the mix when it first goes into the pan. A lot of the water content will evaporate out and leave some good flavor and color (if it is red wine at least).

If your at the broil steak lvl, when id recommend getting some cheap cajun spices, couple bananna pepper or jalapino slices and if you like that sort of flavor a splash of the marinade that the jar of peppers come in, then sprinkle feta over top in the last 2 min of broil or so and its really good.