I have a confession to make

[Origen]

I can't cook.

I've never really learned how.

Now, this does not mean, "I can't take care of myself." I can. But it's generally pre-prepared food that I throw together. Salads, soups, bread, stuff like that.

Is there any hope for one such as me?

[silverwhisper]

yes: look to ****'s thread. :>

[Mouser]

Buy the following book:

"The Joy of Cooking"

or

"The Settlement Cookbook"

These are both books that have systematic approaches to cooking for beginners. They walk through food preparation, and the recipes are excellent.

That's how I learned how to cook. I followed the recipes until I got the underlying logic, then I started experimenting.

I also like:

"Spice and Spirit"

for recipes that are simple, tasty, and "foolproof."

But not "gourmet cooking" by any sense of the imagination.

[Starhawk]

I'm in the same boat as Origen.

I can brown a pan of ground beef. I can cook scrambled eggs to JUST the right level of done-ness. I can mix up a batch of chocolate chip cookie batter from scratch. I can boil up macaroni noodles just right. I guess these are the baby steps.

Beyond that, I dunno. I know nothing about spices. No idea what a "demiglaze" is. I've never made a whole chicken -- never made bread from scratch -- burn bacon every time without fail -- etc.

[Wook]

I'm in the same boat as Origen.

I can brown a pan of ground beef. I can cook scrambled eggs to JUST the right level of done-ness. I can mix up a batch of chocolate chip cookie batter from scratch. I can boil up macaroni noodles just right. I guess these are the baby steps.

Beyond that, I dunno. I know nothing about spices. No idea what a "demiglaze" is. I've never made a whole chicken -- never made bread from scratch -- burn bacon every time without fail -- etc.

I can manage macaroni and cheese most times. Yes I'm that bad in the kitchen. :sawink2:

[silverwhisper]

demi-glaze: a stock (distinct from a broth) which has been reduced by approximately 50%. these are typically much more intense in flavor, as half the water's been evaporated away.

you know what really worked for me? honest to god, watching food network.

[Kalzazz]

One thing about cooking

Dont be afraid to use your trash can. Sometimes stuff just doesnt work out. Dont force yourself to eat it, just toss it and eat somethign else

[Hitcher]

Get a slow cooker with a removable insert liner (easier to clean) and a book of recipes. Just a few minutes work and leave it simmering all day, some of the easiest and best meals you'll ever make.

Don't be afraid to experiment. Don't forget to take notes.

[BattleNymph]

Gees, you guys are supposed to be gamers.

Cooking is Magic! You'd think you would get into it because of that. It has components that have to be put together. It has energy to be applied. It has an emotional and physical effect once prepared. Aphrodesiac or comfort. Energizer or relaxer.

Cast a spell today and make some Brioche. :D

[Mouser]

I learned how to cook by reading the cookbooks above and following the bouncing ball.

I picked something I liked and then ate it for (what seemed like) weeks.

I was a kid. I remember asking for and getting a wok and a Chinese cookbook for my twefth birthday. I cooked Chinese food for months until I had it down. Then I started experimenting and ate some real screwy stuff. ( I was taught not to waste, and it involved chicken dishes)

It wasn't until I student-managed a kitchen for Marriott that I gave myself permission to throw out my mistakes.

On their dime, of course...

;)

[Mouser]

Gees, you guys are supposed to be gamers.

Cooking is Magic! You'd think you would get into it because of that. It has components that have to be put together. It has energy to be applied. It has an emotional and physical effect once prepared. Aphrodesiac or comfort. Energizer or relaxer.

Cast a spell today and make some Brioche. :D

Hence the suppression of books like "Conjure Wife." (http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Ladies-Conjure-Wife-Darkness/dp/031286972X/sr=1-1/qid=1170778519/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-6813569-9711619?ie=UTF8&s=books)

It still makes me shudder to think of it.

[Paulypalooza]

The best advice I have for a novice cook is this

DO NOT TRY TO BAKE

Baking is not cooking, it's chemistry. Think about it when you make a basic bread you start with flour, water, yeast, salt and sometimes eggs. The finished product resembles none of these.

If you don't measure correctly and cook at the correct temp for how long you are supposed to you have trash. With most dishes there is a margin for error.

Also baking doesn't allow you to experiment. If you leave out or alter the amount of any one ingredient your bread is now most likely an amorphous mass that is inedible.

[silverwhisper]

well-said, pauly.

[Paulypalooza]

well-said, pauly.

I had to learn the hard way. Now the only thing I bake is bread. It's the only thing thats worth the hassle and sometimes the heartbreak when I open the oven door.

[Haze]

My advice would be to never try to cook cakes in a microwave. I have had some spectacular disasters ~ cork tiling cake for instance.

[BattleNymph]

The best advice I have for a novice cook is this

DO NOT TRY TO BAKE

Baking is not cooking, it's chemistry. Think about it when you make a basic bread you start with flour, water, yeast, salt and sometimes eggs. The finished product resembles none of these.

If you don't measure correctly and cook at the correct temp for how long you are supposed to you have trash. With most dishes there is a margin for error.

Also baking doesn't allow you to experiment. If you leave out or alter the amount of any one ingredient your bread is now most likely an amorphous mass that is inedible.


See! Just like magic!

[Hitcher]

The best advice I have for a novice cook is this

DO NOT TRY TO BAKE

The first bread I ever baked on my own was a loaf of sourdough with starter I'd started days before. I mixed it by hand, I kneeded it. It came out great. YMMV.

If you want to bake bread the first time round but are afraid of messing up the recipe and being stuck with a mess, get frozen bread dough at the store and follow the directions on the bag.

If you're a gadget freak, get yourself a breadmaker machine and a proper set of measuring cups and spoons. Put in exact amounts of ingredients (no heaping cups or spoons - scrape them flat) in the exact order for your machine WHEN it tells you. Do not try to bake anything with egg in it on a delay timer overnight.

[TinSoldier]

I'm in the same boat as Origen.

I can brown a pan of ground beef. I can cook scrambled eggs to JUST the right level of done-ness. I can mix up a batch of chocolate chip cookie batter from scratch. I can boil up macaroni noodles just right. I guess these are the baby steps.

Beyond that, I dunno. I know nothing about spices. No idea what a "demiglaze" is. I've never made a whole chicken -- never made bread from scratch -- burn bacon every time without fail -- etc.You know, you're really over half way there. I didn't know what demiglaze was either until I read silverwhisper's response above.

Oh, and make your bacon in the microwave. It's much easier that way.

I also agree about the baking bit. Bread is about the only thing I know how to make from scratch but baking is something that I will have to figure out one of these days.

[Amso]

I remember once trying to bake a cake from scratch and I spilled the baking soda or something like that in the batter. I tried to pull out the excess and cook the batter anway. A little later I was talking to Pauly and he told me not to eat the cake at any cost because the excess baking soda would make me sick. Of course I threw away the cake because the trained cook knows best, but then spent the entire day being sick because I later realized that I'd eaten some of the batter out of the bowl.

I advise that we all listen to Pauly when it comes to baking.

[BattleNymph]

I have a confession to make. I don't use cookbooks more than maybe once a year. I learned to cook from an old german woman (my grandma) who learned from her mother on a wood stove. I make it from memory or I make it up.

[Mouser]

I have a confession to make. I don't use cookbooks more than maybe once a year. I learned to cook from an old german woman (my grandma) who learned from her mother on a wood stove. I make it from memory or I make it up.

That's a good way to make food.

It's how I made dinner for my entire family last night, and how I cook most everything.

Except when baking.

[JasonStarfire]

Contrary to what some people who know me say, I am not a master chef. In the grand scheme of food preparation, I know very little.

I am, however, good at improvising dishes and making ordinary stuff taste better than it should. I was never actually trained. I learned from trial and error.

It's not that hard to improve. Just start with something basic and take baby steps as you branch out. I'd also advise no baking.

These days I do most of the cooking for our household. I've started reading cook books and branching out from the familiar dishes that I know how to make. Maybe I'll chronicle some of my kitchen (mis)adventures here if I have the time and inspiration. :)

[Cranky Dog]

What little cooking abilites I have, I owe mostly to my mother. Years of watching her and helping her on occasion made part of her talent rub off on me.

I don't cook often, mostly because I don't need too, but the few times I have I've surprised quite a few people.

My practical experience with baking is mostly leaving the breadmachine do the work. If I need dough for something other than bread, again I leave the bread machine do the heavy work and then I just take out the dough, do what I'm supposed to do with it (flatten it out for pizza, cut strings for pretzels).

Knowing how to cook breaks the chain of dependancy to restaurants for nourishment. ;)


Cranky Dog
"I have a novice cooking opinion, international!"

[Dreamweaver]

I am a good baker.. and I might be nice and bring some of my cookies with me to Texas for the rest of you to enjoy.

[ldygmr1]

I enjoy cooking.

I think the best way to help someone who doesn't have a natural knack is to say this:

You can always start over.

Try it. Give it a shot. Keep Plan B (The microwaveable meal) available so you don't starve on mistake night, but give it a whirl.

Do you like apple crisp?

Peel and slice two or three apples, add a dash of milk, a spoonful or two of sugar, some generous cinnamon as you like. Toss a handfull of quick oats over the top. Fold (squish with a fork) until crumbly some butter (real honest butter not margarine) brown sugar and bisquick. Pour crumbles over oats. Bake at three fifty until the scent permeates the house and the saliva is dripping from your chin.

Note the complete lack of precision? This is a comfort food for me.

Some foods NEED precision, such as jelly, jam and fudge. But you shouldn't even attempt such foods until you can prepare the simple comfort foods you enjoy on a blue day. Such as bacon.

Yes, cookbooks help. I especially like the ones that read like novels. They have recipes with detailed instructions interspersed with humor and entertainment. And you can always prop up the book against the backsplash and watch it like a hawk.