Help! Im a cooking dummy!

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-01-29 05:55pm

Ive never learned to cook and now it is time to learn. Anybody have some suggestions on easy recipies or where to start?

Malecoda · Post by **Malecoda** » 2003-01-29 05:55pm

Get the Betty Crocker Cookbook. Seriously.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2003-01-29 06:22pm

Get a girlfriend. Then she can cook for you.

Seriously though, go to a book store and just start looking through them and find one that covers the easy stuff to make. Just the basics. And the internet probably has a lot of cooking websites that should help.

You can try foodtv.com. It's the Food Network's website and has websites and other tricks and stuff. Also lists their shows if you get the channel.

Faram · Post by **Faram** » 2003-01-29 06:24pm

NO 1 tip of them all.

Make SURE everything you use in the kitchen is CLEAN!

Hands, knives, fryers, oven.

Food poisoning is not fun.

Be careful if you have bird (chicken).

To make sure different cutting board (don't know the translation sorry) and knifes for birds and any other food especially vegetables!

Malecoda · Post by **Malecoda** » 2003-01-29 06:26pm

Yeah, Betty Crocker has a little cooking primer--how to measure, what to measure with, how to convert, rules for cooking different things, what kind of equipment to use, and stuff like that. I got one but rather than make myself a nice pot roast or something, I went on this huge cookie-and-brownie-making binge. Heck, I was a bachelor.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2003-01-29 06:31pm

TrailerParkJawa wrote:Ive never learned to cook and now it is time to learn. Anybody have some suggestions on easy recipies or where to start?

How have you managed to survive this long without being able to cook?

Anarchist Bunny · Post by **Anarchist Bunny** » 2003-01-29 06:34pm

If you follow the direction exactly and prepare the ingredients before hand, cooking is easy.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-01-29 06:42pm

neoolong wrote:
TrailerParkJawa wrote:Ive never learned to cook and now it is time to learn. Anybody have some suggestions on easy recipies or where to start?
How have you managed to survive this long without being able to cook?

I eat out a lot. Before buying my house in Fremont, I lived at home where my dad did most of the cooking. Also, my friends are all good cooks, so my skills or lack of, have never been needed.

Frank Hipper · Post by **Frank Hipper** » 2003-01-29 07:02pm

If you know NOTHING, I wouldn't know how to start.

Don't stress measurements unless you're baking. Taste things constantly throughout the cooking process and adjust your seasonings. Add a little first, you can always add more later.

Let your pans get hot before putting your food in them. People ruin more food by letting something steam gradually in a cold skillet.

Don't be afraid! Cooking ain't brain surgery. The more you cook, the more you learn.

And remember, Roast Chicken is an easy way to impress, and it's the easiest thing in the world

Roast Chicken:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees

Wash chicken under runing water. Pat dry with paper towels. Remember to remove the giblets inside!

Season inside and out with salt and pepper.

Take a few tiny sprigs of thyme, crush them in your palm with your thumb,and add to a little melted butter or margerine. Daub chicken with this on the outside.

Put chicken in hot oven for ten-fifteen minutes. Keep an eye on it, wait till the skin just begins to brown, turn the heat down to 325 degrees and let 'er go for about 45 minutes to an hour. Chicken's done when you stab the thigh at it's thickest point and the juices run CLEAR.
If you want, you can throw a little wine, beer, or chicken broth into your pan. When the thing's done, spoon off some of the fat, bring it to a boil on the stove, and thicken it with a teaspoon of cornstarch mixed in a couple ounces of water. Voila, you got sauce.

Raxmei · Post by **Raxmei** » 2003-01-29 07:05pm

There might be something in the recipe exchange thread we had a while back.

http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic.php?t=5114

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-01-29 07:05pm

Hey thanks everyone. Frank, I will give the chicken a try.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2003-01-30 05:04am

As a pro cook, I will say, the basic rule for food is Keep it simple & clean.

Biddybot · Post by **Biddybot** » 2003-01-30 05:16am

If you can find a copy of 'Homesteading In The City', perhaps at a library, get it. Aimed at impoverished young people leaving home and having to cook for themselves for the first time. It assumes you know how to boil water and that's about it, and emphasizes cheap, healthy recipies that won't leave you malnourished. As a bonus, it also includes little vignettes about life in the big city (like meeting nuts and drunks on the subway).

Boba Fett · Post by **Boba Fett** » 2003-01-30 05:26am

You mentioned that your dad and your friends can cook.

Why don't you ask them to teach you the tricks?

It's a really good fun to come together with friends and cook together!

After you learned what you need you can experiment alone. I never use a cooking book.

I learned cooking from my father.

Crayz9000 · Post by **Crayz9000** » 2003-01-30 05:37am

"The Joy of Cooking" is a great all-around reference cookbook. Still, the Betty Croker cookbook has a lot of nice tips in it...

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2003-01-30 05:37am

Pasta is quite easy for starters. Especally tomatoe sauces.

Although I now know one person who even managed to ruin *that*...

salm · Post by **salm** » 2003-01-30 01:03pm

hey, cooking is easy.

in the beginning you take stuff that you´d like to eat at the moment and chop it into small pices.

before that you´ve already taken a pan, put oil in it and got it heated up. then you´ve turned the flame down to half power.

then you take the onions you´ve chopped and put them into the heated oil and let them fry for a while.

after that you add all the other solid stuff and let it fry for a while.
dont forget stirring occasionally.

then you take the liquid stuff and put it in.

try every once in a while and add what ever spices you feel like until it tastes good.

that´s it.

after a while of practice you´ll get to know new spices by yourself.
cooking is nothing you have to learn, it´s something you have to do.

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2003-01-30 01:10pm

Salm, such cooking experiments have a nasty tendency to go horribly wrong...
Especially if you're a cooking n00b...

salm · Post by **salm** » 2003-01-30 01:14pm

Dahak wrote:Salm, such cooking experiments have a nasty tendency to go horribly wrong...
Especially if you're a cooking n00b...

ach was, what can go wrong with frying stuff? the only thing i can think of is burning the whole shit but that´s part of the learning process and unless you´re a really poor sucker from zimbabwe you´ll survive the whole matter without being financially ruined.
if you follow the steps above and stirr occassionally you´re safe.

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2003-01-30 01:23pm

salm wrote:
Dahak wrote:Salm, such cooking experiments have a nasty tendency to go horribly wrong...
Especially if you're a cooking n00b...
ach was, what can go wrong with frying stuff? the only thing i can think of is burning the whole shit but that´s part of the learning process and unless you´re a really poor sucker from zimbabwe you´ll survive the whole matter without being financially ruined.
if you follow the steps above and stirr occassionally you´re safe.

For instance, taking the wrong spices, or too much of those (ever ate something with too much nutmeg?) or mix something which isn't meant to?

A friend of mine tried a tomatoe sauce. He didn't know what amount a "clove of garlic" was. So he chopped a whole firring bulb of that stuff...

When n00b's cook, I tend to stay away from the results...

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2003-01-30 01:33pm

salm wrote:
Dahak wrote:Salm, such cooking experiments have a nasty tendency to go horribly wrong...
Especially if you're a cooking n00b...
ach was, what can go wrong with frying stuff? the only thing i can think of is burning the whole shit but that´s part of the learning process and unless you´re a really poor sucker from zimbabwe you´ll survive the whole matter without being financially ruined.
if you follow the steps above and stirr occassionally you´re safe.

Actually, frying stuff can get dangerous if you aren't careful. Hot oil and open flame aren't exactly the safest things in the world.

FX · Post by FX » 2003-01-30 04:31pm

Easy way to start is to take a rice or noodle mix and then add meat and/or vegetables. About one pound of meat will work with the mixes I get in the US.

Cut frozen vegetables are your friend. They require no prep time, and many are most of the way if not fully cooked. I normally just dump them into a dressed up mix dish after everything else is done cooking and let them defrost in the dish.

Easy Recipe
1 box Mac and cheese
1 can tuna
frozen peas

Make Mac & Cheese as directions on the box. Put in Tuna and peas an amount of peas to your taste. Let peas and Tuna warm from heat in noodles, or if you prefer warmer food, let it warm on the stove.

InnerBrat · Post by **InnerBrat** » 2003-01-30 04:37pm

salm, that is EXACTLY how I cook.
It's my recipe for chili, for curry, for traditional fry up brekkie, for pasta sauce.

That's the recipe.
I get by on £10 a week on food with that recipe.

salm · Post by **salm** » 2003-01-30 10:17pm

Dahak wrote:
salm wrote:
Dahak wrote:Salm, such cooking experiments have a nasty tendency to go horribly wrong...
Especially if you're a cooking n00b...
ach was, what can go wrong with frying stuff? the only thing i can think of is burning the whole shit but that´s part of the learning process and unless you´re a really poor sucker from zimbabwe you´ll survive the whole matter without being financially ruined.
if you follow the steps above and stirr occassionally you´re safe.
For instance, taking the wrong spices, or too much of those (ever ate something with too much nutmeg?) or mix something which isn't meant to?

A friend of mine tried a tomatoe sauce. He didn't know what amount a "clove of garlic" was. So he chopped a whole firring bulb of that stuff...

When n00b's cook, I tend to stay away from the results...

lol,
actually there´s no such thing as too much garlic.
and as i said: when you put in the spices dont put too much in at once and taste it ocasionally.
well maybe i didnt say that but i meant it.

salm · Post by **salm** » 2003-01-30 10:24pm

innerbrat wrote:salm, that is EXACTLY how I cook.
It's my recipe for chili, for curry, for traditional fry up brekkie, for pasta sauce.

That's the recipe.
I get by on £10 a week on food with that recipe.

yeah, it works for everything and it usually turns out to be quite delicious.
cooking doesnt require that much knowledge - besides for the advanced cooks (like me

) knowledge about spices - it requires the ability to listen to your stomache and tast buds. your stomache and tast buds yell: we want tuna! give them tuna.
that´s it. there´s really no need for fancy shmanzy, bocuse yaddayadda.

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