Cooking for Beginners?

[jeelybeans]

I decided I wanted to learn how to cook while in quarantine. I'd like to be able to cook to impress hook ups. :)

Other than making eggs and small things here or there I have absolutely zero experience. (Although I do like grilling steaks on a BBQ pit).

Does anyone on Era know a good place to start? Maybe a website or YouTube channel that teaches scrubs how to become passable? Something that has different levels/tiers or something that I could work my way up on.

 

[Aurica]

I hear whatsinaname makes good food...

 

[Inquisitive_Ghost]

I asked for a good starter cookbook many years ago and was gifted this one:

Starting Out: The Essential Guide to Cooking on Your Own | Indigo

Buy the book Starting Out: The Essential Guide to Cooking on Your Own by julie van rosendaal at Indigo

www.chapters.indigo.ca

I think it's great, honestly, and I still love and make some of the recipes in it. It has sections on basic preparation and cleaning stains and all kinds of other useful information too.

 

[nomster]

I've always been a fan of seriouseats.com and Kenji Lopez Alt in particular. Don't think he's associated with them anymore but he has a great book called the Food Lab that is totally accessible for a new cook.

 

[Mercurial]

Gordon Ramsay has some decent introductory videos on YouTube.

 

[whatsinaname]

Honestly, think of something you want to make and look up recipes on youtube. Look at America's Test Kitchen and Alton Brown in particular who will also give you some idea of why a recipe works.

I hear whatsinaname makes good food...

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Nah, I am just good at following instructions. Still not at a stage where I can improvise.

 

[SteveWinwood]

It's way easier than you think but it can still be somewhat intimidating! Just find a recipe you think you'd like and try it! Jump right in. It's just following instructions for the most part.

Baking on the other hand...

 

[Officer Big Mac]

 

[KtSlime]

Take food, add heat. When food starts to turn black, turn off heat.

 

[Officer Big Mac]

Take food, add heat. When food starts to turn black, turn off heat.

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Maybe before food turns black unless you want it cajun style

 

[Sandfox]

I just looked up what I wanted or what I could cook with the ingredients I had and watched Youtube vids when I first got into cooking.

 

[Doc Kelso]

The cookbook recommended earlier is a great starting point! My advice is to also taste everything individually before you start adding it to your recipes. It really helps build the palate to know how each spice and herb tastes on its own.

 

[Deleted member 4367]

Cooking is largely about 3 things. Following directions. Figuring out the multi tasking and timing of tasks. Knowing when things are done.

Knowing when things are done is the most important actual skill to learn when it comes to cooking.

 

[Deleted member 2109]

Cooking With Steebee: Homemade Fried Rice Recipe

This is my 2nd cooking video. This time i'm making my "homemade" fried rice recipe. I was inspired by eating at the restaurant, Benihana, several years back....

www.youtube.com

 

[Officer Big Mac]

Cooking with Paris

Today I am going to teach everyone how to make my famous Lasagna! Comment below & let me know what other recipes you would love to see me cook, xo Paris SUBS...

youtu.be

 

[Lord Azrael]

Gordon Ramsay has some decent introductory videos on YouTube.

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I honestly find Ramsay videos terrible as teaching tools, even when the camera isn't basically touching the food he doesn't explain how or why he's doing stuff, and he looks twitchy as fuck half the time, like he's holding in a massive shit

Good videos if you just wanna look at good looking food though

 

[FaceHugger]

Gordon Ramsay has some decent introductory videos on YouTube.

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This. Look for his videos on quick, simple meals. Many only take a handful of ingredients, are dead easy to make taking minutes, and would impress most people who think cooking is an elaborate endeavour.

 

[Cyborg009]

Oddly enough publix does: They have a whole list of things you can make online and videos:

 

[PrivateWHudson]

I leaned hard on Alton Brown's Good Eats back in the day. Also, old Rachel Ray stuff (30 minute meals) was great for quick stuff. Don't know if full episodes are available anywhere online. My 13 year old followed a Binging with Babish video for making a Chicago Deep Dish Pizza with sauce from scratch. I had to help him with the heavy cast iron pan, but other than that, he did the whole thing on his own.

Probably the hardest thing is having the tools and pantry ingredients like spices. Once you build up that stock pile, it gets easier.

Edit: Don't know how I forgot, but check out Sam the Cooking Guy on youtube. Excellent easy and tasty food.

 

[MarioW]

I actually think Jamie Oliver is a great reference for new cooks. He is of the belief everybody can and should cook, doesn't do much which requires a lot of precision or special skills, often explains how different ingredients work together, and has a lot of simple meals and quick recipes.

Jamie Oliver

We are all about beautiful recipes, expert tutorials, fresh talent, wonderful food and funny videos every week plus loads of your other favourite YouTubers d...

www.youtube.com

 

[Rover]

Cooking is largely about 3 things. Following directions. Figuring out the multi tasking and timing of tasks. Knowing when things are done.

Knowing when things are done is the most important actual skill to learn when it comes to cooking.

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Adding onto this, understanding how your particular kitchen setup (your stove, your oven, your microwave, your pans, etc) heats things, and retains heat, is a big part of getting familiar with the timing and the doneness. Every kitchen is a little different, even more so if you're comparing gas to electric.

Many of my earliest errors in cooking were about what temp to set a stove to, and the truth is that things like "Medium" and "Low" are relative to your setup. So paying attention to what these settings actually do, whether you get boiling water or a slight simmer, is a big level up in getting more control of your technique.

 

[B-Dubs]

I honestly find Ramsay videos terrible as teaching tools, even when the camera isn't basically touching the food he doesn't explain how or why he's doing stuff, and he looks twitchy as fuck half the time, like he's holding in a massive shit

Good videos if you just wanna look at good looking food though

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This is true, his cookbooks are quite good though. Gordon Ramsay's Home Cooking has a bunch of pretty easy, and tasty, recipes and each section is prefaced with tips and whatnot--as are a lot of the recipes.

 

[TiamatSword]

Stir frying or sautéing things is easy start with that.

 

[Septimus Prime]

Beginner tip: higher heat doesn't mean it'll cook faster. Only use high heat for recipes that warrant it.

Also, Cooking With Dave is a good YouTube series for simple stuff.

 

[Aurica]

Nah, I am just good at following instructions. Still not at a stage where I can improvise.

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I'd still be happy to eat your cooking haha

 

[Deleted member 39374]

These are the first things I learned when starting out quarantine cooking (as a result of binging Master Chef)

-tagliatelle, cook al dente, stir that shit with tons and tons of grated parmesan and whole black peppercorns. Tastes like something Jesus made you himself.
-Do the above but cabonara style. Throw in diced onions and bacon pieces, and crack an egg on it,. Mix it all together after the pasta is cooked.
-put some garlic butter on a pan, heat it up, and fry a ribeye steak on it medium rare with some bay leaves and salt/pepper. Use the same pan to do some shrimp too or veggies. Tastes like something you'll pay $60 for in Beverly Hills.

 

[Jintor]

-put some garlic butter on a pan, heat it up, and fry a ribeye steak on it medium rare with some bay leaves and salt/pepper. Use the same pan to do some shrimp too or veggies. Tastes like something you'll pay $60 for in Beverly Hills.

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the secret to that stuff has always been that they just smother it in butter.

though obvs you gotta get the meat rarity/cooking level right for preference

 

[Xeonidus]

I started to cook most consistently when I got married and moved out over 7 years ago. My wife did shift work and started her masters so it was out of necessity. I wouldn't say I'm an expert but I am the main cook in the family now and some of my meals are pretty good!

I started with chicken stir fry recipes then changed it up with beef. What's great about that is how flexible it is. Usually I use bell peppers, onions, carrots, and mushrooms. The best part of this though is that you can almost prepare other meals like butter chicken with similar ingredients just with different sauces. You can also make a good chicken fajitas recipe in the same way. I don't make my own teriyaki sauce, butter chicken sauce, or fajitas sauce from scratch. There are powders and premade sauces I buy but who cares! Once you get more confident, you can change things up and try new things.

Pastas are also pretty easy to make and one my of go tos as well. Similar in a way to the stir fry but with ground beef instead. Brown in a bit then add the sauce, simmer, and you're good to go. I learned how to do a white wine italian sausage sauce (easier than it sounds) as well. And casseroles are quick and easy too.

Another suggestion I have is to look up one pot recipes. There are things you can just put together and bake it and you're good to go!

Start slow with easy recipes then work your way up. It takes time and it won't always be great but keep learning from your mistakes.

 

[kurahador]

As an asian, you only need to remember 2 things when cooking asian dish ---- onion and garlic.

My usual go to cooking channel is Babish for western dish (not really a fan as the ingredients mostly impossible to find here) and Marion's Kitchen (asian style dishes).

 

[PieOMy]

Alton Brown is the best teacher I've found. Start with Good Eats: Reloaded.

To impress a date/hook up I've had success with lasagna, mac n' cheese, meatballs, burgers, burritos. Don't skimp on fresh vegetables. I make sure there are enough to fill half of everyone's plate. Finish it off with alcohol, candles for the table, and a dessert you made the night before. You would be surprised how many people never had someone cook for them and you will blow them away.

 

[Septimus Prime]

As an asian, you only need to remember 2 things when cooking asian dish ---- onion and garlic.

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There's a trick to those, too: put them in the pan when it's still cool, and they won't burn as quickly.

 

[GK86]

What I did to start learning how to cook: Google "thing you want to make" recipes.

If the recipe calls for a technique I haven't used before: YouTube "how to X".

Cooking your own meals is amazing.

 

[PrivateWHudson]

There's a trick to those, too: put them in the pan when it's still cool, and they won't burn as quickly.

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Onions first, then garlic a few minutes later. Onions take much longer to cook and burnt garlic is nasty.

 

[porcupixel]

I used the site https://www.budgetbytes.com a ton when I taught myself cooking. The focus is on cheap, simple recipes that are good to learn basic skills with and are super good. I impressed a lot of coworkers with bringing these in for lunch. As a plus, she puts step-by-step photos for each recipe which helps let you know you're on the right track. Some I really liked:

Parmesan Portobello Orzo - Budget Bytes

This super simple and flavorful Parmesan Portobello Orzo will become your next go-to side dish. Ready in 30 minutes, it pairs with chicken, beef, or pork.

www.budgetbytes.com

One Pot Lemon Pepper Chicken with Orzo

Lemon Pepper Chicken with Orzo is a zesty one-pot meal featuring juicy chicken thighs, orzo, feta, and lemon pepper for tons of flavor!

www.budgetbytes.com

Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Thighs

Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Thighs are easy to prepare but still have a bold flavor from Thai red curry paste, and a rich, comforting coconut curry broth.

www.budgetbytes.com

One Pot Sausage and Sun Dried Tomato Pasta

This One Pot Sausage and Sun Dried Tomato Pasta cooks quickly in one skillet so no flavor is lost! Make dinner fast, easy, and delicious.

www.budgetbytes.com

Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Lentils

Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Lentils are an easy, hands-off, fiber filled, freezer friendly vegan dinner. Step by step photos.

www.budgetbytes.com

If you're truly starting out from scratch, keep in mind that like any learned skill, it will take you longer to do anything than you see trained professionals (or even people on YouTube) doing anything -- that's OK, it's all part of learning. If you just read recipes starting out, you'll probably have to look up the things recipes don't explain like how to dice an onion, or how to know when food is properly cooked. Take your time, enjoy the process of learning a new skill.

Gordon Ramsay has some decent introductory videos on YouTube.

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As someone who just got done making one of his recipes from one of those a few hours ago, the videos are good for ideas but really hard to follow because he doesn't give you ingredient amounts and the camerawork is so zoomed in you can barely see what he's doing, so I had to go search for the real recipe.

 

[Deleted member 42472]

As others have mentioned, Alton Brown is the greatest "basics" chef/show you will ever see.

(Binging with) Babish also has a good series of beginner stuff under his "Basics with Babish" branding. I think a lot of them rapidly veer to be too complex but stuff like his Eggs and Whole Roast Chicken episodes are awesome for teaching some of the foundations of most things you'll make for some time. I think he also had an episode or two on kitchen essentials (hardware) that made me realize I had been using a knife wrong for decades...

Once you have the basics (or even before that), just think about what you like. I come from an asian family so for me that tends to be stir fry, which is great because it is the easiest cooking method on the planet (get a wok. Throw some shit in the wok. Add some sauces. Dump into bowl). But that also translates to many other cooking methods and I feel has been great for teaching the idea of improvising in the kitchen.

Beyond that, just read/watch other recipes. I enjoy Bon Appetit for the personalities but my favorite content they do are the single recipe episodes or even the "N Ways To Cook a Blah" series because those are the best for providing general inspiration and tips on how to approach food.

 

[Kurdel]

I am also on the same trip jeelybeans !

I am getting into steaming vegetables, so easy and quick, and they taste so good!

 

[TTG]

ctrl f Chef John... shame on you era. Here's all you need:

https://www.youtube.com/user/foodwishes

 

[Deleted member 17990]

One pot meals are great and pasta is pretty simple if you can get your hands on it.

 

[Vlad]

Adding to the Alton Brown love, another reason Good Eats is such a great show is that he not only shows you WHAT to do, but also WHY you're doing it. This means that once you start internalizing this stuff, you can start applying that knowledge to other dishes you're working on. I've tweaked a ton of recipes in my cookbooks using the stuff I've learned over the years.

Beginner tip: higher heat doesn't mean it'll cook faster. Only use high heat for recipes that warrant it.

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Yeah, the only time I ever use high heat on the stovetop is if I'm boiling water.

 

[SteveWinwood]

Cooking with Paris

Today I am going to teach everyone how to make my famous Lasagna! Comment below & let me know what other recipes you would love to see me cook, xo Paris SUBS...

youtu.be

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this video is actually amazing

when she forgets to prepare the onions and garlic "um actually I don't think my lasagna needs this"

or when she throws tons of salt all over the meat, tries to wipe off the extra salt with a paper towel, and then proceeds to add more salt from a different container because it's pink

why she's wearing biking gloves... for something called silving?

using three metal spatulas on a non stick pan

she keeps throwing all her garbage in the sink for some reason

I love this video so much

 

[Sibersk Esto]

Watch the "Basics with Babish" series



Go to Supercook.com and put in all the ingredients you have, then find recipes

 

[Jintor]

There's a trick to those, too: put them in the pan when it's still cool, and they won't burn as quickly.

Click to shrink...

oh

...shit

 

[Jintor]

What I did to start learning how to cook: Google "thing you want to make" recipes.

If the recipe calls for a technique I haven't used before: YouTube "how to X".

Cooking your own meals is amazing.

Click to shrink...

my main thing is collecting these somewhere where it doesn't have like twenty pages of personal anecdotes before you get to the goddamn recipe. (Some kind of 'recipe book' if you will. I should probably just swipe my mum's at some point)

 

[Teuthex]

Simple Chinese Cooking by Kylie Kwong.

The recipes are fool-proof and easy. It is my most-used book, and will stay with you from a beginner to a masterful home cook. This is however not an "authentic" book, but rather Asian-Australian, because Kylie herself is 3rd generation Chinese-Australian. It does reflect a very Australian cooking style: bold flavors without over-seasoning with sauces and spices, and an emphasis on quality produce without needlessly "cheff-y" complications.

For non-Australians, it might be hard to find some ingredients, and there might be more regionally suitable options for a beginner's Chinese cookbook, but it is a great beginner book.

 

[Grimminski]

Watch the "Basics with Babish" series



Go to Supercook.com and put in all the ingredients you have, then find recipes

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Came here to post this. Basics is a great way to learn a few things.

 

[fulltimepanda]

Think about what you like to eat, pick a few easy recipes from that list and get cooking really.

Next up, put some money into decent equipment. It doesn't have to be a lot but dropping say $30 on a chef's knife as opposed to dropping $10 on a knife block with 12 knives makes a world's difference. That babish video is a good place to start in terms of what to get. There is a shocking amount of bad equipment out there that will just make your experience that much more frustrating. Don't skimp but you don't need to break your bank either.

Once you've actually cooked your food, dissect the meal, what you like and what you didn't like and start thinking about how to address what you didn't like. Try out different recipes for the same thing and expand your understanding what that particular dish can be.

 

[TheDestructiveSquirrel]

Get a good thermometer so you can check when your food is cooked to the desired temperature

 

[Kraid]

As someone who finds cooking from a video nigh impossible, I think the Basically site from Bon Appetit is really cool.

 

[Rellodex]

FUCK RECIPES FUCK RECIPES FUCK RECIPES

Buy produce, buy protein. Cook it until it doesn't poison you anymore, and then experiment with sauce/seasonings.

After that start checking out recipes.

Buy a non-stick pan or a cast-iron pan. If you have a cast-iron pan look up care tips. Otherwise in both scenarios but enough fat (oil or butter) to make a thin film on the bottom of the pan.

Stir fry, blanch, or boil from there.

Keep experimenting. Nobody can stop you.

 

[chuckddd]

I'll add a vote for Food Wishes/Chef John. His videos are clear and concise. Camera is always on the food, he's entertaining and has lots of simple tips.

That said, I'd start by figuring out what you want to make and then look up some recipes/videos and taking it from there.