| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 7/12/2008 9:49:28 AM | If I use wine in cooking, is the remaining substance truly non-alcoholic? Or is it just MOSTLY gone?
Depending on the cooking method, anywhere from 5% to 85% alcohol will be retained.
A study conducted by the US Department of Agriculture’s Nutrient Data Laboratory calculated the percentage of alcohol remaining in a dish based on various cooking methods. The results are as follows:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/AlcoholCooking.htm | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 7/12/2008 12:27:57 PM | AK, good question!  I think it's practice. My mom thought me well, but I can't seem to know how to bake! But I can cook anything else. Isn't that something? 
Cheers!  | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 7/12/2008 6:25:17 PM |
Depending on the cooking method, anywhere from 5% to 85% alcohol will be retained. A study conducted by the US Department of Agriculture’s Nutrient Data Laboratory calculated the percentage of alcohol remaining in a dish based on various cooking methods. The results are as follows:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/AlcoholCooking.htm
VERY useful site. Thanks for that. Though there appears to be some conflict there--probably because I am not a chemist and might not understand what was written--it also appears that a whole lot of alcohol is retained in most of what I cook. Guess I will tell her. | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 7/13/2008 12:24:03 PM | For me, becoming a better cook is a combination of the following:
-learning very simple recipes with few ingredients and then adding or changing small parts of them each time I make them
-learning from complete and utter FAILURE (whenever I try to make something new, I buy enough ingredients to make it twice, because typically, I will murder it the first time.)
-use timers (I have 3 different ones)
-if someone makes something you like, get the recipe for it
-cook on an almost daily basis
-stubborn persistence
-creatively finding ways to eat leftovers
-share food with others
There is no such thing as a cooking gene. If you put in enough practice, it is a self-full-filling (pun INTENDED) prophecy. The feeling you get when you FINALLY bite into a dish you've ruined 3 times before, but is now mouth-wateringly perfect is almost orgasmic.
Anyway, that's how I became a better cook. | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 7/13/2008 2:39:09 PM | So, I just read this post about pans or pots "On the question of which pans" (sorry, I haven't learned how to make it show up in the cool yellow box.)
This is probably COMPLETELY off topic, but, my favorite pan is my 12 year old cast-iron skillet. I have cooked all kinds of things in it and have never had a problem with sticking or hot spots. I even bake stuff in it.
If I ever wake up in the middle of the night and my house is on fire, I'm going to open the door so my bulldawg can meet me outside, then I'm going to the kitchen to grab my cast-iron pan. | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 7/13/2008 3:18:32 PM | Ooh getting in on this late. FWIW, I missed the first 5 pages or so...
Pans - sometimes you WANT stuff to stick a little bit in a stainless steel pan (e.g. a steak), then you can deglaze the pan and make a sauce.
I agree with practice. Just practice and don't be afraid to mess up. Read some stuff, try it, mess it up, try again etc. If you mess up... then you know what not to do next time.
Alcohol: not ENTIRELY true. It depends on what else is in there to begin with. E.g. if add wine to a stew there'll be much more leftover alcohol than if you add wine to a saute and cook till it's dry-ish. Also though, for religious purposes, it may not be the alcohol LEFT OVER, but the fact that it's PROCESSED with alcohol that matters. If the latter, it doesn't matter what's left over.
Whenever I try something new out of a cookbook/recipe, I try to follow things exactly as possible. Then, I look at what I got and adjust next time. IMO a recipe is stated the way it is because it works.... no point messing with it until I know what comes out of it. | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 7/13/2008 3:24:51 PM | Buy Taste of home magazines read them ,try them, find a couple of suckers who'l eat it then go for it. I took alot of different foods to work & asked for honest opinions. Go from there. Most cooking shows go too fast. Reading a recipe is alot like putting together a model, & I don't mean a female model. | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 7/13/2008 3:56:33 PM | I think that all you have to do to be a better cook is to read and apply all of the above responses and you will be a much better cook! Bravo
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 7/13/2008 4:13:20 PM | "But it's the "don't mess them up" part that's the hard part, isn't it? "
Nah, just cook at the lowest temp possible and keep and eye on it. As long as you are watching it you won't burn it.
Try this. Take a two inch thick filet. I like to cook mine at about 400. Same grill.Cook five minutes on each side. Cut it open and check how done it is.
Another two and a half minutes per side. Cut and check.
And another two and a half per side -- cut and check. Figure out how long you have to cook at your temperature to achieve your desired "how do you like your steaks done."
I always cook a two inch filet. Universal, takes the guess work out.
Breakfast for Sunday am. Sat night whisk three eggs, add a can of evaporated milk, a cup of sugar, two tbs of vanilla. Whip some more. Cut 4 to 6 slices of bread in two, soak the bread in the mixture all night. In the morning fry. Sprinkle cinnamon and or nutmeg. To step it up, fry in butter, slice several bananas and fry on the same grill. I like cinnamon on mine. Cream creole cheese completes the deal, but that's old New Orleans and practically non - existent after Katrina. Champagne and chicory coffee and you are in the French Quarter eating Pan Perdue (not sure of the spelling, but I think that is French for lost bread)
Nice ingredients, cook slowly and you won't mess them up. Let me know if you try any. Creole cuisine calls for real butter. The fake stuff just doesn't get close enough. | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 7/13/2008 4:13:42 PM | Don't make the mistake of thinking that people who cook are somehow gifted. Cooking is a skill that can be learnt by anyone. Try very simple things and then slightly more difficult stuff. If something is not as nice as you think try varying it next time. Cook it more slowly or quicker....
Either way, try a straightforward dish and build your own knowledge and confidence up. Don't try sauces too much at first, though I do a great creamy pepper sauce to go with steak...
Watch cookery programmes which make the sort of food you like.
Try starting with a roast chicken. Season it with salt and pepper, rub some butter over it if you like. Remove the giblets and any string around the legs and cook it upside down so all the juices go into the breast. A 4lb chicken will take about 2.5 hrs or less. Keep checking it after 2 hrs by poking a skewer into the thigh of the chicken.
Boil some nice new potatoes and buy a packet of salad and you have a lovely meal. The left over chicken is great for salads, sandwiches and all sorts of other dishes. You can even make a chicken and sweetcorn soup.
The secret of succcessful cooking is to try to improve each time you do something and not to be put off by mistakes.
Happy cooking! | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 7/13/2008 5:24:14 PM | | In my experience, the best way to learn to cook is to cook. I did have the advantage of learning lots of techniques when I was younger from my grandfather, grandmother, and dad. And I've watched a lot of cooking shows over the years (America's Test Kitchen (PBS) is probably the best for learning). But basically I see cooking as a creative art. Try something. If it works, build on it. If not, try something else. Just keep at it. And always taste as you go. | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 7/13/2008 9:17:03 PM | | My best advice is to always follow the recipe exactly. Use the best and freshest ingredients. Do not substitute ingredients or omit any, until you really know what you are doing. | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 8/26/2008 5:26:28 PM | | Just go with your gut feeling. If you feel that the chicken would taste better with teriyaki sauce, then pour some on! If it sticks to the pan, add a tiny bit of water....yum....what flavor that present! Try a few different spices to kick it up . Just keep experimenting and you'll eventually get it right. Bon appetit! | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 8/26/2008 5:45:42 PM | My mother never taught me to cook and I get depressed watching cooking shows because those folks were obviously born with a major cooking gene. - AK Transplant
Actually, while talented, many of those cooks were people just like you once upon a time. I don't think great cooking
is entirely genetic (sorry, Grandma!)
There are so many ways to learn. *Tee* (post #2) is right about allrecipes, their site has lots of delicious, easy-to-
make recipes. If you have some local single friends, have a potluck, where everybody brings "their" dish. Almost
everyone has a flavorite one dish they are uniquely awesome at. You can try some new things & exchange
recipes with your friends.
Another possibility is to as a friend who is a good cook (your sister, your mom, anyone really) to help you learn. And
yeah, I collect cookbooks, too. Plus I have dozens of online recipe sites & hundreds/maybe even thousands of recipes
on my computer!
Right now I am digging for a fudge recipe that calls for "sweetened consdensed milk" & cocoa. My sweet tooth is calling!  | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 8/26/2008 5:57:03 PM | | This is easy. Its like a girl giving you a BJ. She has to LOVE it. And then you get all the sauce you want. Please please, i dont care what you think. | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 8/26/2008 6:15:45 PM | Well, All the people i know who can't cook, are the same ones who don't like to do dishes and clean the kitchen, so unless you're ready to learn how to clean it up, don't learn to cook it | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 8/28/2008 12:18:31 PM | | try things. keep what works trash what doesn't. Also the internet is a great resource for recipes. I made a kick a$% crab dip for my new years party last year. I found the recipe online then changed it according to my taste. Their was none left after about an hour and a half. Don't be afraid to ask friends that cook either. | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 8/28/2008 1:13:21 PM | Trust "America's Test Kitchen."
Their big cookbook is on sale every holiday season at Sam's Club and Costco for about $18.
Total Cooking for dummies. Measuring, carving, it demystifies everything.
And they have a TV show and a website.
That will get you started.
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 8/28/2008 2:17:25 PM | hey...im a woman and i dont know how to put meals together. and my mommas the worlds best cook and she just dont get it.
But i used to love to cook so it isnt that. But after living in years of abuse and getting food slammed in your face and down your throat and hot liquids poured over your skull, well ...i think it kinda just takes its toll on you, you know/
so whats to cook for?
i lost all desire of cookin. i have no desire or whim to put a meal together and no man to do it for, so what the hey? my kids are satisfied with nuked meals althoough we make brownies and cakes and rolls etc all the time. Cookin just aint my cup o tea.
i have every thing in the world in my kitchen too, My momma sees to that!! but ...what do you do? Like the song says, I CANT MAKE YOU LOVE ME, you cant make a person love what he dont! | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 8/28/2008 4:27:22 PM | I could suggest a couple books.....
Professional Cooking
Advanced Professional Cooking
A food Lovers guide
A wine lovers guide
Any questions any one has one methods, sauces so on I am attending Le Cordon Bleu- Miami so I can help out.
As I read in a previous post you have to want to be better.. and in the words of my mentor and current teacher "PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE and when you think you have it YOUR WRONG!!!PRACTICE TIL IT IS SECOND NATURE!!!!" Chef Cohen lol
If you have again any questions please e-mail....  | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 8/29/2008 7:39:10 PM | one could also ask...how does one become a better lover....?
hmmmmmm practice
practice
and more practice
and it helps immensely when you enjoy it...cooking I mean...or is that sex?
actually that really goes for both...
Seriously though, I have had a cookbook for years that I begged my mom for...I treasure it for the simple fact that 1. Its was my moms and, 2. everything I have made from it, is consistently great, whether I follow the recipe exact or imrovise..."The New York Times Cookbook"...it will always be a part of my kitchen book collection. | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 8/30/2008 1:19:22 AM | well, i was never taught to cook by my mum... plus she was a pretty awful cook. however, i did go to boarding school, and kinda taught myself how to cook since the meals werent exactly that great.... (if i ever see raisins, apples and pineapple in a curry again, i will have to kill someone)
and now, i'm a chef.... were you any good at chemistry when you were younger?
its kinda like a cross between that and art i guess i would say, cooking is both an art and a science.
remember to season your food
the 3 most important things are sugar, salt and pepper, taste, season till its right, taste some more.
but if you're cooking for people, i find its better to leave it a little blander than you'd like, and then let them add their own salt and pepper, due to everyones different personal tastes.
and have fun practicing
remember, even if you fubar it, it can usually be salvaged somehow (unless its a mass of carbon on a plate) you might sometimes have to think a bit outside the box though. chef friend of mine once even managed to make a salmon carrot cake. that actually tasted decent. :P | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 8/30/2008 8:39:56 AM | AK it takes alot of practice. My mother was a terrible cook who only made dinner because she had to. If she could fit it under the griller that was dinner.........lol.
I know what you mean about "those cooking shows". I used to feel so intimidated by the cooks on them - it can have the opposite effect and be quite depressing, you are right about that!!
Once I was married I decided to start trying out some new things, mainly because I was bored with eating the same things over again. It just takes a lot of practice and realising that some things are not that difficult if you put your mind to it. | |
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| How does one become a better cook?
Posted: 8/31/2008 8:57:01 AM | Keep the suggestions coming! I still have so much to learn and I do thank all of you for your suggestions. It keeps me motivated and quite frankly, I can't believe this forum has gone on for SEVEN PAGES! When I asked the question originally, I hoped it would go one page.
Who knew! | |
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