TO THOSE WHO LOVE TO COOK: I’m interested in learning how to cook, but have no idea where to begin.?

Question

I bought a cookbook, tried a few recipes online, but I haven’t yet been able to get into it because I often have to buy ingredients I have never heard of before, and frankly, have never seen. The preparation time can be crazy!!! On top of all that, my Filipino family has always cooked basic Filipino food, so my wanting to cook is hindered by the fact that the only ingredients available to me are those that my parents are familiar with. Very discouraging for an aspiring cook. For now, all I really want to do is learn the basics to different styles of cooking. I don’t know if that makes any sense. I want to be able to prepare different meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I want to be able to learn recipes that I can use in everyday life. Filipino recipes are more than welcome!!! : )
Fast and easy recipes with cuisine-like results would be great! Is this really possible or just wishful thinking?

Answer 1

Hi. I knew very little about cooking when I got married 32 years ago. My mother wasn't into cooking, so I had to teach myself. I tell everyone who is learning to cook and bake to go to ...www.tasteofhome.com and subscribe to the magazine after checking our the site. They have great, easy, recipes using ordinary items that you probably have right at home.
I started using these magazines about 8 years ago, and I went from so-so cook to a great cook. I volunteer to cook every chance I get. Now, I love cooking and baking. I get compliments all the time. Keep trying, you'll make mistakes, but that's how you'll learn. Good luck, and happy cooking!

Answer 2

Anybody can learn how to cook. Start off with really simple recipes using only very few familiar ingredients. Look for recipes online, or browse the cookbook section of a bookstore. Some recipes will even tell you the preparation time. There are even cookbooks for children which have simple and easy recipes. A cookbook like "The Joy of Cooking" will tell you about the different ingredients, spices, sauces, etc. With practice you will learn to substitute different ingredients, or vary them to your own taste. Don't try to be too fancy at first, and don't get discouraged if something does not turn out great, just try again or try something else.

Answer 3

It depends - do you want to learn how to REALLY cook or just half *** it like Rachael Ray or some of these other terrible celeb food personalities? If you want to truly learn some basic skills and then work your way to being really great at it, you can take some culinary classes taught by actual chefs. Culinary schools, restaurants, even technical colleges offer courses. Also, if you live near a Williams Sonoma store, you can take classes there. Other than that, read up as much as possible about cuisine and how food reacts to different methods of cooking, etc. Filipino and other Southeast Asian cuisine is excellent, and you may want to use your parents' knowledge as a base and then expand to other cuisines. I would highly recommend French cuisine. It is the foundation for any professional chef. French technique is the standard.
Above all else, cooking is an art and you should approach it with creativity and pleasure, not like a chemistry class.

Answer 4

Subscribe to Taste Of Home magazine or sign up on line at http://www.tasteofhome.com/

They have recipes using ingredients that you have in your cupboard or can find in the store fairly easily. Nothing fancy, just simple, proven recipes.

My husband and kids go through the magazine like the JC Penney Christmas catalog. Making X's on every recipe they want me to do.

Answer 5

There's two basic approaches;-} pay money & take classes,
or experiment.
Collect cook books & recipes. But don't worry about precision.
Precision only counts in baking & pastry.
Learn basic techniques: saute, cream sauce, making stock, etc.
Different cultures have different methods you can study:
Chinese stir-fry, Italian pasta, Indian curry, are examples.

Answer 6

Well welcome to cooking. first i would go and see if there are any places were you could take a cooking class. also look online and try to find different recipes that you never would think of doing. try different things like fish, beef, chicken. you could also look at WWW.Cooks.com it's a great website to find different food. i have a few recipes up there myslef. try them out and hope you stick too it.

Answer 7

.Hit the garage sales and/or the Good Will store!! Watch for all the old Cook books from school groups - cub scouts- community groups. Those will have simple and varied recipes

Answer 8

ohkay if you want to learn to cook, you've got to start small. begin with small appetizers like baked potato with cheese, butter and crumbled bacon and slowly work your way up.

btw dried chili peppers [the ones they give for free at pizza hut] are good with macaroni and cheese. (:

just add random things onto food and make it look fancy.

for breakfast, you can try making french toast. go to this website it has a cool a s s video teaching you how! [x

http://www.ehow.com/how_13820_make-french-toast.html

hell yeah.

Answer 9

OK, I'll admit it, I didn't read all that stuff, just the boldface.

Watch FOOD Network, esp. How to Boil Water, Rachael Ray, and Paula Dean.

Get w/ people (neighbors, friends, coworkers) who like to cook and know how to do it.

Take a cookign class at a local gourmet grocery store or kitchenware store, even at a library or local college.

Answer 10

try Foodnetwork.com to start out and find the recipes that interest you