not a good cook & really wanting to learn?

Question

My bf takes the mick out of my cooking, I am not a terrible cook but iam on the look out for a recipe i can do for him that will make him amazed (he is a really good cook himself so the pressure is on for me) can anybody help me?

Answer 1

There are many easy-step cookbooks, get one and practise! Some meals will turn out great while others may not. The more you do it, the better you will get. It also helps to have someone help you with some dishes, atleast the first time. Cooking shows are really great also, because you can see it get prepared, visiuals are always good. I would recommend taping a show to watch first and the try it later or getting cooking video. If you have the time you can also take a class. Good luck and don't get discourage if some things don't turn out right the first time.

Answer 2

(-: Thems that cans, does. Let *him* do the cooking if he's going to complain about it!

But, if you really want to impress, the trick is to cook, cook, cook. Follow the recipe exactly the first time. As you get better, you can experiment. Borrow some cooking magazines from the library.

Presentation is really important, too. You should have at least three colors on your plate. The veggies should be cut nicely, the meat (if used) should be a lovely, appetizing color, and any sauces should look complementary.

OK, so, that said, here's a lovely meal anyone can put together.

Japanese salmon in foil

Take a piece of tin foil, and grease it a little with olive oil. Put a salmon slice on it, some mushrooms and thinly sliced carrots. Put 1 teaspoon of sake on it. Wrap it up, and put it in a 200C/400F oven for 10 minutes.

Fennel Waldorf

Take a fennel bulb, and trim the stems. Slice VERY thinly (try a mandolin). Dice some apple, and mix the fennel and apple with walnuts and a little mayonnaise.

Serve with a nice, crusty bakery bread (whole wheat would be healthy and lovely) and REAL butter.

(-: Kisses for dessert. And if he's still complaining, dump the jerk. He doesn't know a good thing when he's got it.

Answer 3

When I moved out of the house, my Mom gave me my first cookbook. It was "The Culinary Arts Institute's Encyclopedic Cookbook." It is actually a chef school textbook. The cookbook has really good recipes and shows you how to make them. When my book fell to pieces, my husband bought a replacement for me because he uses it too.

I would also watch the cooking channel to see how the professional chefs do things. If you like what they're making on the show, most of the time you can go to their websites and download the recipe. You've just watched how to prepare the meal, now you can have the recipe and do it at home to amaze your boyfriend :)

Good luck and have fun cooking!

Answer 4

My recipe that never fails to impress is deep fired brie cheese. It is delicious and looks so professional but takes minutes to do.

All you need is:

Brie cheese (if you are just doing it for the 2 of you then just buy 1 wedge and cut it in half so you have 2 fairly thin triangles as it is VERY filling)
Bread crumbs, enough to coat the cheese
1 x egg (beaten)
and flour (either cake or self raising will do)

First coat the cheese in flour. Not too much but enough to thinly coat it.
Next brush the beaten egg over the cheese so that the flour and egg mix to form a sort of glue.
Then place the cheese in a bowl of bread crumbs and cover cover it until you can no longer see the cheese inside the lovely layers.

Finally, place the cheese into the preheated deep fat fryer for about 3-5 mins or until golden brown.
Do not leave it in for too long- so keep an eye on it as if it gets too hot the cheese will ooze out but when the breadcrumbs turn a lovely gold colour, you will know they are done.

Serve immediately with cranberry sauce.

Answer 5

My husband also can't cook worth a darn, but one day he whipped this up (it is simple to make!) and I was very impressed!!

Basic Hummus

This basic hummus recipe calls for using canned garbanzo beans. I've made hummus using dried beans, soaking them, cooking them, etc. but the results just weren't as good. The canned beans actually mash up pretty well.

4 garlic cloves, minced and then mashed
2 15-oz cans of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
2/3 cup of tahini- sesame paste (roasted is best, not raw, but either one works. If you can't get tahini, use almond butter.)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Pine nuts or walnuts (toasted is nice, but untoasted will do too)

3 large Diced tomatoes and parsley (chopped) for garnish

In a food processor, combine the mashed garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, 1/2 cup water, and olive oil. Process until smooth. Add salt, starting at a half a teaspoon, to taste.

Spoon into serving dish and sprinkle with toasted nuts, diced tomatoes, and chopped parsley.

Serve with pita bread, which you can buy in most larger grocery stores. You can cut the pita bread into thin triangles, brush with olive oil and toast for 10 minutes in a 400°F oven to make pita chips with which to serve the hummus.

If you can't find pita bread, this is also great on Triscuits or tortillas!! :)

Makes about 3 cups.

Answer 6

Don't panic
take some chops and fry off quick in a frying pan to seal them

1 add to a casserole dish with a little water to create a steam effect.

2 chopp some carrots, onion then add to the Casserole

3 make a gravy and add one dessert spoonful of Tomato Ketchup mix in well then add to the casserole.

4 cook gently for approx 1 hour and serve with either potatoes and mixed veg or chips and veg

Good luck

Answer 7

There are several good cookbooks on the market. Go to a good bookstore and browse for ones that have good recipes that don't take a long time to fix. You can do some experimenting with the spices and maybe change the sauces or gravies used as a condiment.

Answer 8

To be a really good cook takes practice. It doesn't mean that you will spend five years being a bad cook and then magically being a good cook, it means that over five years you will become a *PROGRESSIVELY BETTER COOK*.

Don't look for magic recipes. And, if you don't mind my saying, if your boyfriend is very critical of your attempts to cook, maybe you might need another boyfriend. If you think he's gently chiding you, then ask him to teach you how to cook..

Answer 9

cook something simple, like this one

'Best' Baked Beef

Ingredients
2 kg roasting beef (ask your butcher)
1/4 cup oil (preferably light olive oil)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh chopped tarragon
1 1/2 cups red wine
1/3 cup onion, diced
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced

Instructions
Rub the beef with half the oil and all the red pepper flakes.
Place meat in a large bowl.
In a medium saucepan, bring 1/2 cup water to a boil, add the remaining oil and the butter.
When melted, remove from heat.
Add vinegar, tarragon, wine, onion, Worcestershire sauce, and minced garlic.
Pour over meat.
Refrigerate, uncovered, for up to 2 days, turning the meat frequently.
Preheat oven to 180 - 200 degrees and bake the meat for 1 1/2 hours, turning three or for times.
Remove from the oven and let the meat stand 15 minutes before serving.

it simple and easy

Answer 10

relax and have fun cooking....if you dont want to spend money on a cookbook you could always go to the library and browse their cookbooks ....they have tons....find a few you like and come home and just have fun....keep it simple and before you know it it will just come natural...

as far as a recipe....i would probably just make something simple and filling....a comfort food...

try roast and veggies in a crockpot

take a beef roast salt,pepper and flour it....brown in pan with just a little oil (i use canola but vegetable or olive oil will work too)... in a crockpot add one can of beef stock........one can cream mushroom soup and one envelope of liptons onion soup mix add browned roast to crockpot and let cook on high a few hrs....then add a bag of prewash ready to eat carrots some quartered potatoes (i like red potatoes w/ the skins)cook few more hours (i start out on high until veggies get going then i cut it on low....i usually start it in the morning and let it cook all day long.......serve fresh rolls....you can get some great ones in the freezer section....you can even find some great desserts in the freezer section if you wanted to have that to boot....most importantly ....have fun!