How to start cooking?

Question

Hello. I'm a big Disney fan and the reason I say this is because their work really motivates and inspires me a lot.. in fact it's why I chose my trade. So, I finally saw Ratatouille the other day and I loved it. I've never cooked before, but after seeing the movie it looks like it would be fun (and useful) to do.

I'm 23 and still live at home for the moment, but I'd like to start cooking maybe just once a week at first. Even though I've never cooked before and I'm sure my first dish won't be great, I don't really care how it comes out (though I'm sure others would).

I tried looking for the "Gusteau's" cookbook that was used in the movie, but so far it's not a real-world object. I'd like to make French dishes, something that looks and tastes good, and as a bonus something that is also moderately healthy.

I make sandwiches (that really suck) at work because I don't eat fast food, and I'd like to also replace that once I start cooking.

Thanks for your time.

Answer 1

Buy a good basic cook book to get started and once you master a few techniques then the rest is just practice.

I collect cookbooks and currently have over 700. I recommend starting with one of the following:

Joy of Cooking
How to Cook Everything
Fannie Farmer Cookbook
Anything by James Beard or Julia Child (although Julia gets into some advanced cooking techniques)

If I was starting from scratch, I would start with the list above.

Answer 2

Before you jump into making fancy French dishes, you should learn some basics.

Since you live at home, can someone at home start teaching you?

For cookbooks, I'd recommend the Betty Crocker Cookbook or Better Homes and Garden Cookbook. Thumb through cookbooks that have a lot of pictures and basic information.

For a beginner, I would not recommend Joy of Cooking. It's just a book of recipes with no pictures or real explanations. I think people just like the book because it has recipes. The book is way over-rated in my opinion.

If you really want a French cooking cookbook, I'd recommend Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking or any books written by Jacque Pepin.

Answer 3

A good way to start is a basic cooking course. You'll begin under a watchful and helpful eye, and will probably pick up a bagful of good tips and tricks along the way. In many communities agencies like adult schools, Park & Rec, and others offer these courses. If this is not feasible, then you'll just have to dive in feet first.

If you're REALLY interested in cooking you will need two types of books: (1) recipes ("how") and (2) explanations (how come").

Start with some simple recipes. Don't EVER use prepared foods -- liked mixes and boxed, just-add-something junk -- or you'll learn nothing. Think of foods in groups, like vegetables, eggs, meats, poultry, baked goods, fruits, etc., and master one or two recipes in each group. Collect useful kitchen tools along the way -- they'll make your life much easier. And read, read, read -- newspaper food sections, authoritative websites, magazines, and so forth.

As you proceed, you may become curious about why certain things happen or why recipes call for doing certain things or use certain ingredients. Then it's time to delve into "how come" books. Once you begin to understand why things happen you can free yourself from recipes (except when baking), become innovative, and begin to put your own stamp on what you cook.

The recent, fully revised edition of "Joy of Cooking" is an excellent source of many, many recipes, from quite simple to complex, and offers the bonus of many explanations. The most authoritative source for "how come" is "On Food and Cooking." by Harold McGee.

Oh, yes . . . and keep your knives very, very sharp.

Answer 4

Start simple. Suggest you buy the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook - the one that has a red and black checkered cover, in a three ring binder. Ask for it at any bookstore, they'll know the one, it's been around forever. It's inexpensive and gives explains all of the cooking terms, ingredient substitutions etc. It's got some great recipes and is totally appropriate for a beginner to a more experienced cook. Once you get the hang of it, you can move on to more complex cooking methods and recipes. You'll love it, good luck!

Answer 5

hi,in my opinion, start from basic & scratch !

Get a cook book that is simple to understand & read, little ingredients & easy to get ingredients. Do read up before you head on to your cooking adventure.

For eg, learn how to gauge the cooking time, how big should the fire be, how much water/salt/sugar to use/add, what oil is best for frying what, method a or b to cook the dish.

If baking, know the diff types of baking flour/sugar/chocolate/better or magarine,diff method of baking, why is soft / hard. As for desserts, try the no bake or just freeze ingredients that you just pound,chop or mix togrther that are already cooked.(good for last minute & lazy people)

As for your sandwich creation, pile up whatever is in the fridge & add the sauce you like !!

Last but not lest, you have to be imaginative + have a good taste buds :) Cook up a storm !

Good luck !!

Answer 6

You may want to start with something simple and work your way up as your confidence grows. Start cooking spaghetti with meatsauce. All you need is to brown the meat, add tomatoe sauce ans italian spices until it tastes ok to you. Another simple idea is a casserole dish: take pork chops and rub with onion soup mix, prepare a can of mushroom soup from the directions on the laber and put in an ovenprooved pan. Put the porkchops in and peel potatoes and cut them in pieces and put them in the soup with the pork chops. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and put in the oven at 300F for about an hour and a half. Serve with salad.

Answer 7

My suggestion would be to get one of Pierre Franey's cookbooks. He was a classically trained French chef who later went on to write 'The 60 Minute Gourmet' column in the New York Times. His recipes are easy to follow, French inspired and have ingredients that you can easily find in your grocery store.

One of my favorites - that we still use just about every week even though it's almost 20 years old - is 'Cuisine Rapide'. The recipe for chicken with mustard shallot sauce is amazing and really easy.

Here's a link to Amazon with all his books listed:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/002-6142776-2270424?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=pierre+franey

Bon appetit!

Answer 8

Star with something very easy like boxed Mac and Cheese. As long as you follow the directions you should be fine. Try some of Rachael Rays 30 minute meals they are also relatively easy. Any recipe you can find on Foodtv.com has a rating of easy to hard. Find something that is easy and sounds good to you and follow the directions. As long as you follow the directions to a T you should be ok. Good Luck.

Answer 9

Following a recipe it easy. It's the cooking techniques you have to practice. I would start by watching Food Channel.

Answer 10

read, watch, listen joy of cooking, or the new york times by Craig Clayborne are good or find a good chef who is willing to hire you and to teach you which is part of the culinary code work for nothing if you have there are apprentice programs available through the American Culinary Federation