Bangbang
Executive Chef
You came to the right place for help with cooking. Have Fun!
17, male wants to start cooking
- Thread starter Carni
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
kitchenelf
Chef Extraordinaire
Here's something simple - you can make this for Mom and Dad too.
Cooked angel hair pasta.
Take 2 cans of whole tomatoes, drain juice. Put whole tomatoes in a bowl and squish with your hands to break up (watch out or you will end up with tomato juice splattered on your face).
In a skillet (skillet, not a pot as you want a lot of surface space heating to cook off the liquid) put about 3 TBS of olive oil and 2 minced gloves of garlic - let heat but do not let the garlic brown. Once you smell the garlic add the squished tomatoes with the juice that was in that bowl that squished out of them. Add salt (maybe 1/2 tsp - start with 1/4, let it "melt" then taste to see if more is needed) and pepper.
Take some fresh basil leaves and stack them then roll like a cigar. Slice in 1/4" pieces (this is called chiffonade). Add this basil to the sauce and let it keep reducing. Pit some kalamata olives (3 per person) and add at this time also.
Simmer for about 20 minutes or so on medium to reduce the liquid even more.
When sauce has been reduced add angel hair pasta to skillet and incorporate in with sauce.
You can saute some flattened chicken breasts in garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Slice and top the pasta. Top everything with some shredded Parmesan (shredded, not the grated - even the green can comes in shredded so look for that). It's wonderful and simple.
Welcome to DC
Cooked angel hair pasta.
Take 2 cans of whole tomatoes, drain juice. Put whole tomatoes in a bowl and squish with your hands to break up (watch out or you will end up with tomato juice splattered on your face).
In a skillet (skillet, not a pot as you want a lot of surface space heating to cook off the liquid) put about 3 TBS of olive oil and 2 minced gloves of garlic - let heat but do not let the garlic brown. Once you smell the garlic add the squished tomatoes with the juice that was in that bowl that squished out of them. Add salt (maybe 1/2 tsp - start with 1/4, let it "melt" then taste to see if more is needed) and pepper.
Take some fresh basil leaves and stack them then roll like a cigar. Slice in 1/4" pieces (this is called chiffonade). Add this basil to the sauce and let it keep reducing. Pit some kalamata olives (3 per person) and add at this time also.
Simmer for about 20 minutes or so on medium to reduce the liquid even more.
When sauce has been reduced add angel hair pasta to skillet and incorporate in with sauce.
You can saute some flattened chicken breasts in garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Slice and top the pasta. Top everything with some shredded Parmesan (shredded, not the grated - even the green can comes in shredded so look for that). It's wonderful and simple.
Welcome to DC
Last edited:
kitchenelf
Chef Extraordinaire
It's simple and easy pds - you can also saute some shrimp, or just do steamed or grilled veggies with it if anyone doesn't eat meat. It's best with angel hair - forgot to mention that - I guess I'll go back and put that in.
ironchef
Executive Chef
Carni, what's your favorite kind of foods to eat? Try and watch all the different types of cooking shows (hopefully they have one with food you like) and really pay attention to the techniques, more so than the food itself. Watch what the Chef's look for in terms of the doneness of food, how it should look when it's cooked, how to cut certain ingredients. That's how I got started way back when. I would always watch Molto Mario and the Essence of Emerill (back when Emerill actually TAUGHT you how to do stuff). They used to have a lot of shows on Food Network that really taught techniques; Chef du Jour comes to mind especially.
GB
Chief Eating Officer
One other important piece of advice...Don't be scared to mess up. Every single person here has ruined a dish they were making before. You will never learn to cook if you don't screw up a few times. Screwing up just means that you are putting yourself out there and at least trying. Remember you can always order a pizza if you ruin your dinner 
Sometime you will make a mistake, but it will turn out to be a good thing. You just might end up creating a new dish that you would not have though of otherwise.
Sometime you will make a mistake, but it will turn out to be a good thing. You just might end up creating a new dish that you would not have though of otherwise.
Dove
DC Grandma
sandyj.
Love your avaitor.
Dove
Love your avaitor.
Dove
Welcome Carni! You picked a great time to start learning to cook. Not that this is the reason you are learning to cook, but you'll find women LOVE a man who knows his way around a kitchen! Oh, and a little hint...don't EVER let your Mom hear that you don't like her food...you may be forced to cook for yourself! Spend some time in the grilling/BBQ section here. A man who can BBQ never finds himself short of company on the weekends...Good luck!
Little Miss J
Senior Cook
Carni i had a similar problem when i lived at home...now i am living by myself and would love someone to do the cooking again....
i was lucky enough to have a great home economics-hospitality teacher and highschool and despite the sameness of the cooking at home mum always encouraged us kids to cook.
if u do want different things to eat at home start slow - when i was at highschool my dad was a real meat and veg kinda guy never at pasta or rice as he thought it was too "exotic" he will now eat lasagna, carbonara pasta, stir fry, biryani, curry and all sorts of things he'd never eat.
Build up your skills then start cooking things that are a bit different to what your mum cooks. Then before you know your mum will be asking you for recipes and the family will be complaining that mum doesn't cook it like you do!
i was lucky enough to have a great home economics-hospitality teacher and highschool and despite the sameness of the cooking at home mum always encouraged us kids to cook.
if u do want different things to eat at home start slow - when i was at highschool my dad was a real meat and veg kinda guy never at pasta or rice as he thought it was too "exotic" he will now eat lasagna, carbonara pasta, stir fry, biryani, curry and all sorts of things he'd never eat.
Build up your skills then start cooking things that are a bit different to what your mum cooks. Then before you know your mum will be asking you for recipes and the family will be complaining that mum doesn't cook it like you do!
Kabana&Cheese
Assistant Cook
Welcome Carni. I have a 17 year old son, who is going to uni. next year. He has done cooking at school, I had forgotten that. This week I had to decided whether to put him down for a catered residential college for next year, ie February or self-cater! At the moment he does pancakes. I was thinking of broadening that to crepes but haven't helped with that yet.
Roulade has eggs and mushrooms, so does the crepes.
What country are you in? Biscuit mix is a bit of a mystery to non Americans. I did alter a scone mix as a substitute the other day.
My tuna salad is nicoise, I love it.
Roulade has eggs and mushrooms, so does the crepes.
What country are you in? Biscuit mix is a bit of a mystery to non Americans. I did alter a scone mix as a substitute the other day.
My tuna salad is nicoise, I love it.
Similar threads
