HELP - Inexperienced, need advice!

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SteveDE

Assistant Cook
Joined
Apr 23, 2013
Messages
4
Location
Bridgend, South Wales UK
Hi everyone.

I am embarking on a task to take myself from complete newbie in the kitchen to becoming a confident and decent cook.

As I'm guessing there are ALOT of people on here who are pretty confident of their ability and maybe some others that are just starting off too, I was wondering if anyone had any advice for someone that classes themselves as a terrible cook right now?

Any steps I should follow? Where should I start?

It's quite daunting at the moment.

Thanks :)
 
Joining Discuss Cooking is a good start. :cool: Next, get some basic cookbooks (you can even find them at the library and at used book stores. There are some cooking shows on TV that are helpful to see various techniques being used. You will want to begin with simple recipes that have few ingredients. You can find many, many, many recipes online through a simple search.

What are some dishes you especially like? Many DC members will be able to help you learn to make them and others.

Welcome to DC!
 
Joining Discuss Cooking is a good start. :cool: Next, get some basic cookbooks (you can even find them at the library and at used book stores. There are some cooking shows on TV that are helpful to see various techniques being used. You will want to begin with simple recipes that have few ingredients. You can find many, many, many recipes online through a simple search.

What are some dishes you especially like? Many DC members will be able to help you learn to make them and others.

Welcome to DC!


Thank you Barbara.

Some great tips and I will taken them on board. I am planning to go hunting this weekend around book shops etc to pick up as many as I can. I do tend to watch ALOT of cookery programmes but I feel they are too advanced for me and although I always feel motivated by them, I haven't the skills to recreate what they're cooking.

I love Italian food, Chinese food, I love a good roast too (who doesn't huh) but all these are way out of my reach at the moment. I make a hash of everything so I think you're right, aim lower to start and then work my way up?
 
You are on the right path. D.C. is a great resource and, in my experience, the good folks here are always glad to offer advice and suggestions. All you have to do is ask.
Welcome to D.C.!
 
Thank you Barbara.

Some great tips and I will taken them on board. I am planning to go hunting this weekend around book shops etc to pick up as many as I can. I do tend to watch ALOT of cookery programmes but I feel they are too advanced for me and although I always feel motivated by them, I haven't the skills to recreate what they're cooking.

I love Italian food, Chinese food, I love a good roast too (who doesn't huh) but all these are way out of my reach at the moment. I make a hash of everything so I think you're right, aim lower to start and then work my way up?
I agree that most of them are pretty advanced, but there are some that show some basic techniques. You just have to look around for them. :cool: Some of the advanced ones show some techniques that you could try. Just don't try to do everything on the show. I have picked up some individual techniques and tips from some shows, even though I could never even attempt to make the meal they are featuring. :chef:
 
Hi, Steve. Welcome to DC :)

I'd say, first, make sure you have a couple of good knives and learn how to keep them sharp. An 8- or 10-inch chef's knife, a paring knife and a serrated bread knife are the basics. Then start learning the basic knife cuts on foods - slicing, dicing, julienne, etc.

Here's a site that has lessons on basic cooking skills: Culinary Arts Basics: The Fundamentals of Cooking

If you want to see a certain skill demonstrated, search for it on YouTube. There are lots of chefs who have posted videos that are easy to follow. And ask lots of questions :) Good luck.
 
One thing that will help is to find a cook book that has definitions in it. You need to understand the language of cooking to decipher a recipe. Knowing the difference in sweating or saute and cubed, minced diced chopped etc. is always helpful. Learning that will help you choose recipes to get you started.
 
Welcome, again, to DC.

In my estimation you have become a part of one of the most helpful cooking resources on the Internet.

I, too, recommend viewing cooking programs...but for the simple reason of seeing (learning) how flavors work together and to see some of the different cooking techniques.

If you can see any of the Alton Brown shows, you'll get a very good education. He is an excellent teacher and is exceptionally good at explaining the "why" of cooking procedures, etc.

And, don't be afraid to try things you think are a bit out of your range. You may discover that you are more skilled than you thought.

Now, I'm going to share some advice that Julia Child offered, plus one suggestion at the end that is mine. You might want to cut it out and post it on your refrigerator when you need a boost.

1. Not reading the recipe carefully. (Read from start to finish before beginning.)

2. Not getting out all the ingredients before starting. (This will prevent getting halfway through a recipe before realizing you don’t have a necessary ingredient. However, following suggestion “1” above should prevent it, too.)

3. Fear of failure. So what if you have a “flop?” Learn from your mistake(s) and try again. There are no mistakes, just lessons.

4. Not really following directions. For example, properly measuring flour.

5. Taking cooking too seriously, not having fun doing it. It is fun.

6. Not reading, really reading, the recipe – all the steps – and visualizing the process before getting started.

7. Finally, my suggestion, being in a hurry. Take your time to do it right. By following step “6,” you should be able to form some idea of the time needed to prepare your selected recipe.

One thing to remember, too, is that the worst thing that can happen when you've had a cooking failure is that you might have to order pizza delivery for dinner.:LOL::LOL:

It's not a world crisis when you've flubbed.
 
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welcome to dc, sd!:) lots of good ideas and suggestions here for you already. just thought i'd mention a cooking experience that gave a real boost to my confidence early on in my cooking life. i was a newlywed and very new and inexperienced to cooking. my inlaws were invited to dinner, and i was an emotional wreck. just blind luck, i happened upon a rather simple recipe for chicken thighs w/thyme and heavy cream. it had relatively few ingredients, with seemingly easy-to-follow instructions. fast forward--the dish was absolutely divine, served over wild rice! and i received heaps of compliments from everyone, and an instant, as yet undeserved respect for my perceived cooking abilities.:)
from this experience i learned to step out of comfort zone with cooking more easily. i was able to make and accept my mistakes along the way, with the certain knowledge and expectation of more huge culinary rewards ever within my reach and grasp....
 
Welcome Steve! What DC has here are some of the most knowledgeable and skilled home and pro chefs on the web. And then there's me. :LOL:

What^ Katie H and vitauta^ said. I've been cooking for decades and I still measure and line up all my ingredients before starting when it's critical to the outcome - that's what making pumpkin pies for the entire family does to you when you forget the sugar. So what did we do that Thanksgiving? Just put a lot more whipped cream on top and it was fine. Cooking is like American football - when you have to, just punt.

Even though I've been cooking a long time and feel fairly comfortable with my skills I still find many cooking shows a bit daunting. When I watch I feel like I should be making the dish right along and in the same time span that they do it on TV. If you want to cook along I suggest you either find a particular dish in an online video or get a cooking disc from your local library so that you can pause the play while you cook along.

Like some others said, when all else fails get take-out. ;) And, like Katie H., my Julia Child quote is another good motto to cook by.
 
Welcome Steve! What DC has here are some of the most knowledgeable and skilled home and pro chefs on the web. And then there's me. :LOL:

What^ Katie H and vitauta^ said. I've been cooking for decades and I still measure and line up all my ingredients before starting when it's critical to the outcome - that's what making pumpkin pies for the entire family does to you when you forget the sugar. So what did we do that Thanksgiving? Just put a lot more whipped cream on top and it was fine. Cooking is like American football - when you have to, just punt.

Even though I've been cooking a long time and feel fairly comfortable with my skills I still find many cooking shows a bit daunting. When I watch I feel like I should be making the dish right along and in the same time span that they do it on TV. If you want to cook along I suggest you either find a particular dish in an online video or get a cooking disc from your local library so that you can pause the play while you cook along.

Like some others said, when all else fails get take-out. ;) And, like Katie H., my Julia Child quote is another good motto to cook by.

There's a lady on YouTube that has videos from beginner level to advanced. The name if her channel is Noreen's Kitchen. I have a lot of respect for her abilities. Give her a try and see if you like her.
 
For what it's worth my own .2

1.) Never ask your MIL for a recipe.

2.) cookbooks with good illustrations. Definitions. Read them at your leisure. Not when your rushed to impress someone unexpectedly.

3.) last, but not least the best one I've ever learned. Still live by it day to day. Be a prepared loser. If all else fails you can at least laugh at the whole experience. :ROFLMAO:

Good luck!

Were open 24/7 around here. Yell if you need help.

Munky.
 
I watched this because fairy girl had mentioned her, and you had said that you wanted to make a roast. If you have a crock pot, this may be a first meal to try. I think it should be something you should be able to pull off. It actually looks really good to me. :)
 
Welcome to DC - I find reading a good cookbook helps. Familiarizing yourself with cooking terms and methods and what spices combine well are a good way to start. I find The Joy of Cooking and "encyclopedia" type cookbooks are best for learning. Then start with simple recipes and work your way up to Top Chef type stuff. Starting with a really complicated recipe can lead to disappointment and dampen the desire to want to cook. Good luck. It's a life-long learning experience.
 
Steve, several people have mentioned getting good books and you said you were going cookbook hunting soon. I have another one to suggest, "The Wise Encyclopedia of Cooking". It has been around for ages, bought for me by Himself when we were first married because his Mom had a copy. jabbur said one with definitions is helpful. This book is mostly definitions, LOTS of them, but it does have some easy to follow recipes. All these decades later I still find myself pulling it off the shelf to check something.
 
For what it's worth my own .2

1.) Never ask your MIL for a recipe...

Not always the case. I have a spaghetti sauce recipe I got from Mom-in-law that would make you swoon! And if my son ever gets married (don't hold your breath :) ) my DIL should be able to make the same claim. Of course, over the years I've tweaked it so that it's yummier than the original version.
 
Steve, several people have mentioned getting good books and you said you were going cookbook hunting soon. I have another one to suggest, "The Wise Encyclopedia of Cooking". It has been around for ages, bought for me by Himself when we were first married because his Mom had a copy. jabbur said one with definitions is helpful. This book is mostly definitions, LOTS of them, but it does have some easy to follow recipes. All these decades later I still find myself pulling it off the shelf to check something.

Gee I love to read cookbooks. I'll have to find this one.
 
In the beginning, it's really a lost of small steps, small chunks of knowledge. At first, you'll be put off by terms you're not sure of in cookbooks or by the complexity of some recipes. But still read them for inspiration. As you pick up techniques, they will become reliable guides. And one day in the future, if you've worked at it, the cookbooks are back to being inspiration, something that gives you ideas when you no longer need the directions.

Watch the cooking shows for inspiration too, and to see what's possible. Some, like the Cook's Country programs, are better are explaining basics, explaining why it's done in some particular way. You learn the basics by taking on basic recipes. Maybe you braise some beef tips. The critical knowledge is that, to brown meat, you drop it in a hot pan and leave it strictly alone until it releases by itself. Then you know that, and it's one of the most important things to know. And you're ready to take on a more elaborate recipe based on the same skill, maybe adding a new one, like how to thicken pan juices as a gravy.

And yes. Be prepared to fail sometimes. But if your mashed potatoes turned out to be a glue-like disaster, you're moved to look into why it happened, and you maybe learn some valuable facts about how to stabilize potato starch cells and how not to mash them, and you never make bad mashed potatoes again.

At some point, you'll kind of settle on what level of cooking practice you want to achieve. Good, basic cook is just fine. The good, basic cook knows a good range of dishes with some simple variations and can crank them out over and over, and they turn out good every time. There are cooks who can tackle any recipe but who need to be started off with an idea, and there are cooks who can open any random pantry and produce a good meal from whatever is in there, no matter if they've made that combination before or not. And there are cooks who can tell you what's happening at the molecular level with any food or technique. You don't have to be any one sort. All that matters is if you serve good food and that you enjoy producing it.

But no latter what, the way you keep moving ahead is to always seek to learn something. If you don't know a term or realize you don't really know what it means in actual technique, you go to YouTube of a techniques book and find out.
 
I watched this because fairy girl had mentioned her, and you had said that you wanted to make a roast. If you have a crock pot, this may be a first meal to try. I think it should be something you should be able to pull off. It actually looks really good to me. :)

I just realized that I forgot to put the link on here.

YouTube
 
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