Any cooks/chefs/kitchen warriors out there?

S

stilez

New member
Now that I've graduated college, my life has slown down a bit and I have some more time for areas of interest.



Other than detailing, photography, pets, and a couple other interests, I wanted to get into cooking/grilling.



In the past couple of weeks, I have found myself clipping out recipes from different magazines, emails, and TV ads. Things are going well, but they can always go better.



So, seasoned cooks, chefs, and kitchen warriors:



-Where did you start?

-Any good books/magazines/websites that you recommend?

-Any key tips?





Thanks in advance!
 
Just know what you like and then mix it up form there..



I'm an ace with mexican/chili stuff like that.. nice and hot..



although i would like to get more in to the asain style I need a good Wok and a nice gas burner you have to keep the heat high even for that.



I find most of the hard stuff is matching the drinks to the food. If you can find a good wine to go along with the meal it will make the food taste even better..
 
Don't go cheap with your kitchen knives. Stick with the quality brands like Wusthof and Global and they should last you a lifetime. Also, invest in a couple of good wooden cutting boards(butcher block style) and plastic ones. It's nice to have dedicated cutting boards for different jobs and meats. A good plastic one is great for working with chicken. You won't have to worry about any weird bacteria lodging into the plastic, like you would with a wooden one.



Unfortunately I don't have a lot of cook books. I get most of my recipes from my mom, relatives, and friends. There are a few "definitive" cook books out there that many swear by which might interest you. I don't remember them on top of my head, but it's a simple find on Amazon. I also frequent the food network and pbs.org/everydayfood/ for recipes.
 
I have a couple nice recipes that I will send your way in a PM or post them in the thread once I find them. Also, making a nice salad to preface your meal is always a good idea. Get some nice fresh veggies and fruits and you can turn a boring salad into something delicious. When I make salads I prefer slices of oranges, grapes, and strawberrys on my salad with a nice strawberry vinaigrette dressing...sprinkle a couple almonds if you prefer and you have a great salad!



I know it's not much of "cooking" but if you have a place to make a fire at your house...I dont know if anyone else has heard of "hobo pies" basically put the pizza ingrediants that you like onto 2 slices of bread in a sandwhich maker over a fire...very good for those Friday or Saturday night cookouts....Also, chicken or steak quesadillas are pretty easy/tasty to make over the fire as well...You can find the stuff to make these sandwhiches at your local camping store or D*ick's Sporting Goods. Invest in good ones, price definately = quality with these.
 
G35stilez said:
-Any good books/magazines/websites that you recommend?
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FoodTV.com isn't too bad, but I also get recipes from Vegetarian Times, and Sunset Magazine. A lot of recipies are ones that I do to mimick food that I've eaten at restaurants. I'm sure there are a few cooking classes that can be found in your area, they are a great way to learn new techniques and recipies.



-Any key tips?
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Research and choose your knives very carefully, quality ones will last you a long time. Keep your recipes simple and with as many fresh ingredients as you can possibly get your hands on. Practice your cutting and chopping, you will probably cut your finger(s) quite a few times before you get the technique down.



Research and learn what to look for when trying to find quality ingredients. You'd be surprised how old products really are that sit in the cases of many big supermarket retailers.



Learn about cooking oils (and fats), when to use what, what flavors they may impart, etc. Contrary to what they say on FoodTV, Olive oil or EVOO isn't always the best oil to use in a recipe.



Most importantly, don't be afraid to experiment, and when in doubt, add more salt...



j/k about the salt...
 
Sean, I love to cook. I will give you a couple of my favorite recipes somtime via AOL.



My favorites to cook are fettucini alfredo with either shrimp or chicken with chessy garllic biscuits.



Also I like cooking the minnesota classic tator tot hotdish (or cassorle lol).



I have also made clam chowder which is tricky but fun.



Greg
 
In college, my roommates and I bought "The Joy of Cooking" book. That had some simple recipes that got us by.



One pot meals are good. Spaghetti sauce and Chili are easy. Find a good meat loaf recipe. I have one that you cook in the microwave. Not exactly authentic, but it's good.



Chinese food is easy to make. Just cut up any kind left over meat you have in the fridge (chicken, steak, ham), some veggies (even frozen mixed veggies), stir fry in a wok or heavy skillet with some garlic and scallions with soy sauce and you're good to go.
 
Definately invest in your knives. Good knives can be expensive, so at the least get yourself a good chef's knife. I find that I use my chef's knive and santuko over 90% of the time. I think that Williams Sonoma is very good about letting you handle knives before you buy. Also, get yourself some honing steal and use it whenever you cut.



I'd also get some good pots and pans. Like any tool, they should feel good in your hand. I have some Analon Titanium that I really like. The finish has held up well, and they have great heft to them.



I personally love FoodTV. There is great variety between the different shows, so it's easy to learn new things. My personal favorite is Alton Brown. Maybe it's because I have a similar personality to him, but he has really helped me learn what is actually happening when you cook. "I'm just here for the food" and "i'm just here for the food, too" are both great about teaching you techniques.



As for staples, I find that for the most part if you have kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, you can cook almost anything.



In addition to olive oil, I use peanut oil for frying. I try to stay away from normal vegetable oil and especially away from canola oil. I don't fancy using industrial lubricants to cook with.



Hope this helps.
 
What kind of stuff do you like? I am sure we can send you some easy to make stuff that will make your girl's mouth water. I have a PHd in grilling and I love to cook in gereral. It seems some people just have a nack for it. Get a "good" set of cookware with several or all nonstick pieces. My wife just bought me both of the sets that Pampered Chef sells. While not as thick and heavy as the Calaphlon I already had the nonstick and stay cool handles make cooking easier. Find a cooking show that makes dishes you would like to eat and then go online and get the reciepes.
 
AkronSi said:
...I personally love FoodTV. There is great variety between the different shows, so it's easy to learn new things. My personal favorite is Alton Brown...
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Alton Brown rocks! Good Eats is far and away the best food show in the universe. He’s a total motorcycle nut too.



I went to a book signing and by the time me and my copy of “I’m Just Here For the Food� got to the front of the line he'd been giving demos and signing books all day. He’d also been on the road for days and was really beat but he was still gracious, friendly, personable and funny as always.



Gear wise, I couldn’t survive without my Santoku (Japanese chef’s) knife. Sort of half way in between a western chef’s knife and a cleaver, it’s really a universal tool. All the cutlery companies make them these days.





PC.
 
try miracle blade lol i dunno if those are even good but i always see the infomercials late at night and for the price i'd be curious to try them, maybe some other cooks can put some input if they tried these bad boys
 
For knife reviews I would check out this site click on resources on the left side of the page. They have some very nice reviews of kitchen knives. They also list where to get the knives. I picked up some Japanese chefs knives based on the reviews there and here and I have never regretted it. They are lighter, sharper and stay sharp longer then any of my German knives.

Epicurious.com is a pretty good site for recipes, be sure and read the feed back on the recipes.

Egullet.com is another good site

Chef2chef.net is also pretty good



For a beginning book I would try The new Best Recipe its by the Editors of Cooks Illustrated magazine. It gives a lot of science behind the recipe and they also try a ton of variations of a recipe and tell you what worked and what didn't work for them.

If you need to learn to cook and don't have much cooking knowledge you might want to look in used book stores for the Culinary Institute of Americas Professional Chef book, I say used book store because it is about $75 new. Used book stores are a great way to find cook books.

You might want to look into the local culinary schools some times they offer a one or two night cooking class. Several of the kitchen stores (Sur La Table, Williams Sonoma) also offer classes.

Cook what you like to eat and have fun.
 
THANK YOU!





Man, this is all very helpful.





I have a lot of reading and research to do, but it will all pay off :).
 
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