Cooking Basics

[Phil Florian]

Hey!

I do much of the shopping and share much of the cooking/food prep in my household. I never really learned as a young lad because that wasn't how things worked in my house. Mostly I do boring very well. I will pick out some recipes that the family likes and can make things that way but what I really lack is actual basic how-to cooking knowledge. I know, I know, I could practice and read books but sometimes there is nothing better than working with someone who actually knows there stuff in a class format.

The biggest thing is I would love to know how to better plan weekly meals and use my limited time wisely vs. hastily heating up stuff. I want to eat more locally grown foods and raw foods vs. processed. I would love to be able to stock a nice larder that I could make a large variety of simple meals from. Learning to shop and all of that.

Lakewood Rec has some nice specific classes on types, styles, etc. and I know some local stores do the same (the Indian Food store, for example, has such classes, I am told). But I would love a nice "back to basics" type of thing.

Any place around here do this? Other than Home Ec. classes at school? Do they still have Home Ec?

Ideas? If no classes, any good books. Not "cook books" full of more recipes but actual "how to shop well, plan well, prepare the basics" sort of book.

Thanks!

Phil

[Jeff Endress]

Phil

Part of the answer to inquiry is to realign your thought process....Too many times people shop for the recipe, when many times a recipe can be adapted for what you happen to have gotten when you shopped. But, a good pantry with standard adaptable ingredients is essential. Think of all those TV chefs who accept the challenge of preparing a gourmet meal with whatever you have on hand....

I may be an exception....I rarely use recipes. Those which have been in my columns are recipes that I have had to reconstitute from what I do when I prepare a given dish. But, I have the benefit of reaching for some dried shittakes, or having stock on hand, a well stocked herb rack. Maybe a can of clams, crab or whatever.

I'll look through my cookbooks. Seems that there is an oldie "the Confident Cook" which gives the basics, with ways to adapt. Rachel Ray does that, after a fashion with "365 and no repeats"...which is really nothing but some basics and a whole bunch of variations. This could be fertile ground for a column. My writer's block has taken me on sabatical for the last few issues.

Jeff

[Tim Liston]

Hey Phil. Around five years ago I started cooking for myself, and sometimes for my family. For much the same reasons you cite, wanting to eat better food and such. But I'm by no means what one would call a good cook. And never will be.

I'm kind of with Jeff. To me, “cookingâ€

[Phil Florian]

Howdy!
Thanks for both of your replies. Jeff, I like the idea of the book you suggested. Basics with ability to adapt is just what I would like. I just can't improvise at all. I have a ton of one ingredient in the cupboard that I rarely use and not enough of other stuff to go with it. Tim, I have heard even of a website but haven't looked for it that even allows you to enter a list of ingredients on hand and it will find a bunch of recipes that use them. Seems like a nice match for the Web, yah?

[Tim Liston]

Phil you obviously came to the right place. Between Jeff and I, we have a lot to offer in the way of culinary expertise. There's really very little that we both don't know about cooking.

Just hunted around a bit....

http://allrecipes.com/Search/Ingredients.aspx

http://www.foodieview.com/

I played around with them for just a second, they both seemed workable. In fact, the Black Bean, Sausage and Sweet Potato Soup sounds yummy! I looked at a couple other sites that did not seem as useful. Phil you're right, this is pretty neat. Thanks for the nudge.

Or maybe just type the ingredients into google and follow with the word “recipeâ€

[Chris Trapp]

Phil,
I recommend a book by Alice Waters...The Art of Simple Food. She is a chef who is all about local foods.
I also rarely use recipies, but wanted to learn some basic techniques to give myself a better foundation. I saw the book over the winter and bought it. It starts with a discussion about your pantry, equipment, meal planning. Then it gets into sauces, broth, simmering, roasting. There are recipies and ideas for varaiations.
Check it out - I think you would like it.
Chris

[David Lay]

If you want to venture into the gourmet side of things, I recommend...

The Elements of Cooking by Michael Ruhlman:
http://tinyurl.com/64sg9h

Gourmet Cooking for Dummies by Charlie Trotter:
http://tinyurl.com/5jxku6

The Amateur Gourmet by Adam Roberts:
http://tinyurl.com/57vtua

I've found the Trotter & Roberts books at LPL. Not sure about Ruhlman's though.

I also check out Slashfood (www.slashfood.com) and Epicurious (www.epicurious.com) pretty regularly.

Good Luck!

[Phil Florian]

Lots of great stuff to consider! Chris, that book sounds perfect. I will look it up this week for sure. This will be a good use of some of that "stimulus" money. Those links look interesting, too. I like the Allrecipes one, in particular. Good for finding some new ideas for kids. My kids have a narrow band of food they like at any one time. We push the boundaries here and there but sometimes you gotta fall back on the stuff you know they like. This way, I can put in some of the basics they enjoy and gets some variety for them.

Thanks all!

[Brad Hutchison]

I just got "Cook with Jamie" by Jamie Oliver. It is, to a certain extent, a "recipe book" but there's a lot of good general reference stuff in there (how to buy fish, cuts of meat, kitchen safety, etc.), and he's very big on local/natural/organic, and that cooking should be fun. I don't know that it's really a "back to the basics" cookbook in the sense that you mean, Phil, but it's the kind of book that makes you want to walk to the Farmer's Market and cook.

I never really paid much attention to Jamie Oliver, but I really like his new show (Jamie at Home, Saturdays @ 9:30am). Like his book, I find it inspiring and it makes me want to get in the kitchen.

I always go to Food Network' website for recipes, and you can save the recipes you like, or print them in any size.

[Phil Florian]

Chris, I was checking out to see if our library had it and they didn't so I think the Alice Waters book is a get for this weekend. I have been reading more about her and she is like a LEAF heroine or something. All about eating locally, eating healthy and loving food. Very cool. In fact, an article talks about something that someone else brought up on the Deck a while back which is using locally grown food in school lunchrooms (instead of processed crap that comes in giant cans, no doubt).

I love the idea of her "Edible Schoolyard" where kids in school grow food for their own lunches and use this garden for all sorts of other lessons (science, social studies, math, etc.) in addition to eating it instead of the usual fair. No offense to the men and women who work our local cafeterias...they have a hard enough job...but someone above the cooking staff is making these kinds of decisions and this would seem to be a good match for our school.

Anyway, thanks again for the good recommendation.

Also, I liked the Jamie Oliver show. Watched a full episode this past weekend and I think I will start DVRing them. Very neat and laid back. Can't wait until the farmer's market opens this summer. I really want to make it my goal to get there weekly.