[iranfromthezoo]

Okay so I am college guy and I am really starting to get into cooking...I mean I can do normal stuff like pastas and breakfast but I would really like to learn how to cook the meats and learn new recipes. What you moms or chefs or just plain ole guys got up your sleeves?

Recipes, websites, advice or anything like you got for me.

[Mastrap]

I would find a good local college and do a course. I've always loved to cook and I thought that I was getting pretty good at it, until I did a knife skill course. I realized that not only did I know nothing at all, but that I had been doing things backwards for years.

One of my plans for the winter is to take another course. Here in Toronto you can train with chefs who work in some excellent restaurants. I'm looking forward to the experience.

My favourite cookbook right now is Nigel Slater's The Kitchen Diaries.

[stevesnj]

I would say go to your mom or a friends mom for dishes like good simple cheap food like grilled chicken, pot roast, stew, all the way to a turkey dinner...moms know good basics to teach and maybe she will take the time to write down a step by step recipe and prep guide for you. I think though the food network has a good step by step on food prep. It will take time and experimentation but it be worth it in the long run. I've been learning to cook since i was 12-13 (single parent home) since my brother and sister refused to learn, so I can BBQ or make Chicken Marsala and know what the hell im doing

[brassplayersrock²]

remember, nothing beats a great grilled cheese sandwich and any kind of noodle soup

Alex

[stevesnj]

Originally Posted by brassplayersrock

remember, nothing beats a great grilled cheese sandwich and any kind of noodle soup

Alex

Grilled cheese with a slice of tomato and Campbells Tomato Soup...ahhh scrumptious

[legacyb4]

Build a good foundation for cooking and expand your palate as much as possible so you learn to taste through imagination and not just off a recipe book. Sounds a little trite, but it's the truth. If you can sit through any number of cooking shows and actually taste/smell what they do on the show in your mind, you'll find yourself cooking with a lot more ease and confidence.

[brassplayersrock²]

"you can't buy a palate like yours"
~ Chef Ramsey

[Mastrap]

Originally Posted by stevesnj

Campbells Tomato Soup...ahhh scrumptious

High in sodium, high in sugar, low in nutrients. Why not make your own, fresh tomato soup?

[stevesnj]

Originally Posted by Mastrap

High in sodium, high in sugar, low in nutrients. Why not make your own, fresh tomato soup?

Why? its already in a can

[Mastrap]

Because you are what you eat.

[Stradlater]

I'm with Mastrap: avoid products that are filled with rubbish that gives it an excessively long shelf life and makes it easy to produce in mass quantities.

I find myself buying organic products when I can not because of the ridiculous "organic" label, but because sometimes that's the only product in the suite of them that isn't pumped full of artificial chemical sh!t.

[Ulrich Kinbote]

Things which take the longest should be started first and everything should be timed so it's ready to serve at the same time.

That sounds like common sense but I don't know how many times I've seen people starting everything at the same time. The steaks get cold, the potatoes are still hard, and the salad is soggy.

[Dr Reducto]

Some advice I have recieved this past summer working with chefs at a 5-star resort:

-Salt and Pepper are your best friend for bringing out flavor
-It's a crime to do a good steak more than mid-rare
- The sauce is everything
-Keep your knives sharp
-You can tell the difference between meat temps by touch (firmness)

[voodoo]

Have a very good, very sharp knife. Have a iron cast pan. Use your imagination - be the food.

V

[milf]

Originally Posted by iranfromthezoo

Okay so I am college guy and I am really starting to get into cooking...I mean I can do normal stuff like pastas and breakfast but I would really like to learn how to cook the meats and learn new recipes. What you moms or chefs or just plain ole guys got up your sleeves?

Recipes, websites, advice or anything like you got for me.

I'm not sure what's available to you in your area, but do some research or swing by various kitchen stores to see if any basic cooking classes are available. It's great having someone more experienced show you along. There's a wealth of knowledge out there.

Knife skills are essential. But a quality chef's knife and keep it sharp. A sharp knife will actually help you avoid injury -- when used properly, of course. You can find online videos for various knife cuts -- julienne, dice, etc. Grab a sac of potatoes and get to practicing. Then perhaps move on to fabricating various cuts of meat.

I'd second the notion of learning to season with salt. It's the most essential of seasonings. Pick up some kosher salt, to start. We use Diamond Crystal brand, but Morton's might be easier to find. Work to season food to your taste, then work on doing so consistently. Learn the required amount of salt by touch and/or sight for a 1" steak, etc.

Once you learn a few basic techinques, the kitchen becomes your playground if you're imaginative. Understand the subtle difference between sauteeing and pan-frying. Understand braising vs. broiling. Etc, etc. From here, these various techniques can be used in various applications.

There's a book available that you might also find useful called "Culinary Artistry". It's probably overly indepth for the average foodie, but it's filled with useful information on seasonality and common food pairings. I think it's a great tool to learn from. The food pairings are not set int stone, but you might be curious to know that lamb, for instance, pairs well with mint or rosemary. Or that chicken pairs well with lemon & thyme.

Start simple -- so many recipes are flooded with a list of 500 ingredients and 200 steps. You could make a delicious meal using just a piece of fresh salmon, various vegetables, salt & pepper, to taste, and a few of your cooking techniques (broil the salmon, saute or roast the vegetables, etc.). As you master these simple dishes -- you can move on.

Mainly, just have fun with it. Start to cook and I promise you you'll be hooked for life, not only on cooking, but learning about food and exploring various restaurants. You'll be a foodie soon and lovin' it.

[tooki]

Buy Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything (Amazon has it cheaper, but Amazon is down [!!!] right now so I can't make a link to it).

It's a fantastic cookbook (as opposed to a recipe compilation, which is all most so-called cookbooks are) that explains wonderfully most of the techniques and base recipes you'll need to know, and it's written by a guy who did not train professionally and so has a much more practical approach to things.

tooki

[Stradlater]

Originally Posted by Dr Reducto

-Salt and Pepper are your best friend for bringing out flavor

Very true. For all cooking (not baking) purposes, keep kosher (or gray) salt on hand. Toss it onto your meat liberally. For pepper, get a good mill and grind it fresh.

-The sauce is everything

That's kind of french. Although an overdone sauce has its place, I prefer the Mario Batali mindset: sauce is a condiment. The dish is everything.

-Keep your knives sharp

Or knife. To expand on what voodoo said: get yourself one great knife. That's all you really need. Spend $70+ on one fantastic chef's knife.

-You can tell the difference between meat temps by touch (firmness)

Yup. Next time you cook, keep pressing and note the differences.

[Stradlater]

Originally Posted by tooki

Buy Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything (Amazon has it cheaper, but Amazon is down [!!!] right now so I can't make a link to it).

I've browsed through this and will second the recommendation; get this one over the Joy of Cooking.

[mindwaves]

You only need a few ingredients. I avoid all recipes which require me to put on a ton of various ingredients on the meat/vegetables because quite frankly, you won't be able to taste half of them. I second the one knife thing. I use a small cleaver for the majority of my cuts and it does so fine for the purposes for which I use it.

[gururafiki]

Originally Posted by tooki

Buy Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything (Amazon has it cheaper, but Amazon is down [!!!] right now so I can't make a link to it).

It's a fantastic cookbook (as opposed to a recipe compilation, which is all most so-called cookbooks are) that explains wonderfully most of the techniques and base recipes you'll need to know, and it's written by a guy who did not train professionally and so has a much more practical approach to things.

tooki

Best cook book ever. I got it when I was in college, and I find it to be the most useful cookbook I have ever used.

[INeverSpam]

Screw cookbooks.

Watch the show called "good eats". It's fantastic. Simple, each episode is about a certain kind of food, easy to follow, entertaining, wonderfully random, great editing, etc. I HATE cooking shows yet I can't get enough of this one. It's simply fantastic.

Think Bill Nye the Science Guy, only with food. It rocks.

[Mastrap]

One more thing: Simplicity. Buy the best possible ingredients, then do as little as possible to them.

[Laurence]

I agree that "Good Eats" is an excellent place to start, but the important thing when learning anything is to practice...

Make sure to get good ingredients. (ie. don't get a "spice packet" for a pot-roast, carné asada, swiss steak, etc) Ingredients are things that don't have a list of ingredients printed on the package they come in. Don't stockpile herbs and spices, buy in small quantities and more frequently. Buy from a busy shop so you know the food is fresh and although organic is likely to be better for you, sometimes you have to settle for less, unless you live in a large city.

If a meal turns out great, remember what you did and if it doesn't turn out so good you can still learn something from the experience and use it to improve the outcome next time. Just cook as often as you can. Even buying quality, organic food is cheaper than going out to eat all the time!

[Gossamer]

I'll agree with the cooking as much as you can. I started cooking for myself last summer and I pretty much never went out to eat after that, because I really like what I could make and I did it for a lot cheaper. Try different stuff and remember what was good and bad, look up random recipes and try them for fun (I found a really simple recipe for grilled corn that turned out really good). Almost everything I did was on the grill or stove. I put on anywhere from 5-10 pounds this summer because suddenly I liked eating...oops (actually I'm quite lean for my height, I could put on another 25lbs and not even be considered overweight, so it was probably good for me).
My favorites:
Steak: sirloin marinated for 1 or 2 hours in Lawry's Mesquite Lime marinade, then grilled to med-rare
Pork chops: I usually got the family pack of bone-in chops, same marinade, grilled just right (everyone that had these absolutely loved them)
Corn on the cob: Husk the corn, then wrap in foil along with a few crushed ice cubes and several pads of butter. The ice melts to water and cooks the corn with the butter...grill for about 20 minutes turning occasionally
Stir fry: Green onions, fresh green beans, carrots, a potato or two, and a tomato in the frying pan with a little bit of vegetable oil and some charcoal steak cut into cubes (you can use beef stew meat too, it's the same cut). The tomato makes a nice base for a sauce, it can all be poured over rice for a great dish, i usually season it with Montreal steak seasoning
Foil packets: Same veggies as above, but I'd throw in a couple brats and some mesquite marinade or just BBQ sauce. wrap it tightly in foil and throw it on the grill for about 20 minutes, flipping occasionally. Quite tasty, and cleanup is easy.

[Spliff]

Make this. Seriously. It's super easy and unbelievably good. Always make sure you have someone around to watch when you invert it onto a plate. You'll hear lots of oohs and ahhs.

Breakfast Pear Tarte Tatin (serves 4)

Spiced Cornmeal Biscuit Dough

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. cornmeal
3 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
3 Tbs. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1/3 cup cold water

Sugar Mixture

2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
3 Tbs. coarsley broken walnuts (optional)
2 ripe pears; peeled, cored, quartered. Each quarter cut into 2-3 wedges.

Instructions:

1. (Dough) In a bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon. Cut in butter. Combine yogurt and water and add to the dough, stirring with a fork just until it comes together. (If not using dough immediately, place it on a lightly floured plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.)

2. Preheat oven to 425°F (rack in center). Heat the butter in a 7” or 8” ovenproof skillet, preferably cast-iron or non-stick. Add brown sugar and cook over medium heat until sugar is nearly melted. Remove from heat, scatter walnuts over sugar mixture, and arrange pears in the pan, with most of the rounded sides down and the narrow tops towards the center. Scatter clumps of the dough over the pears in the skillet, roughly covering them.

3. Place pan in oven (foil around plastic handles if necessary) and bake until dough is nicely browned and a toothpick emerges clean, around 20-25 mins.

4. Remove from the oven and let stand in the pan for about 2 minutes. Run the tip of a knife around the edges and invert onto a plate.

[Spliff]

This recipe is also really simple and it'll get you laid

Provencal Prawns (serves 2)

1-2 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb. (roughly 15) prawns, shelled and de-veined
2-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon lemon zest, minced
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup parsley, chopped
Tobasco sauce and fresh ground pepper to taste.

In a large saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter and heat the olive oil. Add garlic and saute till soft (to flavour the oil).

Toss in prawns and saute them till they turn white and opaque (about 3-4 minutes). While they are sauteing, add the white wine, ground pepper, lemon zest, and tobasco. Remove from heat and toss with parsley.

Serve with a baguette for dipping.

[Stradlater]

Originally Posted by Gossamer

...Lawry's Mesquite Lime marinade...or just BBQ sauce...

My recommendation: make your own marinade. Tastier, cheaper, and without all those ugly additives.

[Monique]

In your local high school you probably be able to find technical department and take a class in general cooking.

[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by Stradlater

My recommendation: make your own marinade. Tastier, cheaper, and without all those ugly additives.

That's probably true but I used the store bought stuff for the sheer ease of it all. I would like to make my own marinade sometime though, my roommate was working on his own salsa too.

[Mastrap]

Originally Posted by Spliff

This recipe is also really simple and it'll get you laid

That, in the beginning, was the main reason I wanted to be a good cook. Chicks dig guys who can cook. They assume that anybody who's good in the kitchen is good in the sack. And how right they are.