hopeless cook

nabowla

If you decide to invest in a couple of basic cookbooks, try looking in your local charity shop. I saw Delia's 'How to Cook Bk 1' and 'How to Cook Bk 2' (both hardback) on sale for 1.50 each in my local charity shop at the weekend. There was also a copy of Jamie Oliver's 'Naked Chef' for a couple of pounds. Much better than paying full price (and you don't have to worry about spilling stuff on the books - unlike library books!!!)

squeaky

Cover the pages with cling film while you're using the book?

r.mac_2

Hi there!

I think most points have been covered by the excellent replies above. I really agree with don't try to run before you can walk - I did that and fell over!

If you find freezer food quick and easy try variations. I make up lots of portions in one go and freeze them so that when I get home from work I whip one out of the freezer and stick it in the oven/microwave - HM without the hassle!

Also I tend to work on the principle that frozen veg is fine - it's better than not eating any at all!

best of luck and if you come across any recipes that work for you = please let us know

HTH

Pal

I started cooking "seriously" about two years ago, and found the most important thing is to buy cookbooks that tell you the "Why" as well as the "How". I.e. do you know why you brown meat before putting it in a casserole? Do you know why frozen peas normally taste better than fresh ones from the supermarket? Do you know why you should cook imported asparagus differently from home grown or locally produced? Do you know why free range pork tastes better than intensively reared supermarket pork?

As others have mentioned, good started books include The Naked Chef and Nigel Slaters 'Appetite'. It was Jamie's "lob in a handful of this" style and Nigel Slater's "just bake the cheese and eat with bread" simplistic styles that got me into cooking. I tried Delia books but find her cooking too complex with too many ingredients, although I have not read the "how to" books that others have mentioned.

However the books that really turned around my cooking have all been river cottage books by Hugh Fernley-Whitingstall: The River Cottage Meat Book, The River Cottage Cookbook and the River Cottage Yearbook. I didn't like the TV programmes enough to watch many of them, but the books are excellent.

In all honesty some of the recipes are not great, but the ones that are good are sublime. (The picadillo in the Meat book is a fantastic freezer recipe.)

But most importantly he explains in great detail (especially in the meat book) how you should cook specific ingredients to bring out their best, but also explains how best to buy them in the first place. The yearbook even has tables of what is in season in the UK, which means that it tastes at its best, is more environmentally friendly than imported food, and most importantly, is going to be a lot cheaper.

The River Cottage Cookbook even has a chapter on finding food in the wild for free. (Not just fishing, but hunting for nettles, wild garlic, blackberries etc).

I have found that, once the "why" has been explained about cooking (and storing) certain things, that knowledge can be applied to other cooking, and I will now quite happily go into the kitchen and make up meals on the fly based on whatever ingredients I happen to have available at the time. I also do most of my shopping based on what is in season and looks tasty, and then get it home and try to figure out what to do with it. To me that is far more fun than worrying that you forgot to buy the fennel seeds that the latest recipe demands.

The real key, of course, is to have fun practicing, and not worry about the occasional disaster. (And there have been a couple of good ones. Leek and Anchovy anyone?)

make_life_easier

After recieving a few replies yesterday I went into the kitchen (i was starving) looked in the freezer and found some mince and made some chili con carne, luckily i found a packed mix and had tinned tomatoes and onions. It fed 4 hungry adults and it only took me 45mins from start to finish. I thought i would freeze some as there was alot there but my nephew came round and polished of the rest of it. Everyone enjoyed it as i don't really make things like that. Best of all on the back of the mince packet was a recipe how to make chili from scratch so i have written out the indgredients i will need. I do realize that i should take one step at a time and maybe try a new recipe out each week and also build up on different indgredients as it would cost too much in one go. I will have a look round for some cook books as i love to browse through charity shops and i will have a look on the website that has been mentioned above. I very much like spicey foods but also like traditional english too, not so fussy on fish and i haven't got a sweet tooth. (I did used to be a chocoholic!!) I love veg and would like some recipes eg cauliflour cheese (sounds pathetic but i don't know how to make the sauce) Thanks for all the replies, they have been really useful, I'm planning on making spag bol next but i'll have to get the ingredients - bye for now

r.mac_2

sounds like you did really well - isn't it great when your cooking is appreciated by the family!!!

stick at it and welcome to the boards! :j

r.mac

badgermonkey

A basic white sauce is so easy when you get the hang of it, and when you can do that you can make macaroni cheese, and with your spag bol skills you can make a lasagne which for some reason impresses the hell out of everyone!

This is how I do it:

Before I start I put about 3/4 of a pint of milk in the microwave for about three minutes to heat it up a bit (this is for two hungry people). Then get a big lump of butter and put in a saucepan and heat until bubbling. Stir in a heaped tablespoon of flour (any will do) and stir into the butter so it forms a sort of paste. Cook for a few seconds, then pour in a small amount of the milk and whisk. Keep adding the milk in small amounts and each time whisk like crazy until it's all smooth. At this point it goes sort of glossy and will amaze you! Keep going until you have added enough milk to make it a nice saucy consistency - don't dump it all in the first time you make it because you might put too much in, better cautious to start off. Let it all cook for a couple of minutes, stirring it all the time. You now have your basic white sauce!

At this point you can add cheese for cheese sauce (take off the heat and beat the cheese in quite well), and there are a few other alternatives too.

I use one of those whisks which is like a sideways loop instead of a balloon whisk. It makes white sauce SO easy I totally recommend it.

squeaky

I just found an old thread that will help out here:-

[post=406362]Can't cook don't cook! Time for change.[/post]

chrislee765

badgermonkey wrote:

A basic white sauce is so easy when you get the hang of it, and when you can do that you can make macaroni cheese, and with your spag bol skills you can make a lasagne which for some reason impresses the hell out of everyone!

This is how I do it:

Before I start I put about 3/4 of a pint of milk in the microwave for about three minutes to heat it up a bit (this is for two hungry people). Then get a big lump of butter and put in a saucepan and heat until bubbling. Stir in a heaped tablespoon of flour (any will do) and stir into the butter so it forms a sort of paste. Cook for a few seconds, then pour in a small amount of the milk and whisk. Keep adding the milk in small amounts and each time whisk like crazy until it's all smooth. At this point it goes sort of glossy and will amaze you! Keep going until you have added enough milk to make it a nice saucy consistency - don't dump it all in the first time you make it because you might put too much in, better cautious to start off. Let it all cook for a couple of minutes, stirring it all the time. You now have your basic white sauce!

At this point you can add cheese for cheese sauce (take off the heat and beat the cheese in quite well), and there are a few other alternatives too.

I use one of those whisks which is like a sideways loop instead of a balloon whisk. It makes white sauce SO easy I totally recommend it.

Thanks for this, im going to make myself cauliflower cheese tonight (homemade with your recipe), with garlic bread(shop brought). Im also going to buy myself a garlic to plant and grow

I love this Old Style forum

badgermonkey

Ooh, nice to know I have helped someone. Try putting breadcrumbs on top of your cauliflower cheese + sticking it in the oven, this gives a really nice contrast of textures. You could also add some paprika to the breadcrumbs for an interesting taste.