One of my favorite memories growing up was sitting at the dinner table with my mom and brother. After my parents split, mom made family dinners almost mandatory, and never in front of the television.
She cooked meals for us almost nightly and never wanted help. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that her diligence in the kitchen meant I had no idea how to work anything in one, or prepare full meals for myself, until after college.
I could barely even use a non-electric can opener.
Even now, I remember some of the tasty meals my mom cooked, how warm and hearty they were and how they always lead to fun evening conversation.
But it also meant that I was missing a key opportunity to learn how to take care of and cook for myself.
Sure food blogs, foodie friends and practice have helped me a bit but I’m missing still the core fundamentals. How to pick fresh ingredients, what to pair together, how to properly prepare it and make healthy choices in creating recipes, and how to even use a knife properly!!
In October, I took a cooking class with some friends and one girl (who enjoyed the BYOB portion of the night too much) was brutal in her critique of my skills. Poor knife skills, inability to chop, dice or mince anything properly, it was embarrassing for me.
I’m not someone who likes to be the center of attention, but I don’t want to be a joke either. And while it’s nothing to be ashamed of, I don’t want to ask for help from my foodie friends, I’d rather learn on my own from a professional and get me the knowledge and help I need to make better, more complete meals for myself, and close the gap of learning I didn’t have growing up.
That girl was mean. And drunk. So please stop listening to the voice she planted in your head, because that voice is a jerk. Poor knife skills? What the? Like one percent of the population even knows what that means.
Preparing warm, hearty meals has nothing to do with knife skills or being able to cook like a foodie. No one taught me to cook either, but I’ve learned on my own over the years. I did it by buying a few easy cookbooks with good pictures (I recommend anything by Bill Granger, healthy and straightforward), and searching for things I wanted to learn how to make on Epicurious (only 4 fork ratings with over 20 reviews). When like something, I add it to my recipe box.
You’ll find that once you log enough recipes, you’ll start to realize which herbs go with which meats, how you start a basic soup, that kind of thing. And a quick Google search will give you lots of the answers you need without investing in tons of cooking classes. Unless that’s what you want because it sounds fun.
My goal is ten solid recipes I know how to make in each section. In fact, I’m going to add that to my life list right now.
You are not a joke, you are a tiny bit of inspiration. Now go cook something. I’m so rooting for you.
I completely agree with Maggie. My mother never taught me to cook either, now I’m a SAHM and have been blindly fumbling my way through the cooking portion of my life now. Which, you can imagine, is a bit dangerous around knives! I’ve done exactly as Maggie, good cookbooks and online recipe tutorials … thank goodness for the internet! I was also fortunate to find a stack of handwritten recipes by my grandmother after she passed away. She must have seen the future and knew that I would have no idea how to even start cooking a whole bone-in ham, so she wrote it all down. (Thanks Mimi!)
Anyway, long story short, I told my husband long ago that he had to agree to help me with CONSTRUCTIVE criticism when I tried a new dish. Help me suss out the fine points of what needed to change, and what didn’t, to meet our palette.
You. Can. Do. This! Take it from someone who has been in your shoes and is now called an “amazing cook” my friends and family. Trust in yourself and remember that taste trumps “skills” any day!
I can’t recommend Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything” enough. He inspired my sister to start cooking, and now she is the kind of person who makes bread every Sunday and buys legumes I’ve never heard of.
She bought me the veggie version of the book, “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian,” as a gift a few years ago, and just from trying recipes and ideas from the book I feel more comfortable putting together meals. He doesn’t just give you recipes, he tells you about the ingredients and gives you options – you don’t like olives? Try it with artichokes!
My sister and I talk a lot about food and I can’t count the times one of us will say “I got the idea from Mark.”
I’ll second that Mark Bittman recommendation. What’s great about that book is that it has a lot of really basic recipes (like, “regular pancakes”) and then recipes that extend that knowledge.
If you are interested in professional cooking classes, then go for it. Those can be a lot of fun — especially the dessert ones!
I am a cooking school graduate and have not thought about “properly” chopping, dicing or mincing since I got my degree. Seriously, there are so many more important things to think about, in the kitchen and out.
I would recommend getting a decent chef’s knife, if you don’t already have one. You don’t have to spend oodles, but a sharp knife that is comfortable to use is the best tool for making cooking fun and easy. A helpful cooking store clerk should be able to point you in the right direction and give you tips on how to take care of it.
I also recommend The Flavor Bible: http://www.amazon.com/The-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400
as a complement to Bittman. It’s an encyclopedia of tastes, so if you have a cabbage in your fridge and you’re wondering what the heck to do with it, this book will tell you that it will taste delicious with mustard, garlic and a little cream. It’s a great way to learn about how flavors go together and give you confidence as you start to experiment.
I wish you all the best — feeding yourself and those you love is such a gift. Have fun!
I doubt my grandma ever heard the term “knife skills” and she was the best cook ever.
She made simple food. It was awesome. You can do this too.
Knife skills are stupid. You just cut stuff up to eat it, it works fine as long as you don’t cut YOU!! I recommend Joy of Cooking – classic and it tells you how to cook everything. The Everyday Food cookbook is nice, too – 30 minute yummy simple meals. Also roast a chicken. You just put it in the oven and take it out when it’s done and it feels like magic – roast chicken!
This seems like a pretty comprehensive list of skills, rated by difficulty. Mary Berry and other Brits make cooking seem so delightfully easy!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/techniques
In addition to adding another thumbs up for Mr. Bittman and a puh-shaw to knife skills I also want to high five you and all the previous commenters. Best of luck on your path to becoming an awesome cook!