[6strings21frets]

Where should I start? And don't go too basic. I can, indeed, make a sandwich (no, I am not a girl, you sexist n00b!).

[normajean777]

Why don't you just buy a cookbook and go from there? If it looks delicious follow the instructions to a tee, and you'll have it made.

[bobthecockroach]

Start by adapting things you already know how to make.

If you know how to make grilled cheese, how can you adapt it?

Well, you could use a different cheese. You could use a different bread. You could use something other than bread (like a bun, or some tortillas). You could add something in the middle, like bacon or onions or a slice of tomato. You could switch to leaving out the cheese altogether and just using bacon and onions. You could cook it open-face and top it with stuff rather than filling it. The list goes on.

The same thing can be applied to any recipe. If you know how to make spaghetti, experiment with different veggies. Try changing to a non-tomato-based sauce. Try different types of pasta. Try different grains altogether. If you take spaghetti, change the meat to chicken, then change the sauce to alfredo, then add carrots and broccoli, then put it over rice instead of pasta... well I bet you'd have a delicious meal, but each time you cook it would only be one step away from the previous meal.

Cookbooks are also good, but only good ones. I love to cook and love to read cookbooks, but I only own about a half dozen of them. A whole shelf full of a second-rate cookbooks is not going to help you. If you want to get a cookbook, make sure it's well-reviewed, reasonably popular and has things you actually want to cook in it. In my mind, a kitchen without Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything is incomplete. It is basically a modern Joy of Cooking. It has recipes for everything you could imagine, and it gives good instructions and background information. If you like Indian food, I recommend 660 Curries by Rhaghavan Iyer. It is the most foolproof cookbook I have ever used. The first time I cooked Indian food in my life it came out perfect. Everything I've made with the book since has come out perfect. The recipes are like magic. They make you succeed. This is why I say to make sure a cookbook is well-reviewed. Recipes are not all the same. There can be good recipes and bad recipes. There can be good instructions and bad instructions. A cookbook can help or hinder. Get good cookbooks so they help rather than hinder.

I'm also a huge fan of Alton Brown, and watching Good Eats or reading his books can't possibly hurt. If you get Create (TV station) or the Food Network, you can almost certainly find more good people to watch.

[beanbag]

online recipes are also a good way to go.

i would say the number one rule in learning to cook is this: make sure you have all your ingredients before you get started.

once you know how to cook, you can substitute things right and left. until then, make sure you have all your ingredients ready to go.

also, don't be afraid to fail. part of cooking (especially experimental cooking--i almost never follow recipes ) is trial and error. even if you do follow a recipe exactly, you might not like it. or you might discover that there's something missing. make note of what you don't like/want to change, and try it differently the next time.

if you cook any sort of meat, make sure you know how "done" looks. some recipes say "internal thermometer should read 160o" or some nonsense like that--it's actually not really nonsense--which is useless without an internal thermometer. learn to know what the outside looks like when cooked, and also make sure you slice open a piece of the meat to ensure that it's done.

OH. super important thing that might sound nitpicky but is actually very important: there's this thing called carry-over cooking. that means when you're baking cookies, for example, you should take them out while they're still a small bit gooey, and let them cool on the cookie sheet, rather than a wire rack. carry-over cooking will ensure that they cook all the way, and by taking them out early, you will make them soft and chewy, not crunchy. this also applies to anything else you make. so long as it's in the hot pot (and even more so if you keep it on the hot burner), it'll continue to cook even as it cools.

check out the recipes thread if you want specific stuff. i'd also be happy to send easy-ish recipes your way. =)

[Pauler]

Originally Posted by bobthecockroach

Start by adapting things you already know how to make.

If you know how to make grilled cheese, how can you adapt it?...I'm also a huge fan of Alton Brown, and watching Good Eats or reading his books can't possibly hurt. If you get Create (TV station) or the Food Network, you can almost certainly find more good people to watch.

i totally agree w/ expansion and adaptation. that is the way i learned.

i started w/ pasta. learning to cook the pasta al dente, and using jarred pasta sauce. then i experimented w/ different spices...the pinnacle would be to make your own pasta, sauce, and making your own meatballs.