Any stuff that is going to take a long time should be started first. Like get the oven pre-heating, the pasta water heating, the chicken defrosting under running water, the stock boiling, etc as your first steps.

Then do all the mise. Get everything diced, sliced, minced, etc into prep bowls at once.

Assemble anything that is to go in the oven and stick it in. Use timers, probe thermometers, etc to handle the "remembering" part.

Now you can do the range top stuff without being distracted by needing to rummage around for the chives. Means you can work three pans or pots at once. Since few dishes actually need constant attention, you can skip from one to the other. As each dish is done, cover it and let it wait.

Broiling, deep frying, stir frying need total attention so do those last, right before ringing the dinner bell.

There's the old waitress rule - every time you walk somewhere, something should be in your hand. Here, every time you're at each station (range, oven, cutting board, plating spot) something should get done.

Do you have a sample multi-course dinner that you'd like to do? We could have fun suggesting what steps we'd do in what order. Might be fun to see if the different people on CF would approach it differently.

Reading and trial and error. Try some of the recipes you see here and on cooking blogs. And when something "could be better" as you said in your french toast thread, go back and ask questions - just like you did on the french toast thread.

It takes practice. I don't know exactly where you are in your cooking experience. However if you are really inexperienced try some of the prize winning recipes that are featured in Better Homes and Gardens every month. They are usually easy to make and pretty tasty. There is a reason the magazine has been around since 1922. I gave two of my nieces subsriptions to BHG when they first got engaged. They both loved it.

Also if you can afford Cook's Illustrated magazine it is a good tutorial. It not only provides good recipes, it gives a good explanation on why things work and other methods do not. And there are reviews of food products, knives, pots and pans. You name it. I believe it is less than $30 a year for a subscription. A very worth while investment as a learning tool.

Teresa

Do you have a sample multi-course dinner that you'd like to do?

Every time my daughter comes home from visiting her Dad, she tells me how much she loves her step-mothers pork chops. So, I would like to learn to cook pork chops. :-) And I need two side dishes - why do I think the plate needs 3 things on it? I think baked sweet potato would go well and be easy to do, but I doubt the girls would like it...

Teresa - I do have an on-line subscription to Cook's Illustrated and love them. I will look into Better Homes and Gardens too. Thanks. :-)

jeri,

You might find Pioneer Woman's blog both entertaining & useful. She provides a pictorial of each step for her recipes breaking them down to manageable steps for less experienced cooks.

Reading, reading, & reading more will help. Learning the culinary vocabulary will give you a jump start. Once you know the meaning of dice, mince, chop, saute, braise, etc. recipes will make more sense. For instance, "mise en place" (literally "putting in place") is a French term that, in English, means "everything in place". It means to get everything you'll need for a particular recipe out, prepped, & arranged in the order you'll need the items to prepare the recipe.

You are right, IMO, about the sweet potatoes. I love them just baked as a white potato with a bit of butter with pork chops. Sweet potatoes are also terrific peeled, chopped into about 2" chunks, lightly drizzled with olive oil & a bit of salt/pepper. I also like them with a few fresh thyme leaves scattered on top. Then, roast in a 425 degree oven until tender. A simple green salad could complete your meal. Use fresh raw veggies in the salad to complete the nutrition.

Ask lots of questions. It really does take practice. Start with simple meals & as your skills grow add new techniques.

I congratulate you for wanting to learn more. Cooking can be as sophisticated or as simple as you desire. I would encourage you to also learn about nutrition while you're perfecting the process of meal planning & cooking.

/tricia

Here is a link that might be useful: Pioneer Woman

For instance, "mise en place" (literally "putting in place") is a French term that, in English, means "everything in place". It means to get everything you'll need for a particular recipe out, prepped, & arranged in the order you'll need the items to prepare the recipe."

Tricia, I was just going to pose a question to the group to see if the majority do that. Get everything ready ahead of time and in little bowls, whatever.

I never do that. I keep telling myself that I want to get in the habit of doing it, but then I forget.

I learned a lot by watching Julia Child and The Frugal Gourmet. I think you can buy some of JC's shows on DVD now, but I'm not sure whether she showed how to prepare an entire meal in one show. For that, I recommend Jacques Pepin or Marianne Esposito, but there are quite a few on PBS that are decent. I tend not to watch the Food Network, however, but I do think it is helpful to watch demonstrations, even on TV. I much prefer that to getting something from a book, although I also do that.

I think you want to put three things on a plate because you have a meat dish and a carb, and you want a green vegetable to balance it out, but that could also be a salad.

I agree also that experience will help you greatly - after a while, it will all be second nature, and you will put together multi-course meals without thinking that much about it.

Like John, I always start the dish that will take the longest first and then mentally file everything that I need to do based on my target completion time. Frequently I am a little late, and it seems that I often need two hours to make dinner, unless it is something particularly easy.

Lars

You can try Notakeout.com my daughters are using that and it gives minute by minute instructions and most things are fairly healthy to boot!
Trial and error! Nancy

Start with easy things, and as your confidence grows, move to something else. Pork chops are easy, but the trick is not to over cook them. Check the CI site for tips, they have you start with a cold fry pan. Baked potatoes can either be baked in the oven or even your microwave. There is no shame in a salad with bottled dressing.

Invest in an instant read thermometor, download a meat temp guide and follow it. Read cookbooks, check YouTube for videos and ask questions.

Keep trying and you will hit winners. And yes, some will go in the trash. It's all part of learning.

At least for me, three separate dishes is too much for everyday. One French cookbook I read recommended having one course be raw or premade (oysters, or fruit, or bread from the bakery). I try to think in terms of a starch, a veggie, and a protein, and having something dry if the main dish is wet. That seems to work reasonably well for making sure the meal is nutritionally and aesthetically balanced, but often at least two of the groups are together in one dish.

And if they won't eat sweet potatoes, I bet they'll eat sweet potato fries. I sometimes make them with bread crumbs and Parmesan, or with salted sour cream on top.

Here is a link that might be useful: Basic sweet potato fry instructions

Ideally you have a good cook show you how to cook. I was fortunate to have a great cook for a mother but sadly she wasn't around long enough to show me a lot. But she encouraged my interest in cooking so I wasn't afraid of a stove, oven, cookware and utensils. I started camping a lot and sandwiches only go so far. Things went on from there. Making good burgers, dogs, etc isn't hard and it builds your confidence. One of the first "meals" I learned to make on my own was a macaroni hotdish. Still a favorite of mine. Cooking a turkey breast or a turkey isn't difficult but you should have a meat thermometer. Making ribs isn't difficult. Making chili or a variety of soups and stews is easy. The big thing is to try it. See what you like and don't like. Take notes. Expect to fail - it'll happen. It happens to everyone whether they admit it or not. I enjoy self reliance. I'm not a person who would be in the kitchen 24/7 by choice but there's days I enjoy making a nice meal. Especially for someone who enjoys it.

Don't get me wrong. I'm far from a gourmet chef. I'm a cook. Period. I do some things d@mn well, other things terribly. But I sure am not helpless in a kitchen.

And don't let the ones who poo-poo shortcuts get to you. Take them when you need to take them. Sure it's nice to make a vat a homemade chicken stock but if you are new you probably don't have the time. Yes, even cream soups are not blasphemy.

I would suggest a couple things though: Get an instant read thermometer. I like the probe one for doing something in the Nesco or oven but even a basic one to start is fine and is only a few dollars. Also, buy a pepper grinder and some peppercorns. I found out years ago how good pepper is. I'm talking about fresh ground pepper, not that ashtray remnants they sell in the boxes. You can buy a grinder with corns in the spice department for a few dollars. Also, buy a decent pan or two. Decent doesn't mean it has to be expensive. Once I broke down and bought the Tfal Ingenio I started cooking more and more and enjoyed cooking more and more.

Don't get hung up buying every little gadget out there either. Take things slow and have fun. Also, look for a chef or two on Food Channel or on PBS that you like. You might learn from them. I like the America's Test Kitchen & Cook's Country. I learned some things from Frugal Gourmet (you can find shows on the internet. Justin Wilson taught me a lot and gave me confidence to try things. His famous line It don't make some difference and how he'd hand measure salt and sprinkle a little more - recipes are guidelines - not blueprints, most of the time. Alton Brown, The Two Fat Ladies and so many more were shows that didn't necessarily appeal to me recipe-wise, but were learning experiences. Compare notes with friends and relatives who cook. Ask them questions. Ask questions here. There's cooks at all different levels and experience and all are more than willing to help. Be aware you'll get diverse opinions! But nothing wrong with that. Just don't be thin-skinned. We all are still learning. I've got news for everyone, not one here knows it all.

Other ideas to help is try to plan companion meals. For instance make turkey one day. Then leftovers for a day, then makea casserole from some turkey, then soup. Different enough that you won't get too tired of it too quickly.

Most of all, have fun.

Pork chops - I know Cooks Illustrated has had some articles on how to do these, you can find them online.

I would do something like this. Get the thickest chops you can. Soak them in salted water overnight, e.g. a gallon ziplock with 1 tbsp salt and water. This is "brining". Take them out, pat them dry with paper towels, then rub them with oil and salt. Heat a cast iron pan over high heat for 5 minutes or until it is smoking. Drop a pat of butter in the pan, let it start to smoke and brown. Place the chops in the pan, press them down with another heavy pot, leave them for 2 minutes, then remove the pot, lift the chops, drop another pat of butter, put the chops down on their other side, weight with the heavy pot, cook for another two minutes. Check the internal temperature with a probe thermometer, at 140 F remove the chops to a plate. Basic pan fried chops.

You can then pour a couple ounces of liquor - Amaretto, Cognac, Grand Marnier, etc - into the pan on medium heat. Scrape up the bits of browned chop. Reduce heat to low, add 1/2 cup of cream or half and half, whisk to make a quick pan sauce.

While this is going on, you can roast some veggies in the oven at 400 F, drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper. Simmer some russet potatoes until soft, mash with butter and cream and salt.

The whole process might take an hour.

Jasdip,

Yep, I do mise en place for every meal I prepare whether it's a holiday dinner party or a grilled cheese sandwich. But, I'm a detailed person making it second nature. By contrast, DH is helter-skelter by nature & he makes 3x the number of trips to/from the pantry or refrigerator, hence, taking much longer to get dinner on the table. He will go to the pantry for, say, flour taking it to the counter & then go back for baking powder. (sigh) :)

/tricia

First, let me applaud your desire to learn to cook (or learn to cook better and tastier meals) - I think that is admirable!

I agree with several suggestions that have been made - Cooks Illustrated is a great resource. Their information is well researched and presented in a clear and easy to understand format. And I second Triciae's suggestion to check out Pioneer Woman's blog. She does a great job of providing recipes and techniques, and she is very entertaining to read.

One thought I had, is that you might want to find other dishes that your kids might like for you to learn. It would be a shame for you to put a lot of effort into making pork chops only to have them say they still don't measure up. Do they like chicken? There are a lot of uncomplicated recipes for boneless skinless chicken breasts that can be put together quickly and appeal to a lot of kids. Or if you want to stick with pork, what about trying out a "Schnitzel" type recipe? Boneless pork loin, pounded into thin pieces and turned in flour, then scrambled egg, then bread crumbs and quickly fried in a little butter to golden brown. It would still give you the opportunity to make a pork chop type meal, but it would be just a little different than the usual.

Best of luck to you and keep asking questions! We are all here to support you :-)

Alexa

Wiener Schnitzel
Recipe courtesy Food Network

Prep Time:10 min
Cook Time:12 min
Level:Easy
Serves:4 servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds boneless pork chops pounded thin as for scaloppini
1/2 cup flour
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons sunflower or canola oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 lemon
Directions
Place flour, eggs, and bread crumbs in 3 individual shallow dishes. Season cutlets with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour, shake of excess, dredge through egg, and last in bread crumbs.

Heat the oil in large skillet, add butter, and heat until foam subsides. Add 1 Schnitzel at a time to pan, brown from both sides about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to plate lined with paper towels and place in 250 degree F oven to keep warm. Repeat with other Schnitzel. Serve with lemon wedges.

Here is a link that might be useful: Schnitzel recipe from Food Netowrk

Who said you have to have 3 things on a plate every night? That wasn't anyone here, LOL!

Once or twice a week plan to have a hearty soup, good bread or grilled cheese sandwiches, and a salad or fresh fruit. You can make soup on the weekend and reheat it for dinner; it's one of those foods that get better made ahead and left to meld the flavors in the fridge.

Once a week cook a pot roast, roast a chicken, or make a recipe of meat sauce for pasta, then you will have "planned-overs" for another meal during the week.

If you like casseroles with a protein, vegetable and/or pasta or rice, make one on the weekend and simply add a salad. If you have leftovers, you can probably freeze those.

Stir frying is quick and easy, but you do need to prep everything ahead. We have a stir fry tutorial on our FAQ page under cooking techniques.

In warm weather, plan on a main dish salad with added protein or have "taco night" for a change. And practice one recipe worthy of a dinner party or "company's coming" so you are very comfortable with your prep and timing and can entertain with more ease. Then, when you've practiced this one menu, you can move on to perfecting a second one for those times when you want to invite guests.

Teresa

How did I? I was taught by my mother when I was 14. She owned 2 restaurants and a catering company. For me, weekend and summer work was learning various roles within the restaurant.

Instead of cooking at home, we ended up at one the restaurants and cooking for ourselves. As odd as that may have been, I picked up the art of cooking quiet easily.

33 years later, my son is taking strong interest in becoming a chef and has started to do what I did. Now he gets to cook in a real kitchen and learn the basics.

While reading is great, you'll need cooktop and oven time. Be prepared to burn, overcook, undercook and throw away meals as you progress. Failing at cooking is not a bad thing, it's how you learn by using the tools you have and being able to make adjustments.

Start with simple things (breakfast is a great place to start) and as you gain confidence move on to more difficult recipes.

And don't forget to have fun!

Along with many of the excellent suggestions, one thing that has helped me tremendously was to build a recipe collection. My mother and grandmother taught me to cook so I had great recipes early, but later found my own tried and true and now, when I need inspiration, I flip through the collection for ideas. A bunch of cookbooks on a shelf or web doesn't narrow it down enough when you need to be fast.
I make notes in cookbooks too and on recipes for future use.
Eventually you will find that most foods are variations of cooking the same techniques and it will get easier for you.

Keeping a "pantry" albeit freezer, cupboard or refrigerator, stocked with enough of the ingredients you need for many of these recipes is important. That way, you can put a tasty meal on the table with little effort and time. Rice keeps a longtime so I usually have at least 6 different kinds at all times. Same with pasta and flours.

Reading someones elses t&t recipe doesn't always translate into your t&t recipe, however. We all have packaged foods we will use that others won't ( I use store bough mayo, some only like homemade, I don't like packaged soup, etc)

And you have to think of failed food as part of the learning curve. If you throw it out, it's ok.

If I am hearing you correctly....you wonder how do you make it all come out at the same time?
I think a standard bacon and eggs and toast breakfast is one of the hardest....the trick is to learn what will "wait"...in this case bacon will wait easily 5 minutes....and toast will wait 2 or 3 minutes....but eggs, over easy must be served in a split second or they are over cooked.
Same with a meal, a pork chop will stay warm for almost 10 minutes, a baked potato can be held but, quick steamed asparagus must be served immediately or it will be over cooked....or cold.
Timing and planning cannot be over rated!
Linda c

Learning to make a bechamel sauce and its variations will take your cooking to a new level. Bechamel is extremely versatile and can make an ordinary dish special. It is quite simple.

Heat fat and add an equal amount of flour. Stir and cook until the mixture has bubbled for a couple of minutes. Add liquid in the amount of about one cup for every two tablespoons of fat. Stir until it bubbles and thickens -- two or three minutes. This is the roux.

Here's where the versatility come in. The fat can be butter, meat drippings, vegetable oil or whatever you wish. Often, the best choice is the flavorful fat left from whatever you are cooking. The liquid can be water, wine, broth or whatever you wish. Often, that will be broth or poaching liquid from whatever you are cooking.

The thickness of the sauce can be adjusted by varying the proportion of liquid to roux. Flavor can be varied by addition of herbs or cooking aromatic vegetables (garlic, onion, etc.) in the fat before adding the flour. Adding a shredded melting cheese at the end gives you mornay sauce.

A nice sauce and a simple garnish makes all the difference.

Jim

I completely agree with caliloo.

After years of trying to replicate her MIL's famous pea soup, my mother quickly tired of hearing my father say, "It's good, but it's not the same as hers"

I've fallen into that trap myself, trying to make dishes that my mother had perfected (potato salad!), only to be disappointed that they didn't measure up. Find your own specialty.

Staging and timing do take some practice. Sometimes you may need to slow something down while you try to catch up on something else.

I also agree that Schnitzel is a great alternative to pork chops, and they are very difficult to mess up. Definitely give that a try.

Jeri,
I learned to bake watching my mother and older sisters and helping from the time I was a toddler. But I learned to cook everyday meals when my mom started working full time when I was about 10. Every day, she would leave basic instructions, no recipes. And every afternoon I would call her at work with questions. "What do you mean, saute?" "How much salt?" "What spices?" "How do I know when it's done?" and mostly her answers would be things like "Look to see when it's all browned" "Taste it" "Smell the spices and think about what would work" "Add just enough water so it doesn't dry out". Today I cook by my senses thanks to her. I rarely use recipes. And if I do, I often change them along the way (except for baking). I do love cookbooks though. I read them like novels for ideas and techniques.

Like Teresa said, I don't cook full 3 course meals every day. Even when we have a formal meal for company, I will often add something like a great tart from a bakery or a wonderful pate and cured meat selection, so I don't have to do it all.

Like others mentioned, timing and planning is important. I rarely cook multiple dishes that all take last minute prep.

As for the shortcuts... There's nothing wrong with "assembling meals" sometimes rather than cooking everything from scratch. (With working full-time, and homeschooling part-time, I'd be lost without help from Trader Joe's!) But if you want to move more toward scratch cooking, start with baby steps. Look at the items you use that are premade that are very expensive, heavily processed, laden with sodium, or whatever it might be that would motivate you to change, and then think about eliminating that item by making it from scratch.

For example, baking a pie. You could start right off with a recipe for a delicious homemade pie and it would take hours and much frustration if you're not used to making pie crust and you don't have all the ingredients on hand. Or... you could start by buying premade crust and frozen berries and just assembling the pie. In the second case, no, it's not all homemade, but you have a wonderful smell coming from the oven baking at home and you can control the ingredients in the filling (how much sugar for example). Then the next time you might take the effort to try a cobbler. Still great fruit dessert, and making a crumb topping is very forgiving and you can use what you have on hand -- I've used granola, oatmeal, bread crumbs, flour, leftover muffins, all kind of things to add with butter and brown sugar to make a topping. Then when you feel ready, take the time to try making the pie crust and put it all together. What if the pie crust isn't great? So what. Overworked dough? Roll it out. Cut it into strips or squares, top it with cinnamon sugar and bake until golden. Way better than any store bought cookies! Then take your time and try again.

Hope this helps.
Ann

I just noticed an error in my second paragraph. It should read:

Heat fat and add an equal amount of flour. Stir and cook until the mixture has bubbled for a couple of minutes. THIS is the roux. Add liquid in the amount of about one cup for every two tablespoons of fat. Stir until it bubbles and thickens -- two or three minutes.

Jim

I had to teach myself to cook. My mom tried but we ate a lot of frozen/canned food as she had more important things to do than cook! So I pretty much had to teach myself.

I keep it simple. Aside from an occasional treat, I generally stick to a vegan diet high in soups, salads, whole grains and legumes, most of which can be easily put together and are far healthier than heavy meat/dairy dishes. I don't have to worry about something being the correct temperature. I do like some fussy dishes but 90% of the time I keep it simple.

I second tricia's suggestion. Get to know a few trusted cooking blogs. They give great ideas and help you know how to time things properly. You can also see how things are supposed to look, which makes it easier to fix a mistake during the process rather than the end.

Wow! Such great suggestions! And I will read all of them over more than once and start to use them. Thank-you!

I wrote this before reading Ann's reply - a lot of what she said relates.

Cooking is logical. In cooking, there are lots of little factoids which you need to learn. None of them are particularly difficult, but if you want to do something well you do need to find out how the experts do it. For instance, if you put wet steaks in a hot skillet, they won't brown--they'll turn gray because they're steaming rather than browning. That's why Julia Child tells you to pat the meat dry with paper towels before trying to brown it.

If you are a 'left-brain' logical type, you might look at a few resources: the cooking blog 'Cooking for Engineers' is a great site with very good recipes which instruct you in why you need to do what you're doing. Shirley Corriher's book 'Cookwise' similarly has great recipes which are instructive in both the hows and whys of cooking. (She's been on Alton Brown's show 'Good Eats' a few times.) Speaking of Alton Brown, I enjoy 'Good Eats' and usually learn something from every episode even though I've been cooking for decades. The TV show 'America's Test Kitchen' and the magazine on which it's based, 'Cooks Illustrated' are very instructional as well. And the Cooks Illustrated cookbooks are good at conveying the logic of a given procedure.

Another wonderful cookbook is Julia Child's "The Way to Cook". Everything from basic stuff to haute cuisine, but never stuffy.

A good source for cookbooks (and other books) is addall.com. It's a meta-search engine for several online bookstores. I have no qualms about buying a used cookbook; you're gonna spill something on it the first time you use it anyway. (At a junk shop I got a pristine hardcover copy of Julia's 'The Way to Cook' for only $12. Retail about $60.)

But don't be intimidated. As the Nike ads used to say, "Just Do It".

I'm fond of how-to information, which appeals to my need-to-know personality as an information geek; and luckily that type of information is so readily available these days.

I started in my mother's kitchen as a child, reading a few cookbooks and booklets that were more than just recipes; good basic training as a kid in 4-H, and bless a really great Home Economics teacher in high school where I caught the cooking/baking bug in earnest.

The public library has been a good friend for ever and always - I can check out the shelves at the library and come up with videos, DVDs and great instructional books on nearly any subject concerning cooking and baking. And all those years of watching the pros on TV. I've purchased DVDs from King Arthur Flour on several subjects. I have Shirley O. Corriher's "Kitchen Secrets Revealed!" (I also recommend her books, CookWise and BakeWise). I've watched "Good Eats" videos and DVDs by Alton Brown since they were first available on TV and also checked them out from the library. I also have a bunch of books by Harold McGee, starting with "On Food and Cooking - The Science and Lore of the Kitchen". The Cooking Channel web site has "tons" of videos (http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/). So if you want to know something, it's out there....

I'm also a life-long believer in continuing education. There are so many classes available. I've taken classes in Greek Foods, Irish Foods, sausage making, home-canning, dehydrating, nutrition, how to write a recipe, even using a microwave oven back in the 1970's, bread classes of all kinds....

And then the old saying - knowledge isn't knowledge until you share it with others - which has led to a near lifetime of teaching food and nutrition classes in our community. Everything from 4-H, Girl Scouts, to elderly men at the senior center who were now in charge of cooking for the first time in their lives.... I couldn't begin to guess how many people have taken "Bread-in-a-Bag" classes - both youngsters and oldsters. General basic nutrition and cooking classes at the Food Bank. Cooking with commodities classes, using commodity foods distributed to low-income individuals and families. These classes have been well received and are great fun.

I love food science and consider it a "good read", so you'll find a lot of technical manuals and college-level text books in my personal library. I want to know why something works or doesn't. As a Foods Judge at County Fairs I need to know judging standards, but also why one muffin, pie, cake, cookie, biscuit, loaf of quick or yeast bread, etc., isn't as good as another. What went wrong or right and to be able to share that information with entries in the competition. Those are technical skills not found in a recipe, but take years of self-study.

Anyway, it's not just one thing and you'll have to find your own comfort and interest level. I've also had some very good mentors through the years. I'm always endearing myself to someone who knows - so I can learn from them.

-Grainlady

You should pick up a "kitchen science" book. What different ingredients do in combination with each other and with heat, water, and time is really interesting. I'm sure the science is not necessary to cook well, but it is fun to learn.

"Cookwise" by Shirley Corriher or "On Food And Cooking" by Harold McGee get recommended a lot, though I haven't read either.

Even without getting all science-y, you just notice that certain ingredients and processes are used repeatedly, and you get used to what they do, and you start to lump similar recipes together. E.g. you see that most chowders are made the same way, and that, aside from the named ingredient, a clam chowder is pretty similar to a corn chowder to a ham chowder to a . . . then you don't really need a recipe to make that group of dishes.

It helps to try whatever whim comes to mind, too. It's just food, if you "ruin" it, the dish will still be edible. I'm making a chicken noodle soup from stock, chopped chicken, carrots, celery, shallots, herbs, and noodles. Standard and boring. To make the cooking more interesting, I'm experimenting with adding other stuff, a bit at a time, tasting as I go.. So far I've added minced pepperoni; diced bacon; red wine vinegar; white wine; Worcester Shire sauce; Dijon mustard; soy sauce; butter; and I'm going to keep adding whatever I feel like. It's going to be "too much", the soup would be better if I stopped now and really the soy sauce wasn't so bright. But it's still going to be edible, and I'll learn something. Maybe.

"Recipes can be followed, but if I understood why it called for those ingredients then perhaps I would have a better chance at cooking and not just following a recipe? "

I totally agree. There are thousands of recipes but only a few basic methods you need for most cooking -- except for baked goods that is, where exact quantities can be crucial. I almost never follow a recipe exactly. If it is an unfamiliar dish, I will look at different recipes until I feel I have the gist of it, then go ahead and cook. Often, the method is one I have used many times for other, similar dishes and a glance at a recipe is all I need. Even more often I use no recipe at all.

A book based on your idea is Michael Ruhlman's "Ratio", which gives the foundations for much cooking.

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Ratio

Oops! Bad link!

Try this one.

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Ratio

My exDH was the type of guy who would come in and take over when I was cooking. He'd a done it this way instead of that....etc etc.

I think he did this 3 times, and I told him he could do all the cooking from then on! And he did. Phooey. We were married 10 years and I did very little cooking.

Now I'm with a guy who will eat anything (except eggs and mushrooms, so can't complain at all) and I enjoy cooking much more now, and and am trying new recipes regularly.

Blogs are great because of the tutorial. Pioneer Woman is hilarious, and check out AnnT's, and many others.

Years and years ago Better Homes and Gardens was a cookbook we all got and became our cooking bible. It's a plaid binder. I still have mine and that was my original apple pie recipe.

If you can find something that you make well, and they can be your "trademark" go-to recipes. Instead of starting with a pie, try an apple cobbler. Tastes fantastic and much easier than fussing with pastry.
I've been on a real apple cobbler kick, addicting things! LOL

That can be baking alongside breaded chicken breasts and scalloped potatoes, for example. A whole meal done in the oven!

There are so many excellent recommendations already mentioned... kudos to all of our foodies!

No matter how well you know your way around a kitchen, I bet every single one of us gets "cooks block". I peruse Tastespotting and Foodgawker (feed your eyes) for inspiration almost daily. Use the search button if you have an inkling of what you might want to cook/bake, pages upon pages of excellence :)

( Warning! You will end up spending hours here)

Here is a link that might be useful: Foodgawker

You don't have to know much food science to be a good cook. It wildly bores me and occasionally I try to read up on things, I do have Shirley C.'s book, but I'm only really interested in having a good working recipe.
It's all about taste anyway.

"I was just wondering about something - Recipes can be followed, but if I understood why it called for those ingredients then perhaps I would have a better chance at cooking and not just following a recipe? Does this make sense?"

That makes perfect sense to me. If you're interested in this approach, check out the book "The Improvisational Cook". Good, clear instruction about technique, then lots of suggestions how to vary a recipe.

I also really love Marcella Hazan's "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking" especially for her discussion of ingredients and how and why they're used.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Improvisational Cook

Oh, when you set out learning to cooking a dish, never start with the modernized "healthy", "low fat", "quick and convenient" version. Always start with the original, unreconstructed, unapologetic, full-house version. With all the fatback, heavy cream, duck fat, salt, and other crimes against yoga tights. You want to know how the dish is supposed to taste, how it did taste when it was invented by a palace chef or poor farm wives all those hundreds of years ago, and what about that taste made it a classic dish that has survived to this day. After you've figured that out, you can start working on the "yoga tight version".

John, have I ever told you how much I enjoy your posts? You always make me smile. :)

/tricia