Also what I've learned from watching cooking shows is there is a science behind cooking some dishes. Like what food or ingredients pulls something out of another food or ingredients. I've heard Rachael & Martha mention using things that will change or enhance the taste scientifically based on what they do when they reduce or merge.

My sister enjoys reading Cooks Illustrated because they go into the science of cooking. Why things work the way they do (or don't!) Why, when they say to use softened butter, it shouldn't be melted. Same thing, right? NO! Or why my cookies last weekend were awful (I halved the recipe but forgot to halve the sugar. Oops.)

I do think a good pan makes a huge difference. Being able to both get a good fond (cartelized bits left on the pan used to make a sauce) and also even, slower heating are both very important. I just bought my 17 year old son a few good pans (nothing crazy-Williams Sonoma brand on sale) and he is amazed at the difference from his roommate's awful non stick aluminum stuff.

We do face time cooking instruction a few days a week as he learns to cook and is doing very well. He tells me what he is in the mood for and we pick an easy recipe from foodtv.com.

And every chef needs at least one great chef's knife and a sharpening stone to keep it sharp.

Other than that, good, fresh ingredients make a difference as well. And a box of course kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

Scott, don't watch the competitions! A show that I enjoy because they make it fun is The Chew (it's on ABC around noon Central) and their recipes are on their website so you don't have to worry about copying them down. Not every episode is something I want to try but they will focus on something like quick main dishes, appetizers, desserts, something relevant to the holiday, etc. Great, well-known chefs too and at least a couple of them cook for kids at home so it appeals to a variety of audience. Nothing outrageous most of the time.

Also, there are several other chefs who have cooking programs that are more geared to home cooking.

Don't be afraid of failure. It's happened to all of us. Main thing is to cook something you think you will enjoy and since you're cooking for one, try to make it something you can portion out and have leftovers or freeze for a later meal. Focus first on something like a main dish, like some chicken dishes or beef for instance. A small boneless pork tenderloin is also easy to throw in a plastic zip lock bag with some homemade marinade during the day and then roast for a half hour. Done. Good pasta and a basic sauce is another.

Then start branching out with different ways to cook vegetables. Veggies are actually really easy. You can buy fresh most any time of the year and I find we enjoy most of them stir fried or better yet thrown in a pan and roasted with a little olive oil or butter and salt/pepper. Maybe some other ingredient on occasion, but the simple stuff always works.

That will get you started and then you can decide how much further you want to go. BTW, others have given great advice above about having good equipment. It's a process. I also think Cooks Illustrated is a great resource because they explain the 'why' and the 'how'. My brother (an excellent cook) got me started looking at CI.

Another thing - I almost always cut the amount of salt in a recipe (except in baking). I cannot stand too much salt and it's not good for you either. I figure you can always add it at the table if needed but it's hard to take out once you've put it in. Yuck if it's too salty! Sorry to be so long.

First of all, I think there's a difference between cooking and baking. Some people are good cooks, some are good bakers, some are both.

Second, don't expect yourself to come up with fancy creations from 5 ingredients. That's not where you start...instead look to be able to create a nice meal you'll be happy to serve to friends or to cook a dinner for yourself with some leftovers to enjoy.

Third, get a good cookbook...cooks illustrated is a good one that covers all the basics, but if you want to do decent, accessible, efficient cooking then rachel ray 30 min meals stuff is great. She does a lot of "chop and drop" cooking which I do a lot of...high in vegetables and flavor, so healthy, quick and easy. Go to your library...they are crammed with cookbooks that are nice to take home and try for awhile to see if you like it before you buy it.

Fourth, watch other cooking shows that are more educational. You need to know what it means when they say dice or chop or saute or fold.

Then, the rest is practice...see what you like, what you don't. Using herbs and spices is essential to even the most basic cooking. For example, sprinkle a bit of thyme on your green beans, tarragon on your yellow squash, dill on your carrots and you'll have something that's got real flavor while still being healthy. (I started using herbs with Pierre Freney's books.)

Once you get the hang of how to cook and all the basics, then you can start to branch out into foods of different ethnicities, or read descriptions on menus from your favorite restaurant and try it at home, etc.

Cooking is an art (baking is a science) so you can be creative -- either on your own or with a recipe. I'm known as a good cook in our little town. I LOVE to cook (and bake). When we have company, I'm always trying new recipes (which people often say is a no-no) and many I will never make again -- not because they aren't good (they were) but there are just so many recipes to try that it's fun to try new ones. I've taught cooking classes as well and I enjoy that. I must admit that I'm a recipe follower not a creative cook that makes things on my own. I enjoy good food and am thrilled with new tastes. I have a husband that is adventurous as well and I have become quite an expert on cutting recipes down to feed two so I don't have to eat food "forever"!

Scott a lot of great advice here. One thing I would add that for searing use a stainless steel pan. First get the pan hot, you can tell by holding your hand about 2 or 3 inches above, next add whatever fat, oil you are using and let that get hot. Usually the oil will shimmer. Add your meat and just let it rest undisturbed. It needs to brown and form a crust. If you try to move it and it resists let it a little longer. Repeat on all sides of the meat. Make for a fantastic roast or steak.

Started out with my father. He ran away from home @ age 15 to bus tables in Hells Kitchen.....he was the real deal. :0) Worked his way up to chef, then manager, then went on to be a "Country Club manager". He baked, made his own noodles, could tell you why he added sugar to tomatoes or why onions should be caramelized.

Then I gained weight eating corn, a starch, when I was 9yo. Started dieting, had to eat "right", cooked everything from scratch and never stopped. I used to soak soy beans and make vegetarian hamburgers. No one else ate them, I cooked for "one" back then.

When using a recipe, read it all the way through first to make sure you have the ingredients and understand the instructions. experience (and google) can help identify substitutions when needed. And, as other have said, practice! (And try to have fun!)

It also amazes me the people who create without a recipe.

I learned the hard way. Never put bacon bits in potato soup. I thought it would add a nice touch of bacon flavor. No. It turned my soup pink & gave it a nasty taste.

Buy yourself a cookbook geared for kids! You will be introduced to delicious, simple dishes that will help you build your repertoire. Resist purchasing expensive gadgets.

I wouldn't rely on those cooking "competitions" to teach you much of anything. The Food Network USED to have shows that actually TAUGHT you something... I miss "Good Eats". The KIDS cooking contest creep my out... the presence of off-stage stage Moms is overwhelming.

If you want to watch a show to learn to cook, I would recommend any of the classics... Julia, Jacques, Graham, Jeff. My public TV channels usually have several good, back-to-back shows on Sayrudays & Sundays.

Those "chopped" type shows are entertaining but NOT helping you understand what goes together.

I learned very basic cooking from my grandmother. Nothing fancy but all good. I learned that a whole chicken or various pieces didn't need much more that nice amount of S&P, then into oven till "done". Learned that unless it's a cake, exact measuring is not required. And if you don't have an ingredient, you can often sub for it.

As for equipment... knives are important. I don't have any that would require one of those roll up "quivers" to sling over my shoulder, but they are SHARP and do the job well. Never thought I'd want/need a stand mixer, but was convinced by SIL after she forced me to borrow hers. A blender and food processor are nice to have. Ans decent pots/pans. I usually prefer non-stick and have found no need to spend big $$ for them. A few pieces of well used cast iron are good things to have, too.

Pawprints... on "bac'n pieces"... GROSS... what ARE they anyway? Look for REAL bacon ends... if your market has them. I have a meat grinder doodad that my sister gave me. NOT required but makes ground bacon. Once rendered, browned,drained, you have REAL bacon bits that keep a nice long time in fridge. Or cook till crispy and just crumble... no "pink" coloring.

I'm pretty sure if you posted something like... what can I do with this ground beef... hunka pork tenderloin... piece of salmon or flounder... people will be MORE than willing to give you suggestion that most likely have ingredients you either already have or could easily find?!?

Always use the best ingredients you can.....those Bac'n pieces for example... That's not real bacon. Real bacon wouldn't have turned your soup pink. Even the bacon pieces in a jar wouldn't have.

I think I am a good cook but I am not a fancy cook. My mother was a good cook, and I learned a lot from her, but when I was in high school, I worked for two ladies (sisters) who owned a little restaurant. They were excellent cooks. One did all the baking and from her I learned to make pies. The other did the rest, including a plate lunch every day. It was real food...none of the prefab stuff you find a lot of today. I learned a lot from her. My best friend's mother was a fabulous cook. They were wealthy and lived in Houston and had a cook but when they came to their weekend place in the town where I lived, she cooked. I wish I had asked for her recipe for shrimp creole. I spent years trying to duplicate it. I think I have finally figured out what she did to make it so good.

To be a good cook, I think you have to love food and practice. I agree that the Betty Crocker cookbook is a good basic one to use.

Yes to the Betty Crocker cookbook being a good basic. You can probably check one out at the library or even might find one at a thrift shop or used on Amazon. There are others you could spend/waste money on too, but so many good recipes are available online or through friends. Like here.

If you enjoy reading cookbooks, find a copy of The Joy of Cooking, which explains basic techniques and ingredients. Also, if you decide to make a dish, go to YouTube and watch several videos where that dish is prepared, or look up several recipes on the net, to see how each recipe varies slightly. I used to watch 'America's Test Kitchen' on PBS, and many of their videos are on YouTube.

As for cooking for one, if it's something that can be frozen and will keep its quality and taste, get some freezer bags and freeze the leftovers you won't consume within a couple of days. Then later you can have a good meal without the fuss of cooking, or at east not starting from scratch. When I make roast pork loin, I make two, then cut the second one in several pieces, freeze, and use later in pot pie, shepherd's pie, pulled pork, sliced thin for sandwiches, or added to stir-fried vegetables.

I agree, a good, sharp chef's knife is essential, as is a good paring knife. Look around at thrift stores for other pieces of equipment--I found my hand crank pasta machine at a neighbor's estate sale, for $2.00. Found a huge LeCrueset-type cast iron skillet at the flea market, $2.00. My extra long bread pans were found at a yard sale years ago, 50 cents each.

Good luck!

Practice!

I started at a very young age, 5 YO, helping my mom and learning from her. By the time I was 10 or 11, I could make a full meal from soup to dessert. I built what I could do based on that knowlege. I liked to challenge myself on what I could do, so tried more difficult and complicated recipes and got interested in other countries dishes. I don't try to get creative, but followed a good recipe.

My twin sister, who learned the same things at the same time, never developed into a good cook. They eat out all the time. I would rather have a home cooked meal than eat out, unless it is something special like smoked meats. Even my DH says when we eat out that my 'blank' is better.

Like anything, I think you have to have a love or passion for that subject and work at it to get good at it. And it takes years of trial and error and practice. I have had my share of disasters and flops over the years. You can't give up if you want to get good at something.

Thank you caflowerluver! I agree. One can have a gourmet kitchen, topnotch equipment and loads of cookbooks, but be a poor cook that burns water. The desire and willingness has to be there.

COOKBOOKS... a bit of a "relic" I fear. A million years ago, seemed everybody got the red plaid, binder cookbook from Better Homes and Gardens as shower/wedding gifts. The cover of mine faded from red plaid to pink plaid to just about gray plaid. Very good source for basic instructions on just about anything! Thrift stores are great places to find cookbooks. When you only spend pennies for a cookbook, you won't feel guilty if you don't find many recipes of interest.

"Even my DH says when we eat out that my 'blank' is better."... SOOO true. Mine may not be "authentic" but there are a few things that I just can't find a more expensive, prepared (probably more salt and other stuff than needed). There are a few things I consider "big" food... tough to make for one or just a few serviings. I prefer MY version of chili, lasagna, stuffed peppers to stuff from freezer section of supermarket.

I don't use recipes unless I'm baking and need exact measurements but for someone just starting, recipes can be handy guides.

I rely on my nose, when I am cooking I will smell the pan, then sniff different spices and herbs until I find one that smells like it would taste good. Then add a little and taste it.

My Grandma never was able to give me her recipes. She just threw in a little of this, a lot of that, a pinch of this a dash of that. And cook to a consistency or color and it's done!

However she started cooking at 8 years old. Her mom owned a tea room in a small town in Ohio. So all the girls in the family cooked. And the boys worked the farm. None graduated highschool because they all had to work.

Practice for sure but also starting out simple, as others have suggested. Find some simple recipes that you're interested in and then make those recipes frequently. The more you make them, the better your skills will become. The more you eat them, the better your palate becomes and you can adjust seasonings. No matter what, always do your prep work before you start cooking so you have all ingredients at the ready.

It's important to know that some people are throw together cooks while others are "by the book" cooks. Start out "by the book" and figure out what you like. From there, you can get creative and improvise. This may take time though. I'm still not good at throwing things together. I start with a recipe, make it exactly as the recipe states and then tweak it if I make it again. Starting with the recipe gives me an idea of what the flavors should be. I can alter the next time I make it.

Betty Crocker/Better Homes and Gardens/Cooks Illustrated (The Best Recipe) are all great places to start. I like The Best Recipe because the steps are exact. There are discussions about how they came up with their approach so you can understand the ingredients better. The steps are pretty simple and easy to follow.

I have not read the other replies. For me, it was trial and error. Started cooking at 12 years of age.

i love to cook, and I love to eat. Specially my own cooking. :). Moni

Trial and error, practice, no fear of failure. A recipe is just a suggestion to me. I seldom follow one to the letter unless I'm baking. I take out anything I don't like and add what I do like. I don't know that everyone is able to do that. Again, it takes practice. So get in the kitchen with a good cookbook and start cooking. It's ok to just do simple things. And it's ok if at first you don't succeed.

Scott, I agree with just about everything everyone else has written here, it's all very good advice.

About cookbooks. Do you have a printer? If you do, you can find recipes on the 'net that you want to try, print them out. Keep in a notebook if you like them, toss them is you don't. Same with "how-to" pictures of cooking or baking steps, finished products, etc.. Saves the price of a cookbook, and you'll build your own book that is tailored to you.

Good quality basic equipment is all you need to start out with. Depending on the style of cooking you develop as you go along, it may be all you ever need. Many of the counter top appliances can be very nice to have but not particularly necessary. Remember, many of them weren't even invented yet not that many years ago, but people still produced very good food.

A few basic herbs and spices are nice to have, salt, pepper (nice to have a variety on hand), onion and garlic powders, maybe some dried parsley. Depends on what flavors you like. There is absolutely nothing wrong with vegetables prepared with just a little salt, pepper and a bit butter. I personally prefer almost all vegetables prepared very simply, without any extra herbs.

And it's true, the chefs on 'Chopped' can do amazing things with what they are given. But I've rarely seen any on their creations that I would actually want to eat, and I love to try new dishes!

Above all, practice! And have fun while you are practicing!

Rusty

My mother is a terrible cook and I worked long hours during most of my career, so cooking wasn't on my resume. While I was recovering from an illness, I watched episodes of Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals. It was a revelation to me how easy it was to make lots of different meals and she often gave you alternative flavors combinations for the same dish. I really recommend those early shows as good instruction for a beginner.

Recently, I wanted to add some new flavors to my basic repertoire, so I tried several of the meal ingredient delivery services. They are bit expensive, but cheaper than a restaurant meal. Overall, I found the recipes to be rather bland, but I did discover that I like rainbow trout and chicken shawarma. Since they provide all of the spices and ingredients, you don't end up with a bottle of some spice that you will never use again, a definite positive.

I think I am a good cook, but not a good baker. I don't like to bake, I don't like the measuring and everything has to be so so. I just can't do it. Cooking, now that's different, a pinch of this, a little of that, when you have the basics down you can cook anything, well almost. That darn baking has to be exact every time. I do love to eat all baked goods though.

I read cook books for ideas, rarely follow a recipe except when baking. I learned how to bake watching my Mom and my Grandmother. Cooking I learned from watching my Scottish Grandfather and my Aunt Elsie mostly. My Mom cooked meat and potatoes and vegetables and that was about it. My Aunt was more adventurous in the 1960's making things like sweet and sour chicken, honey garlic wings. We never had fresh garlic in our house growing up to cook with. My sister used to tell me I should write a poor woman's cook book. She said I can make a good dinner out of nothing. When times were lean I could make a package of Lipton's Noodle soup go a long way. Use the noddles for something, the powdered broth stuff in something else. I watched cooking shows since I was a kid, Don Ho haha was one of them and of course Julia Child and the Galloping Gourmet. I love kitchen gadgets and the favourite room in my house is my kitchen. I never had good cookware until I got my sister's after she passed away. It was a professional grade of cookware and way to heavy for her to use when she purchased it. I inherited my Aunt's orange Crueset Dutch oven which I loved for stove top cooking but since I got the glass top stove I stopped using it. Now I am so lazy, for $6 I bought a stack of aluminium foil roasting pans at Costco and for everything I roast in the oven I use one of them so I can just toss it away. I love to cook, but use way too many pots and pans and bowls when I do and I really detest doing dishes haha. It is a curse for someone who loves to cook big meals. I used to buy America Test Kitchen or Cooks County magazines and learned so much from them. You can't go wrong if you follow the temp guides for your food and cook with the flavours you like either in a frying pan or in the oven

It helps if one develops a discerning palate for good food first! I was lucky to grow up in a home where my mother was a marvelous baker and a pretty darned good all-round, simple food, cook. When I got married in 1966, it was the hay day for Julia Child on TV. I learned SO much from watching that show and from her cookbook!

If I were on a desert island, the only two books I would need would be "Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol 1", and "Joy of Cooking". Great recipes, great information about ingredients - just everything one might need to know.

I admit that I am not a good cook and do not like to bake either. Since I live alone, gluten and dairy free...as well as no tomatoes or products, no onion, garlic, nothing fried, no caffeine, raw veggies, etc....so have lost all interest in cooking. Other than salt and pepper, I really never learned to use spices....and am envious of those who do. I watch Pioneer Woman and Trisha on Saturday mornings and some of Chopped for lack of anything worthwhile watching...but they use so many things I have never heard of, let alone eaten!

IMO technique is the most important and that just takes practice which can be improved from reading, watching cooking shows, or how to videos online.

I love looking at recipes on allrecipes.com. You can sign up(free) and get a daily recipe in your email. You can also save any recipes from the site into your own personal online cookbook and even sort them into categories! I do that with any recipes that appeal to me. Then when I am in the mood for a cake, or wondering what to make for dinner tomorrow I can browse thru my cookbook. Recipes are rated 1-5 stars. I only save 4 and 5's. I Also read some of the reviews before making one. Sometimes people discover an easier way to make it or better flavor with a tweak or two. As you cook more, you might want more equipment. I've bought some very nice things very cheaply at yard sales. It's nice to have a good cast iron skillet. You can even buy a rusty one dirt cheap and come back here and ask how to clean it up and season it. I like a printed recipe right in front of me. I couldn't learn from a show!

I didn't read the other responses, so this may be redundant. I think it really depends on what kind of a learner you are. I am not good at following directions or figuring out unfamiliar things.

I had a basic, good, home-cooking experience learning from my mother. I remember babysitting for a woman who elevated cooking beyond what I'd experienced at home and that got me interested in expanding my cooking skills. With my basic knowledge I've been able to become proficient at a level of cooking that is beyond those humble beginnings, just by trying new things. I look at recipes and seem to have a knack for finding things that appeal to me and others. I am NOT an inventive, shoot from the hip cook. But I am confident in my skills and especially in my abilities to find recipes that are worth cooking, serving and eating.

Even though I grew up with things like meatloaf (and I can make a good one) roast beef, pork roast, etc. I am bored by that kind of food and eventually arrived at a place where I want more interesting, complex recipes and meals.

So if you don't have the basics from learning when you were young, figure out if you need to watch others cook, or do you need step by step instructions laid out in a logical format or ??? to have it make sense to you.

From what I've seen of you here, you seem like a social person. I would reach out to others who you consider to be good cooks and ask for help learning. Maybe you have some other skills you could trade for cooking lessons. Dog sitting perhaps? If there are any places in your community that offer learning experiences around food...look into those. Do you have Meet Up in your area? If so, look for food oriented Meet Ups. Maybe start one focused on cooking for beginners. Most accomplished cooks are so happy to share their knowledge and experience with novices.

Also, check out cookbooks for children; maybe through your public library. Try things!

My mom taught herself to cook and used a Betty Crocker cookbook. I have it now, and it's the one I refer to the most. Basics like measuring and seasoning are good things to learn, usually your recipe will tell you. Lots of fancy appliances aren't usually necessary, and won't be used often enough to make the storage and cost worth it. Keep it basic to start. I leaned to cook for a family of 8 and now find it hard to cook for 2. I freeze quite a bit, it's not easy to halve recipes some times, so I just cook it and freeze the leftovers. Great for busy days, too. Take your time, choose how you like to eat and look for your recipes in different places. Yard sales, estate sales, the library, are all good places for cookware and books. I hope you do well, and enjoy the learning experience.

I feel passionate about cooking. When my mother made food she did it with such resentment and practically threw it on the table. When I cook I use lots of spices and herbs like cumin, garlic, cilantro, basil, Chinese five spice, liquid smoke flavor and ginger. I also like to add liquor to homemade ice cream and cakes. If something comes out not tasting good I never beat myself up over it, it's part of experimenting. I cook hearty meals. People always tell me I should open a restaurant and that my cooking is the best they have ever tasted. I am not entrepreneurial and avoid risk, but it's my ONLY true talent. Onions, garlic, cilantro, basil, ponzu sauce and lemon work miracles in most recipes. I agree with a previous poster, who said that many people say they can cook but can't. Imho cooking is an art like any other.

Olychik has a lot of good suggestions. There might be local classes; our continuing ed offers one-evening cooking classes with a set menu -- might be worth trying to see if that is a comfortable way to learn. It is valuable to know how you like to learn, and then find options that support that. There are also more complex options, some restaurants and chefs offer classes, from knife skills (it's a lot easier to cook when the prep is easy) to baking, etc.

there are some basics (such as when baking, measure extremely carefully); understanding the purpose of ingredients will help when getting creative...trying lots of different foods to see what you like...hopefully you enjoy it, find things you like to prepare, and share the yummy results with friends! Good luck!

I had no one to teach me to cook. My mother didn't cook but a few things over and over. My grandmother and great grandmother were the cooks in the family but never took the time to teach me. I learned by remembering dishes they made that I wanted to have and had to recreate them from what I remember being in the dish. Sometimes it came out well, sometimes it wasn't even close to what I was trying to make.

I use recipes to a point more as a guide to how much to use of certain things and then I add what feels right to me. Mainly though I just make things up as I go. Had a soup I liked a restaurant knew pretty much what flavors I was tasting went home and got it pretty close the first time looked for flavors I thought it was missing when I ate it and the second time I made it it came out just how I wanted.

I had no idea about temperatures, cooking times nothing when I taught myself how to cook it was just a bunch of trial and error. I by no means cook really fancy. I mainly cook just down home meals.

Everyone tells me I am a good cook. I like somethings I make but mainly I try to make things I know others enjoy and I don't usually care for some of the stuff but it makes them happy which makes me happy.

I like to bake and after having a fear of making yeast dough for breads. I finally got over it and gave it a try and found I love making bread, cinnamon rolls, dinner and hamburger rolls. It is relaxing to me to knead and roll things out.

As a general rule though I am not fond of cooking. I have to be in the mood to cook something for me to put my whole heart into it. When I have to cook so people can have dinner every night I do not enjoy it and it feels like a chore.

Out of all the advice you've gotten, the best one is to practice. Stretch yourself a little, not a lot. Are you a whiz at scrambled eggs? Try an omelet (get a proper omelet pan, not expensive) and practice. Cheesy scrambled eggs are delightful but a classic French cheese omelet is a revelation - exact same ingredients, different technique.

But after practicing, you may find you just don't have the passion for it. Totally understandable. Cooking for one is hard. Sometimes you simply do not want leftovers for the next week, even if you can freeze them.

I'm a good enough cook that my friends apologize when they think they "owe" us a meal in return. I tell them, "Hey, I'm easy to please. We can go have a burger somewhere, if you'd like. Just remember - people like me NEED people like you. A good cook without an appreciative audience might as well be slinging fries at McDonald's!"

Cooking isn't a competition. For really good cooks, it's a hobby, like photography or collecting stamps. Besides, we dine out enough that we've encountered real geniuses in the kitchen - not just talent, but true brilliance. Way past my skill level, not only worthy of admiration but worth every penny.

-I was a cook in a 2 restaurants for about 20 years. The first one was in a hotel and it was mostly off of a menu. I don't remember if I made a special there. The second restaurant was a chain restaurant and it was mostly off of the menu. I remember making some soups there from scratch, but all of the pies except strawberry came in frozen. The muffins and cookie dough came in frozen also so there wasn't much cooking from scratch there either.

The I started to cooking in a small town mom and pop café. There we made almost everything from scratch. That was my favorite place to work. I made soup, pies, desserts, and a main dish special almost everyday.

On Sundays we had a buffet with broasted chicken and another entrée such as roast beef or pork, bbq ribs, meatloaf. Sometimes we had a casserole but not very often. I had to make that and mashed potatoes and gravy with a vegetable and if it was roast pork or turkey I had to make dressing from scratch too. Sometimes I made my dessert for the buffet on Saturdays and sometimes on Sunday morning. We had a salad bar on Friday and Saturday night so I had to make 3 salads for that too plus get the fresh vegetables cut up for that. I also had to cook for the breakfast customers that came in while I was doing it.

During the week we had a special and a soup and sand special. We also served the meals on wheels program at the café. So I had to make the special and again mashed potatoes and a vegetable and dessert. I had to make the dessert for the seniors and the soup from scratch and make something for sandwiches like chicken salad or sloppy joes. I also had to cook for the customers again at eh same time. I also made pies. Most of the fruit pies came in frozen but I still had to bake them. I made all of the cream pies from scratch. I made rhubarb pie from scratch that was to die for.

Every Wednesday I made pan fried chicken. I made 12 chickens. They came in cut up and I dipped them in seasoned flour and fried them until they were crisp and then put them on a baking sheet and baked them for one and a half hours. People came from miles around for that. They are still talking about how good it was.

I also made liver and onions. I usually had that every other week. I made 40 orders of that and I usually ran out. I fried the onions on the grill and then I dipped the frozen liver in seasoned flour with a little bit of sugar in it, and then in scrambled eggs and then in the flour again, and then fried it on the same grill. Then I baked it for about an hour. The seniors really liked that too.

Some of the other specials I made were Chicken a la King, beef and broccoli stir fry, beef stew, roast beef, turkey and dressing. salmon baked or patties, Salisbury and swiss steak, cabbage rolls, tuna noodle hot dish, goulash and all kinds of other things.

I was raised in a family of 9 siblings. I really never learned how to cook from my mother and she was a very good cook and baker. Someone once told me that food was so short that they couldn't afford to have us make a mistake with it. I still don't know how to make any thing that has yeast in it.

The really sad part about this is my DH is a very finicky eater and he won't eat hardly any of this kind of cooking.

If you ever have any questions about cooking just ask on here I am sure some of us can help you out.

I've very tired tonight. I had a doctor's app't this AM and then I HAD to go to the grocery - hadn't been in 10 days and "Old Mother Hubbard's" cupboard was BARE!

So tonight I took a box of lentil with red pepper soup, added another can of lentils to it and 1/2 a can of diced fire roasted tomatoes, a bit of sugar (cuts the acidity of canned tomatoes), and then a splash of red wine. I served it with toasted Eng muffins and it was delicious. A quick, simple meal that left me enough soup for two more meals later in the week. Easy and healthy.

I bake by the recipe - as Martha said, "Baking is science", but for other cooking, I often just wing it. Last night was the thighs of a grocery roasted chicken. I sautéed them in a bit of butter, added a bit of dry vermouth, added the left over wild rice from two nights before, and topped it off with just a dash of cream to hold it all together. Again, an Eng muffin, this time with Red Pepper jelly on it for a bit of zest. It took no time at all and was delicious.

I don't use very many different kinks of spices or sauces when I cook. I use Lawry seasoning salt, salt and pepper, garlic salt, onion salt, chicken, beef, ham bases.

I always say you can make soup with just about anything. I took some corn beef and chopped it up into small cubes. Then I took some hash browns and fried them until crisp and added some onions. I made a chicken broth and added the potatoes and corn beef and used some corn starch to thicken it up a little. I had a customer who told me it was the best soup he ever ate. Almost everything is better with onions in it.

Bengardening - I would love to go to any restaurant where you are the cook!

Story of my life. I can be dangerous in the kitchen. My ex was even worse!!

This is OT, but I've just GOT to ask! Bengardening, you wrote that you baked the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, and the liver for one hour. I'm really having trouble wrapping my head around those times, may I ask what temperature you used? It just seems like that amount of time would dry it out so much it would not be edible. What is your secret that I am missing here, please.

Rusty

OK now I remember. I turned the oven down to real low after about an hour. My chicken or liver was never dry. I remember I put a little water in the pan after I had the liver in it. For my seasoned flour I used onion salt, garlic salt, and Lawry's. For the chicken I also added chicken base.

When I made the cream gravy for the chicken. I made a roux with the left over seasoned flour and the drippings from the chicken that were in the pan. If I needed more flour I just used plain flour. Then I added water until it was the right consistency like gravy should be. Then I added dry creamer. I always had corn with the chicken. I like mashed potatoes, with corn on top and then the gravy on top of that.

When I made liver and onions they always wanted spinach for the vegetable.

I am the kind of person who usually likes to have a recipe though when I am cooking.

I maintain that an old GF of mine believed the smoke detector was a timer. Anyway, a couple thoughts: For cookbooks, I still like the church/school/local fundraiser type cookbooks. Yes, there's duplicates and yes it'll use canned goods and other convenience items but for confidence building they're a good place to start IMO. Plus I find many of them entertaining to read.

You've said you cook soup, stew, roast, etc, so you're not a total newbie to cooking. Do you like what you cook? If so, you're a good cook. Has anyone complemented you on your cooking? If so, it's confirmed. "Good" is a subjective term. If you don't like your cooking or are "meh" about it, what's wrong? Under/over seasoned? Under/over cooked? If something like that, that's a good place to start.

"Cooking" is also apparently a subjective term. I know people to take a store-bought rotisserie chicken, some frozen vegetables, a can of soup, some Minute Rice and a frozen pie crust with some canned pie filling and say they "cooked". OK. If that's cooking to them, more power to them. Don't get me wrong, convenience foods are fine if that's your thing and often it can help you improve. Example: Maybe you like lasagna and start with a frozen one. Then maybe you think it needs more cheese and a little more seasoning. Good. Put on more cheese and add some seasoning. Make your own garlic bread to go with it. Then when you're more confident, try making a lasagna of your own. You don't need to make your own noodles unless you want to. And there are some good bottled/canned pasta sauces. Try some different cheeses you like. Maybe put in some cooked sausage instead of hamburger or stick with burger. Do a little more each time or progress at your own speed.

Are you being intimidated by the shows that everything has to be "gourmet" or some fancy presentation? I personally do not eat with my eyes, I eat with my mouth and my taste buds tell me if it's good or not. That piece of parsley on the plate and having the fish sticks stacked in a pyramid do nothing for me.

I suspect there's some modesty here. Like I said, you know how to cook some things so don't put yourself down. I know a several people who would love to be able to cook roasts, soups, stews, etc.

Everyone compliments my Thanksgiving dinner. That is my specialty. Everything homemade & it's the bomb! But it's nothing special or creative, just a basic meat & potato style food.

BUT I've been cooking that dinner religiously every year since 1991 after my Grandma taught me.

It takes 2 hours of prep the night before & 6 + hours of cooking that morning.

Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, scalloped potatoes, rolls, pumpkin pie, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce & salad.

Nothing instant there & no recipe used. All by memory.

But I'm not a good cook when it comes to throwing things together, being creative or cooking something new.

I watched a cooking competition yesterday. They had to create a dish that included honey & blue cheese. I couldn't think of a thing. But the chef created diced fried chicken with glaze on a small bed of lettuce. It looked SO good.

The other contestant made an ice cream with honey & blue cheese, looked terrible.

My problem is knowing what goes with what and what brings out other flavors. Rachael Ray talks about it all the time. It's a food science. I missed that class in school.

I'm not real creative when it comes to concoctions, but I put together things that I like and it works for me. I can put together a casserole or a pseudo stir fry with leftovers. I'm not into fashionable foods, foo-foo foods and things like that. I enjoy many "comfort" foods, simple foods. Last night was a real treat for me, I made meatloaf and biscuits. Haven't had a lot of meat lately and had a hankering. I don't have a great memory for recipes when something requires a recipe but I don't follow a recipe per se for a lot of things. For instance, when I make chili, I tend to jot down the things I want to put into it but I'm able to judge how much to put in there. Many things just don't need a recipe, instead need a procedure. Things like turkey or ribs. The good thing is that for many "comfort" type foods, omitting things often is no big deal. For instance, a meatloaf can be good with a blob of burger, some salt & pepper and nothing else. Might not be the best but certainly edible.

Making anything interesting lately?

I'm also not creative in the kitchen. I tend to stick with my recipe and not change it by adding different things. I'm more the comfort cook...pot roast with veggies, blackened cajon grilled fish, pasta, pork chops or roast, chicken and dumplings..just to give an example. I wouldn't call myself a good cook, but what I do cook everyone loves. I think I don't experiment because I really don't enjoy cooking. I cook because we have to eat, Im good at what I do cook, but that comes with experience. I just don't enjoy it.