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He probably
1) had no particular interest in learning
2) had somebody else to cook for him (so no pressure to learn), and
3) may have believed it was somehow beneath him to learn to cook
There are loads of male chefs, so the gender thing is a no-go.
You, on the other hand, are interested in learning to cook. That puts you in a different class from your dad.
I enjoy watching videos to learn new techniques. It's better than just a written book or recipe because you can see what the cook is doing.
Instead of reading "season the steak", you see the cook grab a handful of salt and strew it over the meat. Like watching your grandma cook!
Watching videos might be a better idea. Are there good YouTube channels you can recommend?
How are guys bad at cooking a lot of the top chefs in the world are make. Cooking is easy I learned by watching as a kid so go watch YouTube videos. See techniques and learn flavors go together. Cooking is easy!
It’s actually not as easy as you think. I make fried eggs occasionally for breakfast and still mess it up sometimes. It’s so darn difficult to flip the egg over perfectly without ruining the egg or the yolk! Grrrrr…..
These guys do a lot of simple recipes but not all are very simple. I think that they have about 500 videos on this channel and probably 4M subscribers.
I like that they are adventurous and will try just about anything.
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As for the eggs, I find that it is a lot easier to make a good fried egg than a boiled one.
The critical step of frying an egg is making sure that the pan is sufficiently hot and has enough fat in the pan to prevent the egg from sticking.
The critical steps of boiling an egg is to use a timer to ensure you reach the desired doneness.
Cooking is a matter of getting a lot of practice and learning very basic techniques. The most critical techniques to learn is proper knife handling. Take that advice from someone who has been cut by nearly every knife there is. (Oyster knives are the worst and encouraged me to purchase special gloves.
The one advantage of using YouTube video is that you can hit pause and replay. The worst part of it is that there are a lot of poorly conceived and fraudulent recipes out there. What I mean is that there are several websites that show some really cool things. However, when experienced trained chefs try to reproduce them, they cannot do them.
Late entry:
I am fond of the Joy Of Cooking. Very readable and entertaining, as well as informative.
If you prefer video, consider Alton Brown's "GOOD EATS". Also entertaining, and informative. (Mr Wizard meets Monty Python)
. .. .
Cooking success is often due to one's cookware.
An Instant Pot pressure cooker is a useful tool for novices. The timer and thermostatic control allows it to perform as a slow cooker (like a crock pot), pressure cooker, sous vide, rice cooker, as well as other tasks. It won't do "rocket hot" stir frying though. That's the realm of cast iron and carbon steel (not stainless steel !)
A neophyte cook could probably do well with one Instant Pot, one cast iron skillet, and a small stainless steel sauce pan or pot (1 to 2 qt). Avoid nonstick pans. repeat. Avoid nonstick pans. They're generally a waste of money, and will lose their coating into your food. (Yech!). (Nonstick coating on thermostatic controlled pans perform better, due in part to the control of heat. Unfortunately stove top pans often get exposed to excessively high temperatures that cause the coating to begin to break down...)
A simple taste test of the difference between pots. Put one cup of water in a used nonstick coated pan, bring to boil, then pour into a cup, let cool. Put one cup of water in a stainless steel pan, bring to boil, pour into another cup, also let cool. Taste each. I found that the nonstick is wretched. Case closed.
Special mention. If you're experimenting with low carb eating (Ketogenic diet, Carnivore diet, etc), you might benefit from a waffle maker. (Dash Mini is a popular choice).
Why a waffle maker?
The chaffle.
It's an egg & cheese waffle that can be transformed into a host of substitutions for bread, pizza crust, okonomiyaki, and so on. You can add shredded vegetables, cooked meats, etc, etc. Wonderful gadget.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jlawrence01
A piece of advice for ALL home cooks.
Have a fire extinguisher
Good idea!
Years ago when still living with my parents I'd get home from work before them and would sometimes try to have dinner ready when they got home. One time I was trying a recipe of chicken breasts in a cream/cognac sauce that was flambeed I didn't realize how warmed cognac would react, the flames bouncing off the ceiling were quite impressive and seemed to amuse my pet parakeet. Fortunately the flames were literally a flash in the pan and no living creatures were harmed preparing dinner.
Years ago when still living with my parents I'd get home from work before them and would sometimes try to have dinner ready when they got home. One time I was trying a recipe of chicken breasts in a cream/cognac sauce that was flambeed I didn't realize how warmed cognac would react, the flames bouncing off the ceiling were quite impressive and seemed to amuse my pet parakeet. Fortunately the flames were literally a flash in the pan and no living creatures were harmed preparing dinner.
I burned my eyebrows off. Does that count as harm?
So I have this book collecting dinner recipes from the monthly magazine, Cooking Light - "Cooking Light the Essential Dinner Tonight Cookbook". The recipes are still tasty, but they are relatively simple, and don't take a great deal of time, and, they tend to be lower in sugar, salt, and fat than classic recipes. https://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Essen...6840318&sr=1-8
I just tried to look up their website, and I see that Cooking Light has been merged with Eating Well, and it looks like they have a lot of recipes available for free on their website. There are all kinds of interesting categories of recipes there, like Mediterranean Diet, Healthy Dinner Recipes for Two... https://www.eatingwell.com/
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