Recipes

Created for the "Reluctant" Home Cook

COOKING TECHNIQUES

"It's my belief that the best way to become a good cook is to learn these basic cooking techniques."

Once you learn how to handle these fundamental techniques, you will be able to handle most recipes. Cooking is not just about recipes....it is about how to take ingredients and make them taste as good as possible.

Recipes are great road maps to show us how someone else got there, but one of the joys of cooking is to find your own paths. Knowing these techniques is like taking the car out for a spin in a new location. You're not sure where you are going to end up, but getting there will be fun.

I'm breaking down these cooking techniques into different groups. I'll start with the Basic Fundamental Cooking Techniques that are most important to learn like baking and braising and then we can look at More Specific Cooking Techniques like cooking pasta and deglazing. Lastly we will look at the How To's like how to cut an onion and how to grill corn.

 

Basic Fundamental Cooking Techniques
baking technique

Baking

A dry heat method of cooking cakes, cookies, clams & a whole lot more

braising cooking technique

Braising

May just be be my favorite way of cooking

grilling technique

Grilling

it's what us guys do best....at least that's what we think

roasting

Roasting

who doesn't love a roasted chicken or Sunday roast beef?

pan roasting

Pan Roasting

How professional cooks do it. A little pan searing. A little oven roasting.

poached chicken

Poaching

A moist heat cooking method for cooking eggs, fish, chicken, meat and fruits & vegetables. Gentle cooking for maintaining moisture & nutrients.

saute

Saute

learn to saute properly and you will be able to create hundreds of dishes without a recipe.

Stewing

Stewing

How to stew beef, chicken, fish & vegetables at home

stir fry

Stir Fry

quick, easy, nutritious, and a lot of fun

 
More Specific Cooking Methods
bread making

Bread Making

Everything you need to know about making bread including ingredients, equipment, & techniques.

brining

Brining

It's what we should be doing before grilling but don't

Cooking Pasta

Cooking Pasta

quick tips on cooking your favorite pastas

mis en place

Mise en Place

in my opinion, one of the most important steps in cooking and one most often not done.

Sauces

Sauces

How to Make Incredible Sauces at Home?

sweating vegetables

Sweat Vegetables

Learn how to sweat vegetables - an important cooking technique for many dishes.

 
How To Cooking Techniques
cut onion

How to Cut an Onion

Learn this simple but effective method for cutting an onion that I learned from a professional chef.

grill corn

How to Buy and Cook Sweet Corn

A quick lesson in buying and cooking sweet corn this summer.

How to Grill Corn

Learn how to grill fresh sweet corn whenever it is available.

caramelized oinions

How to Caramelize Onions

How Sweet It Is

Clarified Butter

How to Clarify Butter

What is it and why it is used

   
peel and devein shrimp

How to Peel & De vein Shrimp

Stop buying those tasteless peeled shrimp and learn how to do it yourself. There is also a great cooking video to show you how.

Homemade Mayonnaise

How to make Homemade Mayonnaise

Learn how to make a simple but delicious mayo for your salads, sandwiches and sauces.

 

free recipes

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Cooking Blog
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