Nope! I have two! A good quality stainless steel set and one small non-stick for eggs is as good as it gets for stove top cooking. Easy-peasy clean up, always shiny and pretty, don't have to worry about scratches or fumes (if you have birds). Good quality doesn't have to be expensive. I've had the Tools of the Trade Belgique stainless set from Macy's for about 5 years and it still looks brand new. I love it and only paid about $150. for a 12 piece set. And use it every single day.

Val

1) Read completely through a recipe and gather all ingredients before starting to cook.

2) After chopping/dicing/slicing, use the blunt side (as opposed to the sharp edge) of the knife to scrape the results into a bowl or pan. Less wear and tear on the blade!

Lori

Learn from various sources such as the cooking TV shows. I'm no longer a fan of the Food Network but you can still learn a lot from them. You can take cooking classes. This forum is a wonderful source of learning and especially great recipes, and don't forget cooking magazines, especially Cooks Illustrated for the beginning cook.

In other words immerse yourself in it if you enjoy it.

And if some cook tells you that you should never use Velveeta Cheese, cream of ...... soups, or makes fun of you for using jello, just remember they may not be healthy, they may not be someone elses choice, but that is your personal choice. After all, rich, fatty desserts aren't healthy either but who among us doesn't eat them? Cook what you and your family likes, and do not be intimidated by what someone else says you should or should not cook.

If the knife blade is laid down at a sharp angle, like trying to cut a piece off the worktop,
when scraping the bits off, it won't hurt the blade, if it is good steel.
If it is scraped along, with the blade Perpendicular to the
worktop, it will dull.

Val:
Welcome to the CF !!!
We don't know what type of cooking you are going to be doing.
If you like SS, a large Stock Pot is useful,if you are going to make Soups or Pasta sauce to freeze.

I had a 12 Quart SS, 3 Ply, Aluminum Clad Pot, since the mid 50's. Still looks like new.
Great for steaming Crabs.

Give us some clues . I'm sure you will get a lot of Pro's
and Con's about different tools and ways to do things.
Lou

I'll second everyone tips.

Bev. Good points.
I think if you don't know how, Recipes and Cookbooks will lead you in the right direction.

You may stumble a few times but brush off the dust and keep on trucking.

Lou said that ???

I'd say cook for yourself first. If it is good share with someone else. If it is bad call the dog.

I never liked recipes.

My sister once baked biscuits that were so hard and bad the dog spit it out. She cried. Today she is one of the best cooks I know. She learned one dish at a time and can now cook a huge feast for the whole family.

: )
lyra

2. Assemble everything you need before you start.

3. Everyone has disasters. They make for interesting conversation when everyone else is sharing THEIR disaster stories. When it comes to cooking/baking - NEVER give up because of a screw-up!

4. No one "owns" a recipe. You don't have to make recipes exactly as they are written. Example: it is my opinion that finely chopped nuts are a waste of my time - I like coarsely chopped - and I nearly always double (or more) the amount of nuts called for in a recipe. ;-)

5. Food can't tell time. Times stated in recipes are only good (or bad) guesses based on some old standard, or what happened in the kitchen of the author (who's oven was off by 25°F, forgot to pre-heat the oven the day they wrote the recipe, liked the food in the recipe under- or over-done by your standards...).

6. Get a kitchen scale. When you need ingredients measured by weight, use the scale rather than trying to convert it to cup or spoon measurements.

7. Get an instant read thermometer. It is often more accurate to test foods for doneness by it's temperature than by it's color, thumping it for a "hollow" sound, water temperature on your wrist, or a number of other sensory methods which often prove to be inaccurate.

-Grainlady

MAKE NOTES ON RECIPES! How did it turn out? Too much of a spice for your liking? Too little? Maybe you thought of something you'd like to add next time? Maybe an hour was too long/short a cooking time in your oven or whatever.

Pat yourself on the back when you do something right and don't beat yourself up when you mess up. If the meatloaf is too heavily seasoned, cut it up and put in unseasoned pasta and sauce. It'll balance out.

Start with basic things you like. Don't be afraid to doctor up a can of something and later try it from scratch.

Have fun with cooking, try to make it so it's not a chore. Oh, and especially until you get used to things, I'd under-season. You can add something at the end, contrary to what some will say. Oh, and there's usually ways to salvage things if it goes wrong. But go slow and start with basics and you'll do fine.

Oh, and decent cookware makes a big difference. I like nonstick, I don't care what people say. It makes things easier for what I cook and when it's easy to clean up, it's more enjoyable. Plus the even heating I get, I cook better. I suffered with bad (and it wasn't always cheap) cookware long enough. I wish I made the move sooner. And when it wears out, replace it. Don't torture yourself.

Ask yourself what do I like to eat? What do I want to learn to cook? How much time do I have for food preparation? Why do I want to learn to cook? Who will I be cooking for most of the time - just myself, myself and my spouse/SO, small children, guests? What is my budget for grocery buying each week? What is my budget for buying cookware, knives, utensils, and gadgets?

Then come here and ask all your questions! We love to help budding foodies!
Teresa

Along the lines of what jojoco and lindac said, I think one of the leaps in my learning has been to pay attention to the underlying concepts. Like the ratio of flour to liquid to baking powder/soda seems pretty consistent in most cupcake recipes. Some might be more liquidy (and usually I have to fill the muffins cups more for those), but they're close enough that it's helpful to pay attention.

I recently made a recipe for oatmeal apple cookies. I looked at the recipe and was like this seems way off-- tons of oatmeal, very little flour, and not enough leavening. They turned out terrible, which made me kind of happy!

I also say listen to your tongue and your experience. Some weird flavor combinations aren't inspired-- just trendy. There are plenty of recipes from well-known chefs that I can't get to work-- whether because they assume a level of skill I don't have, or they just suck, they're not for me.

Hmmmm..

The internet makes everything so much easier. Don't know what the diff is between dice, mince, or chop? Google it.

Don't be too shy or independent to ASK. People like being asked for advice. Your great-auntie, the one who makes wonderful gumbo would most likely be thrilled to teach you how if you asked her.

Don't make cooking more stressful on yourself than it has to be. There are many worse things than overcooked meals, lumpy gravy, cakes that seem more like cookies and suchlike that will happen in your life. Learn to laugh over your failures and accept praise gracefully for your successes.

Be playful and creative, experiment. If something sounds like it might taste good, give it a whirl, what's the worst thing that can happen? So, you find out you don't like strawberries cut up in your salad...it's one salad out of your lifetime. But if you find it's wonderful, it can be many wonderful salads for the rest of your life!

Make notes in your cookbooks as to how recipes turned out, what changes you made, and suggestions for the future. I add faces to my notes, :P :( :O and descriptive terms like "yaag!", "yum!", "bleah!" and "MMMMMM!" I figure, they might help entertain whoever gets my books when I'm gone! :D

Lyra:
My wife would tell my Daughters ( like when making Soup )

" You start with a Big Pot " Then throw everything in and remember what you did.
Then taste test it after awhile. Add what you like.
Take notes !!!

She didn't know how to boil water but would up one of the best " wing it cooks around "

Of course, I taught her everything .

Grainlady:
Come on fess up. IN #7 -if you use the thermometer for bread don't you tap it too !!!
Have to go now !!!

Does anyone remember the Post " Kitchen or Cooking Tips "

Val :
Could you give us a short, sort of Resume.
So everyone can know " What, how and Which "

I would like to know your age, measurements, Marital
and Financial Status.
Forget it . You are probably old for me LOL!!!

Sol: Sorry , I didn't think you would see this !!!

Lou

A dull knife can make any and every job a chore.

A note on kitchen fire extinguishers !!!
Know how and when to use it.

Learn a little about Kitchen Fires.
Best thing is not to get excited.
Sometimes all you have to do is put a lid on a Frying Pan fire.
Don't disturb it and take it to the sink.

You're right !!! Know how to use it.

Ask a Fireman retired.
LOU

Cook with what is in season and buy local produce wherever possible. Produce that is shipped long distances is bred to ship well, not taste well.

Try one new thing every week. Start out with easy, simple and then move up to gourmet recipes.

A new cook should not improvise an untried recipe, make it exactly as written the first time and then play with it, if it turns out not to your liking. If you don't like some of the ingredients in a recipe, don't make it (unless the ingredients say "optional"). Also do not assume you can substitute ingredients...if the recipe calls for cake flour, go and buy some.

Before making a recipe make sure you have not only all the ingredients, but also the right equipment to make the recipe (right size pans, specialty equipment, like a zester, etc.).

If you are cooking for company, only use tried and true recipes that you are comfortable making, and result in a tasty end product. Nothing is worse than having a roomful of hungry guests and pulling an epic failure out of the oven.

After cooking for a while it gets easier to know what you should o, how you can change recipes and what techniques work best for you, your family and your kitchen.

As for equipment, I told my son-in-law that kitchen tools were like his garage tools, there's a big difference between WalMart and Snap On. THAT he understood. So buy good tools. They don't have to be the most expensive and you don't need every gadget ever designed, but a few good sturdy pans and sharp knives makes life a lot easier.

Annie

Ann

Make very sure you get the right type for Type A, B, C,& D kinds of fire, or you can kill youself putting out the fire.

Grease filre? fire on an electric stove? Do a Google search, PLEASE!

dcarch

A neighbor of mine picked a frying pan, burning with hot oil, it flared up.

So he threw it out the back door that was open.
Didn't see his Grandson coming up the steps.
Use your imagination.
Lou

And make sure that while you're Googling, no one else is trying to put out that fire in an unsafe manner.

But I agree, when starting out, keep it simple. Then branch out. Simple food, well prepared is always the best. Complicated recipes are rarely worth the trouble for a beginning cook. I saw Jacques Pepin and Julia Child making crepes Suzette on the TV this weekend. I'm sure they are yummy but I have lived my whole life without making them and somehow survived. Learn to make thin pancakes on the stovetop and add some marmelade to the syrup. Yum!

Try not to serve too much chips and dips and appetizers before dinner.

Keep them hungry. They will eat anything.

dcarch

Nobody will bite, just peck at you. LOL!!!
Lou

Here's my advice - Just because "everyone" has a certain gadget or machine doesn't mean you need to go out and buy it. If you find YOU miss having one on many occasions, then go for it if you'd like. For example, my stand mixer and food processor (both gifts) get used extremely rarely. I'd exchange those in a heartbeat for the $550 or so that they cost, and buy myself lots of stuff I'd actually use regularly.

Broaden your knowledge on foods & cooking from all cultures & taste as many as possible. If you know about it or what it tastes like, you can cook it! Never loose your curiosity & never be afraid to experiment.

If you get a chance to cook with or take lessons from a working professional chef, don't miss it. They can show you tricks of the trade that are amazing. Good techniques are one of the basic fundementals of cooking & are best learned from hands-on teaching rather than trying to figure it out from a diagram.

Enjoy yourself!!!!

I agree, the better the quality of your ingredients, the better the final product will be. I know that I'm spoiled in that I have space for a big organic garden so I can do my canning, raise my own grass fed beef, keep chickens for fresh eggs, have a place to raise a couple dozen ducks. Not everyone has that luxury, but the more you can get fresh and locally, the better it usually is.

Annie

;-)

Linked is what Snopes has to say about this.

Everything people said about tools etc is great. I encourage new cooks to shop fresh and local whenever possible...that means shop your local farmers market, try not to buy fruit and vegetables out of season as they are not as fresh and there are hidden costs of shipping them to your area...to the environment, to you for added expense of gas shipping packaging etc. Get to know the people who produce your food and honor the work they do. Ask farmers how they prepare various foods.

And ask your Grandma how she made certain things before it's too late.

This forum is one of the best learning tools and I think it's because all of the people on this forum are great cooks (and pretty darn nice, too) because they desire great food.

Biscuits have alluded me for 25 years until I read (and I think it was on this forum - maybe AnnT) mix till it looks almost right, then stop!! Finally - great biscuits!!

My mom was never really a great cook. She put food on the table, but it was the same thing always. Meat, potatoes, gravy, bread, butter, a couple of vegetables and the ever present jar of pickles. (Not sure why the pickles were always on the table.) She did well at these foods...but they all tasted the same. We were in her way if we wanted to help...to learn. I taught myself how to cook. I would have loved to have had someone to cook next to.

If you are looking for a technique, try youtube.com where you can find just about anything you can imagine.

I will take a really good knife over a freshly sharpened cheap knife, any day. Before I got my Shun knives, I would have never said that. But you don't have to spend a fortune either. I don't own a food processer and my blender is used by my DS for shakes. But I can't live without my KitchenAid mixer.

Don't not try a recipe because it has an ingredient that you don't care for. I don't care for sage. So, I try the recipe without it...it might still work.

That's very good " BUT " to the unsuspecting nubie, who happens by a Gift Pyrex or one,
bought at a yard sale, it can be diasterous.

There are no " warning labels " on used items, usually.

And someone might not know about a cut or scratch, that might be dangerous.

Just because it hasn't happened to you, for years, doesn't mean they are altogether safe.

And I think it is a good thing to warn unsuspecting cooks who are not aware, so they can be careful.

Hope this makes a little Common Sense ???

- - - - - - - - - --

I've had friends and myself, who have had bad experiences.

Just purchased a very large Pyrex Dish, recently.
I keep it in bubble wrap.

LOL

A while back I started a Post.
It went over 150 Threads and a new Post was started, by Jessy.

Maybe some of you remember. It was a lot of fun !!!
And some really good Tips.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I Googled " Good Baking Tips,learned " and the Post came up, overwhelming !!!
Take a look !

Now , I have to figure out how to " Save " all this.
Guess it would take a lot of printing ???
Any ideas are welcome.
Lou

So, I figure there must have been a crack I didn't see, or something like that...but still, it makes me a bit edgy about buying more. I like them especially well for certain things, but I've never had a metal pan explode for any reason! So, I don't know if I'll be replacing them or not.