Anyone know a source of very simple recipes (main course) for someone learning to cook -...?!
I'm learning to cook and get confused with ultra complicated receipes - I'm looking for recipes that are easy to decipher, that are for 1 person and hopefully require ingredients that are non-perishable so I can get lots of practice without worrying about stuff going stale. I'm asking a lot, but. . . .;)
Answers:
I highly recommend Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything. It's full of extremely basic recipes for all sorts of things. There aren't any fancy ingredients, just the most basic way from here to there. Advanced cooks will elaborate on it from there.
The TV Series "How To Boil Water" is actually an even better place to start. Bittman assumes you already know how the basics of cooking; this will teach you the ULTRA basics.
Personally, I recommend starting with chicken soup. If you start with canned chicken stock, you've got a pretty good base. It gives you a lot of room to experiment with adding things and finding out what's involved in getting them cooked right, plus you can add vegetables which gives you an opportunity to practice your knife work. (Learning the proper use of a knife is the single most important skill in the kitchen.)
I tried my best to meet all of those requirements but it's almost impossible so i got as close as i could. First of all, allrecipes .com is a wonderful tool. For every recipe, you can enter how many servings you want and they will change the amount of ingredients accordingly; this way, you can customize anything to make 1 serving. Here are some simple recipes with few ingredients:
http:// allrecipes .com/Recipe/Chinese-Chicken-Fried-Rice-I… Detail .aspx
http:// allrecipes .com/Recipe/Delicious-Grilled-Hamburgers… Detail .aspx
http:// allrecipes .com/Recipe/Southwest-Ribeye-Steaks/ Detail .aspx
http:// allrecipes .com/Recipe/Italian-Grilled-Cheese-Sandw… Detail .aspx
http:// allrecipes .com/Recipe/Manicotti-Pancakes-II/ Detail .aspx
http:// allrecipes .com/Recipe/Grilled-Chicken-Cordon-Bleu-… Detail .aspx
http:// allrecipes .com/Recipe/Restaurant-Style-Mac-and-Che… Detail .aspx
http:// allrecipes .com/Recipe/Sausage-Spaghetti-Spirals/ Detail .aspx
http:// allrecipes .com/Recipe/Super-Easy-Salmon-Cakes/ Detail .aspx
http://www. foodnetwork .com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_993… 00 .html
http://www. foodnetwork .com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_993… 00 .html
The last one I have personally tried and LOVE! It's one of my favorite recipes, seroiusly, that i've ever tried and I usually do without the almonds.
www.foodnetwork.com
www.allrecipes.com
OK. Get a copy of "Best Recipes from the Backs of Boxes, Bottles, Cans, and Jars" by Ceil Dyer. It's a compendium of recipes using compound (grocery shelf) ingredients. Once you gain confidence, you can expand to using primary ingredients. At least it worked for me.
Made my first gravy with a cup of flour.
...going to recipezaar.com On there, you can find TONS of simple, tasty recipes, just like any other site. The added bonus is that they also have a recipe converter where you can scale down the recipes to serve as many as you wish.
http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes/simple
http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes/simple…
I'll be making this one this weekend:
http://www.recipezaar.com/259900
recipezaar.com
The source is here. Just ask people
Heres a start. Make a list of what you like to eat, or want to learn to make.
I personally started with breakfast when I was 12. Different eggs,boiled, scrambled, fried, omlets, french toast, pancakes
You have to start with basics, mashed potatoes, a good pasta sauce, a roasted chicken.....steamed veggies, rice, even cooking a box of pasta has its tips. Make gravy, soups and stews.
Start simple; sear a tuna steak with salt and pepper in oil, then experiment with asian spices, wine, and sauces
Good luck.
Sharlene,
You can email me through my profile here on Yahoo! Answers. It's past my brain's bedtime, but I have some great recipes to give you when i'm awake enough to think.
Betty Crocker
Cookbook