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Step 1
Watch a few episodes of Emeril's show. You will quickly get a feel for his approach to cooking.
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Step 2
Inventory your cooking equipment that you need. Make sure you have pots, frying and grill pans, baking pans, knives, cutting boards and measuring cups and spoons.
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Step 3
Check your stash of spices and staples. Keeping some "core" ingredients on hand gives you more flexibility and efficiency as well as more flavor.
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Step 4
Shop for the meal you plan to make. Buy meat, poultry, fish or meat, vegetables, sides and marinades as well as any spices, herbs or condiments you need. Stock up on nonperishable basics so that you can keep them on hand for other Emeril-inspired meals.
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Step 5
Make your own stock. While this is daunting to many newbie cooks, it is not really that hard and infuses terrific flavor into any dish. Use meat, poultry, fish bones or lobster and crab shells into a large pot of water. Add vegetables and seasonings like onions, garlic and spices. Boil everything together and simmer. Use a colander lined with cheesecloth as a strainer. Use the clear stock in you cooking and freeze any extra for another day.
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Step 6
Start with a basic recipe like broiled chicken and then add your own flair. For example, if you want put an Italian spin on a dish, add garlic, oregano and basil.
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Step 7
Substitute your favorite ingredients. It's usually OK to substitute similar items in a recipe. If you prefer crab to lobster, use crab in equal amounts. If you like red peppers better than green peppers, use those instead. Leave out secondary ingredients that you dislike. If a chicken recipe calls for dates, try using olives instead.
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Step 8
Season a dish "to taste." Scoop out a spoonful of the dish as it is cooking, taste it and decide whether it is fine the way it is or if it needs more "Bam!" Emeril's famous saying means that you can intensify the flavor of a dish by adding more of any ingredient that you love. "Kick it up a notch" by adding dried or fresh spices, another splash of marinade or soy sauce, more tomatoes or lemon juice.
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Step 9
Slow cook soups, stews, meats and poultry to intensify flavor. Turn the heat down on the stove or use a crock pot to let your creation cook all day.
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Step 10
Keep tasting and tweaking as you cook. Any dish will taste different as it cooks, and you may need to continue adjusting the seasonings until it is exactly the way you want it.
