Things You'll Need:
- a well-stocked pantry (info included)
- a good set of knives (info included)
- basic dishes, including a cutting board, bowls, pots and pans, etc.
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Step 1
Sandra Lee (from www.gourtmetbutterfly.com)Familiarize Yourself with the Process of Cooking. A great way to do this (with little effort) is to watch shows on the Food Network. It's important for your confidence if you stick to watching cooks (or chefs) who make meals you could attempt successfully yourself--keep it simple at first. As your skills improve, you can try more complex dishes (and watching more highly-skilled chefs). One cook that I have found who keeps things fairly simple is Rachael Ray ("30 Minute Meals"), however some people find her to be annoying. Another great cook for keeping things simple is Sandra Lee, whose show "Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee" encourages you to use some store-bought ingredients in your cooking to keep things easy and fast.
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Step 2
Onions (Microsoft Clip Art photo)Stock Your Pantry. Some great items to have on hand in your pantry are dry spices (garlic salt, garlic powder, fine salt, chili powder, kosher salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, rosemary, thyme, basil, cumin, curry powder, dill, thyme, parsley, paprika, cinnamon, nutmeg, bay leaves, allspice, sage, minced onion, and ginger); canned tomatoes of several varieties (diced, whole, etc.); onions; garlic; beans (black, kidney, pinto, etc.); condensed soups ("cream of..." soups are easy to use in simple casseroles and recipes); Worcestershire sauce; soy sauce; good-quality mustard; quick-cooking rice; pasta of various kinds (depending on your preferences); vinegar; white wine vinegar; sugar; flour; olive oil; canola oil; and lemon juice.
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Step 3
Knife (Microsoft Clip Art photo)Invest in a Few Good Knives. I've never heard anyone say that it was a good idea to get a pre-arranged set of knives that you might find in butcher block. I have found that I've only really needed a few good knives when I cook: a good chef's knife, a good santuko knife, a good long serrated knife (for bread), and a good paring knife.
A great site to help you decide upon which knives to buy is http://bestkitchenknives.wordpress.com/ -
Step 4
Cookbook (Microsoft Clip Art photo)Become Familiar With Basic Cooking Terms. This is easy to do if you've watched a lot of cooking shows. Otherwise, there are plenty of places online where you can read about various terms, and plenty of cookbooks you can borrow from the library that help you learn what to do.
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Step 5
Finished Dish (Microsoft Clip Art photo)Choose a Basic Recipe to Get Started. Look for a recipe you think you'd like to try that has five ingredients or fewer and just a few steps. There are many great places to look for free recipes online. Many of the cooking shows have their own web sites which include recipes that have been made on the show. One of my absolute favorite sites is www.allrecipes.com, where you can even search by the ingredients you'd like to use (or don't want to use).
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Step 6
Try a Meal for One First. An easy dish to start with (unless you're vegan or vegetarian) is to warm some olive oil--just go one time around the pan--in a medium-sized pan using the medium heat setting. Once the oil is warm, turn the heat down to medium low. Into the olive oil, put one clove of minced garlic (to "mince" means to cut it very finely; one clove of garlic is just one section of a head of garlic) and about half of a diced onion (to "dice" means to cut into small cubes). You can also choose to put fresh vegetables (or frozen) into the oil--peppers, broccoli, sliced carrots, etc. would be good. Use a spatula or tongs to keep the garlic and onion (& other vegetables) moving in the oil so it does not burn. After about three minutes, place a chicken breast that you've already salted & peppered into the pan. Whenever cooking with any type of beef or poultry, you do not want to puncture the meat in any way, nor do you want to move the meat too much. Allow the chicken to cook on one side for 10 minutes before turning to the other side. It is a good idea to keep a lid on the pan to allow the vegetables to steam and cook thoroughly. It is important that your chicken is cooked thoroughly, so allow it to sit until each side is lightly browned. Allow the chicken to cool on a platter before cutting into it (this helps prevent the juices from running out and leaving the chicken dry). All of this could be served with a side of rice.
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Step 7
Chef (Microsoft Clip Art photo)Practice Makes Perfect. Try many recipes & try them often. The more often you cook, the easier you'll find it. As you become more familiar with the taste (and smell!) of herbs and spices, you'll learn what you do and don't like and what goes well together. Before long, you'll be buying some of the cookbooks of the cooks you've seen on TV and making their recipes, impressing friends and relatives!
