Cooking Basics Baffled By The Kitchen? It’s Not As Hard As It Looks
Once upon a time, sex was the big mystery. A few people knew exactly how it worked, and they usually carried clipboards and wore white lab coats. The rest of us just bumbled around, trying not to break anything and nodding wisely when the subject came up.
Today, thanks to MTV, we all have a pretty good idea how sex works. It’s cooking we don’t understand anymore.
Now, we could spend a lot of time and space discussing why this is so: latchkey kids, working mothers, selfbasting turkeys, the national fat guilt. But does it really matter? All you want to do is get dinner on the table without bumbling around and breaking anything.
So here’s a secret. If you really want to learn to cook, there are only three requirements:
1. Practice, practice, practice. You’ll never learn if you don’t try. So promise yourself you’ll make one new dish a week.
2. Don’t blame yourself when you make a mistake. You fell down a few times when you were learning to ride a bike, didn’t you? A fallen souffle is a lot less painful than a skinned knee.
3. Be brave. Don’t be afraid to attempt something new. Try separating an egg in your hand, for instance; it’s easier than it sounds, and it increases your respect for the egg.
Beyond that, all you need to know are a few basics. Master those, and the rest is, well, gravy.
We asked some experts what they thought were the most valuable cooking skills. Among the answers:
Nathalie Dupree, TV cooking host and cookbook author: “People are terrified of pies and biscuits. Grown people are walking around terrified of something that costs 50 cents to make! I consider it my mission to teach pies and biscuits.”
Paul Grimes, a chef for Food & Wine magazine: He would teach how to roast a chicken and how to make a vinaigrette, because both are so versatile. “It demystifies cooking for people when you can show people how many things they can do with one technique.”
Zanne Early Stewart, executive food editor, Gourmet magazine: “People may not believe how vital it is, but a good sharp knife and the rudiments of how to use it make all the difference on earth.” An 8-inch chef’s knife, a paring knife and a knife sharpener are indispensable, she says. And no one else should use your knives, Stewart says: “What we find in the test kitchen is that just the way somebody else holds it tends to dull it.”
Doug Crichton, editor, Cooking Light magazine, who ran the question by the magazine’s test kitchen staff: “Hands down was how to measure,” he said, such as the difference between wet and dry cups and the correct way to measure flour (overfill the cup and level off with a knife). “No. 2 for us would be basic baking techniques, just spending a few minutes on beating egg whites, folding, creaming, quick bread procedure, that sort of thing. And then, basically making sure they know how to read a recipe.”
Marion Cunningham, author of “The Fannie Farmer Cookbook” and “Cooking With Children,” now working on a cookbook for latchkey children: First, teach kids how to measure properly, “because that’s what it’s all about.” Then teach them how to stir properly. “You would think we would be born with the sense to hold the bowl when we stir. Not so.” She teaches children to hold the bowl with one hand and stir with the other. “Then they like it so much they don’t want to stop and you have to wrench the bowl away.”
Since it’s back-to-school time, here’s some homework for all you kitchen kindergartners to practice.
Basic Pie Crust
If you don’t need the second crust right away, place it between two layers of plastic wrap, fold in fourths, slip into a resealable plastic bag and freeze. Let stand at room temperature about 30 minutes to thaw.
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for rolling out crust
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
6 to 7 tablespoons ice water, divided
In mixing bowl, stir together flour and salt. Add shortening. Rub lightly between your fingertips or cut in with fork, 2 knives or pastry blender until flour looks grainy and no pieces of shortening are larger than a pea. Sprinkle 2 or 3 tablespoons of very cold water over flour and stir lightly with fork until water is absorbed.
Continue adding 1 tablespoon water at a time and stirring lightly until dough pulls together. Divide dough in half. Gather each half into a ball, pressing in any leftover flour. Wrap each with plastic wrap, pressing slightly into flattened discs. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Remove 1 section of dough from refrigerator. Dust counter or pastry cloth with flour, sprinkling a little on pastry and on rolling pin. Working out from center in light, short strokes, roll out pastry until round enough to fit in pie or tart pan. Roll up over rolling pin and drape over pan, easing into place. Trim crust even with pan.
Roll out second crust in same manner. Fill pie pan with desired filling and drape top crust over pie. Cut slits in top to let steam escape. Trim top crust, leaving 1/2-inch edge. Fold under bottom crust, crimping edge. Bake as directed in pie recipe.
To prebake unfilled crust for a single-crust pie, prick bottom of crust all over with fork. Place aluminum foil over crust, pressing in. Fill with rice, dried beans or pie weights. Bake in 450-degree oven about 10 minutes. Remove foil and weights and continue baking 2 or 3 minutes or until lightly browned.
Yield: 2 crusts.
Vinaigrette
As well as for a salad dressing, use vinaigrette to marinate chicken before grilling, or mix with cold chicken for salad. Try raspberry, champagne or white distilled vinegars, or mix in a little balsamic. Add herbs, or replace the mustard with something sweet, like hoisin sauce. Just be sure to use good-quality oil.
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Place all ingredients except oil in bowl. Place bowl on folded dish towel to keep it steady. Whisking constantly, pour in oil, starting with a few drops at a time and working up to a slow, steady stream. Taste (the best way is to dip a little piece of lettuce in it), then adjust seasonings to taste. Use immediately.
Alternately, you can combine all ingredients in a jar, cover with a tight lid and shake until emulsified. Or place all ingredients except oil in a blender or food processor. With motor running, trickle oil in slowly until mixed.
Yield: About 1 cup.
Roast Chicken
If you’re feeding 1 or 2 adults, a good roast chicken can be the basis of a week’s worth of meals: Hot out of the oven. Cold and shredded for chicken salad. The carcass cooked down for chicken stock. It’s also a good way to exercise creativity; play with any herbs and flavorings you like.
1 plump chicken (roaster, not fryer)
1 lemon
Garlic powder to taste
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Remove chicken from wrapper and pull out package of innards. (If you have a cat, cover them with water and a little salt and cook for 30 minutes. If you don’t have a cat, throw them out with a clean conscience.)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken in roasting pan. Cut lemon in half; squeeze half over chicken. Put both halves in chicken cavity. Sprinkle chicken breast and cavity with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Place chicken in oven. Wash your hands and anything the chicken touched thoroughly with hot water and soap.
Roast chicken about 20 minutes per pound (i.e., 1 hour 10 minutes for a 3-1/2- to 4-pound bird), or until juices run clear when thigh is pricked with fork and leg wiggles freely.
Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before carving.
Rice
Although brown rice should be rinsed, long-grain white rice should not be - it washes away nutrients.
2 cups water or chicken stock
1 cup long-grain rice
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
Bring water or stock to full boil in saucepan with tight-fitting lid. Add rice and salt, if using, and stir lightly with fork. Put on lid and reduce heat to medium-low. Let cook without removing lid or stirring for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with fork before serving.
Yield: 3 cups.
xxxx The basic equipment Knives. You don’t need many, but it’s worth the investment to buy good ones; they stay sharp longer. An 8-inch chef’s knife, a paring knife and a serrated bread knife for slicing tomatoes and cakes will cover most situations. Colander. Drain pasta in it, or put it over water to double as a steamer. Grater. It doesn’t need to be fancy, but it does need to be sturdy. Mixing bowls. Heavy ones, in two sizes. Skillet. A well-seasoned skillet can fill a number of roles, from sauteing to sauces. If you have space, get a small one and a large one. Measuring tools. A glass, microwave-safe cup for liquid ingredients, and a sturdy set of cups for dry. Get measuring spoons that are sturdy and won’t bend (which will give inaccurate measurements). Whisk. Get one that fits well in your hand. The style with a rounded or egg-shaped handle is easier to use for long whipping sessions. Spatula. A rubber one for batters and a metal one, sometimes called a pancake turner. Corkscrew/bottle opener. Practice until you know how to use it. Pans. A roasting pan, a 2-1/2-quart saucepan with a lid and a 5- or 6-quart Dutch oven with a lid will get you through most recipes.