Cooking Basics for Dummies or Quick Fix Meals

Cooking Basics for Dummies

Author: Bryan Miller

It doesn’t take culinary mastery and great recipes to be a great cook. But then again, it does take more than boiling eggs to lure you out of ordering take-out every night. Whether you want to pick up a new hobby, win your friends and family over [move “over” after “win”?] with your meals, or eat healthier, heartier meals, you’ll need to know a few things about cooking.

Basic Cooking For Dummies, Third Edition digs you out of microwave dinners and tipping delivery persons and propels you with all the ingredients you need toward becoming a superior home cook. This hands-on guide shows you the fun and easy way to prepare meals all your guests will love, from die-hard vegetarians to the most passionate meat eaters. You’ll be able to handle boiling, poaching, steaming, braising, grilling, and other essential techniques, making it easy to master:

• Stirring up sensational soups
• Perfecting the art of the egg
• Dressing up salads to impress
• Creating wonderful pasta dishes
• One-stop one-pot meals
• Satisfying your sweet tooth with desserts
• Cooking for your boss
• Making the most of leftovers
• Meals for the most special occasions

Packed with over 150 tempting, hassle-free recipes that will satisfy every palette, as well as advice on supplying, organizing, and budgeting your kitchen, you’ll have all the know-how to become a culinary expert and possess the elusive key to anyone’s stomach!

Table of Contents:

	Foreword	xvii
	Introduction	1
	About This Book	2
	Conventions Used in This Book	2
	What You're Not to Read	3
	Foolish Assumptions	4
	How This Book Is Organized	4
	Icons Used in This Book	6
	Where to Go from Here	7
Part I	Go On In - It's Only the Kitchen	9
Chapter 1	Cooking with Confidence	11
	Warming Up to Your Kitchen	12
	Setting up your cooking space	12
	Introducing major appliances: Friends, not foes	15
	Getting Acquainted with Basic Cooking Techniques	20
	Planning Your Menu	21
	Kitchen Safety 101	22
	Now Get Crackin'!	24
Chapter 2	Gathering the Tools You Need	27
	Collecting Your Cookware Basics	27
	Pots and Pans 101	28
	Comparing cookware before you buy	28
	Investing in the essentials...and then some	29
	Extras you may not want to live without	35
	From Slicing to Dicing: Knives for All Occasions	36
	Selecting the knives you need	36
	Using knives safely	39
	Tools for Mixing and Baking	40
	Small Appliances: Necessity or Luxury?	43
	Slow cookers and pressure cookers	44
	Toasters and toaster ovens	45
	Electric griddles and stovetop grills	45
	Mixers, beaters, and blenders	45
	Food processors, choppers, dicers, and slicers	46
	Java station: Coffee makers and grinders	47
	Specialty appliances: Help or hype?	47
	Miscellaneous Gizmos and Gadgets	47
Chapter 3	The Bare Necessities: Stocking Your Pantry	51
	Dry Goods: The Pantry's Backbone	52
	Spicing Up Your Life with Dried Herbs, Spices, and Seasonings	52
	Peanut Butter and Beyond: Bottled and Canned Goods	58
	Condiments to Fancy-Up Any Meal	60
	Stocking Up on Baking Supplies	61
	Cooling It with Refrigerated and Frozen Staples	63
	Squeezing the Melon: Buying and Storing Fruits and Vegetables	66
	Picking your produce	66
	Stocking your produce bin like a pro	67
	Storing produce to last	68
	Selecting, Buying, and Storing Meat, Poultry, and Fish	69
	Beef	70
	Chicken	71
	Fish	72
Part II	Know Your Techniques	75
Chapter 4	Boiling, Poaching, and Steaming	77
	Cooking Food with Water: The Techniques Defined	77
	Making Rice Just Right	79
	Converted or parboiled rice	80
	Long-grain and short-grain rice	81
	Wild rice	85
	Brown rice	85
	Working with Other Whole Grains	86
	Boiling and Steaming Delicious Vegetables	89
	Simple tips for boiling and steaming a dozen fresh vegetables	92
	Trying something new: Vegetable purees	94
	Poaching Seafood	95
Chapter 5	Sauteing	99
	Knowing When to Use Oil or Butter	100
	Making Great Sauce from Bits in the Pan: Deglazing	101
	Mincing Onions and Garlic	102
	Getting Versatile with Your Sauteing	103
	Vegetables	104
	Firm, rich fish	106
	Chicken	107
	Beef	109
Chapter 6	Braising and Stewing: Now That's Home Cookin'	113
	Braising versus Stewing	114
	Try Braising - It's Easy!	115
	Time to Stew	119
Chapter 7	The House Sure Smells Good: Roasting	125
	Roasting 101	126
	Seasoning a roast	126
	To sear or not to sear?	126
	Basting	127
	Resting your roast	127
	Roasting times and temperatures	128
	Roasting Poultry	132
	Roasting Your Veggies	136
	Roasting the Big Guns: Beef, Pork, Lamb, Ham, and Ribs	139
Chapter 8	Coals and Coils: Grilling and Broiling	151
	Preparing for Grill Time	152
	Choosing charcoal, gas, or electric	152
	Grilling tips	155
	Marinating myths and facts	156
	Get to Grilling!	157
Chapter 9	Creating Sensational Sauces	167
	What Sauce Really Is	168
	Classic White Sauce from ze French	169
	Brown Sauces Worth Wearing a Bib For	172
	Egg in Your Sauce	174
	Blender Sauces: Impressive in Minutes	177
	Dessert Sauces to Die For	179
Part III	Expand Your Repertoire	185
Chapter 10	The Amazing Egg	187
	Selecting Fresh Eggs	187
	All about eggs: Grade, size, and color	188
	Specialty eggs: Worth the extra bacon?	188
	Discovering the Real Deal about Raw Eggs	189
	Getting the Techniques Right	190
	Breaking a few eggs	190
	Separating an egg	191
	Beating egg whites	191
	Folding egg whites	192
	Cooking and peeling hard-cooked eggs	192
	Enjoying Eggs-traordinary Egg Recipes	195
Chapter 11	Stirring Up Soup-er Homemade Soups	203
	Brushing Up on a Few Essential Soup Skills	204
	Up the savory quotient: Sauteing meat and vegetables	205
	Whack that clove: Preparing fresh garlic	206
	Getting to the meat of fresh tomatoes: Peeling and seeding	206
	Peeling an onion - hold the tears!	207
	Following a Few Tricks of the Soup Trade	207
	Thickening your soup	208
	Skimming soups and stocks	209
	Cozying Up to Comforting Soups	209
	Achieving the Perfect Blend: Pureed Soups	214
	Chunky Soups to Sink Your Teeth Into	217
	Getting Sweet with Soup	219
Chapter 12	All Dressed Up: Salads and Dressings	221
	So Many Dressings, So Little Time	221
	Puckering up for tangy vinaigrettes	222
	Concocting creamy dressings	226
	The Soul of the Salad: Crisp, Fresh Greens	227
	Getting your greens squeaky-clean	227
	Buying and storing greens	227
	A glossary of greens	228
	Ten Quick Salads... So Easy You Don't Need a Recipe	233
Chapter 13	Pastamania	235
	Don't Sweat the Fresh Stuff: Dried versus Fresh Pasta	235
	Pasta Tips and Tricks	236
	Name That Pasta: Pasta Types and Cooking Times	238
	Macaroni	239
	Strand pasta	239
	Flat ribbon pasta	240
	Stuffed pasta	240
	Sundry other shapes	241
	Sauces: Pasta's Best Friends	241
	Name that sauce: Classic sauce types	242
	Picking perfect tomatoes	243
	Pasta Creations	243
Chapter 14	One-Pot Meals	251
	Savoring the Benefits of Slow Cookers	251
	Speeding Up the Cooking: Using a Pressure Cooker	254
	From Oven to Table: Simplicity in a Casserole Dish	255
Chapter 15	Sweet Somethings	265
	Half Empty or Half Full: Measuring Techniques	266
	Cozy Puddings and Elegant Ices	267
	Fruit from the Oven	273
	Cookie Collection: All You Need Is a Glass of Milk	277
	Let Them Eat Cake (Or Tart or Tiramisu)	282
Part IV	Now You're Cooking! Real Menus for Real Life	291
Chapter 16	Champagne Dishes on a Beer Budget	293
	Big Dishes for Small Bucks	294
	Crowd-pleasing chili	295
	Stir-fry for pennies	297
	Super Sidekicks	299
	Root vegetables	299
	Dried beans	300
	Seasonal vegetables	304
Chapter 17	Honey, I'm Bringing the Boss Home for Dinner	305
	If You Have All Day	306
	Classy hors d'oeuvres	306
	Elegant entrees	308
	Suave side dishes	310
	Irresistible desserts - easy as pie	311
	If You Have One Hour	318
	Getting started: Quickie appetizers	318
	Entree: The short version	319
	Super-quick side dishes	321
	Desserts on the double	322
	If You Have 30 Minutes	323
	Hungry now? Instant hors d'oeuvres	324
	Main dishes in minutes	325
	Sides of veggies in a flash	328
	Speedy sweets	328
Chapter 18	Cook Once, Eat Thrice: Making the Most of Leftovers	329
	Making the Most of a Pork Shoulder	329
	On the Lamb: Serving It Three Ways	333
	Chicken Dinner Times Three	336
	Work This Way: Stir-Frying	340
Part V	Special Occasions	345
Chapter 19	Summertime Soiree	347
	Planning the Party	347
	Making Fried Chicken to Please a Crowd	349
	Serving Up Sides and a Sweet Finish	351
	Mixing Fruity Drinks for Thirsty Crowds	358
Chapter 20	Super Bowl Buffet	361
	Bowling 'Em Over with a Super Menu	361
	Ready by Halftime: Making Your Meal	362
Chapter 21	Thanksgiving Dinner	369
	Planning Your Thanksgiving Menu	370
	Warming Up for the Feast with Fresh Dips	371
	Roasting the Turkey	374
	Making Scrumptious Stuffing	379
	Preparing Holiday Vegetables	382
	Who Has Room for Dessert?	385
Part VI	The Part of Tens	389
Chapter 22	Ten Common Cooking Disasters and How to Deal with Them	391
Chapter 23	Ten Ways to Think Like a Chef	399
Appendix A	Glossary of 100 (Plus) Common Cooking Terms	403
Appendix B	Common Substitutions, Abbreviations, and Equivalents	411
	Index	419

See also: Brewmasters Table or Little Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse

Quick Fix Meals: 200 Simple, Delicious Recipes to Make Mealtime Easy

Author: Robin Miller

Robin Miller is the host of the new series on Food Network, Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller, which provides viewers with recipes, time-saving tips, and strategies for serving up fresh, healthful meals every day with the least possible effort.

In Quick Fix Meals, Robin shares her best time-saving strategies for putting fresh, delicious food on the table every night. Her recipes are organized by these techniques, which include Meal Kits (pre-prepping the ingredients for a weeknight meal on the weekend, bagging them, and having them ready to go in the fridge; the result—meals that can be on the table in literally 10 minutes); Morph-It Recipes (enjoy Herb-Crusted Turkey Tenderloin one night and you've got the makings for Chili-Rubbed Turkey Medallions or Pan-Seared Turkey with Apples and Melted Blue Cheese another night), and Greased Lightning, unbelievably tasty recipes that can be put together and on the table in 20 minutes. There are also Simple Sides that go together in no time, as well as, for those who just can't live without dessert, a collection of In-a-Snap Sweets.