Cooking

Essential cooking skills, techniques, and recipes for everyday meals.

Why Cook

• Control what you eat
• Save significant money
• Eat healthier
• Creative expression
• Impress others
• Self-sufficiency
• Better taste than most restaurants

Contents

The Fundamentals

Heat is Your Tool

Temperature Matters

Salt is Essential

• Season throughout cooking, not just at end
• Taste as you go
• Different salts have different intensities
• Salting early draws out moisture
• Finishing salt adds texture

Essential Techniques

Sautéing

1. Heat pan, then add fat
2. Wait until fat shimmers/smokes lightly
3. Add food in single layer (don't crowd)
4. Let it sit to develop browning
5. Stir/flip as needed
6. Season appropriately

Roasting

1. Preheat oven (usually 400-450°F)
2. Cut food to even sizes
3. Toss with oil, salt
4. Spread on sheet pan (single layer)
5. Roast until browned and tender
6. Don't stir too often

Braising

1. Season and brown meat
2. Remove meat, sauté aromatics
3. Add liquid (part way up meat)
4. Return meat, cover
5. Low heat, long time
6. Meat should be fork-tender

Boiling/Blanching

Boiling:

1. Lots of water, well salted
2. Bring to rolling boil
3. Add food
4. Cook until done
5. Drain

Blanching:

1. Same as boiling but brief
2. Transfer immediately to ice bath
3. Preserves color and texture

Essential Equipment

Must Have

Nice to Have

• Cast iron skillet
• Dutch oven
• Food processor
• Immersion blender
• Bench scraper
• Microplane
• Kitchen scale

Knife Skills

Grip

• Pinch blade between thumb and forefinger
• Wrap remaining fingers around handle
• This gives control

Basic Cuts

Cutting Technique

1. Curl fingers under (claw grip) on guiding hand
2. Keep tip of knife on board
3. Rock blade up and down
4. Move food, not knife across board
5. Take your time. Speed comes with practice

Flavor Building

The Five Tastes

Balancing Flavor

Aromatics

The flavor base for most cuisines:

Cooking Proteins

Meat Temperatures (°F)

Carry-over cooking: Temperature rises 5-10°F after removing from heat.

Tips

• Bring meat to room temperature before cooking
• Pat dry for better browning
• Don't move meat while searing (let it release)
• Rest meat before cutting
• Cut against the grain

Eggs

Recipes Everyone Should Know

1. Roast chicken - Versatile, impressive, leftovers
2. Pasta with tomato sauce - Quick, satisfying
3. Stir-fry - Fast, uses any vegetables
4. Vinaigrette - Better than bottled
5. Soup/stock - Uses scraps, freezes well
6. Rice - Base for countless meals
7. Roasted vegetables - Easy, healthy side
8. Scrambled eggs - Perfect them
9. Pan-seared steak - Restaurant quality at home
10. Simple braise - Transform cheap cuts

Meal Planning

The System

1. Plan 5-7 dinners for the week
2. Make shopping list from recipes
3. Shop once
4. Prep ingredients in advance
5. Cook when needed

Batch Cooking

Cook once, eat multiple times:

• Roast chicken (dinner → sandwiches → soup)
• Big pot of grains
• Washed and chopped vegetables
• Cooked beans
• Pre-made sauces

Pantry Staples

Keep stocked:

• Olive oil
• Salt (kosher and finishing)
• Black pepper
• Garlic
• Onions
• Canned tomatoes
• Stock (or bouillon)
• Rice/pasta
• Vinegar (red wine, rice)
• Soy sauce
• Dried herbs and spices
• Honey

Resources

• Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat
• The Food Lab by J. Kenji López-Alt
• How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
• Serious Eats (website)
• Joshua Weissman (YouTube)
• America's Test Kitchen