Cooking Basics For Dummies

Title Page......Page 3
Copyright Page......Page 4
Contents at a Glance......Page 5
Recipes at a Glance......Page 7
Table of Contents......Page 12
About This Book......Page 19
Foolish Assumptions......Page 20
Icons Used in This Book......Page 21
Where to Go from Here......Page 22
Part I: Getting Started with Cooking......Page 23
Chapter 1: Cooking with Confidence......Page 25
Creating a Cook-Friendly Kitchen......Page 26
Let there be lighting......Page 27
Organize your pantry......Page 28
Stovetop and oven......Page 29
Microwave ovens......Page 31
Refrigerator......Page 33
Dishwasher......Page 34
Kitchen Safety 101......Page 35
Now Get Crackin’!......Page 37
Chapter 2: Investing in the Essential Tools......Page 39
Collecting Your Cookware Basics......Page 40
Doing some comparison shopping......Page 41
Buying the essentials......Page 42
Getting fancy......Page 46
Selecting Tools for Mixing and Baking......Page 48
Considering Small Appliances......Page 51
Graters and Mashers and Peelers, Oh My!......Page 54
Chapter 3: The Bare Necessities: Stocking Your Pantry and Fridge......Page 57
Stocking Up on Baking Supplies......Page 58
Working with herbs......Page 60
Studying spices......Page 63
Peanut Butter and Beyond: Bottled and Canned Goods......Page 64
Cooling It with Refrigerated and Frozen Staples......Page 67
Squeezing the Melon: Buying and Storing Fruits and Vegetables......Page 68
Where to purchase produce......Page 71
Beef......Page 72
Chicken......Page 74
Fish and other seafood......Page 76
Part II: Know Your Techniques......Page 79
Buying Knives for All Occasions......Page 81
Investing in the three essentials......Page 82
Shopping wisely......Page 83
Sharpening twice a year......Page 85
Honing before each use......Page 86
Chopping, Mincing, Julienning, and More......Page 87
Chopping and mincing......Page 88
Halving tough-skinned vegetables......Page 90
Slicing......Page 91
Paring......Page 92
Showing a turkey or chicken who’s boss......Page 94
Cutting a pot roast......Page 95
Handling a ham......Page 96
Water, Water Everywhere . . . Now What?......Page 97
Making Hard- and Soft-Cooked Eggs......Page 98
Parboiling, blanching, and steaming veggies......Page 100
Boiling and steaming a dozen fresh vegetables......Page 101
Making vegetable purées......Page 103
Poaching and Steaming Seafood......Page 104
Chapter 6: Simply Sautéing......Page 111
Knowing When to Use Oil or Butter......Page 112
Combining Sautéing with Roasting......Page 113
Making Great Sauce from Bits in the Pan: Deglazing......Page 114
Vegetables......Page 115
Beef......Page 116
Chapter 7: Braising and Stewing: Slow and Seductive......Page 127
Taking time to stew......Page 128
Braising greens......Page 129
Keeping Herbs and Spices in Check......Page 130
Seasoning your roasts......Page 141
Searing meat before you roast......Page 142
Taking a rest......Page 143
Roasting Times and Temperatures for Poultry and Meat......Page 144
Putting Poultry in the Oven......Page 148
Beef......Page 150
Pork......Page 151
Ham......Page 152
Lamb......Page 154
Remembering (to Roast) Your Veggies!......Page 155
Chapter 9: Coals and Coils: Grilling and Broiling......Page 171
Charcoal grilling......Page 172
Gas grilling......Page 173
Grilling with wood chips......Page 174
Marinating for Flavor......Page 175
Perfecting Your Grilling Technique......Page 176
Chicken......Page 177
Vegetables......Page 178
Seafood......Page 179
Chapter 10: Baking Basics......Page 189
Measuring dry ingredients......Page 190
Measuring wet ingredients......Page 191
Breaking with care......Page 192
Separating an egg......Page 193
Folding, Whipping, Kneading, and More: Getting the Techniques Right......Page 194
Perfecting Your Pie Crust......Page 197
Making Cakes and Quick Breads for a Sweet Treat......Page 200
Part III: Expand Your Repertoire......Page 209
Starting the Day with the Incredible, Edible Egg......Page 211
Deciding whether to splurge on specialty eggs......Page 212
Frankly fried......Page 214
Beautifully boiled......Page 215
Craftily folded omelets......Page 216
Breaking the fast with bacon......Page 217
Steak-ing your claim (to breakfast!)......Page 219
Blending Your Way to a Healthy Breakfast......Page 220
Mastering Essential Soup Skills......Page 233
Thickening your soup......Page 234
Peeling and seeding a tomato......Page 236
Trying Your Hand at Puréed Soups......Page 238
The soul of the salad: Crisp, fresh greens......Page 239
So many dressings, so little time......Page 245
Ten easy salad ideas......Page 249
Sprucing Up Standard Rice......Page 263
Checking Out Other Grains......Page 265
Canoodling with Everyone’s Favorite: Pasta......Page 267
Pasta tips and tricks......Page 268
Topping Your Pasta with the Perfect Sauce......Page 270
Starting with the ABCs of Sauces......Page 285
Deglazing for Delicious Pan Sauces......Page 287
Whirling Light Blender Sauces in Minutes......Page 288
Sweetening Things Up with Delectable Dessert Sauces......Page 289
Creating Creamy Chocolate Sweets......Page 301
Finding the Indulgent Side of Fruit, Fresh from the Oven......Page 302
Collecting Cookies: All You Need Is a Glass of Milk......Page 303
Taking on Tiramisu......Page 305
Part IV: Now You’re Cooking! Real Menus for Real Life......Page 319
Slow Cookers: Small Input, Big Output......Page 321
From Oven to Table: Simplicity in a Casserole Dish......Page 322
Creating Big Dishes for Small Bucks......Page 335
Dressing Up Your Meals with Super Sidekicks......Page 336
Dried beans......Page 337
Chapter 18: Going Global with Asian and Mediterranean Dishes......Page 345
Stocking up on Asian staples......Page 346
Starting with the basics: Asian noodles......Page 348
Getting it right with Asian rice......Page 349
Meeting popular Mediterranean meats......Page 350
Olives......Page 351
Preserved lemons......Page 352
Whipping Up Dinner with Convenience Foods......Page 367
Keeping Things Simple and Delicious......Page 368
Chowing down on cheese......Page 369
Seeing the Pasta-bilities!......Page 370
Planning the Menu......Page 379
Mixing Fruity Drinks for Thirsty Crowds......Page 381
Preparing in Advance for a Stress-Free Party......Page 382
Chapter 21: Feeding Holiday Hordes: Festive Winter Menus......Page 393
Getting Yourself Organized......Page 394
All about Turkey......Page 395
Teasing the Palate with Fresh Dips......Page 397
Scrumptious Stuffings and Sides......Page 398
Last Man Standing: Holiday Desserts......Page 399
Warming Up with Holiday Libations......Page 400
Part V: The Part of Tens......Page 413
Use Only the Freshest Ingredients......Page 415
Think about Your Plate......Page 416
Don’t Be a Slave to Recipes......Page 417
Above All, Have Fun......Page 418
Searing Meat Traps in the Juices......Page 419
Using Quality Olive Oil Is Important for Sautéing or Pan-Roasting......Page 420
Cooking with Wine or Spirits Burns Off All the Alcohol......Page 421
Rinsing Raw Mushrooms Causes Them to Absorb More Water......Page 422
Appendix A: Glossary of 100 (Plus) Common Cooking Terms......Page 423
Appendix B: Common Substitutions, Abbreviations, and Equivalents......Page 431
Index......Page 437
About the Authors......Page 457
Supplemental Images
......Page 459