(Part 2) Top products from r/cookingcollaboration

Great, I’m excited to begin. Thank you for doing this!

DISCUSSION:

1. What do you like to cook? I enjoy baking particularly. Other than that, I enjoy trying new ethnic foods. I’m up for new experiences!
   
2. Who is your favorite chef? As cheesy as this may sound, it is my mother. She didn’t usually cook fancy or time-consuming dishes, especially being a busy mother of a large family. But, her meals are always the most tasty to me! No one can compare in my mind.
   
3. What is your favorite cookbook and why? My mother always used a Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, and when I got married she gifted me one too. So, it is there for sentimental value as well as making dishes I’ve come to enjoy as a child.*
   
4. What are you looking to learn? I'm interested in learning more about different cuisines other than traditional American and Greek, since I'm more familiar with those (though I'm not opposed to learning more about those either). I’m excited to hone my kitchen skills. I’d like to learn more about using herbs and spices I don’t normally use. Also, I’d like to become adept at knife skills so that chopping vegetables won’t take as long.
   
5. Do you have any recipes that you would like to make but are afraid and why? Not really. I’m always a little nervous when trying something that includes a technique I haven’t done before, but I just research the process and forge ahead!
   
6. What ingredient do you just not like and could you be persuaded to try it if the right recipe came along? There are very few ingredients I have tried that I do not like, and I forced myself to learn to appreciate the ones I didn’t like in the past (mushrooms & coconut). I suppose I usually steer clear of anchovies and things like insect flour (I’ve never tried them b/c they don’t look appealing), but I’m always willing to try something once if given the opportunity. I'd say my main limitations are not an ingredient's taste, but tend to be cost and calorie count.
   
7. What liquids do you use regularly that didn’t make the list? None. Those are the ones I use the most.
   
8. What spices and seasonings do you use regularly that didn’t make the list? smoked paprika, onion powder, dill, cinnamon (does cinnamon count? I use it in cooking meats sometimes)
   
9. What recipes do you cook regularly (or want to make) that showcase a particular ingredient (listed or missing here)? Can’t think of any…
   
   
   RECIPE DISCUSSION
   
   
   I looked through the 1896 cookbook and decided to try to translate a soup recipe into modern format. It was tough because it doesn’t specify temperatures or ingredient quantities, so I took my best guess. However, I’ll probably measure more to taste when I cook it. I’ll update with a pic once it is made. Here’s the recipe I chose and translate:
   
   
   Herb Soup with Parmesan Cheese:
   
   
   TOTAL TIME: 55min.
   
   
   Serves: 4
   
   
   Ingredients:
   
   
   

• 1 head young celery
  
  
  
• 1 bunch sorrel
  
  
  
• 1 bunch chervil (curly parsley?)
  
  
  
• 1 bundle chives
  
  
  
• 1 bunch parsley
  
  
  
• 3 tarragon leaves
  
  
  
• 6 cups chicken broth
  
  
  
• 3 French rolls
  
  
  
• 3T hot butter
  
  
  
• ½ cup parmesan, finely grated
  
  
  Directions:
  
  
  

1. Wash the celery, chervil, chives, parsley, tarragon.
   
2. Drain thoroughly and chop into ½” pieces.
   
3. Gently boil the chopped vegetables/herbs in a saucepan with 6 cups of broth until tender.
   
4. Preheat oven to 375F. Cut slices of French rolls into 1” pieces.
   
5. Dip the bread pieces in hot butter and roll in finely grated parmesan, giving them a good coating.
   
6. On a baking pan layered with parchment paper, bake bread until lightly browned.
   
7. Serve soup topped with baked French bread.
   
   
   EDIT: Have you thought about posting this to /r/cooking, /r/Universityofreddit, /r/food, etc...? I'm sure there are people in other subs that can benefit from this series.
   
   
   QUESTION: Am I right in thinking that chervil is labeled as curly parsley in the store, or is that something different?

Investing in culinary texts rather than cookbooks really helped me. These books provide very basic recipes along with relevant techniques/information. Once you get these down, it's a heck of a lot easier to be creative with your dishes (e.g. knowing the 5 mother sauces of French cuisine leads to literally thousands of other recipes).


Suggested reading material:

Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making
One of my absolute favorites, I refer to this book pretty much every time I'm in the mood for something new. The author does a great job at keeping things simple while providing great information on traditional applications (along with how to flavor things to your own tastes) for dishes ranging from Mornay sauce to Ganache.


On Cooking: A Textbook of Culinary Fundamentals
This was my required text for intro culinary classes, which makes it expensive. I'm sure finding older/used versions will be much cheaper and just as useful. This is a great resource for techniques such as deboning poultry, ideal use for various potato species, the different cuts of beef and pork, the best cooking methods for said cuts, culinary terms, etc.


The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
My god do I love Marcella Hazan. She's the Italian Julia Child, and does a fantastic job at making intimidating dishes much more approachable. While this is more of a classic cookbook than the previous two, Hazan provides info on produce selection, basic kitchen techniques, ideal tools to have, and, of course, hundreds of traditional Italian recipes with notes on altering flavor profiles.


YMMV, depending on how deep into the cooking world you'd like to get. Sometimes it's just easier for me to look through google results of a specific dish for inspiration. Good luck!

This is wonderful, I was thinking about making a post about finding new recipes.

• I will pretty much cook whatever looks good as I browse recipes at work. I mostly cooking Italian and Japanese (but I'm trying to expand my horizons)
  
  
• Watching Gordon Ramsay videos inspired me to improve my cooking. Before I cooked and I was pretty ok but now I'm actively trying to improve with every new dish.
  
  
• Based on frequency of use I would say the Skinnytaste Cookbook, but I recently flipped through Savuer: The New Classics and I found so many recipes I want to try.
  
  
• What I really want to try different regional cuisines. Pinterest can get really same-y and boring when you browse the food & drink section, and even if you search for certain types of cuisines the selection is always more "simple", Americanized, or modified for a slowcooker. While I love cookbooks I can't afford to go out and buy every "traditional [blank] meals" book that looks good.
  
  
• I'm very interested learning more about Mexican, Indian, Irish and French.
  
  
• One of the few things that stops me from certain recipes is getting the materials. Small towns are a bit limited and I'm still on the hunt for a source of lamb chops.
  
  
• The one outlet of food I'm hesitant to explore is seafood. There are some types of fish I'll eat, but it's limited.
  

So you've made a bunch of recipes, you should be familiar with basic knife skills, slice, chop, dice, batons. Everything else is a variation on those.

You probably are familiar with some dry heat cooking methods, sautée, pan fry, roasting, broiling.

You should also be familiar with wet cooking methods, simmering, steaming, boiling, braising perhaps. If not look them up.

Use these methods together with a flavor profile you're looking for, think regionally, then about what kind of flavors you really want, like garlic and rosemary, fresh tomato and basil, ginger and scallions.

If you think you've got the basic techniques down, pick up , The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs https://www.amazon.com/dp/0316118400/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_xyfywbD9B71BM

And go from there. It's a really good book

I think one of the best books that has come out in a long time is 'The Food Lab: Better home Cooking Through Science' from Kenji via Serious Eats.

http://www.amazon.com/Food-Lab-Cooking-Through-Science/dp/0393081087/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449865838&sr=8-1&keywords=the+food+lab

I dare say it is even a better first read than Harold McGee's books for new cooks.

For the love of all things holy, learn how to make appropriate substitutions. Substitution is white magic that enlivens bare cupboards or makes boring recipes sparkle. It is also a black magic that turns stomachs and causes unmentionable failures. The Food Substitions Bible is the best, but web resources can work you up to the same knowledge. When all else fails, google.