Cooking Basics For Dummies

Marie Rama, Bryan Miller (Autoren)

Buch | Softcover

464 Seiten

2014 | 5th edition
For Dummies (Verlag)
978-1-118-92231-6 (ISBN)

Infos

Get started cooking now with Cooking Basics For Dummies, 5th Edition! Are you looking to dig yourself out of microwave dinners and learn the ropes of home cooking? Cooking Basics For Dummies, 5th Edition takes the intimidation out of cooking and helps you start cultivating your culinary prowess in no time. From learning fundamental cooking techniques like dicing, chopping, and saut?ing to creating delicious, easy-to-follow recipes, you'll discover how to cook up crowd-pleasing meals the whole family will enjoy—all without breaking a sweat!

Even if you've never cracked an egg, this friendly, practical guide gives you all the ingredients to become a superior home cook. In plain English, it explains step-by-step how to master popular cooking techniques, such as dicing vegetables, hard boiling an egg, making quick and delicious sauces, planning menus, stocking your pantry, and so much more.



Packed with more than 150 easy-to-follow recipes for every meal of the day, from mouth-watering mains to sumptuous sides to delectable desserts
Helps you master grilling, slow cooking, baking, roasting, pressure cooking, and more
Includes tips on adapting meals to meet the latest dietary trends, such as low-sugar, low-sodium, low-fat, plant-based, and vegetarian diets
Covers shopping at farmer's markets and buying organic foods

Cooking Basics For Dummies, 5th edition is for every beginner cook or polished chef looking for a refresher on breathing new life into home-cooked meals.

Autor

Bryan Miller is a food and wine writer and a former restaurant critic for The New York Times. He has written and cowritten 11 books. Marie Rama grew up in the restaurant business surrounded by a large family of food professionals and entrepreneurs and has worked in various areas in the industry.

Inhalt

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 3

Beyond the Book 4

Where to Go from Here 4

Part I: Getting Started with Cooking 5

Chapter 1: Cooking with Confidence 7

Creating a Cook-Friendly Kitchen 8

Declutter your countertops 9

Let there be lighting 9

Organize your pantry 10

Introducing Major Appliances: Friends, Not Foes 11

Stovetop and oven 11

Microwave ovens 13

Refrigerator 15

Freezer 16

Dishwasher 16

Garbage disposal 17

Kitchen Safety 101 17

Now Get Crackin’! 19

Chapter 2: Investing in the Essential Tools 21

Collecting Your Cookware Basics 22

Picking Pots and Pans 23

Doing some comparison shopping 23

Buying the essentials 24

Getting fancy 28

Selecting Tools for Mixing and Baking 30

Considering Small Appliances 33

Graters and Mashers and Peelers, Oh My! 36

Chapter 3: The Bare Necessities: Stocking Your Pantry and Fridge 39

Dry Goods: The Pantry’s Backbone 40

Stocking Up on Baking Supplies 40

Spicing Up Your Life with Herbs, Spices, and Seasonings 42

Working with herbs 42

Studying spices 45

Peanut Butter and Beyond: Bottled and Canned Goods 46

Cooling It with Refrigerated and Frozen Staples 49

Squeezing the Melon: Buying and Storing Fruits and Vegetables 50

Where to purchase produce 53

Going organic 54

Selecting, Buying, and Storing Meat, Poultry, and Fish 54

Beef 54

Chicken 56

Fish and other seafood 58

Part II: Know Your Techniques 61

Chapter 4: The Cutting Edge: Working with Knives 63

Buying Knives for All Occasions 63

Investing in the three essentials 64

Adding to your knife block 65

Shopping wisely 65

Caring for Your Knives 67

Storing and washing 67

Sharpening twice a year 67

Honing before each use 68

Using Knives Correctly (and Safely) 69

Chopping, Mincing, Julienning, and More 69

Chopping and mincing 70

Julienning 72

Cubing (or dicing) 72

Halving tough-skinned vegetables 72

Slicing 73

Paring 74

Carving Poultry and Meats 76

Showing a turkey or chicken who’s boss 76

Cutting a pot roast 77

Slicing a leg of lamb 78

Handling a ham 78

Chapter 5: Boiling, Poaching, and Steaming 79

Water, Water Everywhere Now What? 79

Making Hard- and Soft-Cooked Eggs 80

Giving Your Veggies a Hot Bath 82

Parboiling, blanching, and steaming veggies 82

Boiling and steaming a dozen fresh vegetables 83

Making vegetable purées 85

Poaching and Steaming Seafood 86

Chapter 6: Simply Sautéing 93

Knowing When to Use Oil or Butter 94

Combining Sautéing with Roasting 95

Making Great Sauce from Bits in the Pan: Deglazing 96

Getting Versatile with Your Sautéing 97

Vegetables 97

Firm, rich fish 98

Chicken and turkey 98

Beef 98

Chapter 7: Braising and Stewing: Slow and Seductive 109

Cooking in Liquid 110

Browning before braising 110

Taking time to stew 110

Braising greens 111

Keeping Herbs and Spices in Check 112

Chapter 8: Roasting Poultr y, Meats, and Veggies 123

Roasting the Right Way 123

Seasoning your roasts 123

Brining to retain moisture 124

Searing meat before you roast 124

Basting during cooking 125

Taking a rest 125

Roasting Times and Temperatures for Poultry and Meat 126

Putting Poultry in the Oven 130

Mastering Roasted Meats 132

Beef 132

Pork133

Ribs 134

Ham 134

Lamb 136

Remembering (to Roast) Your Veggies! 137

Chapter 9: Coals and Coils: Grilling and Broiling 153

Mastering Your Grill 154

Charcoal grilling 154

Gas grilling 155

Grilling with wood chips 156

Marinating for Flavor 157

Perfecting Your Grilling Technique 158

Making Each Dish Delicious 159

Burgers 159

Chicken 159

Vegetables 160

Steak and pork 161

Seafood 161

Chapter 10: Baking Basics 171

Don’t Wing It: Measuring with Care 172

Measuring dry ingredients 172

Measuring wet ingredients 173

Measuring other types of ingredients 174

Working with Eggs 174

Breaking with care 174

Separating an egg 175

Folding, Whipping, Kneading, and More: Getting the Techniques Right 176

Perfecting Your Pie Crust 179

Making Cakes and Quick Breads for a Sweet Treat 182

Part III: Expand Your Repertoire 191

Chapter 11: Conquering Breakfast 193

Starting the Day with the Incredible, Edible Egg 193

Understanding the grade, size, and color of eggs194

Deciding whether to splurge on specialty eggs 194

Cooking Perfect Eggs 196

Simply scrambled 196

Frankly fried196

Perfectly poached 197

Beautifully boiled 197

Craftily folded omelets 198

Oven-worthy frittatas and stratas199

Making Mouth-Watering Breakfast Meats 199

Breaking the fast with bacon 199

Spicing it up with savory sausage201

Steak-ing your claim (to breakfast!) 201

Taking a Tour of Breakfast Breads 202

French toast 202

Pancakes and waffles 202

Blending Your Way to a Healthy Breakfast 202

Chapter 12: Super Soups and Savory Salads 215

Mastering Essential Soup Skills 215

Sautéing meat and vegetables first 216

Thickening your soup216

Skimming soups and stocks 218

Enriching store-bought stocks 218

Peeling and seeding a tomato 218

Showing garlic, onions, and herbs some respect 220

Trying Your Hand at Puréed Soups 220

Stimulating Your Palate with Fresh Salads and Dressings 221

The soul of the salad: Crisp, fresh greens 221

Skipping the greens but keeping the salad 227

So many dressings, so little time 227

Ten easy salad ideas 231

Chapter 13: From Sides to Mains: Great Grains and Pastas 245

Sprucing Up Standard Rice 245

Checking Out Other Grains 247

Canoodling with Everyone’s Favorite: Pasta 249

Don’t sweat the fresh stuff: Dried versus fresh pasta 250

Pasta tips and tricks 250

Name that pasta: Pasta types and cooking times 252

Topping Your Pasta with the Perfect Sauce 252

Chapter 14: Making Sensational Sauces: Fear No More 267

Starting with the ABCs of Sauces 267

Deglazing for Delicious Pan Sauces 269

Whirling Light Blender Sauces in Minutes 270

Sweetening Things Up with Delectable Dessert Sauces 271

Chapter 15: Delectable Desserts 283

Creating Creamy Chocolate Sweets 283

Finding the Indulgent Side of Fruit, Fresh from the Oven 284

Collecting Cookies: All You Need Is a Glass of Milk 285

Taking on Tiramisu 287

Part IV: Now You’re Cooking! Real Menus for Real Life 301

Chapter 16: Taking It Easy with One-Pot Meals 303

Slow Cookers: Small Input, Big Output 303

From Oven to Table: Simplicity in a Casserole Dish 304

Chapter 17: Making More (and Better) for Less 317

Creating Big Dishes for Small Bucks 317

Crowd-pleasing chili 318

Stir-fry for pennies 318

Dressing Up Your Meals with Super Sidekicks 318

Root vegetables 319

Seasonal vegetables 319

Dried beans 319

Chapter 18: Going Global with Asian and Mediterranean Dishes 327

Discovering the Asian Pantry 328

Stocking up on Asian staples 328

Starting with the basics: Asian noodles 330

Getting it right with Asian rice 331

Exploring the World of Mediterranean Cooking 332

Meeting popular Mediterranean meats 332

Goat cheese and feta cheese 333

Olives 333

Preserved lemons 334

Chapter 19: Quick Picks: Cooking with Fewer Ingredients 349

Whipping Up Dinner with Convenience Foods 349

Keeping Things Simple and Delicious 350

Chowing down on cheese 351

Serving more-substantial meals quickly 352

Seeing the Pasta-bilities! 352

Chapter 20: Summertime Soirees 361

Planning the Menu 361

Mixing Fruity Drinks for Thirsty Crowds 363

Preparing in Advance for a Stress-Free Party 364

Chapter 21: Feeding Holiday Hordes: Festive Winter Menus 375

Planning the Menu 376

Getting Yourself Organized 376

All about Turkey 377

Teasing the Palate with Fresh Dips 379

Scrumptious Stuffings and Sides 380

Last Man Standing: Holiday Desserts 381

Warming Up with Holiday Libations 382

Part V: The Part of Tens 395

Chapter 22: Ten Ways to Think Like a Chef 397

Know the Basic Techniques 397

Use Only the Freshest Ingredients 397

Get It Together 398

Understand Flavor Combinations 398

Think about Your Plate 398

Plan Your Menus in Advance 399

Be Thrifty 399

Don’t Be a Slave to Recipes 399

Simplify 400

Above All, Have Fun 400

Chapter 23: Ten Common Cooking Myths 401

Marinating Meat Tenderizes It 401

Searing Meat Traps in the Juices 401

Basting Chicken Creates Crispy Skin 402

Adding Oil to Pasta Water Keeps It from Sticking Together 402

Using Quality Olive Oil Is Important for Sautéing or Pan-Roasting 402

Using a Garlic Press Extracts More Flavor 403

Soaking Dried Beans before Cooking Improves Flavor and Texture 403

Adding a Potato to an Oversalted Soup or Stew Reduces the Saltiness 403

Cooking with Wine or Spirits Burns Off All the Alcohol 403

Rinsing Raw Mushrooms Causes Them to Absorb More Water 404

Appendix A: Glossary of 100 (Plus) Common Cooking Terms 405

Appendix B: Common Substitutions, Abbreviations, and Equivalents 413

Index 419

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 30.12.2014
• Sprache: englisch
• Maße: 183 x 226 mm
• Gewicht: 635 g
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Essen / Trinken ► Grundkochbücher
• ISBN-10: 1-118-92231-X / 111892231X
• ISBN-13: 978-1-118-92231-6 / 9781118922316
• Zustand: Neuware