Your Cooking Companion's Guide to Basic Cooking Skills

Your Cooking Companion’s Guide To

Basic Cooking Skills

Get Off to a Great Start!

Written by:

Chef Dan

Your Cooking Companion

Smashwords Edition 2019

ISBN:9780463834923

For more recipes and tips visit Chef Dan at

www.Your Cooking Companion.com

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© 2019 Chef Dan Enterprises, LLC/ Daniel Slobodien

All rights reserved. No Part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior written permission of the author/publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

Basic Kitchen Skills

Introduction

Skill #1: Think

Skill #2: Learn How to Use a Knife

Tips for Developing Knife Skills

Let's Start Cutting

Putting Those New Skills to Work (Recipes)

Sweet Sausage Minestrone

Chopped Sub Salad

Skill #3: Accurate Measuring

By Volume: Wet Ingredients, Dry Ingredients, By Weight

Helpful Recipe Conversions

Metric Conversions

Abbreviations Used Throughout this Book

Skill #4: Learn the Basic Cooking Methods

Cooking with Dry Heat

Cooking with Wet Heat

Cooking with both Dry and Wet Heat

Skill #5: Clean As You Go

Skill #6: Practice Good Food & Kitchen Safety

Basic Cooking Terms

Kitchen Equipment

Essential Equipment (Stuff You Gotta Have)

(Non)Essential Equipment (Stuff That's Nice to Have)

(Totally)(Non)Essential Equipment (Stuff That's Cool to Have)

PREFACE

Are you a total novice to the kitchen? Are you on your own for the first time? Or, have you been cooking for years, but would like to get better? Have you ever wondered what makes a good cook so good? Why does their food look and taste so good?

It's no secret, you can be that good or a great cook! Just like anything else, the trick is to learn the fundamentals, or the building blocks. Knowledge is power.

In great detail, this eBook will present for you the basic skills, or building blocks, of good cooking. Great success in the kitchen is yours for the taking! Mastering these skills are not hard. Yes, some - especially honing your knife skills - will take practice, perseverance, and patience. However, if you stick with it, you will quickly gain the confidence that comes with success.

I believe there is an evolution in the making of a good cook. Initially, afraid to make a mistake, the cook follows recipes precisely – not making any changes. After some practice, experience, and the gaining of confidence, recipes get modified a

little here and a little there. In other words, the recipe acts more as a guide and you start trusting your instincts more. Finally, when you have developed a solid command of ingredients and techniques, you have the confidence and expertise to create your own delicious recipes.

Starting by having that firm foundation, combined with practice and experience, you will attain those higher levels. Reading this book, you will gain a much deeper understanding of the cooking processes involved. You will quickly cook with far greater confidence and ability.

BASIC KITCHEN SKILLS YOU NEED FOR SUCCESS

Let's Get You Off to a Good Start!

#1 THINK!

#2 PROPER KNIFE USAGE

#3 ACCURATE MEASURING

#4 LEARN YOUR BASIC COOKING TERMS

#5 CLEAN AS YOU GO

#6 PRACTICE GOOD FOOD & KITCHEN SAFETY

ENJOY and HAPPY COOKING!

Chef Dan

Your Cooking Companion

Back to Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

Different people cook for different reasons: Some people cook to save money. (Fast food and takeout