Cooking is fun, relaxing and so creative. If you learn to follow my five easy steps, you can take a lot of the stress out of cooking and learn to just enjoy.
First Step: Make a Menu. Don’t go to the store without some idea of what you are going to cook. You’ll waste precious time walking up and down food aisles.
Second Step: Write a Shopping List and don’t leave home without it because you are just wasting time. And you will over-shop especially if you go to the store hungry.
Third Step: Food Prepping and one of the most important steps. Learn to make things ahead of time so you can pull them out and be ready to add the finishing touches. Make desserts, side dishes and appetizers ahead of time to save time.
Fourth Step: The Cooking. This is the easy part. Just make sure you have all the ingredients out and ready to go like you see the chefs on TV have everything ready to go. Don’t be searching the kitchen for an ingredient and ruin the sauce.
Fifth Step: The Presentation. People eat with their eyes. You don’t have to go out and carve an ice sculpture, a simple sprig of parsley, basil, dill or mint can add color and life to the plate.
And when you are at the store buying basic ingredients, try to buy the freshest and very good quality products. Don’t shy away from ready-made products either. There are so many out there that can add so many flavors and make your cooking experience so simple. Once again, try to use high quality pre-made products.
I always say, “You don’t need to have a million dollar kitchen to make a million dollar meal”. When I first got interested in cooking my pots and pans were bargain basement, but they still turned out some pretty great meals. And that is fine. But, if you are an aspiring cook, you might want to step up a little and buy high quality equipment. I am not talking about quantity, you don’t need a kitchen full if STUFF, just a few good pans and, most important, some great knives. Invest in great knives and all you have to do after that is take care of them and they should last for years. And keep them sharp, if they become dull, they are difficult to use and you can hurt yourself and the food you are trying to cut.
I love gadgets, but I cook for a living. You don’t need every crazy cooking tool that comes out on the market, but if you see something that is fun, go ahead and splurge because that makes cooking fun too.
When you’re in the kitchen, laugh, dance, sing and put a smile on your face, that way you can always have a great meal and a Wonderful Life!
