ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

How to Cook like a Chef!

Updated on October 18, 2015

Free Cooking Lessons are on TV

Growing up, my brother amazed me. When he was hungry, he'd just go into the kitchen and whip up something. He'd pull all sorts of items out of the fridge, pantry and spice cabinet, and, with no effort, put them together into something that actually resembled food!

I, on the other hand, had to first summon the courage to enter the kitchen. Then I had to look through scores of cookbooks (my never-ending supply of cookbooks came from my well-intentioned family). Then I had to wield my way through each step of the chosen recipe - with plenty of hand-towels on hand to wipe the perspiration from my brow. I was always ready to find the footstool so that I could take the battery out of the smoke alarm when I (inevitably) burned something on the stove while searching for a measuring cup! Scorched pans, burnt meals and lots of unique looking marks on my fingers and hands was my way of life.

When my Fibromyalgia symptoms forced me to stop working, I had lots of time on my hands and decided that my new "job" was to become a domestic goddess. In addition to discovering that one dusts BEFORE vacuuming, I uncovered the secret of the art of cooking.

While I'm no chef, I am now a "Gourmet-Wanna-Be" and am ready to share my secret:

ABC's of Cooking provided Free by Chefs

Step 1 WATCH COOKING SHOWS

There's a reason that public television has survived - they were the pioneers of the DIY (do-it-yourself) movement. Now, in addition to PBS, there are plenty of great cooking demonstration shows on television: Food Network, Discovery, Fine Living and Create TV - just to name a few.

So if you want to learn how to be gourmet-like, the next time you're flipping through the channels, don't rush by the hundreds of free cooking lessons available every day!

Step 2: HAVE FUN STARTING WITH THE BASICS

I summoned the courage to enter my kitchen because of Rachel Ray and her 30-minute meals! In addition to being entertaining, she is the queen of "it's not a recipe, it's a method" cooking. Because of her easy, step-by-step way of preparing meals using common ingredients, I was finally able to put edible food on the table with minimum perspiration. "EVOO", "yummo" and "de-lish" are now part of my vocabulary.

Step 3: USE STORE-BOUGHT INGREDIENTS TO PREPARE "HOME-MADE" MEALS

Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee was my next step. She taught me how to creatively use store-bought ingredients in my "home-made" meals. She also gives Martha Stewart a run for her money with her tips on how to create "table-scapes" - i.e. setting your table, and the mood, for your dinner party. She teaches you how easy it is to prepare and serve an "ahhhh" inducing meal.

Growing my own Herbs has greatly enhanced my cooking skills
Growing my own Herbs has greatly enhanced my cooking skills

Step 4: Explore your Kitchen and Garden

I Now Grow and Use my Own Vegetables and Herbs

I moved on to Barefoot Contessa and Giada at Home. While Rachel and Sandra Lee showed me how to prepare basic meals, these gourmets took me to the next level. I began to learn the nuances of different cuisines. Ina, the Contessa, is a great all-around cook and baker. And Giada shows you how to easily prepare fantastic Italian meals, including drinks and dessert.

So, instead of using steak seasoning or jambalaya spice packets from the supermarket, I was creating my own. No longer breaking out in hives, I was able to explore my spice cupboard and found that there are hundreds of ways to use bay leaves, dry mustard, smoked paprika, nutmeg...

I have had a well-stocked spice cupboard because for years I was under the mistaken impression that if you bought herbs, great meals magically appeared! (Side note: dried spices are NOT like honey - they do NOT keep indefinitely. Check the expiration dates and replace them if they start to lose their "unique smell" - usually after 6 months to a year.)

I began to grow my own herbs and vegetables!

As I continued to watch these entertaining teachers, I began to understand that fresh herbs and just-picked vegetables bring any dish to the next level. I now plant rosemary, basil (I make a great pesto, if I do say so myself), oregano, cilantro, thyme, mint and parley. I grow three kinds of tomatoes and two types of peppers. It's a snap to prepare homegrown garden dishes that never fail to impress my family and friends. Just imagine serving roasted tomatoes and garlic with fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil and mozzarella cheese!

Step 5: Realize no two chefs cook a dish the same way!

Ahh... anything I try to say about Julia and Jacques' Cooking from Home would do them an injustice. Julia Child introduced America to French cuisine and Jacques Pepin is a premier chef (I love watching his Fast Food My Way). The show they did together as well as their individual cooking shows taught me that no two cooks prepare a meal exactly the same way. They squabble because Jacques loves black pepper and Julia white pepper in a dish... But it still turns out wonderful and they have a grand time cooking together.

They shared basic cooking techniques from two different cooking worlds but made them user friendly. It is a joy to watch these two friends cook together. Jacques and Julia taught me that the art of cooking is developing your own style and creating dishes that make your taste buds sing and dance.

As an aside: One of the highlights of my life was when my husband bought me tickets to a national kitchen expo in Washington DC. There I met both Jacques and his daughter Claudia (I watched her cooking show too). I had them sign my numerous cook books. I was in heaven!


Step 6: Follow the Consumer Reports of Cooking

America's Test Kitchen

My latest discovery is America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country. Think Consumer Reports meets Cooking. America's Test Kitchen rates kitchen gadgets, appliances and food products. Their guidance has helped me select the best "tools" to buy and use as I continue my journey to becoming a gourmet cook.

The "best way to cook (fill in the blank with your favorite dish)" segments dissects the recipe and provides a step-by-step guide to preparing the dish. They share the best product to use (i.e. which type of beef to use when making bar-b-que); cookware to use (i.e. stainless, enameled stainless or cast iron); and techniques to use (i.e. searing the meat before grilling) when preparing the recipe.

Oh by the way - America's Test Kitchen uses testers from around the Country to prepare recipes and then submit a questionnaire about the results. Guess Who's a Tester? ME!

I've learned how to make my own Stock - It's easy and a Green Way to Cook in Your Kitchen
I've learned how to make my own Stock - It's easy and a Green Way to Cook in Your Kitchen

You can cook like a Chef too!

I've come a long way in the past couple of years and you can too. In addition to watching the free cooking lessons on TV, you can also watch many of them on the Internet as well as search for that perfect recipe for your next dinner party.

Watching all of these shows has helped me get over my fear of entering the kitchen. Now I enjoy going to the supermarket to see what vegetables are in season and coming up with creative ways to use them with whatever meat happens to be on sale. I now take advantage of seasonal produce and great sales on meat to prepare dishes that I freeze to use year-round. Homemade guacamole, pesto, pasta sauce, meatballs... are always in my freezer. AND, I got so comfortable that I mastered how to use your scraps to make great, inexpensive and nutritious stock!

UPDATE: I've now expanded my repertoire to include dehydrating and canning! I've come a long way baby!

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)