The Basics

Cooking is pretty straight forward, but there are a few essential things that I would recommend to anyone.  I always recommend good pots and pans.  You don’t have to go out and purchase a $1500 set, but just make sure they’ll last after a couple of washes.  Most stores will recommend that if you purchase the non-stick pans to wash them yourself.  Forget that.  I always put mine in the dishwasher.  The last thing I want to do after cooking a big meal is to do dishes by hand when I have a dishwasher.  I like non-stick pans, but good steel pans will last forever.  One good tip that I have learned is to purchase factory seconds on the internet.  If you Google “all clad factory seconds” you will come up with a list of companies that sell these pans.  Most of them just have some minor cosmetic defects.  They are sold at a pretty deep discount. 

Once you use a really sharp knife, you will never want to use the regular knives again.  Knives are one of those things that you will probably have to spend a little bit of money on.  The good part is that you can purchase one knife and be fine.  You don’t need an entire set.  I have a set of knives, but only really use 1 for about 90 percent of the work.  I have a set of Global Knives, which are great, but a little pricey.  The knife I use the most is a Myabi 600D 7” Chefs knife.  It works great and I would recommend it to anyone. 

The other essential thing you need when cooking is a good seasoning.  Some people use Greek seasoning, Lowery’s season salt, etc.  I like to make my own seasonings and season salt.  It takes only a few minutes and it can be used on just about everything.  The season salt that I make is used in most of the recipes.  Here is the recipe if you would like to try it:

Season Salt

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic salt
• 1/2 tablespoon onion salt
• 1 teaspoon celery salt

DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients