My Flavor Trip - Basic Cooking Tips

Cooking: A Great Hobby

One of the most relaxing things that you can do is learn how to cook. Many people believe that cooking will cause them to gain weight. While that may be true you can cook healthy foods that are not only good to eat but also fun to make. Cooking can be done by just one person or with a group of friends, there are local cooking classes that you and your friends can take and then try out the recipes at home or you can choose to make a complete dinner and divide up the courses with friends and learn to cook while you have fun with friends.

Before you start cooking the best way is to learn the terminology such as boiling, poaching, searing, reduction, basting, roasting etc. Once you learn the basics you can start to cook. Choose an appetizer recipe that you always want to make and then follow with an entrée and a dessert. Don't go overboard do something that is going to be fun not something that is going to frustrate you and cause you not to have any fun at all.

At first you will be a messy cook and that is ok, but make sure that as you cook you do what is called prep. Prep is when you get all of the ingredients together, if something calls to be cut up then do all of the cutting, dicing, chopping etc. A great way to learn to cook is through a cookbook or through a cooking show, but make sure that you take the cooking show because they go way to fast for beginners but they do make awesome food. Try recipes such as pasta, though it can be intimidating it can be fun. Pasta is a quick meal that you can make with a homemade sauce; you can choose butter, herb and garlic sauce, a marinara sauce or a plain old tomato sauce. Kids love pasta and they can even help.

Once you have mastered the pasta you may want to try meat or chicken, meat that is under cooked can be bad for you but not as bad for you if chicken is undercooked. So when you make a beef or chicken recipe, make sure that everything is cooked the right away. A good way to make sure that happens I by getting a meat thermometer, look online or at the recipe you are making and it should say what the temperature of the meat should be. Using the meat thermometer, you can stick the thermometer in the meat and see if it is up to the recommended temperature. If so then you know your meat is done.

Cooking, as a hobby can be fun, it can be fun alone or as a group of friends or even as a family. If you aren't successful the first time, don't panic not everyone gets it right the first time. All you need is a bit of practice and soon you will become a pretty good cook.