The Can't Cook Book: Recipes for the Absolutely Terrified! (3 page)

Do you have a favorite pair of sweatpants that you put on when you get home from work that make you feel comfortable, cozy, and relaxed? Let’s replicate that same feeling with your cooking gear.

Choose cutting boards that appeal to you (fun colors! large surface area!), knives that don’t completely scare you (easy-to-hold handles! not too heavy!), and pots, pans, and bowls that look and feel nice (clear glass? plastic? nice shapes?). When you have gear that you like, comfort and even motivation will set in. It’s like an exercise program—if you love your sneakers, your music, and even your outfit, aren’t you more inclined to get into it? For your kitchen, I suggest putting on music that you enjoy, to both fuel and relax you. A glass of wine is also helpful to set a nice tone—the tone being you are going to enjoy yourself while you tackle something new.

There is no way around it—knives are scary. I’m stating the obvious here, but knives are a big part of cooking. Knives are yet another obstacle for many people who are already afraid because they lack skills and experience. I am breaking it down to three knives that will help you start your little journey out of Can’t Cooksville. Most experienced chefs will tell you they reach for only their three favorites when they are cooking. You, my friend, definitely don’t need more than that. And believe it or not, a sharp knife is a safe knife. When your knife is sharp, it glides through food without force, so don’t be afraid to use that honing steel.

One favor, please hand-wash your knives. And never throw them into the sink. Leave them on the side to be cleaned, so they don’t get chipped or dulled by being tossed around.

Small and versatile, use this short-bladed knife for more precise tasks like peeling, trimming, and coring fruits and vegetables.

The most useful and indispensable knife in the drawer, use it for slicing, smashing, and chopping. Choose between an 8-inch blade (the most common) and a 6-inch blade (for smaller hands). Comfort is key.

Keep your edge with a honing steel for weekly maintenance in between professional sharpenings (which I recommend doing about once a year).

The scalloped blade lets you glide through crusty breads and delicate tomatoes alike, slicing them instead of sliding off or crushing them. The offset handle keeps your knuckles out of harm’s way.

How to: hone a knife

Buying pots and pans is an investment for sure, so let’s take a streamlined approach to getting you what is most necessary. High-quality stainless steel cookware with aluminum or copper cores should last you a lifetime. You can buy a set—they are often on sale (nice!)—or you can consider what’s offered below and buy as needed.

Great for melting butter, reheating soups, and making oatmeal or small batches of rice or grains.

The perfectly sized utility pan for making sauces, cooking grains, or boiling potatoes.

Super for making soups, pasta sauce, and stews. Enameled cast iron and stainless steel are equally great.

Ideal for making large batches of soups, stocks, and sauces, but used mainly for cooking pasta.

Just the right size for toasting nuts or frying an egg.

Fantastic for cooking meats or vegetables for two or four. Ovenproof is preferable.

Perfect for making pancakes or French toast, cooking large batches of vegetables, cooking pork chops or steaks, or roasting a chicken. Ovenproof is preferable.

Invaluable when it comes to scrambling eggs. It’s recommended that it be used only over low to medium heat for short cooking times and that it be immediately disposed of if any scratches appear or if there is any other damage. This skillet is not ovenproof.

Terrific for roasting meats and vegetables, baking macaroni and cheese, or baking fruit crisps. Porcelain, glass, and stainless steel are all suitable.

One of the most versatile yet inexpensive pans in the kitchen. Choose a 13 x 18-inch (known as a half sheet pan) heavy-duty uncoated aluminum pan for roasting vegetables and meats as well as for baking cookies. So useful you might as well buy two.

Look for one with grippers to hold it in place. Wood, polypropylene, and the eco-friendly kind made from recycled paper are all terrific choices.

Ideal for smaller tasks and for those who don’t have a lot of counter space.

Some handy sizes: 1
¹
/
₂
-, 3
¹
/
₂
-, and 5-qt. Make sure you buy ones that nest for compact storage. Glass, melamine, and stainless are all great options.

Perfect for draining pasta and washing/rinsing vegetables.

When a large colander is just too big for the task, use a fine-mesh strainer for rinsing a pint of cherry tomatoes or draining canned beans.

Use for measuring both dry and liquid ingredients. Stainless steel, silicone, and melamine are all good choices.

Use for measuring dry ingredients like flour and sugar. Look for stainless steel, silicone, or melamine.

Use these cups for measuring liquids. Buy glass, silicone, or plastic.

Buy a multipurpose grater that has coarse, fine, and superfine grating surfaces; perfect for grating anything from cheese to carrots to ginger.

This razor-sharp grater is indispensable when it comes to grating citrus zest, hard cheeses, and whole nutmeg.

I like a Y-shaped peeler.

Buy one with sharp stainless steel teeth and large comfortable knob and handles to make it a little more effortless to open a can.

When it’s wine o’clock, any simple wine opener will do.

Tongs are one of the most useful tools in your kitchen. Use them for turning, lifting, stirring, grabbing . . . just about anything. I recommend ones that lock in a closed position. Both the 9-inch and the 12-inch are handy.

Takes the guesswork out of knowing when your meat is cooked to the temperature you want. It’s inexpensive, too.

The secret to success, especially when baking, is knowing that your oven is the right temperature.

So you don’t forgot those nuts that are toasting or the cookies that are baking!

A must for washing and drying lettuce.

A wooden reamer is a low-cost, low-tech way to juice citrus.

For pounding chicken breasts to an even thickness (a rolling pin works great for this, too).

Not a necessity but convenient when you need to evenly coat something with oil (like the tortillas for
Huevos Rancheros
).

There is nothing better than freshly ground black peppercorns. Choose a pepper mill that will adjust to any size grind you like.

Choose ones that can handle the heat and that are pliable for grabbing handles with ease. A folded-over dry dish towel will do the trick, too.

Buy one with an offset handle and a flexible square-edged head to make lifting, serving, and flipping anything from burgers to pancakes a breeze.

Why silicone? Because it is flexible, heat-resistant, and durable, and it won’t scratch your pan. Use for mixing, folding, spreading, and scraping a bowl clean.

Excellent for stirring and won’t scratch the surface of enamel, porcelain, or nonstick cookware.

10-inch stainless steel is my choice.