Learn how to be a gourmet cook without going to the pricey school

Hi! i’m Younes from Morocco. I actually love everything about nature & the wild life. any friends??!

There’s nothing better in this world you can do than learn to be a better cook. You can simply read more books at the library or in the nice chairs at Barnes & Noble. I’ll always remember that the well known chef Madelyn Kamman once said that if we simply want to survive all we need to do is eat nuts & berries. However, as a cultured people, we owe it to ourselves to learn to put whatever ingredients we love and/or have at our disposal together in the most tasteful way possible. There are also a zillion recipes, complete with photos, online. If you have a group of friends who want to get into cooking as well, why not start up a group and have progressive dinners with each person cooking a different portion of the meal each month, week or whatever schedule you decide upon. You’ll make friends and learn to be a gourmet cook at the same time. Bon appetit!

Yes!! I CAN cook! I’ve made scones, oregano lime chicken quesadillas, steak rub, and cheescake . . . that were not just edible, they were all GREAT! I guess it’s always great to try—but it feels great to succeed too.

I love allrecipes.com. It has so many recipes, and user reviews help determine how well a recipe will turn out. I just made English Royalty Scones—they were so delicious!

just cooking well enough will stay my goal for now

I’ve discovered a little trick for myself. I’ve created a weekly menu. (Yes for all of you organized people that have been doing this for years this is nothing new or exciting…but for me this is like heaven opening and hearing the choir sing!!)
By doing this I’ve been able to expand what I know how to make because the pressure is off to create something new and exciting for dinner as soon as I get home each night. Now I come up with menu ideas for the week, a mix of familiar favorites along with new things. Sounds simple but let me tell you, this has been amazing. I prep what I need to ahead of time and then because I already know what I’m going to be making for dinner I just come home and whip it right up. For me it’s convenient and to my husband I’ve become a much cuter and sexier sounding version of Julia Child!! WOO-HOO!! Can we say, Brownie Points ? ;x
This is great,even one of my closest friends (basschick) has commented on how much my cooking has improved just by the introduction of something so simple. WOW,comign from her I’m pretty darn impressed b/c she almost went to culinary school. Who would have thought?!

Just get a series of good (ie, clear, reassuring) cookbooks and read them and cook your way through them. Julia Child is the best. Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon excellent. CookWise by Shirley Corriher grounds you in basic understanding. Actually in their ways, each of these authors do.

The house is starting to smell pretty freakin good and I’m starving!!!! Only about an hour and a half before dinner…......YUMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Well, I got inspired….....actually I got 3 three eggplants given to me from a friend’s garden which forced me to get inspired. :)
Sooooooo….........I’ve sliced them up and am sweating them now per the instuctions in my “How to Cook Everything” cookbook and in a little while I’ll go make the sauce…my own concoction of herbs,spices and tomatoes….and hopefully for dinner we’ll have a pretty good meal. :)

Well….....haven’t been able to work on this one. Haven’t been home much in the evenings lately and when I was it was too stinking hot to even THINK about cooking. BLECH…..