Hello, I hope this finds you in the middle of eating something delicious.
I am always thinking about turning beautiful raw ingredients into delicious food. It is about crispy, chewy, golden, juicy, bright acidity, balanced fat, balanced spices and herbs. Seems overwhelming but it becomes much easier if you are willing to stray from the recipe and into the pan.
The key to great cooking is to read a cookbook like a novel looking for flavor combinations. Try to build up your ability to mind-taste. What herbs and spices go together? How much acid is being added in proportion to other ingredients? How much fat?
I am so excited to have my first cookbook come out in the next year. I found one of the biggest challenges in writing it was to try to put a time on everything. Most people want a time. How long should I sear the meat? How long will it take the fish to cook? Etc.
The secret – Ignore times and really pay attention to what is happening to the food. Color equals flavor so if a recipe says “3 minutes per side” know that it may take 6 minutes based on the type of oven you have, the amount of gas (or electricity) it puts out, the thickness of your pan, the temperature of the ingredients when they went into the pan, etc. So instead of looking at the clock really look at the food. Touch the chicken breast. Watch how it goes from spongy when raw to firmer as it cooks. Make sure you have a deep golden crust on the first side before flipping it over. Then you can cook it for less time on the second side to make sure it is not overcooked.
If reducing, boiling down a liquid to thicken and/or increase flavor, don’t worry about how long the recipe says to reduce. Instead taste the sauce/liquid as it reduces. See how the flavor changes. When you like it and the consistency looks like the right amount of sauce or liquid for what you are doing stop.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this. As I continue to write books I am on a mission to make sure ALL of your recipes turn out perfectly!
Eat well, Enjoy life, Be happy!
Hi Jeffery, you are so right about the time thing. For a novice cook, I think it is the biggest hurdle to get over. Before I started really watching (and touching) my food, I would actually burn things because I did not want to turn them before the time givien in the recipe. I would also end up with meat and or veggies that were not cooked enough. Your long lost cousin. If I can make it up, I may see you at the Chicago reunion ..
Thanks Jim,
Have you gotten to a place where you feel comfortable looking at the pan instead of the clock? It sounds like it. Well done!
Hope to see you at the reunion. Cheers,
J
I am not a famous chef, but I’m a good cook, and I say “Here! Here!” to your comments. I love to read cookbooks cover-to-cover like novels, and have found that they have taught me much about “what goes together” so that I don’t need recipes, or to follow them closely. I have developed a sense of what works and what’s necessary to call it “beef stroganoff” (or whatever), and what I can omit to fit my personal sense of taste. I wish cooks would think of recipes as helpful for proportions, rather than mandates for ingredients or their amounts. Also, I do not read “the recipe” (unless I am baking) – I “read the food”, as you recommend. Your cookbook will be wonderful because your love of food and cooking is so contagious that you are bound to communicate this even on paper. You are so good at taking away the fear of cooking – or the fear of messing up if one doesn’t follow the recipe like it is a chemistry test. I wish this freedom to anyone and everyone who wants to cook – it makes it better cooking, more to your own liking, and way more fun.
thank you Barbara. It is great to here from you and it sounds like you have got it nailed. Enjoy your summer and your cooking. Best, Jeffrey