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I'm glad to hear you enjoy adobo! The first time I ever made it was also the first time my boyfriend ever tried adobo. Luckily, everything went better than expected - the adobo turned out great, and it is now one of his favorite foods.

Chicken Adobo

From How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman.

Makes: 4 servings
Time: About 1 ¼ hours

This Philippine classic has been called the best chicken dish in the world by a number of my friends and readers. It is cooked in liquid first, then roasted, grilled, or broiled. Here, however, the initial poaching liquid is reduced to make a sauce to pass at the table for both the chicken and white rice, the natural accompaniment.

The coconut milk isn’t mandatory, though it does enrich the sauce considerably.

Other protein you can use: pork chops (bone-in or boneless).

• 1 cup soy sauce
  
• ½ cup white or rice vinegar
  
• 1 cup water (this was not listed in the ingredient list in the book, but it is mentioned as an ingredient in the recipe)
  
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
  
• 2 bay leaves
  
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  
• 1 ½ cups coconut milk (optional)
  
• 1 whole chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 8 pieces, or any combination of parts
  
  Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, pepper, 1 cup water, and half the coconut milk, if you’re using it, in a covered skillet or saucepan large enough to hold the chicken in one layer. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the chicken; reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, turning once or twice, until the chicken is almost done, about 20 minutes. (At this point, you may refrigerate the chicken in the liquid for up to a day before proceeding; skim the fat before reheating.)
  
  Heat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit or heat a charcoal or gas grill or the broiler to moderate heat and put the rack about 4 inches from the heat source. Remove the chicken pieces from the liquid and dry them gently with paper towels. Boil the sauce, along with the remaining coconut milk if you’re using it, over high-heat until it is reduced to about 1 cup; discard the bay leaves and keep the sauce warm. Meanwhile, grill, broil, or roast the chicken until brown and crisp and hot, turning as necessary, 10 to 15 minutes total (roasting will take a little longer). Serve the chicken with the sauce.
  
  -----
  
  I have never used coconut milk when making adobo. My Mom and Grandparents never used it, so I just went along with that school of thought. It sounds like it would be an interesting addition though! I have used bone-in and boneless chicken, as well as bone-in and boneless pork for this recipe and have never been unhappy with the results.
  
  I have followed this recipe step by step, including finishing it on the grill, and it turned out great. However, when my Mom or Grandparents made adobo, they would just keep the protein simmering in the liquid and I enjoy it that way too. I have also used this recipe as a reference for proportions, browned the protein, and put everything in a crock pot on low for a few hours. Depending on what types of flavors you like, you can also add onions, peppercorns, whole garlic cloves, extra bay leaves…I’m just naming things that I would find in my adobo when I was growing up. Haha.

I've spent the last year focusing primarily on learning to make really, really good bread. It is hard to do. It takes a long time to master even the basics, but that isn't to say that you can't still crank out some good bread. Start with Peter Reinhart's 'Artisan Breads Every Day'. It's a really great book designed with the home baker in mind. Covers pretty much everything you would need to know to make great bread.

As for cultivating yeast, yes I have my own starter. I maintain it by simply keeping it in the fridge. Before using it in a recipe it receives a few feedings over a couple days and is then used to make dough. I made a nearly perfect batch of sourdough boules today with it. Best sourdough I've ever had in my life, not to toot my own horn.

1. Make sure to get the tongs with the plastic tips on them. That way you can use them on nonstick as well. Personally, I have a pair with plastic tips, and I have a pair that is all metal.
   
   
2. Chef's Knife. Spend at least 25.00 on it. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000CF8YO/ref%3Dnosim/themichaelupdate
   
   
3. You'll also want a knife sharpener. I recommend getting a sharpening stone for sharpening and steel for honing
   
   
4. Cutting board, of course.
   
   
5. I've been wanting to get a spaghetti cooker for quite some time.
   
   
6. Avocado slicer is something I like a lot.
   
   
7. cheese slicer is good to have.
   
   
8. Salad spinner is a must have, imo, if you are going to be making fresh salad.
   
   
9. I love my wok, my fryer scoop, and my large supply of peanut oil for deep frying stuff.
   
   
10. 12" or 14" Stainless Steel pan or Cast Iron pan. They are both good. Cast Iron browns the meat better because it retains heat better. I've been using a Stainless Steel and just remembering to turn the heat up right after I put the meat on the pan. I like Stainless Steel because it's lighter, it's much easier to clean, and almost all models come with a lid.
    
    
11. I've always found that I can't go without a spaghetti server.
    
    
12. Oh, yeah, this one's important. I have to have an electric grill. They are the only things I've found that I can properly cook hashbrowns or pancakes with, and they come in real handy if you need to make several sandwiches at once. Though, you'll need to be sure to get a scraper.

Any of the America's Test Kitchen cookbooks are fantastic for people learning how to cook. My boyfriend, like you, was a sandwich-pasta-burrito guy before these cookbooks. Now he can turn out a mean baked ziti and a pan of brownies :)

They've tested recipes extensively to find the easiest ways to create the most delicious, flavorful, fail-free versions of favorite foods. For each recipe, they describe the most common pitfalls of a recipe and how they avoid them, provide helpful illustrations, and make suggestions for the best cookware and ingredients to purchase (if you don't already have them). They most often do not recommend the most expensive option ;)

I recommend the Skillet cookbook and the New Best Recipe for starters.

There was a great suggestion earlier in this thread about a Victorinox knife that was recommended by Consumer Reports.

Here are a few that are slightly outside your price range (By about $15) that I wouldn't have any issues with using in my own cooking adventures :). All prices are listed in Canadian dollars.

[Victorinox 8" Chef's knife - $36] (http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-40520-Fibrox-8-Inch-Chefs/dp/B000638D32/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top)

[Kai 6" Santoku - $51.38] (http://www.amazon.ca/Kai-Wasabi-2-Inch-Santoku-Knife/dp/B000YL4NYY/ref=sr_1_7?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1380663533&sr=1-7&keywords=santoku)

[Calphalon Katana 8" Chef's knife - $59] (http://www.amazon.ca/Kai-Wasabi-2-Inch-Santoku-Knife/dp/B000YL4NYY/ref=sr_1_7?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1380663533&sr=1-7&keywords=santoku)

[Calphalon Contemporary 8" Chef's knife - $29] (http://www.amazon.ca/Calphalon-Contemporary-8-Inch-Chefs-Knife/dp/B000V6ROPC/ref=sr_1_16?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1380663579&sr=1-16&keywords=8%22+chef)


For any and all of these, the first thing you'll want to do is go to a store that sells knives, and try a few before you find what you like. Hold them by the handle, and then hold them where the handle ends and meets the blade. Check the balance - When you're holding it by the handle, is the knife weighted evenly, front to back? Is there more weight towards the back or the front? If you were using this for 40 mins-1hr of prepping veggies and meat, would you be comfortable with it? Does the handle fit your hand, does the whole thing feel like a natural extension of your arm when you're chopping, slicing, etc?

I don't have a mixer (mostly due to not having space for one), but I love making bread. My solution has been no-knead methods, which replaces the kneading effort with parking it in the fridge overnight. You still get the gluten development with the added bonus of additional flavor.

The best (and most simple) pizza dough recipe I have ever used comes from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Bread Every Day.

For anyone who is curious, Amazon has a pretty cheap pre-seasoned pan, goes around $16-$20 and is a very good pan if you learn how to take care of cast iron. It's not hard but like knives, takes a little care.

I don't use it too much because I cook mostly for myself and don't need to use such a large pan for the majority of dishes, but there are smaller sizes that are even cheaper out there. I prefer my somewhat lighter hard anodized pans that don't stick and keep a nice even heat.

I'm sure all clad are nice but way too expensive, because you're paying for the name brand and they know it. As for in college, unless you're living in a shared house you won't have a good enough kitchen to use them in and they'll probably get dropped or misused if they're left anywhere that someone else can use them.

Yes. I love these knives- I think they are some of the best valued ones you can buy. If these knives are good enough to use professionally, they are good enough for you (I worked in a small commercial kitchen for 5+ years...) I've got the 8 inch version.

Well, it's not really a cookbook per se, but it's definitely for food geeks:
On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee.

Otherwise, how about the New Moosewood Cookbook. I found a copy of it used and it's pretty easy, affordable, tested, with delicious recipes.

Cast iron pizzas are the best. I researched pizza stones, but Amazon convinced me to get a Lodge Cast Iron Pizza Pan instead. Best homemade pizza by far. :)

I always recommend these items in these type of threads, they'll get you off to a really good start.

1. A $29 Victorinox Chef's Knife
   
   
   
2. A good cutting board for $12-15
   
   
   
3. A cast iron pan for $15-$20
   
   
4. A utensil set of some kind for $15-20
   
   
   
   From there I'd get a solid set of pots and pans and/or a dutch oven. A rice cooker also is pretty helpful. I use mine constantly. Good luck!

Haha, the presentation is nothing. Ive worked in a kitchens for a total of about 3 or 4 years so I guess I kinda just learned. The combination of ingredients is nothing. At one of the places I worked we had a couscous salad which had sultanas, grilled egg-plant and pumpkin, along with some orange juice. I didnt have egg plant so I just left it out and skipped the orange juice. So that part is easy. The salad...having lived in a wine region for 10 years I quickly learned that the locals like marinated olives/mushrooms/sundried tomatos...just put them on some greens and you have a tasty looking salad. Then just do the lamb cutlets and you have an awesome meal :) If you really want to learn about combining some more ingredients and maybe move away from conventional cooking, i highly recommend THIS book. I often try and buy something ive never worked with (like a herb or spice, or some vegetable etc) and then look it up in this book and make a meal from that.

Some how my text got lost so here it is again:

This is my second time making brioche and it came out really good this time. The recipe made a lot of dough so I made it into little brioche rolls, to plated loaves (one big, one small) and I even turned the left over dough into a tart crust. I got the recipe from The Bread Baker's Apprentice (http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Bread-Bakers-Apprentice-Cutting-edge/dp/1580082688) and it was super easy to make.

Recipe:

Ingredients
(For the sponge)

• 2.25 oz strong white bread flour
  
  
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
  
  
• 4 oz (1/2 cup) whole milk, lukewarm
  
  (For the dough)
  
  
• 5 eggs
  
  
• 16 oz strong white bread flour
  
  
• 2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  
  
• 16 oz butter, room temperature (yes, that is a lot!)
  
  Method
  
  

1. Mix together all the ingredients for the sponge and leave for 20 minutes or until frothy.
   
   
2. Add the eggs to the sponge and mix together.
   
   
3. Add the sugar, salt and bread flour and mix to form a rough ball. Leave for 5 minutes to "let the gluten develop" (it will be a bit liquidy)
   
   
4. Now in a mixer start kneading the dough, adding a small piece of butter and waiting for it to be kneaded in, then adding another piece of butter until all is used up.
   
   
5. The dough should be very smooth and soft so place it in the fridge overnight to chill.
   
   
6. The dough is ready to use!

Victorinox is a constant favorite of America's Test Kitchens. I have the Chef's knife, Slicing knife, and Pairing set and I really like them. Great prices for great knives. I'll probably eventually get the Steak Knife set and Wavy Bread knife. I posted links to Amazon so you could look at the reviews.

Global knives are a really good bet
They're good quality steel with a double ground japanese edge (unlike some japanese knives that are only ground on one side). They hold up really well, and the entire knife is a single piece of steel so it will never get loose in the handle or the setting. I really like them, and they're pretty popular with chefs too apparently; it was a chef that first alerted me to them in the first place.

with a family like that, I'd probably just say fuck it -- lock your doors, turn off the lights, and leave a couple pizzas with a few bags of coal out on your front porch. lol

for what it's worth, Cooks Illustrated "New Best Recipes" is pretty much the most reliable cookbook I've ever owned and can be had used pretty cheap -- http://www.amazon.com/Best-Recipe-Cooks-Illustrated-Magazine/dp/0936184744. the recipes in there have never failed me, and they take the time to actually teach you why you're doing things certain ways.

You can get a spaetzle maker for cheap at a lot of ethnic stores (my mom got one in Chinatown of all places). And its pretty damn easy to make: recipe I use a lot.

If you don't want to buy the spaetzle maker, you can also use a good a metal colander over a pot of water. The recipe I linked to above also has a "How to Make Spaetzle" demo video.

It's very delicious and very cheap/easy to make. The only downside is waiting about 20-30mins after mixing the ingredients before you cook. Good luck!

You don't need to, but it can come in handy. If you are interested in what goes on under the lid, get this book. Truly breathtaking photography, great writing and all the information you'll ever need.

If you'd like something similar, but which doesn't cost 600 dollars or weigh 40 lbs, try On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee.

Edit: honestly, reading the review of this new book sounds just like reading a review of the book I linked, but 1/20th the price and 1/3 the pages. This guy must use some huge typefaces or something. I'm sure there's more content in this new one, but try out the McGee book first, it's probably more than enough for anyone, unless you're looking to spend tens of thousands on expensive modern equipment or something.

I highly recommend "The New Best Recipe". It applies a laboratory method to cooking and, backed by America's Test Kitchen, they almost always vet their recipes thoroughly. It's also fun to read when you're not cooking, so that's a major plus.

But to get the best grip on everything, try "Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking".

These two tomes will have you a pro about the kitchen in no time.

I use this. It allows me to maintain a high temperature in my charcoal grill, but won't crack or break like a typical pizza stone (I have had 2 cheap ones break). I use lump charcoal and can get my grill well over 500 degrees. The only shortcut I sometimes take, is buying fresh dough from my local grocery store in order to save time. Cheaper and tastier than 75% of the pizza places I find here in Minneapolis.

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Pro-Logic-P14P3-Pizza-14-inch/dp/B0000E2V3X/ref=sr_1_25?ie=UTF8&qid=1413991783&sr=8-25&keywords=lodge+cast+iron

Since I have a sourdough starter, I'm always looking for bread recipes that use natural leavening instead of commercial yeast. I found this adaptation of Peter Reinhart's recipe from The Bread Baker's Apprentice (if you like to make bread, and you don't have this book...get it) and decided to make them. Needless to say, they turned out amazing (nooks and crannies and all). I don't think I'll be buying them from the store anymore, it's the first time I've ever had homemade English muffins, and it's a world of difference.

If you don't have a sourdough starter, here's the original recipe. If you've never had homemade English muffins, I highly recommend them.

Edit: A note about the cooking temperature with these, the first batch I made, I went with the recommended medium heat, and it was a bit too high. I prefer to cook these on low heat, maybe 2-3, so the insides cook a bit more, because the middle of my first batch was not fully cooked, even after finishing them in the oven per the instructions. I'd rather just get them browned nice on the skillet, and then finish in the oven until the internal temperature is 190-200 F.

The best pizza recipe I've had has come from this book.

Bread Bakers Apprentice

That book in general has great recipes. The bagel recipe and the pizza recipe typically impress people.

I like my Global knife better then the Shun I have, don't get a set, get a 8-10" chef, a paring knife, maybe a bread/serrated knife, you'll be good to go. I also have a J.A. Henckel that is still wonderfully sharp a few years later.

If you're looking for something more budget oriented link

I learned using The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. I found it useful in several ways. It has a great section on what materials and tools you'll need and will use, what the quality of your ingredients will need to be in order for the end product to be a certain way and so forth. Also, each recipe has great instructions, and a bit of the history of the recipe. Overall, a great book for the beginning Artisan Bread Baker.

I've also heard that Rose Beranbaum's The Bread Bible is a great resource, but haven't had time to look into it myself.

Get him "The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs"

http://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400

One of the most amazing books on cooking, ever.

A knife is only as good as its edge, without sharpening supplies, you are powerless to keep even the finest knife in working order. I recommend you buy this Victorinox, and use the leftover money for this double sided sharpening/honing stone.

here's a pretty good tutorial for using your new stone, and a little more info about sharpening. Disregard butcher's steel, acquire mirror polish.

This will be a good start, use the coarse side to take out major blemishes, hone with the fine side after each use (like when you're through cutting, not after every slice)

Lodge. I'm a little confused as to what you meant by your second question, but I needed a cast iron skillet, that's what they had at City Target, and I'd heard good things about Lodge! I've been using a lot of olive oil, but it's making lovely food.

It isn't really a cookbook, but The Flavor Bible is a phenomenal book for anyone trying to understand what flavors work well together. It is just a stellar book and has allowed me (with knowledge of a variety of cooking methods) to create dishes on the fly with what we had around much more easily. I have a leg up in that I was a prep chef at a high-end inn/restaurant for several years, but I think any nerd will appreciate the format and specificity the book offers.

Add 1 Tbs vital wheat gluten per cup of flour, esp. if you are using whole wheat. Let the dough rise longer. Check your oven temperature with a thermometer. Bread needs high temperatures because it's primarily the steam which expands the dough, explaining why bread expands so rapidly in the oven but so slowly on the counter.

If you really want to learn bread, The Bread Bible is a great read.

http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Bible-Rose-Levy-Beranbaum/dp/0393057941

Invest in Bittman's How To Cook Everything. It takes an analytical approach to cooking and teaches you techniques and modular recipes which you can combine to your liking! Great as a "technique" cookbook for experimenting, very well notated.

I'd recommend the Cook's Illustrated "Best Recipe" book. A few nice features:

• the philosophy of CI strikes me as very reddit-friendly
  
  
• each recipe is prefaced by an article explaining the many dozens of ways they tried to perfect this recipe, typically explaining why steps that seem odd (e.g. combine wet ingredients, then dry, then mix all together? Add lemon to the sauce, then wait?) are actually essential
  
  
• the recipes are all fantastic

The New Best Recipe is by far the most useful book I use in the kitchen. It's big, over 1000 pages, but the recipes are simple, everyday food, meaning you will pull this book out everyday.

It's done by the people who put out Cook's Illustrated magazine and everything I have made from the book has been flawless.

Most of the recipes we cook are from the Cooking Light magazine, they have tons of good recipes. As far as a fun cookbook, I like Charcuterie, it's all about smoking and curing meats (ie bacon). I also want to check out Ratio by the same author. Ratio teaches how to cook many different things using ratios of flour, water, and fat.

The New Best Recipe by Cook's Illustrated Magazine

They test each recipe many times until they get it perfect.

http://www.amazon.com/New-Best-Recipe-All-New/dp/0936184744/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280507588&sr=1-1

This particular recipe happens to be one of my family's favs - and it's incredibly easy. It is from TK's book Ad Hoc at Home. Every recipe I've made from the book is amazing. Even better, the book is full of very insightful kitchen tips that you can apply in everyday cooking, no matter the recipe.

a proper cast iron setup

a great cookbook

a set of unique spices or ingredients in the style of his favorite cuisine?
italian, french, mexican, indian, spanish, chinese...

How to Cook Everything by Mark Bitmann.
This book is like a textbook. It is split up into different food parts, and at the beginning of each of those parts is an introduction to the foods. At the beginning of the book it goes over different cooking techniques. At the end of the book there are menus that work well together. Also, every recipe has like 3 recipes that go with it, with little things you can change. This is literally like a cooking 101 book.
http://www.amazon.com/Cook-Everything-Completely-Revised-Anniversary/dp/0764578650/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266279932&sr=8-1

Some crumpled bacon is also wonderful in spaetzle ;) I got a special tool just for making it http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-3128-Spaetzle-Maker/dp/B00004UE89 I also find that browning the spaetzle a tad in a skillet after boiling it makes it even tastier.

You may want to try http://foodgawker.com/ or http://www.tastespotting.com/ to get some ideas.

I really like http://www.cookingforengineers.com/ too. It's like the scientific method applied to cooking. :)

A good all purpose cookbook is America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. It's relatively cheap, and it has a little bit of everything. There is a lot of information about technique and ingredients, as well as what a well-stocked kitchen should have. Many people recommend How to Cook Everything, but I have never used it, so I can't give an informed opinion.

How to cook everything, and Ratio are great first cookbooks, covers equipment, theory, and basic recipes.

Alton Brown's old show Good Eats is decent too if you can handle the grainy video quality of the feeds out there.

I have not listened to this particular episode of This American Life. I pretty much know little to nothing about this Nathan Myhrvold. With that said however, I do want to point out that this particular guy's downfalls may not necessarily contribute to the actual content of these books. From a strictly culinary point of view, his books have been endorsed/advertised by the likes of Ferran Adria, David Chang, Wylie Dufresne, and Harold McGee (yes, the same person that everyone has offered as an alternative to this book). These are chefs that a lot of "foodies" highly regard so their opinions might attest to the quality of these books? Also, this may be a stretch but Heigegger's morally questionable life decisions does not necessarily detract from how great some of his philosophical works were.

http://www.amazon.ca/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012

Is what you want... For like $50 you get a lot!... It's called 'On Food and Cooking' by Harold Mcgee... It's totally amazing

If you want a good knife for cheap, the Victorinox Fibrox line usually gets great reviews for very little bux. Or get an expensive forged knife and get one of these for a backup (like if you're cutting chicken and vegetables, you can go back and forth without cross-contaminating.)

The Flavor Bible is a good one, but you might also want to check out Harold McGee's On Food And Cooking. It's pretty much the food science bible.

If he's at all serious, he needs this

Also, this is a very useful and fascinating book.

I can't believe no one's mentioned Global knives. A lot of chef's use their knives and they are more affordable than the "name brand" knives out there (though certainly not cheap). I have their ten inch chef's and its wonderful. http://www.amazon.com/Global-G-2-8-Inch-Cooks-Knife/dp/B00005OL44

I've been doing far less than you: bread, ice-cream, dijon mustard and mayo.

For bread I go for variations of Jim Lahey's no knead bread or the recipes from Peter Reinhart's Artisan's Breads.

For Ice-Cream I follow the recipes from a book I bought in Italy, "Ice Dreams". The ice cream recipes you can find in European cookbooks are way more interesting and varied than in the U.S. However, Cook's Illustrated published 2 months ago a very good article on how to make ice-cream with domestic machines.

Most of times, the first time I try something the results are disastrous, often inedible. However my family has became more confident on my skills, so they keep encouraging me, even if I fail very badly.

I am fascinated by your method for mozzarella. Will definitely try it next week. Can you refer to your favourite resources (e.g: books, links, videos on line)?

I assume you have seen THIS BOOK. I haven't read it personally but i am a huge fan of everything else Michael Ruhlman has done.

I've heard that this one is used in nearly every pro kitchen. I can't find the source right now though..

But like no_thumbs said: buy one that fits, keep it sharp.

edit: looks like I should have read all the comments...some one else already recommended it.

I would suggest Ratio if she would like to become a more independent cook and not always have to rely on recipes. Probably the smallest and most useful cookbook I have.

Reproduced Original

10th Edition

This book?

You should supplement it with This which explains the how and why of cooking rather than being a recipe book, I have this and it is one of the most amazing cooking books I have ever seen.

I use this cast iron pizza pan. All of my pizzas come out great!

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Pro-Logic-P14P3-Pizza-14-inch/dp/B0000E2V3X/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1427207492&sr=1-1&keywords=cast+iron+pizza+pan

check these out. They work great, but are a bit tough to clean.

One of the best books on the subject:
http://www.amazon.ca/The-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400

I'd get him this one. America's Test Kitchen makes the best cookbook I have ever used.

Victorinox chef knife http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Fibrox-8-Inch-40520-5-2063-20/dp/B000638D32 is one of the best knifes for beginers. You don't need 300 dollar knife.

Try this for heathy cooking and his other book for more traditional dishes. Both are amazing.

There's a great book called The Flavor Bible. It doesn't have any recipes... it's just an index of what flavors complement each other.

I've actually started using a Lodge Pizza Pan. At 14" across I can cook for a crowd. Makes a great hibachi/comal too.

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Pro-Logic-P14P3-Pizza-14-inch/dp/B0000E2V3X

Perhaps I should have said "full bolster," but I think I have the meaning correct. In the link you referenced, I believe F, G & H are all parts of the bolster, right? By comparison, the Victorinox knife that's been mentioned many times in these comments has no bolster at all. Even the fully forged knives that I like have the bolster ground down at the return, like this.

if you don't have a whirley-pop just grab a dutch oven and follow a process similar to this. i do like the whirley-pops tho

i like to use butter since that's the taste i grew up with, and you can melt some butter and place it in a misto olive oil sprayer to get the flavor without the sogginess. after that, just some plain salt for me

I cut these raw without difficulty - you using a sharp knife? Gotta use a hella sharp knife. Try this budget beauty for $35 from Victorionox - voted "best overall" by Cooks magazine.

Baking recipes are simply variations on very basic ratios. There is actually a book full of these ratios. Called "Ratios" http://www.amazon.com/Ratio-Simple-Behind-Everyday-Cooking/dp/1416571728

An amazing read actually.

Source: Professional Chef

I did the EXACT same thing a year ago.

Now my cupboard is stuffed with bread flour, and fridge is full of yeast, and I'm on the verge of baking sandwich loaves every week instead of buying it.

Recently acquired "the bread baker's apprentice", and it's full of win.

http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Bakers-Apprentice-Mastering-Extraordinary/dp/1580082688

Of course. I would encourage anyone that is interested to bake bread. My usual first suggestion is to get a digital scale, only because before I made the purchase I absolutely hated baking, as nothing was ever consistent. It's also useful for cooking with ratios a la Ruhlman.

Excellent knife and only $27.

http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-47521-10-Inch-Fibrox-Handle/dp/B0000CF8YO/ref=dp_cp_ob_k_title_0

Can get them for a better price on amazon ($28.60):

http://www.amazon.com/ECOlunchbox-Three--Stainless-Steel-Container/dp/B0040MH642/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1457669361&sr=1-1&keywords=stainless+steel+lunch+container

One area that's not great is that most recipe books don't actually cover any of the reasons things taste go, or what flavors pair well. That's a long part of the learning curve if you're just going by trial and error. It makes it difficult to deviate from a recipe.

The Flavor Bible got me over that particular hump.

It's also nice to either watch some of the more educational shows that actually discuss how cooking works. That can help shortcut a lot of trial and error as well. Alton Brown is popular here, and it's where I first started. I'm reading through Modernist Cuisine now, which is like a science text for the kitchen.

Those are the two knowledge areas that I think you can speed up learning with materials. The kitchen is a hands on place though. You need to be in there cooking to get better. Speed, accuracy, timings, tasting, multi-tasking all only come with practice.

I also recommend keeping a kitchen notebook handy. Computers are great, but not so much in the kitchen where you might have messy hands.

Ha! Yeah, I've got the Mark Bittman book, and I use recipes from Serious Eats for virtually everything.

Cast iron is not only more durable, but frequently cheaper. Definitely cheaper if you factor in all the cheap pans you'll have to buy compared to just one cast iron. If you're willing to do the work in the article (sanding rust off mostly) you can pick one up for a couple of bucks at a junk shop or yard sale. New pans are quite cheap too.

The only real knock is that they are heavy.

For baking I would recommend Ratio by Micheal Ruhlman. It not only explains the how of baking but the why as well.

This is my favorite cook book for basic/general recipes!

To that I would add On Food And Cooking: The Science And Lore Of The Kitchen. The scope of knowledge in this book is amazing: how different kinds of honey (some poisonous) result from what the bees polinate... how chewing gum was invented... why drinking alcohol mixed with a carbonated beverage gets you drunk faster... why cooking with iron is better for you than cooking with copper... where peppercorns come from, how they are harvested and how the varieties differ... why onions make you cry when you cut them... the science behind "toasting" something... can't recommend this enough to anyone fascinated by cooking!

Try Misto as a compromise. It's a sprayer that you fill with whatever oil you like. Then it sprays on like pam. You end up using way less oil, but it's still good, pure olive oil instead of aerosol crap.

Published recently: Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking by Michael Ruhlman

It boils down a lot of foods to their essential ingredients. Not only does knowing the ratios make it easy to throw together something you've never seen a recipe for, it also gives you a deeper understanding of food. It shows how tweaking the ratios changes the quality of the final product or turns it into a different kind of food altogether. You start to see foods connected in a continuum instead of as distinct collections of ingredients.

If you like this website, you may want to check out The Flavor Bible which is a reference/cookbook that does much the same sort of thing, only it is more in depth (being a book and all).

I used this recipe. It was my first time!

Accidentally put only 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar instead of 3/4. Oops. But actually, it still came out great and resulted in a cookie that didn't taste overly sweet! I added extra chocolate chips.

My skillet.

The god of future cooking - Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking. I want so bad! This will be the book reflecting my foodculture.

This one has helped me a lot. It isn't too expensive at Chapters.

This one seems pretty legitimate as well, but I haven't personally read it

Is This The book you're referring to? I'm big into baking, and I want to make sure I'm looking at the right book.

It's the San Francisco Sourdough recipe from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Bread Everyday. http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Reinharts-Artisan-Breads-Every/dp/1580089984

Though I did substitute like 50g of bread flower for some rye flour.

This looks like the same lunchbox if anyone is looking.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0040MH642/ref=pd_aw_fbt_79_img_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1MX8KKD3HXQ9Z314M7KD

This is how I make pretzels at home and they come out really well. I use the recipe from Artisan Bread Everyday.

Jaques Pépin's Complete Techniques

and On Food and Cooking (not really a cookbook, but I think it's the most important book for anyone who is serious about food)

The heat and movement of air will remove far more moisture than is created by combustion.

More humid air, which moves, will remove more moisture from a surface than dry, still air. It is the venting specifically which causes this increased air movement, and thus the removal of more moisture from the surface of the food.

My main source for all cooking related science is On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee, which is about the science behind all the chemical reactions behind cooking, the biochemical makeup of foods, and chemically speaking why the procedures we follow in cooking work the way they do. It also covers quite a bit of culinary history.

Get the book Ratio. It'll free you from the recipe trap.

edit: If you can, buy the iPhone version of the book. It contains a reference and a calculator.

It's only $28 on Amazon!

America's Test Kitchen recommends this affordable one and a periodic sharpening to keep it sharp:

http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-47521-10-Inch-Fibrox-Handle/dp/B0000CF8YO/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1291213266&sr=8-7

More detailed instructions are found in The Bread Bible.

Go buy it now! Bread is more than just a recipe - it's learning solid techniques.

Unless you have $500 to drop on Modernist Cuisine, On Food and Cooking is as good as it gets.

Actually the one he used didn't look like that. You don't have to spend $30 on the mold for it. It looked like he used this instead. They're crazy cheap and work just as well.

Ad Hoc at Home:
Check out the video on the Amazon page here
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1579653774/ref=oss_product

It's also on Amazon about half the cost: http://www.amazon.com/ECOlunchbox-Three--Stainless-Steel-Container/dp/B0040MH642/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457640032&sr=8-1&keywords=eco+lunch+boxes

$29 on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/ECOlunchbox-Three--Stainless-Steel-Container/dp/B0040MH642/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1457663192&sr=1-1&keywords=metal+bento+box

Recipe here! It's an Amazon page, but this exact recipe is reproduced there.

This one comes highly recommended by me. Used to be $20... but $30 is still a decent price.

It's almost 20 dollars less on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0040MH642/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1457642854&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=eco+lunch+boxes&dpPl=1&dpID=51TKhnyWGeL&ref=plSrch

You can also use a blowtorch to caramelize the outer portion of the meat. I tried it on the last prime rib I did at home and it turned out great. Thomas Keller mentioned this method in Ad Hoc at Home. I find it to be both more convenient and less messy than pan-searing, especially for larger cuts of meat.

Simple ratio (by weight) for pancakes, from Michael Ruhlman's book Ratios:

2 parts flour : 2 parts liquid : 1 part egg : 1/2 part butter

Whisk together liquid, egg and butter; add flour.


You could use soda for the liquid if you want.

Actually what he used was one of these http://www.amazon.com/Clear-Plastic-Acrylic-Fillable-Ornament/dp/B00AKF8U8O

I recognized it immediately since I use them for cosplay. But hey, responding to things with ignorant sarcasm is always a fun outlook on life.

Edit: They do come in larger sizes and I posted the first size I found while on mobile.

Recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum's book, "The Bread Bible".

Speaking of McGee, what about his book On Food And Cooking

its NOT subjective. it is a finer piece of meat... you just cook it to a degree where your average supermarket grade steak tastes the same as an expensive well aged cut. temperature and chemical change... aka science.

http://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311274459&sr=1-1

the above book is essentially the textbook for all chefs enrolled in culinary school.

On Food and Cooking

You need to pick up a copy of How to Cook Everything. It has loads of practical advice and techniques in a user-friendly format.

The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread is by far my favourite cookbook though it is very niche. I don't have any favourtes in terms of cooking in general and tend to just use google and r/food for ideas.

The one book that transformed the way I think about bread: Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Read all the first few chapters on theory, then make the pain a l'ancienne.

as someone that tried (and mostly failed) making sourdough boule bred, I'd say the recipe is only a start... Start with this: https://www.amazon.com/Peter-Reinharts-Artisan-Breads-Every/dp/1580089984

Use one of these

One of these

It's so easy, made some a few days ago. I use a spaetzle maker.

I think she is referring to global knives. Here is and example.

Global blades are sharp but require a little more maintenance.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00005OL44/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1453786101&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=global+knives&dpPl=1&dpID=41OaY0cal0L&ref=plSrch

I bought this one, and cook just about everything in it.

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-L10SK3-Pre-Seasoned-Skillet-12-Inch/dp/B00006JSUB

Lodge actually makes cast iron pizza pans: http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Logic-Cast-Iron-14-Inch-Pizza/dp/B0000E2V3X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300292894&sr=8-1

I've had this one for about 2 years and haven't had to sharpen it

There was a link in the youtube video description another commenter posted. This is the mold.

Edit: This is just the mold from the link the youtube video provided; /u/Morningxafter pointed out that this is likely the mold that was actually used.

I actually have about 20 of those things at home. They're glass balls that some people make christmas ornaments out of. http://www.amazon.com/Clear-Plastic-Acrylic-Fillable-Ornament/dp/B00AKF8U8O/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1452280201&sr=8-3&keywords=acrylic+ball

This is from the guy above: http://www.amazon.com/Clear-Plastic-Acrylic-Fillable-Ornament/dp/B00AKF8U8O

Said that's what the dude in the video used.

I don't like single-use kitchen tools, but I've used my mom's spaetzle grater and it's so worth it!

Here! Check the reviews though. It's not just a pretty face.

http://www.amazon.com/ECOlunchbox-Three--Stainless-Steel-Container/dp/B0040MH642/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457649870&sr=8-1&keywords=ecolunch

I think it's that they've got fancy machines to completely dry and pasteurize it.

I don't think it's preservatives, as an example, golden grains website says their ingredients are:
>DURUM SEMOLINA, NIACIN, FERROUS SULFATE (IRON), THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID.

I'm pretty sure the iron and B vitamins are there as nutritional fortification, not as preservatives.

this guy has a bunch to say about it, including:
>Commercial durum pasta is put through a more rigorous process of rapid, high-temperature pre-drying, followed by extended drying and resting steps. As Harold McGee explains in On Food and Cooking, the high-temperature method prevents discoloration and “cross-links some of the gluten protein and produces a firmer, less sticky cooked noodle.”

I've got that McGee book but I'm too lazy to go get it and find/read that chapter at the moment - I might later though, since now you've got me wondering about it too,

I have the Lodge 12 inch - I'd place my guess that he has a 8/9 inch on the side, and that the big one is 15 inches. My 12 inch is crazy heavy, I can't imagine that one.

This is probably the natural seaweed extract she is talking about:
Kombu
I worked in Japanese food for a long time and was surprised to learn that I had been basically flat-out lying when I told people there was no MSG in our sushi. Good sushi rice dressing is traditionally seasoned with a large piece of Kombu.
Also, people who say they are allergic to MSG are lying.
edit: read page 342 - Seaweed and the Original MSG

Even though it's not out yet, I'm going to go with Modernist Cuisine.

It's 2400 pages and contains a ridiculous amount of science/why things work the way they do and recipes. I can't think of a better resource.

Get the Victorinox 8-in knife.
And this sharpening steel.

Your first knife should be something you can beat the hell out of so you learn from your mistakes. Don't jump into more knife than you need at the moment. I have both items above and although I have a really nice Japanese Gyoto, I still use the Victorinox often because I can beat on it. (Now it has entered my travelling set).