View Full Version : If you were teaching a man to cook
who was middle aged and never cooked, what 3 meals would you teach him first. He is cooking for adults only, no kid's food needed.
Any suggestions would be helpful.
I just have exp with kids, but in cooking schools most start with omelets... knack to them, basic skill sets, yet versatile to keep going with.
What kind of cooking does he need to do? Everyday cooking, dinners? For what age adults?
When we taught my grandfather to cook after my grandmother passed away, it was:
- eggs, bacon/ham, and toast
- baked potatoes, sauteed onions/garlic/mushrooms, salad (how to clean/prep common salad veggies)
- roasted chicken, meatloaf
- chocolate chip, oatmeal cookies
He already knew how to grill stuff on the BBQ, smoke meats, make sausage, clean/dress fish/game.
He is cooking for adults only. He can't really cook much yet except canned stuff and fried eggs and such. Really a novice.
He is cooking for adults only. He can't really cook much yet except canned stuff and fried eggs and such. Really a novice.
I've found "The Silver Palate Cookbook" by Lukins/Rosso to be an excellent beginner's text for people who have an interest in learning.
1. Mark Bittman's lentils and brown rice. He can make up a batch and freeze portions. I like it with green chilies and red roasted peppers mixed in.
2. Frittata.
3. Crock pot beans. If he knows how to brown ground beef, he can make chili, burritos and tacos.
Gosh, my head is spinning round and round with ideas.
Pasta with a simple tomato sauce.
Something "three piece" i.e. Meat, potatoes, and veggies. (Pork chops, scalloped potatoes, steamed broccoli). Just as a starting point.
A casserole type dish. Chili, stew, etc.
My Mom says, "If you can read, you can cook." I recommend a basic cookbook, and find out what he loves to eat. Start with simple versions of these foods, as he'll be more motivated to cook them, and mentor him as he learns.
Also, sharing the meals he makes and raving over them will help encourage him... bring a bottle of wine to share over dinners, flowers for the table, etc. Make it fabulous!
I agree with the comment, "If you can read, you can cook." Ask him what he wants to be able to cook, find a recipe for it, and teach away. I am always more motivated to learn to cook stuff that I really want (crave!) than anything else. Also, remind him that many of us have learned to cook through some level of trial and error. Just because something doesn't turn out the way we expect the first time, we try it again, and again, and again until we get it right. So give him some encouragement and remind him to be brave - cooking is something anyone can learn!
I keep trying to get my husband interested in cooking. He has limited patience, and I found a lot of beginner cookbooks way too overwhelming with prose and pages of text. I found a copy of "5 in 10" cookbook, which are meals that consist of 5 ingredients and can be made in 10 minutes or less. And the instructions are short.
He still hasn't used the cookbook though. :(
Mollie Katzen published a beginner's cookbook - I believe it's titled, "Get Cooking." It has things such as roasted chicken, hamburgers, a few salads and salad dressings, etc. I think it's a good place to start for basics.
I like Sunset's Easy Basics for Good Cooking from 1987, but if I were encouraging a non-cook to acquire kitchen skills, I'd point them toward the Food Network (I've learned more about cooking there than anywhere else) or YouTube videos.
- Healthy stirfry type dishes seasoned with lemon, honey, chili, etc
- I second Mrs M's casserole suggestion
- Spaghetti bolognese
- Vegetable soups
My partner claims he can't cook (I also agree with "If you can read, you can cook"!!) but he makes a delicious garlic prawn pasta - learned straight from a recipe! Go figure.
Better Homes and Gardens: Anyway Can Cook. Step by step pictures for everything. Everything! How to fry and egg, e.g.
The title of this thread caught my interest, because in our house, DH does all the cooking and I am the incompetent in the kitchen. I can make coffee, tea, hardboiled eggs, ramen soup, salads, lemonade (good boiled on the stove kind) and one particular pasta salad recipe. I will admit that I've never applied myself wholeheartedly to learning though. DH cooks and I clean, etc., and this works well for our division of labor. He loves to cook, and I so don't, but I do plenty of other things enthusiastically and capably.
Rosemary, I think that it is so funny that you mention Molly, because those are the only cookbooks I could ever follow. And she writes books for kids, which always made it funnier. I loved it that she told me precisely what to do. I always am at a loss when I read "until done" or "until golden brown." Molly never left me hanging with vague verbiage while the whatever caught on fire in the pan :)
If he's like many men and likes his meat, make sure he has a good skillet and show him how to pan fry (in a bit of olive oil) things like pork chops, steak, hamburgers (the frozen patties are great), skinless boneless chicken breasts. While from scratch mashed potatoes are great, in this situation, show him how to do instant mashed potatoes, or the boxed au gratin or scalloped potatoes. Include use of the microwave for baked potatoes, steaming baby carrots, or various frozen veggies.
I think if you got him going on meat on the stove top and a veggie in the microwave, you'd be going in the right direction. Also do things like eggs (sunny side up, scrambled, omelets), French toast, pasta, etc. As someone else already mentioned, if you show him how to brown ground beef, he can do tacos, chili, etc.
Unless they are complicated dishes, I'd start off with what he really likes. The best motivator for cooking is producing something you really want to eat.
Tradd and Creaker on are the money, start with the simple dishes he likes.
I get my inspiration for Indian cooking from going to restaurants and eating Indian. Then I seek out cookbooks, flip through them, finding something similar.
How To Cook without a Book by Pam Anderson is a great book.
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