CALLING ALL NEW OR NOVICE COOKS!

Calling all beginning cooks! No cooking experience necessary. That's the way I try to write most of my recipes. I've been developing recipes and writing healthful cookbooks since 1989 (my latest is COMFORT FOOD MAKEOVERS) and if there's one thing I've learned, it's to not assume that the recipe reader has a lot of cooking experience. Gone are the days when you can just write, "add just enough flour to thicken"--you need to spell out how much flour to add. You can't say "saute' this" or "sear that"--because most people today don't know what that means, exactly. Even when I give instructions like "beat until soft peaks form" or "broil until golden brown", I try to also give some times so the recipe follower knows what to expect.

I was one of those "taste as you go, never measure anything, this looks like the right amount" type of cooks back in the day. I quickly learned that I have to write everything down when I'm lightening or developing a recipe, describe as much as I can, and not only measure everything, but try to time everything too. This is essential because more and more people are growing up without really knowing how to cook. I try to keep 3 rules in mind when I'm working on recipes for beginning
cooks.

Rule #1
The first rule is to keep things simple and avoid any complicated cooking
techniques.

Rule #2
And although this is tough with certain types of recipes, the second rule is
to keep the number of ingredients as small as possible. If there is a long
list of ingredients, a new cook will likely run in the other direction, or
if they make it past that point and decide to actually attempt the recipe,
they can get confused easily.

Rule #3
My third rule is to NOT become a chef or have a diploma in fancy cooking.
The more I can stay in the mind set of the typical home cook, the better off
I'll be developing recipes for them. I also try to only use the cooking
equipment and appliances that most home cooks have in their kitchen. You
won't find a mandoline or panini press or an indoor grill in my test
kitchen, because the average home cook doesn't have those either (although
I'm ready to cave on the indoor grill). You will, however, find a microwave
oven, hand grater, and slow cooker in my kitchen, because the average
American home usually has them handy.

If you're a new or novice cook, share your success, your failure or your questions. I'm always interested in hearing a new story.

~Elaine

Related Topics: 10 Commandments of Healthy Cooking, Making Recipes Diabetes Friendly

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