Bachelor Basics – Cooking 101

Bachelor Basics: Volume 1

A YoungBrothas.com Exclusive
Words By Curt McGirt

Congratulations. You’ve officially moved out on your own. You’ve got no one to tell you what to do or when to do it. In fact you’ve got two of the three basic necessities of life covered already by getting a place to live that (hopefully) has running water. But what about the third necessity: food.

Most men under the age of 22-25 have never really had to live on their own. There were always parents, relatives or a dining hall to make sure you didn’t starve, and that the food you ate wouldn’t kill you from food poisoning. For a while you may think you can live by the frozen dinner aisle or fast food. But your rapidly expanding waist line and shrinking wallet and love life will quickly put a stop to that habit. So you’re gonna need to know how to cook at home.

Hopefully I can give you some basics you need for your kitchen so you can keep yourself alive, and maybe even cook for a woman so well she’ll come back for more.

The Hardware:

I’d say there are three pots and pans that you must have in your kitchen. These three will take care of 95% of all the cooking you need. They are: a cast iron skillet, tall pasta pot with strainer, and a 10” saucier.

The cast iron skillet hasn’t changed in almost two hundred years. There’s no need to, it works perfectly. The cast iron is heavy, conducts heat evenly and if properly seasoned, it’s nonstick. You must own one of these pans. This pan will make everything from scrambled eggs to a 20 oz porterhouse steak without flinching. Your grandmother owns one and we all know how much you love her cooking. So use what she used. But before you go rushing out to the store, check thrift stores, estate sales, garage sales and even your relatives. A well seasoned skillet is worth its weight in gold. If you must buy it new, get it cheaper at a hardware store. It will come with directions for seasoning it or find them online.

The pasta pot with a strainer will be your best friend when you’re learning to cook. It can make almost any soup, stew or chili you need as well as make pasta a breeze. Find one with an aluminum core. Aluminum heats evenly and means your water, soup, or stew will heat faster. Get the best quality you can afford here. I wouldn’t necessarily trust the supermarket brand, there’s no need to go to an expensive specialty store route either.

The last pot you’ll absolutely need is a 10” saucier with lid. This pan you may want to spend a little money on as it will be a work horse for you. It’s a versatile pan that can make rice, pasta sauce, sautéed vegetables, fish, and some of your basic desert needs. Look for something with a good heavy bottom and a good handle. This pot can be very deceiving when in use. Everyone knows a cast iron skillet is hot so they grab a pot holder to handle it. But that stainless steel finish on a saucier looks nice and cool to the touch. Depending on the pot you get it may be. Some brands advertise their “Stay Cool” handles. If you don’t get one of those you risk burning your hand.

Ovenware:

By now you’re thinking “Curt, I sold all my college books and I want to use the oven to do something besides heat my apartment. What do I need for that?” Well there are four things I consider a must own for the oven.

The first is an oven liner. You get them at the dollar store and they look like a huge cookie sheet made from aluminum foil. Get it and put it at the bottom of the oven. You will have things spill and bubble over in the oven. This will save you the clean up that you weren’t going to do anyway. When it’s disgusting enough, take it out and replace it with a new one.

The second thing you’ll need is a roasting pan with a rack. Anything you can cook on the grill you can make in this pan. The rack will allow the air to get all around the meat, while the pan catches the juices to make your gravies and sauces. Depending on what you’re making you don’t even have to use the rack. Most recipes call for the food to go directly in the pan.

Third is your favorite and mine, the cookie sheet. Use it for cookies, toast, and reheating pizza just about anything where sauce or juice won’t go spilling off the edge. I would spend a little on this. You want something heavy that can take the heat. Most come with a non stick coating on them so don’t cut on them or it will wear it out and your food will stick.

The forth thing you need is a Pyrex baking dish. I’d say get an 8”x8” dish. You can use it for cakes, brownies, casseroles, reheating leftovers, lasagna and most baked dishes. It’s another one of those things that your mom and grandmother keep around for a reason. They aren’t expensive and the only choices you have are size and color. I trust that can be left up to you. If you can find it, go for the two pack that has two sizes.

Knives:

Knives are tricky. Anyone that cooks will tell you that a sharp knife won’t cut you. And they are right no matter how wrong that sounds. Most people cut themselves trying to force a dull knife into something it doesn’t want to cut. When it comes to knives here are my thoughts on what to buy. Spend the money on good knives and keep them sharp by getting them sharpened and honed as needed. But if you can’t spend the money get knives that have some serration to them, they won’t necessarily be sharper, but seeing the edge encourages a gentle sawing motion over a hard downward chopping motion. So what knives do you need in the kitchen? Other than the butter knives that come with every dining set, here are my top three: the 8” chef’s knife, the 9” bread knife, and good steak knives.

I use my 8” chef’s knife on a daily basis. It can do everything I really need it to do in the kitchen because I keep it sharp. When looking for this, my advice is to spend the money on a good knife. Go to a place that will allow you to handle the knife and if possible test it out. The weight should feel good (and comfortable) in your hand. The handle shouldn’t jiggle like something is loose. Hold it like you are chopping something and make sure your knuckles don’t hit the cutting bored. If they do, check another brand. There are many different materials to choose from, so go with the best cost you can afford.

The 9” bread knife is far handier than it seems. I know if you’re just starting out you aren’t baking bread, but hopefully in the future I can get you buying bread from a bakery that comes unsliced. It’s also great for large fruits and some cuts of meat where the serration comes in handy. As for cost, you should be able to get one of these for a good price at most home stores. They don’t really go dull so keeping it sharp won’t be a real problem. The most important thing is make sure it fits your hand well.

Finally you need some steak knives. I’m sure you think that converse all-star you call a steak is tasty to you, but the rest of us can’t cut it without a torch. I’d say spend more than you did on the serrated edge knife, but less than the chef’s knife. You want something that looks nice, is comfortable to hold, and will stand up to more frequent use. I don’t recommend wooden handles because after repeated washings in the dishwasher, they tend to splinter and fall apart. But if that’s what feels good to you, use them and try to hand wash them.

The last few things will be some miscellaneous items that always help out in the kitchen.

· Bowls. I like glass bowls for most any kitchen task. Just be sure to get tempered so they don’t shatter when you add hot items.

· Cutting boards. Get two of them. One is for meat only. The other is for everything else. Buy wood or plastic. DO NOT USE GLASS. It increases your chances of getting cut due to slipping items. It will also dull your blades faster

· Kitchen thermometer. No one likes over cooked meat. And if you’ve been eating over cooked meat your entire life, you’ll find out what you’ve been missing.

· Whisks. One will do. And you’ll use it more than you think. Pancakes, Eggs, almost any baked good will call for whisking.

· Tongs. This will save your food more than you realize. You can move, prod, stir, flip and shake with ease all with one tool. In the kitchen or on the grill this will be one of your new best friends.

That’s all for this installment of the basics. If you’re new to cooking or just moving out on your own, hopefully this will help you get started with the tools you need for success in the kitchen. Next up: what to stock in your pantry.

Tagged as: bachelor basics, cooking tips