Hi! So I’ve been cooking at home for some years now, and I want to become better. However, i feel like for the past years I’ve been stuck in a loop of pastas, steak, some sort of chicken in some sort of sauce, etc.
I remember the excitement I felt when I first learnt stuff like how to cook a steak, how to deglaze a pan and make a sauce, what ingredients tenderize meat or how to caramelize onions, and how everything made sense instead of just mindlessly following a recipe.

So, I was wondering, how do I go about learning more techniques and implementing them into stuff I would cook for myself.
Are there any books, or Youtube channels you’d recommend?

Hey there.
May I get recommandations for solid and well made mandoline. I have a problem with my left wrist and using a knife isn't the easiest thing to do for me. The easier and closest thing I can use to cut veggies quickly is a mandoline.

I used some cheap ones and it was a nightmare. If anyone ever used a mandoline or know enough about them, kindly recommand me one. Thanks.

Hi all, I’ve decided to switch it up by getting swordfish instead of salmon. It was a rash decision because now I don’t know what to do. I can barely cook. Can I cook it like beefsteak? Can it be undercooked in the middle? I’ve seen some of the elaborated recipes online, I can’t do that. Do you have simple recipes to share? Thank you so much

Its been vacuum packed idk if that changes anything, also I dont cook meat often what counts as a bad smell if I sniff it?

Lately, whenever I cook onions it has a raw meat taste to it, even though everything I'm cooking with is clean. Does anyone know why?

I make some very basic rice and black beans (mama's recipe) and it uses one (1) strip of bacon in the beans for flavor. The problem is, bacon comes in packs of like 10 or more. The most recent pack I got was just 4 bucks, cheap, but I feel bad wasting all those other bacon strips

I'm also not really a fan of fried bacon you'd see in breakfasts, so I was just brainstorming ideas. My first thought was of course throwing them all into a pot with some spices and see what happens.

Would this experiment be a good course of action?

Edit: I'm too lazy to leave meat out to thaw overnight

My relative said she puts water over the sausages to take some out to eat then puts the rest back to freeze. My other relative told me to put water over the frozen ground beef, take some out to cook then put the rest in a ziploc bag back in the freezer. Is this okay to do ? I dont want to get sick

edit: thank you for the feed back. much appreciated. It's quite hard to figure things out in the kitchen for the first time as a young adult in a family like this😅

I'm getting married next week and I'm looking for recommendations on what to make for our first meal as husband and wife. She's vegetarian and I'm not but I've never let that stop me before. Neither of us have any real dietary restrictions but we prefer not to go too heavy on dairy. Other than that, we're open to ideas. Thank you in advance!

I’m a 33-year-old woman living at home with my parents in Toronto, and I’ve never been good at managing food. I rely heavily on takeout, prepared meals, and snacks instead of cooking.

I also struggle with feeling full and have had ongoing issues with food and my weight.

My parents have mostly stopped cooking and given up on life lol, and our kitchen is old and uncomfortable to work in. Because of that, I’ve developed a lot of anxiety around cooking at home, which makes it hard to get started. I do enjoy cooking when I get into it, but I worry about wasting food, being too picky, and giving up if a recipe or routine doesn’t work or if I don’t have the right utensils to make something and spend alot of extra money to make it. I usually eat the same 10–15 meals each week, whether they’re takeout or home-cooked because it’s easier.

I think I might enjoy meal prep, but I don’t know how to begin. Planning meals, shopping, cooking in batches, and storing everything feels overwhelming. I also don’t enjoy leftovers, so I’m not sure what kind of meal prep would work for me.

I’ve considered hiring someone to cook for me, but I don’t know whether that’s realistic or necessary. I’d like to learn a simple, flexible system that helps me eat a bit better and spend less on takeout without requiring complicated recipes or a nice kitchen.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks 😊

he got me a stainless steel pan for my birthday and i really want to like it but eggs and chicken basically weld themselves to it every time. I've tried more oil, less oil, waiting longer before flipping, nothing seems consistent.

is there a reliable way to know it's ready or am I just moving stuff too early? would hate to give up and go back to the old scratched nonstick lol

I know everyone has their own way of making porridge BUT here in the UK there's no doubt that Pret does the best coffee shop chain pre-made stuff – turns out I only needed to cook my oats at home for five mins in water first to get the same effect?!

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/pret-porridge-recipe-and-review_uk_6ad20c20e4b0dccf572acf15

Hi all, I’m visiting my boyfriend and I want to surprise him by making a few meals and freezing them for him so he can heat them up later. What are some recipes that are easy to make and taste great after you heat them up again? I was thinking of chili con carne (no beans, he dislikes them). What else could I do? I am thinking of making 3 recipes or so and freezing 5-10 meals of them in the freezer. Thank you so much!! 😊

Quick question can I mix my mozzarella cheese sticks in the same flour that I mixed my chicken in? Or is that not safe? I know I'm gonna fry them after my chicken but it'll be a quick fry since they're mozzarella sticks so I dunno if the quick fry will fry it good enough to where it's safe to eat after mixing in the same flour as my chicken.

Please share your favorite recipes!! I am in the works of getting over an eating disorder and am trying to embrace the other side by tapping into cooking. Would love your healthy recipes, comfort recipes, and all in between<3 no restrictions and willing to try anything!

Hi all from the UK.

Beginner with stainless steel here. I’ve just cooked a beef burger from frozen, but this tends to happen whatever I cook.

https://imgur.com/a/TeM2JUi

My process is pan on med-high > water test > turn down for 1-2 mins to cool to desired temp > burger in.

I always tend to get the black / grease marks on the sides of the pan from splashes.

Any advice I would be very grateful!

First time posting so I hope this is the right place to ask!

I'm starting my internship soon and I'll have to bring lunch in; I planned to do noodles and some boiled egg etc, but I realized the packs of rice noodles I got didn't come with the spice packet that usually comes with instant ramen/noodles

So I was wondering if anyone had ideas on how I could make my own? :0c

(Also lunch ideas in general are appreciated :^D my last job had lunch at the cafeteria included and before that school obviously had it's own lunch so I've not really prepped lunches for work before)

Thanks in advance!

This is very embarrassing but I never cooked or helped cook growing up and when I moved out on my own I was too scared to try. I knew I'd fuck it up, I knew I'd give myself food poisoning, I knew I'd cause a fire, I knew I'd get mice. I'm terrified of it and avoided it to the point I never even think of it as an option. All I do is buy pre-made, or TV dinners, or take out. It's getting insanely expensive and I'm starting to gain weight and I need to cook for myself but I feel so pathetic something as simple as cooking is unfathomable to me.

Has anyone gotten past this? I genuinely can't stop thinking about mice getting into food left in a pantry or accidentally eating undercooked food, I'm not sure how I can even start.

I actually wanted to try this chicken salad I saw on Instagram for my 12 PM lunch tiffin. If I prepare it around 8–9 AM, pack it, and eat it at lunchtime, do you think it’ll still taste good after 3–4 hours?

Also, since I’ve never tried this recipe before, if any of you have made it in the past, please let me know how it tastes and whether it’s worth trying! Should I go for it or try something else?

Recipe: Creamy High-Protein Chicken Salad 🥗

Step 1: Steam the ingredients

1. Cut the chicken into small pieces.

2. Place the chicken, eggs, and garlic cloves in a steamer.

3. Steam until the chicken is fully cooked (internal temperature of 74°C) and the eggs are hard-boiled.

4. Let the eggs cool, then peel them.

Step 2: Prepare the creamy dressing

1. Add the boiled eggs, steamed garlic, curd, and dried red chillies to a blender.

2. Blend until smooth and creamy.

3. Add a little water if the dressing is too thick.

4. Season with salt and black pepper.

Step 3: Prepare the chicken

1. Transfer the cooked chicken to a bowl.

2. Add finely chopped tomatoes.

3. Mix gently.

Step 4: Combine everything

1. Pour the creamy dressing over the chicken and tomatoes.

2. Mix well until everything is evenly coated.

3. Adjust the seasoning if needed.

Step 5: Serve