Sooner or later, anyone who does any cooking at all is going to need to follow a formal recipe. Whether you love cooking from one or dread doing so, it is helpful to keep in mind that a recipe—which is simply a set of instructions on how to prepare a particular dish—is intended to help you be successful. Though its tone may be a bit bossy, a well-written recipe will take you by the hand and lead you to create something tasty. These instructions, regardless of format (written, filmed, etc.) are your ally, and you’ll make best of use of them if you heed a few simple pointers:
#1: Choose the recipe wisely.
Keep in mind your experience and abilities in the kitchen when you choose a recipe to prepare for the first time. You might be all excited about attempting those beautiful, trendy macarons or Great Aunt Betty’s spectacular goose-in-a-pastry, but do you have the time, knowledge, and skills necessary to successfully carry out that dish at this time? If not, choose something simpler, and apply all that valuable enthusiasm to creating something much more likely to turn out satisfactorily. Build on that success (learning from any mistakes), and gradually you will increase your abilities to the point where you can tackle more complicated recipes.
If you are a relatively new cook, you might also want to be sure the dish is one that you have actually eaten before, either prepared by a friend or family member or at a restaurant. It’s much easier to understand the instructions for something when you already know how it should look and taste when it is finished.
Consider these ultra-easy recipes:
- Sweet Corn Pie (dessert)
- Cheese Cracklings (snack, starter)
- Shredded Beef Salad / Salpicón) (main)
- Basic Cream of Vegetable Soup (starter, main)
#2: Make a copy of it.
Recipes come in all sorts of formats: books, videos, handwritten recipes cards, static web sites, t.v. programs, etc. I am definitely a proponent of having a hard copy of the recipe I am working from, one that I won’t mind if it gets messy. Print out that blog recipe, photocopy the one from the book, write down the one described on the video. That way you will have the recipe close to you on the kitchen counter, and you will be able to make notes right on it. (See tip #6.)
#3: Read and reread.
Take a quiet moment to read your recipe through from beginning to end. Breathe and read slooowly and focus on each ingredient and the sequence of instructions. Then go back and read it once again, visualizing each step in the process. Don’t understand a term used? Look it up. Repeat this step until you are sure you understand everything.
I know. You are eager to get cookin’. Taking this moment to breathe and concentrate, though, will help you to be prepared and to avoid confusion once you get busy. You’ll end up being glad you respected this step.
#4: Gather and prepare your ingredients.
Before you start beating, chopping, and sauteeing, get everything you need out of the cabinets and fridge. Make sure you have enough of each ingredient, and that you have the necessary equipment—bowls, pans, utensils, appliances, etc. Measure out the ingredients that you will be using. Use standardized measuring cups or spoons, where applicable.
You will be sorely tempted to skip over this step in the process; after all, Great Aunt Betty never does this, and she the best cook in the family! Remember, though, that Auntie has decades of kitchen experience behind her, and she knows what she does and does not have in her pantry. She also knows how to make emergency substitutions if it turns out she is wrong. You will, too, eventually.
For now, let it be enough to know that the practice of having all your ingredients laid out and measured for a recipe is known in the culinary world as mise en place, a French term that translates to laid out. Ever notice how the t.v. chefs make all those delicacies with a smile and never a hair out of place? That’s due, in part, to their having everything set up and ready to go long before the oven gets turned or the cameras start rolling. I’m pretty sure it’s also thanks to their not having to wash their own dirty dishes, but I digress…
#5: Follow instructions to the letter and in order.
You have your hard copy of the recipe at hand (see Tip 2); now follow it carefully, step by step. If you are one of those natural rule-breaker types, try to suppress that urge, at least the first time you make the dish. You’ll get a chance to experiment with ingredients and techniques on future attempts, but stick to the beaten path for now. Remember, a good recipe is intended to help, not hinder, you.
#6: Take notes (and keep them).
Throughout the cooking process, write down anything you’d like to remember for later—what ingredient gave you trouble, which knife worked well (or badly) for a particular purpose, any step that took longer than you expected, etc. Write directly on the paper copy of the recipe that you have from Tip #2. These notes will be useful the next time you make the dish and may become inspiration for a new version of the same, one that will have the stamp of your own personality and preferences.
Keep this copy of the recipe with notes somewhere you’ll be able to find it if you end up making the dish again. Recipes that you have made and enjoyed 3 or more times may deserve a permanent place in your collection; once that happens, decide on what kind of “permanent storage” you’d like to use for them (electronic app, old-timey recipe box, binder, etc.)
All text copyright by Robin Grose
Photo attributions:
- “Corn Chowder Recipe” by Cindy Shebley, is licensed under cc by 2.0, cropped
- “Ingredients” by Arveed, is licensed under cc by-sa 2.0, cropped
- “Apuntes (2)” by datos.gob.es on Flickr, is licensed under cc by-sa 2.0, cropped
Latest update: 24 May 2024
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