It's no small thing to commit to cooking meals at home, especially when every recipe you pick up assumes you already know how to do things like sauté mushrooms and cook the couscous. That's why we've spent the last year giving you lots of lessons on basic cooking skills along with some core recipes to use again and again. Here are 15 essential lessons and recipes we think every cook should know.
TOP ROW
• 1 How to Bake a Potato In the Oven
• 2 How to Make Really Good Pizza at Home
• 3 How to Cook Mushrooms on the Stovetop
• 4 How to Cook Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs in the Oven
• 5 How to Cook Lentils on the Stovetop
MIDDLE ROW
• 6 How to Cook Salmon Fillets in the Oven
• 7 How to Make Great Granola Every Time
• 8 How to Cook and Brown Ground Beef
• 9 How to Make a Better Side Salad
• 10 How to Make Ice Cream at Home
BOTTOM ROW
• 11 How to Make a Frittata
• 12 How to Cook Rice on the Stove
• 13 How to Cook Broccoli, 5 Ways
• 14 Basic White Sandwich Bread
• 15 How to Cook Couscous
Welcome to The Kitchn's Best of 2012 roundup!
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These are excellent, so helpful. I'll add to this my favorite, always-delicious, go-to salad dressing, a Lebanese style oil and lemon vinaigrette:
http://www.maureenabood.com/2012/04/18/technique-how-to-make-a-simple-vinaigrette/
Baking a potato in the oven is something that I just started doing and I wonder why it took me so long. I used to cook them in the microwave, but I will never do that again.
Yes, "cooking the couscous" is a cooking challenge of the most monumental proportions. Come on.
Indy, for a brand new cook (which is who these posts are aimed at), cooking something like cous cous could seem daunting. When I was brand new at the cooking thing when I was 19 in my first apartment, I managed to screw up boxed mac and cheese, so cous cous would have been totally out of my realm. :)
I love these!
I thought I knew how to cook mushrooms...until I started watching the French Chef with Julia Child. Don't crowd the pan!! Love that woman.
I think these dishes cover all three meals so a beginner would be good to go to have all of these in his or her repertoire.