There are plenty of reasons to get more comfortable in the kitchen, develop better skills, and acquire a repertoire of dishes you enjoy making and can confidently cook. First, you’ll feed yourself—and others—better food, probably more healthfully and more cheaply than you were before. Second, it’s empowering to look at a chicken (or an eggplant or a half-dozen eggs) and know you can turn it into something delicious. Cooking is also one of the simplest ways to share something you’ve created with others, and the process itself can even become a meditative source of pleasure.
Most of us can cook at least something for ourselves, but what makes a confident cook? You certainly don’t need to go to cooking school to cook well, but the way most of us learn to cook—through a combination of helping parents or grandparents, watching random episodes of cooking shows, and/or trying out any recipe that sounds good—can leave our culinary education feeling a bit haphazard. Even those of us who have cooked for years can feel like we don’t have a clear handle on certain essentials.
When should you reach for a nonstick skillet, for example? (Whenever you want? Or sometimes not?) How do you cook fish fillets that stay moist, or fry an egg that maintains a runny yolk? And what even counts as essential these days? Making a lasagna, probably, but what about the pad thai you order every week? A perfect steak, sure, but what about having the perfect vegetarian main dish in your back pocket? This book answers these questions and many more. The recipes will help you develop your cooking skills while building a solid set of dishes you can count on—whether for breakfast, Wednesday’s dinner, or your first dinner party.
But solid needn’t mean boring! Even if you’re new to cooking, that’s no reason to limit yourself with flavors. You just need an approachable recipe. That’s why our new essentials include not only the perfect weeknight roast chicken and a killer banana bread, but also a Turkish-inspired tomato soup, luscious Chinese braised short ribs, and a set of grain bowls that will become regular go-tos. We’ve got a great burger for you whether you want to use beef, pork, or beans. And if you do think pad thai is out of reach, try our everyday version.
You don’t need a kitchen full of fancy equipment to cook great food. In the first part of the book, you’ll find the elements of setting up and making use of your kitchen, covering all the equipment you need and the fundamental skills you’ll use every time you cook. Try those skills out in the second part, “The Simplest Way to Cook Everything.” Here you’ll learn to fry that perfect runny egg, braise hearty greens, and sear restaurant-caliber steaks and chops—all building-block dishes that you can serve a new way each time you make them.
From here, chapters become slightly more advanced as they progress. As you move (and cook) through the recipes, you can read about broader aspects of cooking in our “Think Like a Cook” boxes. Learn the connection between salt and moisture, how to properly soften rice noodles, why we love to roast food on a wire rack, and the best way to fix a stew when you went a little overboard on the salt and it’s all gone a bit off the rails. This is the kind of thinking used by seasoned cooks, and we hope it serves to give you a deeper understanding about flavor, technique, timing, and the entire experience of cooking.
Of course, to truly become a better cook, you just have to roll up your sleeves and get started. Begin with the very basics or jump to what interests you. Make the supersimple smashed cucumber salad spiked with Sichuan chili oil first if you like. Or skip straight to dessert. Whatever you make, it helps to have a trustworthy guide in the kitchen. We hope to be that for you.