1. Very important: the adjective “approximately” can be inserted into all recipes, wherever it will reduce effort and stress. I incurred incredible amounts of both before learning this fact, which applies to sizes, shapes1, quantities, and timings. Precision is necessary only in baking (bread, biscuits, cakes – which do not feature in this book, with the exception of gougères on Winter Tuesday). Otherwise, variation of 20%, and even the omission of one or two ingredients not included in the name of the recipe, is almost always acceptable.
Conversely, if there are obvious signs that a temperature or process time should be varied (e.g. items burning, boiling over, exploding2), rectification of the problem should take precedence over adhering to the recipe and the instructions should be modified for future use.
2. Virtually all cooking requires a general-purpose “kitchen” knife, wooden spoon, spatula, chopping board, vegetable peeler, plastic cling wrap, paper towels, scales, measuring spoons, and measuring jug. Many recipes require cooking oil, olive oil, salt, and pepper. I also recommend use of an apron and onion-peeling goggles, the latter with prescription lenses if you wear glasses. These items should be stored where they can be easily accessed, and are not listed under the specific equipment and ingredients for each recipe.
If you are using a barbecue (highly recommended), I suggest keeping a second set of items at that location, as well as a barbecue spatula and tongs.
3. Assemble ingredients and equipment before commencing cooking.
4. A timer is essential. Use it whenever there is substantial time between steps, particularly if food is left to cool before refrigerating (easily forgotten while bacteria multiply). I use my smart watch under voice command.
5. I have provided detailed timings (in minutes, in the left column of the Process section) only when I consider them likely to be helpful. All times are approximate: if you become anxious, ignore all but the cooking durations. A dinner served late or early is not a disaster, and the problem will disappear as you become familiar with the process through weekly repetition.
6. Most meals are designed to be served on shared “central” plates, from which diners can take the amount that they want. This improves diner autonomy and eliminates “plating” effort. An examination of leftovers will assist in tuning quantities for the future.
7. I recommend always having salt, pepper, and a chili-based condiment on the table, to allow diners to add the quantities they prefer. Published recipes frequently suggest adding salt and pepper “to taste,” implicitly acknowledging that tastes vary but allowing the chef’s taste to override those of other diners. In my experience, most diners will want to add salt (the spaghetti puttanesca is a notable exception).
8. I recommend becoming a regular customer of specialist vendors: greengrocer, delicatessen, baker, butcher, fishmonger. Your loyalty will prompt high-quality service and satisfying social interactions, with consequent benefits to your – and their – mental health.
9. I make extensive use of the barbecue (more accurately, barbecues), but the translation to burner / hotplate, grill, or oven is simple and obvious. Instructions are for a gas barbecue, but equivalent (and often better) results can be achieved with a charcoal-burning device. Once you are familiar with the operation of your barbecue, translation is again simple and obvious.
10. Some Common Resources items are most economically obtained from supermarkets, which I find noisy and unpleasant. If you have a housemate, I suggest they take responsibility for all supermarket shopping.
11. I have not included individual cutlery, serving implements, or plates in my equipment lists. If you have housemates, I recommend you delegate one to set the table and clean up in (partial) exchange for you taking responsibility for cooking and most of the shopping.
12. You should not refuse offers by other household members to cook. I suggest Friday, when they can prepare the meal as an alternative to restaurant dining. The stress levels are likely to be even higher, but alcohol is permitted on Fridays. If they want to contribute more frequently, they should participate in the Standardized Meal System.
13. I am Australian, hence accustomed to American reviewers of my publications pointing out “spelling errors.” The reverse (as I discovered during my time in the US) does not seem to happen to American academics. To avoid being considered sloppy or unfamiliar with English, I now write my papers in American English and have adopted this practice here, along with the Oxford comma, which I am in favor of in any case. However, I have retained Australian usages such as “minced beef,” “coriander” (in reference to leaves), and “autumn” in the hope that they will encourage greater awareness of language differences and appreciation / understanding of non-American cultures.
14. As a scientist, I use the metric system. In this book, I have supplemented it with universal cooking measures: spoons and cups. If you are accustomed to imperial measures, I recommend purchasing a set of metric scales, and small and large liquid measures – a relatively small investment and more convenient than referring to conversion tables1. All temperatures in this book are degrees Celsius. You can convert mentally (recommended) using the simple formula Degrees (Fahrenheit) = Degrees (Celsius) x 1.8 + 32. Alternatively, you can memorise conversions for the few commonly used temperatures, replace the barbecue thermometer, and / or note the conversions on your kitchen whiteboard.
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1 It is impossible to cut an irregularly shaped vegetable (i.e. any vegetable) into cubes, for example.
2 I have only had explosion problems in the case of chestnuts (refer The Rosie Result), which are not used in this book.
1 Conversion tables are of course widely available; if you prefer this option, you can download one. Better, memorize the conversion rates and calculate mentally. There is some evidence that brain exercise of this kind may slow the onset of dementia.