Cooking Basics for Dummies [Paperback]

Bryan Miller (Author), Marie Rama (Author), Eve Adamson (Author), Wolfgang Puck (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 8, 2004

It doesn’t take culinary mastery and great recipes to be a great cook. But then again, it does take more than boiling eggs to lure you out of ordering take-out every night. Whether you want to pick up a new hobby, win your friends and family over [move “over” after “win”?] with your meals, or eat healthier, heartier meals, you’ll need to know a few things about cooking.

Basic Cooking For Dummies, Third Edition digs you out of microwave dinners and tipping delivery persons and propels you with all the ingredients you need toward becoming a superior home cook. This hands-on guide shows you the fun and easy way to prepare meals all your guests will love, from die-hard vegetarians to the most passionate meat eaters. You’ll be able to handle boiling, poaching, steaming, braising, grilling, and other essential techniques, making it easy to master:

• Stirring up sensational soups
• Perfecting the art of the egg
• Dressing up salads to impress
• Creating wonderful pasta dishes
• One-stop one-pot meals
• Satisfying your sweet tooth with desserts
• Cooking for your boss
• Making the most of leftovers
• Meals for the most special occasions

Packed with over 150 tempting, hassle-free recipes that will satisfy every palette, as well as advice on supplying, organizing, and budgeting your kitchen, you’ll have all the know-how to become a culinary expert and possess the elusive key to anyone’s stomach!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Cooking for Dummies is ideal for the novice chef as well as the apartment dweller with limited cooking space (and knowledge). Miller and Rama first discuss basic culinary tools and techniques before diving into the recipes, easy yet impressive menus simple enough to accommodate last-minute guests. Most recipes allow for variations; for example, the basic recipe for Gruyere Soufflé can--with a few minor substitutions--also make Salmon, Spinach, or Ham Soufflé. The style is simple and direct, and the humorous tone should put even the most timid kitchen neophyte at ease. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Cooking Basics for Dummies sets out to prove that cooking doesn't have to be hard." (StudentTimes.org, February 27th 2009) "Like Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food...Good to get you started if you're a cooking virgin...simple guide to a good feed." (Zoo Weekly, March 20th 2009) "...one foolproof way to turn out dish after dish of fantastic fare, is Cooking Basics For Dummies." (Scotland Week News, June 13th 2009) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 3 edition (October 8, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764572067
• ISBN-13: 978-0764572067
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #631,879 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

230 of 243 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good idea, with a fatal flaw - luckily, it can be ignored, January 8, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Cooking for Dummies (Paperback)

My idea of the "For Dummies" books is that they are supposedto be for the beginner and not intimidate anyone. As an aboveaverage cook who is regularly asked for a recommendation on where a newcomer to the kitchen should start, I had hoped that this could be my answer. Unfortunately, there is a fatal flaw that make me hesitate and certainly give a disclaimer with any recommendation I might provide.

My biggest reservation has to do with the chapter on equipment. While I will certainly not disagree that I can cook slightly better with better equipment, I also know that you can be a perfectly good cook with 50 cent knives and $5 saucepans. This chapter should have been an appendix - "When you're ready to buy the best tools" instead of such an early chapter. At most the chapter should have contained a discussion about what each item is used for, and stopped there. As it stands, it succeeded mainly in putting off the less experienced cooks I showed it to.

This is a shame, since much of the rest of the book is useful, funny and informative. I have since recommended it to one person with the caveat that they should ignore that chapter until they could afford not to. But most people just starting out can't afford what's in there. (Heck, I'm well beyond starting out and can't afford much of it. Then again, I regularly produce gourmet meals on a $20 set of knives and a $50 set of pans. So can anyone.)

In the end, the author broke what I consider to be the cardinal rule of the "For Dummies" books - MAKE IT ACCESSIBLE. In the end, a $50 knive and a $100 pan are just not accessible and also, not NECESSARY to be a good cook. Learning the skills of cooking can be done on almost ANY equipment (the tops have to seal and the knives have to cut - that's about it). This book made it seem necessary to drop a $1000 or so before you could start boiling water and that's not just inaccessible but intimidating, too.

67 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bachelor(cooking clueless) finds help and guidence with book, January 31, 2002

By 

N. Daniel "closet cowboy" (Allen, Tx United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cooking for Dummies (Paperback)

This book has helped me so incredibly much.
Mainly because i didnt even know the basics.. Terms in such..
The last straw for me was when I screwed up burger helper. I thought "simmer" on the instructions ment high heat. Then 2nd attempt forgot to "drain the meat" which didnt make for very good Fettuchini Alfredo helper :(

This book talks in low level terms.. Explaining Simmer among others. Before I bought this book, i recieved a cookbook for Xmas.. Which was no use to me because I didnt even understand half the instructions. So I was screwing up burger helpers and didnt even know how to make good scrambled eggs.. *sigh*

NOW!! I make probably some of the best breakfast you ever had. My scrambled eggs are nice, soft fluffy just right.. I mix in Chorizo and heat up some tortillas for some Migas.. OH THATS NOT ALL! I have impressed my mother greatly with hommade stew.. Started off with the recipe in this book (Which is very good BTW).. Then migrated from the stove to a slow cooker(crock pot) and now MY MOTHER asks for me to bring her some of my stew(which is sorta developed into a custome recipe of mine). Pot Roasts.. Tacos...Grilling fish.. ect ect...

My kitchen never had the right tools in it to cook with. This books gives you a nice basic economical listing of things that you must have to cook. VERY GOOD INFO.. Also the listings of spices to have on hand, herbs and other stuff. Also even explains how to properly use knives and what knife to use for what! Again but $ wise its reasonable.. it doesnt ask you to go out and spend 300.00 on junk you will hardly use. Its very common sense...

And then safety. Book goes over proper cooking times and temp for various meats and cautions on cooking chicken. It also gives you a very nice chart on how long various foods, leftovers, meats can be stored in Fridge and stay edible. THIS WAS VERY HELPFUL!

Again.. Great book for person who is cooking clueless and needs it.. Like me ;-)

65 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Take Baby Steps, March 31, 2001

By 

Scott Anderson "Sharpsburg" (Shepherdstown, WV) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cooking for Dummies (Paperback)

This book was given to my wife as a wedding gift from a friend of ours. She asked for it so she could better prepare herself for married life even though I prepare all the family meals. She studied the book for two weeks in preperation for my birthday dinner and I must say - everything she cooked came out perfect.

The kitchen may have been a bit messier than normal but by following simple recipes my wife was able to prepare one of teh best meals I've ever eaten. From the salad to the dessert each item was beautifully presented and lovingly prepared.

My only problem with this book was in regards to the equipment needed. As Catering Director at Shepherd College I don't even use many of these items on a full time basis. My recommendation is to read this chapter after you've skimmed the rest of the book and take to heart that the items listed are not nessesarily needed in every kitchen.

Over all a good book with some great recipes. Pick one up and enjoy the new found freedom in the kitchen!