Teaching Someone

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hearthemelody
hearthemelody Posts: 1,025 Member
in Recipes
If you were to start teaching someone to cook, and they had zero knowledge, what would you begin with?

I told a friend of mine we could make soup for dinner if she brought over the chicken, and she asked where she should buy chicken. Turns out she lives off of Lean Cusine and Progresso Soups, and has never cooked from scratch before.

So tonight is chicken noodle, what else is a good idea?

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  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
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    I've never cooked chicken from scratch either, so if someone were going to show me how to do it, I'd want to know how to cut up the chicken and then what heats to apply for how long. (And be shown what it looks like when it's done.)
  • LoraleiDean
    LoraleiDean Posts: 100
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    If I was teaching, I would do crock pot meals and the like - one pot meals. Pulled pork, stew etc.
    I would also show them how to braise in the oven (pork chops in a liquid, maybe).
    And roast veg are also easy to do.
    Hope you figure it out and have fun!
  • CoraGregoryCPA
    CoraGregoryCPA Posts: 1,097 Member
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    If I was new to cooking, I'd need to know how to measure and follow directions exactly.

    Mac&Cheese are good for beginners, because you could add canned tomato. Making it look like you really made something unique and tasty.
    Hot dogs?
  • terri0527
    terri0527 Posts: 678 Member
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    New to cooking? hmm, I have been trying to teach my oldest daughter forever. I guess when she moves out she's gonna starve! :happy: You can buy chickens already cut up in the grocery store so cutting one up isn't necessarily a problem. Baked chicken would probably be the easiest.
  • hearthemelody
    hearthemelody Posts: 1,025 Member
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    I appreciate the input!

    I was thinking of having her pick a recipe and walking her through it to the finished delicousness.
  • pippacont
    pippacont Posts: 28 Member
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    Get her the book "How to Boil Water." My mom got it for me when I went off to college and it has excellent, easy recipes that have a lot of shortcuts for beginners (such as get a rotisserie chicken for making soup).
  • chickenz
    chickenz Posts: 101 Member
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    Start with eggs in a variety of ways
  • SailorSarah311
    SailorSarah311 Posts: 172 Member
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    Eggs is a good place to start. Then move on to pasta. Basically anything that needs to be boiled. I think you have a good idea with helping her with a recipe. You should walk through the market with her. Give her some tips on grocery shopping. Show her the ropes.
  • cuterbee
    cuterbee Posts: 545
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    Spaghetti is an easy dish to learn to cook. You can make the sauce from scratch and it turns out well no matter what you do to it, unless you burn it. It's the first thing my own mom taught me to cook, and it's what my kids learned first.
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
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    I taught at least seven guys this one in college (I now refer to it as "bachelor chef chicken"):

    Take one whole or cut up chicken
    * (if it's whole, take the bag of gizzards and things out of the cavitty first!)
    * and if you want to get all swanky and you're willing to get your hands that icky, pull the skin off

    Put it in a 9 X 12 pan

    Pour in one of the following:
    * a can of cream of mushroom soup
    * a can of enchilada sauce
    * a can of salsa
    * a can of turkey gravy

    Put foil over it

    Bake in the oven for 1 hour at 375 degrees.

    ----
    Next week, repeat, changing the can of whatever.

    Voila.

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