The equipment
A working kitchen needs fewer things than the housewares aisle suggests. Buy a twelve-inch skillet, a three-quart saucepan with a lid, a large pot for pasta, a rimmed sheet pan, an eight-inch chef's knife, a large cutting board, a colander, a wooden spoon, a spatula and the thermometer. That is roughly a hundred dollars bought sensibly, and it cooks nearly everything. A sharp knife is safer than a dull one, because a dull blade slips off an onion and into a finger.
Habits that make food taste good
Read the whole recipe before you turn on a burner, and cut everything first. Four habits account for most of the difference:
- Heat the pan for a minute or two before the food goes in, so that it sears instead of steaming.
- Leave space between pieces, because a crowded pan traps steam and turns everything gray.
- Leave the food alone until it releases from the pan on its own, which is the sign that it has browned.
- Salt as you go and taste before serving, since food that seems flat usually needs salt or a squeeze of lemon.
Salt pasta water until it tastes like mild seawater, about a tablespoon per large pot, and save a cup of that water to loosen the sauce. Medium heat is the default setting. High heat is the beginner's most common mistake.
The numbers that keep you safe
Cook poultry to 165 degrees, ground meat to 160, and whole cuts of beef, pork and lamb to 145 followed by a three-minute rest. Fish is done at 145, and leftovers should be reheated to 165. Measure in the thickest part, away from bone. Do not rinse raw chicken, which only sprays bacteria around the sink. Use a separate board for raw meat, or wash the board in hot soapy water before anything else touches it.
Refrigerate cooked food within two hours, or within one hour in weather above 90 degrees. Leftovers keep for three to four days in the refrigerator.
Building from five meals
Once the five are automatic, change one element at a time: a different vegetable on the sheet pan, a can of tomatoes in the pasta, another bean. Roast most vegetables at 425 degrees with oil and salt for twenty to thirty minutes.
Tip Cook double whenever you cook at all. The second portion becomes tomorrow's lunch at no extra effort, and it is the cheapest meal you will eat all week.
