1. A good, sharp chef's knife. Nothing fancy, I use a Dexter that I got for like $20 and have it resharpened. You can get a lot nicer, but you don't have to. The first kitchen I ever worked at (20 years ago) used knives almost exactly like this.
   
   
2. A good meat thermometer. I use this one which works similarly to a ThermaPen but without the ridiculous ~$90 cost.
   
   
3. A good cast iron skillet can be pretty versatile. Cast iron holds heat very well, which means that it's great for stuff like searing steaks.
   
   
4. Some cheap, non-stick frying pans. I recommend getting cheap ones because once the coating starts coming off (and it always does at some point, it seems) you're going to throw them away and get new ones. You can spend $300+ like I did once and get high-end stuff like All-Clad or whatever, but even if you're super careful and use only wood and silicone utensils to cook on it, it'll still start peeling its coating, and then All-Clad will say you used metal silverware on it and your warranty is invalid, blah blah blah, and that's more hassle than you need. Just get cheap ones.
   
   
5. Now THIS is where you can spend some legit money. A tri-ply, high quality frying pan without a non-stick coating. These are great for making pan sauces while you cook, etc. I made a chicken, garlic, and olive oil with a red wine vinegar based pan sauce with this pan (well, and some baking dishes) that was incredible. All-Clad is the industry standard but the Tramontina stuff is 1/2 the price or less and built to near the same level of quality.
   
   
6. A nice, enameled Dutch Oven, whether it be from Le Creuset or Tramontina, these are the best for stews, soups, chili...etc. Hold heat forever, well built, and easy to clean.
   
   
7. A good fish spatula, which I almost never use to cook fish. It's actually just the best shape for omelets, eggs, whatever. Flipping anything in a pan with a utensil like this is awesome.
   
   
8. A thick ceramic baking dish for making things like lasagna or casseroles or even just roasting meats/veggies.
   
   
9. Believe it or not, cookie sheets covered with heavy duty aluminum foil are how I do a lot of my oven roasting of small things, like diced veggies or potatoes. They work perfectly and being so large they're able to be spread out so they get roasted on all edges for a little extra flavor. Brussel sprouts & diced bacon in a cast iron skillet to start and then dump them onto this and blast them in the oven at 425 for 15-20 minutes and you'll have a great side dish.
   
   
10. No matter how careful you are, you're going to get something caked on or get a dish so dirty you think it's uncleanable. For that, I recommend Barkeeper's Friend which is an awesome powdered cleaner. Add a little water, use a paper towel and this stuff to make a paste, leave it in the pan for a few minutes, then rinse. I have yet to see this fail. Awesome stuff. Saved some pans.
    
    
    There are lots of other things I use daily:
    
    

• Good kitchen towels
  
• Heavy Duty Aluminum foil
  
• A good dish scrubber for cleanup
  
  etc.
  
  But the point I guess I'm making is that you can get lots of good, cheap stuff to start with.
  

If you have two, why don't you do one as a perfect standing rib roast and play with the second one?

I'll get to the playful ideas for the second hunk of meat later.


Part One - an instructional on making prime rib:

Keep in mind, for some of my less essential estimations, I'm totally guessing. Just use your brain.

My procedure was born from the standing rib roast episode of Good Eats. I couldn't find the whole episode for you online, but [here's a clip from it] (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/dry-aged-standing-rib-roast-with-sage-jus-recipe/standing-rib-roast.html) in case you're interested.

Basically, the trick is to take your time with it. This method is foolproof if you're patient and if you give your meat a day to hang out in a salt and pepper rub-down, a couple hours to get to room temperature, and a chunk of time to roast in a very low oven.

Why a low oven if you can reach medium rare in less time with a hot oven? Because a low oven will help keep the whole mass of the meat at roughly the same temperature while it cooks. The thermal assault of a hot oven would decimate the roast's outer inches before beginning to cook the raw center. Look at [one] (http://www.heroacres.com/heroacres/PrimeRib.jpg) and [two] (http://literalminded.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/prime_rib.jpg).

As for special equipment, you'll need [something like this] (http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-1470-Digital-Cooking-Thermometer/dp/B00004XSC5/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1411674292&sr=1-1&keywords=digital+thermometer+probe). Don't rely on interrupting the cooking and sticking it every 20 minutes once it gets close. This isn't a horror movie. The less you stab it, the less blood, the better.

So here's how it'll go:

A day or two before your dinner (I prefer two), season the meat.

Rub the meat (giggity) with salt, pepper, and whatever else you want. I like garlic and mustard powder. Classic flavor combos exist for a reason. Wrap it in saran and toss it in the fridge to let that salty/savory crust develop. The seasoning needs to support the otherwise monotonous roast, so don't miss this opportunity as step 1 to getting an A+ crust on there.

When you wake up the day of your prime rib dinner, take it out of the fridge. Let the roast come to room temperature (about 2 hrs), rub it with a mix of non-extra-virgin olive oil and some good mustard. This'll help that crust we've been talking about.

Insert the meat thermometer at center-mass. Set the device to alert you at your desired temperature. Count on about degrees of carryover cooking once it's out of the oven. I set mine last time to 127 I think. Put it in your favorite ovenware, cover it with foil to aid even-heating, and put it in a cold oven. Set that oven to 200 degrees, or 250 if you're feeling pressed for time.

Once it beeps, let it sit on the counter. You'll notice there isn't much juice for gravy. That's cause being gentle kept the proteins intact and the juices inside. Fear not, gravy and Yorkshire Pudding lovers-- juices will flow soon. When you're an hour away from dinner, crank your oven to 500. Turn it on convection mode if you have it.

Once it's up to temp, stick the roast in and keep your eye on it. It helps if your window is clean, cause opening and closing will partially reset the searing process (you want to leave the inside at perfectly medium rare). Start checking after 5 minutes, then every 2. Once you get that golden-brown/brown, you're there. Pull it. Let it rest for another 15-20. Enjoy.

Part Two - playing with your meat:

Lots of cool ideas on this thread already. This will speak to some of that.

If you wanted to go the Korean bbq or Philly Cheesesteak route, a nice trick is to partially freeze the roast so that your knife can slice it thinly. It's a restaurant trick for carpaccio, but it's super-useful here. Then have fun on YouTube and Google, weigh the pro's and con's of all your options, and learn how to make the most kickass cheesesteak possible. Then tell me about it. Or don't. Not like I've told youanything about food.

The other obvious route is to make steaks. If you wanna make that a project, try dry-aging the roast in your fridge and cutting steaks out of that. I love dry-aging my own beef. If you have a beer fridge in the garage or basement like I do, it's a pretty damn easy task. Just put it on a non-reactive rack and let it sit in the open air.

I have no idea if it helps, but I generously sprinkle salt under the rack to make sure any excess moisture is being sucked out of the air instead of feeding mold.

It'll smell a little beefy and maybe a little funky, but that's fine. Trim the crusty edges and treat them like normal steaks. Be careful, cause their reduced water content (flavor dilution, as dry-aging aficionados know it) make them cook faster.

Have fun!

I have several knives.

My most used knife, and the one I like the most is a 8 inch Wüsthof classic. I really like the balance and the grip of this one.

I also have a Mac Chef's Knife, 7-1/4-Inch. This is stamped, not forged, but for just a few dollars more than the Victorinox you get a knife that actually sits and balances well in your hand and it's made of much better steel. I actually bought it in a brick and mortar store for about $20.

It's not as well balanced as the Wüsthof, but I like the fact that it doesn't have a full bolster. It's much easier to sharpen. If I would start anew I would get half-bolster designs for my expensive knives, but it's really no big deal at all.

I also have Tojiro DP Gyutou. The price varies, now it's a few dollars more expensive than the Victorinox, but I bought it cheaper. This is an excellent knife with better steel than the above knives. The grip is fantastic. The balance is good, but not quite as good as the Wüsthof, nothing really gets there for me, but it's good. Again the lack of a full bolster is a great feature of this knife.

Personally now I think that the Wüsthof Ikon lines are better than the classic series, because of the half-bolster design, but I didn't know this years back when I bought my classic.

Also, I keep saying that these knives feel so good in the hand compared to the Victorinox but this is a very subjective thing and people should try for themselves. I know some people love the Victorinox, if that's the case, go for it; personally, I can't stand it. PinchGrip4Lyfe.

I also have a J.A. HENCKELS INTERNATIONAL Forged Synergy 8-inch Chef's Knife. This is cheaper than the Victorinox. The balance is pretty good, but the grip is not as good as the knives posted above. It's still light-years better than the Victorinox grip though.

If I had to buy a cheap knife I would get Kai 6720C Wasabi Black Chef's Knife, 8-Inch. This is way cheaper than the Victorinox. That being said, I haven't tested it.

My goal here is not to convince anyone that the Victorinox is awful. I know some people really like the grip, but to make clear that at around the same price point there are many knives, and you should get which one feels best in your hand. Victorinox is not the only option for cheap knives, unlike what the reddit gospel says!

Basically gonna echo most of the answers already posted, but just to pile on:

• 8" chef's knife. 10" is longer than may be comfortable and 12" is longer than necessary, but 7" may start to feel a little short if she's ever slicing large melon or squash. I'm a casual knife nerd and I have knives by Wusthof, Victorinox, Shun and Mac. My favorite.
  
  
• This Dutch oven. Enameled and cast iron just like the Le Creuset that a few other comments have mentioned, but much, much cheaper. I own two and they're both great. I also have the non-enameled version for baking bread, but I don't recommend it for general use unless you're a Boy Scout. Here's an entertaingly-written blog post comparing the Lodge vs. Le Creuset in a short rib cookoff.
  
  
• This cutting board and this cutting board conditioner. The importance of an easy and pleasant to use prep surface can't be overstated. I'm listing this third on purpose; this is one of the most important things your kitchen can have. A recipe that calls for a lot of chopping is no fun when you're fighting for counter space to do the chopping, or doing it on a shitty plastic board.
  
  
• A cheap scale and a cheap thermometer. Seriously, these are as important as the cutting board.
  
  
• Just gonna crib this one right off /u/Pobe420 and say cheapo 8–10" (I recommend 10–12" but that's my preference) nonstick skillet. One note I'd add is that pans with oven-safe handles are a bit more dual-purpose than pans with plastic or rubberized handles. You can't finish a pork chop in the oven in a skillet with a rubberized handle. But one could say you shouldn't be cooking a pork chop on a nonstick pan to begin with. The important thing is to keep this one cheap: you're going to be replacing it every couple of years, there's no getting around that. For my money $30 or less, and $30 is pretty expensive for these things.
  
  
  

• Cookbooks
  

  Nothing inspires cooking like a good cookbook collection. The great news about cookbooks is that they're often bought as gifts or souvenirs and they make their way onto the used market cheap and in great condition. Here are my suggestions for a great starter shelf:
  
  

1. The Food Lab by J. Kenji López-Alt. I kind of hate that this is my number one recommendation, but I don't know your wife and I do know J. Kenji López-Alt. This one is brand new so you're unlikely to find it used and cheap, but as a catch-all recommendation it has to take first place. Moving on to the cheap stuff:
   
   
2. Regional French Cooking by Paul Bocuse. This is possibly the friendliest authoritative book on French food out there, and a hell of a lot easier to just dive into than Julia Child (Julia is the expert, and her book is an encyclopedia). Bocuse is the undisputed king of nouvelle cuisine and people like Eric Ripert and Anthony Bourdain (so maybe a generation ahead of you and I) came from him. Paul Bocuse is French food as we know it, and yet this book—an approachable, coffee-table sized thing—still has a recipe for fucking mac and cheese. It's outstanding.
   
   
3. Theory & Practice / The New James Beard by James Beard. These will completely cover your entire library of American cooking. Nothing else needed until you get region-specific. When you do, go for something like this.
   
   
4. Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. When she died, the NYT ran a second obituary that was just her recipe for bolognese.
   
   
5. Christ, top five. Who gets 5th? I'm going with From Curries To Kebabs by Madhur Jaffrey. Don't get bamboozled into buying "Madhur Jaffrey's Curry Bible" which is the same book, repackaged and priced higher. You want the one with the hot pink dust jacket, it's unmistakeable. This is one of those end-all books that you could cook out of for the rest of your life. It covers almost every diet and almost every country that Beard and Bocuse don't.
   
   
6. Honorable mentions: Here come the downvotes. Pok Pok by Andy Ricker. If you're American and you want to cook Thai, this is the one. Ten Speed Press can go home now. The Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Rosen (so close to making the list). I shouldn't need to say much about this; it's the book of diasporic Jewish food, which means it covers a lot of time and almost every possible country. It's a no-brainer. Thai Food by David Thompson (a perfect oral history of Thai food for English speakers, only it doesn't include Pok Pok's precise measurements, which in practice I've found important). Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish. Not for someone who just wants to become a baker, this book is for someone who wants to make Ken Forkish's bread. And for a casual bread baker I can't imagine a better introduction. Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table by Mai Pham. Andrea Nguyen is out there and Andrea Nguyen is awesome, but I really like Mai Pham's book. It's accessible, reliable and regional. You don't get the dissertation-level breakdown on the origins of chicken pho that you get from Andrea, but the recipe's there, among many others, and it's fucking outstanding. Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. This vegan cookbook is dope as hell and will really expand your imagination when it comes to vegetables. This could actually have been number five.

you could cook with an electric stove with a wok. (won't be exactly the same) but... it will work. they even have electric woks, like electric skillets.

this seems to have a pretty good rating

https://www.amazon.com/Presto-5900-1500-Watt-Stainless-Steel-Electric/dp/B0017UTSLY/

We had one of these grills like this for years, because we too lived in apartment complexes that wouldn't allow a grill with an open flame or charcoal on the balconies. so We did Not ask... we just got one and grilled on it. it works pretty good. takes a little bit longer than gas or charcoal but still works well. But ours were not infrared like this one

https://www.amazon.com/Char-Broil-17602048-Infrared-Bistro-Electric/dp/B01IF1HHME/

now this one looks pretty good too

https://www.amazon.com/Giantex-Electric-Non-Stick-Temperature-Setting/dp/B079GTJT9F/

and let me recommend this to help clean up these are Wonderful!!

https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Electric-Grill-Panini/dp/B004ZLAGLS/

​

If you find you have to go with a totally indoor type. the Cuisinart griddler five is GREAT! Watch for sales sometimes you can get them for 60 dollars. they are a grill, griddle, and you can get waffle plates for them. the plates go right into the dish washer and it is very easy to clean up.

https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-GR-5B-Electric-griddler/dp/B0778XLPB7/

If you go with this I suggest you get one of these to help cooking along a bit faster if you are using it for thick meats like steak or a thick chicken breast etc.

https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CMD-108-Melting-Dome-9/dp/B00T06WEZY/

If I were to build my kitchen from scratch, it would be pretty much what I have today w/out having to go through all the old, cheap stuff that I wound up buying getting rid of because it was low quality and wore out or broke or didn't work as well as it should have. So as follows:

All Clad Stainless:

• 12" skillet
  
• 1.5 qt pot
  
• 3 qt pot
  
• 8 qt stock pot (I have the 12 qt but most people won't use something that big
  
  Cast iron:
  
  
• 12" skillet
  
• 8" skillet
  
• other cast iron pieces for grilling that most people won't use
  
  Enameled dutch oven (Staub):
  
  
• 3 qt round cocotte
  
• 7 qt round cocotte
  
  Various Appliances:
  
  
• Kitchenaid mixer (hand mixer first, then stand mixer)
  
• Cuisinart stick blender
  
• Coffee maker (I have a Cuisinart, but I'm not stuck on the brand)
  
• A toaster oven (again, I have Cuisinart, but check reviews)
  
• An electric kettle (no brand specific)
  
• Vitamix (optional - I love mine and use it daily)
  
  Knives:
  
  
• Shun 10" chef knife
  
• Shun 4" utility knife
  
• No name super-thin flexible fish filleting knife that debones poultry like it was butter
  
• Honing steel
  
• Magnetic strip for storing knives
  
  Other misc stuff:
  
  
• Fish turners in all sizes
  
• Good set of bamboo (not wooden) spoons/spatulas
  
• Set of silicone scraper/spatulas
  
• Oxo tongs in various sizes (at least short, med, long)
  
• A mandoline slicer
  
• Epicurian cutting boards
  
• Microplane grater/zester
  
• A variety of mesh strainers (I use them more than colanders)
  
• Thermopop instant read thermometer
  
• A good quality probe thermometer (the kind you leave in the oven)
  
  Bakeware:
  
  
• A basic set of Corningware
  
• A couple of half sheet pans
  
  
  Fun things to have if you think you'll use them:
  
  
• Pasta maker or attachment for your Kitchenaid
  
• Ice cream maker
  
• Bread machine
  
  These are the things that I have right now that I'd get from the start if I were starting over from scratch. I have other stuff, but it's been gathered over time and I'm sure I've left out a few things, since I'm kind of working off the top of my head. Oh yeah, like a good set of storage stuff (Rubbermaid or similar) and a garlic press ... and ... and ... :)

As nice as cast iron is, if you ever want to make any kind of pan sauce after you've cooked your protein that might involve wine or vinegar or lemon juice, you'd be out of luck. I'd go with a good, heavy traditional-finish skillet with some sort of clad construction for optimal even heating across the surface. As far as that sticking issue goes, you don't have to use as much oil as long as your skillet is already heated before you put any food in it. In some cases (not all), meat in a traditional finish skillet will stick at first but release from the surface right around the time it's supposed to be flipped or turned, which is perfectly normal anyway.

One of the other perks of a traditional finish skillet is fond -- a.k.a., the stuck-on brown bits left in the pan after you've cooked your food. All those brown (not blackened, that's too far) bits = flavorful awesomeness, and are key in making a good pan sauce to go with whatever you're making. Deglaze the pan with a bit of broth or wine or whatever and scrape up the brown bits with a wooden spoon, throw some butter and herbs in there, baby, you got a sauce goin'. (Plus, this makes cleaning the pan later a lot easier, since you're using what would otherwise be "mess" to your advantage.")

Problem is, good-quality stainless steel skillets are expensive, and the drop-off in price represents a really steep drop-off in quality, which would of course give you worse results in cooking and make you less likely to want to use one anyway. One thing to watch out for is skillets with disk bottoms, where the only place the manufacturers put the highly conductive aluminum core which appears in most stainless steel cookware in a disk on the bottom of the skillet. These are the cheapest options, but the problem is the sides of the pan don't heat up as evenly or as well as the bottom, which results in uneven cooking if you're using the entire surface of the pan. Better to go with a "clad" pan -- one in which the entire skillet is made out of a layer of aluminum sandwiched between stainless steel. Better conduction, more even heating, better performance, better food. Yes, clad skillets are more expensive (~$110 versus ~$50 for a disk bottom), but 1) Cooking.com, etc. run sales on these things all the time, and 2) as long as you take good care care of them (Bar Keeper's Friend works wonders for me), there's no reason why they shouldn't last a lifetime -- definitely worth the investment.

Rather than getting him a new set of knives, take a good look at the ones he's got and the ones he uses the most, and pay attention to the shape of the handles. Shun knives are amazing, but a lot of them have perfectly round, smooth handles that work in my hand at all. Try to get something that has a handle of similar shape to what he already has. Then, find something that's different from everything else he has. Does he like to make sushi? He'd probably love a Japanese santoku. Does he fish, or prefer to buy fish whole? A high end fillet knife would probably be great.

When I was shopping for my knives, I only bought a set in a block because it turned out that was cheaper than just buying the three knives I wanted out of the set (yay for holiday sales!). I'm glad now that I did, because I never would have bought the bird's beak paring knife for myself, and it's now one of my favorites. I think most cooks tend to stick with the same 3-ish knives for everything, so get him something pretty and functional that he'd be unlikely to buy for himself. Maybe something like this.

Lots of people will say to look at the Instant Pot which is a combination electric pressure cooker/slow cooker/rice cooker ("multi cooker"). I had a bluetooth enabled "IP-SMART" 6qt model of theirs (actually three: first had a safety recall, second was dented on arrival, third still exhibited regulation issues). Lots of people are happy with Instant Pots, but I had a lot of issues with the pressure control being flaky for certain recipes. Additionally, much of what makes slow cookers safe when you are out of the house is their low wattage heaters... typically 250-400W... and low complexity (basically it's a small electric blanket that is wrapped around a very heavy ceramic pot). The Instant Pot has a 1000W heater, and is more complex (microcontroller + a thermocouple), so this negates some of the safety aspects of unattended slow cooking... though it is UL listed and has a thermal fuse in case anything goes wrong.

My recommendation if you are interested in pressure cookers and slow cookers:

1. Presto 8qt stovetop http://www.amazon.com/Presto-01370-8-Quart-Stainless-Pressure/dp/B0000Z6JIW $69 More volume than electric pressuer cookers (8qt > 6qt) which is important since safely pressure cooking needs lots of headroom between the food and lid valve so as not to clog. Typically headroom is 1/3rd volume for most foods, 1/2 for foamy foods like rice, etc. Thus a 8qt pressure cooker effectively has a volume of 4-5qt. When using it without building up pressure, it can double as a large 8qt stockpot. I ended up preferring stovetop over electric since I can get an initial brown on meat without having to use multiple pots, and I don't have to wait for an electric heater to come up to temperature (10+ minutes on the Instant Pot for me).
   
   
2. Hamilton Beach 6qt set'n'forget slow cooker http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-33967A-Programmable-6-Quart/dp/B00EZI26DW $50 Check reviews on thesweethome.com for it, but it beat out a lot of more expensive crock pot models. Oval shape lends itself better for some slow cooker recipes, such as mini, chocolate lava cakes, roasts, etc.
   
   $120 for both.. around the ballpark of the cheaper Instant Pots, you gain an additional pot for stove use, pressure cooker is of bigger size, slow cooker is safe unattended and a more conventional shape, and IMO will last longer. You lose automatic rice cooking capabilities but... by a $20-$30 rice cooker and probably get better rice, or just do it on the stovetop.
   
   By the way, no idea what food you like to eat, but these are two of my favorite cookbooks if you are getting started and wanted to build up some experience:
   
   

• America's Test Kitchen 100 Recipes http://www.amazon.com/100-Recipes-Absolute-Best-Essentials/dp/1940352010/ Good for in-depth explanation of 100 recipes across a pretty big range of techniques.
  
  
• Cook's Illustrated Cookbook http://www.amazon.com/Cooks-Illustrated-Cookbook/dp/1933615893/ Shorter explanations but lots and lots of recipes.
  
  And major shout out to Kenji's (from Seriouseats.com) new book if you want more detailed science information:
  
  
• The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking through Science http://www.amazon.com/Food-Lab-Cooking-Through-Science/dp/0393081087
  
  This post ended up being much longer than I expected, but those are my recommendations if you are just starting out. ;) The main thing I've learned since beginning to cook is that 90%+ of the recipes online (and even in print) are untested crap, and to look for recipe sources you can trust. The second thing is that a finished recipe is much more dependant on the technique (the steps you use to modify ingredients at specific times, temperatures, and textures) and way less dependent on the ingredients themselves (you can easily sub ingredients for many recipes once the core techniques are understood).

You don't need a set, you only need a few decent knives: a chef's knife, a paring knife, and a serrated knife for bread. Maybe a fillet knife but unlikely.

I use this chef's knife, which is high-quality and inexpensive. The Victorinox Fibrox 8-inch also has a very strong cult following. However, you can also easily spend $100-200 for a good German or Japanese knife like Wusthof, Henckels, Global, etc.. The two most important things however are:

1. It feels good in your hand. If you're going to spend that kind of money I would definitely recommend going to a store (like Sur La Table or Williams Sonoma) and trying out a few to see what feels right. For $35 I was willing to take my chances on the Mercer and it worked out well.
   
   
2. Keep it sharp! I noticed you said it feels "dull and unbalanced". Great that you noticed those are two different but related things. Every time you use your knife, you should be honing it on a honing steel. Honing it trues the blade, meaning aligns the edge down the knife's centerline. Eventually, even honing it won't be effective, because the knife edge itself is dull. This means you should have the knife sharpened, which is typically done once every 6 months-1 year. Sharpening removes material so it shouldn't be done too often. I recommend going to a professional hand sharpening service which will typically do it for about $10-15 per knife. Some people do it themselves at home with a stone, but in my opinion this is not worth it and too easy to screw up.

Stay at home Dad here. I cook for six every night. Prior to about four years ago the most cooking I did was on the grill. I started with the Betty Crocker Cook book. Literally. Red book in binder format. It has simple comfort food and the recipes are simple. I now have 30+ cookbooks, some better than others. (Giada's are only good for the pictures.) Once I started cooking, I then started watching Alton Brown for other ideas and other techniques, but without a firm base of at least six months of trial and error, it won't help much. Without that, it'd be like watching a Michael Jordan video having never even picked up a basketball and thinking you could play like him. Get used to the environment first.

Start simple. Do a chicken breast and a vegetable from a can. Maybe rice. But note what works and what doesn't. Get a feel for what a "done" chicken breast looks like and feels like. Same with a pork chop. Same with some pasta. Get yourself used to the chemistry and physics of cooking first, then work on more complicated techniques and dishes.

Starter Supplies:

• One good frying pan - nonstick
  
  
• One good Chef's knife - [$25 on Amazon]
  (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008M5U1C2/182-6325493-8824318)
  
  
• Cooking Thermometer - $14 on Amazon - Cook all meats to 160 degrees F to start. You can get fancier later. To start don't poison your guests.
  
  
• Flexible cutting boards - $5 Amazon This makes it easy to chop and then dump straight into the pot/pan.
  
  Clean while you cook.
  Salt and butter are always your friend. And cheese. If something sucks, add cheese. Good luck!!! Report back please.
  
  
  TL;DR Just start cooking. Keep it simple, but start cooking.

Chili - the first time I made this, I just used ground turkey, which is why that's in the recipe... I've also made it with pork and bison/beef and it's good. Whichever you prefer. Sometimes I use pureed tomatoes instead of diced. You can use both, if you like. If the chili is too liquidy, put a few tablespoons of cornstarch into a glass with a little water, mix until it's blended, and then add to the chili, and cook - this will help thicken in up a bit.

8 strips (half a package) of bacon

1 red onion

1 small bulb of garlic

3 to 4 tablespoons tomato paste

2 lbs extra lean ground turkey

1 large can diced tomatoes

1 can baked beans

1 can mixed beans

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon cinnamon

salt and pepper, to taste

.

Chop bacon into small bits and cook in a large pot. Add chopped onion, saute until clear, and add minced garlic. Add ground meat, and cook until it's done (sometimes I add some of the spices now). Add tomato paste, tomatoes, and both cans of beans to the pot, as well as the spices and maple syrup. Simmer for at least half an hour, but an hour is ideal. I tend to cook this a day ahead, and then reheat and simmer for another 20 minutes or so - I find it's better the next day.

Jamie Oliver's Guinness Pie is amazingly delicious.

Also, a digital thermometer - like this - is your best friend when cooking meat.

If you're a fan of breakfast food, check this out. It's so good.


Edit: Cornbread goes wonderfully with chili. I leave out the green chile peppers, and replace with chopped green onions. Sometimes I put about a tsp of chili powder in, and sometimes a little cayenne to give it some kick.

One of the best things you can do is to train your palate. This way, when you taste something, you can figure out what's in it, and make it yourself if you want. It will also help you to learn what goes with what. For example, dill goes with salmon, lemon with raspberries, tomato with onion and cilantro or basil, etc. That kind of knowledge will help you to invent your own recipes which are catered directly to your tastes.

If you really want to know what makes food do what it does, I would recommend the following books:

• For general culinary science, On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee. It is one of the best books ever written which actually explains why things happen in the kitchen.
  
• I usually buy a copy of Shirley O. Corriher's CookWise for anyone who says they want to learn to cook. It is perfect for beginners and has lots of very useful recipes. If you watch Alton Brown's "Good Eats", you will see Ms. (or is is Dr.?) Corriher explaining some of the science.
  
• If you want to learn how to bake incredible cake, Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible is indispensable, same for her Bread Bible and Pie and Pastry Bible. I rarely fuck up a cake now, and if I do, I know why. And her cake recipes are brilliant. From learning to make her chocolate butter cake, I also discovered the secret to making the BEST cup of chocolate ever. The aforementioned Ms. Corriher's BakeWise is also excellent for beginners.
  
• The Larousse Gastronomique is probably the most famous book on cuisine. It's an encyclopedia which contains pretty much every cooking term. It's a pretty high-level book, but it is the authority.
  
  Have fun with it! =)

Well isn't that a cute little thing!

Is it bad? Hard to say without being able to feel it myself. Mine is very thin as well, but you definitely cannot bend it by hand.

As far as clean up, I like to use these to scrape off any big stuck on chunks. Then I clean it with soap and water with the soft side of a sponge.

I use a metal stir spatula, it does scratch the seasoning a bit, but it's totally fine.

I only season as needed. Maybe once every 4 or 5 uses, or if I have to scrub to caked on stuff off.

I get best results with 30 minutes in a 450F oven. Wrap wooden handles in foil first. As thin of a coat of oil as possible, actually try to buff it out with a clean towel first.

I will tell you that there is a huge difference between pre-seasoned cast iron and bare carbon steel. The seasoning that you apply to bare CS is way more thin and fragile than a pre-seasoned pan.

I don’t know what the availability of ingredients will be like where you live, but Yotam Ottolenghis books are beautiful and a real lesson in new flavours and textures. I have this at home and feel inspired to cook every time I flick through it https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jerusalem-Yotam-Ottolenghi/dp/0091943744

Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking is wonderful and covers lots of basics and classics, although it doesn’t have photographs so could be a bit dry for him https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mastering-Art-French-Cooking-Boxed/dp/0307593525

If you’re raising the next Heston Blumenthal, this book will really help him understand how to combine flavours. It’s not a recipe book though, more of a guide on how to think of your own flavour combinations https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flavour-Thesaurus-Niki-Segnit/dp/0747599777

And finally, how about a personalised recipe book for him to make his own - something like this https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/473998816/free-personalized-recipe-book-wooden?ref=shop_home_feat_1

Hope he has a great birthday!

I get most of my recipes online, but I've been cooking for 30+ years. Usually I end up looking at 4-5 for something before I find one that looks good, especially if I'm on AllRecipes or other non-curated sites.

Most good cookbooks talk about technique as well as ingredients. (or all technique as with Pepin's "Complete Techniques" There are lots of crap cookbooks out there, but in general cookbooks by well known chefs have stood the test of time. I also lean toward PBS chefs instead of "Food network" as they're more about educating than entertaining. Cookbooks from before WWII are great too, as they were designed for people who cooked meals every day instead of being made of "convenience" food (the 50's and 60's were horrible for cooking)

My favorites:

• James Beard
  
• Mark Bittman (How to Cook Everything is a great technique reference)
  
• America's Test Kitchen
  
• Jacques Pepin (great technique stuff, and good tasty food)
  
• Julia Child
  
• Nick Stellino
  
• Martin Yan
  
• Lorna Sass (for pressure cooking)
  
  For Web sites I tend to use the following more than others:
  
  
• Serious Eats
  
• Hip Pressure Cooking
  
  For V-Blog "Food entertainment" that's still educational I like Chef John's Food Wishes.

A few of my favorites that are fairly cost effective:

• Benriner Japanese mandolin
  
• Amco Grease Separator
  
• Microplane
  
  The Benriner is just over $20 and the other two are under. I can't get enough use out of my Microplane for mincing garlic and adding freshness with citrus zest. Some people don't really like the Benriner as you have to use one hand to hold it as it doesn't have legs - I find that it stores easier and cuts more evenly overall. As for the grease separator, I'm always making stock and such - pretty straight-forward design that doesn't leak.
  
  I'm also a big fan of ring molds(or biscuit cutters) of various sizes as they make for easy plating and cutting of biscuits/polenta & grit cakes/etc...
  Oh yeah, immersion blenders are definitely useful and you can get away with the cheaper ones as long as you let it cool down a bit once it starts smelling like ozone!

A perfect chef's knife is the first place to start (that's my preference, the Wusthof Ikon Classic 8", $160). Go to a kitchen supply store, or even Bed Bath & Beyond, and test drive some steel - see how comfortable it is in your hand, how balanced it feels. If you want to save money for other things, you can't go wrong with the Victorionx Fibrox 8" chef's knife, at an extremely reasonable $40. The chef's knife is an impossibly versatile tool all on its own, but if you want a smaller knife for detailed work, grab a paring knife from whatever manufacturer you choose for your chef's.

A huge, heavy cutting board ($88). For most of my life, I went with the $20 3-packs of plastic OXO or other cutting boards, ranging from small to extremely small - nothing will slow down your cooking more than an inadequately sized cutting board. Things roll off, you pile up your chopped veg and run out of space, you feel constantly crowded, and you can never carve a whole chicken or roast. Buy a piece of non-slip material (usually used for carpets) ($9), place it under the cutting board when you use it, and it will never slip or slide around - more convenient and safe.

A Thermapen. Expensive - it's $100, but it's the fastest and most accurate kitchen thermometer money can buy. A less expensive alternative would be the Lavatools Javelin at $24 - not quite as good, but a damn sight better than any other digital food thermometer you'll get your hands on. This is essential for cooking any meat, deep frying, baking - it will change your game.

An All-Clad Sauté Pan ($129). Also expensive, but an absolute essential tool for everything from sautéing to braising to deep frying. Do not go cheap with your stainless - you can do cheaper than All-Clad, but even heating, comfort, and build quality are absolutely essential.

An inexpensive but awesome nonstick set($164 for 11 pcs). Alternately, you could get a very versatile 12" TFal Professional Total Nonstick, an impossibly stickless, oven safe, dishwasher safe wunderkind.

A 12" Cast Iron Skillet ($34). These are kind of a pain to take care of, but are invaluable for searing, baking, even serving. It'll last you a lifetime if you take care of it.

I just got a stainless set for Christmas this past year. I was really excited but also terrified, then I did some research. The key to stainless steel cooking is heat the pan first before adding ANYTHING. I believe the adage is hot pan, cold fat.

So, say you want to cook something over medium-high heat.

• Turn the burner on to that, set the pan on it and forget about it for a few minutes so the pan comes up to heat empty.
  
• Then, add your fat, so butter, olive oil whatever (I don't do this with bacon because the bacon is essentially the fat, just heat and slap in your bacon), let the fat come up to temperature. You want to wait until you see a nice shimmer on the surface for things like olive oil. * Then add your food.
  
  I can even scramble eggs in my skillets and they slide out like nothing. You'll notice after a little practice that these babies are, when used properly, less prone to stick than something with a non-stick coating, unless of course you burn the shit out of it. :)
  
  Also, for cleaning, let the pan cool before you wash it. My favorite things to use are either no scratch Scotch Brite pads or Scotch Brite Dobies but in most cases I don't really need to scrub. That being said, you're going to encounter situations where you burn things or the fat oxidizes on your pans and for this, hands down, get some Bar Keepers Friend. It's the best thing ever.

Try a simple pasta dish...it's very hard to mess up pasta, and there are a ton of recipes online. Once you have one success under your belt, I think it will be easier to move on to other dishes. Pastas and stir frys are usually pretty simple. Salads and soups are usually pretty simple as well. I usually stick with simple because I can easily get lazy about cooking. The internet is a great resource for easy recipes and there are a ton of books that specialize in easy recipes. I think this book is a good resource for easy cooking:

https://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Without-Book-Techniques/dp/0767902793

I have no idea what you ate, but what you are describing is now easily achievable with sous vide. For chicken beer cooler sous vide works until you decide you want a rig. A few years ago I decided to get an Anova and am glad I did. In the summer I use it about once a month; in the winter about once a week; around the holidays, it never gets put away. The cooking style is totally different, so I recommend a slow start with things like the beer cooler method to see if the results are the ones you like, but if you do, the timing freedom for busy folks is a game changer.

I have that exact griddle and it's great. I don't have an oval burner (yet! my new stove is coming this weekend) so it's a little awkward to get the heat right across two burners, and having two hotspots is a little annoying. It's still great, but not optimal.

However, I also bought this lodge 14 inch pan and I may like it better than the griddle, at least if you don't have an oval burner. You get a single hotspot, plenty of room to cook and can move stuff off to the sides to keep it warm while you cook in the center. Preheated right it's a great pizza pan, too. Great purchase!

You can cook them in shell. Set the water bath to 170f, drop eggs directly into water. Remove after 14min or so, and you have perfect poached eggs. Crack to serve.

Sous Vide is slow cooking done perfect. It will give you an exact result, each time. Its consistent, which is a rare feat in most cooking, and makes amazing dishes. Chef steps has some great tutorials and recipes.

I use the Anova in a 10Qt soup pot. Works great. Note that the price does drop to about $130 at times, so if you want to save a bit of money, wait it out. If you want to save a lot of money, you can DIY a sous vide cooker yourself.

There are two different approaches that I would recommend, which is better for you would be down to your personality. The option are:

A. a good block of knives
B. two very good knives

If you're a little unsure option A will be pretty good and will last 4-5 years. Example: http://www.amazon.com/Mundial-Series-7-Piece-Knife-Block/dp/B00004RBSV/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1409773431&sr=1-4&keywords=mundial+knife+block

If you like good stuff and care for your tools then option B might be the go. With care these should last 20 years and - as noted by /u/icecow many come with free professional sharpening for the life of the knife. Add a smaller very good utility knife and a sharpening steel and you should be right. An example of the higher end: http://www.amazon.com/Wusthof-Classic-8-Inch-Cooks-Knife/dp/B00009ZK08/ref=sr_1_1_m?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1409773723&sr=1-1&keywords=wusthof+chef+knives


I'll also note that I've bought both of the examples I've used here. Check about the sharpening service before you buy on option B. I know that Wusthof have the free sharpening in Australia, but I don't know about elsewhere. The Mundials are surprisingly good for the price.

Amazon. I know it's a sin to actually order stuff off of teh Interwebs instead of physically going to a store, but you can find almost anything there that would be next to impossible to find in most stores -- and you can usually get then at a discounted cost far less than Williams-Sonoma, plus free shipping with Amazon's "super saver shipping." Some of the things I've ordered from there that simply could not be found in a typical store: Bayou Classic 16-quart cast iron dutch oven, Reddit's favorite Victorinox chef's knife, the Lodge "double dutch" oven combo, and two cast iron items that were far less expensive at Amazon than you'd find at Williams-Sonoma -- the Lodge cast iron wok (purchased with a 2010 Xmas gift card) and the Lodge cast iron pizza pan (purchased with a 2011 Xmas gift card).

Thank you for this! I have one, not by Lodge, that came free with a kitchen utensil I bought years ago. I could never find a replacement and when I Googled in the past they were never this size or look.

This thing is the perfect tool when you need to scrape food off of pots, pans, bowls and the best is glass casserole dishes! No more scraping with your finger nails that dried on food debris!

Friends of Reddit, you need to buy it you will make cleanup way easier! Enjoy!

https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Scrapers-Handheld-Polycarbonate-Cleaners/dp/B0039UU9UO

You want a fast reading digital thermometer, by the way. Something like this will do the job.

There's an amazing instant read that's even better, but they're like $100. But temperature is your main concern, really.

Also, an excellent technique for cooking meat that's quite forgiving is braising in a slow cooker. It's stupid simple, cheap, and you end up with something tender and delicious.

1. Obtain slow cooker.
   
2. Obtain pork shoulder.
   
3. Place pork shoulder in slow cooker.
   
4. Dump in a cup or so of a braising liquid - Coke classic works well for pork, but anything with a decent level of acidity and reasonable flavor profile will do the trick.
   
5. Cook on low for 8 hours.
   
6. Shred it with a fork and season to taste.
   
   You can stick on in the oven on a baking sheet under the broiler to crisp up a bit. With some salt and other seasonings of your choice that can go great on tacos.
   
   Or you can combine with BBQ sauce for a pulled pork sandwich.

I usually tell people to check out How to Cook Without a Book. It has some recipes, but it's more about giving readers a better understanding of techniques, how to put something together from what you already have on hand, and what things you should just keep around at all times because of their usefulness. As opposed to a lot of books I've seen that give a list of things to buy which will then need to be prepped with tools you might not have.

edit: If you got money to spend and really dig the art and science of cooking there is also Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking. At just under $550 USD it's the most expensive and most beautiful cookbook I've ever seen.

I'm going to go another route and recommend How to Cook Without a Book because it helped me finally get into cooking. It's geared towards the home cook and teaches you easy recipe 'blueprints', and gives you examples of how you can adjust them to create a variety of dishes. There is nothing too fancy or advanced here, but it gives an insight into how these dishes work and how you can play with them.

For example, one chapter is just about frittatas. First it teaches the basics of how to make one, and then has a bunch of different frittata recipes (bacon & onions, zucchini & mozzarella, spinach & sausage, potatoes & artichoke hearts, etc) with notes on how to adjust the recipe to incorporate the various fillings. Another chapter I still reference often is the one on a roast chicken dinner. Again it outlines the basics first, and then gives you recipes for breaded dijon, rosemary lemon, BBQ, and tandoori chicken all cooked using the same technique.

I know it's not exactly what you're asking for, but it really helped me build enough confidence in my cooking so that I could start improvising more in the kitchen and take on more advanced techniques.

Also, youtube helped a lot.

I guess I could call myself an experienced home cook now and I also would recommend Rachael Ray recipes. A lot of people on reddit seem to hate her because she's not Gordon Ramsey or Alton Brown, but I think that a lot of her recipes are a simple, realistic way to start cooking. Alton Brown, Julia Child, and the like are all great for learning to cook from, but most people don't have the time it takes to cook like them every night. Aim to prepare their recipes once or twice a week, but in the meantime, just gain some experience with the simple stuff.

Definitely get a meat thermometer! I've been using this one for a few years. I've had a few others, and this is the only one that has lasted a while. I used to say that I didn't like meat very much, but when I started using a meat thermometer, I really started to enjoy it. It's a lot better than cutting into it and losing juices, especially since you should let your meat rest for at least 5 minutes after cooking it.

Also, check out this slideshow about the most common cooking mistakes.

Wusthof 8"
This is the one that I have - Take a look around at some local stores and you're almost certain to find it cheaper than this listing

Another wusthof
This one os from their Ikon line. I don't own this one but I've used it and it's really nice as well. The bolster on the Ikon is a little different and the grip is a little more ergonomic supposedly. I didn't really notice too much of a difference.

Another one to check out is Zwilling. I don't know too much about them apart from word of mouth, which has only been positive.

Whichever you go with make sure that if he doesn't have one already to get him a good steel to go with it

The deal, from my perspective is that it was impossible to get a pizzeria pizza from a home oven, even with the use of a stone. And that is consistent with my long experience. A home oven will typically not go over 550F. A pizza oven can reach to 800F and up, and as anyone with discerning taste will tell you, it makes a world of difference.

Recently though, there was a post here that outlined the technique for baking a pizza under the broiler using a preheated cast Iron pan and I want to tell you. This makes a pizza that compares with any pizzarea pizza. I have made three pizzas so far with this method using my 10 X 15" flat cast iron grill.

The difference in taste is incredible. The increased heat leaves the crust crusty on the outside and bottom, yet a bit chewy underneath. The increased heat will just start to burn the very edges of the crust and impart that "smokey, pizza oven flavor" I am totally hooked on this. I made one for my wife and her sister two night ago and they were like OMG! Good!

The beauty of making your pizza at home is your choice of quality ingredients/ sauces- home made crust is soooo good.

Here are pictures of my cast iron grill, the grill under the broiler, and the finished product.

<a href="http://imgur.com/RAPJy" title="Hosted by imgur.com">http://imgur.com/RAPJy.jpg</a>

<a href="http://imgur.com/7Q9BU" title="Hosted by imgur.com">http://imgur.com/7Q9BU.jpg</a>

<a href="http://imgur.com/Pzld8" title="Hosted by imgur.com">http://imgur.com/Pzld8.jpg</a>

I heated the grill on the stove top to very hot and sprinkled some corn meal on it. I then shaped the crust on a sheet pan sprinked with corn meal. I then slid the crust onto the cast iron. Then I added the sauce and toppings while the bottom was starting to cook.

I am lucky that my broiler is in the actual oven and not underneath as some old ovens are.

I put the pan about 6" under he broiler checking frequently especially the first time. It took about 3 1/2 minutes untol smoke started to whiff off the edges of the crust and some of the toppings. Next time I am going to drop the rack down one notch and broil it longer, just to test the difference. In this case though, the pepperoni, onions and mushrooms were well cooked and he Mozz cheese was bubbling.

It was a eureka moment for me- Maybe that's not something you can get excited about, so be it.

Sooooo, I got curious and started looking around and lo and behold, there are actual 14" cast Iron pizza pans for sale and I ordered one yesterday, since round crusts are far easier to shape than rectangular ones, and I have some other uses in mind for the round cast iron pan.

It weighs 11 lb and you can buy it here:

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Logic-Cast-Iron-14-Inch-Pizza/dp/accessories/B0000E2V3X

Yes the cast Iron is hot to work with but so is every other pot we use.

Hope this is helpful!

I think it really comes down to how you grip a knife (do you hold it like a lot of people who actually grab the handle like they're holding a torch, or do you pinch the bolster where it's thicker and balanced). I've had all kinds of expensive knives, but when I bought the Shun Ken Onion chef's knife, I couldn't imagine using anything else. Here's a picture of the knife. Compare that with the Victorinox Fibrox, Henckels, Masamoto, Wusthof, etc. The knife's bolster is what I love about my Shun (thumb and index finger fit perfectly on it).

If you have any stores that sell high end knives (Wustof, Global, Shun, etc) go there and hold them in your hand. Not all handles are the same and you really want to have the knife fit comfortably in your hand.

I posted in another thread similar to this that a knife is like a gun, and you should not take someone's word for what they prefer as a brand. For example the Wustof may be preferable for one but you may get callouses using it.

My first knife was a Global 8 inch and it was awesome. It's under $100 and its very sharp and cool looking. However, using it for hours on end everyday at work I developed a horrible callous (chef's callous) on the inside of my index finger. It hurt like a bitch.

So after some comparison shopping and research I purchased the Ken Onion Series Shun. The way the handle is designed allows you to comfortably hold the knife while also wrapping your thumb and index finger on the blade for more control. I haven't had a callous since I got this knife and I love it.

Of course, if you buy a knife don't forget to buy a honing steel. Make sure to either store the knife in a knife block or wrap it in a towel when you store it. After a bit you'll want to buy a whet stone or if you don't want to sharpen it yourself you can get it done by a pro. How often you need to sharpen depends on how often you use the knife and how well you take care of it. The knife will be scary sharp when you first get it but make sure to learn how to properly use the honing steel otherwise you'll just end up with a very expensive letter opener.

I don't like cooking boneless, skinless breasts in the oven as they are as you describe, dry or undercooked. I did start using an instant read thermometer to solve the undercooked problem..

But I've used this recipe with great success. I've used it by cutting up the whole chicken and I've used it with just breasts, but ones with skin and bones. And it's come out great - that is moist and done.

I still use the thermometer (this one) to make sure they're done.

Hope this helps...

I would highly recommend Cooking for Geeks. It explores the science behind what you're doing while providing you with a solid stable of recipes. It also approaches cooking more like a laboratory and less like an art. If you get a chance I also highly recommend you watch Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course. A quick google search should reveal the best places to watch it.

cooking for geeks is an excellent book to help you understand how to experiment with food. it has good recipes, but i really appreciated it for how much it encourages you to experiment with recipes and how to think of novel additions/changes to them.

>Shirley O. Corriher is a biochemist and author of CookWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Cooking, winner of a James Beard Foundation award, and BakeWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking.

(From wikipedia.)

Here is the Amazon page for Cookwise:

https://www.amazon.com/CookWise-Successful-Cooking-Secrets-Revealed/dp/0688102298/

I have used the OXO mandoline at $50 and I never touch it, too bulky and a pain to wash buy this: http://www.amazon.com/Harold-Import-Company-BN1-Mandoline/dp/B0000VZ57C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325311921&sr=8-1

Benriner is what chefs use and what I use to use as a cook but also at home as well. At least this comes with the handguard which at work I never had (almost sliced off fingertips many times). Great for slicing tons of onions in a uniform width if you want to carmelize a ton at a time or necessary for getting super thing slices of a vegetable for making potato chips for example.

Has blades for julienne as well so you can then use it as is or for a faster and more consistent brunoise.

And you have money left over for something else too.

If you want to elevate your cooking and benefit from very detailed instructions, the two-volume Julia Child "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" is a trove of kitchen wisdom from a great culture and down to earth teacher. Look at Youtube videos of her and Jacques Pepin. His books are lovely too, About $60 USD. https://smile.amazon.com/Mastering-Art-French-Cooking-Set/dp/0307593525/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542980651&sr=8-1&keywords=mastering+the+art+of+french+cooking

Marcella Hazan has a great recipe. It's probably my favorite thing to eat ever. Her recipes can be a bit fussy, but the instructions are thorough and straightforward. I'd recommend cooking anything in her book the prescribed way first, and then making any changes the next time around (though I usually find I don't want to change a thing). I usually do her bolognese on the stove through all the reduction steps, then put it in my crock pot on "low" or "warm" for the rest of the day.

Added bonus: that book contains my other favorite pasta sauce; it's called something like "tomato sauce with butter and onion." It's a quicker sauce to make and it's quite addictive. (Edit: and it doesn't taste super oniony. You cook it with the onions and then take them out before serving.)

The Essentials of Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan is an excellent book on Italian cooking.

​

What's Eating Dan has some great videos on food science and why if you cook in certain ways the food is more delicious

Give sous vide a try--it's the gateway drug of modernist techniques, because you really only need a probe thermometer, freezer bags, a pot of water, and maybe an oven to do it. It'll let you know just how worth it the whole world of modernist techniques are. And then you'll feel compelled to actually get an immersion circulator and a vacuum sealer to do it easier as you become increasingly addicted to it.

Things that are helpful for modernist techniques but aren't particularly esoteric and won't break the bank: A steel plate, propane blow torch from the hardware store, whipping siphon, pressure cooker. The next step is chemistry, which means thickeners (carageenan and agar agar were my first purchases) and gels (sodium alginate and calcium chloride), and recently I picked up some meat glue (transglutaminase). After that it's buying expensive lab equipment to feed your habit, which I haven't stepped into yet [because I don't have a house for it]. I want a pacojet.

As for resources, my first book was Cooking for Geeks, then the Modernist Cuisine book set from Nathan Myhrvold (and have it signed by him "For Science!") which is the bible, but free options include their website, Seattle Food Geek, molecular recipes, this YouTube playlist from Harvard and the usual science-based cooking resources like Good Eats, America's Test Kitchen, and Chef Steps.

Not even just a meat thermometer, but an internal probe. You pop the probe in, attach it to the timer bit, set the temp alarm and when the meat hits your desired temp you pull it out. I stuck some half frozen bone in thighs in the oven tonight at 400 and when the alarm went off I checked each one to make sure they had all reached temp and then pulled them out. Perfectly cooked and juicy.
This is the one I have https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004XSC5

This is the best thing for Thanksgiving turkeys as well.

By far, my favorite and most loved book is Cooking for Geeks, while I'm not a geek, it's still a great reference for everything imaginable, and explains why food cooks the way it cooks, or why food reacts the way it does. Helps avoid mistakes and become independent if you don't have any book for a recipe on hand.

I haven't read Cooking for Geeks, but On Food and Cooking, which /u/Arkolix also mentioned, is a great reference book.

My own personal recommendation is Cookwise by Shirley Corriher, who used to appear occasionally on "Good Eats". I like this book because, in addition to explaining the hows and whys of things happening, there are also recipes that show, as one example in a baking chapter, what happens when you make chocolate chip cookies and use more white sugar or more brown sugar or shortening instead of butter.

+1 to Wusthof! I'm in love with my Wusthof Classic. That and a steel, paring knife, and cheap bread knife are all I use.

When I asked about knives a month ago many people did suggest Victorinox - they look like very nice knives at a good price point.

I've never felt the need for more than one chef's knife, as someone else suggested.

This is my cooking bible. Think of any major, favorite or well-known dish and I almost guarantee it's in this book. Very solid and dependable recipes all around.

My one minor criticism is I think they might compromise the ethnic dishes a little too much towards western cooks. They always prefer using easily found supermarket ingredients.

Regardless though out of almost 50 recipes I've cooked out of this book I haven't run across a bad one yet. It's also a really great resource for making that classic dish you already know just a little bit better.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Cooks-Illustrated-Cookbook-Americas/dp/1933615893

Experimenting is great, but doing a bit of reading along the way wouldn't hurt and might spare you some disasters.

On the cheap, Pam Anderson's How to Cook Without a Book was a good starting place for me when I had similar questions / concerns in college. It focuses on a few basics and then builds upon them with variations. Moreover, this text is a quicker read than many of the other tomes out there. You can get it used for $12 including shipping. Used cookbooks are seriously the sh*t.

If you wanna drop a bit more money (~$26), James Peterson's Cooking has far more visuals and recipes than Anderson's. Beautiful text, mouth-watering recipes.

Lastly, I think it makes sense to focus on a certain style of food for a while so you get it dialed in before moving on. That way, you build momentum and better retain the lessons you learn. With Anderson's book, for instance, you could riff on a homemade pasta sauce for a week or two, or mess with sauteing chicken and vegetables a few different ways. Keep a list of what you make so you get a sense of where you've been in the kitchen, what you've accomplished, and what you might want to try next.

Oh, and keep coming back to cookit to discuss. Hooray community!

Might I suggest an alternative method? In my experience, the study of the techniques to cooking are at least half the battle in laying a foundation for a good culinary education. Rather than take the direct simple-to-complex recipe route, perhaps there is value in utilizing a hybrid method of learning where the recipes are centered around the use of particular skills in the kitchen. Some useful materials that come to mind are "Complete Techniques" by Jacques Pepin or "The Way to Cook" by Julia Child. Once these types of technical skills are engrained in your cooking process, you will find the true joy of cooking which is much less about following instructions and more to do with finding your "culinary groove".

Just cook. Experimenting, watch cooking shows, get cookbooks(Cooks Illustrated 20 year book is an amazing book) from the library. But most importantly don't give up and don't be afraid of a challenge. That's how we learn by pushing ourselves. Everything you make won't be a success but in the long run it will be. Also remember to just have fun and enjoy it. Heck I have been cooking for over 20 years and my lastest experiment just totally flopped, but I tried something new and learned from it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1933615893/ref=cm_sw_r_other_taa_i_AszbBb6PHTS6R

Check out Lodge's pizza pan:
http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Logic-Cast-Pizza-Black/dp/B0000E2V3X
I have been using a stone for years, but this pan has given me a consistently better result. Similar concept as the pizza steel.
Edit: There are 209 reviews on Amazon filled with some great information and tips.

Jacques Pepin is awesome at teaching techniques, and especially good at giving detailed instructions that are easy to follow (even if not so easy to execute without practise).

Besides his numerous youtube videos, his Complete Techniques book and DVD (i have both) are really good. Like how to cut vegetables, cook eggs in various ways, debone a chicken etc. I find the DVD easier to follow.

Book: http://www.amazon.com/Jacques-P%C3%A9pin-New-Complete-Techniques/dp/1579129110

DVD: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000LXHJZA/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1457271533&sr=8-3&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=jacques+pepin+dvd&dpPl=1&dpID=51RpoAjNx9L&ref=plSrch

His video on making an American omelet and a French omelette. This video is the best there is, and i have seen dozens of other videos about making an omelet.

https://youtu.be/s10etP1p2bU

Edit: His scrambled eggs recipe since you said that is your next goal.

https://youtu.be/u8QIDHla6iA

(From 11:40, but if you go back a few minutes, he also tells you how to make mushrooms to accompany the scrambled eggs)

Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking is easily the best book to learn French cooking. It has very thorough instructions for techniques, authentic recipes, adapted for the American kitchen.

I also recommend Larousse Gastronomique,
Escoffier and
Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques.

You mentioned that you prefer recipes that are simple and not too time consuming. The problem with that is, most authentic French cooking is time-consuming and laborious. This is why it is so delicious and intricate. However, I do have one cookbook that I don't use too much anymore, but it features great recipes that are fairly quick and accessible.

Definitely a cast iron skillet. I got one for Christmas last year and use it near exclusively for cooking and baking unless what I am making involves something acidic or eggs. It basically gets used every night and is super easy to clean, especially with one of these

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-SCRAPERPK-Durable-Polycarbonate-Scrapers/dp/B0039UU9UO

Usually I just clean it normally with a sponge like any other dish. If something gets burned on I'll soak it or boil some water in it. Maybe once every year or so I soak it in Barkeepers Friend paste(http://www.amazon.com/Bar-Keepers-Friend%C2%AE-Cleanser-Polish/dp/B000V72992) and then scrub with a sponge and it gets any stuff that was burned on the bottom or tough stains off. That brings the shine back and makes it look brand new. All in all very easy to keep clean. No seasoning to fuss with or teflon coatings to be careful with.

>If you aren't, a 4-5 minute bake could mean either steel plate or aluminum plate

I have a home oven that reads 525; Should I get a Steel or aluminum plate?

• Stove info: https://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/PRG304GH.html
  
  Recommended Plate Thickness? (1/4, 3/8, 1/2 inch?)
  
  Are there any best bang for buck plates that I should consider? OR is best DIY?
  
  
• Nerdchefs Steel Plate - .25 - https://www.amazon.com/NerdChef-Steel-Stone-High-Performance-Standard/dp/B00JXVNUHW/ref=lp_9453142011_1_1?srs=9453142011&ie=UTF8&qid=1549303763&sr=8-1
  
• Lodge Cast Iron - Pizza Pan - https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Baking-Pre-Seasoned-Round-Handles/dp/B0000E2V3X
  
• Baking Steel -.25 https://www.amazon.com/Baking-Steel-Original-Ultra-Conductive/dp/B00N205G22/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1549304615&sr=1-4&keywords=pizza+steel
  
  ​

A really good pizza needs to form a lot of gluten. This means you need a very strong flour to make a good pizza. Normal 00 is not strong enough. I personally add a 5% in weight of gluten to the dough maiden with 00. Professional pizza makers use their own mix of flours. A very good book that explain many details of dough making process is
https://www.amazon.com/CookWise-Successful-Cooking-Secrets-Revealed/dp/0688102298

I recently got, and have been really enjoying, How to Cook Without a Book: Recipes and Techniques Every Cook Should Know by Heart. It focuses on techniques that are simple enough to memorize yet open to endless variations with whatever you have on hand. Useful for cooks like me who resent having to measure things and follow recipes!

I recommend spending ~$10 and getting this book. Jacques Pepin has superlative technique, and this book has great explanations and illustrations. It has great recipes (some simple, some that shows-off higher skills) and suggestions on what to buy.

These are two fantastic books for beginning cooks, so much so that I've been buying them as wedding/hosewarming presents as part of my gifts to newlyweds/new homeowners just starting out.

How to Cook Without a Book: Recipes and Techniques Every Cook Should Know by Heart by Pam Anderson

The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook by America's Test Kitchen

The ATK book apparently has a new edition coming out in October. They also have a similar version if you are less interested in perhaps the best tasting versus the more healthful options.

Tangentially related, I would get his books as well:

http://www.amazon.com/Im-Just-Here-Food-Version/dp/158479559X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291527138&sr=1-4 (This one is about cooking)

http://www.amazon.com/Im-Just-Here-More-Food/dp/1584793414/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291527138&sr=1-6 (this one is about baking)

Read through those and you'll feel much more confident.

If you are cooking meat, I'd suggest getting a probe thermometer: http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-1470-Digital-Cooking-Thermometer/dp/B00004XSC5/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1291527262&sr=8-2

You'd be amazed how good any kind of meat tastes just with some salt and fresh pepper cooked to the exact right temperature tastes...

https://smile.amazon.com/Lodge-SCRAPERPK-Durable-Scrapers-2-Pack/dp/B0039UU9UO?sa-no-redirect=1

Are you talking about this? In that case, I should go buy one. :)

And stop forgetting that I love the lovely chainmail thing.

It sounds as if you are a novice? If you are and you are looking for books as your guide I suggest anything Jaques Pepin produces like this.

Jacques Pépin New Complete Techniques

https://www.amazon.com/Jacques-Pépin-New-Complete-Techniques/dp/1579129110/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1520771297&sr=1-3&keywords=jaque+pepin+cookbooks

Jacques Pépin is a masterful teacher. There are also youtube videos and TV shows that would add to anything you get from his books. I highly encourage you to seek them out.

Beyond that, if you are looking for more a narrative form and you are more than a novice, consider:

Simple French Food by Richard Olney

Thats just a start, I'm sure there are many others that deserve consideration. In my experience Jacques Pépin; however, is one of the most approachable of the masters and I have a long-standing admiration of him, so my opinion is likely biased.

edit: a letter

I clean my cast iron with hot water and scrub all the shit away with this, which works wonders. On really messy jobs, I used a tiny bit of soap, maybe 1/5 the level of soapiness required to wash dishes. It's not a problem if the scrubbing isn't too vigorous. Afterwards, I dry it on the burner then rub oil on it (sometimes I skip this step, but never if I've used soap). I try to take care to oil the bottom of each pan every so often (probably every 4th-5th use). That method seems to work really well. I didn't used to, but then my stuff started rusting on the bottom.

I loved Cooking For Geeks by O'Reilly. It gives examples of recipes as it explains the chemistry and physics of what's happening to the food. Very interesting and entertaining, and it upped my cooking game by a lot.

Wow! I actually own this one already. Good to know that's the real deal.

Here's a link for those interested:

Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking https://www.amazon.com/dp/039458404X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_5puYzb43Z2KMK

Learn how to cut up a chicken. This saves you tons of money, I bought a whole chicken for $4 last weekend, enough for 3 meals for my wife and I.

here is a really good short how-to.

Get a good digital thermometer, preferably one of the ones with a probe that can go in the oven. A lot of recipes tell you to cook until "done" or the internal temperature reads something. A good thermometer will help keep you from over or undercooking things, especially meats. This is a decent one.

Yeah, I was thinking maybe chicken teriyaki. This Cooks Illustrated Cookbook is my favorite cookbook I own, and it never lets us down. It has the best chicken teriyaki recipe I've ever made.

I'd recommend the Mercer Genesis 8" Chef Knife, the handle is a lot nicer than the cheap plastic grip on the Victorinox knives. It's also a dollar and half cheaper. It'll last you decades if taken care of, I still use mine from 9 years ago.

Maybe go with the Victorinox paring knife for the price and any cheap serrated knife will be fine for bread, maybe one of the ones you already have.

https://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-Genesis-Forged-Chefs/dp/B000OOQZMY

There are more than enough resources out there to teach you how to cook. The better question might be - what do you want to learn how to cook?

If you're a big Italian food fan like I am, I did the following:

Step 1. Purchase copy of Marcella Hazan's ["Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking"] (http://www.amazon.ca/Essentials-Classic-Italian-Cooking-Marcella/dp/039458404X)
Step 2. Figure out the fundamental recipes - for me it was plain tomato sauce, bolognese sauce, minestrone soup, hand made pasta, roast chicken, ossobuco, and a few others
Step 3. Practice practice practice - I have probably made my own pasta 20 times in the past year and I am still not close to mastery (but I'm getting there!)

I'd also suggest that you work on basic knife skills, including sharpening your own knife. These are essential no matter what route you decide to take.

Cooks Illustrated. Ex bought this for me and it's pretty much been my bible. Good luck!

I personally don't feel the need to spend $300 on a single knife. I'd go with Wusthof and also get him something for sharpening. I'd recommend getting him the 3 only knives that every cook needs:

• The Chef's Knife (I was going to include the paring knife separately but I found this set instead)
  
  
• The Serrated knife
  
  In terms of sharpening, a lot of people recommend stones but I don't really have the time or much patience to do something like that. Instead, you could get him a professional electric knife sharpener:
  
  
• Test Kitchen Review here
  
  
• Amazon link
  
  Total is $339.85

I have a set of these Mercer knives and they are awesome. Apparently they are common culinary student knives, typically sold in restaurant supply stores not consumer stores. Not under $25 but a great knife for the price.

http://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-Genesis-Forged-Chefs/dp/B000OOQZMY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421252538&sr=8-1&keywords=mercer+chefs+knife

I use this one for brewing and cooking. It is a great all purpose thermometer at a great price. It has a very fast response time too.

CDN DTQ450X Digital ProAccurate Quick-Read Thermometer-NSF Certified https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0021AEAG2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_hLCzxb93WGH0V

While chemical sensitivity is a rare thing that is often overblown (much like gluten), there are people who actually are sensitive.

However I'd ask why not a better induction plate system? If your pots and pans will not work with the induction, are they non stick pans? I'd be much more concerned about chemical outgassing from non stick pans.

I'd suggest a larger inductions surface like this and the use a flat surfaced cast iron griddle

You'll find your induction system is much more flexible if you use a cast iron griddle or pan as an interface with your older equipment. I know a freidn of mine uses this exact system to heat up a huge stainless steel 12 qt pot for canning.

Something like this would pair nice with the food saver! Would also go good with the grilled food!

Anova Culinary Bluetooth Sous Vide Precision Cooker, 800 Watts, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UKPBXM4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_WwVmzbSPXPQ10

I recently donated away about 100 cookbooks I had collected over the years (I organize virtually everything digitally now) but I kept these 5:

Child et al, Mastering the Art of French Cooking (well-used, next to the stove)

Hazan, Essentials of Italian Cooking (carried to Italy and used there twice)

Lewis, The Taste of Country Cooking (such a good read)

Rombauer. An older than I am edition (with how-to-skin-a-squirrel recipes) of the Joy of Cooking (falling apart, kept for sentimental reasons)

Fox, On Vegetables: Modern Recipes for the Home Kitchen (for the porn)

Second the nomination of Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen.

Good Eats fans with an interest in the science might like Shirley O. Corriher's Cookwise, The Secrets of Cooking Revealed. She was The Science Lady on the Good Eats show.

I've had one of these for about 4 years, and it's been awesome. It's very comfortable and well-balanced. I get it sharpened regularly and hone it often.

I love most Cook's Illustrated cookbooks, but for a new cook it can seem rather daunting and some ingredients are not in a simple grocery store.

That being said, everything I have made from my Cook's Illustrated Cook Book has been delicious.

Honestly, after it's seasoned, you can use soap no problem (and probably before that). I likely wouldn't let it soak in soapy water though. My regular routine was to get the pan hot (either off stove or with hot running water), clean it with a bit of soap, rinse well with hot tap water, dry, and add a super thin coat of high temp oil (rub in with paper towel, removing as much as possible with a second paper towel). I recently found the lodge pan scrapers work really well in just water, no soap. I still dry and treat with oil after each use. I think getting the pan hot before cleaning it is the biggest difference, gets stuff to stop clinging.

Not a blog but there is a good cookbook called something like, how to cook without using a book. Teaches techniques, not recipes.

Edit: Found it!

Honestly, one of the first things I do when I'm at someone's house is dig through their cookbooks. The three that I resort to at all times are:

[La Cucina] (http://www.amazon.com/Cucina-Regional-Cooking-Italy/dp/0847831477/ref=sr_1_sc_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1464737488&sr=8-2-spell&keywords=La+Cusina)

[The Joy Of Cooking] (http://www.amazon.com/Joy-Cooking-Irma-S-Rombauer/dp/0743246268/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464737648&sr=8-1&keywords=Joy+Of+Cooking)

[Mastering The Art of French Cooking] (http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Art-French-Cooking-Set/dp/0307593525/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1464737689&sr=1-3&keywords=mastering+the+art+of+french+cooking)

Over 10 years with this knife and I still love it.

Recently added a Trizor XV Sharpener to give it a 15 degree edge, and now it's better than ever.

My most used and well loved cookbook is Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. My Italian grandmother recommended it to me when I first started cooking as a teenager and it seems to be a staple for a lot of home cooks I know.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/039458404X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ESCPAbCSJBRWR

The production of vegetable based pastas is certainly a worthy cause, and I'm sure the veggetti is very capable, but I think the point is that you could also just buy a $20 mandoline slicer and do pretty much the same thing (okay, you might be stuck with shorter noodles...) plus much more

In that range go for the wustof 8" ikon. Just bought one as a gift for a fellow line cook. Great knife by a notable maker.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000YMURSE/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1456912234&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=wusthof+ikon&dpPl=1&dpID=21HPgwBr1yL&ref=plSrch

I have the Tojiro DP that was the standard recommendation. I also got my Mom the Fibrox, which is good but I didn't love it.

I actually got the Mercer Genesis as something I could take with my if I was cooking somewhere else and wouldn't be heartbroken if I left it. I actually really like it and find myself reaching for it more than anything else.

Cooking for Geeks

It's not a cookbook; it instead teaches you general techniques and principles, how to think about and approach cooking, and the science behind it all (in an approachable way - not to the level of Harold McGee). There are some recipes, but they're just there to illustrate some topic or technique that was just discussed. This is, by far, the best cooking book I have ever read. I read it cover to cover, which is incredibly rare for me.

Instead of a sub to Cook's Illustrated, OP could also just get their cookbook. It's pretty inexpensive, has pretty much every recipe I could ever want, and I've only gotten raves when I've made recipes out of it. I use it all the time. I literally have it open in front of me right now.

Yeah, once you realize that no-non-stick coating means you can whip out the heavy cleaning artillery, steel pans become easier to clean than non-stick.

Also, scrapers

As an engineer "Cookwise" is pretty cool for the science of WHY you should do certain things while cooking. (Linky)

The New Basics:
http://www.amazon.com/New-Basics-Cookbook-Julee-Rosso/dp/0894803417

Cooking for Geeks:
http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Geeks-Science-Great-Hacks/dp/0596805888

These two books really try to explain what is going on with each recipe, and why things are done a certain way. I learn every time I cook with them. Both of these also have sections on how to set up a kitchen (where to find items, where to spend your $$) in a smart way. Really useful if you're new to cooking, or just looking to upgrade your gear.

He might also like Cooking for Geeks, The Science of Good Cooking and On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen.

I've only read the first, but I've heard good things about all three.

Throwing in my hat into the ring. My favorite knife over the last 5 years has been my Mercer chef's knife. Good balance and feel (for me) and cheap. Great for most kitchen tasks. Picked mine up at restaurant supply but here it is on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000OOQZMY

I had a friend that went to culinary school who said they were what came with the price of admission and she hated them, but I love it.

Here's mine.

If you do Amazon, these are popular.
Benriner is the go-to Mandolin. I have one and love it.

If you're a julia child fan there's this beautiful cookbook set.

Like a lot of other folks, I have a benriner and I'm happy with it. It is extremely sharp so watch your fingertips.

Either a Wusthof Classic: http://www.amazon.com/Wusthof-Classic-8-Inch-Cooks-Knife/dp/B00009ZK08/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1404885127&sr=1-1&keywords=chefs+knife

or

A Shun Classic: http://www.amazon.com/Shun-DM0706-Classic-8-Inch-Chefs/dp/B0000Y7KNQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1404885127&sr=1-2&keywords=chefs+knife

Both in the 8 inch range

Both are fine knives and will make any foodie/cook/chef very happy.

I ignored the advice for getting the Victorinox that everyone recommends and got a Mercer Culinary "Genesis" chef's knife. Excellent knife for about the same price. And it actually looks nice, unlike the Victorinox, in my opinion. Mercer supplies the knives to many cooking schools in the US.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000OOQZMY?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_pd_title

Pick some up some Bar Keepers Friend (https://www.amazon.com/Bar-Keepers-Friend%C2%AE-Cleanser-Polish/dp/B000V72992) and some copper or steel wool.

Get in there good, then season. You'll need to dry it immediately after use.

Yep. I had it backwards. I went to look it up in Cookwise ( an excellent book if you don't already have it ) and came back to orange envelope.

Yep, I agree. I was actually wondering how he's take my question on the iPad app. Whatever - I bought two of his $40 book, and he knew it. :P

(You can get them waaaay cheaper online, but I wanted to support the store, etc.)

buy a Japanese mandoline it will help reduce teh cutting time in half . theres a small screw at the bottom to help you adjust to the thickness you want and slice away . (it also comes with different blade attachments if you wanna do small julienne etc

https://www.amazon.ca/Benriner-Japanese-Mandoline-Slicer-Green/dp/B0000VZ57C/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1521339467&sr=8-3&keywords=mandoline

The expensive brands in that same price range:

All-Clad, Le Crueset, Henckel, and Mauviel.

This five piece set is worth it's weight in... well, copper. Cuz copper is super expensive.

At a much more reasonable price range you've got Cuisinart, Calphalon, Lodge, Victorinox and a few others.

-------

Here's a list of things they could get (an entire kitchen revamp) for under $1000:

A $300 knife set with 4 steak knives (note: the 7 piece classic set is available from Costco online for only $80 if you have a membershit, same blades, no fancy handles. The steak knives can be got for $10-15 each, so the entire set is like $130 if you don't want rosewood)

Anova sous vide cooker for $110. Toys are fun.

Lodge enameled dutch oven for $60

Mauviel carbon steel pan for $40 (needs to be seasoned), or a pre-seasoned Lodge for $20

Lodge cast iron for $10-20 (depending on 8 inch or 10 inch).

Scrapers (super important!) and maybe silicon handles for $10

and the most important thing they'd want, is the Calphalon tri-ply set for $225 (which I think is also cheaper over at Amazon).

An Instapot (combined pressure cooker + slowcooker + ricecooker, this thing is like a slowcooker on crack). You can also opt for just a regular $30 slowcooker, too.

If they don't care about fancy looking handles, the Fibrox handles actually have a great grip, and Victorinox knives are sharp as shit.

Other things:

OXO good grips tools/spatulas/measures/everything for about $100 depending on what they want.

The Costco membership would probably be worth it just so you can buy the Victorinox knives (and I think also the Calphalon pans?)

---------

Total price: ~$1000 if going with the rosewood handles (I personally didn't bother), and instapot (I would highly recommend the instapot, though!)

If going with regular handles and instapot, $850 <--- my choice

If going with regular handles, instapot, but no sous vide, $750 <--- probably most economical choice

If going with regular handles and regular slowcooker, and no sous vide ~$650

Just regular Victorinox Fibrox knives, and Calphalon Tri-Ply set and one cast iron skillet: ~$400

the 2 most popular are Anova and Joules they are kinda pricey but once you get one, youll never have meat cooked off temp. some models even have bluetooth wifi so you can start the cooking while your at work. i used to SUUUUUCK at cooking chicken breast but with a suos vide machine it comes out almost as good as thigh meat.

Pam Anderson's books are great if you get stuck on this, or need a starting boost.

Slap on another £18 and get this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wüsthof-CLASSIC-Cook´s-knife-4582/dp/B00009ZK08

This is one of the best mass-fabricated knives and will probably last you a lifetime.

If you want a cookbook that will teach you classic French cooking techniques and also provide recipes, I'd recommend Jacques Pepin's New Complete Techniques. The Julia Child book was good for its time and definitely popularized French cooking, but it's more of a historical touchstone at this point than a functional guide for 21st century cooks. It assumes that you already have a lot of cooking knowledge.

These are all great starts -

http://www.amazon.com/Essentials-Classic-Italian-Cooking-Marcella/dp/039458404X


http://www.amazon.com/Lidias-Italy-Simple-Delicious-Recipes/dp/1400040361/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413903918&sr=1-6&keywords=lidia+bastianich+cookbooks

http://www.amazon.com/Mario-Batali-Simple-Italian-Food/dp/0609603000/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413903950&sr=1-9&keywords=mario+batali

... which leaves you with chicken that tastes like saltwater instead of chicken. A better tip would be - get a $17 thermometer and don't overcook them.

This is a great book that covers all of this info and much more!

wrong. we got one of these http://www.amazon.com/Onion-Shun-DM0500-8-Inch-Chefs/dp/B0007IR2MO/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1346611396&sr=1-1&keywords=shun+ken for my mom for mother's day a year ago. she uses it almost every day and it's still sharp enough to cut through vegetables effortlessly. shun recommends one sharpening every year. there's a reason why good knives cost more than $20, and not just because of brand name. you can sharpen any knife to the same sharpness but the materials and design, and therefore cost, determine how long it will hold an edge and how comfortable it is to hold

My next thermometer will be a thermapen. But what I use now works great, albeit a bit more slowly than the $70+ TP. The CDN got good marks from Cooks Illustrated - I like that you can calibrate it, but I have not needed to. It has stood up to several years of regular use, being dropped, splashed, etc.

Americas Test Kitchen does equipment reviews. A year or so ago the tested a bunch of electric sharpners and decide the Chef's Choice Trizor was one of the best:

https://www.amazon.com/Choice-Trizor-EdgeSelect-Electric-Sharpener/dp/B0018RSEMU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1505343998&sr=8-4&keywords=chefs+choice+knife+sharpener

These are the best thing I have for cleaning pots, pans, and any other dish

Unless you are a professional chef, i don't think you need to spend more than 200$ on a sous vide machine you'll maybe only use once or twice a week. One of the most common home-machines is the Anova Sous Vide Sticks and it's like 200$ with all the equipment. Just get this one and don't blow a grand on something you just need to "test out some recipes".

Everytime i need to sous vide something i just borrow the 60$ thing from my gf's parents and even this one gives good results. Some people even sous vide stuff in a cooler box and it's decent.

Your budget is pretty low but for 45$ here's what you can get that will set you up correctly

Fry/candy thermometer (Alton's favorite): 10.00

Instant read (the same one use by chefs everywhere): 19.00

Alarm Thermometer ( the good old Taylor): 16.00

And if you want to invest more change the alarm thermometer to something more serious like the chef alarm. But it's 60$ just for that.

I use a three-step process:

1. I clean my pan either using a little bit of water and a some salt (rubbing the salt with a paper towel to scrub the pan and absorb grime) or, if it's really caked in there, I have one of these to scrape the pan with. Using the scraper, I've never found a need to use dish soap on the pan.
   
   
2. After rinsing, I always towel dry and then put it on the stove and turn the stove on for a few minutes so any remaining moisture evaporates. Cast iron is very prone to rust is any water is left on it -- this ensures it dries thoroughly.
   
   
3. I read somewhere that bringing whatever oil you used to coat the pan to its smoking point helps it bind with the pan, thus solidifying the seasoning. Not sure if this is the right thing to do, but after a minute of the pan being on the stove to dry, I put a thin layer of oil on the pan and let the oil go to smoke point. It works well for me.

Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking is a great Italian cookbook, although maybe more recipe-centric than what you are looking for.

This is a great start.

8” Wusthof Classic

Lodge makes a 14" cast iron pizza pan that works excellently.

Use bar keeper's friend. It will clean it up quick and easily with just a bit of scrubbing.

The thing is, you're looking for a high/low alarm, where you want to know if it's out of a range. You can certainly get a cheap $16 model with only a high notification alarm, but it doesn't sound like that's what you want.

I have a Thermapen and one of their meters, and ThermoWorks has very nice stuff.

Immersion circulators have become increasingly affordable in recent years, and can hold highly stable temperatures by means of a controlled water bath. I use a pair of Anova models, and have been quite satisfied thus far. They have occasional sales that drop the price for that particular model down to around $100. There are a number of similar products presently on the market.

Look into "Sous Vide" cooking.

I think you'd like Alton Brown's book I'm Just Here for the Food. It does contain recipes, but its focus is teaching you to understand how cooking techniques work so that you can apply that knowledge as you will. Relatedly, I've heard CookWise is something like what you're looking for.

Trizor Chef's Edge. I use it for my home knives and my SO's professional knives. It does its job wonderfully.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001CMRQUW

https://www.amazon.com/Wusthof-Classic-8-Inch-4582-20/dp/B00009ZK08/

Do you have to get a knife set? Can you just get 1 really good chefs knife? I linked a really solid chef's knife above with the cutting board.

what you really want are recipe inspirations with common ingredients, not necessarily techniques. There are tomes out there like the CIA's Professional Chef or Pepin's New Complete Techniques which go into minute details on very classical preparations expected at high-end restaurant kitchens, but for the avg home cook that's overkill.

I think your ultimate goal is to develop a set of protocols to guide you in creating dishes on the fly, which actually is a really difficult thing to do even for skilled cooks. The only advice i can give is to cook broadly, learning preparations for various cuisines, from Italian dishes, to Lebanese/Israeli, to Indian, Chinese and Japanese. Many ethnic/cultural cuisines have a certain flavor profiles, with specific spices and ways of combining proteins & starches. But you need to read & practice so these protocols come instinctively.

Get at least one counter lowered to chair-height. You can cook pretty much anything you want while sitting in a chair.

If you're reasonably coordinated, but lack strength, you can cut lots of stuff with a mandoline (make absolutely certain you buy and use a safety glove)

Most people agree that the Victorinox Fibrox 8" and the Wusthof Classic 8" are two of the best knives around. I've used and liked both, but I'm a guy with big hands. I'd say, present the Wusthof and have her trade it in if she doesn't like the grip.

It does depend on how thick it is, whether there is a bone present or not, the cut of steak, how cold the steak was before it hit the pan, etc. There are some basic guide lines you could probably goolgle. I would say to get a digital instant read thermometer and follow a chart on doneness. Eventually you will be able to get good at this by just feeling it and looking at it.

Get the Cook's Illustrated Cookbook. Tons and tons of classics made with perfect technique. It'll be your new go-to.

You can get those. You leave the probe in the meat (for chicken/turkey you put it in the thickest part of the breast, off to one side). and a wire connects it a monitor outside your oven. Something like this. You can set the temp (or cook time, but really, use the temp option). When it reaches your desired temp (I would cook chicken to at least 162-ish so that residual cooking gets it to 165) it will beep, and you take it out.

Another idea is a precision cooker if he doesn't already have one. I love my Anova. I do think sous-vide cooking tends to appeal to the more advanced home cooks. I use my Anova more than I use my pressure cooker, although pressure cookers definitely have their place. If you do go with the pressure cooker get one with a stainless insert, not the non-stick.

> Will any kind of cooking thermometer do?

Have used a variety of thermometers. In the drawer is an OXO and an inexpensive Thermoworks pocket.

I'd recommend a ThermoWorks DOT probe-style oven thermometer. This way you can insert the probe into the chicken and bake/roast it to the temperature you want without opening the oven door to check. You don't have to go with the DOT. I started out with something similar to Taylor Digital. (I no longer have it because I burnt the probe over a grill hot spot.)

You can put the boneless chicken in a baggie or fold over plastic wrap. For a recipe/instructions, have a look at 101 Cooking for Two's Pan Seared then Oven Roasted, Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast.

= = = = Edit to add
You might like to read through this post on Baked Chicken Breasts at ThermoWorks

I've heard really good things about Bar Keeper's Friend for cleaning stainless steel.

You can pour a layer of vinegar in the bottom of a pan and heat it up. Once it gets hot, turn it off and let it sit for 15 minutes, then scrub like crazy. It removes most spots.

Modernist Cuisine at Home

Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Heavy duty metal measuring cups and spoons are nicer to use than plastic ones but if the plastic ones work well one is unlikely to replace "just because".

Take her knives to a professional sharpener.

Heavy Duty Cutting Board

https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-P14P3-Seasoned-Baking-Pizza/dp/B0000E2V3X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1517824595&sr=8-3&keywords=cast+iron+pizza

Cast iron pizza pan. Will last forever if you care for it.

This is the nicest santoku-ish knife I've ever used. http://www.amazon.com/Onion-Shun-DM0500-8-Inch-Chefs/dp/B0007IR2MO

This is going to be my first year going with this recipe. But I would assume for a turkey that is almost half the weight of the prescribed turkey, I would cut the time in half. I always use a digital thermometer (that is oven safe) that I leave in the turkey so I can see how it is doing as it cooks. I use something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-1470-Digital-Cooking-Thermometer/dp/B00004XSC5/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416934813&sr=8-1&keywords=digital+oven+safe+thermometer&pebp=1416934815131

I hope that helps!

I've heard good things about Cooking for Geeks for someone who doesnt know how to scramble an egg.

Cooking for Geeks is very entertaining. It really gets into the science behind cooking.

http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Geeks-Science-Great-Hacks/dp/0596805888

Instant Read Thermometer's cost under $20 on amazon. I have the second one, the CDN DTQ450X ProAccurate Quick-Read Thermometer. $17.99 currently.

It's a thin little stick and reads really quick. Just jab it into the center of the meat when you want a reading, then go back to cooking (take the thermometer out!) and check again if it's not done.Small enough that a few jabs wont affect the meat.

I use this for bloody everything. Even frozen corndogs... I don't want to bite in and find a frozen or chilly center.

Another book that I would recommend is Cookwise by Shirley Corriher.

Get a thermometer for your meats. I use this one at home.

Stop caring about grill marks. You're not cooking on a grate. You don't need to make it look like you are.

Cut back on the oil. Commercial restaurant appliances are very different than what you're working with in a dorm.

I am not sure of what you already have or what you would need, I am listing a few things on top of my head:

• Crock pot
  
• Cast iron skillet
  
• Dutch oven
  
• Victorinox chef knife
  
• Microplane zester
  
• Bread maker machine
  
• Mandoline
  
• Mortar and pestle
  
• Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza
  
• Tartine bread
  
• Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
  
• Espresso maker
  
• Cookie Sheet and cooling racks
  
• Meat Thermometer

Since others have made the whetstone recommendations, I'll just throw out the Chef's Choice Trizor. Yes, it probably takes off a little extra metal but it's fast and produces a razor sharp edge with no room for error. For me, it's a worthwhile expense and yes it is expensive. I might have to replace my knives every 15 years instead of every 20 or whatever, but my knives are also always sharp and it takes less than a minute per knife.

You can see a thorough review on Wirecutter and it's also what America's Test Kitchen uses.

Give "How to Cook Without a Book" a shot. It really helps break down the pieces that are pretty much in every recipe. I suck at formatting on Reddit, but here's a link: https://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Without-Book-Techniques/dp/0767902793/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0767902793&pd_rd_r=9d03edaa-e125-11e8-9704-5356cc4fab24&pd_rd_w=hUDFT&pd_rd_wg=mCIUR&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=18bb0b78-4200-49b9-ac91-f141d61a1780&pf_rd_r=3EYBEJTXDAGRSBJSCR0G&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=3EYBEJTXDAGRSBJSCR0G

Was going to suggest: http://www.amazon.com/Wusthof-Classic-8-Inch-Cooks-Knife/dp/B00009ZK08/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1404885127&sr=1-1&keywords=chefs+knife

But Malphael already did. I love my Wusthof... I've formed an eerie bond with the object and I don't trust others to use it.

James Peterson's Cooking. It has lots of good recipes and not just the how, but the why. Also, How to Cook Without a Book and Ratio to learn how to improvise.

Marcella Hazan is to Italian food as Julia Child is to French food. Start with Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking; you can't go wrong!

you get one of these ;)

​

https://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Digital-Cooking-Probe-Thermometer/dp/B00004XSC5

Thirding this. I have all Mercer steel and I really like them. Here's the knife we're talking about. Not hugely expensive either, which is a big plus. (Like the Swedish flag but more slicy.)

Jacques Pépin's New Complete Techniques is the bible of technique. It combines La Technique and La Methode which have taught some of today's top chefs.