(Part 2) Best products from r/Food

A good non stick pan is perfectly dependable. You are just buying cheap ones or using metal on them OR overheating them.

Stainless is popular because it's easy to use and robust pan that will last longer and with skill you can cook most anything you would in a non stick. However I don't recommend them over non stick for anything delicate to cook.

Cast Iron is the next step in dependability and you could argue also has superior non stick ability to stainless and better heat distribution, but it has to be maintained and there is a learning curve to cooking and cleaning.

Personally I'd just get something with a good non-stick coating before I moved to harder to use stainless or cast iron pans. Why? Because I want the most universal pan and if you use only plastic utensils on them they will last years and years. The time you save using a good non stick pain in cleaning and in not screwing up your food is well worth paying twice as much for a better non stick layer.

If you like to seer meat at high temp you could also get a cast iron pan, but I see little real need for stainless steel or cast iron even if you are a decent cook.

If you are a professional you will have a kitchen full of many pans and you just use the pan that best suites your meal and how you plan to cook it.

Just keep in mind if you cook at too high a temp like most people cast iron is the only

http://www.amazon.com/Circulon-Infinite-Anodized-Nonstick-Skillets/dp/B0019R4SXS

http://www.amazon.com/T-Fal-Signature-Anodized-10-Inch-Skillet/dp/B002HWRUE8/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1323724433&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.com/Textured-Ceramic-Non-Stick-Coating-Germany/dp/B004CSXMP6/ref=sr_1_8?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1323724433&sr=1-8

Those would all be better options than plain old stainless steel. Who really wants to have too many pans or have to worry about digging around finding the right pan for the right job. Unless you are truly a pro you don't need all that. Just get one pan to rule them all.

This is coming from someone who has switched from teflon, to stainless steel and to cast iron. Cast Iron is great, but just not worth the extra cleaning and seasoning. Stainless steel really has no advantage that I saw other than it might take higher temps and doesn't scratch. It wasn't non stick enough to matter and it wasn't hardy enough to compete with cast iron. You could go see what you local good will has if you want to experiment with different cooking surfaces, but I say go for a anodized pan with the new safer non stick layer from a well known company. Pans are something that if you treat well are worth investing in.

The only cookbook I've used multiple times has been How to Boil Water. It has a lot of basic recipes, but the best part about it is that it also gives you lots of great instructions on how to prepare and store different foods. It's a great book that I refer back to often. :)

There was a great suggestion earlier in this thread about a Victorinox knife that was recommended by Consumer Reports.

Here are a few that are slightly outside your price range (By about $15) that I wouldn't have any issues with using in my own cooking adventures :). All prices are listed in Canadian dollars.

[Victorinox 8" Chef's knife - $36] (http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-40520-Fibrox-8-Inch-Chefs/dp/B000638D32/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top)

[Kai 6" Santoku - $51.38] (http://www.amazon.ca/Kai-Wasabi-2-Inch-Santoku-Knife/dp/B000YL4NYY/ref=sr_1_7?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1380663533&sr=1-7&keywords=santoku)

[Calphalon Katana 8" Chef's knife - $59] (http://www.amazon.ca/Kai-Wasabi-2-Inch-Santoku-Knife/dp/B000YL4NYY/ref=sr_1_7?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1380663533&sr=1-7&keywords=santoku)

[Calphalon Contemporary 8" Chef's knife - $29] (http://www.amazon.ca/Calphalon-Contemporary-8-Inch-Chefs-Knife/dp/B000V6ROPC/ref=sr_1_16?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1380663579&sr=1-16&keywords=8%22+chef)


For any and all of these, the first thing you'll want to do is go to a store that sells knives, and try a few before you find what you like. Hold them by the handle, and then hold them where the handle ends and meets the blade. Check the balance - When you're holding it by the handle, is the knife weighted evenly, front to back? Is there more weight towards the back or the front? If you were using this for 40 mins-1hr of prepping veggies and meat, would you be comfortable with it? Does the handle fit your hand, does the whole thing feel like a natural extension of your arm when you're chopping, slicing, etc?

Honestly, the "recipes" aren't complicated. It's mostly cutting and punching. A few tools go a long way.

You can find all kinds of fun bento toys on Amazon. Here are my faves:

Kotobuki Egg Mold, Rabbit and Bear
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002TZ04J6/

SCI Cuisine International 2.75 Inch Square Egg Press
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002C8ZDQE/

CUTEZCUTE 10-Piece Bento Decoration Box, Animals Food Picks and Forks https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0038LNVR2/

Happy Sales Stainless Steel Vegetable Cutters
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00095VK7S/

CuteZCute Animal Friends Food Deco Cutter and Stamp Kit
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CDPNA70/

Kotobuki Crayon Bento Box, Black Ninja
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C61CP3G/

Sushi Grass Baran Garnish Short
http://amzn.com/B001F73TX2

If you enjoy this sort of thing, it's easy to get lost in Amazon's lists of related products.

Spend $30 on those tools and these lunches should take 10 mins to assemble in the morning. One of my biggest challenges is keeping a variety of foods on hand.

The best way to cook a thicker steak on the grill is to set up two heat zones, an indirect zone and a direct zone. With coals, simply place the coals on one half of the grill and nothing under the other half. On a gas grill, light only half of the burners and keep the others off.

Don't bother oiling your steak. Start the steak on the indirect side, again using a thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature. once the temp reaches 110-115, move the steak over to the direct side to finish with a sear, flipping the steak once per minute (yes, it's completely okay to flip your steak multiple times, it promotes more even cooking; leave for at least one minute per side to promote the maillard reaction).

Unless you plan on cutting into it immediately, you will need to take carryover cooking into account which can increase the internal temperature another 5-10 degrees, so for a perfect medium rare, remove from the grill once the internal temperature reaches ~125-128 (perfect medium rare is ~132). If you are going to cut immediately, you can remove it once it reaches to 130-132 degrees. Keep in mind that carryover cooking is more pronounced on thicker cuts because they hold onto to more heat energy.

One great thing about having the thermometer is being able to observe carryover cooking for yourself. Simply keep the thermometer inserted after you remove the steak from the heat and you'll see the temperature continue to climb!

I have had a great experience the past 9 months using the Lavatools Javelin thermometer which is 1/4 the price of a ThermoWorks thermometer (considered the bees knees) and still reads temperatures very fast.
https://www.amazon.com/Lavatools-Javelin-Digital-Thermometer-Chipotle/dp/B00GRFHXVQ

the element you're missing is that cooking a steak to well done cooks away the qualities of quality meat that make an exceptional steak exceptional. cooking applies heat to affect chemical change in a substance.

it would be like taking a 30 year old single malt scotch and mixing it with coke and ice.... yes you can technically do that if you want, but you are ruining the finer points of a fine bottle scotch when you do that.

there are finer things in life, regardless of your personal preference, and you can only appreciate them when experiencing them enough times to gain that appreciation.

http://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Ate-Everything/dp/0375702024 this is an interesting book. check out the description.

I use hard anodized aluminum nonstick frying pans. They're great. You can really crank up the temperature on these things to get a good sear. They clean really easily with soap and water. They can go in the oven. The only think it lacks vs cast iron is the heat retention. But it's a very acceptable trade off to me. I just ate delicious crisp bacon, potatoes, and eggs that I made in the pan.

I doubly recommend the digital kitchen scale & Cook's Illustrated cookbooks. I also recommend:

• Sideswipe blade if she has a KitchenAid mixer
  
• silpat mat
  
• no-knead bread cookbook
  
• gift certificate to Container Store or Amazon so she can pick out some new bulk food storage containers (I happen to be partial to these OXO ones)
  
• gift certificate to Penzeys Spices
  
  If money is no object, how about a promise to a romantic dinner for 2 at a top rated restaurant like Per Se?

Seems like there are a lot of good protein suggestions already. Have you heard of Miracle Fruit? It's a berry that has a compound that temporarily (2 hours or so) turns sour things very sweet, meaning almost all fruits will taste 200% sweeter (lemons taste like candy).

I've read accounts of people undergoing chemo having good results gaining back some flavor, and it comes in pill form. I bought a pack for the hell of it and it's fairly nifty.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001LXYA5Q/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1421198657&sr=8-1&dpPl=1&dpID=417v--b%2B73L&ref=plSrch&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

Victorinox is a constant favorite of America's Test Kitchens. I have the Chef's knife, Slicing knife, and Pairing set and I really like them. Great prices for great knives. I'll probably eventually get the Steak Knife set and Wavy Bread knife. I posted links to Amazon so you could look at the reviews.

I bought my Joy of Cooking as a poor college student. It is now 26 years old, and it will be handy to the kitchen for the rest of our days. Terrific book.

Alton Brown's your man, via TV, the web and the first book, especially. I'm Just Here For The Food is a better teaching book than Joy, though nothing beats Joy's comprehensiveness.

And, IMHO, Julia Child is the woman, though I'd recommend her The Way To Cook as the one book to get, if you have to pick one. We actually carry it with us when we travel for Thanksgiving. I was going to leave our copy at the in-laws, but my wife didn't want to part with it, even though I was going to order another one. Mrs. Child considered it her magnum opus, and she designed it carefully to teach someone how to cook.

What everyone says about 'just try it' and 'tweak your recipes' is true. Practice is where it's at, but informed practice will get you where you want to go much more quickly.

Happy cooking and Bon Appetit!

They have miracle fruit tablets which can be pretty fun, I got these:
http://www.amazon.com/mberry-MFT10-Miracle-Fruit-Tablets/dp/B001LXYA5Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1368219049&sr=8-3&keywords=miracle+fruit

and they're pretty fun.

If you're just starting out, How to Boil Water may be a good read. I've recommended it to a lot of college age friends trying to expand beyond easy mac and they've said that a lot of the recipes have been great

Good food is mostly a function of good ingredients and as little prep as necessary.

Slow cookers and toaster ovens are your friend.

Beans are easy and cheap.

Rice is easier in a rice cooker.

Ground meat can be purchased in bulk, frozen in 1/3 or 1/2 lb increments and used as needed. I lived off of ground turkey bought in 10lb job lots clear through my junior year.

Spinach is cheap and good for you. Buy a bag of it and eat it raw and it will last forever. Buy a bag and wilt it on the stove and it will last one meal (but it'll be worth it).

Whole chickens are massively cheaper than chicken pieces, particularly boneless ones. A chicken can be baked in about an hour. Eat enough of it to be full, then pick the bones clean. Put them in a pot with a carrot (ideally one of the carrots you forgot about that is now all wilty) and maybe an onion and add water to the top. Simmer on low overnight to turn into broth. Freeze or not. Use to make rice, soup, whatever.

It might be a good idea to go to Ikea and buy their super-shite kitchen set of knives and pots'n'shit. They will suck but as you learn what you like, you can treat yourself by replacing things that you hate. A decent set of knives is empowering, as is a decent set of pots.

Most cookbooks are pure vanity and food porn. A decent cookbook hasn't been written in a long time. That said, the BHG is probably my favorite amongst the staples (and I collect cookbooks - I've got a 1st edition "Gentle Art of Cookery" from 1910 and the full-bore 1951 3 volume Gourmet). The one you really want if you're feeling overwhelmed, however, is Eduard de Pomaine's slim 1930 volume French Cooking in Ten Minutes. It, more than any other book, will teach you that a "recipe" is nothing more than a loose set of instructions on combining things that you should probably already have.

Food that has been warmed to room temperature sticks less in the pan.

Olive oil smokes when heated too high.

Save your bacon grease because you can cook anything in it.

Farmer's markets are often cheaper than grocery stores, have better produce, and are a cute place to bring girls.

Clip coupons.

One of my uncle's friends survived his undergrad by visiting the feed store and sampling from every bin. He found Reindeer chow (mostly honey-rolled oats) for $0.05 a pound and lived off of it for four years.

Ramen is really fucking bad for you.

Frozen pizzas are really fucking bad for you.

Pizza rolls are a bad bargain for the amount of food you get.

If you can find frozen burritos 10/$3, buy them. Otherwise, don't.

Eggs keep for damn near forever. Just remember to refrigerate them.

"Well-done" is anything but.

Kitchen experiments are only a failure if you render them inedible. Experiment when cooking for yourself so that when you're cooking for others it's a known quantity.

Amazing amounts of vodka can be hidden in vanilla milkshakes. Not that I'm suggesting that they be given to freshman girls. At the very least, not without telling them that there's "a little" vodka in them.

Don't buy a bunch of fancy dishes just because that girl is coming over to have dinner and study. She won't care and then you'll be stuck with a bunch of tacky Target stemware that will haunt you for years.

Yes, it will fuck with your brownies when your roommate passive-aggressively cooks a frozen pizza in the same oven you're using.

If your roommates are eating your food, make it abundantly clear that they're buying ingredients.

/r/frugal.

/r/cooking.

allrecipes dusts the fuck out of epicurious.

• • *
    
    Now go get in trouble.

You can get a spaetzle maker for cheap at a lot of ethnic stores (my mom got one in Chinatown of all places). And its pretty damn easy to make: recipe I use a lot.

If you don't want to buy the spaetzle maker, you can also use a good a metal colander over a pot of water. The recipe I linked to above also has a "How to Make Spaetzle" demo video.

It's very delicious and very cheap/easy to make. The only downside is waiting about 20-30mins after mixing the ingredients before you cook. Good luck!

If you're interested there's a pretty awesome chapter about bread in The Man Who Ate Everything which is an awesome book to read about food in general.

Thank you so much for all the info! So maybe something like these Zhen knives or this Tojiro knife?

Stupid question: I recall someone telling me once that high quality knives are not dishwasher safe. Is this true? If I buy these for her, we'll be hand washing them, correct?

For the wet stone: how much does the manufacturer matter? I was able to find this one and it seems well reviewed. :)

Thank you again for all the help!

I learned using The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. I found it useful in several ways. It has a great section on what materials and tools you'll need and will use, what the quality of your ingredients will need to be in order for the end product to be a certain way and so forth. Also, each recipe has great instructions, and a bit of the history of the recipe. Overall, a great book for the beginning Artisan Bread Baker.

I've also heard that Rose Beranbaum's The Bread Bible is a great resource, but haven't had time to look into it myself.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I may go with this knife as it's got some pretty great reviews and a decent price.

yes, how true, but Joy is like the annotated reference manual for every other cookbook. Personally, the most influential cookbook for me has been the classic French Cooking in Ten Minutes for its attitude and severe lack of detail.

Add 1 Tbs vital wheat gluten per cup of flour, esp. if you are using whole wheat. Let the dough rise longer. Check your oven temperature with a thermometer. Bread needs high temperatures because it's primarily the steam which expands the dough, explaining why bread expands so rapidly in the oven but so slowly on the counter.

If you really want to learn bread, The Bread Bible is a great read.

http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Bible-Rose-Levy-Beranbaum/dp/0393057941

OP's book/media suggestions, formatted with links:

• People start with Ruhlman's Charcuterie, but quickly learn it's heavy on salt.
  
• For some slightly more esoteric recipes, check out In the Charcuterie by Taylor Boetticher and Levonia Miller. I absolutely "butchered" those names, btw.
  
• Also, get a book called Pig Perfect by Peter Kaminski... Not a lot of recipes, but it will enamor you with all things pig.
  
• Show... There's a series on BBC called <Time Period> Farm]... Edwardian, Victorian, Jacobean, etc... Where a group of historians run a farm for a year by the standards of the time period. It's cool and they do some pig stuff.

I got The Joy of Cooking for Christmas. I have only used it a couple times, but it is incredibly comprehensive. It is divided into sections like "Meat," "Fish," "Desserts," etc., and gives careful instructions on every cooking technique, kind of food, and anything else you would want to know about every recipe in there. It is almost too big though - very overwhelming. I have had nothing but success with it so far.

Some crumpled bacon is also wonderful in spaetzle ;) I got a special tool just for making it http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-3128-Spaetzle-Maker/dp/B00004UE89 I also find that browning the spaetzle a tad in a skillet after boiling it makes it even tastier.

I used the recipe out of Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman & Brian Polcyn. I let it cure for a few days longer than the recipe due to an unexpectedly busy weekend. The end result was too salty but as per the recipe it's fixable by blanching slices right before you fry them and it worked like a charm.

Sir please sit down and let go of my hand, I'm here to help. That's a Thermapen by Thermoworks, it's one of the world's fastest and most reliable digital thermometers, but it comes at a price. - a cheaper option is the Thermopop, and an even cheaper option is the Lavatools Javelin - I haven't tried it myself, but the reviews on Amazon are stellar.

check these out. They work great, but are a bit tough to clean.

Bonus: Rosemary bacon gugelhupf and home cured bacon.

Hash, Eggs, and gugelhupf recipes taken from Das Cookbook and the bacon from Charcuterie.

For me it was French Cooking in Ten Minutes. Before it, I was fumbling through recipes. It is so brief, lacking detail and had such attitude that it gave me the confidence to just try.

I've heard really good things about Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

For bread, I use the ratio (or a fraction thereof) from this book:
> 6 cups water

> 3 tablespoons yeast

> 3 tablespoons salt

> 13 cups flour

It just so happens that a regular sized bag of flour is just about 13 cups, plus enough for a healthy gluten cloak.

The term for the rest in the fridge is usually called "retarding" because the low temperature is slowing down the action of the yeast.

It's a great, and popular way to do home breads. The book Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day is based on this technique (disclaimer - I do this alot but I don't own the book and I don't like some of the terms the authors use like "sourdough-like qualities" which I think is deceiving the reader, but that's just me).

More detailed instructions are found in The Bread Bible.

Go buy it now! Bread is more than just a recipe - it's learning solid techniques.

They sell them on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/mberry-Miracle-Fruit-Tablets-10-Count/dp/B001LXYA5Q

non mobile amazon link

Would echo others' concerns on getting a knife set. You usually only need 1-3 knives. I'd start with a good 8-10" chefs knife, paring knife, and bread knife. The Victorinox ones are good, but the blade can dull quickly. For around the same price I recommend the Torijo DP knives. They're made from very hard VG-10 steel and will hold an edge much longer.

It's so easy, made some a few days ago. I use a spaetzle maker.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00095VK7S?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01

hard boiled egg molds

Referring to this book.

Recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum's book, "The Bread Bible".

I don't like single-use kitchen tools, but I've used my mom's spaetzle grater and it's so worth it!