3 Ways to Improve Your Cooking Skills

by Valorie Delp | More from this Blogger

28 Feb 2008 04:55 AM

Have you ever wanted to improve your cooking skills but weren't sure how to go about doing it? Maybe you want to work on a specific type of food, or learn how to bake. Believe it or not, there are some easy ways you can learn about cooking without spending a ton of money and without going to culinary school.

Cookbooks

It might be obvious that you can learn about cooking from cookbooks. However, what I find is that most people don't bother reading the cookbook beyond the recipe. While you certainly wouldn't read a cookbook from cover to cover and call it interesting, you can learn all sorts of cooking terms, tricks of the trade, and tips by reading the introduction of the book and the introductions to sections.

Someone was recently at my house while I was whipping up a white sauce, sans recipe of course. "How do you know how to do that? You're such a genius in the kitchen." No such genius exists I'm afraid. . .but I read the tidbits from my Fannie Famer and Joy of Cooking Cookbooks. Suffice it to say that if you don't own them-you should.

A Cooking Class

I was surprised to find that there were a variety of cooking classes in my area. If you live near a Chef Central store, they offer weekend workshops. Many party stores offer cake decorating classes. But my all time favorite of "cooking schools" is Taste of Home. If you subscribe to the magazine, you know why I love Taste of Home.

The recipes are simple, the food is great, and everything-whether it uses a few pre-packaged goodies or not-tastes like it was made from scratch. You can check it out here, and see if there is a school in your area.

A Recipe Swapping Potluck

One great way of getting a base of tried and true recipes is by hosting a recipe swap. Have friends bring a favorite dish along with the recipe. You are bound to end up with Grandma's Secret something or other and discover a few cooking secrets along the way!

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Learn more about Valorie Delp

Hello everybody! My name is Valorie and I am one busy lady! When I'm not writing or editing for families, I am busy trying to get my brood of 5 in line.

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