A Culinary Survival Guide for Grads
Graduating with all A's except F's in cooking? Learn to cook with ten basic recipes
Congratulations, graduates! It's time to get out there and put your mark on the world. The only problem? When school ended, so did your meal plan, and as much as you thought you could live on take-out Chinese and frozen pizza, even that's getting tired. In other words, it's time you learned to cook. But where do you begin? Back in the day, students took home economics in high school and learned how to roast and bake. Today, despite all the attention bestowed on food, many people, young and old, can barely boil water.
Before you go into starvation mode or your food budget goes sky-high, we're here to help. The first step is to learn some very basic techniques (think roasting, sautéing, marinating) that allow you to follow myriad recipes and prepare an almost infinite number of meals. We've gathered a collection of ten very basic recipes-and each is geared to help you learn a different skill. We also have tips for kitchen beginners. For more guidance, watch our technique videos, which cover topics such as knife skills, peeling and deveining shrimp, and making vinaigrette, and check out ourEssential Equipment Guide for Beginning Cooks. And, for graduation party recipes, drinks, and entertaining ideas, as well as gifts for high school and college grads, check out our complete graduation guide.
Kitchen Tips:
Freeze for Later
Save time and money by making double batches of recipes and freezing a portion. Even better, freeze individual servings. Leftovers can be heated up for a last-minute dinner or taken to work as a healthier, cheaper alternative to the take-out near your office. This works particularly well for soups, sauces, and casseroles.
Serve One or Serve More
Roast chicken is a great basic that can feed one person for several days (use leftovers to make sandwiches, salads, even chicken pot pie) or be the centerpiece of a dinner party menu. Plus, once you master roasting, it's a flexible dish. Experiment with different herbs and vegetables, and if you don't have the equipment this recipe calls for-a shallow roasting pan-feel free to use a glass casserole dish or a Dutch oven.
Add a Salad
Salads can round out almost any meal and are a great way to incorporate more vegetables into your diet. To add variety, experiment with different seasonal greens and vegetables or a sprinkling of nuts or cheese. Turn your salad into a light meal by adding filling ingredients, such as grilled chicken or poached salmon.
Make It Your Own
Like salads, stir-fries are completely customizable. Don't like sugar snap peas? Use slices of red bell pepper instead. If you have lots of carrots in the fridge, toss those in too.
Serve Breakfast for Dinner
More than just a healthy breakfast, an omelet makes a quick, no-fuss dinner, especially when paired with a simple green salad. Plus, omelets are a great way to use up leftover veggies, cheese, and herbs.
Don't Forget Dessert
Brownies are easy to make and are always a crowd-pleaser. For an elegant dinner-party dessert, just add your favorite ice cream and, if you're feeling decadent, some hot fudge. If you don't own a 13- x 9- x 2-inch metal baking pan, you can buy a disposable aluminum version at most supermarkets.
Recipes for Beginners
By Lauren Salkeld
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