More Lessons To Learn

 One solid New Yer's resolution is either improving one's cooking skills or finally learning how to cook. either won;t disappoint in the long run. The skills gleaned now will last a lifetime, meaning tasty meals and easier ways to deal with prep and cooking.

Regular contributor , chef and restauranteur Sohla El-Wahlly has written about and gives readers easy recipes to try in today's New York Times Food section. She has also teamed up with te Times to create videos on You Tube geared for novice home chefs.(they're at youtube.com@NYTCooking) Most are half and hour long and Chef El-Wahlly guides you through first selecting the best ingredients and then the different cooking methods. (there are much shorter Tikotk videos from adventurous home chefs who have tried and executed  the NY Times recipes ,Also check those out) There is already a video on eggs and the many different ways to cook them, from a simple scrambled to sunny side up. There will also be videos on crispy salmon without any stovestop platter, a rice pilaf, perfect onits' own or as a buttery side and a perfectly cooked and crisped spatchcocked chicken. There will also be recipes for  broiled broccoli even kids will love, a one skillet steak dinner and Chef El=Wahlly's mom's spaghetti dinner.

Even if you don't watch the NY TImes video, there's Chef El-Wahlly's advice to consider. As with any project start with the right tools. Buy a big cutting board. Smaller ones are perfect for cutting proteins and then easy to wip down. For all other buy the biggest one you can. This will be perfect for cutting up veggies and herbs one right after the other and leaving them into little piles. It makes for an easy , effortless  throwing everything intoa pot or skillet too. Another must is a knife you can sharpen.Chef El-Wahlly recommends steer clear of any celebrity endorsed ones. Buy yourself an inexpensive one along with a small whetstone for sharpening.Big bowls for mixing and a heavy skillets are also musts. Another iteme very kitchen should have is a sheet pan. This should not just be forroasting veggies an meats.. Use this as an all purpose cookie sheet and to dry brine meats in the fridge. There is also advice on tasting the food you cook along the way to make sure it tastes OK, swapping in one ingredient for another and learn how to read a recipe. Another bit of advice be kind to yourself. Mistakes will happen . Let them.

Watch the videos to learn how to cook. You'll definitely pick up tips and tricks for making a better meal. Cooking is not hard. It's easy if you know what you're doing.