Fresh tomatoes, basil, and chopped garlic for Bruschetta

First things first.  Before we can even talk about making anything, we need to make sure you have the spices you’re going to need to get started.  There are 2 spices that span almost all cuisines: They are Salt and Pepper, and they are non-negotiable.  Now, I’m generally not a stickler for fresh herbs–though they are generally tastier, the dry stuff works just fine when you don’t have the time or resources for fresh.  BUT, I make exception when it comes to pepper.  Pepper is most flavorful when it is freshly ground, and there is simply no excuse to not use it that way, since it is very affordable to buy both a pepper mill and whole peppercorns.  The reason for this is because the flavor is derived from the oil that is released when you grind the peppercorn.  Do it too soon (like at the factory before shipping it ground to stores) and you lose most of the delicate flavor.  Trust me, using freshly ground peppercorns is a simple thing you can do to improve the flavor of any dish you use pepper on.  Plus, it’s super classy to have a peppermill on hand.

As far as salt goes, there are many kinds out there, and some dishes call for different types of salt.  The one you’re going to use most often, however, is regular granulated table salt.  Buy a shaker, and then buy yourself a big old cylinder of the stuff to refill your shaker with when it gets low.  Sea salts and other unrefined salts are great for freshly grinding on foods you are about to eat, but I generally find them hard to differentiate from table salt when dissolved in food that is cooking–and they are generally much more expensive.  I’ll let you know when to include sea salts in meals where they will make a big difference.

For the first week of cooking, we’re going to start with basic Italian.  Classic Italian is the most flexible, straightforward cuisine to start with in my opinion.  Ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic, onions, and al dente Pasta are the things I think of first when I hear “Italian Cuisine.”   Most of us are familiar with the flavors of “classic” Italian (which helps when tasting your food as you go to ensure the flavor is sound.)  Also, it’s total comfort food.  What better to get you started in a new endeavor than comfort?

Of course Italian cuisine is much more than what we typically think of.  Like most foods, people develop stereotypes for entire cuisines based largely just on what they have experienced of them.  In America, we love our pasta and our pizzas and our mozzarella cheese (no one loves these things more than me!)  If this is the only Italian you’ve ever experienced, you might be surprised to learn that Italian cuisine is also well known for being rich with cured meats, breads, cheeses, olives, and coffee.  We’ll get to those, because they are truly delicious and incredibly impressive to serve.  But to begin, let’s stick with what we’re all familiar with–the stereotypical Italian, if you will.  Our key ingredients this first week will be tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil, pasta, and baguette.

There are 3 herbs that you simply can’t do without when it comes to basic Italian.  They are Basil, Oregano, and Parsley.  Other herbs that are key in a lot of Italian cooking are Thyme, Rosemary, Sage, and Bay leaves–I actually use the last four most often in what I’d consider French Cuisine, but either way they are definitely essentials in my kitchen.  This actually brings up an important point–many herbs cross genres of cooking, and it you think about it, this makes a great deal of sense.  Most spices we associate with particular cuisines today found their roots in the broad “Mediterranean region”, which encompasses France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Morocco, and many many others, each of which having their own distinct flavors in cooking.  Interestingly, basil (a quintessential Italian flavor) is said to have originated in India, and is one of the most versatile, widely used spices in the world.  Garlic, another essential Italian spice, is said to have originated in Siberia, go figure!

Back to herbs–I always have in my kitchen each of the aforementioned herbs on hand in their dry form (including garlic), and use fresh when I have occasion to buy fresh (with the exception of garlic, which I ALWAYS have on hand in the fresh version.)  Farmers markets are great for buying fresh herbs, and the one I frequent in Culver City has a vendor that sells bunches of all sorts of herbs for a buck each.  You’ll pay a lot more than this if you buy these things fresh in the store.

People say that fresh is always better when it comes to herbs, and I tend to agree though I definitely don’t always cook with fresh.  As I mentioned before, I always have dry herbs on hand.  They can be very useful, and for most of us, more practical for use in every day cooking.  The exception for me is parsley, which I think is kind of flavorless in dry form, but very cheap and flavorful when fresh.  Regardless, these are dry spices will you want to have on hand.  You’ll learn as you go along to do things your own way, but sticking with how I do things will help  you get your footing in the beginning.  Start off buying dry, except when otherwise mentioned.

So to reiterate, the dry spices you’ll need to invest in this week are:
salt (get a big thing of Morton’s or store brand, and a refillable shaker)
peppercorns (in the spice isle of your local grocery store)
a pepper mill (wooden is my favorite, but any will do.  You can find these in the kitchen section of any department store, or in the throw away variety at your local store.  Buy the pepper mill, it’s better for the earth and it’s definitely better form.)
Dry Oregano
Dry Basil
Dry Parsley
Dry Bay leaves (whole)

Optional items to purchase that I definitely recommend:
Garlic Powder

If you want to go ahead and purchase dry Thyme and Rosemary, you can do that.  We won’t use them this week, but we will in the near future.  If you prefer to just buy things as you’ll need them, just buy the spices mentioned above.  Remember, spices can be a little expensive, but they’ll last you for a while, so think of this week as an investment shopping week.  So you know, I buy the store brand spices, they’re exactly the same as pricier name brand labels.  Just read the ingredients on the back and make sure it just says the name of the herb you’re after and doesn’t list other crap, because fillers are not our friend!

Next up, I’ll give you the shopping list you’ll need to make the first week of dishes, and we’ll get cooking.  Stay tuned…

There are a few things besides ingredients that you’ll need to start cooking.  Here is their order of importance–the top 3, which are equally important, are Knives, Pots, and pans.  Makes sense, no?  I’ve added links to photos of said items, in case there is any confusion about what you are looking to buy.  You should be able to get all of these things at any department store with a cooking section, though if you really want the best for the least, check out a kitchen supply store–if you live in the LA area, check out Surfas in Culver City for pots and pans, you’ll thank me later.  To be honest with you, if you can find a good deal on a pots and pans set that includes different multiple sizes in non-stick, buy it.  A set tends to be expensive, but really convenient.  If you’re like most people, you’ll probably just buy things separately, so here are the VERY BASICS (more to come later, but most things can be made with these tools):

-1 pot (should be able to hold at least 1/2 gallon of water.  For soups, you’ll need a more substantial pot, one that holds at least 3 gallons.  Get the smaller one first, you’ll use it far more often–make sure to get a lid that fits snuggly, if one doesn’t already come with it!)

http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/5016140/192808_Full.jpg

For a soup pot (again, remember that lid!):

http://saraqualey.com/images/08%20Home/soup-pot-330.jpg

-1 sauté pan (should ideally be non-stick, or you’ll likely burn a lot of food.  This is worth the investment if you don’t have this.  Note: this pan should NEVER EVER EVER come into contact with a metal spatula, because metal scrapes the non-stick magic, which apparently gives you cancer if you eat it.  Use plastic or wood utensils with non-stick pans.  Don’t be a hero, start with non-stick.)

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-1/qid=1244513317/ref=sr_1_1/177-9358702-9668731?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=0&asin=B001CCUIM0&rh=k%3Anon%20stick%20saute%20pan&page=1

-1 plastic spatula (the pancake flipping kind, not the softer, get-cake-batter-out-of-the-bowl kind, though that is a good thing to have as well.  In the pictures below, it’s the second one from the left, light blue.  Try to get one that is slightly prettier than this one, since you’ll be looking at it a lot.)

http://blogs.democratandchronicle.com/food/files/2009/03/other_spatulas1.jpg

-1 wooden spoon (I have both a flat spoon, as well as the more traditional rounded spoons.  If you’re only going to buy one, buy the flatter one, because you can use it for just about everything, including stirring pasta/soups, which is pretty much all I use the rounder spoons for.  When we get to sushi (that’s right, we’re going to learn to make sushi!) you will definitely need the flat spoon.)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41DgODVs2CL._SL500_AA280_.jpg

-This spoon is useless, but hilarious.  Look at the picture, and do not buy it unless it is for a joke.  It will not service, ehem, I mean serve you in the kitchen.

http://www.kitchencritic.co.uk/upload/2009/01/wooden-heart-spoon.jpg

-Knives.  Now, if you’re truly in earnest about learning to cook, I recommend buying a quality knife.  I personally own 1 Wusthof chef knife, and one Wusthof pairing knife.  These are among the best you can buy, but so long as you purchase forged high carbon stainless steal, you’re good.  Another key way to know the knife you’re looking at is quality is to assess the handle–if the blade runs straight through the handle, that’s a good sign.  There is a lot to consider when you’re looking at throwing down $100+ for a knife, so this is something I recommend you research on your own before investing in.  Here is what I own:

http://www.discountcooking.com/shop/images/PAAAIAODJFKHKFOP.jpg

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/wsimgs/rk/images/p2/products/200920/0001/img73m.jpg

Pasta colander.  I recommend buying a mesh colander, because it is versatile.  When we do sushi, you’ll need a colander with small enough holes that sushi rice will not escape.  Here’s an example, though my colander is not quite this tight of a mesh–in fact, mine isn’t mesh at all, it just has really small holes:

http://www.homebrewunderground.com/images/colander.jpg

I’ll replace the links with photos of the stuff I actually own as soon as I can.  These links are random, please let me know if they fail to open for you.

Once you have your tools, you’re ready to start investing in spices.  Like I said before, we’ll start this process off slowly.  For the first week, we’ll start with Italian, because it utilizes a lot of flavors that are bold and hard to mess up!  Also, the spices are reasonably priced, and after all of the investing you’ve likely been doing just to get started, you could probably use a break!  Stay tuned…

Wish I knew who to credit for this “Diary of a Novice Cook”, formerly titled “Blonde Cookbook”. (I changed the title so as not to slander anyone based on their natural or preferred hair colour, and to protect the innocent!!)

I received this joke via email, of course. Wouldn’t you love to know how many jokes are circulating at any one time?

If you haven’t read or heard this one yet, enjoy!

Diary of a Novice Cook

Good Night Dear Diary:
This has been a very exciting week. I am eager for tomorrow to come so I can try out a new recipe on Bob. If we could just get a bigger oven, I’d like to surprise him with Chocolate Moose.