First off I suggest you buy a few books. Not a dozen or so, but a few that may help you. Anthony Bourdain has a great book called Kitchen Confidential. This book is all about how he came to love food and what it is like to work in a professional kitchen. I suggest this book for two reasons. One, you will get a great view of what it is like to work in places like I have. Second, there is a chapter called "How to Cook Like the Pros." Now alot of what I will say is reflected in this chapter, but I will also throw in some other pointers.
Next is a book have reviewed called The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer, Marion Becker, and Ethan Becker. This will be a source of nice recipes, helpful advice, and information on certain dishes, herbs, and supplies. I suggest no cook go without it. Same with the Food Lovers Companion by Sharon Herbst. This book will explain every little cook term you may need to know.
Other than the books I mentioned I suggest you read anything you can on cooking, but try and stay away from the over exposed, overly talked about chefs like Emeril, Bobby Flay, and Rachel Ray. Look for the old school chefs, the people who may have shows but you do not hear that much about. If they have a show were they cook for people every single day, please do not look at them as food Gods, most cooks don't.
Now on to the stuff to help you cook like a pro in your own kitchen. First you need your tools. I will start you out with knives. A good knife will make or break you. Stay away from most of the knives you can get from say Walmart. Most rust quickly and will not stand up to punishment. Pros use brands like Wusthof, JB Heinkel, and Global. These knives will stand up to punishment, they will hold an edge, and I have yet to see one rust. Now the above knives are good, but can get expensive. Some Magazines will offer deals on sets, but keep in mind they are the cheaper versions of the knives. Look for knives that have this on the blade, x50CrMo15. That is the formula of the steel used for the blade. Every knife I have used with that formula have never rusted, hold their edge, and are great knives. Several knife companies use that formula and will be easy to find. Check places like Macy's, local restaurant supply stores, and check the net. You will find some nice knife, but spending a little more than you would for a lower priced knife will pay off. Oh and please make sure the knife is not serrated. You need an actual edge, not teeth. Teeth tear-up the food. An edge will cut and slice and not tear.
Along with the kind of knife metal you only need a few knives. You do not need a huge block of different kinds of knives. Stick with the Chef's or Cooks Knife, the Paring knife, the Boning knife, and the Fillet knife. You do not need a utility knife or tomato knife or a cheese knife or a slicing knife or bread knife. The four I mentioned will do anything and everything you need to do with them.
Other Appliances you will need is a good food processor, a good stand mixer, a nice wood or cook safe plastic cutting board, a nice wire wisk, a set of wooden and metal cooking spoons, a pair of tongs, and a nice set of pans.
With the pans you must remember what Bourdain says in his book, "If you wonder which will give first, a persons head or the pan, put it down." You need a pan that if you hit someone with it you could crack their skull. This is because a thick, sturdy sautee pan will hold its heat and will not warp or bend. If you get non-stick, remember not to use a wire cleaning pad when cleaning, and never use metal utensils with it, always wood. You scratch that non-stick coating and everything will stick to it.
Bourdain goes into using things like metal rings to help stack food and plastic squeeze bottles to lay oils and stuff around the outside of your plate. You can do that if you like, but here is all you need to do to make your plating look nice.
First have a nice looking plate. No need for flashy designs or shapes. A nice round, white plate will do. Make sure though that the plate has a center ring where the food goes and a wide ring around the outside.
The above plate is exactly what I am talking about. Now when you plate your food do the following. If you are serving say, a NY Strip with mashed potatoes and mixed veggies, lay the veggies and potatoes right in the center, side by side, and lay the steak right ontop running right down the middle of them. Do not flatten out the veggies and potatoes, but make sure they are stacked up, have some height to them. That way the food looks tall and more appetizing. To make it look even better, taken some fresh parsley, chop it fine as you can without the stems, and sprinkle it not just over the food, but around the ring. For some extra color use another colored spice like Paprika, maybe ground mustard, or some neutral flavored but differing color, but only sprinkle around the edge of the plate. You can even take some fresh basil leaves or tarragon or mint or edible flowers, and stick them into the mash potatoes right next to the steak and there you have it, pro looking food.
Also when it comes to using ingredients for your recipes, use fresh things. No bottled spices, buy fresh and cut them yourself. With Garlic, never use a garlic press, cut the ends off the gloves, remove the dry outer leaves and such, and dice with your knife. Use real butter, not margarine. Trust me, I can taste the difference. Oh and if something calls for chicken or beef stock, please make it using bones and veggies and not bases or cubes. A nice stock made from the roasted leftover bones simmered together with mirepoix (aka onions, celery, and carrots), some mushrooms, a few bay leaves, and about half a dozen whole peppercorns will taste a whole lot better than a liquid made of water and powdered beef cubes.
These are just some tips from me to you. Everyone has their opinions. I just hope mine help.
