More things one should know about cooking aka how to cook like a pro part 2.

So I have been wondering lately, what should everyone need to know in order to know how to cook or at least to get by in life. About this time I read a chapter in Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain called Virtue. This entire chapter is about this subject of what everyone should know in order to cook or be good at cooking for one's self or a few friends. I read the chapter and then asked my peers if this is true and all agreed. So I will provide the list as Chef Bourdain listed it, but I will explain it in my own way. I will also add a few things I myself think everyone should know about cooking.

First, everyone should know how to use a knife. Not just for chopping onions, but one should know how to dice, chop, and at least julienne. Do not worry about tourneeing or any of the other ways to cut like Paysanne, fermiere, or Lozenge. There is one called Rondelle, but this just means to cut rounds, which is easy of the food is already round. Most recipes call for diced, chopped, or julienne vegies, fruits, meat, and herbs. Mincing is just a smaller chop so know that as well. When it comes to dicing there is small, medium, and larger. If you want really small there is Brunoise and fine brunoise. Same with Julienne. You have fine julienne, julienne, or batonnet which is a larger julienne.

Knife skills also go into knowing how to care for your knife, how to sharpen it, how to clean it, how to store it. They tell infantry soldiers that their gun is now part of them, without it they are nothing. This is same with a cook and their knife. You had better care for your knife like it is a brand new child, even a extension of your own arm. You would never let your child be filthy 24/7 so why your knife? You want your child to be smarter than you, sharp as a knife they say. You would never drop your child, throw your child, hit your child, so why drop a knife, throw a knife, or smack its fine edge of a cutting board corner or a table? Nothing angers a real cook more than seeing a stupid amateur taking their knife and chopping away at wood or a cutting board in anger or boredom. It also angers them if they see you cutting on a metal or glass surface. Cut only on a wood or plastic cutting board. No marble, no steel, they surface must be a weaker material than the steel of your knife or it will chip it.

Next thing a person needs to know is how to make an omelet. This sounds funny but it is true. If you can make an omelet you can do just about anything with a pan. Eggs burn and stick easy to a pan. Learn to control them and learn how to control a pan. Not to mention an omelet is one of the basic breakfast staples. As Bourdain says, "I have long believed that it is only right and appropriate that before one sleeps with someone, one should be able-if called upon to do so-to make them a proper omelet in the morning." This means that if you can cook a person a omelet they will love you, they will see you in a new light, and chances are if you are single, they may come back for another date or another night with you. They say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, but if a guy can cook for a woman, chances are you will keep her around longer. I know my wife loves it when I cook for her.

Next a person should know how to roast a chicken. If you can roast a chicken you can roast a pot roast. I will add to this that you should be able to do prime rib or a crown roast as well. They are easy and will impress people. Only difference before a chicken and a prime rib is getting the temperature of doneness right. Chicken must be cook well done, at least 170F. Prime rib, roast, and a crown roast, depend on what you like. You can cook them rare to well, but I suggest rare to medium. Well done meat is like shoe leather. You will get more flavor eating your shoe than a well done steak. You should also try and learn how to cook the meat to the right doneness without the use of a thermometer. This takes practice, but it can be done.

Next you should be able to grill a steak or even a burger or a chop. If you master this, you can grill just about any cut of meat. I will say when it comes to grilling, do not play with the food, let it cook. If you are constantly picking it up to see if it is getting grill marks, it will not look good and will take longer to get done. Let it sit in a place of moderate heat, turn the meat only 3 times after you place it on the grill. For diamond marks, turn the meat a quarter turn from what you have it at. Once you get the diamonds on one side, flip over and let cook, turn it again after a a few minutes to get the diamond marks. For a rare steak, only wait a few minutes before each movement of the steak. Increase the time for a more well done steak. Also let the steak rest at least five minutes off the grill before eating. This lets all the blood rush back in and it will look much better, and taste much better. This is also true with roasts and prime rib too. let it rest before you cut into it.

One should know how to cook vegetables. No one likes veggies that are overcooked and look like they are almost mush. Same with being undercooked and crisp. A veggie should have a little crisp to it, but should be pleasing to the mouth. Al dente they say, to the teeth, just like pasta. Though some people like raw veggies or even the almost mash, that is their own worry and can do as they please, but the best are done Al dente.

Next a person should know how to make an easy vinaigrette. Ranch and such dressings are good if you want the same old, same old, but if you can master a raspberry or even a red wine vinaigrette, you will experience new flavors and open up people's minds to new things to put on their salads. French dressing will only go so far. Plus a vinaigrette is healthier.

You should know how to shop for produce and know what is in season. Best bet is if it is winter, watermelon is not in season. Same if it is spring and you want a fresh pumpkin or pecans. You need to know what produce is bad and what is fresh. A green banana is not ripe, but give it a day or two at home and it will be. If the head lettuce has started to get a brown tinge to it, best bet it is not fresh.

One should know how to tell if a fish is fresh or not and how to prepare it. if it smells of ammonia, it is bad. Bets bet if you live in the midwest, everything at the store is already days old. If you live on the coasts and can get to a fish market, get there early. The freshest fish are those right there first thing. You should know how to cook and cut the fish as well. Whole fish is good, but if you can cut a nice filet from the fish, it shows that you know what you are doing to those who eat it.

Steaming shellfish and lobsters is a must know. A lobster is only red after it is cooked. With clams and mussels, if you steam them, the ones that open are done and good. The ones who stay closed are bad and need to be thrown away. Want to get sick, eat bad seafood.

Roasting and mashing potatoes is a must as well as cooking rice. In order to get a nice roasted potato, boil it first. Use red potatoes or fingerlings and do not peel. Cut them into equal sizes and throw them in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Boil until they start to get soft but not to the point of falling apart. Then you can roast them in an oven. Mash potatoes us the same process, but throw potatoes in a hot pan when soft, mash, add cream and seasonings, and cook until they right consistence. Rice is a little tricker, but not hard. For boiling rice it is 2 cups water to 1 cup rice. Let water be absorbed and cook until the rice is al dente not crisp or crunchy or mush.

Learn to braise meats. Braising softens tough meat and is a must if you want to make beef bourguignon. If you are having lamb shanks or osso bucco, braising is a must as well.

Last on Bourdain's list is to know what to do with bones aka making stock and soups. Stock is simple and it is the building block of soups and a cooking. Roast your bones, roast your mirepoix, deglaze with a little wine, toss into a stockpot, add water, and reduce. If you want a veggie stock, just roast a bunch of non-starchy veggies with your mirepoix, deglaze, add to pot with water, and reduce. No need to reduce to a few tablespoons, but reducing by half would be great. Never boil stock, let it simmer. Never stir stock when it is simmering or it will be cloudy. Add a bay leaf, some thyme, a few peppercorns, a couple cloves of crushed garlic, and a little parsley to the mix for stock and it will bring out the flavors more.

Bourdain goes on to say that we should find our own paths. In essence, find a few things you can make well and keep making them till you master them. This is good advice which I have done since I even knew who Bourdain was.

Now here are my additions to the list.

One should know how to care for and wash all their equipment. This means pans, food processors, cutting boards, etc. A clean kitchen and workspace is a must.

Understand what Mise en Place is and follow it. It will cut down you working time and you will not have to search for anything because you will have everything already "in place."

Read every book on cooking you can find from amateur to professional cooks. Knowledge is power.

Do not try to be the next Bobby Flay or Mario Batalli or Gordon Ramsey. Be you. Let the pros be them and you be you.

Learn about herbs and spices and how to use them. Too much of a herb or spice will ruin a dish. Know what goes with what and how much is enough. If it covers up the natural flavor of the dish completely and all you taste is that herb or spice, it is too much.

Experiment, experiment, experiment. You will never know what you like or what you can cook unless you try to make it or eat it. So don't be afraid to eat some liver or tripe or even a dish from some country you have never been to. You may think it is bad, but how will you know until you try it?

My last piece of advice for the younger generation out there, do not laugh at home ec. classes or even the cooking classes at your VOTECH school. These classes will help you to be a better person and you will never go hungry if you know how to make at least one dish. It does not make you gay if you love to cook or even know how to, but it does make you a loser if you can not even feed or support yourself. So think about that the next to you are broke and can not afford fast food when your parents are gone for a week and all you have is what is in the pantry.

So keep cooking and keep learning. Better yourself and pass on your knowledge to the next cook.