5. Things that have helped me be more interested in cooking and be a good cook:
Buy "On Food and Cooking" by Harold McGee.
Listen to Cooking Issues podcast by Dave Arnold (check out blog too)
Watch any cooking show with Julia Child and/or Jacques Pepin, get some of his books to learn techniques. Her books are amazing too.
Buy a few standard cookbooks. I love Joy Of Cooking because it's practically a canonical reference to make anything, and there's lots of info on technique. There are a few Culinary school books that are really good too (the ICC book "Fundamental Techniques of Classical Cooking" and the CIA "The Professional Chef" are good).
Practice, Practice, Practice. Make certain dishes because you want to get good at a technique or skill.
On general recipes: Don't make too many dishes because they were on a blog, sound good, or use a trendy ingredient (beer, bourbon, kale, bacon). Often they are overly complicated and they aren't very diverse. Don't underestimate how delicious basic dishes can be. Don't underestimate how many techniques and skills from classical french cuisine apply to cultures everywhere, and importantly, the ingredients are almost always available. Shy away from dishes with hard-to-source (mostly perishable) ingredients (I'm looking at you, Jerusalem/Ottolenghi).
Buy "On Food and Cooking" by Harold McGee.
Listen to Cooking Issues podcast by Dave Arnold (check out blog too)
Watch any cooking show with Julia Child and/or Jacques Pepin, get some of his books to learn techniques. Her books are amazing too.
Buy a few standard cookbooks. I love Joy Of Cooking because it's practically a canonical reference to make anything, and there's lots of info on technique. There are a few Culinary school books that are really good too (the ICC book "Fundamental Techniques of Classical Cooking" and the CIA "The Professional Chef" are good).
Practice, Practice, Practice. Make certain dishes because you want to get good at a technique or skill.
On general recipes: Don't make too many dishes because they were on a blog, sound good, or use a trendy ingredient (beer, bourbon, kale, bacon). Often they are overly complicated and they aren't very diverse. Don't underestimate how delicious basic dishes can be. Don't underestimate how many techniques and skills from classical french cuisine apply to cultures everywhere, and importantly, the ingredients are almost always available. Shy away from dishes with hard-to-source (mostly perishable) ingredients (I'm looking at you, Jerusalem/Ottolenghi).