For Those Who Can't Boil Water: Chef to the Rescue, #1

By Christiane Counts

Not everyone is meant to be a chef. Some people don't like to cook simply because they don't know how to. Others because they feel overwhelmed in the kitchen.

That's about to end because the tips, tricks, and recipes inside can boost your confidence to produce delicious food. So relax. Let your creativity flow.

Chef Christian is here to help you prepare mouthwatering meals for you, your family, and friends.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christiane Counts
• Release date: Apr 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386898016

Book preview

DEDICATION

Dedicated to Mikie, my one true love.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To my coworkers, no one will be able to replace y’all in my heart. The love, sweat, tears, blood, anger, arguing, forgiveness, and companionship we’ve shared can never be measured.

To my customers, I’ve met some of the best people in the world, in my opinion. Most of y’all became my extended family, and it’s nice knowing someone has my back. It’s a calming that I’m not completely familiar with but would like to keep.

I was a loner when I started out on this journey, and I’ve gained a true and loving family.

To the folks of League City, I need all of you more than y’all need me. I needed to reconnect and remember why I wanted to become a chef. Thank you.

INTRODUCTION

This isn’t your typical cookbook. I’ve chosen to focus on the basics because not everyone knows how to cook these days. There are so many valid reasons for this, too. Between insanely crazy family and work schedules, home cooking seems to have fallen by the wayside. I’m a single mother who is trying to provide for my family, accomplish everything that goes along with that, achieve my dream, and hopefully get the proper eight hours of sleep. I understand the struggle is very real.

Plus, as more and more restaurants continue to build, it’s often easier to just grab a convenient bite to eat either from a drive-thru or dine-in atmosphere where someone else is responsible for outfitting the kitchen, buying ingredients, preparation, service, clean-up, and (most of all) doing the dishes.

That is why I decided to write this cookbook. I want anyone at any cooking level to be able to make a wholesome meal your family will enjoy that is also time and budget conscious.

CHAPTER 1

EQUIPMENT

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These are your essentials for your kitchen, and some are just nice to have.

Microwave: Your microwave isn’t really meant for cooking but more as assistance. When cooking it helps with meal prep like softening butter quickly. Also, it reheats already cooked food. It’s also great for defrosting when we forget to pull things out of the freezer.

Range: Your range is going to be gas, electric, or induction. Everyone has their own preference. Each one will cook differently, and you must learn how you will work. Each range will come with a manual, but the way you will truly learn will be through trial and error.

Blender: A blender, not a basic, but most defiantly a very useful instrument in the kitchen when you just need to make some sauces, pestos, and nothing less but the drinks.

Toaster: A toaster is good when you need to toast plain bread quick. You can use a toaster for really any kind of bread and several frozen products. When you make egg benedict you can use the toaster for the English muffin if you don’t want to grill them.

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Grill Pan: A grill pan is not basic, but again very nice to have. If you don’t want to go outside and grill or if it’s not a lot, you can set this on your range, and it will come out like it was on a real grill.

Frying Pan/Skillet: You need these in about four different sizes. This will be one of the most used instruments in your kitchen. Stick resistant is great for eggs and any other sensitive types of food. A cast iron skillet set is also great to use for corn bread and braising meats.

Pots: Pots are other most used pieces of equipment I would recommend five to six different sizes as well. You know your family size and how much you plan on cooking so if you just need small one or just large ones that’s fine, but you have a large family and need large I would recommend still getting one small and one medium. Trust me you will need them and that goes for if you plan on cooking small meals, I would recommend one large pan and one medium just to cover your basis.

Casserole Dishes: Casserole dishes are a great thing to have as well. Casseroles are a great, easy dinner and you can put almost anything in it. If you prefer to use a large glass pan that is fine as well, those are also versatile into any kind of baking as well.

Cake Pans: Cake pans are part of your basics if you plan on doing desserts. Everyone loves homemade desserts and a lot less expensive than buying desserts.

Baking Sheets: Baking sheets are a necessity in my book for the fact that they can be used for anything. They can be used anywhere from a leverage pan, support pan, baking, or a cooling pan.

Rolling Pin: A rolling pin is basic equipment for several reasons, usually people find easier to start off with experimenting on baking. Sweets call peoples name and it also allows you to tap into your creative side. But you can use it more on the savory side. It’s also great for flattening seasonings and herbs when necessary.

Mesh Skimmer: A mesh skimmer is great for when you’re frying. As you go through your process of frying little things of flour are left behind and eventually burning into your next batch. Skim as you go will help to prevent that.

Ladles: Ladles are great for just about anything, Sauces, soups, gravies, basically anything but pasta. There are many different sizes of ladles; I would recommend getting a few in different sizes.

Spatulas: There are a few different types of spatulas, some have holes or are slotted, and some are solid. Also, there are different kinds of flexibility, and made from different materials. Like any equipment with different styles, you should get what you are comfortable with. Also, there are the rubber spatulas that are great for mixing and glazing. I’ll cover more of that in Book 2.

Whisk: A whisk isn’t something you would think about as a necessity, but it is. It’s