The Cooking Manual: Demystifying the Cooking Process and over 80+ Great Recipes

By Mark Peters

The Cooking Manual: Demystifying the Cooking Process and over 80+ Great Recipes has everything you need to know about cooking indoors and outdoors. As an entrepreneur, I have traveled and eaten/dined all over the world, and I have been cooking and creating my own recipes for over forty years.
I cover all the kitchen accessories—types of knives, mixers, processors, and many other useful gadgets—and how to use them, also outdoor grills, smokers, and pizza ovens. This book also contains wine tables and information on basic herbs and spices, how they are best used, and the different cuts of meats (from cow, pig, lamb, and poultry), including a section on cooking terms. I have also included pictures; I dislike cookbooks that don’t show you what the food should look like.
In my book, I have also included eighty-plus of my recipes that I created for friends and family from scratch, using fresh ingredients. In the recipes I basically create meals with drink pairings as well. So enjoy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9798886854275

Book preview

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The Cooking Manual

Demystifying the Cooking Process and over 80+ Great Recipes

Mark Peters

ISBN 979-8-88685-426-8 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88685-427-5 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Mark Peters

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Rubs and Sauces

Mark's Multipurpose 13-Spice Rub

12-Spice Poultry Rub

10-Spice Fish/Seafood Rub

Main Course

No Tomato Chicken Lasagna

Psalm 23 (Shepherd's Pie) Recipe

Sweet and Savory (Not Too Sloppy) Joes

Italian Shepherd's Pie

2-Way Spaghetti and Meatballs

Mom's Kagootz

Lasagna the Tomato Way

Our Favorite Fish Tacos

6-Minute Iron Skillet Ahi Tuna Steaks

Fresh Tomato Spanish Rice

Lamb Sirloin Irish Stew

Italian-American Pork Chops

Mashed Potatoes

Bourbon Meat Loaf

Twisted Stroganoff

Schnitzel (Baked, Lower Fat)

Glazed Smoked Pork Chops

Beer-Braised Country Pork Ribs

Stuffed Sweet Long Peppers

Zucchini Boats

Hot Smoked Salmon

Salmon Spread

Grilled Frozen Tiger Prawns

Southwest Crawfish Cakes

Crawfish Fricassee

The Best Lobster Manicotti with Homemade Noodles

Lobster Mac and Cheese

Beer-Can or Wine (Porcelain Throne) Chicken

Mediterranean Burgers

Sweet Saffron Cardamom Rice

Country Ribs with Sauerkraut

Orange Chicken Made with Ground Chicken

Roasted Lamb Shanks

Leg of Lamb (Boneless)

Smoked Baby Back Ribs

Mediterranean Lamb Kebabs

Pellet-Smoked Wings, Asian Style

Smoked Pork Butt (It's Really the Shoulder)

Side Dishes

Cabbage Casserole

Chicken Quesadillas

Incredible Baked Beans

Best Air Fryer Crispy Potatoes

Milannaise Potatoes

The Best Scalloped Potatoes

Baked Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Yellow Squash Casserole

Air Fryer Steak Fries

Soups, Chili, and Rice

Italian Wedding Soup

Drunken Chili

The Best White Chili Ever!

Minestrone

Chicken and Rice Soup

Jambalaya

Creamy Avocado, Asparagus, and Broccoli Soup

How I Season Long-Grain White Rice (Basmati or Texmati)

Risotto with Mushrooms

Salads

Crowd-Pleasing Coleslaw for BBQ

Dockside Potato Salad

The Best German Potato Salad

Asian Napa Cabbage Salad

Sweet Macaroni Salad

My Favorite Homemade Italian Dressing

Asian-Inspired Orange Dressing

Creamy Cilantro-Lime Dressing

Liane's Morning Kale Salad

Doughs and Pizza

German Spaetzle My Way

Pizza Dough Neapolitan Style with 900-Degree, Wood-Fired Pizza Oven

1-Hour Pizza Dough

Chips and Salsa

Fresh Salsa My Way with Homemade Chips

The Best Pineapple Salsa

Pico de Gallo

Marinades

The Perfect Fusion Chicken Marinade

The Perfect Pork Marinade

Flavorful Fish Marinade

Chad's Steak Marinade

Lemon-Herb Chicken Marinade

Sauces and Dips

Fresh Tomato Ketchup

Easy Homemade Mayonnaise

Mark's BBQ Sauce

Best Guinness BBQ Sauce

Fresh Tomato Chili Sauce

Cheesy Queso Recipe

Hummus with an Italian Twist (2 Ways)

Easy Homemade Honey Mustard Salad Dressing or Dipping Sauce

Homemade Pizza Sauce

Using Your Spices

Fajita Seasoning

Poultry Seasoning

Creole Seasoning

Greek Dry Rub

Steak Seasoning

Tuscan Seasoning Blend

Blackened Seasoning Mix

Italian Seasoning

Herbs de Provence

Pesto (Italian)

Béchamel Sauce (French)

Sofrito

Hollandaise Sauce

Chimichurri

Pomodoro Sauce

Puttanesca Sauce

Cilantro Pesto

Pistachio Pesto

Acknowledgments

Cooking Terms

Afterword

About the Author

Note: When called for butter, I use salted butter unless otherwise noted.

Tools of the Trade

Knives

General. This is where quality counts. Knives should be of high-carbon stainless steel, usually classified under the 400 series. You will also need a good sharpening steel. This is used to keep the blade straight. When cutting through tough foods or hitting a bone, the edge of the knife can roll. The sharpening steel will fix this. Slide a knife on the steel and angled at about 10 to 15 degrees, pulling the knife toward you in an alternating (side to side) rhythmic motion about five to ten times on each side just to check if the edge has been restored. To sharpen a knife, I highly recommend taking it to a professional unless you are familiar with using a whetstone. Commercially available knife sharpeners (in my opinion) remove too much material, shortening the life of your knife.

The chef's knife. These are typically available in two sizes: eight-inch and six-inch. I prefer the six-inch, but that is my own preference. It just seems easier for me to control. Chef knives are the main knife for cutting, slicing, and dicing. If you could only have one knife in the kitchen, this would be it!

Chef knife

Sharpening steel

The utility knife. I use this as the universal knife. It is usually about 5 inches in length and very easy to control. My wife uses this as the go-to as chef knives are intimidating to her. I use this for prepping most vegetables that do not have smooth skin such as celery, onions, carrots, and parsnips. Anyway, you get the idea. I use a serrated utility knife for prepping and breaking down vegetables with a smoother skin such as tomatoes and any kind of pepper. The serrated edge gets a good bite on the slick, smooth surface.

Utility smooth blade

Serrated blade

Paring knives. This are smaller knives that are easily controlled when doing tight work such as peeling fruit or potatoes. They are typically about 3 inches max in length but can be somewhat shorter. They also can be used for creative work like shaping radishes into a flowers.

Rocking knife. There are two main types: single handle and double handle. I prefer the single handle. If you are chopping cilantro, parsley, sage, rosemary, etc. These knives make easy work of it. Again, you could use any of the aforementioned knives, but for every job, there is the best tool. This is an option. A chef knife will also work in a similar manner, but if you are an equipment geek like me, I want the best for each job.

Boning knives and cleavers. These are great if you are butchering your own meats, but they also come in handy when breaking down a chicken, deboning a leg of lamb, fileting fish, or splitting rib meat.

There are many other types of knives out there such as the Japanese santoku. Again, this performs very much the same as a chef's knife. If this is your style or to your liking, then you should have it and use it. This is not about knives and tools but cooking, so these are the basics to do most any job in the kitchen. If you are like me (a gadget geek), you will have a nice large collection.

Vegetable peeler. This is a very handy tool, and it makes short work of peeling potatoes and fruit such as apples. You need to spend some money here. These are fun and really easy to use. But they need to be of a nice quality and have a sharp edge, or you will be very frustrated. I keep a few different types.

Graters, Microplanes, and zesters

Graters are handy when breaking down block cheese, carrots, and radishes, and most graters are multipurpose. They can grate, slice, and French. These are available in all different configurations, and my suggestion is the one they call a box grater. It has four sides of options that will cover most required prepping.

Microplanes and zesters are to make zest and work really well with fresh nutmeg. These are pretty easy to use and are probably the best way to zest and citrus fruit. Again, quality here is important, or you will get frustrated with a gummed-up mess from using a cheaper alternative.

Box grater

Blenders and food processors

These are required for making sauces, soups, dough, and drinks, and they make short work of slicing and dicing, depending on your knife skills. There are manual ones and motor-driven ones. I highly recommend the motor-driven ones.

Blenders. They are not just for making drinks and shakes, but they are also good at mixing and chopping. They do work best with a more liquid product like tomatoes, for example. They operate at various speeds, and there is usually a pulse option, which allows you to blend slowly and carefully. Do you need this? In reality, it's not necessary if you have a multifunctional food processor. But they do liquefy better than a food processor in most cases, again depending on your choice of food processor. There is also what is called an immersion blender. This is handheld and can be put into any bowl/container. Some chefs refer to this as the boat motor. I have this device and love it. It is great for creaming soups and making fresh mayo.

Immersion blenders

Tabletop blenders

Food processors/mixers. This is great for slicing and dicing; it will also grate and chop. They usually include different slicing disks that allow for different thicknesses, and other disks even allow for some fancy cutting such as a wavy cut. Most have a dough hook, but here I would recommend a KitchenAid mixer. Yes, I just named-dropped. These come with a plethora of attachments, but most are purchased separately. Here is what is available to you: a dough hook (a must-have for good pizza dough or bread), a pasta attachment, an apple corer and peeler, and a vegetable spiral tool (shapes zucchini or summer squash into a fat spaghetti noodle). And similar to the immersion blender, there is a hand mixer, which can be used with any bowl/container—more portable but less options.

Food processor

Mandolin

This is the manual version of the food processor. A little warning: You slide the food across the surface of a slanted plane, and when the food (typically a vegetable) is sliced, the sliced piece drops beneath the mandolin. Since I cut the top off a finger, I will not use one of these, but it is an option to knives and food processors when it comes to slicing.

Mandolin slicer

Handheld mandolin slicer

Feed-tube-style safe mandolin slicer by Dash

About food prep, most all of the above are really nice options, and if you can have and store them all, go for it. But in reality, a set of good knives and an immersion blender would get you by for most recipes. There are the purest who would have it no other way. For me, I am a gadget geek, and I want them all except the finger-eating mandolin. I use the safe style with a feed tube by Dash!

Scales

Digital scale

A good digital scale that is imperial and metric is the way to go. So is one with a zeroing option so you can eliminate the weight of your container. Some recipes are weight based, and in a lot of cases, this is due to required accuracy. A teaspoon of oil, water, or salt all weigh different. So many chefs go by weight in lieu of volume. So a good digital food scale is really a must for a serious chef, home or pro!

This is the scale I use; I have had it for five years and have only changed the batteries once. It is extremely versatile and very thin, making it easy to store. And it is under $50.

Pellet smokers

I love my RECTEQ pellet smoker, and it is the only one I would recommend. It holds the temperature to 1 degree of preset temperature and goes from 195 to 600 degrees Fahrenheit. It holds up to forty pounds of food-grade pellets. Okay, enough advertising. If you want to make the best ribs, brisket, pulled pork, salmon, chicken, turkey, and so many other options, you need one of these. They come in various sizes to fit your needs. If you entertain a lot of people, you need a big one. For just family and an occasional picnic, a smaller size is just fine. The other great thing about pellet smokers is the choice of food-grade pellets: pecan, hickory, apple, mesquite, and many hybrids plus Competition blends.

Big

Smaller

Wood pellets come in many varieties; I favor the Kingsford Competition blend.

Grills

This is a long discussion, but I am going to keep it very simple. There are many different types and styles of fuel sources. So I'm not here to teach you about grilling. I just want to point out your options and let you be your own grill master. Fuels, they include gas (propane or natural), charcoal, briquettes, and wood. We are going to use propane, and I have a very specific style of grill and type of cooking surface I prefer. I love to cook on a Fuego; this is my go-to grill. I also like the cast-iron