I have been cooking for my roommate and myself for about a year, and
since Missy has answered other food questions well, I would like to
direct this question to her.  I would like to know easy ways that
Missy adds variety to her cuisine. For example, one vegetable I often
make is steamed broccoli, which I service with cheddar cheese sauce.
What are some other ways to prepare and serve vegetables that require
about the same time a steps and broccoli with cheese sauce?

Other than by practice, how does Missy know what spices and in what
amounts compliment a given food item? I know you can consult a
cookbook, and I know that practice and experimentation is important,
but what advice would you give a beginning cook who wants to be
innovative and have variety.

Since I am specificly wanting to know that cooking style of Missy-ga,
I doubt any researcher, other than Missy-ga, would be qualified to
answer this question. With that said, I feel that the only acceptable
answer can be from Missy-ga.

-S

Well, Hi!

What a nice surprise to see my name looking back at me!  Come on,
we'll go play in the kitchen.  Get your apron out, I'm going to make
you cook in a minute.

I know what goes where in my cooking because...I *really* like to eat.
 I admit to being a complete and utter foodie, and will happily eat
anything at least once.  Trying new things while away often inspires
ideas for cooking at home.

It's sometimes hard for me to explain things.  I cook by taste, touch
and smell, for the most part, just like Oma, so ask me to explain
again if I confuse you, OK?

Practice makes perfect, but research is a great help too.  Here are
some of my favorite recipe sites:

Epicurious (some of my favorites have come from here)
http://www.epicurious.com

Top Secret Recipes on the Web
http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/

Cooking.com
http://www.cooking.com/recipes/

I taught myself sushi using StickyRice.com and
CherryBlossomGardens.com:

StickyRice
http://www.stickyrice.com/sushi/recipes/recipes.html

CherryBlossomGardens
http://www.cherryblossomgardens.com/recipe_sushi.htm

The best advice I can give the novice cook is "Be adventurous."  Don't
look at a recipe and immediately tell yourself "I can't do this." 
Tell yourself "This is going to taste *so* good!".  Then *make* it. 
Honestly, I thought I was going to die the first time I made a
cheesecake, I was so worried it would be terrible...It was lopsided. 
It was *ugly*.  It didn't look like the picture in the cookbook *at
all*...but it didn't get burnt, nobody died, and my roommate at the
time asked me to make another one when her dad came to visit.

If it looks good to you, try to make it.  If you blow it the first
time, try it again.  A few tries, and the dish will make itself. 
Taste everything!  From start to finish, taste, taste, taste!  (Yes,
even your meatloaf before you bake it, if meatloaf is your thing. 
Season a little bit at a time, and taste after every addition.  It's
the only way to get it just right.)

And of course, buy cookbooks.  And read the extra bits besides the
recipes.

My very first cookbook was the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. 
This is affectionately referred to as "Cooking for Dummies 101" - my
copy is 15 years old and falling apart, but I still consider it a very
important part of my collection.  It's simply organized, and the back
contains so many helps for the kitchen greenhorn - most helpful being
a list of herbs and spices, and what dishes they go with.

I've found that list reproduced for you here:

Sheryl's Country Cooking
http://www.geocities.com/sheryl_33982/seasoning.html

...but still highly recommend purchasing the BHG cookbook.  It's
available in paperback for around $8, and is handy to tote around the
kitchen.

(When learning your herbs and spices, it also helps to taste each on
its own - a nip of a basil leaf, or the tip of your pinky dipped into
the pepper.  Get to know what reactions they cause in your mouth, and
think about how each would taste along with something else.  It's a
good way to get started, and will make you think more about
experimenting.)

Also in my collection, and highly recommended if you're looking for
tips on everything from basic prep-work to a seasoning guide, to
incredible sauces that look hard but aren't:  The Professional Chef,
produced by the Culinary Institute of America.  Although this is one
of the CIA's advanced texts, I find it's absolutely indispensable.  If
you're really interested in learning about your food and how best to
prepare it, this beautifully illustrated and incredibly detailed book
is a must.  The book discusses *everything*, including menu planning
and shopping for ingredients.  Don't let the "Professional" in the
title scare you - this cookbook is very precise and helpful.  The
price is steep - $65! - but a worthy investment.  My children got this
one for me for Christmas.

If you buy no other cookbooks, buy those.  You'll thank yourself
later.

When it comes to vegetables, we keep our local farmers very busy. 
"Trees & Cheese" is a great favorite here, too.  Try serving
cauliflower, or the more exotic and somewhat oddly colored
broccoflower with cheese sauce.  Same steps, different veggie.  In the
Spring, we're completely ga-ga for asparagus.  Just rinse it in cold
water, whack off the bottom inch of the stem (it's woody at the
bottom) steam it, serve it with cheese sauce or plain, or with a dab
of real butter.

Or for something completely different, what about baby carrots,
glazed, with fresh tarragon?  Try this (you'll need a heavy pan with a
cover):

1 lb. baby carrots
1 stick butter (NOT margarine)
3 tbs. dark brown sugar
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh tarragon leaves, chopped

Melt the butter over medium heat, then add the entire pound of
carrots.  Stir to coat, then cover and allow to cook until tender
(about 10 minutes).  Uncover, then sprinkle the brown sugar, red wine
vinegar and tarragon over the carrots.  Stir well, until sugar is
completely dissolved, and allow to cook uncovered until the glaze is
slightly thickened (about 3 or 4 minutes).  Stir several times during
the cooking, and once more before serving.  Tarragon has a slight
licorice-y flavor that works surprisingly well with the sweetness of
baby carrots.

For summer, a simple tomato and zucchini casserole is always a
favorite.  You just need a microwave safe dish, 2 large tomatoes, one
zucchini, and some shredded mozzarella.  Butter the dish.  Thinly
slice the zucchini and set aside.  Thinly slice the tomatoes, taking
care to remove the pulp and seeds.  Now make alternating stripes of
each vegetable in the baking dish, overlapping them slightly. Sprinkle
with cheese, then add another layer.  Sprinkle that with cheese, then
pop it in the microwave for 2 - 3 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
 That's it.  Works well as a side for lasagna, spaghetti, stuffed
mushrooms.

Don't be afraid to watch Food TV, either.  All jokes aside, Iron Chef
is incredibly educational!

Iron Chef
http://www.foodtv.com/foodtv/show/0,6525,IC,00.html

Of particular note for cooking novices:  Alton Brown's "Good Eats". 
Love this guy, he not only explains and illustrates how to make tasty
dishes, he explains *why* they work the way they do in amusing and
interesting ways.  The chemistry of food is fascinating!

Good Eats!
http://www.foodtv.com/foodtv/show/0,6525,EA,00.html

Mario Battali has two shows - Molto Mario concentrates on cooking,
usually for a cluster of men at the counter.  He discusses the origins
of each recipe, and carefully explains everything.  Mario Eats Italy
focuses more on the history and significance of some dishes - lots of
fun to watch.

Mario Eats Italy
http://www.foodtv.com/foodtv/show/0,6525,IT,00.html

Molto Mario
http://www.foodtv.com/foodtv/show/0,6525,MB,00.html

...and even though I can hear my UK colleagues screaming "NO!  Not
HIM!", I really adore Jamie Oliver, also known as "The Naked Chef". 
He's very thorough, and explains some super easy dishes that even my
cat could make - how about a nice roast of beef and some stuffed
onions?  Yummy!

The Naked Chef
http://www.foodtv.com/foodtv/show/0,6525,NC,00.html

Incidentally, FoodTV.com is a terrific resource for the novice -
instructional videos, nifty recipes, even a wine guide.  Wander around
in there for a while, pick something out, and make it for dinner
tomorrow.  Wander around tomorrow and pick out something new for the
next day.  It might mean an extra trip to the grocery store to pick up
missing ingredients, but that's half the fun of learning new dishes
anyway.  (Not to mention, if your grocer sees your face often enough,
you can persuade him to special order things for you later.)

FoodTV
http://www.foodtv.com

Most importantly:  never look at cooking as a chore or drudgery.  Have
fun with it, enjoy it, and you'll be the neighborhood Kitchen Deity in
no time.

*tsk*

You people really shouldn't get me started about food.  I could go on
for weeks, and it always ends up making me hungry.  Bad for my figure,
you are.  ;)

Happy cooking!

missy-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by missy-ga on 17 Jun 2002 10:06 PDT

Wow!  Thank you for such glowing praise!  I'm very glad you were
pleased with your answer.

If you have comments or suggestions about Google Answers, you should
pass them along to the Staff.  I do all the time:

answers-support@google.com

Thanks again, glad to be of assistance.

missy-ga

Thanks to ALL who answered! I directed the question the way that I did
because in all of the answers that Missy provides, she has the right
perportion of personal insight and documented sources. I am sure many
others of you have that same trait it is just that I have not noticed
it as much.

I love Epicurious, and especially its index. Some of the ingredients
there are difficult to find, and when asking for a specific ingredient
and the store clerk responds "what is that?" Asking for a good
substitution is out-of-the-question.

Also, I am aware of FAQ item 22. I think that stipulation does tend to
make a more level playing field and more readally allows a new
researcher to break-in. However, I also think that experience should
have its advantages. In practice the ga moderator has allowed
questions to be directed. Perhaps ga should consider revising FAQ item
22.

There is one other potential source for information about how Missy
cooks, and that's the chipmunk that hangs around outside in her
kitchen window. On the other hand, it might just be curious to see how
she deals with celery thing'ers.

and then there is recipes by email:
http://www.recipesbyemail.com/

Although I do not have personal knowledge about Missy's cooking, I
could imagine her making a sauce for vegetables using the following
recipe:  Make a dressing from mayo and mustard 1:2 ratio, add a little
bit (1/6 of mayo/mustard mixture)balsamic vinegar (sp?) and whip up
with a whisk or a fork until smooth.  Great as a dipping sauce or a
smothering sauce for any vegetable or hamburger or ice cream.  OK...so
I exaggerated with the ice cream...

I can see GA publishing a Missy cookbook, a book of favorite Missy
sayings, a Missy joke book, and a Missy serious answer book.  I'm
ready with my credit card at amazon...when do they come out.

seedy

Hi, asugymn!

I'll throw in a few additional comments, because I get asked the same
sort of thing a lot.  And because I can never resist discussing food!

A few important things to start:  As Missy said, have fun with it! 
Don't be obsessive about things.  As someone once said (wish I could
remember who), "Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly- while
you're learning to do it well!"  Focussing too soon on having things
just so will suck the joy out of it, and cooking is too much fun to
get stressed over.  And speaking of stress, NEVER flout Murphy's Law
by trying something complex for the first time on the night you're
expecting company. Experiment on friends and family first.

One of my own favourite TV chefs is James Barber, host of "The Urban
Peasant."  If this show is available in your area, by all means check
it out.  Barber is hilarious.  He makes fast, simple, tasty food
that's easy to do and looks incredible.  My favourite Barber quote: 
"There are really only four recipes in the world...you can bake it,
boil it, fry it, or screw it up!"

On a more practical note, you may find that exploring your new
cookbooks will be more fun if you start with a few representative
choices.  Let me explain that a little.  There are many wonderful
things made with yeast-raised doughs, for example, and novices are
usually intimidated by trying these.  So comb your recipe books for a
fairly simple yeast-raised dough.  Pizza, let's say.  Make that one a
few times, and you'll know how a yeast dough should feel on the hands
when it's mixed and kneaded.  From there, you'll be prepared to tackle
more complex items like stollen or brioche, or just handmade bread
(infinitely variable, infinitely satisfying).  In the same way, choose
a sample vegetable-based soup or meat-based soup, pastry recipe, or
what have you.  Once you've gotten the hang of one, the others will
come more easily.

Mastering even one of the classic sauces will wow your friends in this
microwave age.  A good starting point is a simple white sauce, which
has the advantages of ease and variability.  Add garlic, or cheese, or
fresh herbs, or crumbled bacon/cooked sausage...anything you want. 
Hollandaise is another good choice.  It's difficult to find real
hollandaise in a restaurant (a storage issue, it has to be used soon
after it's made because of the eggs)and it's a favourite with everyone
except dieters.  I use the version given in "The Joy of Cooking,"
which is easy enough and quite reliable.

As for herbs, Missy's advice given above is excellent, and pretty much
how I educated myself.  As a starting point, pick out just one herb at
your grocery store (most places sell them fresh now, year-round).  Use
that one herb with a mild-flavoured food you're comfortable with like
chicken, for example, which will nicely showcase almost anything. 
Eating this meal, consider what you've already tried in the past that
would complement this flavour.  Try out a few of your ideas, and then
move on to another herb.

Once you've mastered a few, start trying different combinations.  You
may find it useful to keep a notebook to record your impression of
various experiments.  Some things work well together, some things
don't.  For example, basil and oregano are the signature combination
in pizza sauce.  I love both herbs, and use them frequently, but don't
often combine them because of the association with pizza.

To lend a little variety to your meals, try changing the "starch." 
Instead of potatoes or pasta, try couscous or bulgur (aka burghul). 
They're both easy to make, and give your meals a touch of exoticism. 
Instead of plain white long-grain rice, use brown rice, or basmati, or
better yet-make a risotto!

Crib from ethnic menus.  Add a little soy sauce to any fried or
broiled meat, or to soups and stews.  Sour cream and fresh dill are
signature notes in eastern Europe.  In Germany, caraway seed (a
slightly licoricey flavor) is widely used in vegetable dishes.  Next
time you make a stew, keep some back.  Add raisins and chopped figs, a
bit of cinnamon and allspice, a small amount of cumin, and serve it
over rice or couscous.  Cucumbers tossed with yogurt and any cooked
grain, with the herb of your choice, is a wonderful summer salad (try
mint, to start, or cilantro).

Finally, make a special point of cooking with what's fresh and local
in your area.  Obviously, a New Englander will have to bend a little
come January, but if you make a practice of doing this your produce
will be tastier and usually more nutritious (local produce is
permitted to mature in the field, while produce intended for
long-distance shipping is picked somewhat unripe to facilitate
storage).

I taught myself to cook when I was at university because I still
wanted decent food to eat, and Mom wasn't close enough to do it
anymore.  There have been few things over the years that I've had more
enjoyment from. I hope you'll have just as much fun!

One particular resource that I love is an hour-long weekly online
discussion on the Washingpost.com web site called "What's Cooking?". 
Kim O'Donnell, a food writer for the Post answers questions about all
things food-related.  It's fabulous for getting ideas and inspiration.
 The discussion is held every Tuesday at noon, however the transcripts
are also all available (I prefer to read it after the fact because
online discussions can be S  L  O  W  ...).  She also does a monthly
discussion for vegetarians as well as sporadic video demonstrations
(knife sharpening, recipe preparation).

What's Cooking Transcript Archive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/liveonline/food/odonnel.htm

Some books that are incredibly helpful are:

The Mindful Cook, by Isaac Cronin (Villard Books, 1999)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0812992253/qid=1024327575/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/103-2453312-5516628
Click here for various reviews of the book:
://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&q=%22The+mindful+cook%22&btnG=Google+Search

How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman (Wiley, 1998)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0028610105/qid=1024327680/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/103-2453312-5516628

I also recommend getting a subscription to a cooking magazine.  I find
they're a pleasure to receive in the mail each month and they help
keep your cooking fresh!   Personally, I get "Cooking Light" (
http://www.cookinglight.com ) and Bon Appetite (
http://www.epicurious.com ).

Other great sites:

AllRecipes
http://www.allrecipes.com

RecipeSource
http://www.recipesource.com

Recipeezaar
http://www.recipezaar.com

MealsForYou
http://www.mealsforyou.com
** I love this site because it allows you to change the serving sizes
(and thus the ingredient proportions) for every recipe.  Great if you
want to make dinner for more or less people than the standard 4-6
people!

The Reynolds Kitchen
http://www.reynoldskitchens.com/reynoldskitchens/kitchenconnection/index.asp

ARTICLE:  First, You Take a Chicken Breast (The Washington Post,
9/22/1999)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A27547-1999Sep22
** This is a fabulous article all about different ways to cook chicken
breasts.

Also, food associations are great sources for recipes:

The Association for Dressings & Sauces
http://www.dressings-sauces.org

Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board
http://www.asparagus.org

The Leafy-Greens Council
http://www.leafy-greens.org

** To find more, type the food item you're interested in preparing
into Google.  I often include the words "association" or "board" or
"council" in my searching as well.

Good luck and happy cooking!

-Librarygopher