Conquering the Kitchen and Learning to Cook

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Many Young Professionals don’t regularly cook, have never thrown a dinner party and might even be overwhelmed at the thought. If you had asked me five years ago to make dinner it would have consisted of spaghetti with a splash of Ragu. I didn’t know my way around a kitchen, and didn’t care. Then we bought a house with a large kitchen. Maybe it was years of pent up passion, maybe it was the fact that I actually had space to cook or maybe I just felt that I should be able to provide a nutritional meal for my family. Whatever the catalyst, I wanted to learn to cook. So I did. 
 
I am far from a professional chef; I’ve never taken a class and am mostly self-taught with some guidance from my mother-in-law. My goal with this column is to share with you my favorite recipes, tips and the humorous stories that have gone along with trying thousands of new recipes. I hope to show you all that with a little practice, patience--and a glass of wine – anyone can create a masterpiece.
 
My First Dinner Party
Within weeks of moving in to our new house I was hosting my first dinner party and committed to making a lasting impression on my guests – preferably a good one. I decided to make baked ziti for my pasta-loving family and used the recipe on the back of the pasta box, which turned out to be both simple and delicious. I learned a good lesson that night: Pasta-based dishes are a smart choice for virgin hosts. They go far on a limited budget, are generally easier to prepare and are more forgiving to mishaps.
 
The key to many Italian dishes is a good basic red sauce. I found mine after numerous failed attempts thanks to a sauce made by Emeril Laggasse, from the Food Network. It’s a great base that I make in large batches and freeze in smaller containers. Having a simple red sauce on hand takes most of the work out of preparing a pasta dish. You can spice it up for an arrabiata sauce or throw it on a pizza with fresh basil and mozzarella, among countless other combinations. 
 
The most important ingredient that can make or break your sauce are the canned whole tomatoes. Look for “San Marzano” tomatoes – it’s not a brand but a region in Italy where they are grown and canned. They are renowned for being the best to cook with because of their stronger flavor and for being sweeter rather than acidic. I’ve found them at most grocery stores. Although they are just a little bit pricier, they are well worth the extra search and cost.
 
Next week we’ll build on this and put together a dish with the sauce. In the meantime, at least you won’t have to use a bottle of Ragu on your spaghetti this week!  
 
Recipe: Basic Red Sauce (courtesy of Emeril Lagasse, FoodNetwork.com, 2007, with some suggestions from me!)
 
Cook Time: 1 hour  Prep Time:  10min Level:  Easy Yield:  20 cups
 
Ingredients
2 TBS Olive Oil (always use Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1/2 of a yellow onion finely chopped (1/2 cup)
4 cloves of garlic minced (or grated on a hand grater to save time)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp dried basil
½ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp ground black pepper 
2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes (San Marzano)
2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
9 tsp tomato paste
2 cups water
1 tsp sugar
 
Directions
In a medium, heavy pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, salt, basil, oregano and black pepper, and cook, stirring, until soft, 5 minutes.
 
Place the tomatoes in a large bowl and squeeze to break into small pieces. (I blend them to a puree for a smooth sauce, you can do 50/50, too). Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, and sugar to the pot and stir well. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
 
Lower the heat to medium-low, and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally with a heavy wooden spoon.
 
Use immediately or freeze in 4-6 cup containers. Easy to half or double the batch!
 
(Photo credit: McPig; C.C. 2.0)
 
Looking for a long weekend getaway? Check out this post on traveling to Charlotte, N.C.