Cooking for Nerds.

The title is a bit misleading. Really, it's cooking for people who haven't cooked before, and are just starting out on their own, or are getting sick of microwaving meals and getting takeout.

Cooking isn't hard - you simply need to be able to follow instructions and plan ahead of time.

Before you find a recipe though, take stock of your kitchen.

Ignore the food blogs who tell you you need $50 knives, and $50 all-clad pots and pans. You don't need a mandolin slicer. You don't need a cherry pitter. You don't need the assortment of 35 knives in a big wooden block. You don't need the Kitchenaid stand mixer (though I do love mine).

You need:

a 4-quart saucepan (good for pasta and soups)

a 1-quart saucepan (good for rice)

a skillet or saute pan (good for damn near anything that doesn't require a deep pan)

a wok (yes, a wok - it can be used in place of a skillet, or in place of a saucepan in a pinch)

Get those with a Teflon coating. Some people swear Teflon will give you cancer. It won't - as long as you don't stick in a 500° oven. Speaking of, never stick your pots or pans in the oven unless you KNOW they are oven-safe. There'll be something on the box. If it's got a plastic handle, the only time it should ever go in the oven is when it's on the 'warm' setting and you're trying to keep something, well, warm. You're getting cheap pans, right? You're getting plastic handles.

You can probably also get them all (or mostly) in one set. You don't want dirt cheap - you don't want your Teflon coating flaking off the first time you cook, and a heavier pan will conduct heat better. Never put them in a dishwasher, and never use metal utensils inside them.

A baking dish You need something to go in your oven. 13x19 for big stuff, 9x13 for boxes of brownie mix. Get pyrex.

A cookie sheet They're not just for cookies. As long as you don't need the depth of a glass baking dish, these work just as well, and are generally cheaper.

Get a couple knives, and a sharpening stone

Wokshop.com has a decent selection of cheap knives. I've never used them, but they've been recommended by a couple blogs. I have, however, ordered a couple sharpening stones from them. Grocery Guy has a great video tutorial on how to use one.

A wide bladed knife is very, very versatile. Pick up a smaller knife for more delicate jobs while you're at it. Just get plain edges - serrated edges are only good for bread, and thick-skinned tomatoes. Like your teflon pans, these never go in your dishwasher.

A plastic cutting board

These are dishwasher safe, which is great - the water is much hotter, and helps to sterilize the board if you've been cutting meat on it. Also, either use a separate cutting board for your meat and veggies, or always cut your veggies prior to cutting your meat. Food poisoning is bad, k?

Other goodies

A small electric mixer or hand mixer - while the electric is more versatile, a hand mixer works fine for small things and scrambled eggs.

A veggie peeler

An electronic thermometer & timer combo - great for if you want to cook a thick cut of meat, and in general useful for the timer. A must-have.

Make sure you've got a spatula or two, and a deep spoon or ladle for scooping/stiring liquids.

As always, buy only what you need, unless the set is a really good deal. You don't need 10 knives, you need 2, maybe 3. Same for pots and pans, and anything else.

Ingredients

Fresh is best. Most of the time. Canned beans and canned tomatoes are a good exception. If something calls for chicken or beef stock, buy the organic stuff in a box, or the organic soup bases - the canned stuff is gross, and making and keeping fresh stuff on hand is a pain. On the other hand, fresh goes bad. If you're not going to use meat right away, freeze it. Veggies kept in the bottom of your fridge will keep for a while (potatoes, tomatoes, and onions are never refrigerated).

Also, shop around. I used to live near a Korean market (long live H-mart!). Their produce was always fresher, and always in much better shape, even in the dead of winter, than the local chain supermarkets. They also had a better variety, even if you exclude the odder items. The meat was often better too, and the fish counter had no comparison. It was CHEAP too, which helped.

Dried herbs aren't as good. Neither are powdered herbs/spices. Sometimes it does work out, and there are some things you can only get dried/powdered). But common herbs like basil, thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley, etc are very different fresh. You can often find small packets in the produce section.

If you're a sucker.

If you're smart, you go to Home Depot, or a local garden supply center or greenhouse, buy some seeds and soil (or potted seedlings) and a plant light, and grow your own. Get your pothead friends to help if you're clueless. Growing your own herbs will save you a ton of money in the long run.

Remember - it can seem expensive when you're first starting out, but that's just because of your initial materials purchase.

Recipes

I like Epicurious.com and FoodNetwork.com. Neither is perfect - Epicurious leans quite heavily towards gourmet recipes utilizing expensive ingredients or complicated techniques, with Food Network is representative of it's stars (ignore Emeril, Sandra Lee, or Rachel Ray; recipes from Mario Batali, Alton Brown, and Giada DeLaurentis are often winners).

In any case, read recipes carefully - look up any unfamiliar ingredients and techniques for alternatives or substitutions. Plan out your recipe - what can be done ahead of time? Should I do multiple things simultaneously? Does something have to marinate for 8 hours?

You're also trying to be cheap. Can you use ingredients you already have? Low-carb idiocy aside, pasta and rice keep forever in airtight containers, and form a great base for just about anything. If you're cooking for yourself, can you easily half the recipe? Keep this in mind when shopping - if a recipe calls for a whole pack of chicken breasts, as soon as you get home, put divide the chicken into freezer bags - half for the fridge, half for the freezer. Leftovers will keep for 3-4 days (generally) so account for leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day.

How should I start?

Plan your meals. Commit to cooking once a week, on the weekend. Print out the recipe, buy your ingredients, and get started.