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I've found that the best way to learn how to cook is basically follow someone around who is extremely good at cooking, find out what they do and how they do it (and then cook meals under their tutelage). If you can't do that then experimenting a little while following the recipe guidelines is also a good way. So here are some good recipe places on the net that I have found.
A Cooking Guide - a handy guide to various cooking and food presentation/preparation.
America's Test Kitchen - a wonderful cooking show on PBS that tests different types of ingredients and cookware to see what makes the best kind of dish. You do need to register (its a very simple process to view their recipes, but I find that their recipes are always reliably good!
Epicurious - a huge reservoir of recipes and contains links to Gourmet and Bon Appetit Magazines. The recipes section has a comments section which is very helpful in terms of choosing a recipe. They also have a video techniques section which has little real media files on how to do things like cut a pineapple, napkin folds, and other techniques.
Food TV - Food Television's webpage with entertaining and recipe resources. A lot of different recipes from different sources/chefs.
Food and Wine - the online version of Food and Wine Magazine.
Hormel KnowledgeBase - It may seem strange to have Hormel's website listed but quite frankly it is the most extensive information about cooking meat that I've found. From different ways to prepare it (along with photographs) along with cooking times for every possible cut of meat (from hams to turkeys) I find myself using this website over and over as a reference point when I am cooking or grilling meats.
SOAR - a searchable database of about 70,000 recipes. You can find a recipe for just about anything!
The Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker - this book is the gold standard bible for cooks! I haven't even bothered looking at the updated one. This book breaks down the different cuts of meats and various dishes and how to prepare them in very easy to understand ways. If you are looking for a good cookbook that will last you through the years and a wide variety of dishes, this is definitely the book!
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This page was last updated on Thursday April 13, 2006