First time posting here.

[Baitball Blogger]

I would be a candidate for the Bad Cooks competition. If there was a possibility to have a disadvantage the way that a color-blind person is to art; that is how I am to cooking. But I want to change all that. Does anyone know of any good and inexpensive cooking classes in the Central Florida area?

[Major Nikon]

1. Here in North Texas the high end supermarkets conduct fairly inexpensive cooking classes

I assume it's the same for Florida. The one near my home even has a special kitchen area specifically intended for teaching. What's really nice about them is they are geared towards the home cook rather than the professional.

http://www.centralmarket.com/cooking-school.aspx

[Baitball Blogger]

3. That would be perfect. I should probably call Publix to see if they do something like that.

Last night I went searching on the net and found one that would come to your house, but I imagine that would be pricey. However, I thought it would have been a wonderful opportunity to bring DUers together in this area. Two or three of us taking lessons from my kitchen.

I'm putting that out there, in case the idea grows legs.

[Liberal Jesus Freak]

14. I love that idea!

Where in Florida are you? We are in Vero Beach.

[Baitball Blogger]

15. Central Florida.

You're about two hours away.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

5. Ditto here in Ohio, so that's probably a good lead. nt

[TreasonousBastard]

2. I have no idea what Florida does, but up here...

some community colleges have inexpensive cooking courses.

Some caterers also do classes in their spare time.

If you have a community calendar or newspaper, check it our for cooking classes.

[Baitball Blogger]

4. Will do. Thanks for the lead.

[Spaldeen]

6. Hi Baitball

Welcome! I'm new here to this forum, too. I'm a marginal cook- I can eat what I cook, but I don't think anyone else really wants to voluntarity!

[Baitball Blogger]

7. That is exactly me.

My dream is to be able to do some competent cooking to help make the family gatherings more pleasant.

[Spaldeen]

8. Great!

I'm with you there. I can do a few things well, but its not because I'm experienced.

My cooking knowledge is the equivalent of knowing a few phrases in another language. I can ask for the toilet or get into a fight, but not negotiate my way out of either one of them afterwards!

[flamin lib]

9. All good suggestions up thread.

I might suggest a few gadgets to help you in your quest for good eats.

First, a good instant read meat thermometer. The most common sin against proteins is overcooking; meats get dry and tough and seafood mealy. Prices range from $15-90. Mine is the $15 variety and gets a stable reading in less than 5 seconds.

Second, a good whetstone and hone for your knives. Sharp knives are safe knives and a joy to use. There is a good tutorial video here: http://stellaculinary.com/podcasts/video/sharpening-your-knife-water-stone I have a single grit stone (about 1000 grit) I got at a restaurant supply store for $5 and a hone for $30. If you aren't up for DIY google commercial knife sharpening services near your zip code. Prices start at about $1/inch of length and even inexpensive knives won't need it more than twice a year, pro grade blades maybe annually.

For instructional help the food channel and cooking channel have become largely useless; it's all competition all the time. Public television has some real how-to shows. Martha's kitchen, America's Test Kitchen, John Besh's Country Kitchen and a few others. Check your local listings and the DVR is your friend. If you can find re-runs of Alton Brown's Good Eats series on either cooking or food networks he does a great job of both how-to and why it works.

Good luck and remember, the disposal is also your friend--mine is the best fed appliance in the city of Arlington.

[Baitball Blogger]

10. Knife sharpening.

You can read my mind. Most of my knives are dull.

I still remember back in my childhood days when the German would bicycle into our community. He definitely stood out because he was blond and spoke fluent Spanish. My grandmother would call him, "El Aleman." I can't remember if we would hear him because of his whistle, or because he would ring the bell on his bike. But my grandmother would always greet him at the end of the driveway carrying the kitchen knives with her. He would turn his bicycle upside down and turn the peddles of the bike and somehow, this initiated something on his bike that allowed him to sharpen the knives. He had a slow, steady way of moving the knives over what must have been a grindstone. I still remember the sparks that would fly and hit his forearms, but he never flinched.

[flamin lib]

12. When it comes time to upgrade your

cutlery you might look into this : http://www.webstaurantstore.com/mercer-genesis-m2000-6-piece-forged-knife-block-set/470M20000.html

Mercer is the largest supplier to professional kitchens in the US. Most of the restaurant kitchens use inexpensive stamped blades (the good stuff seems to evaporate) but this line is "front of the house", ya know the stuff the chef uses to slice the prime rib on the serving line.

The cost of this set with chrome and glass block is about what a high end German chef's knife would cost and considerably less than a top end Japanese blade.

They are forged, well balanced, food safe handles with modern clean lines and of course are made of a really good and durable metal alloy.

But first I'd sharpen what I have and put my energy into the basics of sauteing, braising, steaming and seasoning.

AND DON'T OVERCOOK IT!!!!!

[Galileo126]

20. I agree

All cable food channels are worthless when it comes to learning how to cook.

I totally agree that the public stations do it far, far better.

Edit: this should have been in response to post #9, BTW.

[flamin lib]

11. Another thought on cooking classes.

Look into high end kitchen stores. They often use classes as a sales tool to interest customers in gourmet type equipment. Here we had a place called
The Kitchen Store and they had a trained chef who also had a local access channel cooking show who would do 1-2 hour seminars.

Alas they have closed due to retirement and the owner is traveling Route 66 in his european touring car . . .

[Freddie]

13. Easy recipes that real people make

As opposed to celebrity chefs, etc. is a good place to start.
I love the website/app Big Oven. 300000+ recipes, most with pictures, that people have posted. You can rate and review the recipes and the recently reviewed ones get into "Recent Raves" so you can see what others are trying. You can look up recipes by title or you can plug in what you have on hand and get recipes with those ingredients. And post your own recipes to share or to look up later. I've rarely opened a cookbook since discovering this site.

[Lucinda]

16. No idea on classes so I'll just wave hello.

We tend to browse allrecipes.com or cooking videos and just give things a try that sound interesting

[Lucinda]

17. OH...I did think of someone who does online videos you might like

She really caters to new cooks with her recipes and tips.
She has a potty mouth, so if you are offended by language you may want to take a pass, but I think shes awesome.

http://hilahcooking.com

[Baitball Blogger]

18. Thanks. I'll look at those. Potty mouths don't bother me.

[dem in texas]

19. Get yourself a good basic cookbook and learn your ingredients.

I have purchased many, many cookbooks over years, but my hands down favorite is the old Joy of Cooking (light blue Cover) published in the 1960's. I wore one out and found another one in an antique mall. I have the two newer Joy of cooking cookbooks, but they are not as good about the basics as the old one is. Some cookbooks will give you a list of basic pantry items that you need to stock and that is a good thing. You need to learn about cleanliness in handling food and work surfaces, how long left overs can be kept, proper temperatures for cooking meat, the list goes on. Don't get discouraged, cooking is very creative and lots of fun. I have made big messes and had to throw them away. I started cooking when I was around 9 years old and am still cooking away at age 74. I am baking potatoes right now, so I can make baked potato chowder for lunch tomorrow.

[Baitball Blogger]

21. I'm ready to take on the next culinary adventure.

Never thought of it as a creative experience.

[A HERETIC I AM]

23. I couldn't agree more. A "Joy of Cooking" should be given out at each HS graduation! n/t

[locks]

22. Lots of luck and have fun

Start simple, follow a good recipe closely before you innovate or cook more than one homemade course at a time. If there's some ingredient in the recipe you don't like or can't find go online sometimes you can find a substitute. Don't spend a lot of money on new equipment and exotic ingredients. When you have leftovers go to the web and find some way you can use them.
People putting recipes and reviews on the web are helpful.

[madfloridian]

24. Publix has Aprons cooking classes.

http://www.publix.com/aprons/Home.do?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pro+cor+meals_brand&utm_term=publix_apron&gclid=CPjHhdXOpL4CFScV7AodJTsAsw

They don't give the price, but I don't think it is very expensive. Not sure though. Several in Central Florida.

[Baitball Blogger]

25. Very, very cool!

Thank you madfloridian!

[madfloridian]

26. Did you see this list of all their recipes. Yummy.

http://www.publix.com/aprons/meals/MainDish/RecipeList.do#Pasta%20%28Other%29

The whole list starts at the top of the link, I just happened to choose pasta recipes.

[Baitball Blogger]

27. I am a very visual and tactile learner.

So, I look forward to taking the class.

[Phentex]

28. Do you have Williams Sonoma or something like it?

They offer classes as well. We have Cooks Warehouse here and I love their classes but I don't think they are in FL. I also attend a hobby cooking school just for fun.

I am an ok cook with certain things. But I am also a scatterbrained leave-out-the-most-important-ingredient kinda cook at times. Either way, I find it fun.