DollopCooking skills, one dinner at a time
Nobody learns to cook from a list of techniques. You learn by making dinner. Each skill here is explained in plain words, with the dinners that teach it.
Knife basics
A safe grip, a flat side down, and an onion chopped without tears of panic.
10 dinners ›
Pasta cooked right
Salty water, a big pot, and pulling it while it still has a little bite.
7 dinners ›
Roasting on a sheet pan
Hot oven, room between pieces, and the browned edges that make it taste like effort.
11 dinners ›
Rice that isn’t mushy
Rinse, measure, lid on, and leave it alone.
14 dinners ›
Sautéing
Medium heat, a little fat, and stirring just enough.
8 dinners ›
Seasoning as you go
Salt a little at each stage and taste before you serve.
6 dinners ›
Browning ground meat
Break it up, let it sit, and chase the brown bits.
11 dinners ›
Searing
A hot pan and the patience not to move it.
10 dinners ›
Chicken cooked all the way
Juicy in the middle and safe to eat, every time.
7 dinners ›
Eggs three ways
Scrambled soft, fried crisp at the edges, and boiled to the minute.
12 dinners ›
Simmering a sauce
Small bubbles, a lid half on, and a sauce that thickens by itself.
12 dinners ›
A dressing from scratch
Oil, something sour, a pinch of salt, and a jar to shake it in.
6 dinners ›
Stir-frying
Everything chopped first, then fast and hot.
10 dinners ›
Cooking fish
Flaky, not dry, and no fishy kitchen.
7 dinners ›
Building a soup
Soften, season, simmer, and it tastes like it cooked all day.
12 dinners ›
A pan sauce
The brown bits left in the pan become the best part of dinner.
9 dinners ›