What are some essential recipes you need to know in order to

thanks doc

>>8561030
Stews are pretty good for leveling up.

>>8561030

making your own pasta is a pretty big step
as is making your own marinades

>>8561030
As far as actual recipes go, I don't know. I mean it would be like claiming to be really good at guitar but all you know how to do is play a few songs you've meticulously studied and learned without learning anything about music theory, so basically, you could impress some non-players, but once a bunch of true musicians asked you to jam you wouldn't know how to do shit unless they played the exact songs you learned.

It's more about learning techniques.

Which kinds of herbs and spices blend together well and which ones don't.

How to make a roux and where a roux is used.

Pan sauces

How to properly cook a steak on both a grill and in a cast iron skillet

Soups and stews, like the other anon said, are a good place to learn about making your own broth/stock.

Being able to whip something together without a recipe because you know ingredients x, y, and z will go will with what you have.

I dunno.

>>8561072
Seconded. The music analogy is spot on, a recipe is like a Musicians fakebook, you'll know you're a good cook when recipes are merely a reference.

When you order a large meal at mcdonalds instead of the regular one

>>8561072
How about cutting technique? That seems to be actually a pretty big hurdle.

>>8561343
Sure. Add that to it.

inb4 a bunch of weebs start screeching about which kinds of japanese knives are best

>>8561343

I think it's only a big hurdle to people that choose not to address it.

I read Jacques Pepin's book that shows how to hold and use a chef's knife. I just did exactly what the book said. It takes very little practice to get the technique down, and speed comes naturally as you practice.

>>8561355
>reading an entire book about how to cut shit with a knife

>>8561365

It's just one small part of the book anon. The book addresses many things, not just knife work.

>>8561381
Right after I posted that asinine comment, I thought to myself "anon, there is probably more to that book and you should have googled it." Sorry, senpai. Carry on!

>>8561030
I found that after I became good at all kinds of egg recipes everything else got easier.

File: eggcelent.jpg (19KB, 281x355px) Image search: [Google]

19KB, 281x355px

>>8561431
eggcelent, anon!

>>8561346
Honestly speaking, I still can't cut veggies very fast, nor meat. It's probably the biggest time consumer when I do cook. Might be because I'm not using sharp enough knives since the veggies don't get sliced like a hot knife through butter.

>>8562036
Same...and honestly, I'm a pretty good cook. It just doesn't matter to me because I'm not in the kitchen of some high end restaurant with a chef yelling at me to speed up and I'm not on Iron Chef. Plus, I'd probably cut myself if I tried to go faster than I needed to.