Biggest Mistake Home Cooks? Make

[Jinmyo]

Are there any worthwhile books on knife techniques, or is it better to just go get a lesson?....

Jacques' da man.

True dat.

[Ellen Shapiro]

Perhaps one of the most obvious mistakes (to my taste buds) is the relentless attempt to cut the calories and fat out of each recipe as an end in itself. I know one such cook and I will be subjected to a feast of her low-fat dishes and desserts (try, just try to do this with potato latkes) very shortly.

[oraklet]

too late for an edit, so it will be here:

other sources for knife techniques are our very own bouland's site and the pcd "library", both with good instructive drawings.

[=Mark]

Misplacing the question? mark

That was just to get your attention.

Did it?work

It got mine...

[Malawry]

I think it's worth taking a class in knife skills if you can find one offered by a seasoned chef. I took one well before I started culinary school, and it helped significantly in my home cooking.

My close buddy Jacques Pepin is a nice runner-up to taking a class, though.

[Nick]

Burned onions?

And, as Dave the Cook said above, "Inadequate appreciation for mise en place. Good prep prevents panic. "

[plunk]

Not tasting during cooking, or adding seasoning before tasting

Overheating the fry pan.

Following a recipe's time guidelines rather than using visual cues.

Underestimating prep time.

Feeling guilty about throwing out ingredients past their prime (vegetables, spices, etc).

I just got my knives sharpened and I love it. The only downside is that I'm finding small microcuts on myself every once in a while, I don't even notice them until I go to wash my hands and they sting a little. I think I must be brushing against the knife edge when I'm moving things on the cutting board. Time to take a knife skills class..

[Cheffie3]

The biggest mistake I make is not following my KISS (Keep It Simple Sister) rule.

[Anna N]

I am reminded of another big failure (at least on my part) and that is not spending the necessary time finding the finest, freshest ingredients. Tired carrots, wrinkly spuds, wilted parsley, etc. etc., will never make a superb dish no matter how good the cook might be. Now I spend as much time seeking out the freshest of everything as I do cooking and my meals have improved 100 fold. Common sense, I suppose, but it took me too many years to figure this one out!

[Rachel Perlow]

Making way too much food?

Not keeping a careful eye on the broiler?

Forgetting the pot-filler is filling a pot and having the water overflow onto the stove? (When your mother is there, the only person who thought the pot-filler was a stupid thing to install in the kitchen. First time that ever happened too. )

[mamster]

Are there any worthwhile books on knife techniques, or is it better to just go get a lesson?....

There's a slim CIA book called "The Professional Chef's Knife" that's pretty good. There will also be knife tips in any big professional cooking textbook. But for this kind of thing I find that a few minutes with an expert (even just watching) is worth hours with a book. The CIA book is worthwhile, though, because it demonstrates techniques for cutting up a variety of different things.

[seawakim]

i didn't use butter for years...under some sort of misdirected concept that it was "healthy" to avoid butter.  now i'm smart(er).

Good for you Tommy, way to go! My husband was under that same "low fat spell" and I've freed him. He's now happier and healthier.

I think the biggest mistake made in home cooking is OVERCOOKING !!! I'm so tired of going to peoples houses for dinner and eating their overcooked beef, chicken, salmon, everything dry, dry, dry. WHY?

[jaybee]

Serving food that doesn't really taste all that good but making your guests think you think it is something special. (I never do that, of course).

[britcook]

Serving food that doesn't really taste all that good but making your guests think you think it is something special.

The reverse of what I do, I usually claim its nothing special but it does taste good.

Except of course when it really is nothing special.

[Jinmyo]

As the Fat Guy once said, "Having low standards."