Getting Started

The recipes on this site always serve as guidelines, not commands. We have to admit, we rarely cook a recipe as written. We’re always tweaking, and we figure you are too. Every cook wants to get maximum comfort and satisfaction from her own plate-that’s sort of what cooking is about.

Even the two of us have varied tastes. Phoebe cannot stand the flavor of oranges and often substitutes lemon juice to get a similar hint of citrus. Cara has an issue with mayonnaise (less so when she makes it from scratch), and usually downplays it in salads and sandwiches by …

As we noted in one of our first-ever posts, it’s a popular idea that some people are bakers and some are cooks. But while you’ll meet your share of creative chefs who hate the precision of measuring for baking and some perfect pastry types who’d never be seen by the frying pan, I like both.

For me, cooking is for sustenance, for putting together classic combinations of ingredients in new ways, and for trial and error. But baking is not all strict one-cup measures either. There’s creativity there, but there is also a basic set of skills to build …

One of the biggest deterrents from getting started in the kitchen has got to be the initial stocking of the pantry. But keeping cabinets filled means there’s always the possibility of a meal without having to resort to a) leaving the apartment, b) takeout, or c) a bowl of cereal with stale rice crackers on the side. Not that these alternatives should be shunned. I mean, fresh air does the body good, and sometimes a $10 Pad Thai or half a jar of peanut butter can be just as satisfying as a home-cooked meal. Additionally, though dinner or cocktails parties …