New Recipe? No Problem!

by Chef Kathryn Conrad

Approaching a new recipe can be daunting. You may find yourself using unfamiliar techniques and ingredients, and one wrong step can lead you down the road to ruin. Though there are many ways a recipe can fail, most first-time mistakes come from overlooking the small stuff. By following these five easy steps, you’ll be able to craft the perfect dish every time.

Step 1: Read the Entire Recipe Before You Start

The first step is so simple it seems silly, but many people read a recipe’s title and ingredient list without to really reading the directions until cooking is underway. Is this a big deal? It can be if an overlooked paragraph directs you to chill your cheesecake for eight hours when your dinner guests are due in two. Or perhaps in the middle of cooking you spy a sentence reading “temper in the eggs,” “chiffonade the basil” or “render the bacon,” and you have absolutely no idea what to do.

Carefully reading a recipe from start to finish is a lot like checking a road map before a trip. It lets you know where you are going, how you are going to get there, and about how long the journey will take. It also gives you time to research unfamiliar techniques or, if you need to, select a different recipe.

Step 2: Gather Your Equipment

A common mistake when working with a new recipe is not using the equipment the recipe calls for. For example, a 12-inch skillet will produce different results than an 8-inch skillet. Another example: A large saucepan and a stockpot can both hold liquid, but substituting one for the other can yield vastly different outcomes.

To be prepared, note which utensils you’ll need before beginning your new recipe, and be sure to have them on hand. Before swapping one type or size of cookware for another, do your homework to see whether the substitution will work. While there are often good substitutions, many recipes call for specialty equipment that has no reliable stand-in — spring-form pans, soufflé dishes, cast iron skillets and large Dutch ovens are a few examples.

Step 3: Gather Your Ingredients

Improvising in the kitchen can be a fantastic, creative expression with tasty results. However, the best way to assess and understand a new recipe is to follow it closely the first time around. To follow the recipe properly, you have to make sure you have the right ingredients. As you read the ingredient list, look in your pantry and refrigerator to be certain you have the ingredients you think you have. Is that mustard jar really half-full? Is that bread flour or all-purpose flour in the cabinet? Once you’ve done a close inspection, make a grocery list of items you’re missing.

Like you would with equipment, make substitutions only when you are certain the outcome will not be affected. For instance, cooking with butter, margarine or oil can lead to very different results. Brown sugar cannot always be traded for white sugar, and liquid egg substitute does not always work in place of in-shell eggs.

Step 4: Mise en Place

Pronounced MEEZ ahn plahs, this French culinary phrase means “to put in place,” and it’s the best kitchen habit you could ever pick up. Mise en place means that you don’t begin cooking until you have assembled all of the tools and equipment you will need. Every bowl, measuring spoon and spatula should be out, and your ingredients should all be chopped, diced, minced and measured as directed by the recipe.

Completing your mise en place before beginning any recipe is a good idea, but doing so before attempting a new one is especially important. Mise en place frees you from the frustration of last-minute onion chopping or a frantic search for a spatula while a pan overheats. It allows you to focus on the act of cooking.

Step 5: Follow the Recipe

You have the equipment and the ingredients. Your mise en place is set. Now it’s time to get cooking!

Stop!

The last step in successfully preparing a new recipe is to follow the directions as written. To give the recipe its due, adhere to the instructions and avoid the temptation to wing it. Follow specifics like “sauté for three minutes,” heed indicators like “bake until golden brown,” and pay attention to instructions for letting a dish cool before serving. Every good recipe has been carefully researched and tested, and it will work if you follow it word for word.

Stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new things is essential to becoming a better cook. Using these five steps when trying new dishes will keep your frustration to a minimum while maximizing your results. And now…you may start cooking!