10 essential cooking skills everybody should know

What are some of the most important cooking skills for any adult to know? We’ve come up with 10 things that are fundamental to being able to cook at least an occasional meal for yourself. Have a look at the list below and check how many of them you’ve got.

1. How to cook pasta

2. How to master the barbecue grill

3. How to boil an egg

4. How to plan a meal and how to prepare the main dish and side dishes

5. How to roast a whole chicken 

6. How to roast vegetables

7. How to sear meat

8. How to make a simple dessert (i.e. peanut butter raisin cookies!)

9. Basic knife skills

10. This last one is a very essential skill for every Irish cook: how to make the full Irish Breakfast!

One of the hardest things to master can be #5: how to plan a meal and how to prepare the main dish and side dishes at the same time. Well, whether you’re planning a party, dinner with friends or just making a dinner for your loved one, start always with deciding on the main dish – have a look at food websites and social media to get more inspiration.

Once you picked the main dish, pick also a veggie to go with it, and decide if you want to steam or roast it. You can have rice or quinoa with just about every meal, but you could also use the old and always-good roast potatoes, or even a simple salad. Now that you have your entire meal planned out, have look at your recipes and see how long each of them needs to cook – planning ahead is key!
If you are new to cooking, start simple and have grace for yourself! Be patient, it just takes some practice. Take your time to learn little tricks and what works best for you.

To start, here are two insightful posts that will help you learn how to become a better cook and how to clean the dishwasher for your inner housekeeper.