The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin'
How I learned to spark excitement with my homecookin'
with these easy restaurant secrets!
Dear Food Lover,
Are you tired of boring meals? Do you crave some extra mealtime excitement? Would you like some money-saving restaurant secrets that work at home?
(With today's high food prices, you deserve more value and pleasure for your food dollar!)
It all boils down to this.
Years ago, I discovered some easy restaurant secrets that helped me cook better meals faster! I improved my self confidence! And, best of all, these secrets helped me take the mystery out of all recipes! And now, I spend less time in the kitchen. Much less!
Recently, I got others, both men and women, to try these fascinating secrets at home. And, their letters to me state they cook better and save money now, too. Maybe you will understand better if I tell you how I discovered how these lip smakin' secrets.
It all started a few years ago... My friends and I relaxed around a warm fire after a fantastic meal.
"I wish I were a better cook," my friend sighed, "I didn't learn much from Mom. She seemed bored in the kitchen--except for holidays and special occasions--then she would PANIC!"
My upset friend continued, "...and last night guests came for dinner. While eating, someone said something funny about a dish I'd prepared. I laughed but I was hurt--the same way you'd be hurt if someone joked about your cooking...I guess I need a better recipe book."
"I've got an idea," I said. "What you need is reliable, practical information on HOW to cook--not another WHAT-to-cook recipe book. I went to cook school. Let me loan you my notes."
(Back then, I was a cook and assistant kitchen supervisor in a beautiful new family restaurant.)
A few days later she said, "Mike, I learned more about cooking while reading your notebook than I've learned from slaving over my whole collection of recipe books. I wish I had this information long ago!"
So, I gave her a photo copy of my notes. I thought nothing more until the guy next door asked for a copy.
"I can't afford to eat out anymore!" he frowned. "I've gotta learn to cook--fast! My girl friend needs some coaching, too."
Soon, he said, "Thanks! ... we learned a lot ... we're having fun in our kitchen!"
I realized, after his enthusiastic comments, that anyone who can read simple English can easily gain more skill and confidence in the kitchen and dining room.
Your increased skill and confidence aren't the only thrill of learning these exciting secrets. You enjoy prestige because you gain an expert's reputation. Plus, you win the praise and admiration of family and friends.
Soon, others borrowed my notes. They too discovered how to cook greattasting meals.
Meanwhile, I expanded my notes with many ideas I collected in my restaurant career as cook and manager. I gathered many unusual ideas from direct interviews with successful restaurant owners.
"Our creative use of color is just one reason our friends like to eat here," smiled one owner. "You can use these three important rules about color to intensify cheerful dining..."
Now that sounded strange to me, as it might to you. But, I discovered that science proves food and color should harmonize. Your eyes, mind, appetite, and your palate are highly sensitive to color.
"Music is magic !" said another restaurant owner. "Music definitely enhances our intimate meal setting. You can easily achieve eight mood transitions with music. We use music to stimulate enthusiasm, creative imagination, intense desire and more...."
Although I loved music, I hadn't thought much about that either. I discovered music is ranked 'tops'--along with sex, love, and financial gain--to stimulate the mind.
And most important, I discovered something few friends realized. The smartest restaurant owner I ever met put it this way:
"We know that food has always been a symbol of love and romance. So, we serve great food in cheerful surroundings. We not only nourish physical bodies... we soothe emotional and spiritual hungers."
As you know, people have always served food in social gatherings, from small intimate dinners to large holiday feasts. You know what I'm talking about - family gatherings, Sunday brunch, anniversary dinners, intimate midnight snacks... At these times, you want feelings of warmth, love and closeness.
With just a few simple touches, you can make your meals radiate new warmth and love.
Over the years, I've crammed my notes with no-nonsense facts to help you cook better. Plus, they give you proven ways to add new dimensions to your dining pleasure, more important than ever in today's daily stresses.
And I want you to have this valuable information now at the least possible cost.
I am enthusiastic for others to try these secrets at home as I did because destructive cooking methods are frightfully common. These destructive methods cause major losses of your natural nutrients according to many famous nutritionists.
Yet, nutritionists tell us, ordinary foods--with emphasis on good seasoning, correct preparation, and cheerful dining--will help you stay slender, feel better, look better, and be more healthful and energetic.
And the simple fact is, it's' easy for you to preserve natural food value for better health--probably adding interesting years to your life. Plus, you protect your food budget in the bargain .
Best of all, you will get genuine compliments that give you confidence to help you put FUN in cooking! I know from experience!
My notes give you the easy details in plain English, not gourmet jargon.
- How to take inventory of your kitchen utensils. (pg. 33)
- How to make your cheaper cuts of meat tender and delicious. (pg. 88)
- How to cook perfect eggs (pg. 112).
- Use these 5 quick ways to make terrific sauces (pg. 128).
- Try these 6 simple rules for brewing fantastic coffee (pg. 145).
- How to conserve nutritive values. (pg. 149)
- Here are 10 delicious ways to prepare vegetables (pg. 132).
- All you need to know about baking (failures gone at last!). (pg. 138)
- How to put 'adventure' on your dining table! (pg. 173)
- Take the mystery out of food labels. (pg. 235)
- How to store food properly for safety. (pg. 263)
- Vitamins - is a good diet all you need? (pg. 303)
- The Dangers of over-cooking and under cooking. (pg. 313)
Let me make this final point. I'm an average American like you who was bored with daily mealtime chores.
I was tired of watching my shrinking food dollars go up in smoke--or wasted on "convenience" foods. And I was fed up with being embarrassed and apologetic when it was my turn to entertain friends and relatives.
Now I know that you, like me, are interested in proven cooking methods that work. I know that you want easy methods that go beyond ordinary "recipe" books. I know these methods will work for you, as they do for others, because they've been tested and proven thousands of times--in better restaurants--and in homes like yours.
You probably won't go into the restaurant business as I did. But I'll give you valuable ideas about how you can make money in your own home kitchen-- and how to keep your customers coming back.
To give you this valuable information at the least possible cost, I've prepared my complete notes in report form -- in easy-to-read type -- in an Acrobat file that you can print on regular paper and file in a 3-ring binder (Kinko's or similar printers can print the Acrobat file for you.)
That is the cheapest and fastest way for me to get these helpful notes to you. I am sure it is the information you want and NOT some fancy-bound picture-book that is all cover and no contents.
At this point, I know I've done everything necessary to help you understand these restaurant secrets will help you easily prepare great meals at home. All I want you to do is try these ideas, without risk in your own home.
You don't need "talent" or "education." If you can understand what I've said so far, you'll easily understand my full report. You don't have to overhaul your kitchen... You'll have no quizzes. You won't have to endure tedious memorizing, or messy kitchen experiments.
So before you give up for good and resign yourself to a lifetime of tedious kitchen chores and uninspired meals, put your faith in me and what I tell you.
I know these secrets work.
If you really want to cook better meals--using proven restaurant secrets--select one of the Order Options below today. I'll send you the huge report in its tabbed binder by return mail. (Acrobat file optional.) Then you will soon know the easy, economical way to extra mealtime excitement! (Return to Ultimate Career Builder Page.)
Sincerely,
Mike Hayden
PS: Let me say again. These easy restaurant secrets will enrich your everyday dining while stretching your food dollar--in your home--just as they do in the finest restaurants. Order today for your holiday meals.
Need more details to decide? Click links below.
Mike Hayden
Documentation Express
Book Division
1805 North Carson St. #386
Carson City, Nevada 89701
Email: Contact Documentation Express
The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin'
INTRODUCTION
After you read the new Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin’, you’ll find cooking easier and more enjoyable than before, whether you cook for yourself or for others. Your kitchen work will be smoother, your meal and entertainment planning more effective.
The information in this handbook takes the mystery and guesswork out of cooking and food preparation!
This handbook is no ordinary cookbook (most cookbooks are actually recipe books).
Instead of recipes, this handbook is filled with facts about food, how to cook it, and how to serve memorable meals effortlessly.
I’ve written this handbook in plain English — not fancy gourmet jargon. It’s for people like you who are serious about enriching your experience of food and eating — without fanciful jargon, kitchen mess, wasted time and money.
This is a how-to book, designed for use as a reference manual; you’ll come back again and again. I don’t expect you to remember all the information herein. That’s why I carefully developed an extensive index so you can quickly find topics of interest when you need them.
I discuss some controversial subjects, such as dietary fats (what kind? how much or little?), cholesterol, heart disease, genetically engineered foods, additives, etc.
Please understand that new information is discovered everyday about food, nutrition, and biochemistry. I will tell you some of the technical details so you can make informed decisions. I will tell you how cooking food can affect its nutritional value and biochemical makeup.
Further, I discuss topics seldom if ever discussed in recipe books.
You’ll find information about nutrition, kitchen safety, sanitation, buying and storing food, how to conserve nutrients, ideas for serving and entertaining, how to read food labels, etc.
I discuss kitchen sanitation and safety before discussing cooking because I believe knowing about sanitation and safety is important before going into the kitchen.
But you can read the chapters in any order you want. It’s your book!
(Return to Ultimate Career Builder Page.)
The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin'
CHAPTER DESCRIPTIONS
Chapter 1. Introduction
The information in this handbook takes the mystery and guesswork out of cooking and food preparation!
Chapter 2. What’s a Cook?
Simply put, a cook is someone who prepares food for eating. Yet, there’s more to cooking than just fixing something to eat!
Chapter 3. Your Cooking is Sensational!
As you’ve probably noticed, there’s a new upsurge in home cooking and entertaining by both women and men. So, now there’s a tremendous opportunity to create a dazzling variety of dishes as we enter a new era of high-tech kitchen gadgets.
Chapter 4. The Hassle-Free Home Cookin’ Diet
We seldom give ourselves credit for being able to choose our diet responsibly, without other’s opinion or agreement. We "try" fad diets, then (subtly) sabotage them, and then blame the diet when we don’t get the results we want. Well, here’s yet another diet for you to "try!"
Chapter 5. Kitchen Utensils
It’s amazing how few utensils it takes to make a kitchen functional. Why not obtain the utensils that help you create great meals? As with your other skills, you want the best tools-of-the-trade. In this chapter, you’ll take inventory of your kitchen utensils. Checklist included.
Chapter 6. Kitchen Sanitation & Safety
This chapter tells you how to have a clean kitchen while spending the least amount of time and effort. Whether you do it this way or any other way is entirely up to you. But, it’s easier to produce results in the kitchen if it’s clean and well organized. This chapter includes kitchen sanitation and safety checklists and tells how to recognize signs of food spoilage.
Chapter 7. Cooking and Preparing Food
This chapter could make that unmistakable difference for you whether you cook outside or inside, whether you cook for 1 or 101! This chapter includes many checklists you can use to streamline your cooking activities. It discusses mixing methods, cooking methods, herbs, spices, wine, soups, salads, sauces, and gravies, vegetables, rice and pasta.
Here you’ll find a practical discussion about meat, fish and poultry, with specific guidelines for buying, cooking, and serving meats tender and tasty, with nutrients preserved.
This chapter also talks about baking and shares secrets known only by professional bakers. Here, you’ll discover little-known facts about flour, sugar, shortening, leavening, and flavorings and how they work together. Once you understand the ingredients, you can make any baking recipe turn out the way you want it!
Chapter 8. Conserving Nutritive Values
Today, you can choose from a great variety of foods that provide the vitamins, minerals, protein, and other food nutrients needed for good health. In this chapter, you’ll learn how to preserve nutritive values in the foods you buy, such as, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, canned goods, etc.
Chapter 9. Serving, Entertaining & Added Extras
Chapter 9 tells you how food experts use color and music to create magic mealtime moods. From quick-bite snacks to regal festive dining, you can use these same techniques to create your own magical memorable meals. Treat your friends to a taste of your own good life! It’s fun!
Chapter 10. Proteins, Carbs, Fiber & Fats
This section is a primer on four nutrients essential for good health: proteins, carbohydrates, fiber, and fats. What are they? What is a balanced diet? Includes handy reference tables.
Chapter 11. Reading Food Labels
Here’s a summary of the information you’ll find most often found on food labels. What information is required? Optional? You’ll learn how to read labels, what the date codes mean, what "imitation means," etc.
Chapter 12. Food Additives
Additives are plentiful and put into our foods for several reasons. Mostly they are products of modern technology. Because they are so common in today’s foods and so controversial, this chapter with its index of additives, tells you what they are, why they’re used, how they’re regulated–and why you should become informed. Chapter includes table of agents used as stabilizers, leavening, tenderizers, conditioners, etc.
Chapter 13. Food Storage
Proper food storage is important for food safety and to assure products’ safety and quality. You must plan ahead to avoid many food storage pitfalls. In this chapter, you’ll check out your own kitchen, see what needs to be improved, and make needed changes.
Chapter includes step-by-step checklists for: basic storage, checking your supplies, checking your frig/freezer, wrapping procedures; includes storage chart.
Chapter 14. More about Microwaves
Here you will learn more about microwave radiation, how it cooks, and important safety issues.
Chapter 15. The Food Pyramid
Here you will learn about the USDA Food Guide Pyramid, its suggested nutritional and dietary guidelines, how to make the pyramid work for you, and some of the controversial and political ramifications. Chapter also includes a simplified "food combining" formula for improved digestion and nutrient absorbtion.
Chapter 16. What about Vitamins?
Less than 20% of us consumes the recommended five to seven servings of fresh fruits and vegetables daily. Food supplements don’t replace meals. Yet, many Americans remain deficient in essential vitamins and minerals even when taking supplements at maximum recommended dosage. Vitamin and mineral supplements are far safer than many common over-the-counter "medicines."
This chapter discusses the politics of how foreign "experts" could dictate to American companies the maximum vitamins and minerals that can be placed in food supplements! Congress has received more letters on vitamins than any other issue!
Chapter 17. Cooking Cautions
One of my reviewers advised me to exclude this information from the book. I thought it over. Here’s my simple reasoning.
Although this book is about how-to-cook, I believe it should also include information about how-NOT-to-cook. This chapter may be an eye-opener for you.
Index
I carefully developed an extensive index so you can quickly find topics of interest when you need them. Read The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin' and get valuable information and streamlined cooking techniques you’ll use for the rest of your life!
(Return to Ultimate Career Builder Page.)
The Handbook of Hassle-Free Homecookin'
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION 7
2. WHAT’S A COOK? 15
3. YOUR COOKING IS SENSATIONAL! 17
4. THE HASSLE-FREE HOME COOKIN’ DIET 27
5. KITCHEN UTENSILS 33
- Taking Inventory of Your Kitchen Utensils 33
- Thermometers & Scales 35
- Measuring Cups 36
- Kitchen Knives 37
- Microwave Ovens 43
- Microwave Oven Radiation 44
- Where to Shop for Utensils 47
- Caring for Kitchen Utensils 50
- Kitchen Inventory Checklist 52
6. KITCHEN SANITATION & SAFETY 55
- Easy Kitchen Clean-Up 55
- Kitchen Safety Tips 59
- Kitchen Sanitation 63
- Signs of Food Spoilage 65
7. COOKING AND PREPARING FOOD 69
- Recipes, Mixing Methods, & Cooking Methods 70
- Mixing Methods 73
- Cooking Methods 74
- Herbs, Spices, Salts, Flavorings, even Wines 79
- Using Herbs & Spices in Cooking 81
- Spice Chart 83
- Herb Chart 85
- Using Wine in Cooking 86
- Meat, Fish, Poultry 88
- Soups 107
- Salads 109
- Eggs 112
- Cheese 122
- Sauces & Gravies 128
- Vegetables 132
- Rice and Paste Products 136
- Baking 138
- Coffee, Tea, Cocoa 145
8. CONSERVING NUTRITIVE VALUES 149
- Introduction 149
- Vegetables 152
- Fruits & Fruit Juices 158
- Canned Foods 160
- Frozen Foods 162
- Meat, Poultry, & Fish 164
- Milk 166
- Eggs 168
- Cereals 169
9. SERVING, ENTERTAINING & ADDED EXTRAS 173
- Cook with Color 173
- Music 177
- How To Get Entertainers 179
- Miscellaneous Party Tips 180
- Making Money At Home 187
- Mc Jacks 191
10. PROTEINS, CARBS, FIBER & FATS 195
- Introduction 195
- Proteins 197
- Carbohydrates 202
- Dietary Fiber 206
- Fats 209
- Fats in Food and Diet 214
- Fat-Free Foods Subvert Weight-Loss Efforts 231
- Modified Foods 233
11. READING FOOD LABELS 235
- Food Labels 235
12. FOOD ADDITIVES 245
- Introduction 245
- Why Additives? 248
- Additive Regulations 250
- Additives Generally Recognized as Safe GRAS 252
- Become Informed 254
- Additives Index 255
13. FOOD STORAGE 263
- Introduction 263
- Basic Storage Rules 264
- Checking the Stock 265
- Checking the Refrigerator 267
- Checking the Freezer 269
- Storage Chart 273
14. MORE ABOUT MICROWAVES 275
- What is Microwave Radiation? 275
- Cooking with Microwaves 276
- Microwave Oven Safety 278
- Microwave Ovens and Health 280
15. THE FOOD PYRAMID 283
- What is the Food Guide Pyramid? 283
- The Food Pyramid’s Nutrition Advice 290
- Dietary Guidelines 291
- The Pieces of the Pyramid 293
- How to Make the Pyramid Work 294
- The Pyramid’s Food Groups 295
16. WHAT ABOUT VITAMINS? 303
- Is A Good Diet All You Need? 303
- Vitamins, Food Supplements & Politics 305
- Aging & Politics 309
17. COOKING CAUTIONS 311
- Introduction 311
- The Dangers of Over-Cooking 313
- The Dangers of Undercooking 320
- The Dangers of Cooking at All 322
INDEX 329
Request for Reader Comments 343
Mike Hayden
Documentation Express
Book Division
1805 North Carson St. #386
Carson City, Nevada 89701
Email: Contact Documentation Express
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