1. A meal is not easy to cook unless it is also easy to clean.
If a recipe calls for more than three pieces of cookware, total—that includes anything you use for preparation as well as what goes in the oven or on the stove top—fuck it, it’s too complicated. Always cook with an eye on cleaning. This has nothing to do with making KP easier. Rather, if something doesn’t require much clean up, odds are it’s not going to require much work to prepare and cook either.
2. Treat your cookware correctly
Metal baking pans? Put down foil or you’ll ruin them. Iron skillet? Add lots of oil first, then seasoning, then your main ingredients, and always cook over low heat. Not only will this keep you from ruining your expensive cookware, but it will also keep you from ruining your meal, and making a mess.
3. Mix and cook in one step
If a recipe calls for you to mix wet and dry ingredients in a bowl; it’s probably not a weeknight dish. The only time you should use a separate mixing bowl is when you have more than an hour budgeted for meal prep. Instead, look for dishes where you can combine ingredients in the same pot that you’re actually going to cook in. It will make clean up easier and cooking faster. There’s a broader corollary here: combine steps whenever possible. Why use a colander if the sink works? Oh. The sink’s nasty you say? Well, there are exceptions to every rule.
4. You only need three ingredients
It’s true. Even the most complex meals tend to be based around three core ingredients: salt, garlic and oil (or butter). Add these three Super Ingredients to any dish to max out your flavor. Looking for something a little different? Other flavors to try include onions, honey, hot sauce, lemon, miso, or Italian dressing. Mix and match these basics and you’ll never go wrong.
5. First, find the time
Plan your meal so that all your dishes will be ready at once. Start on the dish that’s going to take the longest first. You may or may not want to do al your prep work ahead of time based on cooing times. For example, if one dish will take 30 minutes and another 20, you probably want to do all the prep initially. But if the latter is only going to take ten, it’s probably best to do that prep after you’ve dropped the first in the oven.
6. Have fun
Enjoy what you’re doing and it will show up in the finished meal.
