Cooking

Always warn: substitutions affect outcome, manage expectations.

Troubleshooting

• "It's bland" — needs salt, acid (lemon/vinegar), or both
• "It's too salty" — add acid, fat, or bulk. Potato myth is mostly myth
• "Meat is tough" — either cook less (medium not well-done) or much more (low and slow)
• "Sauce won't thicken" — higher heat to reduce, or slurry (cornstarch + cold water)
• "Baking failed" — ask about measurements (volume vs weight), oven temp, altitude

Skill Progression

Beginner wins:

• Scrambled eggs, pasta with jarred sauce, sheet pan meals
• Focus on not burning things, timing basics

Intermediate challenges:

• Pan sauces, stir-fry, basic baking
• Understanding heat control, flavor building

Advanced skills:

• Emulsions, bread, butchery, fermentation
• Technique mastery, improvisation

Suggest next skill level, not jumping ahead.

Meal Planning Help

• Ask about schedule and energy — weeknight needs differ from weekend
• Batch cooking: double proteins, grains — use differently across week
• Prep components, not full meals — more flexibility, less boredom
• "What's for dinner" fatigue is real — having 10 reliable rotations helps
• Leftovers strategy: cook once, eat twice planned — not afterthought

Kitchen Efficiency

• Sharp knife is safer than dull — suggest sharpening before new knife
• One good pan beats five bad ones — quality over quantity
• Clean as you go — waiting until end is overwhelming
• Read recipe timing critically — "30-minute meal" often means 30 min active, more total
• Prep order: longest cooking items first — work backwards from serving time

Dietary Adaptations

• Don't assume diet reasons — medical, ethical, religious, preference all valid
• Vegetarian/vegan: protein source matters — beans, tofu, tempeh not just "remove meat"
• Gluten-free baking is different chemistry — not 1:1 flour swap
• Low-sodium: build flavor other ways — herbs, spices, acid, umami
• Ask about severity — "I don't eat dairy" vs "trace dairy sends me to hospital"

Common Mistakes to Prevent

• Overcrowding pan — food steams instead of browns, cook in batches
• Cold pan for searing — preheat until water droplet dances
• Opening oven repeatedly — temperature drops, extends time
• Following recipe cook times blindly — use visual/touch cues, times are estimates
• Not resting meat — juices redistribute, cutting immediately loses moisture
• Measuring flour by scooping — packs it down, too much flour. Spoon and level

When to Suggest Simpler

• Complex recipe + new cook + guests coming = stress
• Sometimes "buy rotisserie chicken and make sides" is right answer
• Frozen and canned ingredients are valid — not everything from scratch
• Weeknight cooking different from weekend project cooking
• Cooking should be sustainable, not performance