The Second-String Cook - Cooking Light

Stephen Bohlinger: The Second-String Cook

HIS CHALLENGE

When Steve first started at Cooking Light in 1991, his wife, Debbie, teased, “You don’t even know how to turn on a stove.” Over the years, his repertoire has expanded (he’s an accomplished baker), but his long commute still places the family-of-five’s food duties squarely on Debbie’ s shoulders. “My wife is a saint. But by the time the weekend comes around, she’s pretty spent,” says Steve, who admits to a heavy reliance on takeout. “If I could cook a few meals on the weekend and one that we could freeze so she could have a day off during the week, that would be fantastic.”

OUR ADVICE

Like many households, the Bohlinger home has two potential cooks, one of them underemployed; encouraging Steve to cook more is a way to meet this month’s goal. Steve knows his way around the kitchen; he’s just gotten a little stale. With a new arsenal of go-to techniques and some recipe inspiration, he can be a weekend cooking warrior.

Use those baking skills! Make dough for pizzas, calzones, and savory tarts. Use a pastry crust to envelop a quiche, make a free-form caramelized onion galette, or top a chicken potpie.
Broaden your cooking skills. Broiling, stir-frying, roasting, and sautéing are easy cooking methods to learn. And once you’ve gotten the hang of them, dinner options open up exponentially: Just swap in different meats and vegetables depending on what you like and what’s in season.
Get saucy. So you’ve perfected the art of sautéing a chicken breast. Then what? Pair with different sauces to keep things fresh. Find recipes and learn how to make sauces.
Don’t forget side dishes. Sides can stump the cook when it comes to dinner. Work up a set of quick, versatile sides (see our favorite side dish recipes).
Make your own takeout. So Steve’s fallback is takeout—partially for convenience but also because the family enjoys it. Add our quick takes on takeout favorites to the recipe deck.
Pre-mix a healthy breakfast. On the weekend, combine quick-cooking oats with sunflower seeds, dried fruit, a bit of brown sugar, or coconut. Store in an airtight container, and dole out portions on busy mornings. Add water, microwave, and voilà: superb oatmeal in no time. Get more ideas from our collection of 100-calorie oatmeal toppings.
Make and freeze. On the weekend, cook lasagna, soup, or chili, and freeze individual portions to let Debbie take a night off during the week. See our best freezable recipes.

Staff Profile: The Second-String Cook

“All I have to do is cook on the weekend … yet I still find excuses not to.” - Stephen Bohlinger: Age 47, Vice President/Publisher, Westfield, N.J.