Six Meals Every Guy Should Know How to Cook

No matter if it’s finals week, broke as hell or your dinner plans fall through unexpectedly; having some go-to meals ready can save the day and show your sophistication; not to mention, cooking itself can be quite an impressive skill to have!

Here are six dishes every man should know how to cook.

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

Nothing beats the satisfaction of a succulent chicken dinner paired with crisp veggies! This one-pan wonder makes an easy weeknight meal that you can prepare either ahead of time (ideal for meal prep) or quickly after work.

Just coat chicken and vegetables in a delicious buttery glaze before roasting in the oven – that’s it! Add herbs for additional flavoring, and you have an easy meal that comes together quickly and tastes incredible – leaving just one pan to clean at night!

This recipe calls for a whole chicken; however, boneless chicken breasts will do just as well. Just ensure the vegetables are cut into bite-size pieces so they cook evenly. If you want to prepare this dish ahead of time, combine all of your ingredients in a zip lock bag for at least 30 minutes (or overnight if possible) prior to adding to the skillet.

A Simple Pasta Dish

Pasta is an easy and quick weeknight dinner solution, making for the perfect weekday dinner or lunch box addition. Versatile in its applications, pasta can be dressed up with different ingredients for different flavors – Kay Chun uses storecupboard ingredients like eggs and pancetta for this satisfying pasta meal that takes less than 30 minutes to create it! Plus it makes a fantastic packed lunch the next day.

Gnocchi is often revered for its rich, buttery flavour; however, Ali Slagle provides this tasty red sauce option with clams as part of her recipe for storecupboard dumplings.

A Perfectly Seared Steak

Pan-searing is one of the easiest ways to elevate any steak, enhancing its flavor and texture while creating a delicious crust. This technique requires placing both sides of the steak in a hot pan until a delicious crust forms, adding texture as well as flavor enhancement.

To achieve optimal results, it’s essential that a heavy pan – ideally cast iron) be preheated before adding any meat. Furthermore, adding oil such as canola, vegetable or peanut can help prevent sticking issues and ensure consistent heat distribution across the surface of the pan.

Salt the steaks liberally both sides (don’t skimp), according to restaurateur Ming Tsai: the only thing worse than overseasoning would be not seasoning at all!

Once your steaks have been seared, it’s time to customize your dish however you see fit (except tomatoes which will cause steaming ). We suggest spreading some butter onto each steak so it melts together with its juices for an incredible sauce.

An Asian-Inspired Noodle Dish

Pad Thai and lo mein will never get old, but there are numerous other Asian-inspired noodles that are just as fast to prepare. From soups to stir fries, these noodles can be as creative or straightforward as desired.

No matter the variety, freshly or dried noodles should always be slightly parboiled before being dressed with an easy sauce of soy sauce, fish sauce and brown sugar.

Add chicken, shrimp or pork strips as desired; veggies such as broccoli, carrots, snow peas and bok choy; crushed peanuts are an easy and popular addition. Garnish your dish with cilantro and bean sprouts for added color if you wish; this easy noodles dish makes a wonderful side dish or standalone meal in no time at all! It’s also an efficient pantry staple you can whip up quickly on weeknights for quick dinner bites!

A Fancy Cheese Board

Cheese boards may seem intimidatingly complex and extravagant, but you can create an exquisite appetizer using grocery store products that will wow your guests. Focus on selecting cheeses with various milk sources, textures, flavors and shapes when selecting your cheeses to make an impressive presentation.

Plan on serving three to five cheeses on your standard size board, starting with soft (Brie), semi-firm or firm cheeses, as well as something a bit different like washed-rind or stinky blues.

Don’t forget to add some charcuterie (cured meats) for an additional savory element! This will fill any holes on your platter with flavors like dry-cured salami or Italian speck as well as prosciutto; other possibilities could include smoked salmon pate. Finish it all off with olives, pickles, roasted peppers or artichokes for extra flair!