I realize not everyone has the patience, time or desire to cook, but I think the average person who has gained enough comfort in the kitchen can cook just about anything.

When I was in high school, I learned to fry eggs, make ramen noodles and bake a frozen pizza–not the most complicated of meals, but enough to steer me in the right direction. In college, I followed recipes (mostly from Emeril) to gain more experience using various ingredients. Eventually, I got to the point that I can just take items–say, chicken, vegetables and some seasonings–and make an entree.

In case you didn’t have the luxury of learning this way, or you haven’t taken professional lessons, here are three ways to learn how to cook.

1. Read the 4-Hour Chef. This book was named “Best First Cookbook” at the 18th Annual “Best in the World” Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Author Timothy Ferris does an excellent job of breaking down dishes into smaller components, using as few ingredients as possible. The techniques he shows you can be applied to make any dish. He also provides a list of cooking tools and basic ingredients (e.g. extra-virgin olive oil) you need to stock your kitchen. A must-read for beginners.

2. Watch the New York Times’ videos of cooking techniques. Rather than point you to the disparate collection of amateur videos on YouTube, I recommend checking out the short and well-produced videos housed in the New York Times’ online dining section. Subjects include how to shock steamed vegetables, mince garlic, cut a mango and fillet a fish.

3. Watch the show “Good Eats” (clips and full episodes). Host Alton Brown knows the science behind food. In addition to showing you how to cook certain dishes, he discusses why you do certain things (e.g. why muddle the mint in a mint julep? why cut meat across the grain?), and what are the best tools for accomplishing these tasks. My favorite episode is the one in which he shows you how to set up a bar and make drinks (season nine: “Raising the Bar”).