At a local supermarket, two women push half-filled grocery carts. The ladies are good friends, but they couldn't be more different. One is a stay-at-home housewife who loves to create culinary masterpieces from scratch. The other is a training supervisor at a prestigious advertising agency. Household chores, particularly those in the kitchen, are not her idea of fun. The two ladies stop for a moment in the frozen foods section. "I'm so tired," sighs the professional woman. "I don't know what to do about supper." Her friend suggests, "What about a microwave dinner?" The weary professional sighs, "No, I don't feel like cooking tonight."

　　在一間本地的超市里，兩位女士推著半滿的購物車。這兩位女士是好朋友，但兩人之間的差異是大得不能再大了。一位是持家的主婦，她喜歡大展廚藝，從全生的作料，一步一步創造佳肴杰作。另一位是在一家頗具聲望的廣告公司任職人事訓練主管。家務瑣事，特別是廚房事，并非她樂趣所在。二位女士在冷凍食物區前停了一會兒。職業婦女嘆道：「我好累，我不知晚餐要作什么好。」她的朋友建議說：「何不來一頓微波爐晚餐。」這位疲憊的職業婦女又嘆道：「不，我今晚不想作飯。」

　　If you think American cooking means opening a package and tossing the contents into the microwave, think again. On the one hand, it's true that Americans thrive on cold cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and instant dinners. From busy homemakers to professional people, many Americans enjoy the convenience of prepackaged meals that can be ready to serve in 10 minutes or less. On the other hand, many Americans recognize the value of cooking skills. Parents-especially mothers-see the importance of training their children-especially daughters-in the culinary arts. Most Americans will admit that there's nothing better than a good home-cooked meal. But with cooking, as with any other skill, good results don't happen by accident.

　　假如您以為美式烹飪就是打開一個料理盒而將里頭的東西拋進微波爐加熱，那你得改變想法了。從某一方面來說，美國人以早餐的冷麥片，午餐的三明治及快餐晚餐而發育健壯，這倒是真的。從忙碌的家庭主婦到上班族，許多美國人喜歡享受事先包裝好的便餐所帶來的方便，這些速餐在不到10分鐘內就可上桌。從另一個角度來看，許多美國人都認同廚藝的價值。父母親--特別是媽媽看到訓練孩子，尤其是女兒，烹飪藝術的重要*。大多數的美國人都承認沒有什么比得上一頓自家做的餐點。而談到烹飪，一如其它的技巧，好的成果并非偶然天成的。

　　Probably every cook has his or her own cooking style. But there are some basic techniques and principles that most people follow. For example, baking is a primary method of preparing food in America. The dinner menu often has casseroles, roast meats and other baked goods. For that reason, Americans would find it next to impossible to live without an oven. American cooks give special attention to the balance of foods, too. In planning a big meal they try to include a meat, a few vegetables, some bread or pasta and often a dessert. They also like to make sure the meal is colorful. Having several different colors of food on the plate usually makes for a healthy meal.

　　大概每一位廚師都有他自己的烹飪方式。但仍有一些基本方法和原則是大多數的人遵行的。例如，烘培在美國是烹飪的一種主要方法，晚餐菜單上通常有「焗烤菜」，烤肉及其它的烘培食物。因此，美國人會覺得沒有烤箱幾乎是無法過活。美國廚師們也特別留意食物的均衡。在計劃一頓大餐時，他們會試著加入肉，幾樣蔬菜，一些面包或面食，而且通常有甜點。他們也喜歡使餐點色彩亮麗。若盤中有不同色彩的食物，通常令人覺得是健康的一餐。

　　For those who need guidance in their cooking, or for those who have just run out of ideas, recipes are lifesavers. Recipes list all the ingredients for a dish (generally in the order used), the amount of each to use, and a description of how to put them together. Finding recipes in America is as easy as pie. Most good cooks have a shelf full of cookbooks ranging from locally published recipe collections to national bestsellers like the Betty Crocker Cookbook. Magazines devoted to home management, such as Good Housekeeping and Family Circle, are chock-full of scrumptious selections. Friends often augment their recipe collection by passing around their favorites written on cards.

　　對于那些在烹飪方面需要指導、或已江郎才盡的人，食譜就是救星。食譜列出做每一道菜所需要的所有材料(通常是依照使用的順序列出)，每一種的用量以及如何將它們搭配的說明。在美國尋找食譜可謂易如反掌。大多數的好廚師們都有一架子的食譜，從本地出版的各式食譜到像「蓓蒂?克勞克」的全國暢銷食譜。一般理家雜志，如「好管家」及「家庭圈」都滿滿地刊載很多美味的精選食譜。朋友們經常把自己最愛的食譜寫在卡片上，相互傳閱，來增加自己的食譜收藏。

　　For experienced cooks, true artists that they are, recipes are merely reference points. They often make adjustments as they go along, depending on the quantity of people they need to serve, the ingredients they have available and their personal taste. Some cooks use recipes very little, preferring instead to depend on their intuition as they add a pinch of this and a dash of that to create just the right flavors.

　　對于經驗豐富的廚師，他們是真正的藝術家，食譜僅僅是作為參考，他們常常一邊做菜，一邊依照他們宴請的人數，現有的作料以及個人的口味，來調整食譜。有些廚師們很少參照食譜，反而比較喜歡憑自己的直覺加一點這個，加一點那個，來作出剛好的味道。

　　Of course, Americans don't have a corner on the market when it comes to good cooking. Wherever you go in the world, people love to eat. As a result, every culture and nationality has its own share of mouth-watering delicacies. And America, as a "land of immigrants," has imported practically all varieties of cooking. Most good cooks in America are "fluent" in several cooking "dialects": Mexican, Italian, Chinese and good old American style, just to name a few. But whatever the dialect, cooking is a language everyone understands.

　　當然，談到好廚藝，美國人并非獨占鰲頭，無論您到世界何處，人們總是愛吃。所以，每一個文化及國家都有它特有的、令人垂涎三尺的佳肴。而美國，這個「移民之地」實際上也引進了各式的烹調。在美國大多數的名廚對于幾種烹飪「方言」都很「流利」。隨便舉幾個例子：墨西哥、意大利、中國以及傳統美國風味。且不論那一種「方言」，烹飪是一種人人皆懂的語言。