When the moms come into town this weekend, it’s inevitable that the wait to get a table at your mom’s favorite Urbana-Champaign restaurant is going to be longer than usual. So why not find a place with guaranteed seating – your very own kitchen.

Tackling the art of cooking can be a stressful task, but attempting to showcase your skills for mom doesn’t have to be impossible.

“My advice to beginning cooks is to keep it simple; don’t go overboard, you’ll drive yourself crazy if you try and fix a complicated meal,” said Mary Knight, coordinator of Mettler University, which offers cooking classes.

“The other advice I always give to beginner cooks is to buy a good cookbook.”

Cookbooks can provide various recipes, ingredient photos, food substitutes and cooking terms and techniques.

Planning out the menu and deciding on the recipe is essential before even going to the grocery story.

Making a list might help to narrow down the exact ingredients needed, Knight said.

“When you are ready to start preparing your recipes, make sure you’ve read through (them), have all your ingredients ready, as well as any measuring cups, spoons, pans and pots,” Knight said.

“You’ll save yourself lots of time if you have everything you need before you start.”

The preparation effort is just as important as the actual cooking of the meal because you don’t want to realize something is missing half way through the meal, she said.

Food safety is also something to keep in mind throughout the cooking process.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture uses four simple words to help you remember food safety rules: cook, separate, clean and chill.

“It doesn’t matter how delicious or complicated your recipe is. If the food makes people sick because of improper cooking or handling, all your efforts will be wasted. You can’t tell if a food is safe to eat by how it looks or tastes. Proper storage, cooking and handling are the only ways to ensure safe food,” Knight said.

Carolyn Thalin, senior in ACES, said there are other precautions to take when cooking.

“Getting a hair in the food is the worst thing that can happen. It’s so gross, and no one is going to want to eat after that,” Thalin said.

There are also ways to make the presentation of the meal a success, going above and beyond just cooking the meal.

“As a mother of a college student myself, just making dinner is impressive enough, but setting the table with pretty napkins, flowers and nice dinner music is just as nice as going to a restaurant,” Knight said.

Thalin added that creativity is crucial to making a successful recipe.

Using your own ideas to make the recipes better can only add to the cooking experience.

“Not everyone can be Rachael Ray, and who would want to be? More than anything, have fun, don’t stress. After all you don’t want to be in the kitchen the whole time,” Knight said.