the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat; "cooking can be a great art"; "people are needed who have experience in cookery"; "he left the preparation of meals to his wife"
not common or ordinarily encountered; unusually great in amount or remarkable in character or kind; "uncommon birds"; "frost and floods are uncommon during these months"; "doing an uncommon amount of business"; "an uncommon liking for money"; "he owed his greatest debt to his mother's uncommon character and ability"