Can you cook?
- Thread starter demoncore1031
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- Mar 27, 2006
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Something I found out later in life: I started cooking because my mother was a good cook, who enjoyed being in the kitchen. It was something we bonded over. I started helping out making making meals for my family in high school. Not every night, but a few times per week. I didn't want to intrude because it was something my mother enjoyed. Fast forward ten years, and my mom admits to me that she always hated cooking but my dad was flat out incapable and uninterested in anything but grilling, so it just kind of fell to her. And it wasn't until I showed interest that she started enjoying it because it was something we did together.
You bet! Soups, chili, cobblers, crisps, pies, brisket, ribs, pulled pork, wings, chicken, mexican dishes. I can pickles, pepper rings, and salsa. Lot of side dishes, like home made onion rings , breaded tenderloins, hand cut fries, french toast, omelets, meatloaf, etc.
I can, but don't frequently. The one thing that I prepare once a year or so is my grandmother's chicken and dumplings recipe. It came from Hungary with my great grandmother and isn't like what most people envision when they think of that dish (conversely, I was shocked at what most people consider to be a dumpling the first time I saw it away from grandma's house as a kid "that's just a biscuit!"). Anyway, the dumpling is made of simple dough (like pancake batter) that is boiled in water, not added to the creamed chicken in any way until ready to be served. The dumplings end up being used like a bed of rice with the chicken and sauce going on top of it. My dad will request it for his birthday and it wasn't even HIS mother's recipe! It takes about an hour and a half from start to finish, but it's SO worth it. If I could have a 'last meal' wish, it would be this one, but would have to be made by my grandma. Mine is close to hers, but no one could ever make it better than she did.
There are some other things I can do like a really good stroganoff, basic spaghetti (I make the sauce, never from a jar), various casseroles, and can do a really good turkey in the oven for a winter holiday.
There are some other things I can do like a really good stroganoff, basic spaghetti (I make the sauce, never from a jar), various casseroles, and can do a really good turkey in the oven for a winter holiday.
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Jambalaya is in my heavy rotation
Pot roast with Guinness gravy if Im looking for an all day project
Just bought a steam pot recently, going to work on my seafood boil game.
Baking, while I enjoy the results, is too recipe specific. My cooking is more of a shoot from the hip style.
Pot roast with Guinness gravy if Im looking for an all day project
Just bought a steam pot recently, going to work on my seafood boil game.
Baking, while I enjoy the results, is too recipe specific. My cooking is more of a shoot from the hip style.
When you've been tailgating the last 15 years, I've taught myself a few things. I've done a bacon wrapped pork loin before which I did on whim and it turned out great. I was out of my comfort zone on it when we first started tailgating, so I've learned a few things over the years. The allrecipe website is a great tool also.
- Mar 27, 2006
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Agreed on baking. Baking is a science. It's all about precision and ratios. I admire anyone who can do it. I'm just not one of those people. I can do it decently, but I don't get the best results, and I just don't enjoy it.
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I love to cook. I have gotten pretty good recently at homemade red sauce. My favorite thing to cook is probably bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers. I stuff with cream cheese that I mix with different seasonings. I make a really good tomato bisque. I think I am pretty good cook. I also do some baking. I don't hardly eat sweets, but I bake cookies that my wife takes to work.
My dad owned a small town resturant during my teenage years. I've made thousands of them! LOL!
Cut horizontal to 1.5 inch medallions. Tenderize the hell out of them with a mallet and soak over night in buttermilk.
Dredge in flower, back to buttermilk and then dredge in corn-meal/breadcrums mix (seasoned to your taste). Deep fry at 350.
Big recipes to me are fascinating but I find them to be a bit....too much?
I'm also a total creature of habit though so can eat similar meals often.
A simple dinner meal:
2 chicken breast tenderloins (thawed)
Frozen California veggies (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower)
Olive oil, some seasoning.
Medium heat or a little higher, 6 minutes each side of tenders, mix veggies in separate pan.
Add sharp cheddar cheese or something for flavor.
Takes about 15 minutes tops.
Can do the same thing with salmon/fish.
This is something I wish I had known several years ago when I could exercise more, but definitely was eating way unhealthier/expensive.
I'm also a total creature of habit though so can eat similar meals often.
A simple dinner meal:
2 chicken breast tenderloins (thawed)
Frozen California veggies (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower)
Olive oil, some seasoning.
Medium heat or a little higher, 6 minutes each side of tenders, mix veggies in separate pan.
Add sharp cheddar cheese or something for flavor.
Takes about 15 minutes tops.
Can do the same thing with salmon/fish.
This is something I wish I had known several years ago when I could exercise more, but definitely was eating way unhealthier/expensive.
Yes it's super easy, just a pain to deal with the grease/clean up afterwards.
Bourbon butter mushrooms are probably my favorite thing to make, take any mushroom, sliced into portions that allow them to lay flat in a pan (if it has a particularly woody stem I'll remove them or chop the stems into smaller portions), heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat with a little (or a lot) butter, throw in mushrooms let them soften, when they start getting a little brown add more butter, fresh rosemary (whole sprig) and a little bourbon, let reduce as mushrooms continue to caramelize. Remove rosemary and pour over steak or serve with eggs (preferably with soft yolks).
I was fortunate that my mother had cooking skills. She didn't have incredibly deep skills, but it was rare that we ate anything out of a box or can, and almost everything was very good. We ate a lot of roasts with real mashed potatoes and home grown sweet corn.
As an adult I am decent in the kitchen. I avoid processed meals. I just hate washing dishes after cooking, so when I cook, I try and dirty as few dishes as possible. When I make things in the oven I use disposable aluminum pans so I can just throw them away when I am done.
I have a good friend who only recently stopped eating pop tarts for breakfast every day. He is 29. He also grew up in a processed meals family. I convinced him to get a good instant read thermometer about a year ago and it instantly made him a better cook, and more intested in cooking, because when he makes food now, it actually tastes decent and isn't over cooked. Took a long time for him to realize that cooking by time is not reliable or consistent especially with proteins. He also got a good grill to replace his $20 craigslist find with the refrigerator grill grate and scrap angle iron heat deflectors.
He is still terrified of any vegetable that isn't a potato and the occasional green bean.
What I feel was the best compliment that my dad ever gave me was “you cook just like your grandmother “.
Everyone always talked about her cooking and her ability to use the basics and make a meal.
Everyone always talked about her cooking and her ability to use the basics and make a meal.
For those that do cook, do you ever remember being specifically taught how to cook? I had this discussion with my roommates once and it was kind of 50/50 for being taught by osmosis vs being taught specifically what to do / how to make things.
I don't ever specifically remember being taught how to cook by my mom (my dad should not be trusted with anything other than making coffee). The counter in the kitchen has always been a family gathering spot and my mom would not hesitate to tell any of us to get onto the other side of the counter and either stir something on the stove or to give us a knife, cutting board, and a vegetable and tell us to get cutting.
I don't ever specifically remember being taught how to cook by my mom (my dad should not be trusted with anything other than making coffee). The counter in the kitchen has always been a family gathering spot and my mom would not hesitate to tell any of us to get onto the other side of the counter and either stir something on the stove or to give us a knife, cutting board, and a vegetable and tell us to get cutting.
Hell yes, I enjoy cooking because I enjoy eating. I found it was easier to cook a very nice romantic meal for half the price of going out on days like valentines.
Things I enjoy cooking.
- omelets
- Ethic cuisine (exploring foods and flavors I never tried before)
- any meal that involves pasta.
Things I enjoy cooking.
- omelets
- Ethic cuisine (exploring foods and flavors I never tried before)
- any meal that involves pasta.
**** ya I remember. 6th, 7th, 8th grade Home Ec. We could even choose an extra period of it if we weren’t in band or chorus.
When we were kids we spent a lot of time in the kitchen while mom was cooking so I believe the majority of my cooking knowledge came via osmosis and trial and error. Pretty sure all us kids started out with scrambled eggs, waffles and pancakes.
When we did waffles on a Sunday morning eventually that became my job.
