NationStates Jolt Archive

To keep from going too far off from the topic in the Ketchup thread, I present the cooking thread.

Can you cook? Any really good cooks?

I suck supremely at cooking, even in a microwave. Especially in a microwave i more like it, really.

I can do pasta and some vegetables, but that's where my skills end. I'm much better with drinks than with food.

I LOVE cooking!
Curries, soups, pasta, allsorts of Asian dishes, cakes, desserts.
I made lasagne tonight. Go me.
One of my specialties is risotto with chorizo and swiss brown mushrooms.
Jamie Olivers recipes are great, simple and tasty.
I scored a really snazzy recipe book from my boy for christmas too. Yay.

I cook well enough that a number of friends have suggested that I open a restaurant. :D

I can cook baked beans in the microwave. And reheat cold pizza.

I LOVE cooking!
Curries, soups, pasta, allsorts of Asian dishes, cakes, desserts.
I made lasagne tonight. Go me.
One of my specialties is risotto with chorizo and swiss brown mushrooms.
Jamie Olivers recipes are great, simple and tasty.
I scored a really snazzy recipe book from my boy for christmas too. Yay.

Cool.
I tend away from cook books, with a few exceptions: the Joy of Cooking, The Tassajara Bread Book (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/157062089X/103-8752528-0524626?v=glance), the Tabasco Sauce Cookbook, and one or two others.

My specialties are a cream pasta sauce (affectionately called "heart attack sauce" due to the high colesterol and calories), gumbo, and real Texas yankee killer chili.

the Tabasco Sauce Cookbook

*drools*

I can't boil water without scortching it! :headbang:

*drools*
*helps Kanabia drool*

Here you go guys: The Tabasco Cookbook : 125 Years of America's Favorite Pepper Sauce (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0517589656/103-8752528-0524626?v=glance). Taste Tent Recipes (http://www.tabasco.com/taste_tent/tabasco_recipes/index.cfm) at http://www.tabasco.com/ is also good. (Their FAQ is also fun. :))

Well that settles it. Learning to cook goes on my "list of things to do before I die" :D

Well that settles it. Learning to cook goes on my "list of things to do before I die" :D

Lemmie lone! I'm thnking! ;)

I used to be a gourmet Pizza Chef and work for a catering company and a bakery. As much as I love cooking, I'm more of a graphic designer and working at home is too sweet a deal to pass up. I cook meals every night mostly from scratch and bake all the time as well as creating my own recipes as I'm very experimental. I guess culinary arts is now my hobby but for the sake of the poll I selected "professional" since I was one for several years.

Well that settles it. Learning to cook goes on my "list of things to do before I die" :D

Absolutely! Everyone should be able to cook, at least a little.

I can't boil water without scortching it!

Did you know it's actually quite possible to "scortch" water?

When you start your stove (or fire), pour a little bit of water you've already got on hand into the pot before you add any snow. This is important: If you try to start with snow: the heat will scorch it, and you will actually end up"burning" your water!
http://gorp.away.com/gorp/activity/hiking/skills/snowmelt.htm

I used to be a gourmet Pizza Chef and work for a catering company and a bakery. As much as I love cooking, I'm more of a graphic designer and working at home is too sweet a deal to pass up. I cook meals every night mostly from scratch and bake all the time as well as creating my own recipes as I'm very experimental. I guess culinary arts is now my hobby but for the sake of the poll I selected "professional" since I was one for several years.

Cool. I was womdering who voted pro. :)

I used to work in the kitchens as a chef.

Love it.

Hate working as a chef though. Never again. Long hours, stress, crap pay...

Emril himself's got nothin' on me, I guarantee.

I dont brag about much, but if I did, it would have to be my cooking.



Oh and my Wheel of Fortune skills!

I cook well enough that a number of friends have suggested that I open a restaurant. :D

Me too, also. :)

I tend to cook things with sauces... I make a mean andoille sausage pasta sauce, and have been working on duplicating Le Relais de L'Entrecote's steak butter topping thingy.

I also do some great soups and stews... soup au pistou, lentil stew, etc...

And I enjoy using cookbooks as a way to expand my repetoire - 'course I always end up modifying the recipes!!

How about cooking as it used to be. Fannie Merritt's American Cookbook (http://www.bartleby.com/87/)

In addition to recipies, this includes timeless hosekeeping advice:

To keep a Sink Drain free from grease, pour down once a week at night one-half can Babbitt’s potash dissolved in one quart water.

Great fun :)

i am ainsley hariot in carnate

I have yet to go crazy in the kitchen, but my cooking for now is passable. Mostly because I'll eat anything anyway

Mostly because I'll eat anything anyway

Yeah, ditto :D

I can cook in a deep frier.

How about cooking as it used to be. Fannie Merritt's American Cookbook (http://www.bartleby.com/87/)

In addition to recipies, this includes timeless hosekeeping advice:



Great fun :)

I love the Fannie Farmer cookbooks, too. I have a collection of them ranging back over 70 years. It is interesting to follow common recipes from one era to the next and watch them evolve. People say they enjoy my cooking...enough of them certainly show up at my house at meal time!! Several have suggested I open a restaurant or a catering business, but that would turn my joy into a job. I'm more of your country style cook, but have enhanced my skills with various ethnic recipes...primarily TexMex and Italian with some Cajun and Creole thrown in to keep my other half happy.

I can cook relatively well, if I'm inclined to. I don't normally prepare anything more complex than a bowl of cereal, but I have been known to cook stuff every now and then.

Who knows how to cook with a crock-pot? A wok? Who makes great chili?

God, I love to eat good food! :D

Who knows how to cook with a crock-pot?

That's easy!

A wok?

Me!

Who makes great chili?

My and my Le Creuset are working on it... got some ancho chiles, using spicy carne asada, maybe some sausage... do you have any recommendations?

Who knows how to cook with a crock-pot? A wok? Who makes great chili?

God, I love to eat good food! :D

*raises hand and shouts "i do i do!"*


And its southern cookin' too poppa........down here in jaw-jah.

...

My and my Le Creuset are working on it... got some ancho chiles, using spicy carne asada, maybe some sausage... do you have any recommendations?
The best advice I can give on a chilli is to make it the day before you want to eat it and then re-heat just before you serve.

Oh, and it should be made in industrial quantities, so you have to use a very large pan and thoroughly cook through.

I'm at my best with desserts. Tiramisu, Missippipi mud cake, pavlova, cheeseckae, bananas Flambe in a rum sauce, deep fried ice cream with a caramel sauce, mascarpone and raspberry couli. That sort of thing.
I'm ok at meal cooking. I had a Taiwanese g/f whose parents owned a restaurant. She was a brilliant cook. She could whip up 1/2 a dozen fantastic dishes in 15 minutes*. It takes me about an hour to do one. A Thai women showed me some nice Thai cooking, which is great. And I've got some interesting recipes of a Ukranian women last year. Russian food is in fact very nice, though a bit heavy on the garlic and cream. Brilliant in winter.
My biggest problems are I'm too lazy to cook and the takeaway food round here is so bloody cheap. It's cheaper to eat out than it is to cook.


*she could also give an awesome full-body massage (including walking on my back which, cause she only weighed 48kg, wasn't painful except in a good way), and before anyone asks, yes I do wonder sometimes why I broke up with her. And she had done modelling before I met her.
thinks...
reflects...
D'oh!
Man I'm an idiot sometimes.

*raises hand and shouts "i do i do!"*


And its southern cookin' too poppa........down here in jaw-jah.

OMG! I have most definitely died and gone to heaven! :D

Cook away, honey-chile, I'm on my way! LOL!

I was raised on Southern fried chicken, collards cooked in a bit of fatback, blackeyed peas, grits, country ham ... I could go on and on, but I'm driving myself crazy! Hell, I've even been known to eat chitterlings! LOL!

HOWEVER ... I draw the line at pickled pigsfeet and boiled okra! ICK! :D

I can toast a muffin without burning down my house. Go me! :D

OMG! I have most definitely died and gone to heaven! :D

Cook away, honey-chile, I'm on my way! LOL!

I was raised on Southern fried chicken, collards cooked in a bit of fatback, blackeyed peas, grits, country ham ... I could go on and on, but I'm driving myself crazy! Hell, I've even been known to eat chitterlings! LOL!

HOWEVER ... I draw the line at pickled pigsfeet and boiled okra! ICK! :D


*RUNS AWAY FROM PICKLED PIGSFEET* AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

Yeah I can cook. Pretty well.. Mostly western stuff.

Mash potatoes, BBQ Ribs, Boiled vegies.. Umpteen types of salad...

Mostly anything that I won't starve. If not, I always have handy cookbooks beside me.

I made my first pot of chili yesterday. It was already tasting good yesterday, so I can't wait to try it today after letting the flavors mix overnight.

I'm getting pretty good at cooking but timing everything is still a challenge, especially when preparing a multi-course meal. I had about 15 people over for dinner last week and was going so crazy I missed an ingredient in a couple of dishes.

Sashimi is easy - buy a chunk of salmon, bite in.

I can cook quite well from what Ive been told. Though, I started living on my own at a fairly young age - and I think thats helped me to learn quite a bit. Since I cannot stand most pre-fabricated meals, and I like to eat fairly balanced and healthy, cooking became a focal point of my home life. Well, that and style, but since I can't afford the styles I like... cooking! :)

Anyone care to come over for some Vera Cruz Sole? maybe some Pesce al Forno? (I like cooking fish, its sort of my specialty - well, that and peach cobbler or waffles - of which I make the worlds BEST!) :D

I think I am a really good cook, I have been told I am as well and can cook anything from simple comfort foods to manacotti and making my own breads(no bread machine needed) I was blessed to have a mom who taught me how to cook thank goodness... but if i had to pick a meal i was spectcular at it would be breakfast... I am breakfast queen... *laughs* whether it be omlets or one skillet scrambles, pancakes or biscuits... i can make it and do it wonderfully... in fact it is not unusual in my house to have breakfast for dinner.. *laughs*

Until a year ago I couldn't cook anything.....at all.

However, I am now competent with ready meals in both the oven and microwave and can cook frozen chips and things like that etc.

I'm Italian. I think that says enough.

Emril himself's got nothin' on me, I guarantee.

That kind of big talk might get you knocked out a notch.

I do very little cooking when my folks are around because they MONOPOLIZE the kitchen. :rolleyes:

When they're away, I cook for myself a lot more. I enjoy making fried chicken cutlets and I believe I've perfected the recipe. :D

The best advice I can give on a chilli is to make it the day before you want to eat it and then re-heat just before you serve.

Oh, and it should be made in industrial quantities, so you have to use a very large pan and thoroughly cook through.

Trust me, I'll definitely be making industrial quantities! :D

(I'm practicing for a hockey team chili cook off - got 3rd place last year, this year I'm going for 1st!)

Anyone care to come over for some Vera Cruz Sole? maybe some Pesce al Forno? (I like cooking fish, its sort of my specialty - well, that and peach cobbler or waffles - of which I make the worlds BEST!) :D

Ooh, I'll bite! (But not too hard! ;))

Maybe this sounds lame, but I can bring salad! (I make mean salads and dressings.)

Who knows how to cook with a crock-pot? A wok? Who makes great chili?

God, I love to eat good food! :D

Me, me, and me.
I grew up using my mama's crock pot.
Right now, the only decent bit of cookwear I own is a wok.

And I actually had to refuse to make chili over the new years holiday because someone wanted me to try and make it in under 4 hours. :eek: :headbang:

I'm sorry but real Texas yankee killer chili takes more time than that. The recipe varies depending on the number of different kinds of peppers I can get: the "proper" recipe has a mixof fresh and dried chilis. The last pot I made I happened to have gotten my hands on 6 differtent kinds of fresh peppers - including some truely wicked Thai chilis.

As for eating good food, well let me just say I weigh [classified] kg and one of my favorit t-shirts is from Sam Choy's in Hawaii - slogan "never trust a skinny chef".

(Oh, and I guess you never had the Okinawan pig's feet while you were there. That's some good eating!)


I'm at my best with desserts. Tiramisu, Missippipi mud cake, pavlova, cheeseckae, bananas Flambe in a rum sauce, deep fried ice cream with a caramel sauce, mascarpone and raspberry couli. That sort of thing.
I'm ok at meal cooking. I had a Taiwanese g/f whose parents owned a restaurant. She was a brilliant cook. She could whip up 1/2 a dozen fantastic dishes in 15 minutes*. It takes me about an hour to do one. A Thai women showed me some nice Thai cooking, which is great. And I've got some interesting recipes of a Ukranian women last year. Russian food is in fact very nice, though a bit heavy on the garlic and cream. Brilliant in winter.
My biggest problems are I'm too lazy to cook and the takeaway food round here is so bloody cheap. It's cheaper to eat out than it is to cook.


*she could also give an awesome full-body massage (including walking on my back which, cause she only weighed 48kg, wasn't painful except in a good way), and before anyone asks, yes I do wonder sometimes why I broke up with her. And she had done modelling before I met her.
thinks...
reflects...
D'oh!
Man I'm an idiot sometimes.

Reminds me of a Shanghainese girl I let get away many years ago. Great cook, beautiful, and smart as all hell.

Ain't we guys dumb at times!

The only deserts I can really do well are a few simple types of cookies my Nana taught me, and various fruit and flaming alcohol combos. Oh, and an awesome campfire dutchoven peach cobbler (mastry of which was practically an unwritten requirement to pass into the higher ranks in my old scout troop).

That kind of big talk might get you knocked out a notch.

BAM!

OK. Question time:
In the kitchen: gas, electric, or other?
Outdoors: propane, charcoal, or other?
Who taught you?

OK. Question time:
In the kitchen: gas, electric, or other?
Outdoors: propane, charcoal, or other?
Who taught you?

Grew up mostly with electric, but now mostly use gas (most kitchens in Japan are gas).
I prefer a real wood fire or charcoal, depending.
Equal parts Mother, Nana (grandma to those who don't speak Texas), and self taught, with a healthy dose of a few of the right cook books.

I'd say I'm a very good cook.

Mainly my mother taught me, but I picked up a lot by myself (mainly Chinese and other non-European cooking). Mainly by realising it is cheaper to cook than to by ready meals.

OK. Question time:
In the kitchen: gas, electric, or other?

Electric. Not really by choose, just what was in the flat when I moved in.

Outdoors: propane, charcoal, or other?
Who taught you?

I can BBQ on charcoal and propane, but don't really BBQ that much.

My Mum taught me the basics of cooking, as well as cooking a few more exotic dishes (eg Boerborty [sp?]), but my Dad taught me to BBQ

eh electric cooker, my mum mainly taught me and my gran, who makes the.best.bread.stuffing.ever.no questions.and as for the stuffed rashers- *drools and looks towards the cooker eagerly*

although i don't cook because i'm never home for meals, when alone in the house and hungry am quite capable of making very nice dinner for myself and even others!

btw, who is Julia Child?

My mother originally taught me to cook (so to speak) when I was about 15 or so. When I lived with her during my high school days, she actually made cooking one night per week one of my chores. I later took an Introduction to Foods class in high school. My father came up with some common recipes for me to use when I talked him into making that one of my chores after I moved in with him. After that, my dad moved in with his partner and that pretty much stopped most of my cooking dead in its tracks.

Fast forward to when I moved into an apartment. I only remembered how to make two or three very basic meals and one of my roommates actually took me under his wing and *forced* me to learn how to cook. What he did was he would tell me to cook and he would walk me through how to prepare the meals. A few months later, I ended up teaching HIM some things in the kitchen.

Nowadays, I don't do nearly as much cooking as I would like to, but when I have the house to myself, I seize the opportunity to cook for myself. My favorite main course to make is fried chicken cutlets.

btw, who is Julia Child?

A famous chef and TV cooking show host in the US. She was a Cordon Bleu trained chef and quite an interesting character. She died last year. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Child

(I put her on the list because she was the first famous chef that popped into my head. Plus she was just plain cool. :))

I am a pretty darned good cook, if I do say so myself. :)

I'm Italian. I think that says enough.

I'm Italian (well half Italian anyway) and I can't cook. Go figure.

I'm Italian (well half Italian anyway) and I can't cook. Go figure.

Maybe it's your bottom half that's good at cooking then? :D

Maybe it's your bottom half that's good at cooking then? :D

Lol, that's rude!

I can cook reasonably well (note how I'm being all modest) but then...we had compulsory cooking class in high school and I had to cook at home from when I was about 14 because my mom had to work a lot.

Anyone else live with their parents who are rich enough to throw away money on induction? I still haven't found a favourable simmer temp on that thing.

Well that settles it. Learning to cook goes on my "list of things to do before I die" :D

If you want to learn to cook, I reckon you should start off with some of the Women's Weekly cookbooks. They always have decent recipes - most of them quite simple enough to make, and everyone (or at least their mum!) has them at home somewhere.

I like things that are quick'n'easy to make. Things like stir-fry, chocolate cake (yum) or the fish-and-chip shop down the street are always good. :)

If you want to learn to cook, I reckon you should start off with some of the Women's Weekly cookbooks. They always have decent recipes - most of them quite simple enough to make, and everyone (or at least their mum!) has them at home somewhere.

I like things that are quick'n'easy to make. Things like stir-fry, chocolate cake (yum) or the fish-and-chip shop down the street are always good. :)

Naw, I want cool things like tobasco egg noodles, tobasco on toast, tobasco sauce casserole, etc. OMG and tobasco and fried prawns. Mmmh.

:D I don't tend to follow instructions very well anyway. LOL

OK. Question time:
In the kitchen: gas, electric, or other?

Gas, without a doubt. Fire good.

Outdoors: propane, charcoal, or other?

Depends on what I'm cooking. Some things taste better with wood/charcoal. My grill does both.

Who taught you?

My grandmother, various aunts, and Justin Wilson.