What's for Dinner? Literally.

[Guest Thunderbuns]

>Deej - a bread machine? Man you sure are domestic I can't

>believe how domestic most of the guys are, who responded to

>this thread.

>

>It actually makes this healthy, junk food, eat every meal

>out junky feel guilty. So I ordered a few of the cookbooks

>mentioned. Now all I need to do is buy some pots and pans,

>any ideas? I found some by Wolfgang Puck on the HSN site or

>do I go with non-stick? Has anyone tried either of these?

 

Buy the very best you can afford and worry about the cost later. You will never regret the purchase and they will last you a lifetime. This is one area where price is indicative of quality!

 

Thunderbuns

[Guest roninx]

Cooking Schools?

 

Along these lines. . . I really would like to learn to cook. I'm not a bad cook, I can make basic stuff but I would really like to learn how to cook for "real".

 

My sister watched the food channel and absorbs everything she watches. I watch and learn absolutely nothing. I think a school would best--I think I have to be fully emerged to really learn.

 

I was thinking of going to cooking school and I have researched. Of course schools like The Cordon Bleu and Escoffier in Paris came up (although I hear there is a waiting list for the Cordon Bleu) I also new someone who worked at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America in New Hyde Park, NY). Are any of these school worth it? or would any "cooking" school be just fine? Just interested in any input from anyone. Thanks.

[bluenix]

RE: Cooking Schools?

 

>I'm not a bad cook, I can make basic stuff but I would

>really like to learn how to cook for "real".

 

You might try something smaller to start. Sur La Table offers individual culinary programs in a number of cities. They get chefs from local restaurants, and cookbook authors, to demonstrate their talents. I'm trying my first next week.

 

http://www.surlatable.com/cooking/index.cfm

[Bilbo]

Personally, I think that a gift, especially for Christmass, should be a surprise! Yay for your Mom! Of course, you could say that it is a surprise even if she gets you something off of your list, because you don't know which one is coming, but I am overreacting here (perhaps) because my beloved is the type where not only do you need to discuss what you're getting him, you practically have to have him with you when you're shopping to make sure you get the right one.

[+ deej]

I'll agree about gifts being a surprise. Within reason. ;-)

 

I think Mom was getting even for years of Christmases featuring esoteric kitchen gadgets when my sister and I were growing up. Little did she know I'd actually *like* the thing and *use* it. LOL

[Guest tmbg]

OK my cookware and cookbooks are on the way. Like most everything in my life I tend to order things from the Net... hey it works for my escorts, it should work for my kitchen stuff :-) Man this is going to be a waste of money -maybe I should ask now what section of Ebay should I resell this stuff on :-)

 

At least I am going to give it a try.

 

Cheers! (Wolfgang) Ritchie

[Guest ncm2169]

Time to revive this thread. :o

 

We've having a wonderful Indian Summer here in Mpls (which Glutes got to experience firsthand when he was here recently) - low 80's today - but the nights are getting brisk, and the Autumn Harvest time always makes me hungry for a good Pot Roast. Over the years, I've probably played with dozens of recipes. Who else here likes a good Fall Pot Roast, and would you share your recipes? :9

[seaboy4hire]

>Over in the Wal/K-Mart thread a couple of people mentioned

>that they load in a month's groceries at a time. Since nothing

>fresh lasts that long, I'm supposing they either dine out or

>eat microwave.

>

>Is cooking a thing of the past?

>

>I first learned to enjoy cooking back in the 80s, when a

>friend who was tired of being served Tuna Helper gave me

>Pierre (rest his soul) Franey's The 60-Minute Gourmet.

>Lordy, I was Helen Keller at the water pump. Such a revelation

>to learn that you could make all manner of great meals "from

>scratch" in under an hour.

>

>Franey was especially good, I thought, with chicken: curried,

>with slivered almonds and black currants; braised, with

>tarragon, carrots & (who would dare use it today) heavy cream;

>Hunter's Chicken, simmered in red wine with loads of sliced

>mushrooms, tomatoes and garlic.

>

>Later, I learned to improvise. The Hunter's Chicken, for

>example, is not harmed in the least if you happen to throw in

>a handful of black olives.

>

>More recently, I've been hooked on Biba Caggiano's

>Trattoria Cooking, "authentic recipes from Italy's

>family-style restaurants." Wonderful, wholesome (if often

>calorie-laden) cooking.

>

>It's a great pleasure, for me, to plan a menu, shop for the

>ingredients, and then organize and prepare a meal. Whether for

>one or a dozen doesn't matter. And besides the meals

>themselves, I find these activities great stress relievers. A

>way to leave behind the cares of the day.

>

>Even on nights when I get home late, heck. It's possible to

>throw together a rice pilaf, with onions and mushrooms, broil

>a filet mignon and steam some frozen peas in 25 minutes max.

>As can anybody with a bit of practice.

>

>So. The question is: Does anyone cook anymore? Is there no

>pleasure in it for anyone anymore?

>

>

>

>

>

Hmmm looks like this topic was started before I signed up but here is my take since I work as a checker at a grocery store and see everyone from the high end to the extremely low end of the economic scale. To a certain extent yes home cooking is slowly going away. Since pay checks don't go as far (maybe if a lot of folk are lucky 2 days) more and more people are buying premade dinners from the deli or microwave foods. Plus with so much info being thrown at us and busy lives in general the premade meals are a form of convince. I often do the premade meals because one even though I have another half he is gone out of town most of the week for work and cooking for one really sucks since I don't care much for left overs unless it is pasta or soup. And two after being on my feet for 8+ hours and dealing with some very special people I just want something very quick and easy. But since I have started going to the gym and wanting to lose a lot of weight I am going to have to start preparing a lot of meals more or less from scratch. Honestly I am not looking forward to it because of the left over issue and I HATE cooking. Domesticated I am not.

 

 

Hugs,

Greg

seaboy4hire@yahoo.com

http://seaboy4hire.tripod.com http://www.daddysreviews.com/newest.php?who=greg_seattle

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/6707/lebec084a9ad147f620acd5ps8.jpg

Chicago Oct 26, 2007.

[BgMstr4u]

My favorite pot roast recipe is hardly a recipe.

 

1. Get a pot roast and as many kinds of root vegetables as you can find.

2. Turn on the oven to 350 or so.

3. Put the roast in the big roasting pan. Foil on the bottom helps with cleanup.

4. Clean and cut up the root vegetables: potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips (my favorite), onions, etc. Garlic if you're adventurous. Medium sized pieces (a turnip in 4 pieces, for example). I like to leave the skins on the potatoes, carrots and parsnips, but then I like the rustic aspect of this dish.

5. Put them around the roast in the pan.

6. Cover the pan with the lid or with foil if you've lost the lid.

7. Put the pan in the oven.

8. Revisit it in an hour or two, depending on how big the roast is. This is not a souffle or something that requires exquisite precision. Just don't burn it.

9. When it's done, serve the roast and the vegetables with a salad, some bread, etc.

10. Be surprised by the delicacy of the flavors this dish unleashes.

11. Do NOT eat this alone. It screams out for family and friends, or those people you should have invited ages ago but haven't gotten around to it.

12. Be happy. This is Comfort Food for Fall and Winter.

[GloriousGodfrey]

What a fascinating old thread.

 

There is a movement on amongst many supermarkets to teach people how to cook and get them back at the dinner table. My local store offers weekly recipes called that are very easy to make and yet are miles above the standard microwave or boxed meals.

 

The only thing I would question though is shopping at Wal Mart. For fresh ingredients, you are much much much better off shopping at Whole Foods or Publix or Trader Joes. If for some insane reason you do shop at Wal mart, take a minute to look at the salt and water content in their meat. it's absolutely abominable.

[Guest ncm2169]

If for some insane reason you do shop at Wal mart, take a minute to look at the salt and water content in their meat. it's absolutely abominable.

 

You got that right. How do you suppose they discount their prices? You're paying "less per pound" but paying for additives. So much for their low prices. They're a prime example of capitalism run amok. .x(

[Guest zipperzone]

>If for some insane reason you do shop at Wal mart, take a

>minute to look at the salt and water content in their meat.

>it's absolutely abominable.

>

>You got that right. How do you suppose they discount their

>prices? You're paying "less per pound" but paying for

>additives. So much for their low prices. They're a prime

>example of capitalism run amok. .x(

 

Don't get me started on Wal mart. I refuse to cross their door as a protest to the way they treat their employees. The internet is full of reports of how poorly they pay them, and actually encourage them to apply for food stamps. All the while, three members of the Walton family are listed as the 15th, 16th, & 17th richest people in America with personal fortunes of around 15 BILLION EACH. All this made on the backs of people who can't get a living wage from the bastards.

Shop at Walmart? - I don't think so.

[seaboy4hire]

>>If for some insane reason you do shop at Wal mart, take a

>>minute to look at the salt and water content in their meat.

>>it's absolutely abominable.

>>

>>You got that right. How do you suppose they discount their

>>prices? You're paying "less per pound" but paying for

>>additives. So much for their low prices. They're a prime

>>example of capitalism run amok. .x(

>

>Don't get me started on Wal mart. I refuse to cross their door

>as a protest to the way they treat their employees. The

>internet is full of reports of how poorly they pay them, and

>actually encourage them to apply for food stamps. All the

>while, three members of the Walton family are listed as the

>15th, 16th, & 17th richest people in America with personal

>fortunes of around 15 BILLION EACH. All this made on the backs

>of people who can't get a living wage from the bastards.

>Shop at Walmart? - I don't think so.

>

 

Zip I agree! But for many because Wal Mart is able to offer lower prices on many things those on very low incomes or those who don't care will shop there because it helps them stretch the budget one day more. I've been in one Wal Mart and was tempted to take a nice bleach bath after getting back to the inlaws place I felt so dirty. I did not spend any of my money there. I waited till I was able to get to Domick's and Jewless (sp).

 

Hugs,

Greg

seaboy4hire@yahoo.com

http://seaboy4hire.tripod.com http://www.daddysreviews.com/newest.php?who=greg_seattle

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/6707/lebec084a9ad147f620acd5ps8.jpg

Chicago Oct 26, 2007.

[Bilbo]

Vegetarian

 

For many years, I toyed with vegetarianism, working my slowly away from red meats, etc. Now, as the result of a noncommunicable disease, I sudden am a vegetarian who cannot eat mushrooms or cauliflower, either. I am able to cheat every three days or so, mostly with a little chicken. Does anyone have favorite, fairly easy to prepare (perhaps using the fake ground beef), recipes you'd like to share?

[+ LIguy]

I can't live without my gas grill.I use it at least 5 nights a week even in rain,sleet,snow and freezing temperatures.I care for an elderly parent who can help with a little but I do most of the cooking when I get home from work.I don't mind cooking but it's the cleanup I hate especially cleaning broiler pans and the gas grill makes cleanup easier and the meat or chicken tastes so much better.

[Epigonos]

I love this thread and don’t know how I missed it the first time around. The first time I was in New York I was fascinated by the number of grocery stores selling prepared entrees, vegetables, and other side dishes by the pound. With tiny kitchens, the norm, in midtown Manhattan I assume storage is a major problem. This idea is now becoming more and more common here in Southern California. In the case here I assume that many, many people simply don’t choose to cook and feel these items are superior to frozen dinners.

I derive great pleasure from cooking and entertaining on a very regular basis. Even though I live in a 1200 sq. ft. condo I think nothing of having 4 to 30 people over for a dinner party. This is particularly the case during the holiday season. This year I already have 4 major parties planned for December 15th, 19th, 24th, and 25th.

I love books of all kinds. I currently own over 250 cook books. Now if you were to ask me how many of these books I use on a regular basis it would amount to no more than 5 or 6. I’m what I like to call a stand back and throw cook. I look in my pantry and freezer see what I have and then stand back and start throwing. I enjoy reading cook books like many people enjoy reading fiction. They provide me with ideas to utilize when I am standing back and throwing.

One thing that really annoys me about many cook books and cooking shows is their rabid insistence on the use of fresh herbs only. Most of use live in cities and cannot grow herbs year round. I just wish they would give the equivalent measurements in dried herbs. Frankly I have, through hit and miss, learned to use 1 tsp. dried herbs for 1 TBS. fresh.

I despise WalMart’s business practice so I avoid the place like the plague. I am a great fan of COSCO and having one very near allows me to shop there on a VERY regular basis. COSCO has great prices on butter and that is another item that freezes extremely well. COSCO meat is NOT inexpensive but I buy their lamb chops and pork loin roasts on a regular basis. The damn lamb chops come in packages of 7 and thus I, "am forced to," buy two packages and Ziploc bag them in two’s. The pork loin roast I cut into several small roasts and are excellent for small dinner parties.

[KMEM]

Do you mean Costco?

 

Best regards,

KMEM

[+ cougar]

This is an awesome thread, I see some names that are no longer here, for whatever reason.

I HATE to shop (all types of shopping) and I don't enjoy cooking, but I cook to survive! My kitchen is currently filled with the sweet aroma of a frozen chicken pot pie being cooked in the oven.

Now that I have said that, I can contradict myself. I enjoy cooking some, but I have almost completely stopped in the past few years because I just got tired of eating the same ole crap and it is difficult to cook for one person. I can go to the grocery store and wander like a lost person cause I don't know what to buy and don't know enough about cooking to motivate me to try new things. I can cook, and I do enjoy having friends over and cooking a meal that I would never consider cooking for just me. But those meals end up being the staple "meat and potatoes" that I grew up with and that I am comfortable around. Several years ago I bought on of those Food Savers, hoping that it would force me to cook again and freeze the rest using that machine...it didn't work! Left-overs are eaten sometimes, but usually get thrown away.

[Epigonos]

Sorry about that!!!! You are absolutely correct I should have written COSTCO!!!!!

[Guest zipperzone]

>I can't live without my gas grill.I use it at least 5 nights

>a week even in rain,sleet,snow and freezing temperatures.

 

I couldn't live without my George Foreman grill (actually the one I have is a GE but people seem to understand the term Foreman better)

 

The great thing about it is that there is almost no cooking smell and when one lives in a condo, that is a big help.

[Louis]

My Asian friends tell me that my cooking is bland. I can't deny it but to me the taste jumps out at me all the same.

I like using a wok.

I cook premade meat balls...Italian or Swedish.

Once they have cooked, then I toss in mixed greens.

I also toss in various kinds of pasta, and sometimes I will throw in rice, but I usually leave it as a side dish.

Nothing fancy, but simple to do.