Do yinz have any friend who just can't cook?

[marylander1940]

[TruthBTold]

Me (my best friend). I used to be able to but then started to live alone and voila' any talent was gone. I am always amazed at how my friends can seem to just make up various recipes using different ingredients.

[Mydavid]

I have to say I cannot cook ... well. I can get food cooked, but I won't do if anyone around me can cook. In fact, I haven't cooked for years.

[+ sync]

I cook for myself, but my humanity would never let me feed it to anyone else.

[+ nycman]

I enjoy cooking...but I was a late bloomer.

 

I dated a man when I was 25....he grilled chicken sausage in a pan

for dinner one night...I was amazed....he though I was a moron.

 

Although I'm now a pretty good cook....I'm still very scientific about it.

If the recipe calls for scallions....and all I have is shallots....you had better

RUN to the grocery store.....or get ready for the melt down!

[LaffingBear]

I have a good friend who is a good cook. But he thinks he's a phenomenal cook. Posts the stuff he makes on social media. I rarely comment. Likely, he doesn't notice whether I comment or not... if he notices that I refrain, hes never said anything. And I dont see the point in commenting "stop posting pics of your fried chicken. You always overcook it, its always dry. It even looks dried out in your pictures."

 

To be fair, Ive eaten plenty of things he's prepared that were excellent.

 

No surprise, its subjective. As Ive moved around the country, I've been invited to holiday dinners, different homes..... everyone around the table is lavishing praise on the host(ess), and I dont know the other guests well enough to ask "do you really think this is good, or are you just being polite?

 

But then, there are times my cooking is fantastic, and times its just good. With a share of real duds thrown in.

[+ nycman]

And I dont see the point in commenting "stop posting pics of your fried chicken. You always overcook it, its always dry. It even looks dried out in your pictures."

 

I couldn't stop laughing when I read this.

 

Thank you so much!

[bobchitown]

My sister (who counts as a friend) is a very timid cook and also has very small hands.

 

This leads to use of a very small knife for everything and a need to get it exactly right. Whatever a recipe says, she follows it exactly. If it says 1/4 inch dice she'll spend an hour getting a carrot into the perfect dice, and then says she hates to cook since it takes so long. She owns no decent knife. If the recipe says simmer for 10 minutes she sets the timer and when it goes "bing" she states "done". This after never once checking to see if the gas is maybe a bit too high or too low. I say "did you look at it or taste it" and she looks at me like I'm from Mars.

 

At my place she watches me take the chef knife and have my way with a carrot in like 45 seconds. It actually scares her. Then I just start throwing stuff in by look and taste using the recipe as a starting point while she's burbling away things like "the recipe calls for 1 Tbsp olive oil, did you MEASURE that??" I just keep cooking and she keeps looking like I'm the evil chemist.

 

I love her anyway.

[+ bashful]

Then I just start throwing stuff in by look and taste using the recipe as a starting point

 

I used to watch my mother in the kitchen. She never measured anything. It's an art to know intuitively how much of each is needed.

[+ purplekow]

If you make the same dishes again and again, the amount in a pour of salt or olive oil is second nature.

[mike carey]

Knowing which recipes need to be followed closely and which don't is important. I'm pretty good at this but some people just don't seem to get it, and in both directions. Of course not following a recipe in an 'it really is important' recipe can be disastrous, following it when you don't really have to, not so much. I wonder how recipe followers manage when the recipe says '1 onion, finely chopped' rather than '50g of chopped onion'. It can help if you can deconstruct what purpose an ingredient serves and why you would cut it in the way described. For example, does it say 1/4 inch dice because it wants to have that aesthetic effect in the finished dish or is it so the vegetables break down to form a thicker sauce. If the latter, you can easily grate the veges (not onions but you can slice them on the 1mm [or 1.32"] blade on a mandolin).

[TruthBTold]

I hate to say this but my brother-in-law is one of those people who thinks he is a good cook but simply is not. The only problem is that my sister and he insist on hosting most holiday dinners, which is actually very nice. However, everything he makes is undercook and bland. Have you ever had an undercook Easter lamb? It's not pleasant. I am not a good cook but I know it and act (or don't) upon it.

[bobchitown]

If you make the same dishes again and again, the amount in a pour of salt or olive oil is second nature.

 

I'm convinced that other than for baking there are really only a handful of master recipes. Once you've got them down you're good to go. For example, browning any protein in a pan is the same process, heat some oil in the pan, put in protein AND DON'T TOUCH IT until the first side is brown, when you do it that way it won't stick but will leave little bit of goodness behind. Flip it over and brown for a somewhat shorter period of pan. Remove and proceed with the recipe, the next step is logically to add some liquid to deglaze the pan and get all that goodness into the sauce.

 

If I'm making a pasta sauce, for example, I just grab the ingredients on the list and that's about the last time I look at the recipe.

 

blade on a mandolin).

 

The onion thing is funny, since there is absolutely no need to be precise unless you're making some really fussy thing. Chop some up, throw some in the pan and if you think you need more add some. However, when it does matter I'm a huge fan of my kitchen scale. It was cheap and takes up no space in the cabinet since it is just flat. It let's me choose the measurement so is wonderful for recipes in metric measurements. It adjusts for the container, so if you're using a bowl just hit the button and it resets to zero. Also wonderful when you're measuring a bunch of stuff that just gets mixed together - flour, sugar, brown, sugar, etc. Just hit "zero between each addition and add the next.

[rvwnsd]

I had a friend who thought she was an AMAZING cook. In truth, she was amazingly bad. Her chicken was either half-raw or overcooked. Pasta sauce was so spicy as to be inedible. Pork chops were burned to a crisp. She was part of a social and service group that would host dinner meetings at members' homes. Before we solved the problem by making the parties pot lucks (and assigning her to permanent wine duty) we would make plans to eat before arriving at her place.

 

I have a good friend who is a good cook. But he thinks he's a phenomenal cook. Posts the stuff he makes on social media....I dont see the point in commenting "stop posting pics of your fried chicken. You always overcook it, its always dry. It even looks dried out in your pictures...

 

I am now wiping coffee off my keyboard from laughing so hard.

 

I used to watch my mother in the kitchen. She never measured anything. It's an art to know intuitively how much of each is needed.

 

Here's a funny story about not measuring. Both my mother and my paternal grandmother were very good cooks. Mom was 5'8" and had big hands (think a cartoon representation of an Amazon woman), while grandma was 5' tall on a tall day and had teensy hands. Shortly after my folks got married, my grandmother started showing my mother how to make some of my dad's favorite dishes. There was one particular dish that mom tried to make - and it was a complete dud. She tried again. My dad watched her and confirmed that she made it exactly how his mother made it. It was equally terrible. When grandma came to visit the next time, she watched my mom make it and, again, confirmed she made it exactly as grandma made it and, again, it was awful. Then, they had a revelation. When grandma said "use a handful" of some ingredient she was referring to little grandma hands, not Amazonian mom hands. Mom and grandma sat down and mom converted grandma measurements to their mom equivalent and all was well. Thankfully, my mom's hands were about as large as mine (and I wear an XL glove) so I can successfully make her recipes.

[+ purplekow]

Family cooks, especially mothers-in-law, frequently are very protective of their favorite recipe. If someone has give you a recipe and the result is not tasting the same, it may be due to technique or it may be that one ingredient has been "accidentally" left off the recipe. This has been the basis for many situation comedy episodes but in real life, it is not that much fun.

I am not a finicky eater. I do not have a well developed palate. I love free food. So if there are any cooks out there who want to try out a recipe, I am available as an approving guest for any meal. I will also help with the dishwashing.

[rvwnsd]

Family cooks, especially mothers-in-law, frequently are very protective of their favorite recipe. If some has give you a recipe and the result is not tasting the same, it may be due to technique or it may be that one ingredient has been "accidentally" left off the recipe. This has been the basis for many situation comedy episodes but in real life, it is not that much fun....

 

My mother thought that might have been the case until she confirmed it was a case of "Queen Tinihands Meets The Amazonian Kitchen Warrior."

 

...So if there are any cooks out there who want to try out a recipe, I am available as an approving guest for any meal. I will also help with the dishwashing.

A friend (who claimed to be a terrible cook) and I had a deal - I'd invite her for dinner and cook and she would do dishes. She's a great cook but doesn't like doing it. She does like doing the dishes. She has since married a guy who LOVES cooking. Match made in heaven.

[Good Grief]

My mom was a great cook and enjoyed experimenting ( ) though sometimes those weren't hits. Once she breaded pork chops with Cream of Wheat. Why, why, why?

 

The finished chops were coated in a thin layer of concrete. Our dentist appreciated that.

 

And her biscuits, as my dad said, would be perfect for skeet.

[+ Charlie]

I enjoy all sorts of foods, but I have never enjoyed cooking, and am very thankful that civilization has progressed to the point that I can buy lots of prepared meals that I can heat in the microwave or on the stovetop. (I am sure that this admission will appall the many cultured, sophisticated posters here.)

[rvwnsd]

My mom was a great cook and enjoyed experimenting ( ) though sometimes those weren't hits. Once she breaded pork chops with Cream of Wheat. Why, why, why?...

So was my mom. Although she never tried breading pork chops with Cream of Wheat, she did make a concoction of hot dogs, barbecue sauce, and croutons one time. My brother and I tried smiling as we ate the dreck, but my folks looked at each other, grabbed the plates, and threw it in the trash. If memory serves, a pizza was ordered.

[+ deej]

My mom was a great cook and enjoyed experimenting

 

My mom was a good, competent cook. She could work an 8-5 day and still come home to put a competent dinner on the table for a family of four, always a meat, a veg, and a potato. Of course in the early 60's everything was fried.

 

But she grew up on a farm in the post-depression years so she learned to coax flavors out of things you might not expect. There's a little of that in me.

 

A friend used to spend HOURS on tomato sauce. She'd peel/de-seed and spend hours stewing the tomatoes down to a luscious sauce. Then she discovered everyone was just as happy if she just diced fresh tomatoes, sautéed them with a few herbs, and poured them over pasta.

 

Actual COOKING can be highly overrated.

[LaffingBear]

I'm convinced that other than for baking there are really only a handful of master recipes. Once you've got them down you're good to go. For example, browning any protein in a pan is the same process, heat some oil in the pan, put in protein AND DON'T TOUCH IT until the first side is brown, when you do it that way it won't stick but will leave little bit of goodness behind. Flip it over and brown for a somewhat shorter period of pan. Remove and proceed with the recipe, the next step is logically to add some liquid to deglaze the pan and get all that goodness into the sauce.

 

If I'm making a pasta sauce, for example, I just grab the ingredients on the list and that's about the last time I look at the recipe.

 

 

 

The onion thing is funny, since there is absolutely no need to be precise unless you're making some really fussy thing. Chop some up, throw some in the pan and if you think you need more add some. However, when it does matter I'm a huge fan of my kitchen scale. It was cheap and takes up no space in the cabinet since it is just flat. It let's me choose the measurement so is wonderful for recipes in metric measurements. It adjusts for the container, so if you're using a bowl just hit the button and it resets to zero. Also wonderful when you're measuring a bunch of stuff that just gets mixed together - flour, sugar, brown, sugar, etc. Just hit "zero between each addition and add the next.

My philosophy as well. Maybe its a Chicago thing.

[marylander1940]

I have to say I cannot cook ... well. I can get food cooked, but I won't do if anyone around me can cook. In fact, I haven't cooked for years.

 

 

Would this guide be helpful?

[Epigonos]

My mother was an outstanding cook. Being a product of the Great Depression she was NOT a gourmet cook. She was what I call a stand “back and throw” cook. She would look in the refrigerator and the pantry to see what she had on hand and start from there. She seldom used recipes but when she did she only used them as a starting point. Mom taught both my sister and I to cook when we were kids. My sister was far less interested than I and although she is an excellent cook she doesn’t really enjoy cooking and she is definitely a recipe cook. I on the other hand love cooking and am more like my mother a “stand back” and throw cook. I tinker with any recipe I use and frequently don’t use a recipe at all. My sister really excels at baking which requires great exactitude in measuring. I loathe baking as I find it very restricting and am NOT a dessert person

 

I have two very good friends (women) who hate to cook yet they are excellent cook when they have to. I have another friend (also a woman) who loves to cook yet damn near everything she cooks is uneatable. My niece who claims she loves to cook insists the family come to her house, every year, for Thanksgiving. We have ALWAYS made a point of eating a little something before we go as the meal is ALWAYS a disaster. She loves to experiment but has no sense of what works with what. For example each year she insists on making a new type of dressing, which she refused to put into the turkey, and each year the dressing is as bad as or worse than the one she made the previous year. Thank god this year because of a number of changes in the size of our family we will be breaking up into three separate Thanksgiving dinners thus at least two of them will be edible. I’m hosting my sister and brother-in-law and a group of friends, my nephew is hosting his family and my niece is hosting hers.

 

Over the years I have come to believe that to be a good cook doesn’t require a great deal of intelligence. It really only requires: 1.) interest, 2.) a bit of imagination, 3.) time, and 4.) enough money to buy good ingredients. Under imagination I include having some of idea of how various ingredients go together.

[bigvalboy]

Would this guide be helpful?

 

It seemed unnecessarily complicated. For someone starting out, I can't help but think that starting with simple recipes (5 ingredients or less) would be simpler and easier, and you wouldn't be dependent upon Ikea (who I hate). (or is it whom I hate)

[+ Oliver]

.... I on the other hand love cooking and am more like my mother a “stand back” and throw cook. I tinker will any recipe I use and frequently don’t use a recipe at all .... Over the years I have come to believe that to be a good cook doesn’t require a great deal of intelligence. It really only requires: 1.) interest, 2.) a bit of imagination, 3.) time, and 4.) enough money to buy good ingredients. Under imagination I include having some of idea of how various ingredients go together.

 

I've been waiting for his comments. To all the rest of you, the man is a wonder. I have never had anything he has made that wasn't just delicious. Thank god he is my chef de cuisine for the PS Weekend Pool Event, as I cannot cook unless I have a recipe which I follow to the letter and it takes me forever. He has already begun planning for next year's event! Of course, there will be deviled eggs even though he insists he hates them.