Can you cook?

[RedAngie]

As far as I'm aware, no one had ever died or gotten violently ill from something I prepared, so I guess that qualifies me as a good cook.

 

[tvguy]

DW & I had a similar arrangement for a couple years. I worked 7-3:30 and she worked 10-6:00. She'd get dinner "lined up" in the morning & I'd have it ready when she got home. Then, our schedules basically flipped, and she's been doing the cooking ever since.

Yeah, we did sort or like they do on the "Iron Chef" show. My wife would pull some sort of meat/fish/poultry out of the freezer, and then it would be up to me to decide how to fix it. I BBQed a lot, and we always had Cream of Mushroom, French Onion, Tomato, and Cheddar Cheese Campbell's soup on the shelf. Cook the protein, pour soup on it, add a veggie or pasta or rice, poof, dinner.

 

[smokeyblue]

I'm a good cook, but I hate the clean up and cooking for one is kinda a pain. I mostly meal prep now and freeze a week or two of meals.

 

[Skippy918]

I can cook, and I do it almost every day, but I hate to cook. I'll be glad when the kids are out of the house. I swear I'll eat cereal for every meal....

I am so with you there! Between dh and the kids being picky and finicky it makes it really frustrating to meal plan. I can follow a recipe although I don’t like complex ones with dozens of ingredients. I prefer one pot or one pan meals. I like making soups because it’s the same amount of work even if I double the recipe. I freeze in containers and that’s my lunch.

 

[tasha99]

I love to cook, and make most things from scratch. I ferment my own kimchi and deli dill pickles, corn my own beef, make fresh types of cheese, bake bread, etc. My next task is to learn to make sauerkraut (I've been on a bit of a lacto fermenting kick lately). I make all kinds of food, but think my Korean food stands out the most. My kids have said I've ruined them for store bought kimchi or korean restaurants.

 

[NYCgrrl]

That croque en bouche looks great. I'm always hoping someone will make one during the holiday. I know I'm a terrible baker so I think it'd be a disaster if I tried making one. I just drop hints to the good bakers in the family. Unfortunately, that hasn't worked yet so no croque en bouche for me.
To answer the original question. I'm a pretty good cook. Baking is a whole different story.

"Thank you!" said as I shuffle my feet in the dirt, LOL.
You know what? It's actually really easy to make but takes up a lot of time. The hardest part was "flinging" the spun sugar; required quite a few plastic dropcloths to cover every surface in the kitchen. Oh and if you burn one batch of caramel (not that I would ever do that) you can't pour it down the sink as you'll find that the plumber laughs at you a lot when you explain what is clogging the drain.....

 

[PollyannaMom]

I have a few things that I cook well and people request. Mostly though, I can follow a recipe. (I'm not great at "freestyle" cooking.) I don't really enjoy cooking that much so I tend to stick with simple meals. And, it always seems to taste better to me when someone else has made dinner.

I do enjoy baking. It's just hard to find the time.

I'm going to steal that "freestyle cooking" term! - That's me. Recipes are only guidelines in my kitchen. But I have to be in the mood to cook, or I don't really want to do it.

I'm a good cook, but I hate the clean up and cooking for one is kinda a pain. I mostly meal prep now and freeze a week or two of meals.

And I think you've hit on why - a lot of what frustrates me is the mess. Some is also trying to find things that both DS and DH like/can eat.

I did recently learn to grill, and am pretty proud of that.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I'm going to steal that "freestyle cooking" term! - That's me. Recipes are only guideline in my kitchen. But I have to be in the mood to cook, or I don't really want to do it.



And I think you've hit on why - a lot of what frustrates me is the mess. Some is also trying to find things that both DS and DH like/can eat.

I did recently learn to grill, and am pretty proud of that.

Despite disparaging the man's cooking skills (he once asked me why I had so many spices and herbs. Huh?!?) I have to say he is wonderful at clean up which makes our lives so much easier. It has also taught me to be ...more considerate about how many pots and pans I use. I read new recipes and cooking techniques, evaluate them and try to figure out ways to uncomplicate them beforehand.

Congrats on mastering the art of grilling! I'm partial to Steven Raichlen's books and various websites like BBQ Pitboys. And I'd be lost w/o my ThermoPop. Do you have any references to divulge?

Living in an urban high-rise I can only grill when we go camping so tend to get a tad over the top with it. Was planning to smoke a prime rib this summer but we went to Disney instead. Thennnn spent way too much time figuring out the logistics of roasting the meat at Disney this December and finally decided that camping was fun but the Polynesian was better and somebody else could cook Christmas dinner whilst I spent my time getting dressed for the event. The man breathed a sigh of relief when I said we dinna have to pack any cooking gear. Errr and and he gave a veddy loud "NO!!" when I suggested we change our reservation to Ft. Wilderness. ...soooo picky...you'd think we only camp because I like it <insert angel emoticon here>.

I think I was fortunate bringing up my kiddos (and choosing my SOs). Everyone likes veggies and are for the most part "non picky". Until DGD came along to mix things up and help me to better understand another version of life.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Congrats on mastering the art of grilling! I'm partial to Steven Raichlen's books and various websites like BBQ Pitboys. And I'd be lost w/o my ThermoPop. Do you have any references to divulge?

Well, I wouldn't say I've "mastered" it yet - so far I mostly use the tip sheet that came with the grill:



But thanks!!

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

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[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

As far as I'm aware, no one had ever died or gotten violently ill from something I prepared, so I guess that qualifies me as a good cook.

 

[Parker Clan]

I'm a decent cook but a great baker. My homemade banana bread is a fan favorite
My thing is I'm far too lazy to make a complicated meal, I hate buying a bazillion spices, ingredients lol
I'm 100% Greek so I do like to bake Greek cookies and dishes

 

[North of Mouse]

I'm good at it and love it! I've never used a grill though, because I'm clumsy and people who love me like me uncharred.

ETA: I don't trust crock pots.

I love to cook, and in the winter use my crockpot a lot for the comfort of it! Why do you not trust them? Just curious!
Have used them for 50 years - zero problems!! Just finished making some crockpot apple butter - yum, yum, yum!!

Actually, most of my cooking is on the stove top, oven, grill, or smoker. Dh does most of the outdoor cooking, although I have smoked our Thanksgiving turkey and grilled some mean steaks! I love baking and making crawfish and shrimp dishes - LA gal here.

 

[Domo]

I'm not very learned. I can make cakes and pies and so on, but nothing sophisticated without the aid of a step-by-step guide.

 

[Skippy918]

Well, I wouldn't say I've "mastered" it yet - so far I mostly use the tip sheet that came with the grill:

View attachment 276945

But thanks!!

I have that same guide and still use it for the grill.

 

[manning]

Yes, I am a good cook and a good baker. People compliment me so I assume they like it too.

Bread baking formula -- weight

Flour hard wheat (bread flour) --- 100 % (first ingredient)
Water --- 65% of the weight of flour
Salt --- 2% of weight of flour
Yeast, fresh --- 1.5 % of weight of flour

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Yes, I am a good cook. I wasn't when I was first an adult. My father and then my husband waded through some pretty bad meals. And I've been taken out to dinner after some even worse flops.

But I've gotten to where I am good, and on the plus side, I really like to cook. And bake.

And my husband is half bad either. He certainly isn't one that would starve if he didn't have someone to cook for him. And I've been through quite a few health issues that has had him doing all of the cooking for an extended period of time. What's worse is that he works full time and I work just 10 hours a week.

He is also really good at clean up. I can cook a 4 or 5 course meal, and he will clean up along the way so at the end of the meal, he too can enjoy a cup of tea and dessert.

 

[emmybee]

I can cook by recipe only. I don't have that talent of looking in my fridge and figuring out what to make, I'm so envious of that! I think my food generally looks ok...I really like using Blue Apron, because they do the thinking for me. If I look to my family for ideas, I get nothing. What I like best about it is that they include those little things that usually keep me from trying a recipe on my own. Last year, I made a whole Thanksgiving dinner w/ an apple pie from scratch by buying a dinner kit from Martha Stewart
While making the crust gave me palpitations, I think it came out pretty good. I don't even like apple pie, but I was happy to make one since my husband likes them.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

I can cook by recipe only. I don't have that talent of looking in my fridge and figuring out what to make, I'm so envious of that! I think my food generally looks ok...I really like using Blue Apron, because they do the thinking for me. If I look to my family for ideas, I get nothing. What I like best about it is that they include those little things that usually keep me from trying a recipe on my own. Last year, I made a whole Thanksgiving dinner w/ an apple pie from scratch by buying a dinner kit from Martha Stewart
While making the crust gave me palpitations, I think it came out pretty good. I don't even like apple pie, but I was happy to make one since my husband likes them.

That is how I started cooking. I would gather a couple of recipes and the ingredients. (They didn't have dinner kits when I was learning.) Then I would give it a try. Sometimes the pork chops were cooked so much they were like rocks, Dad took me out to eat that night. (Mom was in the hospital, and I was trying to be a good daughter.) Once the casserole was pretty bad, but somewhat edible. My husband and I ate that mess. I can still remember how it smelled. We ate more than our fair share of really, really bland meals.

But now, we pretty much eat what we intended to make. There are very few flops in the kitchen nowadays.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

Yes, I do about half the cooking and meal preparation. I'm the omelet, soup, and stir-fry King of the house.

But no to baking. I did make a cheesecake years ago that turned out decently, but in general I refrain from it.

As for grilling, why was that always considered a "man's job?" Even 50 years ago, my father, who probably couldn't even boil water otherwise, was expected to BBQ the burgers and hot dogs.

DW usually elbows me out of the way when I grill outside.