Topic: Are you a good cook or chef?

[ChrissyRyan]

Are you a good cook or chef?  Perhaps baking is your niche?

I am not a very good cook.  I can cook steaks, and I can make sandwiches and salads, soups, chili, veggies, frozen meals, eggs, toast, rice, stews, and put out fruit and cheese and crackers for friends!  I can follow recipes but I would not be the type to make my own!

I can also stop at the store or restaurant and get meals already put together or cooked.

Sometimes I think that I really should be a really good cook, but that is not an absolutely necessary skill for anyone. 

So, are you a good cook or chef?  What is it that you really like to make?  Cookies?  Anything on the grill?  Or...perhaps you like to make reservations at a restaurant. 

Chrissy

[Northern Star Girl]

I would not use the term "Chef" but I much enjoy cooking and baking.   My mom taught me how to "scratch" cook and bake without using recipes all the time.   I can put together casseroles, full holiday dinners, bake cookies, cakes and candies quite easily and enjoyably.  Not always successful, but fun nevertheless. 

What is really nice about cooking and baking is the great satisfaction that I receive when I share my kitchen creations with friends and with strangers.  I love to entertain and have gatherings at my home so it is always fun to put together enjoyable meal times.   

I much enjoy the holiday times especially when I am able to bring meals to shut-ins, those recovering from medical procedures, and as I have shared photos in the past, I love giving out "treat plates" full of cookies and home made candies and breads to seniors and those in need that may appreciate a little compassion and recognition revolving around busy holiday events.

[Jessica]

My sweeties mother was an excellent chef.  When she was little her mom tried to teach her how.  Those lessons were refused with the comment “I going to marry someone who will cook for me”
So I am my wife’s personal chef.  For decades I’ve been cooking all the meals in our home.  Savory to sweet.  She had gotten a bee under her bonnet to learn some baking last year.  It was hard for me to relinquish control over my realm.  She got fairly good at a few items but not so much baking now....one of those fads that she grew tired of I guess.

[sarahc]

I am a decent cook...not professional-level, but I know most of the basics of roasting, broiling, braising, poaching, pressure cooking, boiling, frying, grilling and baking.

I cook a wide variety of things. I tend to make things which allow me to make multiple servings of one food and have leftovers. But for seafood and certain grilled items, I try to get a single serving since it's usually not as good the next day.

I bake a decent amount as well. Usually, it's just cookies, muffins, scones and quick breads, maybe I'll do something twice a month. Every year, I'll make 3-4 fancier things like a pie or an iced cake. And maybe once a year, I'll do some really fancy thing...this year, I made an Opera cake (which was REALLY good).

My freezer is stuffed with stock, leftover cookie dough, fully baked goods, mini casseroles and other items that I can use to whip something up with minimal effort. When my freezer gets full, I have to force myself to stop making things.

I'd say favorites are Mexican cuisine (including more involved things like carnitas), braised dishes and breakfast foods. I'm currently working on trying to refine my pizza making technique...my crusts are getting better, but I think I have to invest in a baking stone to take it to the next level. I'd also love to get into barbecue, but I live in an apartment , so I may try "sous vide barbecue" as an alternative for my next cooking adventure.

Sarah

[davina61]

Well I get told I am , yes I get away with most things following the recipes (cook by numbers!) but getting better as I learn. Curries from scratch , made up slow cooker meals, Indian breads, cake and biscuits (cookies to you!) but try not to as end up eating it all myself living on my own. Freezers full of cooked curries , frozen stock and bought on use by date stuff, well its cheaper. I search for recipes on the net and depending on ingredients I have will make a mix of recipes that so far have all worked.

[big kim]

Yes, nothing to adventurous but I can make stews casseroles curry chilli pies from scratch not so hot at pastry though.  I cooked a lot in the hotel, 17 full English breakfasts for a rugby club stag night was one Id rather not do again!

[KateR]

My wife claims I’m a better cook than her.  I doubt that.  Although ‘back in the day,’ when I was single and/or a single parent, I did the cooking & baking.  Granted it was mostly box because I rarely had the time for totally scratch.

Now, more & more, my wife & I share the cooking, either taking turns, or working together on a meal.

Kate

(Thank you mom for teaching me some domestic skills.)


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[christinej78]

Hi Folks,                          10 November 2019

I thought I was a pretty decent cook/chef until my guests came down with ptomaine Poisoning; now my pups insist on their food coming in big bags or cans with labels on them. If I cook it the rats won't touch it; picky, picky.

Knowing how my food turns out, I just might send some to those on my enemies list.

By the way, I don't eat my own cooking; makes me sick.

Best Always, Love

Christine

[Jessica_K]

I am not too bad a cook. I prefer to use recipes and my favourites are Indian, Asian, Chinese, Japanese and Italian, I will not do meat and two veg style food, it that is wanted my partner has to cook it

Jessica xx

[Ellie_Arroway]

I can cook OK, not anything fancy but I can make basic stuff. I generally make a casserole on Sunday that provides five or six meals and put the surplus in the fridge for eating during the week (some of it goes in the freezer if there's too much to eat during the week, and I like some variety).

I wouldn't say I particularly enjoy cooking, but I don't want to be one of those people who only eats ready meals. I live alone. I don't make a habit of eating out very often; usually once a month or so when I'm with somebody.

Ellie

[Michelle_P]

I do a fair amount of cooking and dessert work, along with baking and a bit of pastry work. It’s something I enjoy.

Here’s an assortment of fairly simple but delicious things from my blog:
Michelle’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Deep Dish Pizza
Creme Brûlée French Toast
Apple Brown Betty

[ChrissyRyan]

I do a fair amount of cooking and dessert work, along with baking and a bit of pastry work. It’s something I enjoy.

Here’s an assortment of fairly simple but delicious things from my blog:
Michelle’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Deep Dish Pizza
Creme Brûlée French Toast
Apple Brown Betty

Michelle,


You were really helpful to me when you shared with me how to make pancakes.

You are one of the very considerate people here that take a few minutes of their time to be of assistance when a girl needs advice! 

I might try to make something on your list of items above too.

Hugs,

Chrissy

[Linde]

I do a fair amount of cooking and dessert work, along with baking and a bit of pastry work. It’s something I enjoy.

Here’s an assortment of fairly simple but delicious things from my blog:
Michelle’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Deep Dish Pizza
Creme Brûlée French Toast
Apple Brown Betty

Nice sounding, but none of them is good for a diabetic!  We are always left pressing our noses against the window pane!

[BlueJaye]

I enjoy cooking and am pretty good at it. When I am not traveling for work, I do all of the cooking. The kids love it when I cook, because I don't scorch and burn everything. I hate to say it, but my wife is not a great cook. We have had a gas stove for 7 years and she still treats the burners as switches, either all the way on or all the way off.

However, I do have to give her credit for her cookies. She makes the BEST chocolate chip cookies.

My oldest daughter, Anna, LOVES to be creative with food and make stuff. We just took her to a Cooking with Nina event on Saturday (https://cookingwithnina.net/). She can cook and make just about anything. I can't wait to see what she is capable of when she gets older!

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[Michelle_P]

Nice sounding, but none of them is good for a diabetic!  We are always left pressing our noses against the window pane!

Correct.  For diabetic care, I do more meal planning than individual recipes, controlling total sugar and carbs, and net glycemic index.  It’s a different sort of thing.  Sweets CAN be incorporated in the meal plan in modest quantities (@Laurie would say tiny!) by adjusting other elements of the meal.

[Maid Marion]

I am pretty good at cooking because I get a lot of practice.  I make single servings and repeat the same dish several times and adjust things in an effort to do better each time.  I've gotten good at figuring out when stuff is cooked properly.  I also have very good knife skills.  Blades stay sharp longer if you take care of them.

[Jessica]

This is the happiest chef in the world!

[Denice]

I like what I prepare. My family says they like what I cook. I'm not so sure I believe them, however. I think they say that because when I cook it saves them the trouble.

[Allie Jayne]

My mother recognised that of her 4 boys, I was the one she should pass her domestic skills to. She had rheumatoid arthritis, and all her fingers were growing at an angle, making it hard for her. I helped her cook for our family, basic meals and deserts, but all from scratch. This later became invaluable as I raised my 2 children on my own. She left me all her recipes and much of her kitchen equipment. My repertoire has expanded way past her 2nd world war recipes, but I do have a few favourites of hers I regularly make, I think of her every time I cook her recipes and again when I eat them.

My second wife doesn't like cooking, so it was a prerequisite for me! She loves the meals I make, but complains every time I make cookies because she can't resist them!
 

Allie

[Julielynn]

I was taught since my sister hated cooking.  So I learned the old southern way of "scratch" cooking.  Then learned more working in restaurants.  From old fashioned southern cooking to top of the line french chefs, I got an education on accident I didn't know was so extensive.   

Now older, I got lucky in having two friends who are accomplished chefs to lean on for anything I don't know.  So it's not a problem making any of the fancy stuff including the French tricky items.   I tell people just look up rous, bechemels, sauces, carmelization techniques, and once you can make any of the sauces you need and have an idea of how heat effects foods, everything else is easy.  It just falls into place once you can make your own sauces mainly.

I rarely use recipes anymore.  I like new ones, but will quickly alter them to taste.