Do you cook?

[carsonshepherd]

Cooking is very creative for some people and it's nothing but drudgery for others.
Do you like to cook, or not?

Did you learn on your own, or did you learn by watching your family in the kitchen?

What's your specialty?

Do you clean as you go, or do you leave all the mess for the end?

Are their certain dishes you make regularly, or are you into experimentation?

Do you like something really unusual that nobody else will eat?

 

[Belegon]

Cooking is very creative for some people and it's nothing but drudgery for others.
Do you like to cook, or not? (a)

Did you learn on your own, or did you learn by watching your family in the kitchen?(b)

What's your specialty? (c)

Do you clean as you go, or do you leave all the mess for the end? (d)

Are their certain dishes you make regularly, or are you into experimentation? (e)

Do you like something really unusual that nobody else will eat? (f)

(a) I used to like it more...I have found that it is quite different to cook for her and two kids then it was to cook just for her or myself...and girlfriends before of course.

(b) Some of both...

(c) don't really have one...the thing I was "famous" for wasn't cooking really...Nachos aren't cooking. But in my defense, my nachos aren't cheese and chips. Seasoned beef and/or chicken, beans, sour cream, cabbage, lettuce, three different kinds of peppers...and cheese and chips. all arranged in kind of a buffet. and it took me a lot longer than cooking many things would have with all the chopping, etc. (okay, the meat and beans are cooking...but still)

(d) as I go

(e) I like to experiment

(f) not really

 

[3113]

Interesting questions. Let's see....

1) Yep. I cook all right. I LOVE to cook (wrote a story here on Lit about a pair of cooks who fall in love). I'm one of those people who watches cooking shows, reads magazines for their recipes, hates it when others invade my kitchen (MY territory!), adore kitchen gagets, insist on going to three stores to get the best ingredients, and if you want to get me a good present for my birthday, take me to William-Sonoma or Crate & Barrel or Sur La Table and let me run wild.

I love to cook.

2) I learned pretty much on my own. My mom was a good cook and I did learn a few things from her (recipes and such), but she wasn't much help teaching me to cook. Any cooking tips and secrets and tricks I know I learned from either my own experience or Martha Stewart or the cooking channel. I did take a home ec. class in elementry school and learned some basic cooking there. But mostly, I'm self-taught.

3) My speciality. Depends on who you ask. I make a mean beef stroganoff, a wonderful shellfish stew (lovely wine/saffron broth), a very nice leek and mushroom chicken pot pie.

However, I think most people would say that my specialities are (a) salads, especially an heirloom tomato & mozzarella salad, and (b) High Tea. Yep. Scones, tea sandwiches, homemade lemon marmalade, and some sort of dessert (a chocolate creme brulee or a fresh strawberry pie).

4) I clean up as I go. My kitchen is too small to do otherwise. If you don't start to clean up, you end up with no counterspace. It took me a while to learn to do this, but it's really the best way to do it if you can.

5) I make certain dishes regularly, but I'm not above experimentation. I do usually work from a recipe, but I will play with such recipes if I think they can be improved. I'll try any new dish that sounds exciting to me.

6) Do I like something unusual that no one else will eat? That's a tough question--I mean, there are people I know who won't try anything and to them I'm a real adventurer. I love Korean and Ethiopian food, and I'll try new restaurants with different and exotic cuisines.

On the other hand, I've never eaten snails or brains or intestines. So maybe I'm not that adventurous?

 

[Lisa Denton]

Do I have to answer every question?

I like to cook, but not every thing from scratch type cooking. I like the box with lots of stuffs and easy to read directions, and then add extra stuff like onions and cheese.

There is prepackaged enchilada stuffs, you add twice the meat, twice the cheese, and lots of chopped onions. For the last 5 minutes of baking pour over a can of ranch style beans topped with some more cheese.

Serve steamin hot topped with diced tomatoes, finely shredded lettuce, sliced black olives and a huge glob of sour cream.

I also make good beans and wienies.

I clean every thing up right away after eating, by at least rinsing and putting the stuff in the dishwasher.

 

[Liar]

I'd love to cook more, if I didn't have to do the pots n pans scrubbing afterwards.

 

[CharleyH]

Cooking is very creative for some people and it's nothing but drudgery for others.
Do you like to cook, or not?

Did you learn on your own, or did you learn by watching your family in the kitchen?

What's your specialty?

Do you clean as you go, or do you leave all the mess for the end?

Are their certain dishes you make regularly, or are you into experimentation?

Do you like something really unusual that nobody else will eat?

I LOVE cooking. I often use food in my writing, sometimes to enhance sex, sometimes I use food to describe sex. My parents own a restaurant, or have since I was young, so I worked in all capacities, eventually coming up with various dishes and especially desserts. My mother was the kind of cook that when the fire alarm went off? My brother would yell "Dinner's ready!" Fortunately, my step-father was and is a great chef.

I have a few specialties, all of which I improvise my own versions:

Tournedos Rossini: Medallions of beef tenderloin nestled on toasted garlic and wine bread, with a dolup of duc sel (a pate') drizzled with a brandy, mushroom sauce.

Trout a la moi (a nameless dish): fillet of trout pressed in cajun spices and topped with pecan butter and muniere sauce.

Salad a la moi (another nameless dish): California greens with Asiago cheese, candied pecans and braised pears (or apples or strawberries depending on season) and a honey, tarragon vinaigrette.

Desserts: Tripple chocolate pate' with coffee cream sauce and/ or a white chocolate cheesecake with an oreo crumb crust and topped with toasted coconut and sun dried cherries.

I clean as I go because the kitchen is too small. If I had a bigger kitchen then I'd hire a dishwasher to 'clean as I go' or perhaps I need a BDSM relationship?

I regularly make all these dishes, except for the desserts as I am not a person with a sweet tooth.

As for liking something no one else does? Hm. Green veggies is all I can come up with. Maybe blackened mako shark? :|

 

[rgraham666]

Nope. I do like a good meal but not enough to spend much time at it. Generally I'm happy to be eating at all.

I spend more time worrying about what I'll read while I'm eating than about what I'm eating.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

Cooking is very creative for some people and it's nothing but drudgery for others.
Do you like to cook, or not?

Did you learn on your own, or did you learn by watching your family in the kitchen?

What's your specialty?

Do you clean as you go, or do you leave all the mess for the end?

Are their certain dishes you make regularly, or are you into experimentation?

Do you like something really unusual that nobody else will eat?

I cook... sometimes. The first thing I learned to cook was an omelet, which I learned froma children's cookbook I received as a gift from one of mum's working buddys when I was 10. It was illustrated with pictures explaining exactly how much to add of what, and how to stir and pour. I still have that book, I'm saving it for the next generation.

My specialty is Apple Cake - I've got one mean recipe that's to die for, especially when served with a cool vanilla custard. I've served it to guests who have complained that they're way too full to eat even a crumble, but after one spoon of it, they have demanded fat slices and a bowl of custard of their own.

I hardly EVER clean as I go, I leave everything to the end... of next day. I'm sloppy, I know, but why spoil a good evening doing the dishes? "Don't do today what you may postpone until tomorrow", that's my motto.

I usually make pasta and experiment with sauces, but my proudest moment in the kitchen was when I made minced elk meat burgers and served them with boiled potatoes, lingonberry jam, and a home-made brown sauce; and one of my guests, M's picky chef-trained husband, took seconds. He even mentioned to his friends afterwards that I had served good food. It's very rare for him to give that kind of credit for someone else's food, as I said, he's trained to be a chef and he's very picky.

I experiment with Asian food now and then. And every time I cook fish, it's an experiment!

I like to play with food, and one thing I like to do is to add food colouring to the food at Halloween, to make it look eery green or something - the best way ever to get most of the cake for yourself!!!

I also make a version of Carbonara that make people step away from their plates in horror, but once you close your eyes and taste it, it's VERY good. OK, it looks like puke, but... it's good. I promise.

 

[arienette]

I love cooking! Although, it hasn't always been this way...

When I was in middle school (grades 6-8) it was required to take a home ec class and I did horribly at it and was glad that when I got to high school I didn't have to take a class like that. My little sister (younger by 5 years and some odd months) used to cook for me at home; little things like mac and cheese and popcorn I couldn't even get right. I didn't have anyone who could teach me how to cook. My father couldn't boil water and my grandmother, who lives next door to him is an amazing cook, although not much of a teacher - Basically I was told I just had to stay out of her way; she was one of those the kitchen is her territory kind of people and no one could even be in the room while she was cooking. And then I moved out.

Oh yes, that was a fun time indeed! I burnt so much my boyfriend who was living with me at the time wouldn't know what to expect when he got in from work - Was it going to be burnt potatoes, charred meat, etc. etc. ? But really it was all just trial and error and lots and lots of practice. Now, with my current boyfriend, he is amazed at what I come up with, it's always a surprise.

My favorite thing to do is chicken. I love marinating, grilling, frying, etc. There is so much that can be done with that, I don't think I've made the same chicken dish twice. I'm very much up for experimentation, I hate having the same dish over and over so I get Food & Family magazine and alter recipes they print and they come out great. I don't know what I do best, although I've been told that I make a mean baked ravioli.

However, lately I've been getting into some baking. I've realized that if I bake I am immediately at ease. The warm, sweet smells coming from the kitchen relax me and I love frosting cakes, cupcakes, etc. It reminds me of my grandmother's house a lot - she's a cake decorator and whenever you walk into her house it smells like warm, sticky icing and cake and it's amazing; I slip into a very euphoric state where everything is just good. I now sound like an anorexic woman longing after food.

I clean up as I go, but leave the dishes for later or the next day, usually. I hate dishpan hands while trying to cook and I am not fortunate enough to have one of those cool dishwasher appliances you people speak of.

So in conclusion: Yes, I love cooking. Yay!

 

[matriarch]

Cooking is very creative for some people and it's nothing but drudgery for others.
Do you like to cook, or not?

Did you learn on your own, or did you learn by watching your family in the kitchen?

What's your specialty?

Do you clean as you go, or do you leave all the mess for the end?

Are their certain dishes you make regularly, or are you into experimentation?

Do you like something really unusual that nobody else will eat?

I love to cook, always have. I never learned from my mother, she was the queen of her kitchen, and god forbid anyone else would try and enter her domain!! That's why, when she went into hospital for serious surgery, when I was 19, I had no idea how to cook to provide meals for my younger brother and sister. My dad did the cooking. I finally learned when I got married. Totally self-taught, and if I say so myself, not bad either. Both my sons are great cooks. The youngest expressed an interest at the age of 3, when I made him his own apron out of a tea-towel and some tie-tape. He would stand on a stool at the sink and play in the washing up water, and watch me baking. Very soon he had moved next to me and was playing with the pastry dough. It wasn't very long before he was actually cooking. He loved it so much he did cookery (food technology) as one of his GCSE choices. And passed with flying colours. The eldest, like me, didn't become interested until living on their own. He's self taught, but both of them still phone me to ask for advice on this or that. The pinnacle was a few years ago, when myself and some friends spent Christmas Day at a homeless shelter, cooking dinner there, and came home to a complete Christmas special dinner cooked by both sons (one with a horrendous hangover). It was wonderful.

My speciality is bread and pastry. I adore making bread, its one of the most therapeutic and satisfying processes in the kitchen. I make very short pastry (accidentally, I have no idea how, it just happens.), that melts in your mouth. But try and get me to bake a simple sponge cake?? No chance. You could resole your shoes with my efforts at sponges. I don't try any more.

As for the cleaning up......it all depends on the size of the kitchen and availability of spaceand equipment. I've cooked in big kitchens, and then cleared it all up at the end. Right now, after 2 years of downsizing, I have a very small amount of kitchen equipment, and a small kitchen. I have to clean up as I go along.

I like to experiment with food, in a small way, but tend to stick to my own favourite tried and tested recipes. I adore comfort food - rich, flavoursome casseroles and pies and home made soups. I love the colour and crunchy taste and texture of quick stir fries. When I'm feeling low I always revert to two of my mother's favourites - corned beef hash, and cheese and potato burgers.....both served with yummy baked beans. And the altime favourite when I'm really under the weather, is very well done English sausages, mashed potatoes, peas and fried onions and gravy. I can smell it now, the way my mum used to make it and serve to me in my sick bed. *sigh*

I don't know about liking something unusual that no-one else will eat, living with a gosling makes catering.....interesting......we have very different tastes. I adore liver - she hates it. I adore baked beans (and usually include them in my liver casserole, it gives a gorgeous richness to the gravy), she hates them. I love English sausages, she hates them.....my toad in the hole was a resounding failure on that front. She loves franks, I hate them.

Meal times become interesting. But that's half the fun of learning to live together.

 

[sophia jane]

I love to cook, and as soon as I have money, I plan to take a cooking class or two to expand my horizons. And also cuz I think it'd be fun.
Mostly I love to bake, though. When I'm in a bad mood or stressed or whatever, I bake. And it's not to eat whatever I make because alot of times I don't eat much. It's just because I love it, and I love the end result which is making something delicious and everyone telling me it's wonderful.

As for the questions- I clean at the end, which I hate. I learned more or less on my own with some example from parents. I was the one responsible for making dinner during my teen years because my parents worked. I do experiment occasionally but not much; I have three kids who are picky so mostly I make what they like so they'll eat.

 

[Just-Legal]

I am a nightmare when it comes to cooking, which is not helped by the fact I am a fussy eater - some due to allergies and some due to anything from mild dislike to vehement hatred (I discovered the hard way it is entirely possible to hate a foodstuff). I can just about manage spaghetti bolognase but its not "real". I get the sauce in jar >.<

My sister is an excellent desert maker. Which makes me feel ten times worse.

 

[impressive]

Cooking is very creative for some people and it's nothing but drudgery for others.
Do you like to cook, or not?

Did you learn on your own, or did you learn by watching your family in the kitchen?

What's your specialty?

Do you clean as you go, or do you leave all the mess for the end?

Are their certain dishes you make regularly, or are you into experimentation?

Do you like something really unusual that nobody else will eat?

I like to cook when I want to cook -- not when it's a requirement. (Then it's just a chore.) I refuse to prepare multiple meals for fussy eaters. I fix one balanced meal. Eat it, or don't -- but if you don't, you're on your own. Deal.

I learned the basics from mom. The creativity is all mine.

Specialty? Hrm. I make a kick-ass low-carb Thanksgiving feast -- from appetizers to dessert.

I clean up as I go -- unless I know I'm gonna have a lot of help afterward. Then, I'll be benevolent & share the mess.

I have my personal favorites, but I'll also experiment. In fact, I don't think I've ever followed a recipe to the letter.

Well, I adore peanut butter & pickle sandwiches ... but that's not cooking.

 

[BlackShanglan]

I learned to cook from my mother. I always used to enjoy it as a child; my mother liked experimenting and trying new things with food, and my siblings and I would sometimes be permitted (it seemed a great favor) to plan and cook a meal. I can still remember digging through cookbooks in the library, talking with my mother about what sorts of things would go well together. When I was a bit older I became a vegetarian for a period, and I learned even more, as my mother's rule was that I must eat nutritionally complete meals and I must cook anything she hadn't planned to cook for the family as a whole. It was quite enjoyable, really, spending some time together in the kitchen.

I make a good roast chicken with the full round of gravy, stuffing, etc. It's one of the few things I am vain about, as I've managed to win the SO over from the SO's own gravy and stuffing, learned from the SO's mother. I learned my own from my mother. I make a good curry and a good chili as well, but so does the SO - those are dishes we both enjoy making, tinkering, and comparing. We can get a bit competitive about who gets to use the ground beef defrosting in the fridge. One thing both of us struggle with is bread, which still seems a baffling and unpredictable mystery - but I've learned to make some excellent sticky buns.

The SO and I both enjoy experimentation. We have a cupboard overflowing with cookbooks and when time allows we both like planning meals of new and interesting foods. The SO's latest triumphs have been from an excellent book of Asian cuisine; mine were from Victorian period texts from England.

I hate cleaning, so I do it. That is, it's so depressing to face an entire kitchen completely swamped with dishes that I do clean as I go, because it's the only way I can bear it. I strongly dislike attempting to work in a cluttered kitchen, as well, so I keep the counters clear.

I love new and unusual things, so I've eaten quite a few foods that some people might balk at - snails, llama, elk, yak, raw sea urchin roe, what have you. It's a great delight to me when I can try something I've never tasted before. As far as more commonplace foods go, I'm very fond of both spinach and okra, which seems to be an uncommon preference.

Shanglan

 

[Guest]

cooking...
as imp said, i love to cook when i want to cook. i clean as i go but i still end up with a shit load of dishes.
i am a messy cook
famous for? hrm... pumpkin stew, baked in a pumpkin. love love love... and making bread...lasanga. kosha cookies that are a ukrainian tradition for xmas. ox tail soup...another ukrainian dish.
(i may only be famous for these dishes in my own head but i like them so thats fine with me.)

you will never see a dish of mine garnished. too much time IMO.

i love to cook for a lot of people. i can cook for 20 and feel just fine about it but then there are those 'GYO' nights. GYO = get your own. usually on a thursday when survivor is on.

mom taught me just about everything on cooking. my god the woman could dance around the kitchen. she was sen sai...i was grasshoppah except that she finally gave up and handed me the marble.

 

[matriarch]

cooking...
as imp said, i love to cook when i want to cook. i clean as i go but i still end up with a shit load of dishes.
i am a messy cook
famous for? hrm... pumpkin stew, baked in a pumpkin. love love love... and making bread...lasanga. kosha cookies that are a ukrainian tradition for xmas. ox tail soup...another ukrainian dish.
(i may only be famous for these dishes in my own head but i like them so thats fine with me.)

you will never see a dish of mine garnished. too much time IMO.

i love to cook for a lot of people. i can cook for 20 and feel just fine about it but then there are those 'GYO' nights. GYO = get your own. usually on a thursday when survivor is on.

mom taught me just about everything on cooking. my god the woman could dance around the kitchen. she was sen sai...i was grasshoppah except that she finally gave up and handed me the marble.

That's it, next time you and I are together....it's going to be a bread making session.

 

[FallingToFly]

Do you like to cook, or not?

Depends on my mood. I used to do a lot of baking, but for the last year or so, I just have no enthusiasm for it. Sometimes I'll whip up this huge, really great meal for the family and whoever else comes by, but lately it's been a lot of- feed them fast, baths, and bed.

Did you learn on your own, or did you learn by watching your family in the kitchen?

A healthy dose of each. My mother started me out, and I watched her cook for years, but when she went back to work, I started to experiment. We all choked down some pretty horrid meals before I got the hang of it. luckily, I have a good sense of what flavors blend well, so I can experiment now and turn out some really great food in a fairly short amount of time. My potato soup with chicken stock and mushrooms is a legend around here.

What's your specialty?

Soups, stews, and bread. I make really greta homemade bread, and I'm the one person in the family who can make soup that actually has enough body to it that you can't eat more then a bowl or two. When the Post Office crew gets sick, I get a phone call, and start throwing things out of the fridge into the pot.

Do you clean as you go, or do you leave all the mess for the end?

It depends. For things like big family meals, you have to clean as you go, but if it's just a one or two step meal, I'll clean everything up with the dishes after dinner.

Are their certain dishes you make regularly, or are you into experimentation?

I never make the same thing twice, even if the ingredients are the same. I'm always tweaking things, adding a little more or subtracting a little until it tastes right to me.

Do you like something really unusual that nobody else will eat?

The kids and I are huge liver and onion fans. Liver and onions, pan-grilled, with mashed potatoes, pan gravy, broccoli with butter and cheese. It's one of those things that everyone else gets picky about, but we figure there's more for us that way.

 

[Liar]

What's your specialty?

Fish.

Juniper smoked char and mint grilled mackerel, with a side order of clams baked with Västerbotten and sweet balsamico, and baby taters. Served w garlic butter, or a yoghurt aioli if you're concerned about the waistline.

And a good czech beer. This is perfect beer food.

 

[Guest]

Do you like something really unusual that nobody else will eat?

The kids and I are huge liver and onion fans. Liver and onions, pan-grilled, with mashed potatoes, pan gravy, broccoli with butter and cheese. It's one of those things that everyone else gets picky about, but we figure there's more for us that way.

i knew there had to be someone out there that enjoyed liver and onions as much as i do too...yum! can't cook it at home as everyone here would be gagging. have to go out to eat it if i ever want it.


MATSKI~
lets do. i love making bread and i love seeing how others do it too. used to make doughnuts, a pennsylvania dutch recipe with a friend of mine...in the dark ages. we could only do it in the fall and we would take over all table surfaces...make enough to freeze for an entire year. it was such a lovely yeastie smell...tres coolio.

 

[Saucyminx]

Do you like to cook, or not?
Yes love to, do it pretty much every night.

Did you learn on your own, or did you learn by watching your family in the kitchen? We were my mother's slave labor when she wanted to impress her card club. All my brothers and sisters cook too. There are 2 professional chefs, and one ex-caterer in the family

What's your specialty?Cream puffs--mine are legendary in these here parts. I also do this awesome marinated pork roast with mustard sauce and sauteed apples over a bed of spinach. Yum. Now i'm hungry.

Do you clean as you go, or do you leave all the mess for the end?My husband comes in the kitchen and says, "Ah, hurricane minxy has hit again." I can trash a kitchen like no one's business.

Are their certain dishes you make regularly, or are you into experimentation?I have a couple kid favorites i make a lot, but i cook something new at least 3 times a week.

Do you like something really unusual that nobody else will eat?Um, i don't think so.

 

[OhMissScarlett]

Do you like to cook, or not?
Most of the time, I love to cook. I live with a picky eater and sometimes cook things just for myself because I must have them. If I don't do it, no one else will.

Did you learn on your own, or did you learn by watching your family in the kitchen? My family are a bunch of food addicts, though, not many of them can cook. My mom was always a very bland cook who didn't experiment at all, so I absorbed what I could from other people. If it wasn't for My dad, Carson's mom, and my uncle's mom, I probably wouldn't know how to make anything but Hamburger Helper.

What's your specialty?
Soups, muffins, Italian, Mexican and just simple, old fashioned stuff. The guys who work with the BF are always asking if I'll send them a pot of Italian chicken soup or a batch of scratch brownies.

Do you clean as you go, or do you leave all the mess for the end?
I try to clean as I go, I only have so much counter space to spare, so I try to stay organized.

Are their certain dishes you make regularly, or are you into experimentation?
Due to the SO being so picky, I tend to make meat and potatoes or salad almost every night. I'm up for experimentation myself, so anytime I have the opportunity to spring something on a non-picky test audience(like Carson or my mom) I'll make something new.

Do you like something really unusual that nobody else will eat?
I like old school desserts and everyone tends to hate them. I love raisin pie, bread pudding with hard sauce, rice pudding, custards and wacky jello molds. Most people I know would rather I make a chocolate cake or something.

 

[jacintexas]

love to cook.. have since I was little.. I use to make my own breakfast when I was like 3 and then go watch cartoons...

 

[3113]

Like Mom?

I make a good roast chicken with the full round of gravy, stuffing, etc. It's one of the few things I am vain about, as I've managed to win the SO over from the SO's own gravy and stuffing, learned from the SO's mother.

Ah, now THERE's a question!

What do you cook so well that it's won over someone from their parent/partner's cooking? or, alternately, something you'd like to cook for someone, but there's no way you're ever going to match Mom's ____________ (fill in the blank)?

My husband's comfort food was Southern (hush puppies, collard greens, smothered pork chops) and I know full well I'm never going to top his Mom on that. I like that kind of food, but I just don't get it--the trick behind the flavors and seasonings. My palate just doesn't understand it well enough to get it as good as Mom's. I tried to make collard greens once and it was a laughable experiment.

Although I have found a recipe for pecan pie that comes close enough to statisfy him.

On the other hand, I make certain things his mom never made and he adores those things. Jewish Kreplach (meat dumplings) is perhaps the pinnacle of that. That's one of the few family recipes I've got handed down and all. Time consuming to make, but when I make it, I can't make enough of it.

 

[impressive]

Ah, now THERE's a question!

What do you cook so well that it's won over someone from their parent/partner's cooking?

That would be the kick-ass Thanksgiving feast I mentioned above.

 

[OhMissScarlett]

Ah, now THERE's a question!

What do you cook so well that it's won over someone from their parent/partner's cooking? or, alternately, something you'd like to cook for someone, but there's no way you're ever going to match Mom's ____________ (fill in the blank)?

See, yeah, I get this all the time. The SO's mom's fried chicken is held in such high regard that I may never achieve its lofty status. Since she is no longer with us, we may never know how the hell she made it. I've given up trying.

However, in my family, the same thing happened with my late aunt's sage stuffing. By some random chance, I managed to re-create it without a recipe. I promptly wrote down what I did and made copies for everyone. Moms, write your shit down for posterity, please!