Are you any good at cooking

shruikan2553 · 14-07-2013 11:08pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TFUI3Eto3M

I learnt to cook from this guy. Cleaning up afterwards is the worst part but nobody ever comes back so I suppose not having to cook as much is a plus.

The Cool · 14-07-2013 11:14pm

I'm ok, I was very much a convenience food eater (out of the packet and straight in the oven) until I spent a year living in Spain; there was no such thing as Uncle Bens or anything over there so I had to learn to cook from raw ingredients. Have only tried to bake a couple of times and never had much luck so I'd be a bit stuck if I were to make a dessert for anybody. Still working on getting my steaks right but getting better every time! Funnily enough my best things would be burgers, chinese, italian, that kind of stuff, but don't really know how to cook "spud dinners" - visited a friend recently who made a Sunday roast and I was in awe.
The one thing I cannot get right is pancakes, which is quite strange as they're supposed to be the easiest thing to cook!!! My mum would make them by literally throwing the ingredients in a bowl, no measuring and they always come out perfect. I have tried every recipe going but I always end up with as many in the bin as on my plate.

Catphish · 14-07-2013 11:15pm

Chucken wrote: »

Heres a little experiment. Look in the fridge and pick 3 or 4 ingredients and come back to me.

Having next to nothing in the fridge or presses have resulted in some of my more adventurous but tasty stuff, we're on the same page

Oh.. and as Gusteau says.. :pac:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExU4AxwYtTc

April O Neill · 14-07-2013 11:34pm

I'm pretty OK, I have a decent repertoire of healthy, handy meals, plus some slow cook ones that I freeze in batches. I do good lamb chops, pork chops, steak, roasts, stew, savoury mince and soup.

I don't bake though. Well, I can do a handful of really, really easy things - soda bread, fruit crumbles, pancakes, scones - but I rarely do these. The reason I don't bake? Most baked goods are terrible for you, and I eat as little wheat as possible, so baking is a skill (or rather range of skills) I'm happy enough to do without. And when you bake stuff, you're left with a lot to eat, more than if you bought something baked from a shop, which could be a more reasonable amount. I just buy the very occasional baked thing if I get the urge, instead of having tempting home-baking winking at me.

Hate when people do home-baking then bring the stuff into work to palm off on colleagues. And if you turn down their baked goods they seem so put out.

Why bake if you don't want to eat the stuff yourself?

Gawd, that turned into a rant. Apologies!

Witchie · 15-07-2013 12:00am

My sons would say I am a crap cook but that is mainly coz they like to wind me up. Am not amazing but I do make a decent stab at most things.

My signature dish is probably a pasta dish that is a family staple. Fry off some onions. peppers, sweetcorn, add some tinned tomatoes or pasata, and a tin of either kidney beans or chickpeas. Throw in loads of mixed herbs, extra oregano, salt and black pepper.

Then while it is simmering and the pasta is cooking I make a cheese sauce - especially good when I have a few different cheeses in the house, my favourite being Mexicana extra hot chili cheese - and when it is ready, drain pasta, add to pot of tomato sauce then pour in the cheese sauce and mix together. If not using chili cheese I usually add a bit of chili with the herbs in the tomato sauce.

My other signature dishes would be mostly Indian like Saag Aloo (spinach and potatoes), bombay potatoes, and (even though I have never tasted it coz I am a veggie, I am told it is amazing) my tandoori chicken.

Today we had a barbecue and as one of the salads I made some noodles stir fried with spring onions, peppers, cashew nuts, ginger, corriandor, lime and coconut milk and my Thai future sister-in-law and her Thai friend said they were lovely (they may have been very polite but I loved them anyway!)

Like someone said it really is a case of following a recipe and then as you get more confident you can twist it a little and improvise. Then you will start making stuff you like from your own recipes.

GLaDOS · 15-07-2013 12:01am

I can follow a recipe no bother, but only generally only do it if I have an evening free at the weekend and can do something really nice/fun that can take a while. Generally Indian dishes are my choice.

ceadaoin. · 15-07-2013 12:02am

A few years ago I would have said I can't cook. Then I had a child and I didn't want to be doing with all that purée stuff and separate meals etc but knew that ready made sauces were generally pretty unhealthy with high salt levels or at least too high for a baby. So I started making meals from scratch and it really isn't that hard at all. As others have said, just follow the recipe. Once you have mastered a few basics like a white sauce or pasta sauce you can add to them and make them how you want.

You do need a good store cupboard of herbs and spices, tinned tomatoes, pasta, rice and pulses etc but once you invest in that you've always got the basics to make a meal out of anything really.

Mince Pie · 15-07-2013 12:58am

I can cook just about anything, some recipes need practice and bake as well. Its all about finding the right recipe that works for you. Scones were my nemesis for a long time until I found the perfect recipe.
Signature dishes, cottage pie, salmon teriyaki, lamb shanks in red wine, dauphinoise and my legendary mashed potatoes.

Strangely, I can't boil a decent egg. I mean I can do a hard boiled but I love egg and soldiers and can't get the right softness inside. If the white is in any way snotty it makes me gag. My fried eggs are near perfect though.

Hello 2D Person Below · 15-07-2013 1:00am

Yeah, pretty handy at it.

Junior D · 15-07-2013 1:07am

Home-made taco chips!

Love cooking when I get the time!

dmc17 · 15-07-2013 1:14am

nocoverart wrote: »

Only got good after watching Breaking Bad. That show saved my life!

I watch Baking Bread myself. Much better show :pac:

Riddle101 · 15-07-2013 4:00am

I'm ok with cooking simple foods. But if you're asking me to prepare a 5 star meal, or something fancy then no. Just basic cooking.

Snowie · 15-07-2013 4:49am

My mother is a great cook she says Im better I am tho seriously :cool:

15-07-2013 4:59am

It's something I've come to enjoy doing the last few years. Previously, I believed I was 'cooking' by heating frozen croquettes and chicken fillets in the oven!

Outside of a few standard household meals, I can cook a nice variety of Italian dishes, have even made the pasta fresh a few times, always my own sauces. I like making curries too, notably Thai Green or Rogan Josh. I love to make my own burgers which are ****ing amazing, here give them a go if you care...

I use:
-500g of mince, I don't actually buy cuts and grind them myself, maybe someday!
-Extras for burger mix; 1 onion, 1 red chili, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 pack of parsley, 1 egg, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt pepper.
-Any bun/bap available, rocket lettuce, smokey bacon, applewood cheese as optional extras.

Method:
-Chop up the onion, garlic and half the chili very finely. Depending on your knife skills, this could take a few minutes and you might shed several tears like me. Then sautee them for several minutes in a hot pan with some olive oil. This is so your burger isn't overpowered by raw onions.

-As the onions are on the pan, chop up 2 handfuls of parsley quite finely. Try to remove as much of the stalks as possible. Don't let your onions/garlic/chilli brown too much or blacken in the meantime.

-Get a large bowl for mixing. Place the mince in first. Then drop in the onions/garlic/chili. Dump in the parsley on top of that. It is now when I would beat an egg and pour it in on top of the mixture. Also add 2-3 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar, and a few shakes of salt and pepper. Your burger is now ready to be formed.

-Beware and make sure you have allowed the onions to cool before putting your hands in the bowl! Mix the contents of the bowl with your hands, but don't press the mixture too hard or for too long.

-The measurements I have given will allow you to make 4 normal sized burgers or 2 big fellas. Once I've formed the burger, I place it on a cutting board lined with tin foil. Then place an indentation in the centre of the topside of the burger with your thumb, this is so the burger maintains it's shape during cooking.

-Place the burger(s) in the fridge for at the least 45 minutes, ideally 90 minutes.

Cooking:
-Several tblspoons of olive oil on a medium heat pan. Once the temperature is right, get cooking! As i make a thick enough burger, it usually takes me 6-7 minutes on each side to get a medium-cooked burger, adjust accordingly.

-If you choose to have bacon, ideally now is the time to get it sizzling. After flipping the burger, apply the bacon on top, ground some cheese over it and then cover the pan. Prepare your buns, side-salad in the meantime and return to the burgers after 5 minutes.

-By now the pan should be a sight of cheesy, meaty goodness, juices sizzling out the side of the burgers. They are now ready to serve once the buns are toasted.

-Hope that is easy enough to follow.

Galwayguy35 · 15-07-2013 6:20am

I can do the basics, i.e bake a spud and fry a steak.

Rasheed · 15-07-2013 7:02am

I'm grand at cooking dinners. Love doing soups too. Won't go too adventurous because nobody would eat unless I'm cooking for friends.

But I'm absolutely shiite at baking. I can make a grand brown cake and a rhubarb tart from using my granny's methods but that's the height of it. I've tried, bought the finest of ingredients, I've followed recipes to the last letter and they still turned out like there were something missing.

I think the real sign of a good cook is someone who is just really knowledgable about food, knows their ingredients inside out, knows great combinations and doesn't necessarily follow the recipe, just goes with instinct and taste. I'd love to be able to cook/ bake like that.

Thanks for the recipes too lads, going to try some when I get time!

Lingua Franca · 15-07-2013 7:11am

Mince Pie wrote: »

Strangely, I can't boil a decent egg. I mean I can do a hard boiled but I love egg and soldiers and can't get the right softness inside. If the white is in any way snotty it makes me gag. My fried eggs are near perfect though.

You can now cook perfect boiled eggs. You're welcome.

ceadaoin. · 15-07-2013 7:31am

Mince Pie wrote: »

Strangely, I can't boil a decent egg. I mean I can do a hard boiled but I love egg and soldiers and can't get the right softness inside. If the white is in any way snotty it makes me gag. My fried eggs are near perfect though.

I saw this method on one of Heston Blumenthal's shows a while ago and it works.

- place the eggs in a small saucepan and put in just enough cold water to cover them
-bring the water to the boil.
-As soon as it starts boiling take the pan off the heat, put a lid on the pan and leave to sit for 6 minutes
-perfect eggs!

Mince Pie · 15-07-2013 9:23am

Lingua Franca wrote: »

You can now cook perfect boiled eggs. You're welcome.

Haha, I have one of those.

hoodwinked · 15-07-2013 9:32am

Lingua Franca wrote: »

You can now cook perfect boiled eggs. You're welcome.

i see a problem! :P if you use large eggs or small eggs the timing is different, so do you get multiple sized ones?

all i see it saying is "the same size as an egg" but which egg size is it the same as?

Shenshen · 15-07-2013 9:46am

I'd say I'm not bad.
I base this assumption on the fact that I love the food I cook, that my husband blames me for his expanding waist line (not because it's rich food, because he always has seconds and thirds) and that people appear to be happy to come to my house and eat, and will ask to take home the leftovers, even though I only cook vegetarian food.

I couldn't honestly say I've got a token dish as such, it changes a lot, depending on my mood and the weather.
In this weather, I love making things like falafel, with pita bread, and some couscous, and tsatsiki and houmous and salad and lots of other little things.
The kind of food you prepare, but then only assemble once you're sitting down to eat.
I'd make everything except for the pita bread myself.

Lingua Franca · 15-07-2013 9:46am

It's the same size as my medium eggs.

BeerWolf · 15-07-2013 10:00am

Being very passionate for proper Indian food [not the muck you get in them run of the mill 'restaurants'] I know my fair share of cooking them, often making my runs to the Asia mart to get the ingredients.

Also know how to make various Italian and Mexican foods, and so so of others... but if there's something new I'd like to try out there's nothing exactly hard about reading a recipe off the net.

skyfall2012 · 15-07-2013 10:03am

Chucken wrote: »

Heres a little experiment. Look in the fridge and pick 3 or 4 ingredients and come back to me.

Spring onions, cherry tomatoes, chorizo.

Yesterday, I boiled potatoes and fried chicken, it will sustain my family, nobody will die of starvation, but there is no explosion of flavor in our mouths like you get with some of the Asian and Mediterranean cooking.

Lingua Franca · 15-07-2013 10:10am

skyfall2012 wrote: »

Spring onions, cherry tomatoes, chorizo.

Got eggs? Omelette.
Leaves? Salad
Pasta and olive oil? Pasta which can be eaten cold or warm
Pasta and cheese? Pasta bake

Those are my favourite omelette ingredients you have there.

Shenshen · 15-07-2013 10:11am

skyfall2012 wrote: »

Spring onions, cherry tomatoes, chorizo.

Yesterday, I boiled potatoes and fried chicken, it will sustain my family, nobody will die of starvation, but there is no explosion of flavor in our mouths like you get with some of the Asian and Mediterranean cooking.

Have you got rice and a stock cube or two?

Make a risotto, with fried chorizo, chopped spring onions and halved cherry tomatoes mixed through just before serving.

martinedwards · 15-07-2013 10:11am

ten years working in some of the best restaurants in the country.....

yup, I can cook!

and don't limit me to a signature dish!! there are just too many!

monkeysnapper · 15-07-2013 10:14am

Mariasofia wrote: »

I can whip up a four course lunch with my eyes closed and my hands tied behind my back.

Sorry all I saw was whip and hands tied behind back while eyes were closed. What was thread about again ?

Kintarō Hattori · 15-07-2013 10:15am

Years before I moved out I used to ask the Mammy to show me how to cook as I'd be leaving home eventually. The fecker refused to allow me do anything in the kitchen so when I did move out it was Koka Noodles and Campbells meatballs, beans on toast etc for the first few months.
Eventually went out and bought a cookbook which looked like I could manage the recipes. As Robert Rodriguez famously once said. Eating is like sex..... you're going to be doing it all your life..... so you'd better get good at it.

Last night was chicken fillets battered to feck, doused in liberal amounts of Chinese 5 spice and thrown into a grill pan where they were cooked in lime juice first and finished off in honey and sesame seeds. This was served with a little gem, tomato, avocado, apple, chilli and coriander salad drenched in some more lime juice. Perfect for the hot weather.

Mr Benevolent · 15-07-2013 10:23am

Yep, I can cook and find it difficult to understand how people could have difficulty with such an essential skill. It's like not being able to tie shoelaces. Admittedly it took me a while and I only started getting good after my girlfriend became a chef. Now I can cook something tasty from scratch without thinking 'ah I can't be arsed, I'll get a pizza'.

I lived with a girl who would consistently burn everything, and another who cooked the same four dinners over and over. Baffling.

Are you any good at cooking

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