Can you cook?

I can cook, I enjoy cooking and most of my disposable income goes on ingredients, equipment and eating out. My Friday and Saturday evenings are invariably spent at a friend's house cooking with/for them and I've done a few dinner parties for people where I've been in the kitchen while they've entertained their guests.

I'd like to think I can cook to 'restaurant standard' but I'd need to get on Masterchef to prove that to myself, despite what friends tell me. I'd like to get some work in a proper kitchen at the weekends to expand my range but time isn't permitting at the moment.

Here's one of my favourite dishes: Chicken and Chorizo Risotto.

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I did Home Economics at school way back when but was never taught how to cook anything useful - HE consisted of easy, basic dishes like pizza and things on toast. My passion for cooking definitely comes from my Mum who has always cooked a proper meal every day from fresh ingredients, but also comes from being lucky enough to travel extensively and sample lots of different cuisines and many, many restaurants across the globe.

I don't think there's any excuse for not being able to cook the basics, but there's got to be some desire to do so. With so many people relying on Ready Meals and being served these by their families on a daily basis, I think people forget what a proper cooked meal tastes like and how satisfying it can be to prepare, cook and eat. That's not to say there isn't a place for ready-prepared ingredients because there is, but a reliance on Ready Meals and Fast Food is slightly worrying when there is an abundance of fresh ingredients in the shops and markets and more cookery shows, books, magazines and websites around then ever.

And if anyone wants an 'idiots guide', Delia Smith's 'How to Cook' series should be the starting point for any aspiring cook or chef. Some of the recipes are a bit advanced and at times she may seem patronising, but if you can make your way through and you feel confident in your cooking you'll open yourself up to more adventurous dishes. But if your Mum, Dad or any family member can cook well, spend some time with them and learn the ropes. Every cook/chef likes the attention of a willing student.
 
DEL 707 said:
Short answer, no, but I'm trying to learn.

Over the last couple of weekends I've made Chicken/Beef Satey dishes, which have gone down rather well, though the beef 1 was a bit chewy :o

Also made some sausage rolls, which I must say were excellent.

I'd love to try more, but it's hard finding a place with idiot guides.
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Jamie Oliver's new book is most certainly highly recommended. Takes people back to basics by looking at what to buy and what not to buy in terms of joints and how to make really really tasty food. How to make really really good salads. Basically everything from the ground up.

As for me, Im a pretty good cook. Do most of the cooking at home and I enjoy it. Nowhere near restaurant standard but I make wholesome, tasty food that is pretty well balanced. Yesterday I put some mixed beans in cold water. Got home tonight and cooked them pretty at a medium temp with around a pint of veg stock, chilli seeds and garlic. Well season it and then liquidized it. A really really tasty spicy bean soup that is really low in fat, high in good carbs and protein and will also stop me from picking at rubbish snacks in the afternoon as its really filling :)
 
I can cook to an extent. Living at home i find it hard to follow recipes because they invariably involve ingredients that arent lying about. I'm sure there's a lot of people who have the same 'problem'. However getting off my arse and getting the bits to make even one meal from scratch is always worth it. I'm currently going through a Wagamama "Ways With Noodles" book that i was bought for Christmas. Both in stocking up on the right bits, and cooking the dishes. So far i've cooked one dish; marinated grilled salmon with spicy gingery noodles. It was delish ;)

I'm trying to move away from cooking stuff with rice*, noodles or pasta and want to get into some 'meat and two veg' dishes. I can do almost anything with potatoes and know how to cook veg... it's just making an 'interesting' dish out of the lot that stumps me! Making a sauce, or marinade etc..

I find following people's/friend's own simple recipes are a lot easier than reading from a recipe book. Invariably they are simpler, and dont seem to have as much pressure to get measurements/timing exactly right. In fact just this evening i ate leftover jambalaya which i've cooked a few times, following a recipe someone posted here. (thanks!)

*Although i'm currently going through an infatuation with rice.
 
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Yeah I can cook. I make bolognaise, salads (with various dressings), risotto, soups (with home made stock, veg etc), and Jamaican spicy chicken (chicken with chili and lime juice).
 
Loki said:
Jamie Oliver's new book is most certainly highly recommended. Takes people back to basics by looking at what to buy and what not to buy in terms of joints and how to make really really tasty food. How to make really really good salads. Basically everything from the ground up
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I'd say it was an interesting book with some cracking recipes, but it's not a beginners book. You need to be a relatively confident cook to get anything out of it. That's not taking anything away from the contents, but don't buy this book expecting to be taught the basics - it could make you a better cook but it won't make a cook out of a novice.

One thing all cooks/chefs should invest in is an oven thermometer. That way you can ignore the dials on your oven and work from the thermometer, giving you complete confidence that 180° really is 180°. A lot of recipes can go wrong with an inaccurate oven - mine is stable, but about 5-10° out from the dial which can make all the difference!
 
i can cook to a small extent, and at 17 it should really be expected as i try to become more independent etc

but it's a funny thing watching me cook anything more complicated than toast, i am so perticular to ingrediants and am always hurriend when doing anything, like chopping vegetables and pouring things in dishes and stuff.

but i feel my need to cook on many occasions is limited, while living with my mother still and she cooks a decent meal most days, and i only really need to feed my sister and myself on occasion which will just consist of sausages and mash on most occasions, or sandwiches

for myself the biggest problem with cooking is choosing the correct ingrediants for a meal, being slightly picky eater a few things are a no go, and coming up with a meal that doesn't end up like an odd stir fry or risotto is quite a task
 
I genuinely believe that people feel so pressured at work and school / college, that they feel that they don't have time to cook. With proper planning and good fresh ingredients, it is very easy to turn out something half decent, but only if you feel confident. This is why my beloved OH and I are planning to open a cookery school. If people realised just how easy and cheap it is to make a delicious soup, they wouldn't buy it in those little plastic pots from the supermarket. We plan to give people the confidence in the basics to cook more meals.
 
theo said:
for myself the biggest problem with cooking is choosing the correct ingrediants for a meal, being slightly picky eater a few things are a no go, and coming up with a meal that doesn't end up like an odd stir fry or risotto is quite a task
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There's nothing wrong with being a picky eater; there's a lot of things that I can't stand so I won't cook with them, which knackered my chances of becoming a chef. But if you get to know what you like and how you like it to taste, concentrate on a few core recipes and techniques and practice at every opportunity, you'll find cooking becomes a pleasure rather than a chore and you'll be cooking for your Mum rather than the other way round.

It's difficult when you don't like a lot of ingredients and can be a pain when these seem to be the core components of a lot of recipes, but a deeper understanding of food can lead you to make intelligent substitutions and still stick close to recipes until you either come to enjoy those things you once hated or can go your own way with what you do like.

yermum; I'd love to hear more about your plans.
 
Frankly, I don't understand why anyone above the age of about 15, which I assume the majority of this board to be, wouldn't be able to cook.
 
ive always had a half decent grasp on cooking being able to rustle up a few simple things but since coming to uni ive taught myself how to cook decent good food from scratch a lot of the recipies coming from threads such as Johnny69's which have been a great help in giving me some nice simple tastey things to make which ive then expanded onl.
 
Scam said:
I can cook to an extent. Living at home i find it hard to follow recipes because they invariably involve ingredients that arent lying about. I'm sure there's a lot of people who have the same 'problem'. However getting off my arse and getting the bits to make even one meal from scratch is always worth it. I'm
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I have been a chef since i left school right untill last november.
i got married in june last year and spent the first few months just buying 1 herb or spice jar per week untill i had them all. it makes a big diffrence having herbs and spices at hand as it can enhance anything.

next time u make cheese on toast add a bit of origano.. just simple things
 
I can but rarely do because everything in the kitchen is always far too dirty and I can't be bothered to wash up both before and after I cook...
 
im pretty rubbish in the knowledge base, but the things i do know how to make i make pretty well :p

so theres some basic stuff i dont know and some i do
 
divine_madness said:
I can but rarely do because everything in the kitchen is always far too dirty and I can't be bothered to wash up both before and after I cook...
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Good tip is wash up while you cook, then you'll only have one saucepan and a plate to wash up after.
 
i should hope i can cook, i've been a chef for about 15 years now ;)

I love cooking when i can be arsed, but working full time split shifts, i rarely find the time nor motivation to cook at home after i've been cooking all week, though i have started forcing myself to cook more at home, and suprisingly enjoy it still :D
 
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